How could I turn into a shadow and flee? What I want is to slay every enemy

The five entered the room and took their seats.

Su Nan raised one hand.

Wisps of Spiritual Qi seeped from his fingertips.

The glazed teapot floated up and filled their five cups in turn.

Breathing in the fragrance of the tea, Lin Tian took a gentle sip.

"Let me introduce everyone."

Su Nan smiled and said:

"This is my Dao companion, Han Xianshu."

Han Xianshu walked up beside Su Nan with a smile and smiled gracefully at everyone.

Suddenly, the armored man named Yu Xiu froze.

Only after a long while did he sigh softly.

"I was tricked."

Han Xianshu bowed apologetically to Yu Xiu.

"Senior Brother Yu, I had no choice. This struggle for the clan headship is far too dangerous. If I hadn't used myself as bait, you would never have come down the mountain."

Yu Xiu nodded, though his expression was somewhat bitter.

Su Nan remained silent, watching Yu Xiu all the while.

After a long pause, Yu Xiu sighed and said:

"Forget it. I'm already here. The Fire Nether Forbidden Land holds a great deal of appeal for me too."

"You are magnanimous, Senior Brother Yu. I am deeply grateful."

Su Nan chuckled and bowed to Yu Xiu with his hands clasped.

Then he turned toward the swordsman with his eyes closed and continued:

"This is Li Xin, ranked eighty-seventh on the Azure Sword Ranking. He is also a close friend of mine."

The swordsman with his eyes closed smiled faintly and said:

"The Azure Sword Stele is gone."

Lin Tian focused slightly as he looked at Li Xin.

His original self had known a little about the Azure Sword Ranking.

Making it onto the Azure Sword Ranking had always been the dream of every young sword cultivator.

Lin Tian had once hoped to get his name onto the Azure Sword Stele too.

But now that the Azure Sword Stele had been destroyed by the Kui Bull, he knew there was no chance.

He looked at Li Xin, only to discover a faint crimson lip print still on his face.

He had probably been preparing for a great battle earlier, only to end up fighting a great battle for real.

Seeing Lin Tian looking at Li Xin, Su Nan smiled and said:

"I spoke with Li Xin yesterday. He said Brother Wenren's sword Dao was more perfect than his own."

"Li Xin is certain that Brother Wenren will one day be a sword cultivator spoken of in the same breath as Gu Changqing or Mu Yanwan."

Once Su Nan finished, everyone in the room looked toward Lin Tian.

Their gazes were filled with disbelief.

"Gu Changqing is hailed as the greatest sword Dao prodigy the Great Qin Immortal Kingdom has seen in ten thousand years. Even the holy maiden of the Joyous Immortal Sect has to admit that."

Yu Xiu frowned and continued:

"Just who are Gu Changqing and Mu Yanwan? Isn't Brother Li's praise a little excessive?"

Su Nan was about to say something.

Li Xin spoke first:

"I was talking nonsense earlier. Don't mind it."

Pfft!

Ziwei had just taken a mouthful of tea and sprayed it straight out.

Only then did Yu Xiu nod, his features full of pride.

"What is Gu Changqing to you? Why do you worship him so much?"

Ziwei asked.

Yu Xiu's expression stiffened before he said:

"I simply respect him."

Ziwei pressed his lips together and said nothing more.

Just then, radiance spilled from between Su Nan's fingers.

Hum!

Several brilliant flames of light instantly appeared inside the room, and a simple, ancient presence filled the entire space.

"Soul Palace Pills!"

Ziwei's eyes instantly widened as he looked at Su Nan in disbelief.

"These are a small token of my sincerity. Please, everyone, don't stand on ceremony."

Now even Li Xin and Yu Xiu looked at Su Nan in shock.

The five pills instantly flew toward the five of them.

"I don't want one."

Han Xianshu spoke calmly.

Su Nan frowned, grabbed the Soul Palace Pill, and pushed it into Han Xianshu's hand.

"Consider it part of the betrothal gifts," he said with a smile.

Han Xianshu pressed her red lips together, then nodded gently.

"Ahem."

Bitterness spread across Yu Xiu's face, and he clutched his chest, coughing for a long while.

Su Nan's and Han Xianshu's expressions shifted slightly, and they quickly restrained themselves.

[Zhenwu: Are these Soul Palace Pills very valuable?]

Ziwei's expression flickered, and he gave Lin Tian an incredulous look.

[Ziwei: A Soul Palace Pill can increase a cultivator's chance of advancing to the Soul Palace by over twenty percentage points. It's worth five Cloud Spirit Pills.]

Lin Tian nodded.

"This journey to the Fire Nether Forbidden Land concerns who will become the next head of the Su Clan. I never wanted to compete, but as you have all seen, I have no choice now."

"Now that we are all on the same side, I won't be stingy with any of you."

"This time, I am asking for your help!"

Supported by Han Xianshu, Su Nan rose and bowed deeply to Lin Tian and the others with clasped hands before sitting down again.

"Then why didn't you give them to us earlier?"

Ziwei spoke at an inopportune moment.

Su Nan immediately looked embarrassed and said with a bitter smile:

"I only have five in total."

"Besides, you all saw those two abandon me and leave earlier. They weren't worth giving these Soul Palace Pills to either."

Ziwei nodded and happily put away his Soul Palace Pill.

[Ziwei: Zhenwu, this is good stuff.]

Ziwei happily sent Lin Tian a message.

[Zhenwu: I'm considering how to kill you and take your pill.]

Ziwei's smile instantly vanished, and pleading tears welled up in his eyes.

"If I traded this pill for a movement martial technique, what grade could I get?"

Everyone froze and looked at Lin Tian in surprise.

Su Nan was slightly taken aback at first, then smiled and said:

"One Soul Palace Pill is worth ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones. At that price, you could buy a mid-grade earth-tier movement martial technique."

"Good. Who wants to trade with me?" Lin Tian asked with a faint smile.

Yu Xiu frowned and studied Lin Tian closely for a long while.

"True enough. You're only in the Mystic Pill Realm. The Soul Palace Pill is still a little distant for you."

Then light appeared in his hand, revealing a secret manual.

"I obtained this on a mission once. Mid-grade earth-tier. Will you trade or not?"

Lin Tian nodded and tossed the Soul Palace Pill straight to Yu Xiu.

"Decisive."

Yu Xiu praised him and tossed the technique manual to Lin Tian.

"Swift Wind, Ten Thousand Shadows!"

Ziwei exclaimed.

"To think it's this technique."

Su Nan was also slightly surprised before saying:

"If I remember correctly, this technique was created by the previous Saber Maniac in his youth."

"But Senior Saber Maniac died at the hands of the current Immortal Emperor. I heard that battle shifted mountains and rivers and shook heaven and earth."

"Swift Wind, Ten Thousand Shadows also became famous because of the Saber Maniac. However, because he had refined a wind spirit of heaven and earth, this technique was high-grade heaven-tier in his hands. If cultivated by someone without a wind spirit, it's only mid-grade earth-tier, so its price is close to that of a Soul Palace Pill."

Lin Tian casually leafed through a few pages of Swift Wind, Ten Thousand Shadows, then put it into his spatial ring.

Afterward, they returned to their respective rooms.

The moment he returned to his room.

Lin Tian discovered that his room, which had been utterly wrecked, had already been restored to its original state.

Apart from a few signs that things had been moved, nothing else had changed.

Sitting on the bed, Lin Tian opened Swift Wind, Ten Thousand Shadows and began studying it closely.

Clang!

The Heavenly Sword left its sheath and stood upright beside the window, seemingly beginning to admire the view.

Ten thousand shadows.

Lin Tian silently repeated the words.

A human figure appeared in his mind.

In an instant, the figure surged forward, turning into a phantom, and was already a thousand li away in the blink of an eye.

"So 'ten thousand shadows' doesn't mean turning into ten thousand figures."

"It means leaving a phantom ten thousand li behind."

Lin Tian voiced his admiration.

This movement martial technique simply suited him far too well.

As it happened, he lacked a way to rush in and subdue his enemies.

He turned to the second page.

At the top of the page, however, were three additional lines of red writing.

"Hatred! Hatred! Hatred! I hate that I cannot kill enough!"

"How could I turn into a shadow and flee? What I want is to slay every enemy!"

"Never retreat!"

Every stroke of those three red lines exuded a fierce intent to slaughter.

Between the lines brimmed a thirst to kill enemies.

Lin Tian's gaze flickered slightly.

These lines definitely hadn't been written by Yu Xiu.

Although Yu Xiu practiced spear techniques, his presence wasn't even as fierce as Lin Tian's.

These lines had very likely been written by that Saber Maniac.

Su Nan had said earlier.

The Saber Maniac had been bold and unrestrained all his life and had slaughtered countless people.

Only such an intent was worthy of bearing the word "maniac."

In that instant, Lin Tian felt he had found a kindred spirit.