Chapter 412 - 203: Return to Dongjiang, Mechanic Quest
Chapter 412: Chapter 203: Return to Dongjiang, Mechanic Quest
In the end, all eyes once again focused on Lin Ye.
Awaiting his final, and most important, answer.
At dusk, a silver-white high-speed train sped across the vast plains.
The cabin was quiet and stable, a stark contrast to the scenery rapidly receding outside the window.
Lin Ye sat in a spacious business-class seat, his gaze resting on the view outside.
The train was crossing a magnificent bridge over the river. The afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the wide expanse of water, its light shimmering like shattered gold upon the ripples.
The flight from Ninghai to Dongjiang was about two hours.
But the tickets were sold out.
In the end, it was Long Bohan who had managed to get him a ticket.
Even by high-speed train, the trip back to Dongjiang would take more than five hours.
He probably wouldn’t get back to Dongjiang until after nine p.m.
Though he had only been away for a little over a month, Lin Ye felt an indescribably complex emotion stirring within him.
Just a few days ago at the training camp, he had often been struck by an overwhelming urge to return home.
But now, as he drew closer to home, a subtle sense of apprehension began to grow within him.
Lin Ye pulled a smooth, warm medallion from his pocket.
The medallion was carved from some unknown, translucent crystal. Within it, a crimson flame seemed to be sealed, burning eternally and silently.
Lin Ye’s name was engraved on the front, while the back held a nine-digit serial number.
It was his identification for the Firewood Martial Hall.
He had made his choice in the end.
He had spent the entire afternoon at the Firewood Martial Hall’s Ninghai City branch.
The atmosphere there was just as Long Bohan had described. Unlike the rigid hierarchy of Kunlun, the members treated each other more like comrades-in-arms, or even family—their relationships were harmonious and close.
After completing all the paperwork, Lin Ye said his goodbyes to Dongfang Zhen and Zhang Daoxuan.
Dongfang Zhen told them to wait for word from him. He said that as soon as he confirmed all the preparations were complete, he would invite them to go on an expedition into the dimensional fissure controlled by his family.
The cabin was very quiet, with only the faint hum of the train in motion.
Lin Ye watched the last sliver of sunset sink below the distant horizon, leaving only a magnificent, burning line of color where the sky met the earth.
Night began to fall.
Just then, a hoarse, low voice, as if echoing up from the deepest abyss, sounded without warning in his ear.
"Have you... ever seen hell?"
In that instant, Lin Ye’s pupils contracted violently.
He saw the night that had just fallen outside his window seem to come alive.
A boundless, inky blackness surged madly from the horizon. It was a profound darkness that could devour all things and strip away all hope, and it was rushing toward his train!
A chill shot up his spine and straight to the crown of his head.
He forced his Spiritual Power to activate, guarding his Sea of Consciousness.
The next moment, the bizarre whisper in his ear and the horrifying illusion before his eyes receded like the tide.
Outside the window, the night was normal once more.
The distant mountains looked like the spine of a giant against the night sky.
Everything was just...
...the coming of night.
Lin Ye’s brow furrowed deeply.
The illusion that had just flashed before his eyes... It was the very same bizarre world he had been dragged into by Ye Wujiang during their virtual battle—a world devoid of light and filled with indescribable things.
’Have I... been affected by him?’
Only now did Lin Ye belatedly realize that his battle with Ye Wujiang had affected him far more deeply than he had imagined.
It wasn’t a physical injury, but a much deeper corrosion on a spiritual level.
He recalled the question he had asked Dongfang Zhen when he had a moment.
What kind of change does a Martial Artist undergo when breaking through from the Gang Condensation Realm to the Divine Realm?
Dongfang Zhen’s answer at the time was that he himself was still in an exploratory phase and wasn’t sure of the specifics.
But an elder in his family had once told him that the greatest change in the Divine Realm was embodied by the very word "Divine."
The spiritual power they currently possessed could, at best, only be called "Will."
Just as the power of Qi and Blood had to evolve and transform into Gang Sha...
...a Martial Artist’s Spiritual Power must also undergo its first qualitative transformation when ascending to the Divine Realm, evolving from "Will" into "Spirit."
This so-called "Spirit" could be understood as a higher-level Primordial Spirit, or a divine soul.
Lin Ye was now on high alert.
Without him even realizing it, Ye Wujiang’s Martial Arts Spirituality had left a hidden imprint on his spiritual world.
He might not feel it normally, but at certain moments, it would manifest and bring about unpredictable consequences.
If he wanted to break through to the Divine Realm smoothly, he could not tolerate such an inner demon taking root within him.
’I have to tear it out by the roots!’
There was less than a month left until the National Martial Arts University Entrance Exam.
After that exam came the special admissions test for Longyin, Great Xia’s most prestigious academy. That was the true final stage for all the top geniuses in the nation.
Lin Ye had a strong premonition that he would inevitably face that mysterious opponent, Ye Wujiang, once again.
’Next time, I will defeat him!’
’Only an undeniable victory will be enough to completely erase this imprint!’
The moment he made this resolution, a familiar system prompt sounded in his mind.
[A BOSS tolerates no grit in his eyes, much less a nightmare or an inner demon in his heart.]
[You have witnessed the malevolence of your peers. It is time for an eye for an eye, and blood for blood!]