Aftermath
Behind him, Tu Jinsong and the others all sucked in a cold breath.
Their faces were filled with disbelief.
Earlier, they'd thought Lin Ye was being reckless—making an enemy of Fierce Heart Sect on their own turf. In their minds, the smarter choice would've been to endure for now, let them leave, then plan quietly later.
But Lin Ye hadn't hesitated.
In their eyes, it looked like provocation.
Now they understood.
It wasn't provocation.
It was simply crushing a few noisy ants.
Yan Du and his people were never a threat to begin with.
Many had misunderstood, believing Lin Ye's instant kill of Lu Chengxuan was luck—or that the vice sect master had simply underestimated him.
But think about it: even ordinary people knew to be cautious.
Would a true Moonwheel powerhouse be less careful than them?
Tu Jinsong exchanged glances with the others, all of them silently relieved.
Thank the heavens they hadn't tried to fight Lin Ye.
Otherwise, their ending wouldn't be much different from Yan Du's.
Maybe worse.
You think you can threaten Lin Ye?
In Lin Ye's eyes—
you are nothing.
The Tiger Retreats
"ROAR!"
The Strange-Pattern Blazing Sun Tiger let out a series of low growls.
The fury inside that roar shook the forest.
It had just passed tribulation. All it needed was to devour the treasure it had guarded—then it could recover instantly and return to peak condition.
Now that treasure was gone.
Its hatred for Lin Ye was enough to set the world on fire.
But—
it didn't lose its mind.
This beast was intelligent, nothing like ordinary monsters. In the future, it might even evolve into a spirit beast with true wisdom.
The tiger had sensed something in Lin Ye.
A danger so sharp it made its instincts scream.
Right now, it had just advanced. Its state wasn't stable.
If it fought Lin Ye now…
it would likely lose.
It growled twice more—an unwilling warning—and then turned, leaping into the forest.
Whoosh!
Gone.
A vast wilderness.
If a Sixth-grade beast wanted to flee, you couldn't catch it.
Lin Ye narrowed his eyes.
"Smart."
If it insisted on fighting, Lin Ye could kill it.
But it would cost him.
Even weakened, that beast was already slightly stronger than Lu Chengxuan.
If it fully recovered?
It wouldn't need ten moves to tear someone like Lu Chengxuan apart.
A threat—just not right now.
The tiger choosing to run…
meant it had saved its life.
Back to Thousand Spirit City
Lin Ye withdrew his aura and headed back toward Thousand Spirit City.
The crowd watching from a distance was stunned.
"Did you see that…? He drove off a Sixth-grade beast with pure pressure!"
"And the beast was enraged too!"
"Too terrifying… this kind of dominance is beyond us."
Forget the Fierce Heart Sect slaughter.
Just the fact Lin Ye dared to enter tribulation lightning, resist two strikes, steal an Eighth-grade herb, and walk out unscathed—
That was the real madness.
Lin Ye returned at a slower pace.
The battle hadn't exhausted him, but it had consumed a portion of his power.
Nine-Turn Asura Art was already restoring his qi rapidly.
Then—
deep in the forest—
Lin Ye stopped.
A cold smile tugged at his lips.
"Playing this game?"
He'd sensed it for a while.
Several presences had been shadowing him, circling his path, following for a long distance.
Their goal was obvious.
They weren't here to deliver breakfast.
They wanted an ambush.
Lin Ye wasn't someone who specialized in traps—
But these clowns weren't good enough to trap him either.
Who they were didn't matter.
Ambush Reversed
In the darkness, the four shadows suddenly halted.
Lin Ye had vanished.
In just a blink—
he disappeared from their encirclement like smoke.
"Bad—he noticed!"
One of them was about to transmit a message—
A sword pierced through a tree in front of him.
BANG!
The blade went through the trunk—
and straight through his chest.
Silent.
Clean.
By the time he realized he'd been attacked…
it was already too late.
He was pinned to the tree.
He struggled, grabbed the trunk, and tried to pull himself off the sword—
Only to be hit by two arrows.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
One through the brow.
One through the throat.
The arrows slammed him back onto the blade.
Instant death.
The other three heard the movement and rushed over.
When they saw the corpse—
their faces turned ashen.
"We've been exposed! Stay alert!"
But before the warning even finished—
Lin Ye dropped from above like a killing star.
"Luo Sheng Palm."
One palm struck downward.
The ambusher's eyes widened.
He was Star River Fifth Realm—his reaction was fast.
He countered with a palm of his own.
"Monument-Shattering Palm!"
He sneered inside.
You dare trade palms with me?
I've trained palm arts for over thirty years!
BOOM!
The moment the palms collided—
his expression changed completely.
A brutal force surged into his body like a wild beast tearing through his meridians.
He stumbled back several steps.
"Hidden force!"
He immediately circulated qi, forcing the hidden force out.
Luckily he noticed early—
otherwise the hidden force would've detonated and shredded him from within.
But when he tried to attack again—
he froze in terror.
The meridians in his palm…
were already ruptured.
"How… is that possible?!"
Lin Ye didn't give him time to breathe.
"Heaven-Piercing Finger!"
One finger thrust—paired with Heavenly Strategy Soaring Dragon Steps.
The man couldn't react.
He couldn't even decide where to run.
BANG!
His qi armor was pierced.
His heart exploded.
His body rolled once, then slammed into the ground.
Dead.
Black Dragon Sect Again
The remaining two shadows arrived and formed a front-and-back pincer around Lin Ye.
They didn't attack.
They simply stared him down.
They were buying time.
"Monster…"
Even they were shaken.
A Star River expert—killed in seconds.
But they held position.
Meaning…
reinforcements were coming.
Lin Ye raised a hand.
The Cold Iron Sword, still embedded in the tree in the distance—
flew back into his grasp.
Remote control.
True precision.
This level of qi manipulation alone was terrifying.
One of them shouted, voice sharp:
"You can't escape!"
"Black Dragon Sect's experts will arrive any moment!"
They each drew a circular blade, keeping distance, trying to trap Lin Ye with pressure rather than approach.
Lin Ye's eyes narrowed.
"Black Dragon Sect again?"
A flash of killing intent passed through his gaze.
He recalled the earlier scene in Thousand Spirit City.
Black Dragon Sect had come for the treasure map he seized from Lu Chengxuan.
But that map was only half.
Lin Ye's smile widened slightly.
"So the other half…"
"…is with you."
His tone turned almost amused.
Originally, Lin Ye didn't care about the treasure map.
But since Black Dragon Sect was so enthusiastic—
so desperate—
to deliver the other half to him…
How could he refuse?
He didn't rush to kill them.
Because he knew—
the map wasn't in these two small fry's hands.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three more figures rushed in from afar.
One Moonwheel Realm!
Two half-step Moonwheel!
Lin Ye's smile faded into coldness.
The real meal…
had finally arrived.