As the master and disciple sparred, the sky darkened completely.
They finally sheathed their swords.
…
After descending the mountain, Lin Yun headed straight to his residence.
Lin Mansion.
As soon as Lin Yun returned, Little Monkey hurriedly approached him.
“Master, I have something to report. It’s about intelligence within the demon clan,” Little Monkey said earnestly.
“Oh? What intelligence?”
Hearing it was about the demon clan, Lin Yun immediately perked up.
“According to my information, since the last great battle, over the past few years, a large number of high-quality newborn demon beasts have been continuously sent to the Demon Marshal’s Mansion. It’s said that at least ten million have been sent, and once they enter, there’s no further word of them, as if they’ve vanished into thin air,” Little Monkey said.
“Oh? What’s going on?” Lin Yun pressed immediately.
When things are abnormal, there must be something amiss. This was clearly unusual.
“The exact reason is unclear, but there are rumours within the demon clan that the Demon Lord is cultivating through a bloody method, sacrificing the lives of these newborn demon beasts to elevate his strength to another level,” Little Monkey said.
Lin Yun’s expression turned grave upon hearing this.
“If that’s true, doesn’t it mean the Demon Lord will become even stronger in the future?” Lin Yun exclaimed.
Lin Yun knew that the Demon Lord was already an immensely powerful entity.
If the Demon Lord’s strength were to rise another level, who in this world could stand against him?
“Master, it does seem possible. There have been tales within the demon clan about such a cruel cultivation method. I didn’t believe them before, but now it seems the Demon Lord might actually be doing it, especially since it’s a fact that vast numbers of high-quality newborn demon beasts have been sent to the Demon Marshal’s Mansion,” Little Monkey said.
“If this is true, he’s truly ruthless, using the lives of his own clan for cultivation,” Lin Yun said, his gaze narrowing.
According to Little Monkey’s earlier figures, in just five years, over ten million high-quality newborn demon beasts had been sent. What about in a hundred years, a thousand years, or ten thousand years?
Though the demon clan’s population was vast, measured in hundreds of billions or even trillions, such consumption was still enormous.
This cultivation method was practically at the cost of destroying his race’s future.
“Master, when I was still in the Demon Beast Mountain Range, I heard that this Demon Lord is ruthless and will stop at nothing to achieve his goals, even against his own kind. So, it’s entirely possible he’d do this,” Little Monkey said.
“True or not, our human race currently has no good way to stop him,” Lin Yun sighed helplessly.
The human race had no means to deal with the Demon Lord. Even if they knew he was cultivating this way, what could they do? They couldn’t kill him.
“It’s said this bloody cultivation method requires an immense number of newborn demon beasts. One thing I can confirm is that if the Demon Lord is indeed using this method, it will take a long time to succeed, likely thousands of years at the earliest, or tens of thousands at the longest,” Little Monkey said.
Pausing, Little Monkey continued, “Moreover, this method isn’t guaranteed to succeed, as it’s only a legend.”
“I understand,” Lin Yun nodded.
Even if the Demon Lord needed a long time, and even if success wasn’t certain, this matter still left Lin Yun quietly worried.
All Lin Yun could do was strive to improve his own strength, aiming to pass the ultimate trial of the Heavenly Fire Temple.
This was also the only goal Lin Yun could pursue at present.
Later, Lin Yun used his communication bracelet to relay Little Monkey’s intelligence to Deputy Palace Master Yao.
…
In the days that followed, Lin Yun began carving and practising swordsmanship at home.
Having reached the limit in his realm, the higher Saint realm was something Lin Yun couldn’t hope to achieve in the short term. It was elusive, almost unattainable.
Thus, the only way for Lin Yun to improve his strength now was to focus on enhancing other aspects, such as divine consciousness and swordsmanship.
While staying at home, Lin Yun also made time to guide the cultivation of his daughter, son, and close friends.
Of course, his guidance was limited. Lin Yun could provide resources and advice, but the ultimate results depended on their own efforts.
…
Time passed, and five hundred years flew by in the blink of an eye.
In the training chamber.
Lin Yun was intently completing a sculpture.
Over these five hundred years, Lin Yun spent half his time in the One Thought Clarity Tower, meaning he had actually cultivated for over a thousand years.
For the other half, he had assumed an ordinary identity to travel, visited the divine palace of the Heavenly Fire Temple, and secluded himself in the sword chamber of the Thousand Mechanisms Secret Room for extended periods.
Of course, he also spent time at home with his loved ones, offering guidance on their cultivation.
Additionally, Lin Yun had returned to Earth once to visit old friends.
If Lin Yun’s shortcoming in the past was limited cultivation time, these five hundred years had greatly compensated for that.
Five hundred years, or over a thousand years of cultivation, had allowed Lin Yun to thoroughly solidify his strength.
“Father, the Sect Master of the Heavenly Sword Sect of the Xingwu Empire has come to see you,” his daughter Lin Kexin’s voice called from outside as Lin Yun was deeply focused on his cultivation.
“The Sect Master is here?” Lin Yun was surprised, his carving knife slipping slightly.
Lin Yun knew the Sect Master rarely sought him out. For him to travel all the way to the Divine Capital must mean something important.
“Alright, I’ll be right there,” Lin Yun called back.
Then, he looked at the sculpture before him.
“Ruined.”
Lin Yun shook his head, waving his hand to reduce the sculpture to dust.
His moment of distraction had caused the knife to leave a slight flaw.
Though ordinary people wouldn’t notice it, Lin Yun couldn’t tolerate imperfections in his work.
This was his obsession with perfection in sculpting.
Then, Lin Yun left the room.
“Kexin, where’s the Sect Master now?” Lin Yun asked.
“In the main hall,” Lin Kexin replied.
Hearing this, Lin Yun headed straight to the main hall.
In the hall, servants had already served tea to the Sect Master.
