The Entry-plundering Demon Hunter

Yi Nanshan, Old He, and Elder Mu Ru left the Martial Arts Alliance.

Just as they got into a car, Yi Nanshan smiled at the other two.

"Thank you for your help today!"

At his words, Old He glanced at Yi Nanshan.

"What’s there to thank us for? The Town Martial Department’s sworn duty is to protect the Martial God. Old Yao and his faction have been harboring those thoughts for a long time now!"

"If the Town Martial Department hadn’t intervened, I’m afraid they would have certainly acted on them!" Old He said with a soft chuckle.

Yi Nanshan nodded. "That’s right. Old Yao and his group have been scheming to cultivate their own Martial God!"

Elder Mu Ru glanced at them with a smile.

"Those old geezers... at their age, how can they still be so restless?"

"Are you saying Old Yao really wants to turn the Martial God into a puppet?"

At his question,

Yi Nanshan and Old He exchanged a look.

Neither of them said a word.

Although they had both mentioned it in the meeting room earlier,

there was no concrete evidence to prove any of this.

It was purely their own speculation.

But regardless of whether Old Yao and his group had such intentions, Yi Nanshan and Old He would never allow the "Martial God Cultivation Plan" to proceed.

"True or not, as long as the Town Martial Department still stands, we will not allow such a thing to happen!"

"Lao Yi, you’d best be careful from now on.

You know Yao Zhenwu’s character better than I do. He will definitely hold a grudge over what happened in the meeting room today!"

"Watch out for him targeting your Yi Family and doing something!"

"As for Lin Yi, you don’t have to worry. I’ll arrange for people to protect him!"

"You just focus on managing your Yi Family!"

After Old He finished, Yi Nanshan nodded.

He didn’t say anything else. ’I’ve known Old Yao for several decades at least, and we’ve always been at odds. Yao Zhenwu is the type to take extreme measures, and he’s incredibly ambitious. He always has to push things to the absolute limit.’

’Take this time, for instance. We clashed over the "Martial God Cultivation Plan." Yao Zhenwu’s idea was to find Lin Yi and keep him at the Martial Arts Alliance. They would pour all their resources into elevating Lin Yi to the position a Martial God deserves.’

’And even though the composite elixirs developed by the New District no longer have side effects, cultivation isn’t so simple. It primarily depends on talent, comprehension, and one’s own practice and growth. If you just blindly use elixirs to force realm advancements, even if you reach the required level, you’ll be all flash and no substance. With such an unstable foundation, what use is a Martial God like that?’

’Even worse, Old Yao’s objective probably doesn’t stop there. He likely wants to use the "Martial God Cultivation Plan" as a chance to seize firm control over him and turn him into a puppet Martial God...’

However, there was no evidence for any of this; it was all Yi Nanshan’s personal speculation.

This time, he had foiled Old Yao’s plan. While Old Yao had seemingly complied on the surface, in reality, his hatred was already taking root. Knowing Old Yao’s methods, there was no way he would be willing to suffer this silent defeat. Perhaps, just as Old He had said, he would retaliate against the Yi Family. But to what extent, no one could say for sure.

"By the way, Elder Mu Ru, since when did you decide you wanted to take Lin Yi as your disciple?"

"Hm? What?"

Elder Mu Ru froze, glancing back at Yi Nanshan.

"Back in there, didn’t you say you wanted to take Lin Yi as your Closed-door Disciple?"

"Oh, that? HAHAHA... I was just talking! You actually took me seriously?"

"I was facing those six old geezers from the Martial Arts Alliance and didn’t want to get Dragon Tiger Mountain involved, so I just came up with an excuse!"

"Just pretend you didn’t hear anything. I never said a word!" Elder Mu Ru quickly explained with a laugh.

At that, Yi Nanshan’s expression soured.

’I know better than anyone just how capable Elder Mu Ru is. His realm surpassed the Star Tempering Realm long ago. If Lin Yi could truly become his disciple, it doesn’t matter whether he learns any skills or not. The important thing is that having Mu Ru as a master would mean having another powerful backer. With Elder Mu Ru and his Dragon Tiger Mountain, even if Old Yao and his faction want to make a move on Lin Yi, they’ll have to think twice.’

Yi Nanshan shook his head, a cold smile on his face. "Pretend I didn’t hear it? How could I possibly do that?"

"Elder Mu Ru, you are a man of the cloth. How can you take back something you’ve said? And you said it in the Martial Arts Alliance meeting room, in front of those six! What if they find out in the future that you never actually took Lin Yi as your disciple? Wouldn’t your credibility be called into question? They’d surely figure out your true motive for saying it. Aren’t you afraid of ruining the good name you’ve built up over all these years?"

As Yi Nanshan spoke, Old He, who was sitting next to them, caught on to his plan.

He quickly nodded and chimed in, "How can the Elder Celestial Master’s good name be tarnished over this?"

"Lin Yi is the White Tiger Martial God; his talent and comprehension are both top-notch!"

"Elder Celestial Master, you wouldn’t be losing out by taking him as a Closed-door Disciple!"

"In the future, when he truly becomes a full-fledged Martial God, you’ll be able to go around bragging that you have a Martial God as a disciple! Won’t everyone be green with envy?"

"This isn’t an opportunity that comes along for just anyone. Never mind whether it’s a fated encounter or not, just how many people are even qualified to take a Martial God as their disciple?"

Old He was now eagerly flattering him too.

As a result of their coordinated effort,

the Elder Celestial Master’s Daoist conviction wavered. He looked over at them.

"Hmm... but years ago, this humble Daoist publicly declared that I would take no more disciples. Wouldn’t this make me..."

"What are you talking about? A Martial God isn’t just any other disciple!"

"Who would dare say a word about you taking a Martial God as a disciple?"

"This is a fated opportunity others couldn’t get even if they begged for it, and it just fell right into your lap! How could this not be a sign of destiny between you and the Martial God? Am I right?"

Old He continued to press his advantage.

Yi Nanshan, playing the part of his sidekick, chimed in from time to time.

"Exactly! A Martial God for a disciple—that’s bragging rights for a lifetime!"

Watching the two of them work in perfect concert,

’How could I not understand what they’re up to?’ the Elder Celestial Master thought.

’Truth be told, I had already considered taking Lin Yi as a disciple. But it would have been inappropriate for me to bring it up myself; it would have lowered my status. Plus, the disciple himself would seem cheap, without value. But if the two of them are begging me to accept Lin Yi, well, that changes everything. The value of this discipleship has just increased several-fold.’

The Elder Celestial Master let out a thoughtful "hmmm," deliberately putting on a profound air.

He stroked his long beard and gazed out the car window.

After a long pause, he said slowly, "This matter requires careful consideration. Allow me to return to the mountain to think it over. I will give you an answer then."

Hearing this, both Yi Nanshan and Old He smiled.

The fact that the old Daoist said this meant the door was open.

He just needed to find an excuse for himself, a reason he simply *had* to accept Lin Yi.

Therefore, he needed some time to mull it over.

"No rush, no rush. Take your time. Just give me a call when you’ve made up your mind.

I’ll have someone bring Lin Yi straight to Dragon Tiger Mountain for the discipleship ceremony!" Yi Nanshan said with a smile.

Elder Mu Ru shot him a look. "Haven’t you even officially acknowledged your relationship with Lin Yi yet? You think he’ll become a disciple just because you say so?"

Yi Nanshan nodded. "I have my ways. You don’t need to worry about that."

The old Daoist was speechless.

「Afternoon.」

The golden light of the setting sun filled the vast sky.

[Current Realm: Tier One, Star Four]

[Qi and Blood: 66.19%]

Lin Yi awoke from his meditation on the Star River Qi Transformation Technique.

He habitually checked his personal status panel first.

When he saw that his realm had advanced again, a smile he couldn’t suppress spread across his face.

’Looks like last night’s harvest was pretty impressive. My Qi and Blood rose by so much!’

To break through a whole tier in a single night...

Only a monster like Lin Yi could possibly achieve such a feat.

For anyone else, advancing even a single tier would take a very long time.

Otherwise, Wei Nan and Zhou Qi wouldn’t still be struggling to break into the Two-Star Realm.

He glanced down at Xiaoqi.

[Three-Star Realm]

The expression in Lin Yi’s eyes shifted slightly.

’Even Xiaoqi’s realm broke through again? And it shot straight to the Three-Star Realm... The bit of pride I was feeling just now was instantly doused. At this rate, it won’t be long before it surpasses me.’

’This is good, too. Once Xiaoqi’s realm is high enough, I won’t have to worry about its safety anymore. In the future, it might even become a huge help during Demon Hunting in Jail City!’

Lin Yi gently stroked Xiaoqi’s downy feathers.

Suddenly, Xiaoqi stirred.

It opened its eyes and looked at Lin Yi.

The moment their eyes met,

a telepathic thought drifted into his mind.

*Hungry. Xiaoqi wants meat...*

Having reached the Three-Star Realm, Xiaoqi’s ability to express itself had improved.

It could now form a complete, coherent sentence,

unlike before, when its thoughts were fragmented and difficult to understand.

Lin Yi smiled and nodded. "Hang on!"

He hopped off the bed, took out the Demon Beast Meat that Xiaoqi loved, and placed it in its feeding dish.

The next moment, Xiaoqi flapped its wings, gliding from the bed to the floor.

It went straight to the dish and began to eat.

Surprised, Lin Yi studied Xiaoqi carefully.

He was amazed to find that Xiaoqi seemed to have gotten bigger.

Its wings had grown fuller, and its seven-colored tail feathers had become tougher.

Its physique, in particular, no longer resembled that of a little chick.

’Maybe because I see Xiaoqi every single day, I never noticed these changes before. But looking closely now, it’s really changed a lot.’

He watched Xiaoqi wolf down the Demon Beast Meat, his eyes filled with affection.

A water-drop notification sound suddenly chimed, and Lin Yi quickly turned to grab his phone.

Wei Nan: You awake? Wanna go turn in the mission?

They still hadn’t had a chance to hand in their mission since they got back.

Wei Nan: Let’s grab another one while we’re at it. A 5-star. We’ll head back to Jail City tonight...

Seeing Wei Nan’s two messages in a row,

Lin Yi smiled and typed: Getting ambitious, are we? Daring to take on a 5-star mission?

Wei Nan: You know it. A measly 5-star mission is nothing.

Lin Yi: Alright, wait for me. Xiaoqi is still eating.

Wei Nan: K, just let me know when you’re heading out.

Lin Yi agreed and put his phone away.

A moment later, Xiaoqi had already finished all the Demon Beast Meat in its dish.

*Not enough. More, more...*

Seeing that Xiaoqi was still far from full,

Lin Yi took out some more Demon Beast Meat from his Space Ring.

He placed it in the feeding dish.

"If this keeps up, I’m not going to be able to afford feeding you!"

Xiaoqi glanced back at Lin Yi.

*Kill demon beasts. Xiaoqi will kill. Plenty to eat...*