Only after the man in black left did the killing intent in Lin Huang’s heart slowly dissipate. However, the resolute look in his eyes was even more intense than before.
He never expected such deep-seated hatred to exist between the Blood Spirit Hall and the Lin Family.
Host Body!
Every time he thought of these two words, fury erupted in Lin Huang’s heart. A so-called Host Body was nothing but a puppet...
To die yet be denied freedom, to have one’s soul extinguished yet find no peace!
Lin Huang would absolutely never allow such a thing to happen.
"Blood Spirit Hall! It seems we are destined to fight until one of us perishes!"
Beneath the waterfall, Lin Huang gazed in the direction of Lin Cangxue’s courtyard. His suppressed voice carried a sharp, piercing edge.
It was well past midnight when the Big White Cat finally waddled back to Celestial Waterfall Cliff. Its belly was completely round, and it let out a burp. It had undoubtedly snuck off to steal food along the way.
The Big White Cat squeaked and gestured for a long time before Lin Huang finally understood what it meant.
Baiyue Peak!
"So it’s you, Elder Hong Jiu!" Lin Huang clenched his fist and scoffed. He still remembered the man’s treacherous, kick-a-man-when-he’s-down expression on his very first day in Piaoxue Palace.
"No wonder Jiang Huaiyin became your Direct Disciple!" Lin Huang sneered.
The next day, Lin Huang headed to Qilin Peak early in the morning.
Compared to the other peaks, Qilin Peak had far fewer disciples. They couldn’t help but feel a bit curious about Lin Huang’s appearance, casting sidelong glances at his figure bathed in the sunlight.
They had heard about the Battle Eight Directions from a few days ago, and a few disciples had even gone to the Martial Arts Arena to watch it.
Even though Lin Huang was a newly admitted disciple of Qilin Peak, no one dared to underestimate him in the slightest.
In the past, disciples who cleared the Battle Eight Directions were always snatched up by Yann Nangui. Fortunately, Elder Nan had been sharp this time, tricking this guy into joining Qilin Peak early on.
"Come with me!"
Halfway up the path, a figure in linen garments suddenly popped out in front of Lin Huang. "If you keep wandering around blindly like a monkey, you won’t find the main hall of Qilin Peak until tonight!"
"You’re from Qilin Peak?!" Lin Huang looked at the sudden appearance of Lu Han with a slightly surprised expression.
Lu Han gave a dry chuckle. "Is that a problem?"
"You never mentioned it before," Lin Huang said with a smile. The two of them had always engaged in Cultivation at the bottom of Celestial Waterfall Cliff, and he had indeed forgotten to ask exactly which peak Lu Han belonged to.
"Now that you’ve entered Qilin Peak, you’ll have to call me Senior Master," Lu Han said, facing Lin Huang with a serious expression. "From now on, you must bow every time we meet!"
Lin Huang was speechless. He really wanted to greet him with a punch to the face.
"In the future, if your Senior Master wants to borrow money, you as the junior disciple cannot refuse. Understood?" Lu Han continued meticulously.
"Get lost!" Lin Huang scolded.
"Is your seniority really that high on Qilin Peak?" Lin Huang suddenly asked a moment later.
"What did you think? If you junior disciples show your Senior Master some proper respect from now on, I can easily cover for you. However, your monthly monetary tribute must not be light!" Lu Han said thoughtfully.
"You’d better just shut up!" Lin Huang shook his head. He hadn’t expected Lu Han to actually be Nan Yunlie’s junior apprentice. Then who was his Master? Who was Nan Yunlie’s Master?
"Boss Lin, you’re finally here! Your senior has come to see you!"
Outside the plaza, a voice that sounded like a quacking duck suddenly rang out. A fleshy ball rolled over from a distance and stopped right in front of Lin Huang. The body slightly uncurled, revealing Fatty Bai’s uncanny face.
Lin Huang’s eyelids twitched twice. He hadn’t expected Fatty Bai to also be a member of Qilin Peak.
It was over.
There would be no more peaceful days for him!
"You see your Senior Master, yet you don’t bow?" Lu Han stared at Fatty Bai with utter seriousness.
"You son of a..." Fatty Bai grew furious upon seeing Lu Han’s smug expression. He put his hands on his hips and started cursing, "Look at the two ounces of meat on your bones! You wouldn’t even last half a quarter hour playing with me, yet you act like my Senior Master. Damn it... I’ll beat you until you spin in circles..."
Fatty Bai’s words came to an abrupt halt before he could finish. Staring at the long spear pressed against his throat, he gave Lu Han a flattering, foolish grin, wiggled his rear end, and coyly called out, "Senior Master!"
Lin Huang facepalmed. Unable to bear looking at them any longer, he turned and bolted.
"Boss Lin, I’ve been calling you boss for five years. Can’t you call me your senior just once?" Fatty Bai shamelessly pleaded, following close behind Lin Huang. "Besides, my Er Gouzi did a huge favor for you last night, didn’t it?"
Fatty Bai grabbed the Big White Cat by the ears and lifted it right in front of Lin Huang’s face.
Lin Huang snatched the Big White Cat and threw it away, then kicked Fatty Bai aside.
Along the way, Fatty Bai and Lu Han tried every trick in the book, but they still couldn’t get Lin Huang to call them his senior or Senior Master. The three of them dragged their feet all the way until they finally arrived at the main hall of Qilin Peak.
The two glared fiercely at Lin Huang before striding inside triumphantly. "Once you formally take a Master, you’ll have to greet all your seniors. We’ll see if you can keep your mouth shut then."
"You’re here..."
Inside the main hall, Nan Yunlie sat in the head seat with an imposing posture. He narrowed his eyes at Lin Huang, a smile spreading across his aged face. He thought, "This brat has finally been brought over."
Before the Battle Eight Directions, Lu Han had mentioned Lin Huang, but Nan Yunlie hadn’t believed him at the time.
It wasn’t until they were at the Martial Arts Arena, when Nan Yunlie took one look at Lin Huang, that he realized the boy was extraordinary. He was an incredibly good seedling, and fighting across the Third Heaven gap to boot...
In the nearly thirty years of Piaoxue Palace’s history, only Lin Cangxue had ever achieved such a feat!
Originally, newly admitted Inner Sect disciples were allowed to step onto the sixth floor of the Scripture Pavilion for their first visit. Had Nan Yunlie not played a little trick, Lin Huang wouldn’t have entered Qilin Peak so easily for the sake of Dominance.
Thinking up to this point, Nan Yunlie couldn’t help but sincerely admire his own intellect.
"Greetings, Elder Nan!" Lin Huang greeted with cupped fists.
"Hmm." Nan Yunlie nodded amiably. He stroked his goatee with a seasoned air, asking with the concern of an elder, "Have you begun your Cultivation of Dominance?"
"I spent half the night on it, but I haven’t grasped the basics yet!" Lin Huang replied.
"Cultivation must not be rushed. You must take it slowly," Nan Yunlie said kindly. "Dominance is no ordinary Cultivation Technique. It is completely normal to lack any clues after only one night of practice. When I have time in the future, I can personally guide you!"
These words caused the expressions of many disciples to shift slightly. For Nan Yunlie to say such a thing, it revealed an obvious message—he intended to take Lin Huang as a Direct Disciple.
Realizing this, everyone couldn’t help but feel a bit envious or jealous.
Becoming a Direct Disciple immediately upon entering Qilin Peak was extremely rare. At the very least, they themselves had never received such an honor. However, thinking of how Lin Huang had entered Qilin Peak by clearing the Battle Eight Directions, the crowd felt relieved and understood the reasoning.
Off to the side, the corners of Lu Han’s mouth twitched.
He had seen Lin Huang’s Cultivation of Dominance last night. Although the boy had only practiced for a few hours, his stance and appearance were already somewhat similar to Nan Yunlie’s when he used Dominance...
"Alright, the formal master-acknowledgment ceremony can begin!"
Nan Yunlie flicked his sleeves and sat up perfectly straight. "I have one Inner Chamber Disciple, seven Direct Disciples, and eighty-seven Registered Disciples. Since you are a newly admitted disciple, despite entering my Qilin Peak via the Battle Eight Directions, your foundation is still lacking. Originally, you should be a Registered Disciple."
"Understood!" Lin Huang looked up at the stern-faced Nan Yunlie and nodded slowly.
"However, considering that your Cultivation path has not been easy, your aptitude is acceptable, and you possess a drive to improve, I can make an exception and take you in as a Direct Disciple. From now on, you may stay by my side and receive teachings within my inner walls. Do you understand my painstaking efforts on your behalf?"
Nan Yunlie suppressed his inner smugness and thought, "Although I intend to take you as an Inner Chamber Disciple, I have to take it step by step. If I first tell you that you only qualify as a Registered Disciple, and then promote you to a Direct Disciple, won’t you be eternally grateful to me?
"Later on, when I grant you another favor and make you an Inner Chamber Disciple, won’t you be completely submissive and follow my every command?"
Nan Yunlie mused, unable to stop himself from feeling quite proud of his manipulation tactics.
"Understood!" Lin Huang nodded earnestly.
While Lin Huang understood, Fatty Bai, who was standing to the side, was growing anxious. He was currently just a Registered Disciple of Nan Yunlie. If Lin Huang became a Direct Disciple, then despite joining later, his status would be higher than Fatty Bai’s.
How could that be allowed?
"Damn it! If I had known earlier, I would have gone to Piaoxue Peak to be a Direct Disciple. I really shouldn’t have listened to this wretched old man’s nonsense. He tricked me into coming here, and I’m just an unloved Registered Disciple that no one cares about." Fatty Bai fumed, his face full of grievance.
"Since you understand, that is excellent. Then there’s no need for me to say anything more. Once you perform the master-acknowledgment ceremony, you will be my eighth Direct Disciple. I hope that you will conduct yourself with integrity on Qilin Peak in the future!" Nan Yunlie smiled amiably. He hadn’t expected it to be so easy to fool Lin Huang. He then added, "Do you have any other questions? If not, let us begin the ceremony!"
Nan Yunlie adjusted his sleeves and sat even more upright, waiting for Lin Huang to kneel and formally acknowledge him as his Master.
"I do!" Lin Huang suddenly said.
COUGH COUGH.
Nan Yunlie choked on his breath, caught off guard by Lin Huang’s words. He glared fiercely at Lin Huang before asking amiably once more, "Then tell me, what other questions do you have?"
Lin Huang cupped his hands and bowed. "Before entering Piaoxue Palace, I already acknowledged a Dao-imparting Master. As the saying goes, a Dao-imparting Master’s grace is as heavy as a father’s. I must first ask for my Master’s opinion!"
"What..."
Nan Yunlie’s headpiece tilted to the side as he stared wide-eyed in disbelief. Realizing he had lost his composure, he coughed twice and put on a heartbroken expression. "You’ve been led astray! Truly led astray! You were young and ignorant—how could you so easily acknowledge a Dao-imparting Master? And it was before you even entered Piaoxue Palace! I fear this person isn’t even worthy of setting foot in our Sect!"
"Tell me the name of your Dao-imparting Master. I will go have a word with him. With such shallow Cultivation, how dare he lead young disciples astray and shamelessly act as a Dao-imparting Master!" Nan Yunlie grandly proclaimed.
"This..." Lin Huang was somewhat hesitant.
"You need not worry! With me here, I will definitely help you break your master-disciple bond with this person, so as not to ruin your future on the Great Dao!"
Nan Yunlie spoke with righteous indignation, but his heart was burning with fury. He thought, "Son of a bitch! How could the Inner Chamber Disciple I’ve set my eyes on be snatched away by someone else first? Just wait until I find you—I’ll beat you until you beg for mercy eight hundred times a day!"
"Tell me, who is this Dao-imparting Master of yours?"
Nan Yunlie stood up, filled with righteous anger. He waved his sleeve heroically as he spoke, the braids at his temples fluttering in the air.
Lin Huang opened his mouth, then cupped his fists and said:
"My Master is... Xiao Yishan!"