Chapter 41
Chapter 41: Heaven’s Favored Genius
Lin Dao spoke without needing to guess, because he knew exactly what Yan Cheng Qian was thinking: ‘Do you want to kill me, or flee?’
To have clawed his way through the cultivation world to reach the Divine Transformation Stage and to have ruled a principal city for decades—could such a man resign himself to die meekly?
Lin Dao’s expression stayed cool and clear, though his words carried an unrestrained edge: ‘You are welcome to try.’
As soon as he finished, Yan Cheng Qian’s figure blurred. His entire body transformed into a Fire Dragon and lunged at Lin Dao. Before the dragon reached him, the heat rolling off it warped the very air.
Lin Dao neither evaded nor raised a hand to defend. He simply stood there and was swallowed by the Fire Dragon’s blaze.
When the flames passed, nothing remained on the spot but a blackened patch on the ground.
It worked.
A flash of triumph lit Yan Cheng Qian’s face. He was just about to mock inwardly, [So much for an “inspector.”] when, all of a sudden, the world spun. His vision swam, and when it cleared, he found himself back in the position he had been in before he attacked.
The place he had just burned to nothing was intact again. Lin Dao was also standing there in perfect health, his expression somewhere between mockery and scorn.
Yan Cheng Qian’s face changed. Refusing to accept it, he unleashed a skyful of flames to slaughter Lin Dao again and again.
But every time he thought Lin Dao had been burned to ash, the man appeared again, unscathed.
He abruptly turned his attention to the surroundings and his face grew ugly. At some point, a formation had trapped him. Within the array, every “Lin Dao” he had killed was only an illusion.
He muttered under his breath, frowning: ‘A Space Array? No… not quite…’ Keen-eyed as he was, even he could not, for the moment, discern the array’s core essence.
He decided on the spot to destroy the surrounding formation nodes, but each time he broke something, the array seemed to restore itself as if nothing had happened. As the spiritual energy in his body drained away at alarming speed, his expression sank. He raised a hand and swallowed a High Grade Pill to replenish his qi, yet a thread of panic finally rose in his heart.
When brute force failed, Yan Cheng Qian began to coax: ‘Whatever you want, I can give you. All the cultivation resources I have gathered in the Southern Wilds over these years, I can hand over in full.’
He added quickly, making vows: ‘I only ask that the inspector be lenient and give me a chance to make amends. To show my resolve, I am willing to go alone to the Soul Severing Sect to kill four Nascent Soul fiends… no, seven Nascent Souls, plus one Divine Transformation. What do you say?’
Lin Dao’s gaze was icy, the curve of his lip edged with ridicule as he said: ‘Lenient? Can you resurrect those innocent people who died?’
He answered himself at once: ‘You cannot. Because of a single misguided thought, tens of thousands of ordinary folk lost their lives. Were they not innocent? Did they not wish to live?’
He went on, voice level: ‘A new City Lord for Scarlet Sun City has already been appointed. I believe they will arrive soon.’ In truth, the reason Lin Dao had taken these days was partly to collect evidence in secret and partly to buy time for those from the Central Province to come.
He added with calm cruelty: ‘If you go all out and gamble away half your life, perhaps this array and I might not be able to keep you. You could flee—if you believe you can spend the rest of your life running. But your clan members and friends in the Central Province, and your wife and son in Scarlet Sun City, will not be so fortunate as to escape.’
Yan Cheng Qian’s expression shifted. He ground his teeth and spat: ‘Hiding your head and showing your tail. Do you dare fight me head-on?’
‘Trying to provoke me?’ Lin Dao’s mouth twitched. He brought his index and middle fingers together and lifted them slightly. Borrowing the power of the array, his aura climbed step by steady step—Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul… Divine Transformation.
In the end, Lin Dao’s cultivation settled at the Divine Transformation Stage, the same realm as Yan Cheng Qian.
He said evenly: ‘I will give you a chance. You may try.’
The instant he spoke, a strand of invisible sword qi formed between his two fingers, its killing edge cold and severe, and it shot straight for Yan Cheng Qian’s brow.
Yan Cheng Qian’s face changed. He swept his sleeves and summoned two Fire Dragons to coil before him as a shield.
In a blink, the sword qi arrived. A chill gleam flashed as it sliced both Fire Dragons to nothing, then pressed onward without losing momentum.
Seeing this, Yan Cheng Qian immediately released several more Fire Dragons and, bit by bit, ground that astonishing sword qi away.
Staring at Lin Dao, he panted and said, half in shock and half in envy: ‘You… you are Divine Transformation?! No, it’s the array’s power. The array lets you briefly possess the strength of the Divine Transformation Stage…’ Though he relied on an external force, Lin Dao’s aura was overwhelmingly steady and utterly at ease. Yan Cheng Qian thought with a sour twist of the heart: [So this is talent. This is a genius favored by heaven, who can effortlessly crush all the toil and pride of the mediocre.]
Lin Dao looked relaxed as he asked: ‘Do you still wish to try?’
Yan Cheng Qian threw back his head and laughed, like a man who had smashed the pot after it cracked: ‘How laughable. Truly laughable. Laughable that I broke faith and betrayed duty to plot once for myself, only to meet an end like this…’
Lin Dao did not waver as he said coolly: ‘Did you truly never consider the consequences? No. You did consider them, but you still did it. Even if you were given a second chance, you would make the same choice.’
His words stripped Yan Cheng Qian’s pretense bare. Yan Cheng Qian faltered. The aura around him deflated all at once as fatigue and despair swept over him. He closed his eyes briefly, then spoke in a tone tinged with pleading: ‘Can you spare my son? He knows nothing.’
It was his only bloodline left in the Southern Wilds. The boy might not be particularly promising, but he was his son.
Lin Dao’s expression did not change as he said: ‘If he has not colluded with the demonic path, his life can be considered.’
‘Thank you.’
After speaking his thanks, Yan Cheng Qian struck his own heart and primordial spirit in a single palm, dying on the spot.
Lin Dao gazed at the lifeless body and sighed softly: ‘Decisive. He knew that once judgment came from the Central Province, life would be worse than death, so it was better to leave himself an intact corpse and perhaps protect his wife and child.’
He snapped his fingers. A string of electric sparks sprang up on Yan Cheng Qian’s corpse, and with crackling light they consumed the body.
The following afternoon, news exploded across the city: ‘The City Lord is dead. He died inside the City Lord’s manor!’
The city was in an uproar. Ordinary folk were stunned and suspicious. Common cultivators found it absurd and concocted conspiracy theories in their minds. Meanwhile, some powers that had been forced into the shadows by Yan Cheng Qian’s presence began to stir restlessly.
At that moment, Qin Yuan and Yu Ruan Ruan, who were still in the city, also received the news and were both shocked. In these past days, the two had befriended Yan Zi Mo and had therefore been fortunate enough to meet City Lord Yan Cheng Qian once.
At the time, even Qin Yuan had felt that the City Lord’s cultivation was deep and unfathomable, and that even if their master personally came, it would be hard to gain any advantage against him.
So what had happened? Why had the City Lord died without warning?
After her initial shock, Yu Ruan Ruan quickly thought of a question and asked: ‘Third Senior Brother, with the City Lord dead, who will manage this vast Scarlet Sun City? Will it be Brother Zi Mo?’
Qin Yuan shook his head, not optimistic about Yan Zi Mo at all, and said: ‘Although I do not know how the City Lord died, for generations the City Lords of the twelve principal cities have been at least in the Divine Transformation Stage, otherwise they cannot hold the ground.’
He added bluntly: ‘Yan Zi Mo is only at the Foundation Establishment Stage. If he were truly put in the seat, he might follow in the City Lord’s footsteps the very next day and die inexplicably.’
Yu Ruan Ruan blanched and murmured: ‘This…’
Qin Yuan sighed and said: ‘Moreover, the City Lord died so suddenly. Perhaps he offended some enemy. Yan Zi Mo can hardly protect himself now.’
At first, Qin Yuan had found Yan Zi Mo annoying for constantly hovering around Ruan Ruan. But they had no deep enmity, and now the family pillar had fallen. Once the darling of the crowd, the richly dressed young City Lord would likely see his fortunes plummet overnight.
Hearing this, Yu Ruan Ruan felt a pang of pity. She had worked so hard to build a connection with Yan Zi Mo, and had yet to gain any benefit; now his backing had collapsed. She thought with sudden pragmatism: [In that case… he is no longer of any use.]
Remembering how close Yu Ruan Ruan and Yan Zi Mo had grown these days, Qin Yuan immediately urged: ‘Ruan Ruan, you must not continue to associate with Yan Zi Mo. Treat it as if you never knew him, do you understand?’
Yu Ruan Ruan was already thinking along those lines, but she still put on a show and said: ‘Third Senior Brother, that does not seem very kind… Wouldn’t that be like kicking someone when he’s down…’
Although Qin Yuan sympathized with Yan Zi Mo, he would not damage his own interests for the boy’s sake. Seeing how kind and simple his Ruan Ruan was, he patiently reminded her again and again: ‘You are kind-hearted, but you must not, because of your kindness, place yourself in danger. Understood?’
Yu Ruan Ruan replied with a conflicted look: ‘I… I understand.’
Concerned, Qin Yuan said: ‘It is no longer safe to remain in Scarlet Sun City. Without a Divine Transformation to sit in town, all manner of monsters and devils may make trouble. We should return to the sect early.’
She nodded and said: ‘All right. I will listen to Third Senior Brother.’
Qin Yuan went straight back to the inn to check out. He had intended to look for Rong Shu, who was staying at the same inn, but discovered that she had already left.
Seeing this, Qin Yuan left a message for Rong Shu via transmission jade slip, then departed with Yu Ruan Ruan.