The Entry-plundering Demon Hunter

Chapter 380: Chapter 342: Little Junior Brother Goes Into Seclusion Again

The Elder Celestial Master, Yi Nanshan, and Zhong Yan ran out of the command center.

They glanced toward the Restricted Area.

A cluster of purple clouds hung in the sky above it.

It was incredibly conspicuous.

"What is that?"

Zhong Yan stared at the cluster of purple clouds in the night sky.

His brow couldn’t help but furrow deeply.

The Elder Celestial Master’s expression turned grave. "Just as I thought. A Great Demon has appeared in the Restricted Area. No wonder all the demonic beasts have been so restless lately!"

"Estimate its realm for me. What level has that Great Demon reached?"

"Even I was unsettled just now. I fear it might have already reached the Divine Abyss Realm, right?"

Yi Nanshan’s face was heavy.

He had already reached the late stage of the Star Tempering Realm, and was just one step away from entering the Divine Abyss Realm.

However, that final step had held him back for many years.

He feared he would never be able to enter the Divine Abyss Realm in this lifetime.

And yet, the wave of pressure just now had left even Yi Nanshan feeling unsettled.

To have such an effect, its realm must be far beyond his own.

The Divine Abyss Realm... might only be the beginning.

The Elder Celestial Master shook his head. "I’m afraid it’s already reached the Heart Communication Realm. I felt a palpitation just now, too!"

"What? The Heart Communication Realm?"

Yi Nanshan shot him a stunned look.

"If there’s truly a Great Demon at the Heart Communication Realm, I fear we won’t be able to defend the Restricted Area!"

A flicker of unease crossed his eyes.

If a Great Demon at the Heart Communication Realm truly decided to charge the barrier,

it would be impossible for anyone to stop it. Even with him and the Elder Celestial Master standing guard, it would be utterly useless.

The difference of a single major realm is like a heavenly chasm.

The disparity in strength is immense.

Even if he and the Elder Celestial Master joined forces, they still wouldn’t be able to hold back a Great Demon of the Heart Communication Realm.

The Elder Celestial Master’s expression grew even more solemn. He turned to Zhong Yan and said, "Return to Dragon Tiger Mountain at once!"

"You are not to come down the mountain on your own again. Guard the place well for me!"

"Master, why don’t you let me stay and help you?" Zhong Yan said quickly.

Yi Nanshan glanced at him. "Stay and help? What help could you be? There’s a Great Demon from the Heart Communication Realm in the Restricted Area. Even your master and I can’t stop it, let alone you."

"Go back to Dragon Tiger Mountain immediately. Guard the place with your senior brothers!"

"You don’t need to worry about what’s happening in the Restricted Area!"

After Yi Nanshan finished speaking, the Elder Celestial Master’s gaze was also resolute.

After a long moment, Zhong Yan finally nodded. "Yes, Master. Elder Yi. I will set off for Dragon Tiger Mountain right away!"

Zhong Yan gave them another deep look.

He saw a glimmer of finality in the eyes of the Elder Celestial Master and Yi Nanshan.

At that moment, how could Zhong Yan not understand?

They were sending him back to Dragon Tiger Mountain to preserve its bloodline.

A Great Demon of the Heart Communication Realm had appeared in the Restricted Area. If it decided to charge the barrier, nothing could stop it.

No one would be able to stop it.

A Great Demon of the Heart Communication Realm was essentially an invincible existence.

Unless the Martial God returned, or Lin Yi’s realm could surpass the Heart Communication Realm.

Otherwise... the nation would fall.

The entire world might even be plunged into the shadow of death once more.

Just as Zhong Yan left with the group from Dragon Tiger Mountain,

Yi Xiaotian personally arrived. "Dad, Elder Celestial Master, we’ve received reports from the other battlefronts!"

"They’re saying Great Demons just appeared on their fronts, too!"

"What? The other battlefronts have Great Demons, too?"

Yi Nanshan’s expression changed. Yi Xiaotian quickly nodded.

"That’s right. Great Demons have appeared in all eight major battlefronts. And... and it seems their realms aren’t low either!"

Yi Xiaotian’s words made the expressions of Yi Nanshan and the Elder Celestial Master turn even uglier.

"It seems the crisis in the Restricted Area is arriving ahead of schedule!"

"These demonic beasts are all highly intelligent. It’s as if they coordinated this!"

"I’m afraid this battle is unavoidable!"

After the Elder Celestial Master finished speaking, Yi Nanshan nodded as well.

"Let’s go meet with Old Yao and the others to discuss tonight’s events!"

Yi Nanshan glanced back one more time at the purple demonic clouds hanging over the Restricted Area.

His brow knotted tightly.

With that, they headed back toward the combat command center.

...

「Noon the next day.」

Lin Yi arrived at Dragon Tiger Mountain as promised.

When he met with his Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, and Little Senior Sister,

they were all overjoyed to see him.

"Little Junior Brother, it’s so good to have you back at Dragon Tiger Mountain!"

"Junior Brother Zhong called us last night and told us to take good care of you!"

"I found that strange. Isn’t Dragon Tiger Mountain just like a second home to you? Do you really need special treatment from us? Doesn’t that feel a little distant?" Second Senior Brother finished with a laugh.

Lin Yi nodded. "I’m sorry to have troubled my two Senior Brothers and Senior Sister!"

"See? I just said you were being distant, and now you’re being all polite again?" Second Senior Brother frowned.

Third Senior Brother quickly asked, "Little Junior Brother, how many days are you planning to stay on the mountain this time?"

"Well... it might be for a while!"

"I’ve recently hit a bottleneck in my realm, and my Origin Qi has stopped advancing!"

"I was thinking of returning to the place where I did my last closed-door cultivation and train hard for a while!"

"Maybe I can make some more progress with my cultivation!"

Lin Yi didn’t tell them he was about to have another breakthrough.

The main reason was that his speed of breaking through was simply too fast.

Once one entered the Star Tempering Realm, cultivation became slower than a tortoise’s crawl.

One could only increase their Origin Qi by a tiny amount each day.

Even an increase of a few tenths of a percent was considered excellent.

Take his grandfather, Yi Nanshan, for example. He had been stuck in the Star Tempering Realm for many years.

To this day, he still hadn’t managed to break through to the Divine Abyss Realm.

And after reaching the Divine Abyss Realm, the Elder Celestial Master had been stagnant for many years as well,

unable to take the next step into the Heart Communication Realm...

So, Lin Yi had only broken through to the Star Tempering Realm a few months ago.

And now he was about to break through again?

If he actually said that out loud, whether anyone would believe him was another matter.

Lin Yi’s rate of cultivation would easily make many people green with envy.

It might even attract unnecessary trouble for no reason.

So, to avoid that trouble,

Lin Yi chose not to tell anyone, opting to break through quietly.

He would just continue his cultivation.

After all, he now had the Daoist in the [Star River Domain] refining Origin Qi for him.

Although it was unclear how long this refinement would last or what heights it would take Lin Yi to,

this was a rare opportunity.

Lin Yi had to seize it.

And while Lin Yi’s explanation had surprised his Second Senior Brother and the others,

they understood after a moment’s thought.

Their Little Junior Brother’s talent in the Martial Arts was, needless to say, exceptional.

Reaching the Star Tempering Realm at such a young age already put him leagues ahead of them.

Moreover, their Little Junior Brother was a Martial Fool.

He spent most of his energy every day on cultivation.

He was focused solely on cultivation, a task that might seem tedious and boring to others.

But for Lin Yi, it was perfectly normal.

Second Senior Brother smiled and nodded. "Alright. The formation is still there from your last breakthrough!"

"None of us can get in, but it doesn’t restrict you at all!"

"If you want to go in and cultivate, then go ahead!"

Hearing this, Lin Yi nodded. "Thank you, Second Senior Brother!"

"No need to thank me. Master prepared that cultivation formation for you before he left!"

"You can go whenever you want!"

After Second Senior Brother finished, Lin Yi nodded with a smile.

His Origin Qi had already reached the critical point for a breakthrough.

And Lin Yi could feel that this breakthrough would be smoother than the last one.

After all, he had the Starry Sky Daoist backing him.

Lin Yi exchanged a few more pleasantries with them.

He didn’t even have time to sit down for a cup of tea before heading straight for the cultivation formation.

After he once again sealed himself inside,

Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, and Little Senior Sister all looked at each other.

"Little Junior Brother’s talent is truly enviable. He just broke through to the Star Tempering Realm, and he’s already going into seclusion again!" Second Senior Brother sighed and shook his head.

As soon as he finished, Third Senior Brother laughed. "How could the talent of someone Master took in as a Closed-door Disciple be anything but exceptional? But I am a little curious about Little Junior Brother. What do you think he’s aiming for with this seclusion?"

Little Senior Sister shook her head. "Hard to say. But do you think it’s possible he’s aiming for the Divine Abyss Realm?"

At her words, both senior brothers fell silent.

After a long while, Second Senior Brother finally shook his head.

"Whatever the reason, no one is to disturb Little Junior Brother’s seclusion. The lightest punishment for doing so will be expulsion from the sect; the heaviest will be crippling their cultivation!"

"Also, assign people to stand guard in shifts, 24 hours a day. As long as Little Junior Brother is in seclusion, no one is to enter this area!"

Second Senior Brother’s expression became incredibly stern.

His tone allowed no room for doubt.

Third Senior Brother and Little Senior Sister exchanged a look and quickly nodded. "Yes, Second Senior Brother!"

The two of them then went to make the arrangements.

Second Senior Brother, meanwhile, stood at the cliff’s edge, gazing at the distant sky.

No one knew what he was thinking.

Worry and hope, two extreme emotions, flickered alternately in his eyes.

...

「Several days after Lin Yi entered seclusion.」

「Xingwu University.」

In the principal’s office, Tang Baichuan’s brow was deeply furrowed.

"Principal Tang, it seems those people can’t hide their fox tails any longer!"

"Should we participate in this Martial Alliance Grand Tournament?"

Director Qiao said, his expression sinking slightly.

As soon as he spoke, Tang Baichuan looked up at him.

"They’ve already made their move. How can we not respond?

Besides, the Bureau has already called me, telling our Xingwu University to participate actively!"

"Hmph. They call it a Martial Arts exchange to build friendships through combat, but who knows what malicious intent they’re hiding!"

"By the way, which martial alliances are sending students this time?"

"The Eagle Alliance, the Sunset Alliance, the Maple Alliance, the Sakura Alliance, and the Asia Alliance!"

"For this Martial Arts exchange, they want Xingwu, the Martial Alliance, Lanshan, and Dragon Tiger—our four universities—to each send ten students to participate!"

Tang Baichuan nodded. "What do the other three universities think about this?"

"That... is not yet clear!"

"The news just reached the various universities. We don’t know what they’ve decided yet!"

"But no one will refuse, right?"

"These foreigners have come all the way here to provoke us. If we refuse the exchange, wouldn’t that be the same as admitting we’re afraid of them?"

Hearing that, Tang Baichuan sighed softly.

"We, along with the Martial Alliance and Dragon Tiger universities, won’t refuse. The main issue is Lanshan!"

"Their majors are primarily support-focused!"

"Besides, they’re sending five alliances, so why are we only putting up four universities?"

"We’re at a disadvantage in terms of numbers!"

Tang Baichuan’s words made Director Qiao nod in agreement.

"The Martial Arts Alliance made this decision, but I also think it’s unfair!"

"Lanshan University doesn’t have any primary combat majors. What can they do if we send them up there?"

"How about... we just go discuss it with the Martial Arts Alliance? We could swap out Lanshan for Tieshan University and Divine Fist University. That would make it five universities, each sending ten students. Then the numbers would be balanced!"

Old Qiao’s words were exactly what Tang Baichuan was thinking.

In truth, Lanshan University was mainly famous for its support majors.

Things like Healers, Pharmacists, and so on.

They were famous because students from these majors could find excellent jobs after graduation.

Even if they didn’t go to the Medical Bureau, they could join any company and earn a high annual salary that was hard to come by.

However, when it came to primary combat majors,

Tieshan University and Divine Fist University were far more suitable.

Tang Baichuan nodded. "Mm, but I can’t be the only one to stick my neck out for this!"

"I need to drag the other three in with me.

Old Qiao, prepare the video conference room for me. I’m going to have a small meeting with the other schools to discuss this first!"

"Yes, Principal Tang!"

Old Qiao nodded quickly and excused himself from the office.