Chapter One Hundred: Gate of Heavenly Martial

“Here you go. I was just taking a look, not planning to snatch it from you. Why are you so anxious?” In any case, the cold energy within the Imperial Star Purple Iron had already been absorbed by Ling’er, so the piece itself was of no further use and naturally returned to Le Dong.

Seeing Lin Yanghao hand the Imperial Star Purple Iron back to him, Le Dong let out a long sigh of relief. He accepted it without even glancing at it, immediately storing it away in his pouch, terrified that any further mishap might occur. In the end, he thought, any disaster would fall on himself.

Lin Yanghao watched with a secret smile, cursing the fool inwardly. Le Dong hadn’t even noticed the change in the Imperial Star Purple Iron.

...

“Ling’er, Ling’er?” Lin Yanghao called out a few more times, but still received no response. Three days had passed since then, and with nothing else to do, Lin Yanghao had tried many times to contact Ling’er. But ever since she finished absorbing the Imperial Star Purple Iron, she had remained completely silent.

By now, Lin Yanghao and Le Dong had already reached the outskirts of the Celestial Martial Sect. Apart from a minor skirmish with Zeng Quan along the way, the journey had been uneventful, and they arrived at the Celestial Martial Sect without further incident.

The location of the Celestial Martial Sect was indeed as remote as Lin Yanghao had imagined—deep in the southeastern borderlands of Boyang City in the Northern Domain. Upon arriving, Lin Yanghao was left speechless by the sight before him. The sect grounds inside and outside the entrance lay in ruin, with barely a handful of disciples guarding the gate.

Was this a joke? Even the smallest sects weren’t usually in such dire straits. Did the sect master—Le Dong’s father—have nothing better to do? After all, he possessed Nascent Soul stage cultivation.

What Lin Yanghao didn’t know was that, although the Celestial Martial Sect had fallen on hard times, it shouldn’t have been so impoverished as to be unable to maintain even its entrance. The sect had simply been unlucky enough to provoke a madman somewhere. If it had been just any madman, it wouldn’t have mattered, but unfortunately, this one was frighteningly powerful.

Even the sect master himself was no match for a single hand of this madman, let alone anyone else. It only took a few moments for the madman to reduce the Celestial Martial Sect to its current state. At the time, he even threatened that the sect must never rebuild its gate—and if he learned they had, it wouldn’t just be a matter of tearing it down; the entire sect would be annihilated.

Naturally, the Celestial Martial Sect didn’t dare disobey, much less resist. Even if the entire sect joined forces, they would be helpless before this madman. And so the ruined gate remained to this day, turning the sect into a laughingstock among their peers and causing their strength to wane further. Now, the Celestial Martial Sect stood at the very bottom among minor sects.

From the main gate, one could see a martial training ground directly ahead, above which stood the main hall, with several smaller halls to the side.

“Brother Lin, please come in.” After entering, Le Dong began to lead Lin Yanghao inside.

Lin Yanghao nodded and followed Le Dong into the main hall. The hall’s central chamber was the council room, with important elders seated on either side, and a middle-aged man—the sect master and Le Dong’s father, Le Hao—seated at the center.

“Dong’er, why were you gone for so many days? Do you know how worried I’ve been?” The moment Le Dong entered, Le Hao rushed forward and hugged him in relief.

As for Lin Yanghao, Le Hao paid him no heed, completely ignoring his presence. Although Le Hao might not have been the best sect master, he was certainly a good father, as could be seen from his treatment of Le Dong.

Sometimes, Lin Yanghao envied those children who had the love and care of their parents. He had grown used to being alone since childhood. When he finally found Feng Shihan, fate tore them apart with that damned spatial turbulence, separating them forever.

Lin Yanghao gave a bitter smile. Even if he had safely brought Feng Shihan to the Spirit Realm, with all the dangers lurking in the cultivation world—he himself had barely survived several times—how could he have protected her? He would have lost her anyway. If he had another chance, he would never have taken her to the Spirit Realm.

...

Meanwhile, father and son Le Hao and Le Dong seemed to have endless things to say, not stopping for quite some time.

“Oh, right, Dong’er, who is this young man?” Only now did Le Hao finally notice Lin Yanghao.

Seeing that Lin Yanghao was only at the False Core stage, Le Hao didn’t pay him much mind, assuming he was just a friend of Le Dong. However, judging by his young age and impressive cultivation, Lin Yanghao’s background was surely extraordinary. Le Hao knew his son well; Le Dong wouldn’t befriend someone without reason. Either Lin Yanghao had a powerful background, or there was something remarkable about him.

Truly, no one knows a son better than his father—Le Hao’s guess was nearly spot on.

“Oh, Father, this is Lin Yanghao. If not for his protection on the way back, I might never have seen you again,” Le Dong said, remembering only now to introduce Lin Yanghao.

“Thank you, Young Friend Lin, for escorting my son. I shall certainly repay this kindness someday. You must be tired after your journey—someone, please show Young Friend Lin to a guest room to rest.” Le Hao naturally had many private matters to discuss with Le Dong, and having an outsider present would be inconvenient, so he sent Lin Yanghao away.

Lin Yanghao was soon led to a guest room.

...

“Dong’er, tell me, what happened on your journey? Why have none of the disciples who went with you returned?” Le Hao pulled his son aside to ask in a low voice.

“Father… my brothers were all killed by Lu Chen of the Blood Demon Sect. If not for Lin Yanghao, I wouldn’t have survived to see you either.” As he spoke, tears welled up in Le Dong’s eyes, the memory still terrifying.

“You’re saying Lin Yanghao rescued you from Lu Chen? How is that possible! He’s only at the False Core stage—how could he face Lu Chen? Even most Core Formation cultivators never return from fighting him!” Le Hao was now even more astonished than Le Dong had been.

“Father, listen to me…” Le Dong glanced around cautiously before whispering in Le Hao’s ear.

“What! Are you telling the truth?” Le Hao was stunned yet again. Never had he imagined such a heaven-defying cultivation art could exist in the world.

“Of course it’s true. That’s why, Father, we need to plan carefully and find a way to uncover all of Lin Yanghao’s secrets. If we succeed, our Celestial Martial Sect will never need to bow to anyone again and will surely rise to greatness.”

“Very well, we’ll do as you say!” Though Le Hao felt a pang of guilt for betraying Lin Yanghao’s trust, for the sake of the sect’s future, he could not afford to worry about such trivialities.

In his eyes, Lin Yanghao was now like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. With his own Nascent Soul stage cultivation, no matter how talented the boy was, he could never bridge the chasm between Nascent Soul and False Core.