Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Spirit Gathering Pill

Realizing Nether Spirit Python couldn’t dominate, Lin Yuan’s eyes turned icy.

He thrust both palms out. Silver-white spiritual energy wrapped his hands, sharp gusts forming at his fingertips.

The gusts rode the silver light and condensed into two massive palm seals, roaring toward Lin Zhao.

Silver threads wove through them like blades. Sand and stone lifted from the platform and spun into the attack, turning it into a storm of razor-sharp force.

“Fourth Grade spirit technique: Shattering Wind Seal!”

Lin Zhao’s focus sharpened.

Lin Yuan had accepted his sinister tricks weren’t working on her, so he wanted to crush her head-on.

Against Lin Ya or Lin Long, he’d played with poison and lurking souls. Against Lin Zhao, he didn’t bother.

Because in pure cultivation, Lin Zhao was still a hair below them.

In his mind, Lin Zhao beating Lin Ya only meant Lin Ya was incompetent.

It didn’t mean Lin Zhao could match him.

Lin Yuan wanted to break the Young Lord in front of everyone and prove what a “real” heavenly prodigy looked like.

Lin Zhao saw his thoughts clearly—and she was happy to return them to him.

Flame-like spiritual energy wrapped her fist.

Lin Zhao threw a punch.

It looked casual, almost lazy. No long charge. No dramatic buildup. Like she was tossing a fist into the air for fun.

But where the punch landed, explosions bloomed.

Inch by inch, green fire burst outward and slammed straight into Shattering Wind Seal.

The silver palm seal stalled. It pushed forward, light dimming but still pressing toward Lin Zhao.

Lin Yuan laughed, contempt thick. “A mantis trying to stop a chariot.”

Then his face went black.

The massive silver seal exploded into a sky of splintered light, bursting apart together with the green flames.

And it wasn’t over.

The backlash swept sideways and slammed toward Lin Yuan’s face.

Lin Yuan didn’t dare take it. He formed a shield in a frantic snap.

A loud blast shook the air.

He blocked it—at the cost of his right arm twisting mangled, blood spraying.

“Is that a Sixth Grade spirit technique?” Lin Yuan blurted out, staring at the damage.

Even as the words left his mouth, his expression changed.

Small explosions erupted inside his body.

That power had penetrated him.

Seventh Grade spirit technique: Explosive Fist. One punch triggers countless bursts. At full mastery, it can destroy mountains and rivers across vast distances.

Simple in name.

Terrifying in rank.

Lin Yuan spat blood, ripped off his outer robe, and revealed soft armor beneath. His eyes burned with hatred as he stabilized the internal explosions.

“Lin Zhao,” he hissed, “don’t think you’ve won! What I prepared for this tournament is far beyond what you can imagine!”

His left palm flipped.

A blood-red pill lay there.

He swallowed it without hesitation.

The moment it entered his body, his aura surged violently.

Under everyone’s horrified gaze, his cultivation forced its way into the Enlightenment realm.

Lin Zhao froze for the briefest instant.

Within Foundation Establishment, she was confident.

But Enlightenment was different.

She’d only faced it once before—against that demon soul.

And Lin Yuan wasn’t a demon soul whose nature her sword art countered.

“A tough fight,” Lin Zhao murmured, breath steady.

Lin Yuan felt the power flood him and regained his arrogance in an instant. “A tough fight? With your peak Foundation Establishment strength, you think you can fight me now that I’m Enlightenment? Aren’t you flattering yourself?!”

Lin Zhao’s smile didn’t waver. “Don’t flatter yourself. If a real Enlightenment cultivator came, I might need to be careful. But you—did you truly advance, or did you force it with a pill for a moment?”

Yao Yun’s eyes narrowed as she sensed his unstable fluctuation. Relief eased the tightness in her chest. “That feels like Spirit Gathering Pill. It can temporarily push Foundation Establishment to Enlightenment, but it has a time limit. And forcing Enlightenment-level energy into a Foundation Establishment body damages the body.”

Around her, disciples—especially Lin Ya and Lin Long—exhaled in relief.

If Lin Yuan had truly broken through to Enlightenment on the platform, it would be monstrous.

Lin Yuan felt the admiring gazes vanish the moment his trick was exposed. Embarrassment and rage twisted together in his chest.

“It’s enough to deal with you!” he snapped.

He drew his sword. “You forced me to this point, Lin Zhao. You deserve to die!”

Silver light exploded from his eyes.

He swung his sword, and wave after wave of sword shadows poured out—then solidified.

One sword became hundreds.

“Spiritual energy materialization,” Lin Zhao muttered, frowning.

Projection belonged to Qi Refining. Manifestation belonged to Foundation Establishment. Materialization belonged to Enlightenment.

Lin Yuan’s Enlightenment was temporary, but in this moment, his might was real.

“Enlightenment isn’t the same as Foundation Establishment!” Lin Yuan laughed, delighted by his own display. “Lin Zhao, how will you fight me?”

“Sixth Grade spirit technique—Sword Slays Three Thousand!”

The silver swords rang out, and killing intent rode the sound like a blade. Spiritual wind whipped up so sharp Lin Zhao could barely open her eyes.

Backed by Enlightenment power, the Sixth Grade technique finally showed a fraction of its true terror.

Lin Zhao’s gaze sharpened. Bone Sword slashed out.

“Thousand Spirit Slash!”

Hundreds of silver swords boxed her in. Each carried enough force to crush a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

As a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, Lin Zhao still needed to swing her own sword to defeat a late-stage opponent. If hundreds of late-stage cultivators ganged up on her, she would still need effort.

For an Enlightenment cultivator, one move could topple them all.

That was the gap.

Thousand Spirit Slash ground against the silver sword array, wearing it down, but the pressure still pressed in.

For the first time in their exchange, Lin Zhao showed a disadvantage.

Lin Yuan’s laughter burst out. “Lin Zhao! Is that all you can do? Kneel and beg me to spare you, and it’s not too late!”