Lin Han rushed toward his destination.
At the same time, he tried to arrange the thoughts that swirled in his head.
As his thoughts were deep in the Golden Spirit Fire, he kept thinking back to the look that the mysterious iron-clothed man gave him.
That cold look with endless killing intent made him feel as though he had fallen into Hell. His vision had been flooded with piles of corpses and a sea of blood.
As he tried to understand it, his face turned pale.
Deriving the conception through Golden Spirit Fire consumed an extreme amount of mental power and spiritual power.
In spite of that, he endured it.
If he could apprehend even a bit of that technique, he might be able to do what the mysterious man and the lady could.
That also meant acquiring another attack method of a Spirit Master from scratch.
The path of a Spirit Master was very elusive. Although Lin Han had the Soul Divine Book given to him from the Golden Spirit Fire, of the techniques in the book he only gained the Spirit Master Heavenly Eye as of now.
Besides, it was only used to support his combat, for instance, he used it to inspect the geography, detect another person's cultivation base, see tracks during battles, and so on. It could not be used for killing.
Therefore, Lin Han was eager to understand the iron-clothed man's look.
Of course, the look did not mean that the iron-clothed man was a Spirit Master.
It was just that a person who was able to achieve that man's martial arts boundary would mean that he would more or less possess a strong and formidable aura.
A warrior like that was truly extraordinary.
"I'm almost there, I've almost got it…"
Lin Han was feeling elated.
If he succeeded, he would get another trump card to play during the Martial Arts Tea Party.
After all, according to "Uncle Ghost", those who cultivated the qualities of a Spirit Master were rare, and those with innate abilities to awaken it as he did were even harder to find.
There were very few Spirit Masters in the Lingwu Continent, let alone the Yan Kingdom.
Spirit Masters had become a legend in the continent. They were all strange and mysterious.
This was because their techniques involved the soul, will, and mind. He had abilities to attack things that were beyond one's body, which was something difficult to believe for the average person.
As Lin Han's spiritual power was being consumed, he slowly comprehended the soul-attacking gaze he felt just now. He named it "Killing Eye".
…
Lin Han returned to Broken Sky City that afternoon.
He headed straight to Lin Clan Sect Residence without stopping and did not even have time to sell the items he collected from the forest.
Once he was in the sect residence, he removed his spirit ring and kept it in his robe to prevent others from noticing anything out of the ordinary.
As for the rusty sword that he carried, he had no intention of hiding that.
Nobody would want the seemingly terribly rusty sword even if he were to throw it to the ground.
Nonetheless, Lin Han knew that it was very sharp and tough, unlike its appearance.
"I heard that this year's Inner Residence Martial Arts Tea Party is fraught with intense competition, and there are quite a number of new-generation geniuses from the Outer Residence. For example, Lin Tian and Lin Ruyan who unbelievably fought their way into the top twenty ranks in the Inner Residence."
"Lin Yan and Lin Sha also made it to the top fifty. They've pretty much secured their spots in the Inner Residence."
"Oh right, how about the rookie from the Outer Residence Competition, Lin Han? Why haven't I heard any news about him?"
"He seems to have escaped. I heard that a powerhouse in the Inner Residence had something against him…"
Along the way, Lin Han overheard the whispers from many people.
Nevertheless, he moved through the crows like a phantom using the Startled Swan Body Technique, thus nobody noticed him.
"Looks like Lin Xue really did disappear...." Lin Han was silent as he had not heard anything regarding Lin Xue.
The person whom he really favored within the Outer Residence was Lin Xue, a mysterious Spirit Master.
In fact, he felt a hint of gratitude toward him.
Without Lin Xue stimulating his spirit's appearance, Lin Han would only chance upon the peculiar path of a Spirit Master much later in life. .
"The Martial Arts Tea Party has come to an end!"
An energetic voice could be heard coming from afar, Lin Han heard it with his strong perception.
"Oh no! The Martial Art Tea Party's finished?"
Lin Han's face fell. He instantly sped up crossing the big river to enter the Inner Residence.
He noticed at first glance that there were a total of fifty huge stone pillars in front of the survival arena. Every pillar was different in height, but they were all occupied by someone sitting on top of each pillar.
They were the fifty Inner Residence disciples!
The lowest-ranked disciple sat on the lowest stone pillar, whereas the top-ranked disciple sat on the highest.
Lin Han noticed a few familiar faces after taking a brief look.
Among them were Lin Ruyan, Lin Tian, Lin Yan, and Lin Sha. There was also Lin Duanjian who was sitting straight on the third-highest stone pillar.
"Lin Han's here!"
Someone who noticed Lin Han announced out loud.
The countless Outer Residence disciples who were there to spectate were in an uproar.
Even the Inner Residence disciples on the stone pillars were shocked when they saw the green-robed man walking into the Inner Residence.
After all, Lin Han earned himself the title of the king of the rookies from the Outer Residence Competition and became quite popular in the Lin Clan Sect Residence.
"I'm too late..." Lin Han's expression turned dull.
"Lin Han, quick, get into the survival arena!"
A familiar voice!
Lin Han turned to find that it was the Inner Residence elder who hosted the Outer Residence Competition.
He was urging Lin Han with his expression.
'Get into the survival arena?'
Lin Han's eyes brightened immediately. He performed his body technique to make his way to the huge blood-covered survival arena.
"Lin Han stepped into the arena at the last moment, even though he's late. As the resident sect elder, I am granting him this opportunity," The Inner Residence elder mentioned.
He had had a favorable opinion of Lin Han all along, thus he naturally wanted to help him.
As such, Lin Han was grateful. He bowed at the Inner Residence elder.
He knew that the elder would have driven out anyone else who was late.
"Lin Han?! He… He's still alive?!"
The person who was the most shocked at that moment was none other than Lin Badao on the spectator's stands.
Seeing Lin Han returning unscathed with a powerful aura surrounding him, he broke out in cold sweat.
When Lin Han walked toward the survival arena, he looked at the fifty stone pillars.
He saw the hopeful looks from Lin Ruyan and Lin Yan, as well as the strange looks from the other Inner Residence disciples.
"I think that the sect residence's rules mustn't be broken. Since Lin Han disregarded the law by being late to the Martial Arts Tea Party, he shouldn't be allowed to participate in it!" Without warning, a cold voice was heard.
Following that, the crowd looked over.
It was Lin Badao!
His expression was gloomy.
This was because Lin Han was a huge threat to him. If he were to take part in the Martial Arts Tea Party, he could easily enter the Inner Residence.
It would be troublesome to kill Lin Han if he became an Inner Residence disciple.
Looking at Lin Badao's gloomy face, Lin Han was aware of his scheme as well.
However, he did not reveal his grudge between him and Lin Badao.
Firstly, he was still an insignificant disciple. If he were to reveal it, nobody would believe him, and it would cause him more trouble instead.
Secondly, he was determined to kill Lin Badao, thus he did not want to act rashly and alert him. He needed to keep his plans secret so that nobody would suspect him.
Thirdly, Lin Wuya had been killed by his own ice arrow. If he disclosed this secret, Lin Badao would likely publicize the fact that it was his doing, and they would both be punished in the end.
Lin Han decided to keep quiet.
On the other hand, Lin Badao seemed to think that Lin Han was afraid, thus he objected to the Inner Residence elder's suggestion and was adamant about casting Lin Han out of the Martial Arts Tea Party.
After all, there was a great disparity between an Outer Residence disciple and an Inner Residence disciple.
Upon hearing that, the Inner Residence elder was displeased.
He did not expect someone else from the sect residence's upper level to throw Lin Han out of the tea party.
'This is going to be tough.'
The Inner Residence elder smiled bitterly at Lin Han.
"Lin Han? The remarkable subdivision disciple from the Outer Residence Competition?"
The crowd was in shock as they looked over.
It was the resident master who spoke!
In a commanding, majestic tone, he said, "The Lin Clan Sect Resident isn't a place that stubbornly adheres to outworn rules! Lin Han, you're the Outer Residence's Greatest Disciple, so you have the privilege of a second chance. I now permit you to enter the survival arena to challenge an Inner Residence disciple, but you only have one chance, you must consider your choice carefully!"
Lin Badao's face instantly changed.
"Residence Master, Lin Han is very late, we can't…"
"My word is final!"
The residence master glared at Lin Badao.
"Yes, Residence Master!"
Lin Badao quickly dropped the idea. He froze with a terrible look on his face as he watched Lin Han stepping onto the survival arena.