It was a chilly night.
The Lin Clan Sect Residence was situated deep within the Outer Residence.
Two young figures stood together next to a man-made cascading waterfall.
One of the silhouettes belonged to Lin Shi.
"Lin Han? That's ridiculous! This subdivision disciple of petty status like a nonentity defeated you twice? That's unforgivable!"
The slim figure that was standing beside Lin Shi yelled suddenly.
This thin man was none other than Lin Shi's elder brother, Lin Lang – the talented disciple who ranked seventh in power among the Outer Residence.
"Older Brother, you must crush that lad!" Lin Shi's dantian that had been destroyed twice could no longer be healed. In other words, all his martial arts practice was also brought down to nothing. His body was fuelled by the resentment he had against Lin Han.
"Don't worry, you're my only brother. Your loss will be avenged. When the time comes, I will take off the man's head and present it to you." A determined expression flashed across Lin Lang's face as he declared.
"Thank you, Older Brother!"
Lin Shi was overjoyed. His ruthless tiny eyes were filled with cruel intentions as he announced, "Lin Han, you're dead to me!"
…
The early morning of the following day.
Squeak!
As usual, Lin Han pushed the door of his house open and took a deep breath.
However, today's Lin Han was no longer the lowly subdivision ghost like he once was.
"Young Master."
A crisp voice rang in the air.
Xiao Nu the maid wore her hair in plaits. She walked over holding a basin filled with water in her tiny hands.
After washing up, Lin Han hurriedly walked out of his house and towards the Lin Clan Sect Residence.
Today, he was going to execute the "decision" that he had promised himself yesterday.
In other words, he would head into Broken Sky Forest to hunt down demonic beasts in exchange for money. He would then spend that money on spiritual pills that would assist him in breaking through his current martial arts state.
However, spiritual pills were generally very expensive so he would need a lot of money.
Therefore, Lin Han only held a wait-and-see attitude. He thought that at the very least, he could practice his martial arts techniques even if he could not hunt down enough demonic beasts.
With his current strength, Lin Han was qualified to be among the top 25 in tomorrow's Outer Residence Tournament. At least he would not be sent back to his hometown.
However, Lin Han still wished to be fully prepared to compete for the top three, or even the champion title. If he succeeded, he would receive attention from the sect residence's upper-level management and finally obtain more resources for his cultivation purposes.
After all, resources were essential for practicing martial arts.
Even if Lin Han possessed world-famous skills and demonic talents, he still required a lot of resources to accumulate his strength in order to force his best self out of the abyss and into the sky like a dragon.
Only by becoming powerful in the shortest time he could muster was he able to survive and break out of this marginal area into the land of the truly magnificent.
It was only then that he could search for the mysterious and strange Ancient Land, murder the "Ice God" Lan Bingyan to avenge and complete the last wish of the superior Dragon Emperor that had blessed him with this glorious transformation.
An hour later, Lin Han first arrived at the well-known Pavilion of Spiritual Pills in Broken Sky City to inquire about the price of the spiritual pills.
"The key to progressing from martial arts third tier into the fourth tier is the transforming of True Qi to True Element. It's also an important step for a Warrior to advance into a Master. We have a medicinal pill called the Element Condensation Pill, which can aid you in breaking through your current boundary."
Inside the Pavilion of Spiritual Pills, an old man dressed in a black robe smiled as he explained to Lin Han.
The old man had noticed the massive "Lin" character embroidered on Lin Han's shirt when he first entered the pavilion. Naturally, he treated Lin Han with good manners as he could not afford to offend disciples of the Lin clan.
In the Broken Sky City, the lineage of Lin Clan Sect Residence, Shen Clan Sect Residence, and the Governor's Residence were three of the most powerful clans that had worked together since the beginning of time.
"Element Condensation Pill?"
Lin Han nodded because he had heard of this medicinal pill. It was said to have no side effects and could greatly assist a third tier Warrior to progress into a fourth tier Master.
"What is the price of this Element Condensation Pill?" Lin Han finally asked the most crucial question.
"Five hundred taels of gold," replied the black-robed old man slowly.
What?
Five hundred taels of gold?
The corners of Lin Han's lips twitched involuntarily at the ridiculous pricing.
No wonder there was a saying that said that martial arts was a rich man's hobby.
"Okay, I'm placing an order for one Element Condensation Pill. I'll swing by to pick it up tonight," Lin Han said before he turned and left.
Five hundred taels of gold was a large amount for Lin Han.
It did cross his mind that he could sell the longsword plundered from Lin Jian, but it would be a pity to give up such a great weapon.
"I'll first go hunting for demonic beasts in the Broken Sky Forest. I'm sure with my current cultivation base, I could earn this amount within a day."
Lin Han pondered for a moment before he walked steadily towards the outside of Broken Sky City.
Broken Sky Forest was a towering mountain range that went on for tens of thousands of miles. It was the habitat of countless powerful, ancient demonic and fierce beasts.
This stretch of mountain ranges bordered many countries. The Yan Kingdom in which Broken Sky City was located was one of them.
Lin Han had no choice but to try his luck here in order to collect sufficient money to buy the Element Condensation Pill. He might be able to hunt down some rare beasts or collect some heavenly spiritual medicines that he could later sell off for a good price.
Stomp!
Lin Han had already perfected the Thirteen Moving Dragon Steps to the Major Advancement state that he was able to take ten steps at once. The sound of dragon roaring was extraordinarily imposing and that made Lin Han feel as light as a swallow.
He allowed his perception to spread as soon as he entered the Broken Sky Forest. All of his martial qualities were transformed by the Golden Spirit Fire and they became extremely powerful.
This provided him a unique advantage in hunting and killing demonic beasts in this forest.
"Hiss!"
A green shimmer appeared out of nowhere.
Lin Han immediately turned around and successfully avoided the shimmering mass as it attacked him.
He looked toward the source of the light to discover that it was not a green light at all, but a small snake covered in green scales.
It was an aquamarine snake, a highly venomous predator of the forest!
Even a martial arts Grandmaster would die violently within seconds if they were bitten by it.
Lin Han clicked his tongue silently. As expected, this forest was hidden with dangerous creatures that could devour him if he made a single wrong move.
"Quick Draw Sword!"
Clang!
A ray of sword light suddenly cut through the air and reflected a dazzling gleam.
"Puff!"
The little green snake was agile but it could never be quicker than Lin Han's sword. It was cut into half instantaneously.
This kind of poisonous snake lost their combat advantage once their ambush tactics failed. Therefore, Lin Han could easily kill it with a blow of the sword.
Lin Han kept the snake's corpse into the bag he carried and continued to move deeper into the woods.
The scales, snake gall, venom, fangs, and other parts of that little green snake could be sold off at a good price.
Alas, the amount collected was far from enough to buy one Element Condensation Pill.
Yet, Lin Han continued to move forward.
"Boom."
Suddenly, a mighty cheetah appeared. The cheetah's eyes were savage and there appeared to be a real evil spirit around it.
It was a demonic beast that had cultivated the demonic element!
"Puff."
However, the demonic cheetah only acquired low cultivation. It did not escape from Lin Han's sword and was killed on the spot.
At this stage, his Quick Draw Sword technique was already at the Major Advancement state and soon, it would be perfected into the Pinnacle state. One blow of Lin Han's sword was extremely terrifying and possessed great lethality.
He removed all of the valuables from the cheetah such as its fur and claws before he continued on his journey into the Broken Sky Forest.