Chapter 162: Backing Down

Zhang De leveraged the power of heaven and earth to support himself, hovering in mid-air with a sharp gaze fixed on the ground.

"Is he dead?"

Seeing that Lin Yi, who had plunged deep into the ground, had not emerged for a long time, Zhang De muttered softly.

What a pity. Such a formidable genius, yet unable to be utilized by me.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he felt a fierce aura surging up from the ground.

Bang.

A black figure burst out from underground.

It was none other than Lin Yi.

There was not the slightest trace of injury on his body, nor even any dust or disorder on his clothes, as if Zhang De's Three-Sun Palm had struck someone else entirely.

Zhang De's pupils constricted, and alarm bells rang loudly in his heart.

This Lin Yi was somewhat uncanny.

To take his full-strength palms head-on and remain completely unscathed was something Zhang De found rather difficult to accept.

"Why are you unharmed?" Zhang De could not help asking, his face devoid of its previous composure.

"Your power is decent, but it is unfocused and rather superficial," Lin Yi said.

In truth, this was the awkward dilemma faced by most Spirit Lords.

Though they possessed vast power, they utterly lacked the know-how to unleash it properly—much like a child holding a submachine gun who only knew how to use it as a firewood club.

If evaluated by the standards of immortal cultivators, the realm of a Spirit Lord would be equivalent to the Profound Penetration stage.

The Profound Penetration stage represented far more than just a cultivation realm; it also encompassed the amplification of various divine arts and mystical techniques.

Any accomplished immortal cultivator at the Profound Penetration stage would almost instantly annihilate a martial artist of the Spirit Lord realm.

"Arrogant." Zhang De failed completely to grasp the meaning behind Lin Yi's words, assuming he was merely demeaning him, and his expression darkened instantly.

"I am merely stating facts," Lin Yi said calmly.

Zhang De said no more. Instead, he retrieved a small cyan sword from his storage pouch. About the size of a thumb and gleaming with a faint fluorescent layer, it was clearly no ordinary item.

A flash of surprise crossed Lin Yi's eyes, for this small sword turned out to be a top-grade precious artifact.

However, the sword was somewhat flawed, retaining less than a tenth of its original might. Even so, it was more than enough to easily slay a Spirit Lord.

Zhang De was utterly resolved to kill him now.

If Lin Yi possessed such strength already, he would likely trample the Martial Arts Association beneath his feet entirely within a few years.

"Sorrow-Burial Sword, strike!"

Zhang De channeled the small sword, transforming it into a streak of light that pierced towards Lin Yi's chest at blinding speed.

Lin Yi composed his mind and reached out, grabbing at empty air. The small sword was caught firmly between two of his fingers.

Even with over two hundred years of life experience, Zhang De was stunned by the sight before him.

This Sorrow-Burial Sword was his ultimate trump card—silent, untraceable, and capable of shattering all martial arts and mystic techniques.

Back when he was still a Grandmaster, he had relied on this very sword to slay a Spirit Lord.

Yet now, it had been caught effortlessly between two fingers. How was Zhang De supposed to accept this?

"Return it to you!"

Lin Yi flicked his wrist casually, and the Sorrow-Burial Sword shot back in reverse.

Its speed was even greater than when Zhang De had unleashed it.

Before Zhang De could react, the Sorrow-Burial Sword was already upon him, piercing straight through his shoulder.

To the naked eye, Zhang De's shoulder began to wither away at a rapid pace.

Aside from being silent and untraceable, the Sorrow-Burial Sword possessed another characteristic: once it penetrated a human body, it would strip away a portion of the victim's life force.

Even a Spirit Lord could not avoid this fate.

Zhang De's face turned pale, and a bitter, self-deprecating smile crossed his heart. Having cultivated for centuries, he was actually inferior to a young man.

Even his ultimate trump card had been casually neutralized and turned against him to inflict injury.

Zhang De knew that Lin Yi had held back; otherwise, that previous strike would have pierced straight through his heart.

For someone as proud and self-respecting as Zhang De, this was nothing short of supreme mockery.

Under the control of Lin Yi's divine sense, the small cyan sword flew back into his palm. He asked, "Do you still wish to fight?"

Zhang De smiled bitterly at himself. He was no match for Lin Yi even at his peak, let alone now that he had been wounded by the Sorrow-Burial Sword.

He cupped his fists and said, "Mr. Lin is truly like a divine dragon. Zhang De is deeply impressed."

Lin Yi stood with his hands behind his back, his expression serene.

Had Zhang De still failed to recognize the situation, he would have had no choice but to suppress him with bloodshed. Fortunately, Zhang De was clever enough to know when to bide his time.

After a few moments, Zhang De asked with lingering confusion, "Mr. Lin, our Martial Arts Association will let the matter of the Jade Spirit rest. But there is one thing I do not understand: given your strength, the Jade Spirit can offer you virtually no assistance. Why, then, did you slay it?"

The Martial Arts Association kept and nurtured the Jade Spirit solely to cultivate their disciples.

The refined spiritual qi exhaled by the Jade Spirit was far superior in absorption efficacy to low-grade spirit stones. For martial artists below the Spirit Lord realm, absorbing it could drastically accelerate their cultivation speed.

Lin Yi had no faction of his own; there was simply no reason for him to pick a fight with the Jade Spirit.

And it was impossible that the Jade Spirit had provoked Lin Yi.

The location of the Jade Spirit was sealed by layers of formations and was completely inaccessible from the outside. Outsiders could only enter and leave the summit freely if they possessed a formation disc.

"I told you before, I didn't kill the Jade Spirit." With that, Lin Yi released the Jade Spirit from his beast-taming pouch.

"This is?" Zhang De looked at Lin Yi in puzzlement.

"This is the Jade Spirit from Spirit-Possessing Mountain," Lin Yi said.

"Impossible," Zhang De shook his head.

The strength of the Jade Spirit before him was far too weak—it was merely at the Grandmaster realm, and its physical size was tiny as well.

The Jade Spirit of Spirit-Possessing Mountain had been over ten meters tall. Even with plastic surgery, such a drastic transformation was impossible.

"Nothing is impossible. Test its strength first and you will see," Lin Yi chuckled lightly.

Zhang De looked at Lin Yi with surprise. For a Spirit Lord to deal with a Grandmaster should be as effortless as a wave of the hand.

What kind of trump card did this Jade Spirit possess to make Lin Yi so confident?

"Then I am going to strike," Zhang De confirmed once more.

Lin Yi nodded.

Zhang De raised a hand and struck the Jade Spirit with a palm hit. He used only one percent of his power for this blow, but even so, it was something no Grandmaster could withstand.

Bang.

Zhang De's palm landed on the Jade Spirit's sturdy body, yet it only forced the creature back a few steps.

"It's this tough?" Zhang De was inwardly shocked, though his expression remained outwardly calm.

He increased his power slightly, but the result was the same.

No wonder Lin Yi was so confident; this defensive capability was utterly terrifying, far surpassing the Grandmaster realm.

"Use your full Spirit Lord strength," Lin Yi reminded him.

Without a word, Zhang De condensed the power of heaven and earth into a bolt of vital energy and smashed it against the Jade Spirit's chest. After shattering a few scales, the energy dissipated entirely.

The force he used just now was equivalent to that of a third-tier Spirit Lord, yet even so, it failed to harm the Jade Spirit.

If a mere Grandmaster-realm entity already possessed the ability to contend with a Spirit Lord, just how terrifying would this Jade Spirit become once it grew into the Spirit Lord realm?

It was unimaginable.

"Mr. Lin, is this truly the Jade Spirit of our Martial Arts Association?" Zhang De asked, his eyes burning with fervor.

"Mhm. I have already refined it. Even if you wanted to take it back, it would be impossible." How could Lin Yi fail to see what Zhang De was thinking?

Hearing this, Zhang De had no choice but to temporarily put those thoughts aside.

Since his doubts had been resolved, Zhang De stayed no longer. He cupped his fists and said, "Mr. Lin, I shall take my leave now. Consider the Jade Spirit a gift from us. Oh, and might I have the Sorrow-Burial Sword back? It has been with me for a century."

"Take it." Lin Yi chuckled and returned the Sorrow-Burial Sword to Zhang De.

It was merely a damaged precious artifact; to him, it was of little consequence.

"Many thanks."

Zhang De cupped his fists once more, then soared away through the air.

Upon returning to Spirit-Possessing Mountain, Li Xincheng hurried forward and asked, "Grand Elder, how did it go? Has that Lin Yi been captured?"

Drooping his gaze slightly, Zhang De glanced at Li Xincheng and said, "Never bring this matter up again. Furthermore, issue an order: from now on, whenever Mr. Lin comes to the Martial Arts Association to make purchases, all prices will be discounted by ten percent."

"This..."

The group of Grand Elders exchanged bewildered glances.

The matter of the Jade Spirit was just being dropped like this?

And the Martial Arts Association's resources were to be sold to Lin Yi at a discounted price?

It might sound minor, but let us not forget—these were cultivation resources, the value of which could never be measured in mere currency.

Why had the Grand Elder's tune changed entirely toward Lin Yi after a single trip out?

"Did something happen?" an old woman asked.

"You need only know that Mr. Lin is not someone to be provoked," Zhang De shook his head, refusing to elaborate.

The group of elders exchanged glances once more. Although the Grand Elder's words were brief, they revealed a momentous underlying message.

The Grand Elder had likely crossed hands with Lin Yi, and very likely suffered a defeat.

Otherwise, the Grand Elder would never have uttered such words.

Which raised the question: was the Martial Arts Association truly going to compromise with such a young man?

This was nothing short of ultimate humiliation.

Lowering his head, Li Xincheng burned with intense resentment in his eyes.

Could this Lin Yi truly be so formidable that even a massive faction like the Martial Arts Association could do nothing against him?

Giving Li Xincheng a pointed look, Zhang De said coldly, "Especially you, Li Xincheng. I already learned of what transpired at the martial arts trading assembly upon my return. If you dare to seek trouble with Mr. Lin behind my back, don't blame me for finding trouble with you."

With that, Zhang De closed his eyes to rest.

Li Xincheng clenched his fists tightly before finally relaxing them.

Even Zhang De had conceded; no matter how unwilling he felt inside, he had no choice but to swallow it.

...

When Lin Yi arrived at the martial arts trading assembly, he deliberately manifested a faint trace of martial artist aura, roughly equivalent to the Xiantian realm.

In a major economic province like Modu, this level of strength amounted to nothing at all.

The place was as lively as ever.

Martial artists were still occasionally chatting about Lin Yi's commotion at the trading assembly and his defeat of Li Xincheng.

Lin Yi smiled indifferently. The lives of martial artists were monotonous, and any interesting piece of gossip from the martial arts world could keep them talking for days.

After roaming through the greater part of the trading assembly, Lin Yi found very little that caught his eye.

Instead, a young girl managed to draw his attention.

The girl was around sixteen years old, bright-eyed and white-toothed, with exceptionally clear and soulful eyes that seemed almost capable of speaking.

She was dressed plainly, but her snow-white skin added a special charm to her appearance.

Displayed on the girl's stall were various Buddhist ritual items—some consecrated dharma beads and wooden fish, alongside relic bones left behind after the cremation of eminent monks.

Lin Yi stepped up to the stall and stopped.

The girl looked up at him, asking timidly, "Sir, what are you looking for?"

Lin Yi asked, "Where did you get these Buddhist ritual items?"

A slight change came over the girl's face as she lowered her head and said, "Sir, the rule of the trading assembly is not to ask about origins."

"I was too impatient, I suppose. The consecration technique on these prayer beads is somewhat similar to that of an acquaintance of mine, which is why I asked," Lin Yi chuckled softly.

"Oh," the girl replied simply, saying no more as she appeared somewhat timid.