On the arena stage, Lin Huang’s body trembled uncontrollably.
He was far too familiar with this sensation.
Back when he was escorting Jia Wanjing to the Blood Triangle, they had encountered a mysterious Blood Shadow on the road that had almost completely captured his soul. Later, Jia Wanjing had told him that the mysterious Blood Shadow was the Eye of the Blood Crow. In fact, a Blood Crow was sealed within Jia Wanjing’s own body.
At this moment, Lin Huang felt exactly as he had during that first encounter with the mysterious Blood Shadow. An extremely eerie and bizarre power was invading his Sea of Consciousness, threatening to obliterate his soul and seize control of his body.
"Hehehe... even if I die, I’ll make sure you spend the rest of your life as a slave devoid of freedom!" Jiang Huaiyin stared at Lin Huang’s trembling figure, a crazed and malicious smile twisting his face. "Hahaha... Lin Huang, enjoy my parting gift!"
Jiang Huaiyin roared with laughter, blood continuously spurting from his mouth.
"How noisy!"
Restraining his killing intent, Lin Huang forcibly willed the Demon-Suppressing Blade to swing, directly severing Jiang Huaiyin’s head.
THUMP THUMP THUMP!
Jiang Huaiyin’s head rolled across the arena stage, hitting the ground with heavy thuds like a dropped watermelon. That crazed, malicious smile was still frozen on his face.
Immediately after, Lin Huang sat cross-legged on the stage. With his eyes tightly shut, he mobilized the Celestial Asura Martial Soul within his body to resist the Blood Crow.
When he had faced the mysterious Blood Shadow back then, he had relied on the Celestial Asura Martial Soul to successfully slay it. He hoped it would work again this time.
Below the stage, the crowd didn’t understand Lin Huang’s current predicament. Seeing him suddenly sit down to cultivate in the middle of the arena, they couldn’t help but feel bewildered.
A full hour later, Lin Huang finally opened his eyes. He calmly stood up, his expression so tranquil that neither sorrow nor joy could be read from it.
"Elder Nan Yunlie, does this count as my passing of the Battle Eight Directions?" Lin Huang turned around, locked eyes with Nan Yunlie at the back of the arena, and cupped his fists in a respectful salute.
Nan Yunlie stroked his goatee and stepped to the front of the stage. His hoarse voice rang out clearly, echoing across the entire Martial Arts Arena. "Outer Sect Earth Institute disciple Lin Huang has passed the Battle Eight Directions! He shall immediately enter the Piaoxue Palace’s Inner Sect!"
As Nan Yunlie’s words settled, Lin Huang let out a long sigh of relief. The stone in his heart was finally lifted. He had been confident initially, but encountering Jiang Huaiyin had caught him somewhat off guard. Still, he had ultimately succeeded.
Looking back at Lin Cangxue, Lin Huang broke into a wide grin.
Below the stage, sighs of admiration ebbed and flowed like the tide. As the crowd gazed up at Lin Huang, their eyes were filled with a mixture of envy and jealousy.
They wondered what it would be like if they could enter the Inner Sect. What if they could pass the Battle Eight Directions?
Alas...
Such thoughts only left them feeling desolate. Witnessing someone else successfully pass the grueling trial inevitably brought a sense of loneliness. They berated themselves for not cultivating hard enough in their daily lives. Why wasn’t it them standing on that stage right now?
Gradually, amidst the lingering sighs, the crowd of disciples slowly dispersed.
Once the disciples were gone, Nan Yunlie spoke with a straight face, feeling the need to maintain his dignified image as an elder in front of Lin Huang. "Congratulations. Entering the Inner Sect less than half a year after joining the palace is a remarkable achievement!
"Congratulations also on becoming the thirty-seventh disciple in the history of Piaoxue Palace to pass the Battle Eight Directions!"
Lin Huang cupped his fists. "Thank you, Elder!"
"I, Nan Yunlie, am considered a junior elder within the Inner Sect. If you’re interested, you can come take a stroll around Qilin Peak." Nan Yunlie stroked his goatee. Even though he humbly referred to himself as a "junior elder," his proud, chin-up posture practically screamed to Lin Huang that he was, in fact, incredibly formidable.
Lin Huang smiled and nodded.
"Now that you’ve entered the Inner Sect, you can’t do without this." Nan Yunlie opened his withered hand and handed Lin Huang a token. "This is the token to enter the Scripture Pavilion!"
"The Scripture Pavilion?" Lin Huang was slightly confused, unaware of its specific function.
"Every disciple is granted one opportunity to enter the Scripture Pavilion upon entering the Inner Sect. This token is your proof of entry!
"The token becomes void after a single use. It’s incredibly difficult to enter the pavilion again unless a disciple has made significant contributions to the Sect!" Nan Yunlie chuckled. "However, I still have some face in Piaoxue Palace. For a disciple of my Qilin Peak, entering the Scripture Pavilion without a token wouldn’t be a difficult matter!"
Nan Yunlie looked at Lin Huang meaningfully, subtly dangling a very appealing carrot.
"Thank you for the guidance, Elder Nan!" Lin Huang cupped his fists, seemingly oblivious to the underlying meaning of the elder’s words. He simply stroked the token in his hand, a smile touching his lips. He was quite looking forward to the Piaoxue Palace’s Scripture Pavilion.
After all, housed within the Scripture Pavilion was a Quasi-King Tier Martial Technique: the Art of Kingship and Domination!
Currently, Lin Huang only knew the Godslaying One Slash. Learning another martial technique for self-defense was an extremely urgent matter.
Seeing Lin Huang spacing out, Nan Yunlie had no choice but to cough twice. He then asked with a wink, "Have you decided which peak you want to join?"
Uh...
Looking at Nan Yunlie’s cryptic smile, Lin Huang finally understood what the elder had been getting at earlier.
In Piaoxue Palace, once a disciple entered the Inner Sect, they could choose to formally apprentice themselves to any of the Seven Peaks Elders. This was a rule of the Sect, as well as a right granted to the disciples. No elder could refuse a disciple who wished to join their tutelage.
However, the specific status the disciple would hold was entirely up to the elder’s discretion.
To impart the Dao, teach the arts, or resolve doubts!
Inner Chamber, Direct, or Registered!
These three disciple statuses represented the level of intimacy between master and apprentice.
Registered Disciples were the most distant; their relationship was merely one of having their doubts casually resolved by the elder. Direct Disciples received personal instruction and were officially taught the arts within the sect’s inner walls. Inner Chamber Disciples, however, were extraordinary. They usually shared a bond akin to father and son with their master and were destined to inherit their master’s martial arts legacy.
In Piaoxue Palace, these hierarchies were exceptionally strict. No matter how powerful a Registered Disciple was, they had to act with absolute reverence upon meeting an Inner Chamber Disciple of the same master.
Thus, Lin Huang was slightly taken aback by Nan Yunlie’s recruitment attempt.
Nan Yunlie inviting Lin Huang to join Qilin Peak was an unmistakable offer to take him on as a disciple. This was quite rare in Piaoxue Palace. Usually, only truly exceptional geniuses were actively scouted by the Seven Peaks Elders. Naturally, disciples with average talent were given little attention. If this weren’t the case, the distinct classifications of Inner Chamber, Direct, and Registered Disciples wouldn’t exist.
When Shen Diexin first took Lin Cangxue as a student, she had originally intended to make her an Inner Chamber Disciple, but ultimately gave up on the idea. This was because Shen Diexin knew her own martial arts horizons were too limited. If Lin Cangxue were to take her as a Dao-imparting master, she would be squandering a monumental opportunity.
Because of this, Lin Huang was filled with gratitude toward Shen Diexin. She cherished true talent. An ordinary person encountering a genius like Lin Cangxue would have frantically roped her in as an Inner Chamber Disciple to secure fame and profit. Yet, Shen Diexin had acted purely for Lin Cangxue’s sake.
"Well... please allow this disciple to go back and think it over carefully!"
In the Martial Arts Arena, Lin Huang declined tactfully, not rushing to accept the olive branch Nan Yunlie had extended.
Nan Yunlie’s expression stiffened slightly. He hadn’t expected Lin Huang to be so evasive. Feeling a tinge of indignation, he quickly covered it up with a nonchalant smile. "Very well. Go back and think it through. However, I believe we’ll be seeing each other again very soon!"
With a hearty laugh, Nan Yunlie turned and walked out of the arena.
Watching the elder’s aged appearance contrast with his breezy, unfettered departure, Lin Huang frowned slightly and scratched his head. "Just who exactly is this Nan Yunlie...?"
The question hovered in his mind for a moment before being tossed aside. To Lin Huang, the most pressing issue at hand was the Blood Crow inside his body...
Celestial Waterfall Cliff!
Lin Huang sat cross-legged beneath the cascading water, his Divine Sense sinking into his Profound Sea. The Blood Crow from earlier was currently suppressed by the Celestial Asura, letting out hoarse, choked cries. With every shriek, it caused the Profound Sea to tremble, only to be forcefully shoved back down by the Celestial Asura.
Originally, Lin Huang could have slowly chipped away at the Blood Crow. Using the power of the Celestial Asura, he could have even extracted the energy within the beast to facilitate his own breakthrough.
But he had chosen not to.
He discovered that a trace of Spiritual Sense hidden within the Blood Crow was far more important. After all, this creature had come from Jiang Huaiyin and carried fragments of his memories.
"Blood Spirit Hall!" Lin Huang muttered under the waterfall, his brows furrowing deeply.
The first piece of information he obtained was about the Blood Spirit Hall—the organization behind Jiang Huaiyin.
In Jiang Huaiyin’s memories, the Blood Spirit Hall was exceptionally mysterious and possessed immense power. This faction seemed to have existed for hundreds of years, yet it had never been recorded in the annals of history. Every single member of the Blood Spirit Hall had a Blood Crow residing within their body.
The greatest power of these Blood Crows was Soul Capturing. They could easily turn a Martial Artist into a mindless puppet.
If a Blood Crow entered the body of an outsider, their Primordial Qi and soul would be slowly devoured until they died. The great Martial Marquis Jia Wanjing had suffered exactly this fate.
The Yin Soul Rope wielded by Jiang Huaiyin contained over a hundred ghostly heads. Most of them were the result of the Blood Crow’s Soul Capturing power, which easily forced Martial Artists into submission before Jiang Huaiyin refined them into his own ghostly minions.
However, Jiang Huaiyin’s memories contained no information about the ultimate goal of the Blood Spirit Hall. He only knew that its members were hidden among the Four Sects and Ten Dynasties. Even on the Martial Marquis List, a significant number of individuals belonged to the organization.
Thinking of this, Lin Huang couldn’t help but recall the Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers and the man in black at Piaoxue Palace.
There had been a Blood Crow inside Jia Wanjing. Therefore, Lin Huang had every reason to believe that the mastermind manipulating events from the shadows—orchestrating the downfall of the Jia Mansion and ultimately leading to Jia Wanjing’s death in battle—was this very Blood Spirit Hall.
And their true objective had to be the Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers.
The man in black who had suddenly appeared on Piaomiao Peak and demanded the scroll right away was likely a member of the Blood Spirit Hall as well.
Beneath the waterfall, Lin Huang let out a light chuckle. The heavy burden of doubts that had been weighing on his mind finally began to ease.
It seemed the root of everything lay with this Blood Spirit Hall!
Lin Cangxue’s shattered Martial Soul.
The Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers.
Jia Wanjing dying in battle.
Xuanyuan Tibing appearing at the Jia Mansion.
The mysterious Blood Crow.
...
Behind the scenes of the East Spirit Realm, the Blood Spirit Hall acted like an invisible, giant hand, pushing and dominating everything from the shadows.
Lin Huang still didn’t know their ultimate goal. However, he believed that as long as the man in black at Piaoxue Palace showed his face again, he would definitely be able to uncover more answers...