“No, no, no! I’ll give it! Isn’t that enough?”
Enveloped by the fear of death, Dongguo Lie hurriedly took out his storage ring and handed it to Lin Yun.
“Remove your mark and then give it to me,” Lin Yun ordered.
Dongguo Lie had no choice but to comply, erasing the mark on the storage ring before handing it over, rendering it ownerless.
“You’re smart.”
Lin Yun took the storage ring and finally released his grip.
“Dongguo Lie, I, Lin Yun, may not have many years left, but let me warn you, don’t provoke me. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to take you down with me. The power of my self-destruction at the Ninth Transcending Tribulation Realm is no small matter!” Lin Yun warned coldly.
Lin Yun couldn’t use his inner strength, as doing so would trigger the Soul-Breaking Poison in his body to erupt instantly.
But if truly pushed to the edge, Lin Yun could self-destruct without worrying about the poison.
“You… you…” Dongguo Lie’s face turned pale, trembling with rage, yet genuinely terrified.
After saying his piece, Lin Yun turned and left.
As he walked, Lin Yun inspected Dongguo Lie’s storage ring.
“As expected of the prime minister’s son, three hundred million spirit crystals, over a hundred thousand Tribulation Pills, and even a Heavenly Dao-grade weapon,” Lin Yun said with a smile.
Though Lin Yun couldn’t use the spirit crystals or Tribulation Pills himself, he could give them to his friends and family.
Especially the Tribulation Pills—though he had given many to his loved ones before, there was still a shortage.
…
Meanwhile, in Dongyuan Prefecture.
Inside the Governor’s Palace.
Shi Wen sat in the hall, drinking while awaiting the empire’s troops to suppress the unrest.
At that moment, Zhou Cheng rushed in.
“Lord Shi, a decree from the divine capital has arrived!” Zhou Cheng hurriedly presented a document.
“Haha, finally! Those unruly people are done for!”
Shi Wen laughed heartily as he took the document and quickly opened it.
Upon reading its contents, the document slipped from his hands, and he stood frozen, as if struck by lightning.
“My lord, what’s wrong?” Zhou Cheng asked urgently.
“Dismissed… dismissed? How could this be! They say I’m incompetent… how is this my fault? All I did was target the Zhu family!” Shi Wen roared, unwilling to accept it.
Shi Wen never dreamed that targeting the Zhu family would escalate to this point.
“My lord, how could this happen? The prime minister surely would have mediated for us!” Zhou Cheng said anxiously.
“It’s all because of that Lin Yun! I never expected his influence in Dongyuan Prefecture to be this immense. He… he actually managed to unite those families and sects! And the entire prefecture’s people were willing to march and protest for him…” Shi Wen’s face was ashen.
The victor takes all, and Shi Wen knew he had lost utterly this time!
*Bang!*
At that moment, the hall’s doors were forcefully pushed open.
Huo Zhen and Liang Yuan stepped inside.
The sects and families gathered outside followed Huo Zhen and Liang Yuan, arriving at the hall with imposing momentum.
“Lord Shi Wen, we’ll take over from here. You can leave!” Huo Zhen said coldly.
Liang Yuan added, “Lord Shi Wen, remember how arrogant you were when you arrived at Dongyuan Prefecture? Who would’ve thought your tenure as governor would end so quickly? Dongyuan Prefecture isn’t a place for your Dongguo Party to meddle with, understand?”
“You… you…” Shi Wen’s face turned pale.
This wasn’t just a blow to Shi Wen but to the entire Dongguo Party!
“We’ll see about that! You’re only relying on Lin Yun, aren’t you? Once he dies in a few decades, your families will be wiped out by my Dongguo Party!” Shi Wen spat viciously.
With that, Shi Wen stormed out.
He had arrived with such arrogance and pride, but now he left in utter disgrace and embarrassment!
…
After Shi Wen slunk away from Dongyuan Prefecture, the prefecture quickly returned to normal.
The entire prefecture erupted in celebration.
Though the governor’s position was now vacant, Huo Zhen was appointed acting governor and commander of the capital, with Liang Yuan as the administrative commissioner. Both were Lin Yun’s allies, meaning Dongyuan Prefecture was still under Lin Yun’s influence.
But to Lin Yun, this was unimportant.
Given his condition, with only a few decades left unless the poison was neutralized, finding a cure was his top priority.
As for Shi Wen, upon returning to the divine capital, he was harshly reprimanded by Prime Minister Dongguo Wuji, who berated his incompetence. After great effort to secure him the governor’s position, Shi Wen had squandered it!
Shi Wen could only swallow his grievances, having completely underestimated Lin Yun’s influence in Dongyuan Prefecture!
…
Time flew by, and twenty years passed quietly.
Twenty years later.
In the divine capital, at the Lin residence.
In Lin Yun’s bedroom.
Having just finished carving a sculpture, Lin Yun collapsed to the ground, his face pale, drenched in sweat.
The tormenting pain in his body twisted his expression!
“It’s been 31 days since my last dose. Time to take it.”
Lin Yun took out a pill and swallowed it.
After taking the pill, the excruciating pain subsided significantly, though it didn’t vanish entirely.
In the early years, taking the pill would grant several pain-free days.
But with each dose, the pill’s effectiveness diminished.
Now, even on the first day after taking it, pain persisted.
For an ordinary person, this level of pain would be unbearable, enough to drive them to the brink of death.
But for Lin Yun now, compared to the full eruption of the poison, this pain was negligible.
After taking the pill, its effects would last at most twenty days before wearing off completely, leaving Lin Yun to endure the pain on his own.
He could increase the frequency, taking a pill every twenty days, but that would be like drinking poison to quench thirst!
The more frequently he took it, the faster the pill’s effectiveness would diminish, until it failed entirely, and Lin Yun would die soon after!
So when the effects wore off, Lin Yun chose to endure!
He endured until he could bear it no longer before taking another dose.
This kind of pain was the hardest to bear—not a fleeting moment of torment, but a constant, unrelenting agony every second of every day.
Under this torment, Lin Yun’s endurance had reached an extraordinary level!
“Feels good!” Lin Yun smiled after taking the pill, standing up again.
From intense agony to the mild discomfort after the pill, it was like moving from an icy cave to a warm room—an indescribable relief!
“Time flies. It’s been twenty years,” Lin Yun sighed.
Time’s power is immense—it can turn decay into wonder or reduce grandeur to mundanity.
Twenty years was enough to change many things!
