Chapter 142: Remnant Shadow of the Sword Cultivator (274 Vote Bonus Chapter)

If the stalemate continued, he would certainly be the one to suffer losses. The Dragon Fighting Grand Formation lasts for the time it takes two sticks of incense to burn, and half that time had already been spent. What should he do next? Xie Donglai calculated in his heart.

Originally, he had planned to use the Core Formation Cultivators' Sword Array to trap the opponent for a short while; given just a little time, he could immediately strike and kill the enemy. But at the crucial moment, those Elders were overcome by fear, leaving him no choice but to act personally. Unfortunately, he didn't expect the opponent to see through his pretense.

Now finding himself in an intractable position, he stared at Wang Lin, remaining silent.

Wang Lin glanced at the opponent, pulled Li Muwan back another ten *zhang*, the look of mockery in his eyes growing even stronger. Xie Donglai sighed internally, retreated backward, and landed atop the Dragon Head. He took a deep breath and said calmly, “Enough, this old man concedes defeat.” As he spoke, he lightly tapped the Dragon Head with his foot, and waves of spiritual power quickly flowed from his body back into the Dragon Head.

The faint light in the giant Dragon's eyes grew brighter and brighter. A thick halo of spiritual power rapidly spread downwards from the Dragon Head. Xie Donglai's body also began to tremble as his spiritual power drained away, and a look of pain appeared on his face.

Slowly, his expression became more and more agonizing. His swollen body gradually withered. Finally, gasping for air, he half-knelt on the Dragon Head, seeming to have aged several decades in an instant. He raised his head and said weakly, “This old man concedes defeat. From now on, I am willing to follow your command. This is the Sect Master's Token of the Dou Xie Sect.” As he spoke, his trembling hands produced a palm-sized, triangular, purplish-red token. He painstakingly forced out a trace of spiritual power, and the token immediately began to float slowly forward.

Wang Lin's gaze flickered. He looked at Xie Donglai, then at the token. Suddenly, his pupils contracted, and without a word, he pulled Li Muwan back several more *zhang*.

The moment Wang Lin retreated, a remnant shadow of Xie Donglai immediately appeared in front of him. The shadow transformed entirely into a streak of sword light, piercing towards Wang Lin at an extremely high speed.

Wang Lin's speed was already very fast, but it still couldn't compare to the Flying Sword. After retreating more than thirty *zhang*, the Flying Sword flashed out and stabbed toward his chest. The speed of the Flying Sword was so rapid that it was almost comparable to the instantaneous movement of the Crystalline Light Small Sword.

In a flash of lightning, the Flying Sword stabbed into his chest. At that instant, the Flying Sword abruptly paused. The defensive power of the Flood Dragon Leather Armor obstructed it slightly, and Wang Lin's two fingers on his right hand clamped onto the sword body like a pair of pincers.

Wang Lin's expression was grim. This opponent's Flying Sword was impossible to guard against. Fortunately, he was over a hundred *zhang* away, providing a slight delay from the moment the Flying Sword shot out until it approached. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

The Flying Sword trembled a few times, then immediately shattered from the center. A black flame erupted from within the sword, silently enveloping the entire sword body, quickly turning it into ash.

The moment the black flame appeared, Wang Lin released his two fingers, his eyes flashing with cold light as he stared at Xie Donglai atop the Dragon Head.

Xie Donglai's eyes showed regret. His body turned into flying ash and vanished completely. This final strike was his ultimate trump card, and the greatest secret of his life.

“This… he is a Sword Cultivator!” Li Muwan lightly covered her mouth, her face filled with shock. The scene just now still caused her heart to tremble slightly.

During ancient times, there were many practitioners of Sword cultivation. However, nowadays, very few people Cultivate only one Flying Sword; instead, they treat the Flying Sword as just one of their Magic Treasures.

Sword Cultivators, whether in terms of speed or attack, are superior to ordinary Cultivators by several measures. Furthermore, there are many Sword cultivation Incantations, but only by learning a top-tier Incantation and obtaining a supreme-grade Flying Sword can one truly unleash the terrifying power of a Sword Cultivator.

Xie Donglai's Sword cultivation Incantation was clearly subpar, and the quality of his Flying Sword was ordinary. Otherwise, relying on the powerful offensive strength of a Sword Cultivator, coupled with his Middle Stage Core Formation cultivation, he definitely could have long since swept across Nantou City and wouldn't have been suppressed here.

In a one-on-one fight, his Flying Sword might still achieve victory through surprise, but if there were too many enemies, he, unable to disperse his attacks, would only have one chance to strike.

This final attack was Xie Donglai shooting out the Sword Pellet cultivated from within his body. This Sword Pellet was, in fact, his Golden Core. He had intended to win through surprise, but unfortunately, he ultimately failed.

With Xie Donglai dead, the happiest were undoubtedly the two brothers, Mu Nan and Mu Bei. They exchanged glances, immediately understood each other, and simultaneously prostrated themselves toward Wang Lin, shouting loudly, “We respectfully welcome the Sect Master!”

Shangguan Mo cursed the Mu brothers internally for their shamelessness, but immediately rushed to Wang Lin's side himself, his expression serious, bowing respectfully as he said, “Congratulations, Master, on becoming the Sect Master of the Dou Xie Sect.”

The ten Elders of the Dou Xie Sect who formed the Sword Array also put away their Flying Swords. Their faces showed considerable embarrassment. After a brief silence, they all bowed toward Wang Lin's direction, their intentions self-evident.

As for the tens of thousands of Disciples on the Dragon Scales, their spiritual power had been drained by Xie Donglai. Struggling to get up, they looked at the blood-red character “Slay” floating above Wang Lin's head—a character that looked ready to drip blood—and loudly offered their welcome.

Wang Lin felt no joy over Xie Donglai's death, but rather a sense of helplessness. The world of cultivation had no right or wrong, only the law of the jungle. To survive, one must sever the root of every threat. He could imagine that if he hadn't come knocking, an endless counterattack from the Dou Xie Sect would have awaited him.

If he wanted to protect himself, he had to let everyone know that he was someone not to be provoked; once provoked, the consequences would be severe. Wang Lin's first show of force in the Cultivation Devil Sea was now over.

This show of force was highly successful. At the very least, within a radius of a million *li* around Nantou City, almost no one was unaware of it. The prestige built upon a sea of blood and mountains of corpses quickly dispelled the thoughts of all those who coveted the Slay Order.

Looking at the thousands of kneeling Cultivators below his feet, Wang Lin raised his head and gazed toward the Inner Sea, thinking silently, “Teng Huayuan, for the sake of revenge, whether I become an Immortal or a Devil, as long as it increases my strength, even if I become an unparalleled Devil King, so be it!!!”

A cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. His gaze swept around, and pointing at Shangguan Mo, he said, “Starting today, you are the Sect Master of the Dou Xie Sect!”

Shangguan Mo froze, about to speak, but seeing the cold light in Wang Lin's eyes, his heart trembled. He quickly swallowed the words he was about to say and hurriedly agreed.

“Prepare a secret chamber for me. I am going into seclusion.” After Wang Lin coldly tossed out this command, his body relaxed, and he pulled Li Muwan toward the Dou Xie Sect.

The secret chamber was quickly prepared. It was Xie Donglai's private place of seclusion, located right inside the Dragon Head. Wang Lin sat down cross-legged, looked at Li Muwan, whose face showed a complex expression, and said plainly, “After I finish my seclusion, I will send you back. For now, you are free to move around.” With that, he closed his eyes and began meditating in silence.

Li Muwan stared blankly at Wang Lin. After a long time, she whispered, “Thank you…” Having said this, a pang of heartache arose in her, and she turned and left the Dragon Head.

After she left, Wang Lin opened his eyes. There was none of his usual ruthlessness, but rather a rare hint of confusion. This confusion grew denser, eventually turning into sorrow. In his mind, he couldn't stop recalling a scene from years ago… “Tiezhu, you're not young anymore. In the past few years, many families have sent matchmakers to propose marriage. Your mother heard that Immortals can also start a family. Since you're back, don't leave yet. Come meet them with your mother. If there's a good one, we'll arrange a marriage.”

“You little rascal, people your age in the village already have children running everywhere.”

“Mother of my child, why are you worrying all the time? Our Tiezhu is an Immortal, do you understand what an Immortal is? Could the wife he finds be a Mortal? Tiezhu means he's going to find you an Immortal daughter-in-law, understand?”

“What's so great about Immortals? An Immortal can go five years without coming home. If I had an Immortal daughter-in-law, those two might not come back even once in ten years.”

“Fine, listen to your father. Your standards are too high, looking down on the girls in the village. Your mother will wait and see what kind of person you bring back.”

“Mother, don't worry. Your son will definitely bring you a good wife.”

Gradually, two streaks of bloody tears flowed from the corners of Wang Lin's eyes. His fists clenched tightly. After a long while, he wiped away the bloody tears, and slammed his right hand against the wall. Immediately, the Dragon's mouth slowly closed, the Dragon's teeth biting down without a single gap.

After setting up several Formations around him, Wang Lin pressed his right hand to his brow, concentrating his Divine Sense on the Heaven Defying Bead in his Sea of Consciousness. His body instantly disappeared from the spot. At this moment, the gigantic “Slay” character that hovered above his head also vanished.

This was Wang Lin's first time entering the Heaven Defying Space since achieving Core Formation. The moment he entered, Shangguan Mo, who was loudly reprimanding the Core Formation Elders, suddenly trembled. He could clearly feel that the terrifying Evil Star had vanished.

To be precise, his Soul Blood had disappeared. No trace was left behind. This immediately filled him with both shock and fear. He quickly leaped out, gazing toward the Dragon Head, and only slowly turned back after a long time, his face filled with suspicion and uncertainty.

Li Muwan, who had just walked off the Dragon's body, also froze. She looked up at the Dragon Head, remained silent for a moment, and then sighed softly.

Somewhere within the Dream Space, Situ Nan's massive Nascent Soul floated cross-legged in mid-air, his eyes tightly closed. Within his nearly transparent body, faint traces of spiritual power circulated. Beside him, two pale, milky-white spheres of light floated quietly.

Wang Lin stood beneath the Nascent Soul, staring blankly at the two spheres of light. He knelt weakly on the ground and heavily kowtowed several times, muttering, “Father, Mother, don't worry. Tiezhu will definitely bring you a good wife, but not right now…”

After a long time, Wang Lin took a deep breath, raised his head, and looked toward Situ Nan's Nascent Soul. His eyes showed deep gratitude, and he whispered, “Situ, don't worry. I have already achieved Core Formation. After Nascent Soul and Soul Transformation, I will one day reach the Nascent Soul Transformation stage. When that happens, I can certainly send you out of here and choose a Physical Body for you. This is my promise to you, Wang Lin!”

After speaking, Wang Lin stood up, bowed deeply toward Situ Nan's Nascent Soul, and then his body flickered, instantly disappearing from the spot and leaving the area.

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274 Vote Bonus Chapter. There are two standard updates today. Calling for 304 votes!