Little Lin, Your Girl Is Here!

The two returned to the villa toward evening.

Zhou Yan lay on the sofa, still savoring his victory that afternoon.

"Little Lin, where do you think I'd rank in the Paranormal Bureau at my current level?"

Lin Jin sat across from him reading a book and answered offhandedly.

"Lower middle."

Zhou Yan choked.

"Lower middle? I took down a B-rank in one hit!"

"The Paranormal Bureau has people at the Source Energy Stage and the Domain Realm." Lin Jin turned a page. "You're at the Divine Knowledge Initial Stage. What else would you be but lower middle?"

Zhou Yan thought about it. That did seem fair.

"Then how long will it take me to reach the Source Energy Stage?"

Lin Jin looked up at him.

"With your talent, three to five years of normal cultivation."

Zhou Yan's eyes lit up.

"I can reach the Source Energy Stage in three to five years? That's pretty fast!"

Lin Jin said nothing.

Zhou Yan leaned closer.

"Little Lin, do you have any shortcuts?"

Lin Jin closed his book and looked up at him.

"Yes."

"What is it?" Zhou Yan's eyes shone even brighter.

"Combat training."

"Combat?" Zhou Yan froze for a moment.

Lin Jin created a Shadow Clone.

"I'll let my clone put you through your paces."

Ten minutes later, in the yard.

Zhou Yan lay on the lawn, gazing at the gradually darkening sky and questioning his life.

"What... what did I just go through?"

Lin Jin's clone stood beside him and dusted off his hands.

"That's the shortcut. Learn to take a beating first. Pain makes you grow."

Zhou Yan struggled to his feet, aching all over.

"Little Lin, is this training or murder?"

Lin Jin turned and headed inside.

"We'll continue tomorrow."

Zhou Yan let out a wail and collapsed back onto the lawn.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Jiangcheng.

A figure appeared silently.

He was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties, with a slender build and delicate features. Dressed in simple casual clothes, he looked just like an ordinary college student.

But his eyes held a depth that seemed out of place for someone his age.

He stood on the rooftop of a high-rise, looking down over the city that had just weathered a catastrophe.

"Jiangcheng..."

He murmured, his gaze turning toward the eastern part of the city.

The Purple Garden Villa District lay there.

According to the intelligence, the man named Lin Jin lived there.

The young man closed his eyes, seemingly sensing something.

A few seconds later, he opened them, a peculiar look flashing through his eyes.

"That presence..."

He fell silent for a moment, then vanished into the night with a flicker.

Inside the villa.

Lin Jin was cultivating cross-legged on the third-floor terrace.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked toward the distant darkness.

Through the perception of the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, he seemed to have sensed a barely discernible presence sweep past just a moment ago.

The presence was faint and vanished in a flash.

But Lin Jin was certain it had been no illusion.

Someone had been spying on him just now.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. Interesting.

It seemed the various factions could no longer hold back.

He neither rose nor went after them. Since they had only spied on him without making a move, that meant they bore no ill intent for now.

Or rather, they were not ready to act yet.

Lin Jin closed his eyes and resumed cultivating.

Whoever had come, he had no fear of them.

He only needed to wait.

Meanwhile, at a Dark Moon outpost on the outskirts of Jiangcheng.

Old Seven and Old Nine stood in the basement, facing someone who had just arrived.

He was a middle-aged man in a black robe, with a sinister face and a suffocating air of pressure radiating from him.

A silver moon was embroidered on his chest, the insignia of Silver Moon Rank-an elite of the Dark Moon Organization, with strength at least at the late Domain Realm.

"Your subordinates pay their respects, Lord Ghost Hand." Old Seven and Old Nine bowed in unison.

Ghost Hand, a Silver Moon Rank member of Dark Moon, stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the crude basement.

"Have you compiled the intelligence on Lin Jin?"

Old Seven respectfully handed him a document.

"It's all here, my lord."

Ghost Hand took it and skimmed through it.

"Fire, lightning, wind, teleportation, and a pair of eyes capable of unleashing Black Flame and Genjutsu..."

He closed the document, a cold glint flashing through his eyes.

"A Bloodline Inheritor. Interesting."

Old Nine asked cautiously, "My lord, what should we do next?"

Ghost Hand looked at the two of them.

"Observe him for two days first. Learn his routine and habits."

He paused.

"Then find a suitable opportunity to test his true strength."

Old Seven and Old Nine exchanged a glance.

"Yes."

Three days later, at the villa.

The past three days had been peaceful. Lin Jin cultivated every morning and evening and coached Zhou Yan during the day.

Zhou Yan improved quickly. Although Lin Jin beat him so badly every day that he questioned his life, he would get up full of energy the next day and keep training.

In his words, "Getting thrashed by Little Lin is a blessing too."

That afternoon, the villa's doorbell rang.

Zhou Yan ran to answer it. When he saw the person outside, his eyes widened instantly.

"G-Group Leader Su?"

Su Qianxue stood at the door in a simple white dress, her long hair falling over her shoulders and an insulated food container in her hand.

She smiled slightly when she saw Zhou Yan.

"Zhou Yan, is Lin Jin here?"

Zhou Yan turned and shouted.

"Little Lin! Your girl is here!"

The smile on Su Qianxue's face stiffened for a moment.

Realizing he had said the wrong thing, Zhou Yan hurriedly corrected himself.

"No, no! Group Leader Su! Group Leader Su is here!"

Lin Jin came downstairs. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes when he saw Su Qianxue.

"What brings you here?"

Su Qianxue lifted the insulated container in her hand.

"I said I'd treat you to a meal last time, but I never had the chance. I have the day off today, so I made some food myself and brought it over for you to try."

Zhou Yan frantically shot him meaningful looks from the side.

Lin Jin ignored him and stepped aside.

"Come in first."