The Prodigies War

The young man in the yellow robe had fair skin, a gentle smile, and an elegant demeanor.

Lin Xun swept a glance over him, then turned to Su Yunhai, the head of the Su Clan, and asked, “Father, can you let me talk to my friend alone?”

He spoke calmly.

Although Su Yunhai and others found it strange, they nodded and left the hall.

In the past, despite being favored, Su Qinghan, who couldn’t cultivate, had little say in important matters.

Once everyone had left the hall, Lin Xun asked aloud, “How come I didn’t know that I had a friend like you?”

Sitting leisurely as before, the yellow-robed youth picked up a teacup, smiled faintly and took a sip before saying, “Fellow Daoist, as reincarnators, we’re naturally friends, aren’t we?”

“Oh?” Lin Xun raised his brows. “Tell me, why did you come here?”

“It’s very simple. I had awakened not long ago. Although I have embarked on the cultivation path, I don’t have a suitable cultivation art.”

The yellow-robed youth set down the teacup and looked at Lin Xun. “I heard you stormed the Great Qian imperial palace on your own and crippled the cultivation of a prince named Qian Yuanba in front of everyone. And yet, you’ve always been known as trash, unable to cultivate…”

Lin Xun interrupted, “Stop talking nonsense and tell me your purpose for coming here.”

A hint of anger flashed in the yellow-robed youth’s eyes, but he maintained his smile and said, “It’s very simple. I want to borrow your cultivation art.”

Lin Xun nodded. “So you came for this.”

As the yellow-robed youth took a deep breath, his expression radiating pride. “To tell you the truth, before reincarnation, I was Fei Yunhe, a core disciple of the Primordial Dao Court. If you help me now, I promise you won’t be treated poorly once this reincarnation trial is over.”

Lin Xun’s expression turned strange. “So you are from the Primordial Dao Court...”

The yellow-robed youth nodded humbly. “What do you say, Fellow Daoist? Will you help me?”

“What if I refuse?” asked Lin Xun.

As though he had expected this, the yellow-robed youth smiled warmly. “After entering the True Martial World, I happened to recall a secret recipe for preparing poisons. Let me put it this way, everyone in the Su Clan has been poisoned, and if I choose so, the Su Clan will be destroyed.”

Lin Xun narrowed his eyes. “This is your so-called trump card?”

The yellow-robed youth laughed. “I have no other choice. After entering the True Martial World, I lost all my cultivation and all I can rely on now are little tricks like this.”

“Do you know who I am?” asked Lin Xun.

The yellow-robed youth appeared momentarily taken aback, but a smile quickly returned to his face as he said, “Fellow Daoist, you may not care about the life and death of the Su Clan, but let me remind you—you were also poisoned the moment you entered this hall! If you don’t believe me, try mobilizing your cultivation and feel whether your heart and lungs ache with severe pain.” His expression was laced with amusement.

Evidently, he had everything planned out and looked very confident.

Lin Xun was silent for a moment, then smiled and walked towards the yellow-robed young man.

Indeed, he detected wisps of gray energy swirling around his heart and lungs, but as he mobilized his cultivation, they disintegrated completely.

This was the power of the Supreme True Martial Stage, coupled with the wondrous effects of the Great Dao Furnace Art. His body, like a furnace, rendered him immune to all poisons!

Frowning, the yellow-robed youth’s pupils rapidly asked, “Are you seriously considering mutual destruction?”

As he spoke, a beast-hide drum appeared in his hand. “A single light tap on this drum, and your heart and lungs will burst in an instant.”

Lin Xun kept advancing, saying calmly, “Then go ahead and tap it.”

“You asked for it!” The yellow-robed youth’s face darkened as a deep, thunderous boom erupted from the drum in his hand, echoing like a clap of thunder.

However, to his astonishment, Lin Xun had no reaction towards it.

“You…” The yellow-robed youth’s pupils rapidly shrank and he sprang to his feet, suddenly realizing that something was wrong.

At this moment, Lin Xun darted forward like a flash of lightning, grabbing the yellow-robed youth by the neck and lifting him into the air. His cheeks flush red and he struggled to breath.

“Fellow Daoist, let’s talk it over, let’s talk it over!” the yellow-robed youth exclaimed in panic, his face turning pale with fear.

“If you were not a disciple from Primordial Dao Court, then perhaps I would have spared your life. Unfortunately, you chose to reveal your identity to me...”

Lin Xun’s expression was as cold as ice.

“You...who are you?” The yellow-robed youth thrashed wildly, his unease intensifying with every passing moment.

Crack!

The yellow-robed youth’s neck snapped and his head drooped lifelessly to the side.

“You don’t even know who the enemy is, yet you chose to reveal your identity. How stupid...” Lin Xun shook his head and began to search the yellow-robed youth’s body.

Unfortunately, he found no antidote.

Clearly, even if Lin Xun had agreed to hand over the cultivation art, the yellow-robed youth would not have given him the antidote!

However, it didn’t matter. Lin Xun possessed the All-Inclusive Plant Index, so how would he be hindered by such a low-grade poison?

What troubled Lin Xun was figuring out how to explain it to the Su Clan.

……

After the time to burn an incense stick.

In the main hall, the faces of Su Yunhai and the other senior clan members were etched with bewilderment and confusion.

Lin Xun had fully explained himself without hiding anything, openly revealing his identity as a ‘reincarnator.’

It was impossible to keep something like this a secret.

The reincarnation trial in the True Martial World was set to last ten years. As countless reincarnators awakened in the True Martial World, the state of the world was bound to change.

At that time, there was no way to cover it up.

Since that was the case, it might be better to tell the truth now.

However, Lin Xun chose not to reveal his name because if it was leaked, cultivators from the Great Six Courts and Great Ten Battle Clans would definitely come after him.

After a long while, Su Yunhai asked, “You...if you leave one day, will anything happen to my child?”

Clearly, what he cared about most was his son Su Qinghan.

“No.” Lin Xun answered.

Not only that, but after he left, Su Qinghan’s soul would reclaim this body with its cultivation intact. Wouldn’t that be considered a blessing?

In the end, Su Yunhai and the others accepted everything. Whether they wanted to or not, everything had already happened and nothing could be changed.

However, Su Yunhai still issued an order to block the spread of this ‘earth shaking’ news.

Otherwise, people would think that his third son was possessed by a demon.

On the same day, Lin Xun wrote a prescription and handed it to Su Yunhai. By nightfall, the poison affecting the entire Su Clan had been eradicated one by one.

“More and more reincarnators are awakening...”

Late at night, after returning to his residence, Lin Xun fell into deep thought.

He knew all too well that once those guys from various worlds across the starry sky awakened, they would stop at nothing to embark on the cultivation path and find a way to leave the True Martial World!

After all, in their eyes, the True Martial World was just a stage of reincarnation. They did not care about the order of this world, nor do they care about the life and death of the people in this world!

Of course, Lin Xun alone was powerless to take care of everything, but he couldn’t ignore the safety of the Su Clan. After all, his soul was occupying Su Qinghan’s body.

“Third Young Master, it’s late, you should rest early,” Qing Zhu said in a crisp voice as she walked in.

Lin Xun hummed in response, and at that moment, footsteps sounded from outside the courtyard. “Third... Third Younger Brother, are you still awake?”

It was Su Qingchou’s voice.

Lin Xun immediately got up and invited Su Qingchou into the courtyard.

“Qing Zhu, go and rest. I have something to discuss with my Eldest Brother,” Lin Xun said casually.

Qing Zhu nodded and left.

Without any outsiders around, Su Qingchou whispered, “Fellow Daoist, I have an unreasonable request and I hope you can help me fulfill it.”

“What is it?” Lin Xun asked.

Su Qingchou took a deep breath and said, “I want to become as strong as you. So, even if more reincarnators appear in the future and threaten my Su Clan, I can still protect them!”

His request took Lin Xun aback, but he understood. As the eldest son of the Su Clan, Su Qingchou was naturally worried about the potential impact on the clan if the reincarnators disrupted the world.

In addition, he only requested one cultivation art. Lin Xun’s mind housed many inheritances, any of which could cause a significant transformation in Su Qingchou’s cultivation.

Immediately, Lin Xun returned to his room, found a brush and paper and wrote down a secret qi refining art to hand to Su Qingchou.

“Thank you, Fellow Daoist! Truly, thank you very much, Fellow Daoist!” After a quick glance at the secret art, Su Qingchou couldn’t contain his surprise and excitement, marvelling at its wonders.

Before long, Su Qingchou left in a hurry.

From that day on, Lin Xun’s life became peaceful once again, focussed entirely on training, and he barely left his residence.

One month later.

He broke through to the seventh layer of the True Martial Stage, Little Cycle.

Two months later.

His cultivation reached the eighth layer of the True Martial Stage, Big Cycle.

Every breakthrough was stable and steady, like water flowing naturally, resulting in a flawless and complete transformation.

During this period, many unbelievable changes happened within the territories of the three great dynasties, Great Qian, Great Chu, and Great Wei.

Rumors about ‘reincarnators’ started circulating, causing unease to ripple across the world.

This was all something that Lin Xun had predicted. Even if he did not leave the house, he learned the news from the Su Clan.

However, the number of ‘awakened reincarnators’ was still relatively small, and they were scattered far and wide, so the disturbances they caused remained minimal.

After all, this was only their first year in the True Martial World. Although a large number of cultivators had entered the cycle of reincarnation, not all of them could awaken.

And not anyone could awaken within the first year!

Lin Xun was the only one who awakened right away.

……

That morning, as usual, Qing Zhu came into Lin Xun’s room carrying a wash basin, towel, toothbrush, and other items.

The room was empty with no sign of Lin Xun.

On the desk, a letter and a secret cultivation art were all that remained.

The front of the letter read ‘To Qing Zhu.’

It was only then did Qing Zhu dared to open it. As she carefully read the letter, tears welled up in her bright eyes, and her heart grew heavy with reluctance and sadness.

Third Young Master had left for the True Martial Contest.

Before leaving, he left behind a secret cultivation art for her.

This made Qing Zhu realize that the Third Young Master might not come back any time soon…

Just the thought of this filled her heart with overwhelming sorrow. Her emotions spiralled out of control, leaving her looking shattered and lost.

Growing up with the Third Young Master, their bond had been as close as that of siblings. Now, with their abrupt separation, she felt a deep sense of emptiness and discomfort in her heart.

At this moment, a consciousness quietly ‘awakened’ within her soul.