Chapter 167 Building a House

Sacred treasure.

An object with such a title was naturally no ordinary item!

For the very first time, Lin Xun truly realized that there was definitely an astonishing secret hidden within the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead, which he had somehow obtained by chance.

The sudden battle today had clued him in on this.

Lin Xun knew that he needed to recover as quickly as possible. The enemy was absolutely not going to let up because of the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead.

In other words, they were definitely coming again!

This time there were three terrifyingly powerful Brute Soldiers, so what about the next time?

It was easy to see how precarious Lin Xun’s situation was.

……

After leaving Demon Cloud Ridge, Hu Long hesitated for a long time before ultimately deciding to first return to the Black Wind Army headquarters.

It was late at night but Song Ling had yet to sleep.

He was reading a recently arrived report from the battlefield which described the situation in Demon Cloud Ridge. Although it did not give a complete picture, it did detail a few strange movements from the brute race.

The Blood Kill Camp students entered Demon Cloud Ridge for their exam a month ago, and these reports have been arriving every three days since then.

The goal was simple. It was to prevent any sudden dangers which would deal a destructive blow to the Blood Kill Camp students.

Deaths were permitted in the exam but it was absolutely forbidden for unusual deaths to occur!

Every Blood Kill Camp student had a special background. In fact, it would not be wrong to say that they were the elite younger generation nurtured by the empire’s many factions who had top-class potential and status.

To the empire, the loss of every student was equivalent to losing a future peak expert and a potential cornerstone of the empire.

Hence, although the test might appear to be a military training exercise between mere youths, no one dared to take it lightly.

Hu Long arrived right as Song Ling finished reading the report. When he saw Hu Long, Song Ling immediately knew that this young man had been eliminated.

Because he had ascended to the Spirit Dipper stage!

Song Ling could not help but frown. Being eliminated was not a big deal. Even without Blood Kill Camp’s training, as long as the students didn’t die, they could still become powerful figures in the future with the help of their factions.

However, Hu Long had visited late at night after being eliminated. Was he unable to accept the result?

Song Ling soon realized his initial assumption was wrong after hearing Hu Long’s report about the battle which had happened today.

“Brute Soldier?” Song Ling’s expression turned grave.

“Three Brute Soldiers. Moreover, they were stronger than the average Brute Soldier. We’ve killed a Brute Soldier before in Kill Blood Camp as part of our training. The three Brute Soldiers who appeared today were clearly much stronger and more terrifying.”

Hu Long’s expression grew serious, “Otherwise, I would not have been forced to ascend to the Spirit Dipper stage.”

Song Ling narrowed his eyes. He knew that Hu Long had no reason to lie. This was a very serious problem indeed.

Three powerful Brute Soldiers suddenly appearing and attacking two Blood Kill Camp students was clearly abnormal. The unspoken agreement between the empire and the brute race clearly forbids the appearance of such powerful individuals in Demon Cloud Ridge!

What triggered Song Ling the most was that Lin Xun had been implicated in the battle!

Many days prior, Song Ling had learned about the battle on the volcano from the reports and some rumors about Lin Xun.

Song Ling was in-charge of the 39th Campground students’ exam and only had a faint impression of Lin Xun at the start. After that battle, however, Song Ling realized that Lin Xun was definitely no weaker than Bai Lingxu, Zhao Yin, Li Duxing, and Zhangxun Heng.

Such a person was destined for great accomplishments in the future!

After hearing that such danger had befallen Lin Xun, Song Ling was thoroughly shaken and realized the severity of the problem.

After a brief silence, Song Ling asked, “Did you manage to identify them?”

Hu Long was taken aback. Something soon dawned upon him, causing his expression to change slightly, “They were all from the water brute tribe.”

Iciness flashed in Song Ling’s eyes, “You’ve also sensed that something is amiss?”

Hu Long nodded, “Most of the brute experts Lin Xun fought on the volcano were from the water brute tribe.”

Song Ling rose to his feet, “This is quite an unusual problem. Wait here. I will go see Lieutenant General Wu Xinglie!”

Wu Xinglie!

The Lieutenant-General of the Black Wing Army was a man who had traversed battlefields for over a hundred years. His battle accomplishments were outstanding and he was well-known throughout the empire.

By this point, Hu Long knew that he had made the right decision to come here.

“Lin Xun, I’ve done what I can and no longer owe you anything…I hope that you will survive Demon Cloud Ridge!”

On that same night, Lieutenant General Wu Xinglie ordered ten Spirit Dipper experts to be dispatched into Demon Cloud Ridge to investigate.

……

Three days later.

Lin Xun awoke from his meditation.

More than half of his medicine and tonics had been consumed.

The two consecutive uses of Star-Gather had nearly sucked him dry, leaving him no choice but to use a great amount of medicine and tonics to regain energy.

After recovering, Lin Xun was surprised to find that another spirit star had been lit in his mind-sea. This meant that his spirit power had grown again.

His understanding of Star-Gather had also deepened.

These were the benefits brought by battle. The more intense the battle the more a cultivator would be able to tap into their potential. Experiences like this were not something a person could obtain in a protected environment.

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Without wasting any time, Lin Xun set off once more.

He was much more careful now. Although two of the three Brute Soldiers had been killed, the strongest one had managed to escape.

It was impossible for the other party to have given up on taking back the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead.

Under such circumstances, Lin Xun knew that he needed to be extra cautious.

Time passed as Lin Xun hunted brute expert after brute expert. Fortunately, he did not encounter any more Brute Soldiers.

Another person would have probably assumed the other side had given up but Lin Xun did not believe so.

Instead, the more peaceful things seemed the more vigilant he grew. In fact, he suspected that a meticulously put-together scheme was awaiting him!

A dozen days later.

Lin Xun was searching for a spot to recuperate after killing a squad of more than ten brute experts. His heart shivered all of a sudden and he immediately halted.

A thin figure abruptly appeared. It was a young man dressed in the military attire of the empire with the unique emblem of the Black Wind Army on his shoulder.

Although the young man was not handsome, he gave off a hard and cold aura.

He was holding a corpse in his hand.

Lin Xun’s pupils shrank in surprise when he saw the corpse. It was the muscular Brute Soldier who had managed to escape previously!

“I am Song Ran, a Spirit Dipper stage cultivator of the empire’s Black Wind Army.” The young man’s introduction was short and sweet. “We already know what happened. Is this the Brute Soldier who attacked both of you that day?”

He lifted the corpse.

Lin Xun nodded as he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, “Hu Long told you guys?”

Song Ran’s brows furrowed in thought before he nodded, “It was probably him. However, I do not know if that young man is called Hu long.”

Lin Xun did not ask any further, already certain that Hu Long had helped him again. Otherwise, the empire would never have suddenly dispatched Spirit Dipper stage experts into Demon Cloud Ridge and even help him kill the current biggest threat to his life.

“You can concentrate on your exam. The Black Wind Army will not participate in the battles, but we will kill any Brute Soldier sent here by the brute race!”

A murderous look spread from Song Ling’s brows.

“Thank you.” Lin Xun earnestly said. Song Ran’s sudden appearance and the good news he brought allowed Lin Xun to be more at ease compared to the last few days.

“Might I ask why these water brute experts have been so relentless in seeking you out?” Song Ran suddenly asked as his piercing gaze locked onto Lin Xun.

“It might be because I killed too many of their tribesmen.” Lin Xun softly sighed. His heart shivered, knowing that the other party had begun to suspect something.

However, he did not plan on letting anyone know about the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead.

Song Ran made a noise in assent and looked deeply at Lin Xun, “Farewell.”

He then turned and left.

This slightly stunned Lin Xun instead. He watched Song Ran leave but did not say anything.

From that day, Lin Xun had a smooth-sailing time in Demon Cloud Ridge. Given his current battle power, it was very rare for him to feel threatened unless he encountered a formidable brute expert.

Although Song Ran had killed the muscular Brute Soldier, a sliver of apprehension continued to linger in Lin Xun’s heart.

It felt as if an invisible eye was always watching him.

It was an extremely uncomfortable feeling and Lin Xun tried numerous methods to find the source of this apprehension.

However, his efforts bore no fruit.

As a result, Lin Xun did not dare to let his guard down. He was not being overly suspicious but trusted his instincts.

Ever since he started practicing the Little Divine Meditation Art and lighting spirit-stars in his mind-sea, Lin Xun had become exceptionally attuned toward danger.

He firmly believed in this feeling and knew that it was not wrong.

Under this pressure, Lin Xun unexpectedly managed to light another spirit-star in his mind-sea twenty days before the end of the exam!

His spirit power had risen twice in the past month!

This made Lin Xun realize that although cultivating alone was effective, it would be more effective if there was also some danger and pressure.

Due to the growth in his spirit, the sliver of apprehension in his heart became much clearer.

This change dispelled any doubts that remained. He was now certain that the threat of the water brute tribe was still present!

From that day on, Lin Xun’s routine suddenly changed. He arrived at a forest deep within Demon Cloud Ridge and built a small hut. He spent all day and night in the hut and no longer went hunting for army contributions.

It was as if he planned to camp there until the exam ended.