Chapter 184: Unscrupulous (1)
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
In the dark hall.
“Lin Shen” slowly opened his eyes. After a brief moment of absent-mindedness, he woke up all of a sudden. He wanted to jump to his feet but realized that he seemed to have been frozen on the spot. He couldn’t move and could only lie flat on the ground.
“Stop struggling. Even someone at Level-2 Bright Aperture won’t be able to break free in an hour.”
He heard an indifferent voice.
“Lin Shen” tried his best to look in the direction of the sound. From where he lay, he could see the giant cauldron in the center of the hall.
The cauldron was made of fine brass and was as tall as a grown man. It had three legs and two ears, and the surface was covered with complicated patterns. It gave off a cold, eerie glow.
Meanwhile, a fire had been lit under the cauldron, and white smoke was rising out of the four holes in the lid.
With his back to Lin Shen, the man stood in front of the cauldron with his hands behind his back, as if he was observing the contents.
“It’s too bad that Jin Hai is dead. Without him, I won’t have much hope in refining a Level-4 Blood Spirit Pill. After all, I’m not as good as he is in alchemy. Luckily, a Level-3 Blood Spirit Pill is more than enough.”
He slowly turned around as he spoke.
He wasn’t wearing a mask at the moment, and the hood of his robe was pulled back, revealing his face.
Lin Shen’s pupils contracted when he saw the face.
“Master Leng!”
It was none other than Leng Guangting, the tutor of the Nine Yang Academy and Leng Xing’s father!
“Surprised, aren’t you?”
The man in the black robe glanced at Lin Shen, his face emotionless.
“The tutor of the Nine Yang Academy is the backbone of the infamous Wild Wolves. That’s unbelievable, isn’t it?”
“That’s indeed surprising.”
Lin Shen had a strange look on his face.
Although he had a hunch that the man was from the Nine Yang Academy, he didn’t expect it to be Leng Guangting, who had always kept a low profile.
However, the tutor was said to be from a declining old family, which was a respectable background. Why would he join an unorthodox force like the Wild Wolves, let alone become a senior member?
As if he had noticed Lin Shen’s confusion, a strange look flickered in Leng Guangting’s eyes.
“A hundred years ago, the Leng family was still one of the eighteen influential families, but ever since then, our status declined, and our forces kept declining. As a result, we were finally kicked out of the eighteen and became a declining old family.
“Although they’re still respectable families, the declining old families aren’t much better than commoners. Even the eighteen influential families, which should be of the same level, have been looking down on them.
“To regain our former glory, everyone in the Leng family is determined to revitalize our family and become one of the eighteen influential families again. I’ve been taught that way since I was little. I have to work hard and become a cultivator master to revitalize our clan. However, there’s always a limit. I’m not talented enough, and I’ll never be able to break through the bottleneck and become a cultivator master!
“Without a cultivator master, a family can’t be considered a respectable cultivation family, and that’s an unwritten rule between major families. Even if it’s a declining old family, the family has to have at least one cultivator master. If a family doesn’t have a cultivator master for more than ten years, they’ll be stripped of their title and banished to the commoner class.
“The Leng family hasn’t had a cultivator master since my father passed away.”
Lin Shen only spoke until now.
“So, you want to use the Blood Spirit Pills to break through your bottleneck… But why are you telling me all this now? Are you trying to find an excuse for yourself or make yourself feel at ease?”
The corner of Leng Guangting’s mouth twitched a little as if he was smiling. He ignored Lin Shen’s sarcasm and said quietly,
“The path of cultivation is endless, and longevity is hard to come by. Many people will do anything they can just to get out of the cage and have a glimpse of the peak. Blood Spirit Pills may sound cruel, but in fact, there are many crueler and darker things in the world. Everyone is after power!
“I don’t regret what I’ve done. Why should I feel uneasy?”
After that, Leng Guang sighed and sounded rather lonely.
“I’ve kept those words to myself, and I haven’t even told my wife and children. Now that I’ve said them aloud, I feel much more relieved.”
Lin Shen smiled. “I think I’ve done something nice.”
Leng Guangting turned to look at him with flickering eyes.
“You’ve surprised me. By now, you should have guessed what I was going to do, but why aren’t you afraid?”
“Will you let me go if I’m scared?” Lin Shen asked calmly.
Leng Guangting smiled, glanced at the cauldron, and nodded.
“It’s about time. That’s enough chit-chat. It’s time for the last step of the refinement.”
When his long-cherished dream was about to come true, even Leng Guangting couldn’t help but blush.
With a wave of his sleeve, he opened the lid of the cauldron, and white smoke gushed out, rushing toward the ceiling.
A strange aroma filled the air.
Lin Shen’s nostrils twitched, and he smelled something sweet.
It was like removing the rusty taste from one’s blood and mixing it with some sugar.
While he was letting one’s imagination run wild, Leng Guangting marched in, picked up Lin Shen, and headed for the cauldron.
Lin Shen spoke before he was thrown in..