The Invincible Strongest Student

Lin Tian had a very long dream.

The dream was so blurred that he couldn’t recall much, but he was certain it was a nightmare. He woke up drenched in sweat, with a parched throat.

Upon waking, Lin Tian found his clothes clinging uncomfortably to his skin, completely soaked through.

He sat up at the edge of the bed, resting his hands on his knees, and drifted off in thought for a while.

He liked zoning out, staring at a corner without thinking about anything, a way to relax his mind and relieve stress.

The only thing he remembered was kneeling before Wang Shi’s coffin for an unknown length of time, and he had forgotten how he fainted afterwards.

After a sleep, Lin Tian didn’t feel fully recharged; instead, it was the hunger in his belly that left him weak.

He hadn’t had a drop of water for more than half a month, which was the limit for a Golden Core expert. If it were a normal person, they’d be done in three days without water.

Lin Tian wasn’t in the previous confinement room now but in a different room. The Celestial Dragon Continent’s ancient-style architecture had more than just the main furniture like bed and table; there were also two pots of flourishing orchids by the window, emitting a faint floral fragrance. The wall displayed a calligraphy scroll: "Only fierce winds reveal strong grass; only chaos identifies loyal subjects."

The environment looked nice, certainly better than the previous confinement room.

Soon, Lin Tian’s gaze was drawn to a plate of osmanthus cake on the table. His throat moved slightly; he rushed to the table in a few strides, grabbing a piece and stuffing it into his mouth. With the other hand, he caught hold of the teapot, bringing the spout to his lips.

He was nearly driven mad by hunger! It was his first realization of how terrifying hunger could be. Even knowing the osmanthus cake was poisoned, he’d still eat it like this; fill the stomach first, worry later. Better to be a hungry ghost than not at all?

As Lin Tian devoured the food, the door suddenly swung open. Before hearing footsteps, Lin Tian caught sight of Wang Xingkong at the corner of his eye, hands behind his back, strolling leisurely.

"Haha, Elder Lin has quite the appetite." Wang Xingkong said with a sardonic smile.

Lin Tian merely glanced at him, then continued eating with disregard.

With a pot of water, he gulped down three pieces of osmanthus cake, topping it off with a loud and bright burp, before rubbing his belly contentedly.

"The osmanthus cakes are nice, just a tad too sweet." Lin Tian said blandly.

"Haha, seems you haven’t grown tired of them yet." Wang Xingkong chuckled. "The Fasting Skill originates from Dao School health practices. Not consuming grains, absorbing air and dew, riding the clouds, commanding dragons, roaming beyond the four seas... But do you know the basic requirement to cultivate the Fasting Skill is to achieve a Golden Core?"

"You’re now at the Middle Stage of Golden Elixir, but it’s no easy feat. First, one must endure hunger; it’s a taste I’ve tried too. When I reached the fifteenth day of hunger, even earthworms crawling on the ground seemed delicious, tempting me to put them in my mouth. Yet, I held back. I distinctly remember being hungry for an entire autumn. Whenever hunger struck, I trained tirelessly, filling my belly with Inner Strength, even fainting without consuming a bite."

"Those were the darkest days of my life, hungry to the point my eyes blacked out, losing my hearing, wishing for death more than life. But I persevered. Eating nothing, drinking nothing, consuming only the breath of heaven and earth, the body free of impurities, my strength improved by leaps and bounds."

As he spoke, Wang Xingkong again laughed boastfully: "When chatting with Xian’Er, he mentioned you as a genius, a peerless talent! Even in my youth, I was no match for you. So I’m truly curious if you could master the Fasting Skill, which is why I especially placed a plate of osmanthus cake in your room on your eighteenth day of hunger; sure enough, you ate it, and ate it in such a manner, haha..."

Wang Xingkong was excessively proud; this several hundred-years-old demon’s laughter was so prolonged it felt terrifying...

Living in the Wang Family gave Lin Tian eye-rolling disbelief. All he wanted was to slam the table, jump up, and point at Wang Xingkong’s nose, yelling insults.

Damn it, why would I care about mastering the Fasting Skill? I have no interest in it at all! You starved me for eighteen days just to see how I would eat? Madness!

What purifying power, rapid progress in cultivation? Haven’t I progressed quickly enough? Others require decades, even lifetimes to reach such strength; I only took a year!

Why the hell would I learn the Fasting Skill?

If rage had a temperature, surely Lin Tian’s head would be steaming by now.

Who knew, Wang Xingkong raised a brow, smirking, "What now? Regretting eating that just now? Fasting Skill differs from other cultivation techniques, relying on endurance; now that you’ve tasted hunger, trying again will only exhaust you further, leaving you with no chance at mastering Fasting Skill ever."

"..." Lin Tian clenched his fists; knowing he couldn’t beat this old monster was the only reason he hadn’t struck yet!

Yet all this Wang Xingkong perceived as Lin Tian’s frustration from falling short of success.

Taking a deep breath dispersed the anger from his lungs; there was no benefit in stressing over something he couldn’t change.

Picking up another osmanthus cake, Lin Tian ate it slowly, while asking, "How did the Wang Family handle the aftermath?"

Wang Xingkong’s smile faded as he looked at Lin Tian, saying, "The body has been placed in the underground palace."

Lin Tian suddenly lost his appetite, placing the osmanthus cake down, raising a brow, "So, the Wang Family truly doesn’t believe I’m innocent."

"Haha, what does belief matter? Wang Shi is already dead; if not for waiting to let you repent, he’d have been sent to the underground palace long ago, tortured while alive; why disturb his rest in death?"

"Wang Shi was killed by someone else; is the Wang Family so readily letting them escape?"

Wang Xingkong replied, "Obviously, the attacker targeted you, using my Wang Family’s blade to kill you. With a scapegoat, why pursue the matter further?"

Lin Tian was almost spitting blood from rage. What kind of nonsense was this?

"Finding the murderer is actually simple. You’ve been known on the martial arts scene for just one year, and your mortal enemies are not many. One who intends harm, has the ability to move freely within my Wang Family, and employs such lethal methods, who could it possibly be?"

Wang Xingkong’s words were as if a stick struck Lin Tian’s head, snapping him awake. Indeed, the target is easily locked on.

There aren’t many fitting such conditions, and thinking over it, a hunched silhouette appeared in his mind.

Kun Yun!

No one seemed more suspicious than him!

Soon, Lin Tian’s mind reeled again. Wang Xingkong wasn’t kindly giving clues; he was directing Lin Tian to lock onto a target, to retaliate tooth for tooth, also using the method of borrowing a blade to kill, for Lin Tian to eliminate the murderer.

No one in this world is a fool.