CHAPTER 211: CHAPTER 191: I WILL SEEK IMMORTALITY

Lu Lin shook his head.

He couldn’t bring himself to abandon his teammates and leave the Secret Realm alone.

"Boss, stop talking. I choose to continue the challenge."

"Alright."

This time, the Secret Realm Manager didn’t say much. After hearing Lu Lin’s answer, he opened a phantom path in front of Lu Lin.

A road in the clouds.

Lu Lin did not hesitate and stepped onto it.

The scene before him shifted, yet Lu Lin’s heart remained calm.

He had already made up his mind.

Clear the challenge?

Absolutely.

Rescue his teammates?

Absolutely.

How to do it?

No idea.

The only thing he could do was to take it step by step. No matter what, he had to succeed.

Regardless of how the path ahead looked.

Just do it.

As he walked, a grass hall appeared before Lu Lin.

The first challenge was in a room of stone carvings, the second was in a wooden room, the third was a room built from stacked stones, and the fourth turned into a grass hall.

Lu Lin didn’t know what connection these had, but the Wild Blade Heavenly Emperor surely wouldn’t do such things for no reason.

There must be something strange about it.

Inside the grass hall, the light was somewhat dim.

All around the walls, some weeds grew out from the dirt clods.

The ground was also uneven and potholed.

"Young man, congratulations on reaching the fourth challenge."

"The first three challenges tested your physique, enlightenment, and will."

"The trial of this challenge is emotion."

"Those who cultivate must focus upward, overly complex emotions will only make you clumsy, even become a burden."

"Therefore, the trial of the fourth challenge is—"

"Nothingness."

As the voice fell, the scene before Lu Lin changed.

His consciousness gradually blurred.

Lu Lin became a baby.

Born in a rural grass hall, his cries were loud and clear.

The mother looked at him with a weak and tired expression, a smile on her face.

The father was an honest farmer, grinning widely, showing a set of large yellow teeth in a smile.

"Embroidery Lady, this is our son, our son."

"Shi Tou, I see."

The two of them spoke intimately, while the baby Lu Lin slept deeply.

He was so tired.

In the blink of an eye, ten years passed, and Lu Lin had grown into a half-grown boy, echoing between calling for food and running wild outside in front of his parents every day.

Until one day, Shi Tou and Embroidery Lady called him over and said there was no food at home.

The young Lu Lin understood that no food meant going hungry.

The feeling of hunger was miserable.

He didn’t want to go hungry.

"Dad, Mom, I don’t want to go hungry. I want to eat. I want to eat meat."

Shi Tou and Embroidery Lady exchanged a look, nodded, seeming to have made a decision.

Half a month later, the bodies of Shi Tou and Embroidery Lady were dragged out from the mountains by the villagers.

When dragged out, Embroidery Lady’s legs were gone, Shi Tou’s body was covered in scars and was unrecognizable.

Lu Lin did not cry.

But his eyes glowed with hatred.

Lu Lin started asking the village hunters about things to be aware of when entering the Mountain Forest.

Ten days later, just turned eleven, Lu Lin set out alone, carrying a knife, with packed dried food from the neighbor’s house, and stepped into the Mountain Forest.

He had heard from people that his parents were bitten to death by a large beast.

In these years, even crops yielded poorly, much less to mention the wild beasts in the Mountain Forest.

Lu Lin stayed in the mountains for two months, got injured, killed wolves, was chased onto a tree by a brown bear without food or drink for three days, and nearly died after mistakenly eating poisonous mushrooms.

But he just couldn’t find the beast that had killed his parents.

Two months later, Lu Lin’s height shot up, his strength increased, and his iron saber became notched.

On that day, as Lu Lin was sleeping on a rock by the river, he suddenly sensed something was amiss around him.

It is said that clouds follow the dragon, and the wind follows the tiger. An evil wind blew in, and Lu Lin by the river was suddenly awakened.

He looked cautiously around him.

A giant beast two meters long, a good deal taller than Lu Lin’s chest, emerged from the forest.

The beast had no excess flesh, hardly more than skin and bones.

But its eyes were glowing.

This was a beast that was desperately hungry.

Perhaps it was also the one that had killed his parents.

Lu Lin, holding the notched iron saber, stepped back two paces.

The beast seemed to sense the fear in his heart, roared, and lunged at Lu Lin.

Lu Lin wanted to dodge, but he couldn’t move quickly enough and got knocked down by the beast.

The stench hit him.

The beast’s drool dripped relentlessly onto Lu Lin’s face and neck.

This time, there was hardly any hope of survival.

Lu Lin struggled with all his might.

But the beast closed its jaws.

Yet bit into thin air.

The beast looked around, puzzled.

The young man it had just knocked down was standing there unharmed again.

The beast was starving.

Then, once again, it lunged, knocking Lu Lin to the ground.

This time, it didn’t want to wait and bit down directly.

But it bit into empty air again.

Raising its head, it saw that Lu Lin was still standing not far away.

The beast wanted to pounce once more, but a cold light flashed, and the beast’s head was severed, lifeless, as the body fell heavily to the ground without support.

Blood gushed out from the severed neck.

Lu Lin was completely stunned, not knowing what had happened.

Having never left the village since his growth, he thought this must be the Immortal spirit that villagers often spoke of.

He quickly kneeled down and kowtowed like pounding garlic.

Endlessly thanking every Immortal whose name he knew.

"Little one."

"Are you still daring to enter the Mountain Forest at will?"

A voice echoed, and Lu Lin looked at the old man emerging from the woods, with a fierce face, broad shoulders, and a bright, greasy mouth, clearly having just feasted on meat.

"I dare."

Lu Lin replied stubbornly.

The fat old man chuckled, "Little one, stubbornness will lead to folly. Would you be willing to learn the Saber Method from me?"

"I, Pang Sanjin, am a famous Blade Master in the secular world, if you’re willing, kneel down and bow."

"I’m willing. Master, above, please accept your disciple’s bow."

Pang Sanjin lived in the mountains and led Lu Lin back to his dwelling, a house made of stone.

Though simple, Lu Lin felt as if it were his own home.

Time flew by.

Six years later, Lu Lin had learned a decent Saber Method, and even when sparring with the ever-aging Pang Sanjin, he gave a run for his money.

"Alright, young one, today you can be independent."

"Master, I won’t leave."

Seeing Lu Lin’s stubborn look, Pang Sanjin laughed heartily.

"Haha, not leaving?"

"A little sparrow grows up to fly on its own, you too must venture into the secular world when grown."

"At the very least, you should spread your Master’s name, let the people know that even though your grandpa is old, his disciple is extraordinary."

Lu Lin looked at Pang Sanjin and nodded heavily.

Before leaving, Lu Lin asked Pang Sanjin for his real name.

If he made a name for himself in the future, he couldn’t just say his Master was Pang Sanjin.

Pang Sanjin didn’t answer, urging him to leave quickly.

In Lu Lin’s first year in the secular world, he killed the infamous Mobei Ying Ge with thirty-six cuts.

Martial Arts Heavenly Secrets Pavilion ranked him one hundred and eighty-third on the Newcomer List.

Such a ranking, Lu Lin was too embarrassed to return to Pang Sanjin for praise.

The following year, he killed Sect Leader Qu Yijian of Shaohua Mountain, who had gone mad, and became renowned across the East.

He was then ranked fifty-first on the Newcomer List by the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.

Beaming, Lu Lin went back home to visit Pang Sanjin.

Pang Sanjin waved nonchalantly, "What’s fifty-first on the Newcomer List, I was once in the Top 20 of the True Dragon List in those years."

Having ventured in the secular world for two years, Lu Lin was no longer naive.

On the True Dragon List are top-notch masters.

The Fierce Tiger List features already famed masters.

The Newcomer List includes young novice masters.

Of the three lists by the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, only the Newcomer List has two hundred spots, while the Fierce Tiger List has a hundred, and the True Dragon List only twenty.

Pang Sanjin entering the Top 20 of the True Dragon List, those skills must have been unparalleled.

Lu Lin couldn’t boast in front of Pang Sanjin anymore, and after spending New Year’s with him in the mountains, he returned to the secular world.

In one year, Lu Lin challenged fifty new masters consecutively, ranking first on the Newcomer List.

Now he was quite famous and known as Lu Lin the Fast Blade in the secular world.

A year later, Lu Lin exposed the Fragrance Capture Sect’s rebellion plot and was pursued by three of their Law Protectors for a thousand miles, eventually killing them, gaining notoriety.

The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion for the first time ranked him eighty-seventh on the Fierce Tiger List.

Simultaneously, retained his position as first on the Newcomer List.

With the World in Chaos, Lu Lin received a recruitment from a Rebel King and became his personal bodyguard.

In the three years of chaos, the Rebel King he followed grew into one of the three overlords of the world.

During this time, Lu Lin didn’t charge into battle, but he protected the Rebel King from thirty-six lethal threats.

Even on several occasions when the Rebel King was certain of his death, Lu Lin saved him from a desperate situation with his large saber.

Once the territory was stabilized, the Rebel King rewarded Lu Lin with a grand mansion, beautiful women, treasures, and official positions.

Lu Lin accepted them all, but still resided in the closest wooden house near the Rebel King.

As time passed, with the world’s forces stabilizing.

Lu Lin thought about Pang Sanjin.

His Master, after all, was getting old; the Mountain Forest was damp and sultry, with frequent pests and beasts. It would be better to bring his Master to the city to enjoy life, with maids serving him, surely the old man could live more comfortably.

Moreover, after several marriage decrees from the Rebel King, Lu Lin also contemplated starting a family.

He’d take this opportunity to invite his Master out to preside over his marriage.

Bidding farewell to the Rebel King, who was very pleased with Lu Lin’s journey, took his hand and said, as long as Pang Sanjin returns, he would grant a marriage for Lu Lin, along with one hundred horse carriages of gifts and servants.

Upon returning to the mountain, however, Lu Lin found Pang Sanjin gone.

Not only was he missing, but even the stone house where Lu Lin learned the Saber Method was gone.

Lu Lin frantically searched, questioning people everywhere.

A full half a month later, he finally got a word.

It was said that Immortals had fought here three months ago, shattering dozens of Mountain Peaks, injuring countless innocents.

But later, somehow, no one spoke of the incident again, as if the fight had never been witnessed.

Immortals?

Lu Lin gritted his teeth.

After returning to the Rebel King, Lu Lin resigned from all positions and read the classics.

He finally found a clue.

It turns out that the tales about Immortals in this world are not baseless.

There are Immortal Mountains, Immortal Gates, and naturally, there are Immortals.

Lu Lin’s eyes were full of determination, and he once again bade farewell to the Rebel King, his reason:

I’m going to seek Immortality.