Chapter 57: Nourishment
As Lin Langtian entered the fifth floor, the atmosphere immediately shifted. The Symbol Masters from Lin City relaxed, visibly relieved to see their clan's top talent, and their faces brightened with hope. Meanwhile, the Symbol Masters from Huangpu City tensed, their spiritual energies instinctively swelling. Anyone able to reach this floor was at least a third-seal Symbol Master, and any new force could unpredictably sway the balance.
Lin Langtian glanced over them and quickly noticed that among the eight Symbol Masters from Lin City, three had chaotic spiritual energies and looked visibly injured. He frowned. Although Lin City had fewer participants, each one was among the best. How had they suffered such losses?
"What happened?" Lin Langtian asked, his tone stern.
He directed his question to a young man who seemed the most injured—Lin Yin, another young Symbol Master from the Lin clan who had once trained with Langtian in the family academy before shifting to focus on his spiritual abilities in the Symbol Masters' Association.
"Brother Langtian, those Huangpu bastards claim it's a delusion to think we could take the Symbol Master Tower back to Lin City. I couldn't stand their insults, so we fought. But then Huangpu Yun stepped in, and with Sister Jin Xing absent, we were defeated," Lin Yin responded angrily, his frustration evident. It was outrageous that Huangpu Yun, a Spirit Symbol Master, had lowered himself to attack them, showing no shame.
"And where is this Huangpu Yun now?" Lin Langtian's eyes narrowed, his voice growing cold. Daring to injure Lin clan members like this, Huangpu Yun was clearly reckless.
"No need to ask," a tall, thin Symbol Master from Huangpu City sneered. "Brother Yun has likely moved on to the seventh floor by now. Lin Langtian, you may be the Lin clan's number one prodigy, but this isn't your arena. Looking for Brother Yun? Better save your energy and find a quiet corner to practice—you'll have no chance once the competition ends. With Brother Ling Quan and Brother Yun here, Lin City's Jin Xing can't possibly win this Tower Battle!"
The tall Symbol Master smirked, meeting Langtian's gaze with mocking confidence. In usual circumstances, he would never dare confront this top prodigy of the empire so brazenly. But inside the Symbol Master Tower, where only spiritual power counted, he felt confident his own spiritual force could match or even exceed Langtian's.
"Oh, you Huangpu Symbol Masters certainly seem self-assured. Confidence is a good thing," Lin Langtian replied icily, "but too much of it can be... fatal."
Without further warning, Langtian's expression darkened as he pushed off the ground, gliding towards the thin man. His eyes flashed, releasing a spiritual pulse that expanded in mid-air, as an immense wave of spiritual energy surged from his spirit core.
"Swoosh!"
With the infusion of his powerful spirit, the wave rapidly expanded, and in the blink of an eye, his immense spiritual power formed a spear several yards long. Though unadorned, this spiritual spear radiated a terrifying, fierce aura under Langtian's four-seal Symbol Master strength.
The emergence of the spear emitted an intense spiritual pulse, causing both the Lin and Huangpu Symbol Masters to recoil.
"A... four-seal Symbol Master!"
The Huangpu Symbol Masters' eyes widened in shock. Lin Langtian was supposedly no real threat—how could he be a four-seal Symbol Master? And by the looks of it, not an ordinary one either.
Even Lin Yin and his companions from Lin City were stunned. They knew Langtian well, but never suspected he possessed such immense spiritual strength.
As the spiritual spear shot toward him, the tall, thin man's confidence wavered. Despite being a four-seal Symbol Master himself, the legendary prowess of Lin Langtian haunted him, and he found himself retreating instinctively, frantically summoning a spiritual wave to counter the incoming force.
Seeing the approaching spiritual wave, Lin Langtian's gaze sharpened. Instead of dodging, he extended his hand, bringing a dark natal symbol into his palm and molding it into a vortex.
"Buzz, buzz!"
Lin Langtian's hand met the spiritual wave head-on, and to the thin man's horror, the wave simply dissipated, drawn into Langtian's palm with no effect whatsoever. In that instant, the black vortex devoured it whole.
"So domineering… The Black Swirl Symbol is truly unrivaled!" Langtian grinned slightly, locking his gaze onto the shocked thin man.
With a swift movement, Langtian appeared beside the man, reaching out with his vortex-laden palm toward his head. The man desperately summoned another wave of spiritual energy, but his strength paled in comparison to Langtian's. Within moments, Langtian's hand was upon his head.
Once Langtian's hand made contact, the man's entire body convulsed violently, and terror filled his eyes as he felt the four natal symbols within his spirit core begin to tremble uncontrollably. His spiritual energy was draining rapidly, funneled directly into Langtian's hand.
"Crack!"
Moments later, with most of his spirit depleted, the thin man slumped to the ground, barely breathing.
"A four-seal Symbol Master, indeed," Langtian murmured in satisfaction. Absorbing the man's energy had noticeably enhanced his own spiritual strength, bringing him closer to the Spirit Symbol Master level.
Inside the Symbol Master Tower, spiritual energy naturally condensed, so taking in someone else's power didn't harm his own.
Langtian's gaze shifted to the seven remaining Symbol Masters from Huangpu City, his eyes glinting with hunger. Among them were three more four-seal Symbol Masters and four three-seal ones. They weren't competitors; they were fuel. Fuel to help him achieve Spirit Symbol Master status.
"You, the ones uninjured, hold them back." Langtian ordered the Lin City Symbol Masters, his tone icy as he watched the fear building in the Huangpu City Symbol Masters' faces.
"Yes!"
The Lin City Symbol Masters felt a surge of hope. They hadn't expected Langtian's terrifying strength, and now they eagerly moved forward to engage the Huangpu Symbol Masters, following his orders.
The battle that followed was brief. With Langtian's strength and the aid of his allies, the remaining Huangpu City Symbol Masters were swiftly overpowered. Within minutes, Langtian had absorbed the spiritual energy of each of the seven Symbol Masters.
After devouring so much energy, Lin Langtian wore a look of satisfaction, feeling himself only a step away from breaking through to Spirit Symbol Master level.