Chapter 1551: Dominating the Inner Realm, the Cause of the Soul Refining Sect

During this season, in the State of Zhao, many scholars were traveling to the imperial examination sites from various villages and cities. Some, like Wang Lin, were alone, while others traveled in groups of three or five. They were heading to one of the forty-nine county seats where their ancestral homes were located. Only by achieving academic success and becoming a scholar in one of these forty-nine county seats could they proceed to Su City for the second round of examinations.

Su City got its name from one person, a man named Su Dao, a great Confucian scholar of the State of Zhao. His existence had made Su City the center of literature in the State of Zhao in recent years.

Those who stood out in the examinations in Su City were called Su Scholars. Within a specified time, all Su Scholars had to go to the capital of the State of Zhao, where they would either soar to great heights or leave in desolation.

Carrying his parents' expectations and dreams of the future, Wang Lin stepped onto the official road. Behind him was a middle-aged man who had changed into clean clothes. This man carried a bamboo book box on his back and was humming a little tune he had heard somewhere, looking quite leisurely.

The sky was grey, but it wasn't raining. However, the water accumulated on the official road was cold, and as it mixed with the soil, it became muddy.

The county seat, which should have been reachable in half a day, was only faintly visible in the distance as the sun set.

As the sun set, rays of orange light pierced through the clouds, enveloping the city. From afar, it felt like the twilight at the end of the Ancient Dao.

"Finally here." Wang Lin let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had experienced many things on this journey, and sometimes when he looked back, even he felt it was very strange.

"Dafu, that is the county seat ahead. We will be staying there for a while." Wang Lin smiled and looked back at his pageboy.

"I don't like this name…" The middle-aged man pulled a long face and shook his head vigorously.

"I think it's great; it's a good name." Wang Lin laughed heartily. He brought Dafu to the city gate, presented the travel permit issued by the village, and after being checked by the city guards, the two were allowed in.

Despite the rainy twilight, the county seat was very lively. There were many pedestrians on the street, most of whom were scholars like Wang Lin who had rushed here from all around. Wang Lin had arrived a bit late, and after checking four or five inns with Dafu, they hadn't found any vacant rooms.

Seeing the sky getting darker, Wang Lin began to feel a bit anxious. Fortunately, the last inn they went to had one vacant room left. Although the price was quite high, as a clap of thunder crossed the sky and the rain that had seemed to stop for the day showed signs of starting again, Wang Lin gritted his teeth and had Dafu take out the silver.

Dafu took out the silver he had been keeping for Wang Lin from his bosom. With a sense of heartache, he carefully took out a small amount and handed it over, muttering, "Silver is not plentiful… it hurts my heart… I seem to have experienced something before, and I know that silver is very, very important…"

Hearing his muttering, the waiter glanced at the two with contempt and lazily led them to the guest room. During this period, he had seen too many scholars like Wang Lin. Some were generous, but some, like these two, seemed very poor in his eyes.

Wang Lin was simple and honest by nature. Even though he saw the waiter's expression, he didn't take it to heart.

The room was not big, but it was suitable for two people. However, a moldy smell rushed towards them when the door was pushed open, making Wang Lin frown. In this season, this smell was unavoidable unless it was one of those high-end rooms; otherwise, most would be like this.

After eating some simple food, Wang Lin lay on the bed with his clothes on in the room, looking at the oil lamp on the table. The sound of Dafu's snoring could already be heard in his ears.

The bedding was damp, making it very uncomfortable to lie on. After tossing and turning for a long time, Wang Lin still couldn't fall asleep. Sighing inwardly, he climbed out of bed, sat by the table amidst Dafu's snoring, took out a book from the bamboo case, and read by the lamplight.

As he was reading, thunder rumbled outside the window, and lightning flashed rapidly. The thunder was continuous, earth-shattering, and extremely intense. This thunderous roar did not dissipate in a short time but continued. The booming sound enveloped the county seat, waking many sleeping people.

Fierce winds also arose, as if the sky above the county seat had been torn open. Amidst the howling of the endless wind, it swept across the land, blowing up patches of mud and sand, and even whipped the pouring rain against the houses in the county seat.

A slapping sound came from the window of the room where Wang Lin was staying, as if it wanted to break through the window and enter. Under this noise, Wang Lin could not concentrate on reading. He frowned and looked up.

But just at this moment, the room's window was suddenly pushed open by a great force. The two window panels swayed inward, constantly hitting the window frame, and a strong wind carrying raindrops rushed directly into the room from the opened window.

The candle on the table was extinguished, and the room was immediately plunged into darkness. Wang Lin's hair was scattered by the wind, and even his clothes were blown violently. The raindrops in the wind fell into the room, and even the book in Wang Lin's hand was almost blown away.

Wang Lin exclaimed and immediately stood up, walking a few steps against the wind towards the window, intending to close it again. But just at this moment, a clap of thunder roared, as if it had exploded right at the window. The intense sound seemed to turn into a sound wave, causing Wang Lin's mind to tremble.

At this moment, a flash of lightning intertwined, twisting and flashing in the sky in front of Wang Lin. A strong light covered the sky, completely enveloping the county seat, which was sleeping amidst the raging wind and rain, under the light of the lightning.

In this instant, under the light of the lightning, Wang Lin saw a small part of the city in the darkness ahead. At this glance, he was stunned.

He saw again that white bird he had seen in his dreams and on the road. The bird was circling in the sky, which was being streaked by lightning, flying amidst the wind, clouds, thunder, and electricity.

Seemingly noticing Wang Lin's gaze, the flying white bird looked down at Wang Lin. In that instant, the eyes of the man and the bird locked.

The thunder became more intense, and the lightning continued to intersect. In the darkness and light of the world, Wang Lin's mind roared, and he stood there, stunned. It was as if an indescribable thought was constantly growing in his mind, finally turning into a blurred voice.

That voice, filled with confusion and a sense of vicissitudes, echoed leisurely in Wang Lin's mind.

"Karma… what is Karma… what is Karma…"

The wind blew from the window, continuously sweeping over Wang Lin's body. He stood by the window, letting the wind pass, letting the rain fall, letting the thunder roar, and letting the lightning howl. In his eyes, everything in the world dissipated, and the only thing remaining was the white bird in the sky.

The bird flapped its wings, and amidst the thunder and lightning, it turned into a white ray of light and rushed straight towards Wang Lin. In almost an instant, it approached, landed on the window in front of Wang Lin, stood there, folded its wings, and stared at Wang Lin silently.

Wang Lin looked at it for a long, long time.

"Is it you, talking to me…" Wang Lin muttered.

"What is Karma…" Confusion appeared in Wang Lin's eyes. The bird looked deeply at Wang Lin, flew up, left the window, circled a few times outside, let out a hiss, rushed into the dark clouds, and disappeared.

Although it had left, the thunder in the sky seemed to roar continuously. Under the increasingly intense sound, it seemed to disturb Wang Lin's thoughts. He subconsciously frowned and pointed his right hand outside the window.

With this point, a lightning mark suddenly flashed in his right eye. The moment this mark appeared, the thunder in the sky stopped abruptly, as if there was a will that transcended the thunder, forcing these thunders to retreat.

It was as if this will was the king of the thunder of the world, capable of commanding the endless thunder. If it ordered them to retreat, they had to retreat! Even the intersecting lightning seemed to be extinguished by this point, dissipating altogether.

Even the wind collapsed and rolled away, heading towards the sky under this point. Along with it was the pouring rain. In this instant, the rain crazily retreated. If the rain had a spirit, then at this moment, the rain spirit was terrified. Almost in the blink of an eye, the rain stopped completely.

What stopped was not just the rain over the county seat; under that point, which held the will of the thunder king, the rain across the entire State of Zhao stopped instantly. The thunder collapsed, the lightning disintegrated, the dark clouds dissipated, and the wind and rain rolled backward.

Within the State of Zhao, the various Hengyue School Cultivators flying in the sky amidst the rain, including Wang Zhuo, Xu Fei, and Zhou Rui, all felt their minds tremble at this moment, their expressions filled with horror. There was an old man among them who suddenly turned back, his eyes filled with endless shock.

"This aura… Heavens, what kind of cultivation is this!!"

In another direction of the State of Zhao's sky, as the dark clouds collapsed, two long rainbows dissipated rapidly, revealing a man and a woman inside. That woman was Liu Mei. Her face was pale, and she looked back with confusion in her eyes. The man beside her had a greatly changed expression and almost cried out in alarm.

Also within the State of Zhao, in Teng Family City, its Old Ancestor, the Nascent Soul Old Monster, Teng Huayuan, was meditating. At this moment, he suddenly opened his eyes, revealing terror, as a feeling that made his heart tremble filled his body.

On the top of Hengyue Mountain, an old man in yellow robes looked at the sky, frowning and calculating with his right hand. He was Immortal Master Huang Long, but at this moment, his expression was extremely serious. As he calculated, his right hand suddenly trembled, and blood seeped from his fingernails. His eyes revealed a strange look, as if he couldn't believe it.

"This… how is this possible!!"

And it was at this very moment, far away on the Vermilion Bird Star, in the Vermilion Bird Country, there was a powerful sect. This sect was enough to sweep through a fifth-grade Cultivation Country. Its mountain gate was filled with wandering souls, howling like ghosts and gods, stirring the world, and looking from afar like a giant banner!

In the sky filled with endless wandering souls, a person sat cross-legged. This was a middle-aged man; he was the Senior Brother of Dun Tian.

"I cannot calculate it… In my life, I have calculated thirty-seven times, and each time I failed. Could it be that my Soul Refining Sect truly has no hope left…"