Shi Yuandao suddenly straightened up. “Mr. Lin, let us make a bet.”
“What bet?” Lin Jin asked back.
“Let’s see if I can use the pure Qi of martial arts to break free from this magic treasure of yours.” Having said that, Shi Yuandao let out a roar as he unleashed all the energy contained in his body.
Eyes widened, he took a deep breath and his body began to enlarge, forcing the Immortal Binding Rope to make weird noises from the tension.
The burst of energy made even Lin Jin step back.
It was too powerful.
The shock was clear in Lin Jin’s eyes. He did not expect that Shi Yuandao was still capable of producing such force despite being trapped by the Immortal Binding Rope.
Looks like the old man was trying to use his monstrous strength to break free from the rope.
“Break!” Shi Yuandao’s Qi continued to increase and Lin Jin could clearly hear the sound of the rope almost snapping thanks to the incredible pressure.
This was a terrible sign.
Lin Jin prepared himself. Should the need ever arise, he would kill Shi Yuandao immediately. After all, this Century Battle Saint was too dangerous. Once he broke free, Lin Jin wouldn’t be able to deal with him that easily.
Even if the old man decided to run, he would continue to pose a great threat to Lin Jin in the future.
Lin Jin didn’t want to live the rest of his days fearing that a battle saint was stalking him in the dark.
So no matter what, he had to eliminate this threat today.
Crack!
Lin Jin heard it loud and clear.
It sounded as if something was breaking.
His first thought was the Immortal Binding Rope breaking. This magic treasure was still important to Lin Jin and was probably the most valuable possession he owned right now.
If it broke, it would be a huge loss for Lin Jin.
However, upon closer observation, what broke wasn’t the Immortal Binding Rope. Instead, it was the sound of Shi Yuandao breaking his body’s Qi limit, which had now reached a harrowing level.
With no time to waste, Lin Jin sprung into action. He figured that a normal needle might not work so Lin Jin took out the Thunderfire Needle.
This Thunderfire Needle was the most lethal magic tool Lin Jin had in his arsenal thus far.
Flicking his fingers, the Thunderfire Needle pierced into Shi Yuandao’s chest. The latter simply vomited a mouthful of blood as his energy dissipated rapidly.
Following a loud thud, Shi Yuandao fell to the ground and stopped breathing.
Lin Jin’s heart was racing as he approached the seemingly dead man. His Thunderfire Needle was probably not the primary reason for Shi Yuandao’s death. No, his veins were already beyond repair when the needle was used against him.
Upon careful deliberation, Lin Jin realized that Shi Yuandao was forcibly trying to break free from the Immortal Binding Rope by using a combination of Qi and physical strength which had exceeded his own limit.
In most cases, if he continued, it would have been suicide.
Even if Lin Jin didn’t use the Thunderfire Needle, Shi Yuandao would have died by exhausting all his energy.
Lin Jin wasn’t acquainted with this martial arts expert and it was only an accident that they met, though it was regretful that they met under hostile conditions.
Otherwise, judging by the man’s character, perhaps at a different time and place, they could have been great friends.
But there were no ‘if onlys’ in this world.
Lin Jin did not regret his decision. Since the man chose to help his disciple, he had pitted himself against Lin Jin.
Upon retrieving the Immortal Binding Rope, Lin Jin was startled to discover that some strands of the inner rope had actually snapped. His heart raced at the sight.
This was clearly Shi Yuandao’s doing.
So, did he almost succeed in breaking free with all his might earlier?
No, that wasn’t right.
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Lin Jin looked again. The slight damage it sustained implied that it wasn’t too big of a deal. That was all Shi Yuandao could do and even if he continued, he wouldn’t be able to break the Immortal Binding Rope before he died.
After all, this was a magic treasure.
“A Century Battle Saint is still limited by the potential of human beings after all,” Lin Jin muttered to himself.
Despite saying that, Lin Jin was aware that if he wasn’t skillful enough or had no such treasure, he would have died here today.
For the legacy of their martial art to be able to last so long, they must have some powerful possessions with them.
After killing off his targets, Lin Jin swiftly searched the house in hopes of finding clues related to the Demonic Appraisal Association. To his surprise, he actually found some.
In the young master’s room, Lin Jin discovered some letters.
There was also a black wooden box.
Judging by its shape, it was probably used to keep daggers or short sticks. Upon closer observation, Lin Jin could see many old amulets plastered all over the black box.
They were probably used to seal up the box.
Something was definitely inside.
Lin Jin leaned closer, and he heard a vague but strange noise coming from the black box. It kind of sounded like someone crying but also laughing.
The combination of laughter and wailing was indeed eerie.
What’s inside was surely sinister and demonic.
Despite his curiosity, Lin Jin did not plan on inspecting the box here. He then went over to Shi Yuandao’s room and before long, he emerged with a small book in his hand.
Shi Yuandao didn’t have many possessions and Lin Jin only managed to find a book which the old man transcribed. It was named ‘Battle Saint Mantra’. Surely, it wasn’t just an ordinary book.
Lin Jin didn’t touch the corpses.
Just like Chu Gou’s corpse, Lin Jin’s goal was to let the Demonic Appraisal Association find out about them. This was a demonstration of power and also a warning.
After all, the war between him and the Demonic Appraisal Association was already underway, so there was no need to hide his tracks anymore.
Besides that, Lin Jin had another purpose for leaving these bodies behind.
It was to tell members of the Demonic Appraisal Association that he, Lin Jin, was right here in Heavenly Spiral City. With this, the enemy would focus their attention here instead of targeting Maple City.
Of course, even if they went there, they might not succeed.
After all, Shang’er was no saint.
Lin Jin returned to the inn before dawn with still enough time to get some rest.
In one night, Lin Jin found the gathering spot for demonic appraisers, gathered precious information, and killed off two of them.
What a pity that Lin Jin couldn’t split himself up nor was he brave enough to track all four of them with his needles. In the end, he couldn’t do anything to the other two people, Elder Ye and Zhou Weng.
Lucky men, they were.
That was all he could do about the Demonic Appraisal Association for now. Next, Lin Jin would counter action with idleness. His next move would ultimately depend on the Demonic Appraisal Association’s response.
No matter what they threw at him, Lin Jin would accept it with full force.
Of course, none of this would affect what he set out to do.
He had two missions here at Heavenly Spiral Kingdom. One was to successfully pass the Rank 4 beast appraiser assessment, and the second was to enter Heavenly Spiral Palace so he could borrow Daojun’s Hieroglyphic.
Both tasks were rather important to him.
Once morning came, he would head to Heavenly Spiral City’s Beast Appraisal Association Headquarters. He had promised Tan Xun’s old friend, Jiang Tianhe, that they would meet there for the assessment.
Lin Jin didn’t ask for extra details because if the assessment was based on normal standards, he would do just fine.
Lin Jin had that much confidence.
After lying down for a bit, the sky brightened up.
Lin Jin got up, freshened up, and changed into a new set of clothes. At the door, Senior Mo was still immersed in his cultivation. The inn had prepared breakfast, but Lin Jin didn’t plan on eating inside the room so he went to the canteen on the first floor. Opening up the ‘Battle Saint Mantra’, Lin Jin began reading as he chowed down on breakfast.