Trash Who Could Only One-Shot B-Ranks

Somewhere in a hidden space.

Twelve figures sat around a round table.

They wore identical black cloaks embroidered with blood-red patterns-an ancient rune representing contracts and bloodlines.

Blood Momentum.

Twelve Bloodline Inheritors.

At that moment, the person at the head of the table spoke, his voice giving no indication of his age.

"What do you think of Lin Jin, that Bloodline Inheritor in Jiangcheng?"

A figure seated on the left spoke.

"He can kill an S-Rank Weird single-handedly and destroy an entire Weird Domain. That strength would put him in the middle of our ranks."

Another figure added.

"More importantly, there are his abilities. Fire, lightning, wind, teleportation, and those eyes. At least five different abilities, each developed to a high level."

"For a Bloodline Inheritor, that's hardly unusual," someone said noncommittally.

"No." The person at the head shook his head. "Ordinary Bloodline Inheritors awaken several core abilities, but they wouldn't be this disparate. He strikes me more as someone who has fused multiple bloodlines."

Everyone fell silent.

Fusing multiple bloodlines?

It was theoretically possible, but almost impossible to accomplish in practice.

The conflict between different bloodlines alone would be enough to make any test subject explode and die.

"Could he be a surviving descendant of some ancient family?" someone asked.

"I'm not sure, but there is one thing we can be certain of."

The person at the head paused.

"As a fellow Bloodline Inheritor, this man deserves our attention."

He looked toward the figure seated at the very end.

"Little Twelve, take a trip to Jiangcheng. Don't alert him. Just observe him in secret and record his abilities, personality, and way of doing things."

Blood Twelve raised his head, revealing a young face.

"Just observe?"

"That's right." The person at the head nodded. "If he really is the kind of person we think he is, perhaps one day he'll become one of us."

Blood Twelve nodded.

"Understood."

The meeting ended.

The twelve figures disappeared into the darkness one after another.

Early the next morning,

Lin Jin sat cross-legged on the third-floor terrace, faint traces of natural energy swirling around him.

Sage Mode.

He was trying to make Sage Mode his normal state. Although he couldn't fully achieve it yet, he had become much more proficient.

Crackling sounds came from downstairs, mixed with Zhou Yan's wails.

"Fuck! Failed again!"

Lin Jin opened his eyes and looked down over the edge of the terrace.

In the courtyard, Zhou Yan frantically practiced hand seals in front of a wooden dummy, with seven or eight scorched targets scattered on the ground beside him.

Sensing Lin Jin's gaze, he looked up and shouted, "Little Lin! That four seals a second you mentioned-I've been practicing all morning, and I can only manage two and a half! That's not humanly possible, is it?"

Lin Jin said nothing, simply holding two fingers together in front of himself.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."

He opened his mouth and spat out a fireball, burning the target in front of Zhou Yan to ashes.

Zhou Yan's eyes went wide.

"Holy shit, Little Lin, why don't you need hand seals?"

"Four seals a second is just standard practice. Clapping your hands together and getting whatever you call out-that's the mark of someone strong."

Lin Jin lowered his hand, closed his eyes, and continued cultivating.

Zhou Yan swore indignantly, then lowered his head and resumed his grueling practice.

At noon, Zhou Yan lay sprawled on the couch like a dead dog.

"I can't... I can't anymore... Little Lin, I think I'm dying..."

Lin Jin emerged from the kitchen carrying two bowls of noodles.

"Eat."

Catching the aroma, Zhou Yan instantly sprang off the couch, took a bowl, and began wolfing it down.

"Mmm... Little Lin... your cooking... is fucking amazing..."

Zhou Yan slurped his noodles, then suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right. The bureau asked me to handle a B-rank incident today. Apparently, a residential compound is haunted. Want to come take a look?"

Lin Jin raised his eyes to him.

"B-rank?"

"I know it's beneath you." Zhou Yan chuckled. "But I'm not asking you to fight. I'm asking you to see how strong your disciple is now!"

Lin Jin fell silent for a second.

"What time?"

Zhou Yan's eyes lit up.

"Two this afternoon! You're coming?"

"I've got nothing else to do, so I might as well take a look. Make sure you don't embarrass me."

Zhou Yan nearly jumped up in excitement.

"No way! This time, I'll show you the results of all my training lately!"

At two that afternoon, at Sunshine Garden Residential Compound in Jiangcheng's old district.

Lin Jin and Zhou Yan stood at the compound's entrance, with two familiar figures beside them: Chen Feng and Liu Yang.

"Mr. Lin," Chen Feng greeted him respectfully.

Ever since the Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger had chased him on Azure Glow Mountain and Lin Jin had saved him, his awe of this mysterious powerhouse had deepened further.

Lin Jin gave a slight nod.

Holding the Detector, Liu Yang pointed deeper into the compound.

"The energy fluctuations are in building seven, entrance three."

The four walked into the compound.

Several residents had already gathered outside entrance three of building seven, pointing upstairs and talking.

"It's that place on the fifth floor. There were strange noises again last night."

"I heard the last few tenants all moved out. Nobody dares live there."

"Property management won't do anything either. Sigh..."

Chen Feng showed his identification and dispersed the onlookers.

The four headed upstairs.

Fifth floor, apartment 502.

The door stood ajar, and it was dim inside.

The needle on Liu Yang's Detector jumped wildly.

"It's inside. Early B-rank."

Zhou Yan swallowed and looked at Lin Jin.

Lin Jin leaned against the corridor wall, his hands in his pockets.

"What are you looking at me for? Charge in!"

Zhou Yan took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and entered.

An air of decay permeated the room. The curtains were tightly drawn, with only a few rays of sunlight filtering through the gaps.

In the center of the living room, a mass of black shadow lay writhing on the floor. Sensing the presence of the living, it slowly raised its head, revealing a distorted human face.

A B-rank Weird, a Resentful Shadow.

Zhou Yan formed hand seals with both hands.

Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A fireball over a meter in diameter erupted from his mouth, instantly engulfing the black shadow.

The Resentful Shadow let out a piercing scream, struggling in the flames for a few seconds before turning to ashes.

Zhou Yan stared blankly at the pile of ashes.

"That's... that's it?"

Chen Feng and Liu Yang were stunned too.

A B-rank Weird had been one-shotted just like that?

Zhou Yan turned back toward Lin Jin, utterly bewildered.

"Little Lin, is it... is it really that weak?"

Lin Jin walked into the room and glanced at the pile of ashes.

"What else did you expect? You're an awakened at the Divine Knowledge Initial Stage, after all. What's so surprising about one-shotting an early B-rank Weird?"

"Did you really think the Great Fireball couldn't kill anyone?"

Zhou Yan blinked, then suddenly caught on.

"Holy shit! I've gotten stronger?"

"I can fucking one-shot B-ranks too! Did you see that, Little Lin? I one-shotted it!"

Lin Jin shot him a glance.

"That's all you aspire to? Is it really worth getting so worked up?"

Zhou Yan was so excited he could barely speak coherently.

"It is! It absolutely is! A month ago, I was trash who pissed himself over an E-rank Weird. Now I can one-shot B-ranks!"

"Then you're still trash who can only one-shot B-ranks," Lin Jin said scornfully.