With his Perfect Golden Chaos Core solidified, Ling Tian's power level was several magnitudes beyond the Nascent Soul Realm experts of the Sky Cloud Sect. The Sect Master and Grand Elder Xi treated him with the cautious deference one reserves for a dangerous, necessary weapon.
Ling Tian returned to the Forbidden Archive, this time not for history, but for seclusion and mastery.
"I need a technique worthy of a Perfect Golden Core," Ling Tian announced to the surprised Elders guarding the Upper-Tier section.
"Disciple Ling Tian, that section is truly restricted," one Elder protested nervously. "Only the Sect Master can permit—"
Sect Master Gu's voice immediately echoed from a distance: "Grant Ling Tian whatever he demands from the Archives. Immediately."
Ling Tian ignored the flustered Elders and walked into the Upper-Tier section. This area housed dangerous and incomplete cultivation manuals. Ling Tian wasn't interested in the sect's flawed manuals. He needed solitude to decode and master the combat art from the Absolute Immortal Lineage.
The Apex Technique: Primordial Chaos Palm
Ling Tian focused on the most destructive technique in his Inheritance that was viable at the Golden Core level: the Primordial Chaos Palm.
This was not a complex spell; it was the ultimate expression of condensed chaos. It utilized the Perfect Golden Chaos Core to instantly unleash a fragment of primordial energy, capable of reducing anything it touched to its base particles—obliterating matter, Qi, and even spiritual consciousness.
He spent ten days in the Archives, absorbing the technique and utilizing the heavy spiritual Qi to practice the minute movements.
On the tenth day, he emerged. He looked like the same youth, but his aura was now completely restrained—a perfect stillness hiding a volcano of destructive power.
"I have mastered the basic form of the Primordial Chaos Palm," Ling Tian declared to himself. With this, I can easily kill a Mid-Nascent Soul Realm cultivator in one hit.
The First Clue of the Wider World
Just as Ling Tian was about to leave, his eyes were drawn to an obscure, cracked stone tablet that the sect had dismissed as folklore. It was kept near the restricted formation.
The tablet contained writings in an ancient script that only the Star Emperor's inheritance could decode. It wasn't about the Sky Cloud Sect; it was an account left by a traveling cultivator centuries ago.
"...I fled the northern territories. The Black Sun Cult has risen. Their methods are barbaric; they devour the essence of entire cities to power their God of Destruction. They possess the Void-Shattering Array and are seeking the last remaining Tier-8 Spirit Vein in the region to complete their ritual. They move south, toward the area of the Azure Cloud Sect..."
Ling Tian's violet gaze sharpened. The Sky Cloud Sect was clearly the weakened "Azure Cloud Sect" mentioned in the fragmented record, and their Tier-9 Spirit Vein Core was exactly what the Black Sun Cult would target.
A Cult that devours an entire city? A challenge worthy of my new Golden Core, Ling Tian thought, a cold smile touching his lips. And they are aiming for my current resource pool.
He realized that his path to higher realms might not be smooth. True rivals and existential threats existed outside the protected walls of the Sect.
Ling Tian walked out of the Archive and immediately sought out Sect Master Gu.
"Sect Master," Ling Tian said, cutting straight to the chase, "I have received intelligence of a coming invasion. The Black Sun Cult is moving toward the Heavenly Sword Mountain. Their goal is your Tier-9 Spirit Vein Core."
Sect Master Gu's face turned deathly pale. "The Black Sun Cult! That is merely a legend... a frightening tale to keep disciples disciplined!"
"It is real," Ling Tian insisted, his tone absolute. "They are led by those strong enough to devour entire cities. Prepare your defenses. However," he sneered, "your defenses will be useless. Only I can handle this threat."
"Why would you help us?" Sect Master Gu asked, trembling, knowing Ling Tian's arrogance.
"Because I refuse to have my cultivation base tainted by the stench of barbaric cultists," Ling Tian stated simply. "I will eliminate them. But I require full, command authority over all Elder and Disciple combat formations for the defense."
Sect Master Gu had just witnessed Ling Tian forge a Perfect Golden Core and endure a Heavenly Tribulation. He knew the Sect had no other choice.
"I grant it," Sect Master Gu said, bowing deeply this time. "The Sky Cloud Sect, and the entire region, depends on you, Honorary First Core Disciple Ling Tian."
Ling Tian nodded, his eyes glowing with lethal anticipation. His era of easy domination was over. His first true, external battle was about to begin.