"I am Xu An! As for my origins, you don't need to know for now."
Sensing that Hai Bodong had dispersed his fighting spirit, seemingly giving up resistance for the time being, Lin Yuan's eyes sharpened. With a thought, he used the technique of Dan Fire to conjure the Azure Spirit Flame. Then, with a change in his hand seals, a ball of purplish-red energy was released from his life blood dan, merging into the flame, which then transformed into a small, agile dragon-shaped fire spirit.
"Heavenly Fire Calamity, Ancient Dragon Spirit Seal."
The dragon-shaped fire spirit easily entered the defenseless body of Hai Bodong, forming a seal. As the seal took shape, Hai Bodong's aura rapidly plummeted, eventually dropping to the Great Fighter level.
"It seems this sealing technique is basically complete. I should take the opportunity to study the sealing techniques used by Queen Medusa and see if there are any areas for improvement," Lin Yuan thought, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes as he sensed Hai Bodong's aura.
The Ancient Dragon Spirit Seal was a unique sealing technique created by Lin Yuan after referencing various sealing-type fighting techniques and combining them with his own knowledge. It could seal another's fighting spirit cultivation, and the caster could detonate the energy of the seal to cause devastating damage to the sealed individual.
As Lin Yuan delved deeper into the Beast Refining Spirit Technique, he gained a better understanding of the bloodlines of magical beasts and developed some methods for utilizing his life blood dan. After referencing some human sealing-type fighting techniques, he finally replicated a unique sealing technique similar to the magical beast bloodline inheritance sealing technique.
With the seal complete, Lin Yuan also dispersed the fighting spirit in his left hand and withdrew it.
Feeling the decline of his own fighting spirit, Hai Bodong's face instantly turned pale, as if recalling some unpleasant memories. He understood that he had completely lost the chance to resist. Gathering his spirit, Hai Bodong asked dryly, "What have you done? What do you want?"
"What have I done? Don't worry, I just added a seal to you, Ice Emperor, Hai Bodong," Lin Yuan replied with a light smile.
Hearing the young man before him call out his name, Hai Bodong's heart sank, and he thought to himself, "This is bad; this is not a coincidence. This person is coming for me. It seems I cannot escape this calamity."
"As for what I want to do, it's not the right time to tell you the specifics, but I can tell you that the Gama Empire has fallen into a vortex, and some colossal entities are about to make their move here. The force I represent is one of them, and you are the collaborator I have chosen," Lin Yuan said mysteriously, beginning his deception.
"Collaborator? Is this how you treat collaborators? Taking away the items of the cooperation partner and sealing their strength? Is this your way of cooperating?" Hai Bodong retorted sarcastically.
Lin Yuan paid no mind to the sarcasm in Hai Bodong's words and replied sincerely, "Taking your things is because I need that item, and sealing your strength is to make it easier to control your actions. Now that my strength exceeds yours, I will naturally impose my own ideas. If the positions were reversed, you would do the same as I am, after all, this is the fundamental rule of the fighting spirit continent where the strong are respected."
"Should I thank you for sparing my life? For giving me a chance to help you?" Hai Bodong said, though he internally acknowledged the truth in Lin Yuan's words about the strong being respected. If the roles were reversed, he would certainly force the young man before him to reveal what he knew about the incomplete map. However, when the situation was happening to him, he couldn't help but retort.
"You don't need to thank me, and it's not helping me; it's cooperation, a mutually beneficial cooperation. I hope we can establish this cooperative relationship, and your life is one of the tokens of sincerity from my side," Lin Yuan said gently, but the meaning behind his words was extremely cold.
"So, if we can't reach an agreement, I will die, right?" Though it was a rhetorical question, Hai Bodong already had the answer in his heart.
Hai Bodong understood the implication of Lin Yuan's previous words. Although the young man spoke gently and plainly, the coldness in his attitude, which suggested he would cut ties decisively, was particularly chilling.
"You can understand it that way. Also, I would appreciate it if the Ice Emperor could hand over the other part of the incomplete map to me. You have another part of that map, right?" Lin Yuan looked calmly into Hai Bodong's eyes.
Upon hearing this, Hai Bodong's eyes narrowed, and he coldly laughed, "If you want the map, then it depends on your sincerity. After I painstakingly obtained this incomplete map in the desert, I used my years of cartography experience to perfectly split it into two parts. One part is the one you took earlier, and the other part... heh heh."
"Forget it, I'll take it myself!" Lin Yuan directly interrupted Hai Bodong's words.
"Seal!"
With a light shout from Lin Yuan, a peculiar wave emanated from his life blood dan. The seal within Hai Bodong's body seemed to sense this wave, and a purple aura flowed out, releasing a special pressure. Having already dropped to the Great Fighter level, Hai Bodong could not resist this pressure and was instantly suppressed, unable to move.
Lin Yuan calmly took Hai Bodong's storage ring, then released him and held the ring out in front of Hai Bodong, saying lightly, "Take out the items. Trust me, even if you don't act, I have ways to retrieve the items inside. However, at that time, the loss for you will be significant."
As he spoke, Lin Yuan unleashed his powerful soul force, completely locking onto Hai Bodong, allowing him to feel it. He also condensed a strong fighting spirit deterrent, ready to kill Hai Bodong instantly if he made any sudden moves.
"This soul force belongs to a high-level alchemist. Sigh..." Hai Bodong felt the overwhelming soul force, which was strong enough to erase his soul mark on the storage ring. He sighed helplessly, touched the ring with his fingers, and then a small piece of extremely ancient, yellowed parchment appeared in his hand.
"Here, consider this a concession on my part. But how did you know this map was definitely in my storage ring?" Feeling that Lin Yuan had completely locked onto him with killing intent, Hai Bodong dared not make any unnecessary movements and handed the incomplete map to Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan dispersed his soul force, confirmed that it was indeed a fragment of the Pure Lotus Demon Fire map, and stored it in his ring, finally relaxing his tense heart. His tone became lighter as he said, "Because it's me, I would do the same. After all, for the strong, the most trustworthy thing in this world is oneself, and important items should naturally be carried on one's person."
After a pause, Lin Yuan added, "And it was just a test. If I failed, there would be no loss, right?"
"Are you not afraid that I might choose to destroy everything?" Hai Bodong stared deeply at Lin Yuan, as if trying to see through the young man before him.
Lin Yuan chuckled lightly, "If the fish dies, the net won't break." His calm words were filled with absolute confidence. "Moreover, would a strong person who has achieved the rank of Fighting Emperor in a remote place like the Northwest Continent, and who was once the renowned Ice Emperor, so easily give up their life?" Lin Yuan countered.
Hearing this, Hai Bodong's eyes narrowed, and he fell silent, but his mind was racing: "Calling the Northwest Continent a remote place, it seems this person is from another region. Could it be... Central State? The colossal entities he refers to, could they be the major powers of Central State? What does 'making a move' mean? What is happening in the Gama Empire?"
Lin Yuan glanced at Hai Bodong, who was deep in thought, guessing that he was likely imagining various scenarios. This effect was also what he needed.
"Using both threats and favors, the threat is already sufficient; now it's time for the favor, and to add some fuel to his imagination. Let's make a move; Hai Bodong is indeed a good pivot to leverage the Gama Empire. It might come in handy when planning for the future with that peculiar character, the Guardian," Lin Yuan secretly calculated, firming his resolve.
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(End of Chapter)