Chapter 734: Caution

The strength of an Enlightened Adept mainly depends on their mental power.

The stronger their mental power, the stronger the Dao Entrance secret techniques they can utilize,

and the more power of heaven and earth they can leverage.

As for the Physical Body? That was something for Jianghu martial artists to delve into.

In this world, even the strongest Physical Body physique was still merely a mortal.

It could not withstand deadly poison or sharp blades.

Surrounded by a dozen heavily armored soldiers,

they would be directly chopped into mincemeat.

Therefore, when Enlightened Adepts fought, they would often gauge the strength of each other's mental will beforehand

to determine whether to fight or flee.

The gold-robed man on the side was precisely because he couldn't sense any fluctuations of mental power from Lin Yuan.

That was why he was so disdainful and didn't take him seriously at all.

But the gold-robed man standing in the middle thought more deeply.

If Lin Yuan were truly just a mortal,

how would he dare meddle in matters between Enlightened Adepts?

Whether it was the four of them, who were Dao Entrance Dharma Masters,

or the Hunchbacked Old Man not far away, all of them were Enlightened Adepts.

Although the latter was merely an ordinary Enlightened Adept,

drawing four Dao Entrance Dharma Masters to hunt him down personally

was also a testament to his strength.

Therefore,

the gold-robed man standing in the middle realized something was wrong.

He subconsciously circulated a Dao Entrance secret technique to investigate.

In this world, activating and circulating a Dao Entrance secret technique consumed mental power.

Unless necessary, no Enlightened Adept would carelessly activate a Dao Entrance secret technique.

"Such restrained mental power," the gold-robed man in the middle thought with alarm.

He secretly activated the Golden Dragon Sect's investigative secret technique and vaguely sensed that it wasn't that Lin Yuan had no fluctuations of mental power,

but rather that all his mental power was restrained inside his body,

like a boundless ocean.

On the surface, it seemed incomparably calm without a ripple,

but underneath, undercurrents surged.

"Senior Brother?"

The gold-robed man on the side looked puzzled, but he still stopped and looked at the gold-robed man standing in the middle.

"Are you the force behind him, Your Excellency?"

The gold-robed man in the middle looked at Lin Yuan and said in a deep voice.

"Yes."

Lin Yuan nodded.

"In that case, my Golden Dragon Sect has offended you this time."

"You may leave."

The gold-robed man standing in the middle thought it over repeatedly and said.

He wasn't confident in taking Lin Yuan down; the feeling the other party gave him was too terrifying.

Coupled with the fact that the Golden Dragon Sect was about to undergo a major change, the gold-robed man in the middle had no intention of forcing the issue.

The reason he had been so overbearing toward the Hunchbacked Old Man, Third Uncle, earlier was that he felt he had absolute control over him.

Hearing their Senior Brother make such a decision, the other gold-robed men next to him didn't know the exact reason, but they knew he must have discovered something.

The gold-robed man who had stepped forward earlier even retreated back.

"Leave?"

Lin Yuan looked at the four gold-robed men.

His coming in person this time wasn't merely to save Third Uncle,

but because he had designs on the entire Golden Dragon Sect and the vast Man Province.

The Golden Dragon Sect's Enlightened Grandmaster was about to pass away; acting against them and controlling them in secret at this time

left no hidden risks.

This was also the result of Lin Yuan observing multiple future timelines.

As for Man Province,

it possessed a superior geographical location.

Originally, Lin Yuan had only planned to establish trade routes,

and then slowly exert influence over several decades to eventually claim it for himself.

He hadn't expected a shortcut to present itself this time.

If he could take Man Province in advance,

it would bring great benefits to Lin Yuan's subsequent plans.

"I do not plan on leaving."

Lin Yuan said.

"Not planning on leaving?"

The expressions of the gold-robed men standing on the side turned ugly.

Senior Brother had already given him so much Face, yet the other party was still so ungrateful?

Still not planning on leaving?

"Since Your Excellency does not plan on leaving, then…"

"We leave."

The gold-robed man in the middle felt more and more wrong the more he thought about it.

Reviewing the events now, he suddenly realized he had no idea when Lin Yuan had even appeared.

Enlightened Adepts possessed powerful mental power and were very sensitive to changes in their surroundings,

yet he couldn't determine when Lin Yuan had arrived.

"Let's go."

After saying this, the gold-robed man in the middle turned directly to leave.

Seeing this, the other three gold-robed men exchanged glances and did not pursue Lin Yuan's arrogant words any further,

but instead closely followed behind their Senior Brother.

They knew their Senior Brother very well.

Although he appeared aloof, his character was extremely dominant.

For him to react like this now meant there was definitely a problem.

"Young Lord," the Hunchbacked Old Man, Third Uncle, looked at Lin Yuan.

He breathed a slight sigh of relief in his heart.

The Golden Dragon Sect was the heaven of Man Province.

Aside from the official Great Feng Dynasty, the Golden Dragon Sect was the strongest.

Even the Great Feng Dynasty was unwilling to clash to the death with the Golden Dragon Sect in Man Province.

Now that the four gold-robed men had voluntarily withdrawn,

it was clearly the best outcome.

"You can't leave either."

Lin Yuan's Face was calm.

In an instant, strands of mental power emerged from the surrounding Void Realm,

continuously intertwining and colliding, rapidly spreading in all directions.

*Buzz~*

Centered on Lin Yuan, mental power circulated within a radius of a hundred feet around his body. The four gold-robed men within a hundred feet were trapped like flies in a spiderweb, unable to move.

The leading gold-robed man's expression changed drastically. Shuddering in mind and soul, he looked around in disbelief, "Heaven and Earth Cage? A Heaven and Earth Cage of such a vast range?"

The legs of the other three gold-robed men went soft, filled with terror, "An Enlightened Grandmaster?"

Enlightened Adepts communicated with heaven and earth through mental power, but ordinary Enlightened Adepts had weak mental power and couldn't manifest it externally at all.

Only upon reaching the Dao Entrance Dharma Master realm could they barely manifest their mental power externally, though the range was only a few feet around their bodies.

As for Enlightened Grandmasters, whose mental power reached the absolute extreme, they could form a cage purely with mental power to suppress enemies.

That was the Heaven and Earth Cage.

Forming a cage with pure mental power was a method that only Enlightened Grandmasters could deploy.

"That young man is an Enlightened Grandmaster?"

The gold-robed men looked terrified.

How many Enlightened Grandmasters were there in the entire world?

Excluding those cultivated by the Great Feng Dynasty, among the other ninety-eight provinces, strong and prosperous provinces might have one or two, or two or three Enlightened Grandmasters.

More than half of the provinces had no Enlightened Grandmasters at all.

On average, across the ninety-nine provinces under heaven, outside of Central Province, the Enlightened Grandmasters of the other eighty-eight provinces combined numbered only around forty or fifty.

Forty or fifty Enlightened Grandmasters? Don't be fooled by the seemingly large number; this was the accumulation of the entire world.

Across ninety-eight provinces, the population of each province exceeded one billion, meaning on average, one Enlightened Grandmaster needed to be born out of two billion people.

Coupled with the fact that Enlightened Grandmasters generally lived past one hundred and twenty years, whereas normal people living to fifty or sixty was basically considered a good death, the probability of an actual Grandmaster being born was likely even smaller.

An Enlightened Grandmaster, if willing, was fully capable of ruling over several provinces as a king or hegemon; as long as they didn't oppose the Imperial Court, the Imperial Court was happy to appease them.

"A Heaven and Earth Cage with a range of a hundred feet…" Compared to the terror of the other gold-robed men, the leading Senior Brother was even more horrified in his heart.

He held a high position in the Golden Dragon Sect and attended to the Grandmaster within the sect, so he knew that even as strong as a Grandmaster was, deploying a Heaven and Earth Cage would at most span twenty to thirty feet around them.

An Enlightened Grandmaster's mental power was not infinite either.

Yet the Heaven and Earth Cage formed by Lin Yuan right now exceeded a hundred feet?

What majestic amount of mental power was needed to support such a thing?

How could such a powerful Enlightened Grandmaster have never been heard of before?

Having dealt with the four Golden Dragon Sect Disciples, Lin Yuan glanced at Third Uncle and said, "Third Uncle, go back first. Leave Man Province to me."

"Okay, okay."

Third Uncle hastily agreed.

In twenty years, this was the first time he had seen his Young Lord truly act.

Although he had long known the Young Lord was very strong, an Enlightened Grandmaster?

Even during its peak, the Red Lotus Sect only had a dozen Enlightened Adepts in charge.

As for Enlightened Grandmasters?

They didn't even dare dream of it.

If the Red Lotus Sect had an Enlightened Grandmaster in charge back then,

it wouldn't have been reduced to roaming around the surrounding provinces. Although the Red Lotus Sect established several branch sects,

those branch sects were basically rats crossing the street,

unable to see the light of day at all.

If they had an Enlightened Grandmaster,

the Red Lotus Sect could have completely seized a province and developed slowly.

In the rear mountain of the Golden Dragon Sect,

Enlightened Grandmaster 'Jin Yi' sat cross-legged.

His Physical Body had fallen into decline; although his mental power was strong, it originated from the Physical Body.

Once the Physical Body died of old age, no matter how strong the mental power was, it would rapidly vanish into thin air.

"The Golden Dragon Sect has yet to produce a new Grandmaster to this day."

Jin Yi opened his eyes, a look of worry appearing on his Face.

The Golden Dragon Sect occupied Man Province with immense potential influence, coupled with maintaining a good relationship with the Great Feng Dynasty.

Even without an Enlightened Grandmaster in charge for a short period, no major issues would arise.

Across ninety-eight provinces under heaven, not every province had an Enlightened Grandmaster in charge either.

But in the end, it was a hidden hazard.

Without an Enlightened Grandmaster as an anchor of stability,

their confidence would definitely be lacking.

"I hope that before I pass away, I can nurture a new Grandmaster."

"Even if not, at least a Grandmaster candidate must appear."

Jin Yi thought silently to himself.

Decades ago, the Golden Dragon Sect had already begun concentrating resources to nurture a certain Disciple with all its strength.

But an Enlightened Grandmaster could not be produced solely through resources.

Right at this moment—

Jin Yi's expression changed, "Who is it?"

"It's me."

Before Jin Yi could react,

a young man stood beside him with a smile, looking over.

"You are…"

Jin Yi's pupils shrank rapidly, and immediately after, he felt his own mental power suppressed and sealed.

The young man walked casually up to him, looking down from above.

"Which Grandmaster are you?"

Jin Yi looked desperate.

From the brief contact just now,

Jin Yi was certain of one thing:

he was absolutely no match for this young man.

The other party had appeared near him silently,

and sealed his mental power without warning.

Either point demonstrated that if the other party wanted to kill him,

it would be no trouble at all.

Although Jin Yi was about to pass away,

and his Physical Body was decaying and decrepit,

battles between Enlightened Grandmasters

did not rely on the Physical Body,

but on mental power.

In this regard, Jin Yi, an Enlightened Grandmaster, was completely defeated.

"You don't need to know who I am."

Lin Yuan smiled as he looked down at Jin Yi, "Now you have two choices."

"Two choices?"

Jin Yi's heart trembled.

"First, give up resistance, allow me to search your soul, and then cooperate with me to take charge of the Golden Dragon Sect."

"I will ensure the Legacy of your Golden Dragon Sect does not perish."

Lin Yuan said.

After twenty years of Cultivation,

Lin Yuan's current strength reigned above ordinary Enlightened Grandmasters.

A veteran Grandmaster like Jin Yi had no power to resist before him at all.

But essentially, Lin Yuan was also an Enlightened Grandmaster,

at the same realm level as Jin Yi.

At most, his application of mental power far surpassed the other.

But to search a soul? If he wanted to completely and fully receive all of the other's memories,

cooperation was still required.

At the very least, there could be no fierce resistance.

"Soul search?"

The corners of Jin Yi's mouth twitched.

Enlightened Grandmasters delved into mental power,

and were indeed capable of soul searching.

But searching the soul of an Enlightened Grandmaster?

An Enlightened Grandmaster would definitely be unwilling to have their soul searched.

Doing so would expose every single hidden secret to the enemy in meticulous detail.

"What about the second choice?"

Jin Yi asked hoarsely.

"I forcibly search your soul, the Golden Dragon Sect is completely wiped out, and its Legacy is thoroughly severed."

Lin Yuan said directly.

Forcible soul searching would result in memory gaps and other defects.

"Two choices."

"Choose one."

Lin Yuan looked down at Jin Yi.

"I…"

Jin Yi fell silent.

He did not doubt in the slightest the second possibility stated by Lin Yuan.

With the strength Lin Yuan currently displayed,

obliterating the Golden Dragon Sect was simpler than ever.

"I choose the first one."

Jin Yi sighed in his heart.

Although he didn't know if Lin Yuan would keep his promise,

he had no other choice right now.

He was bound to die anyway.

Even if his soul was searched, at most his death would just be a bit more painful.

"Thus, the Golden Dragon Sect can pass down its Legacy."

Lin Yuan nodded.

In truth, through observing future timelines long ago,

he already knew Jin Yi's ultimate decision.

"Golden Dragon Sect?"

A smile appeared on Lin Yuan's Face.

Completely receiving Jin Yi's memories, combined with this Enlightened Grandmaster's cooperation,

would allow him to smoothly take over all of the Golden Dragon Sect's power and influence.

As for forcibly purging them and then installing his own people?

That was the lowest grade method.

First, it was easy to reveal flaws.

Second, it was too wasteful.

The Golden Dragon Sect had over tens of thousands of Disciples, with more than two thousand Enlightened Adepts.

Purging such a high-quality cohort completely?

Great Feng Dynasty, the Imperial Capital, inside the Imperial Palace.

The young emperor sat upright on the imperial throne, frowning in deep thought.

"In twenty years, I too have smoothly become an Enlightened Grandmaster."

The young emperor muttered in a low voice, "The most powerful forces of this Dynasty are also in my hands."

"The Dao Entrance Dharma Masters within this capital exceed ten thousand, with over a hundred Enlightened Grandmasters, plus hundreds of thousands of the most elite Imperial Guards."

"With such a massive force, if I am willing, I can completely sweep across the outer ninety-eight provinces once more."

"Furthermore, this palace is entirely constructed from special materials that restrain mental power. Even an Enlightened Grandmaster trapped inside the palace would be heavily suppressed, retaining less than one percent of their strength."

"Therefore, those patrolling inside the palace are all the most elite Imperial Guards. As strong as an Enlightened Grandmaster may be, if they dare infiltrate the palace, a dozen guards working together would suffice to strangle them, and there are a full hundred thousand Imperial Guards inside the palace."

The young emperor grew increasingly grave as he thought: "Under these circumstances, the requirement for this tribulation is actually just for me to survive for one hundred and fifty years?"

"No, it should be one hundred and thirty years now."

"Just to keep me alive?"

The young emperor didn't hold any slightness. Since the requirement was like this, it meant the tribulation he faced was definitely not something the forces currently in his hands could easily withstand.

If doing nothing could easily get him through this tribulation,

then it wouldn't be worthy of being the final tribulation he had to Face.

"Forget it."

The young emperor looked at where he was, what could be called the safest place under heaven—the Imperial Palace.

A decision was already made in his heart.

"I can no longer stay in the Imperial Palace."