Chapitre 29: Chapter 29: Second Seal Spirit Master
Chapter 29: Second Seal Spirit Master
The leader of the Black Tiger Gang in the capital, Huang Yin—a Qi Formation Realm veteran—had been defeated. The crowd gathered in the square stood in stunned silence, mouths agape as disbelief settled across their faces. No one had anticipated this outcome.
While Lin Langtian was known as one of the Great Flame Dynasty's top young talents, he was, after all, only a member of the younger generation with a cultivation level merely in the Half-Step Qi Formation Realm. Huang Yin, on the other hand, was an experienced, well-known fighter in the capital, even having previously fought half-step Transformation Realm opponents to a standstill. The difference in power between them was enormous; no one had expected Lin Langtian to emerge victorious.
At the center of the square, Huang Yin, face drenched in cold sweat, felt the blade's chill against his throat and struggled to conceal his terror as he stammered out, "Y-Young Master Langtian, I… I admit my mistake. I beg you, please be merciful—"
But Lin Langtian's hand flicked forward without hesitation. The Yuan Energy blade in his grip, enshrouded in fierce black flames, sliced through the air, drawing a lethal arc toward Huang Yin's neck.
A sharp rush of wind chilled Huang Yin to the bone, and he quickly gathered the remaining Yuan Energy in his body to form a protective shield. But as the shield appeared, the black energy instantly consumed it like raging flames burning dry leaves.
With a low cracking sound, the shield split and shattered. Huang Yin barely had time to react before the blade of black flame cut through his neck, sending a fountain of blood skyward and bringing silence to the entire square.
The gathered crowd watched in disbelief as Huang Yin's blood sprayed forth, then shifted their gazes back to Lin Langtian, who stood over him with a calm, unshaken expression. They exhaled deeply, as if to release the tension of the incredible spectacle they'd just witnessed. The battle itself had been riveting, but this conclusion defied all expectations.
In the distance, Wang Yan's jaw dropped. "Did he actually kill Huang Yin? Langtian's always been the type to put the bigger picture first. But now he's done something that will surely anger the Huangpu Clan…"
Qin Shi shook his head in wonder. "With Langtian's extraordinary talent, he's likely already set his sights on the Hundred Dynasty War in a few years. Compared to his future in the super clans, the Huangpu Clan's influence here is nothing."
Wang Yan fell silent, suddenly acutely aware of the growing gap between them and Lin Langtian.
Back in the square, Lin Langtian stood over Huang Yin's body without any visible change in expression. Huang Yin had chosen to serve as a pawn and so had to accept a pawn's fate. Huangpu Ying was beyond his reach for now, but Huang Yin had to die.
Turning his gaze to the Black Tiger Gang members, he fixed them with a steely glare. After witnessing their leader's death, they saw Lin Langtian as an unstoppable force—a figure they hardly dared to look upon.
"This time, I will only execute the mastermind," Lin Langtian's voice rang out coldly, "but if this happens again, I will show no mercy."
The Black Tiger Gang members were visibly relieved, their gratitude spilling out as they quickly withdrew from the square. With their leader dead, they'd lost the will to fight. Escaping with their lives was more than they could have hoped for.
Just as the gang members began to disperse, Lin Langtian's gaze landed on a shifty figure attempting to slip away. "Wait," he called out. "Deputy Leader Cao Kun, did I give you permission to leave?"
A wiry man with a weasel-like face froze mid-step, his body stiffening as he forced a grin. "Elder Langtian, didn't you say only the mastermind would be punished? With Master Huang dead, aren't matters settled…?"
Recognizing the man as the Black Tiger Gang's second-in-command and a low-level Spirit Master, the crowd sneered. Lin Langtian crossed his arms and laughed coldly, "A mastermind, you say? Deputy Leader Cao, as the second-in-command of the gang, do you not count as one? Weren't you the one just now demanding our Lin family's noble daughter as your boss's bedmate?"
At his words, a trace of humiliation and anger flickered across Lin Ya's face, remembering Cao Kun's vile comments. As one of the Lin family's top talents, she'd never endured such treatment, and Lin Langtian's stand on her behalf filled her with admiration and relief.
Beads of sweat formed on Cao Kun's brow as he faced Lin Langtian's lethal aura. In a shaky voice, he stammered, "Elder Langtian, you've got it wrong! Huang forced me to— I swear it wasn't my choice!"
Lin Langtian's face remained impassive as he cut him off with a wave of his hand. The fierce Yuan Energy erupted from his palm, forming a towering black flame monolith.
Desperation flickered across Cao Kun's face, twisting his features as he shouted, "You clan prodigies can't understand what people like me go through. I've struggled my whole life to reach the level of a Spirit Master. I won't let it end like this!"
In his panic, Cao Kun bit down hard on his tongue, his eyes filling with a maddened resolve. As a violent wave of spirit energy burst forth from him, a gray flame ignited on his fingertips—a display of pure Spirit Fire.
"Spirit Fire!"
Being a Spirit Master, Cao Kun's greatest weapon was this flame. Though it couldn't cause significant physical damage, Spirit Fire inflicted severe harm on its target's mind. It was known to turn those caught by it into empty shells—an ultimate weapon for Spirit Masters.
Cackling maniacally, Cao Kun unleashed his Spirit Fire, forming it into a massive hand that hurtled toward Lin Langtian's monolith.
"Demonic Hand!" Lin Langtian's gaze narrowed, intrigued by the opportunity to test his spirit power against another Spirit Master, though his own One-Seal Spirit Master abilities were not yet strong enough to compete head-on. He prepared to overpower the opponent with brute force.
As the Spirit Fire hand met the black flame monolith, it struggled briefly before shattering and scattering in sparks against the overpowering black flames. Watching his strongest attack disintegrate, Cao Kun paled with horror, realizing how hopeless his resistance was.
Before he could react, a shadow appeared in front of him. Lin Langtian's hand shot out, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him off the ground.
Facing Lin Langtian's cold, merciless stare, terror surged within Cao Kun, and he trembled as he began to sob in abject fear.
Seeing this, a flash of disgust crossed Lin Langtian's eyes. But just as he was about to finish off Cao Kun in a single move, something unexpected happened.
Suddenly, the black whirl sigil in his Niwan Palace began to tremble violently, breaking free of his control, and flew directly out of his Niwan Palace, appearing above his head.
This sudden change made Lin Langtian's face shift slightly. He hadn't expected this—the life sigil was acting independently!
The audience was equally shocked to see Lin Langtian reveal a life sigil.
"Lin Langtian...he's a sigil master, too?"
Far off in a pavilion, Huangpu Jing stared at the life sigil atop Lin Langtian's head in astonishment. "So he really managed to decode the mysterious copper piece and even became a sigil master?"
Mastering spiritual energy was as complex as training Yuan energy; in the history of the Great Flame Dynasty, very few had managed to train both at once. Even for Lin Langtian, such dual training could become a liability.
Beside her, Qingzhu observed Lin Langtian with piercing focus, her gaze fixed on the mysterious black flame flickering around him. Although that flame was not overwhelmingly powerful at present, its noble and mysterious aura matched precisely what she sensed before.
Through this battle, Lin Langtian was making a unique impression in her mind. The dual path of Yuan and spiritual energy? Unfeasible for most, but perhaps Lin Langtian could prove the exception.
...
On the plaza, Lin Langtian's black whirl sigil locked onto the spiritual fire drifting from Cao Kun and began heading toward his Niwan Palace. Inside Cao Kun's Niwan Palace, five life sigils hovered, which marked him as a low-level spirit sigil master. Once the black whirl sigil entered, it twisted into a whirlpool about the size of a palm.
"A... life sigil?!" Cao Kun cried out in horror, scrambling to control his five life sigils, trying to evade the whirlpool's pull.
Lin Langtian quickly understood what the black whirl sigil was doing, smirking as he lightly tapped Cao Kun. Immediately, Cao Kun was paralyzed, unable to gather any strength, let alone control his life sigils.
The black whirl sigil surged forward, exuding waves of pull. Under its force, Lin Langtian could feel Cao Kun's five life sigils start to lose power, their spiritual energy being drawn into the whirlpool.
This situation brought a delighted smile to Lin Langtian's face. Normally, a low-level sigil master like him could never absorb the energy of a full spirit sigil master. However, since Lin Langtian had first trained Yuan energy and then moved into spiritual training, he could use his Yuan power to overpower the spirit sigil master's spiritual energy, forcibly drawing it into his sigil. And the black whirl sigil was perfect for this.
"Gah!" Cao Kun's life sigils rapidly dimmed under the whirlpool's pull, and he coughed up blood, looking twisted with rage and fear.
"If I'm dying anyway, then take it all!" Cao Kun spat. "As a mere low-level sigil master, let's see if you don't explode from all this!" Laughing maniacally, he released his control, allowing his life sigils and spiritual energy to fully flood into the whirlpool, determined to drag Lin Langtian down with him.
"Not good!" Lin Langtian's expression darkened. With his current spiritual capacity, absorbing all of a spirit sigil master's energy was like a snake swallowing an elephant. It would only tear him apart from within.
Having fully absorbed Cao Kun's five life sigils, the black whirlpool reshaped itself into a simple sigil and returned to Lin Langtian's Niwan Palace. As it did, an overwhelming torrent of spiritual energy surged forth within his mind, expanding explosively.
The influx of energy filled Lin Langtian's Niwan Palace, expanding like a giant squeezing into a tiny space. If it shattered his Niwan Palace, the impact on his spiritual development and training would be devastating.
"Foolishness!" Lin Langtian clenched his hands, eyes red as he realized the costly error he'd made. Was he truly about to be overwhelmed by spiritual energy?
Spiritual energy was vast and enigmatic. Even as a half-step Qi Formation expert, Lin Langtian was at a loss, unable to restrain the swelling within his mind.
But just as Lin Langtian felt himself losing control, another unexpected event occurred. In his Dantian, a gold mirror that had been lying dormant suddenly glowed with brilliance.
As golden light filled his Niwan Palace, the surging spiritual energy was quickly subdued, like a frightened child, and was absorbed into the mirror's surface, where it was held securely.
After the majority of the energy was contained by the gold mirror, Lin Langtian finally felt relief. The remaining energy was safely absorbed by his life sigil.
In time, Lin Langtian's original life sigil disappeared, replaced by two identical sigils. They floated quietly, pulsating with potent spiritual energy.
Two Marks—the sign of a Level-Two Sigil Master.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone