"Qin Tianhao, wait until I return, and we'll see who's stronger," Li Lin thought to himself with a slight smile. Qin Tianhao was identified as a third-level spiritual master in Qingyun Town, and now Li Lin had finally broken through to the same level. When he returned to the Yunyang Sect, he would see whether the direct disciples’ training or his own opportunities made him stronger or weaker.

"Time to continue dealing with the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group," Li Lin thought after getting ready, then left the cave as it wasn’t safe to cultivate during the day.

"It's really unlucky, Huang Lao San and the other four are dead. Hopefully, we don’t encounter that kid," whispered three black-clad, robust men walking cautiously under the trees. The Wild Wolf Mercenary Group had suffered consecutive losses, and they were all fearful.

"That man and woman too, if they had left earlier, we wouldn’t have to be so scared. But now they’ve come out, I hope we don't run into them. I don't want to die yet. Xiao Tao Hong is still waiting for me to help her redeem herself. I promised her."

"Hopefully, the others find them, and we don’t have to," they said, moving carefully through the forest, haunted by fear.

"Your luck is really bad, running into me," a deep, cold voice suddenly said. Then, from a towering tree above, three fiery finger strikes whistled through the air, instantly reaching them.

The three men’s first instinct was to look behind them, but they didn’t expect the finger strikes to already be upon them. In an instant, three blood holes appeared, and they were killed without even seeing their attacker.

Li Lin leaped down from the tree. His experience and skills had improved significantly after his time in the Misty Mountain Range. Now a seventh-level martial warrior, his strength was far beyond what it had been in Qingyun Town.

These three men, merely third-level martial warriors, stood no chance against Li Lin. After dealing with them, Li Lin left and continued on.

The three men had nothing of value on them. Li Lin figured that the mercenary group’s wealth must be with its three leaders.

Five hours later, two more black-clad men died in a valley, and Li Lin moved on.

After another four hours, three more men were dead, with Little dragon killing one and Li Lin two. In one day, Li Lin killed eight members of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group.

Throughout the day, Li Lin encountered many members of the mercenary group but managed to avoid them early.

At night, Li Lin found another secluded cave, took out the spiritual jade bed from his storage ring, sat cross-legged, and continued refining the Soul Spirit Divine Liquid in the spiritual energy space of his mind.

Bit by bit, Li Lin refined the energy, turning it into pure spiritual power that gathered in the energy space. His aura kept climbing. The energy was so immense that Li Lin felt his spiritual power increasing at an almost flying speed.

During the refinement process, an energy from the spiritual jade bed also entered Li Lin's body, making the refining energy even purer. Li Lin speculated that perhaps even his master, the Saint Hand Spiritual Master, had not fully understood the effects of the spiritual jade bed. It was the spiritual jade bed that had saved his life in last night's critical moment. The bed seemed almost sentient, and Li Lin suspected it might hold other secrets.

The night slowly passed, filled with the roars of wild beasts and demons in the forest. With Little dragon's presence in the cave, no demon dared approach, allowing Li Lin to cultivate in peace.

Towards the latter part of the night, Li Lin's aura began to rise, and the white, transparent light circling his body became more brilliant. His mind was filled with an abundance of spiritual power, expanding and compressing in the energy space. His aura surged, propelling him to the fourth level of spiritual mastery in one go.

His aura lingered for a long time. Only when dawn broke did Li Lin slowly retract the light and stop cultivating.

After exhaling a long breath of turbid air, Li Lin stood up. Little dragon, twisting its body, happily crawled into Li Lin's palm, shaking its small head as if also happy about Li Lin's breakthrough.

Feeling the spiritual power of a fourth-level spiritual master, Li Lin smiled lazily. He then packed up the spiritual jade bed, valuing it more and more. This bed was not simple, and Li Lin hoped to uncover its secrets in the future.

After breaking through to the fourth level of spiritual mastery, Li Lin could feel that he had only refined about one-third of the energy from the Soul Spirit Divine Liquid.

With the breakthrough, the ethereal soul power in his mind became more tangible, like a fetus in a mother's womb, forming from a cluster of essence and blood and then growing. Li Lin's soul was now beginning to take shape and grow slowly.

"Little dragon, let's go. You're not allowed to make a move today," Li Lin said softly.

Little dragon glanced at Li Lin with its round eyes, then went into his sleeve, seemingly upset again.

In a forest, a scream broke the silence. When people arrived, they found three bodies hanging from a towering tree, tied up with vines. Each body had a blood hole in the chest. One had froth at the mouth and dilated pupils, indicating a brutal death.

On the tree, written in blood, was a message: "Wild Wolf Mercenary Group, none will be spared. Revenge is in progress."

"Who did the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group offend? Over a dozen have died in the past few days."

"It must be some strong person they offended, who is now taking revenge."

"Anyway, the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group provoked someone they shouldn't have. We better be careful not to offend this person."

A crowd gathered around the three bodies, discussing the situation. No one wanted to provoke such a dangerous individual.

The members of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group had been decimated, leaving about ten remaining members, each feeling a deep sense of personal danger and fear of death.

"Damn it, I must skin those two alive," a big man wielding an axe shouted angrily.

"Let's gather everyone together. You and I will each lead a team to search for them. We must find them," a giant man also burst out in anger. The Wild Wolf Mercenary Group, which once had over fifty members for the sake of treasure, was now reduced to just ten, and they hadn't even seen the treasure yet.

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"If I find those two, I'll chop them up alive," the second-in-command raged.

In a valley, Li Lin stood over a second-level mid-tier demon beast he had killed after a tough fight. He smiled in satisfaction, cleaned up, and left the valley.

In the Misty Mountain Range, usually only second-level demon beasts were found on the edges, with third-level ones deeper in. Crossing the Misty Mountain Range led to the ancient territory. It was said that even stronger fourth-level demon beasts existed in the depths of the Misty Mountain Range, a place even martial soul level experts dared not traverse lightly.

Li Lin was extremely satisfied with his progress during this time. Of the five elemental martial arts, he was only missing wind and wood techniques. He already had techniques for fire, earth, and water elements, including two fire techniques - Fury Flame Fist and Fire Shadow Finger. Although only early-stage star-level martial techniques, they were sufficient for his current use.

Wind techniques were the fastest, and wood techniques the most tricky. Li Lin looked forward to acquiring them. Once he mastered all five elemental techniques, his strength would naturally increase further.

However, these two types of techniques were relatively rare and seemed only attainable at the Yunyang Sect. With four martial techniques, one spiritual technique, and the peculiar Vermilion Bird Art, he had enough for now.

"Ten people left in the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group, including the two leaders and eight others," Li Lin thought, having learned their situation from the memories of a group member. His spirit search technique had also improved.

Aside from the two leaders, the remaining eight members of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group were relatively stronger, with the highest being a seventh-level martial warrior, and the others at the third and fourth levels. Li Lin wasn't too concerned about them, as long as he didn't encounter the two leaders.

Li Lin estimated that with the activation of the Qing Ling Armor, defeating an eighth-level martial warrior wouldn't be difficult. Using the Yellow Level martial technique, Furious Sea Roar, he might even be able to kill a first-level martial master. Although he had taken advantage of the situation last time to kill the three leaders, the power of Furious Sea Roar was undoubtedly formidable.

"As for the Sword Soul Technique and Vermilion Bird Art, though powerful, it's better not to use them lightly. They consume too much energy."

"Eh, members of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group."

In a forest, two figures appeared. Li Lin's expression darkened, recognizing them as members of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group.

"Come on, two more," Li Lin thought to himself, approaching stealthily. Direct confrontation was not easy and could attract others, so Li Lin opted for sneak attacks, which were quick and effective.

Two burly men, one in front and the other behind, walked cautiously, scanning their surroundings with a hint of fear.

"Two third-level martial warriors, shouldn't be a problem," Li Lin thought with a cold smile. He vibrated his true qi and leaped out from the bushes, pouncing on the two men. Two fiery finger strikes burst forth, tearing through the air.

"Not good," the men realized the danger too late. They were both third-level martial warriors and not weak, but their expressions changed drastically as they turned to defend themselves, hurriedly setting up a protective circle around them.

However, in their panic, the hastily erected protective circle offered limited defense. The fiery strikes rapidly approached them.

The protective circle shattered instantly, leaving them no time to dodge. In the blink of an eye, each man had a bloody hole in his chest and collapsed to the ground.

"Not good," Li Lin's expression darkened as he immediately retreated to one side, sensing an imminent danger.

"Kid, where do you think you're running to now?" Three figures appeared near where Li Lin had just been, led by the second-in-command of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group.

"A third-level martial master, a fourth-level, and a third-level martial warrior," Li Lin observed, realizing that the two men were likely bait.

Li Lin watched the three men, assessing their strength. The second-in-command was not easy to deal with, and attracting the huge axe-wielding leader would complicate matters further.

Li Lin decided it was best to flee. His true qi vibrated under his feet as he rapidly retreated.

"Think you can escape? Not so easy," the axe-wielding man shouted, lunging forward with an axe strike that tore through the air towards Li Lin's back.

The axe tore through the air with tremendous force, not to be underestimated. Li Lin, having sparred with Li Wushuang in his family, knew the might of a martial master. He quickly donned his Qing Ling Armor and dodged the axe attack.

The axe hit a huge tree, leaving a deep crack several meters long and causing it to shake and leaves to fall.

In the brief delay, the axe-wielding man had already blocked Li Lin's path.

"Kid, I'm going to chop you up alive for revenge," the second-in-command shouted, lifting his giant axe for another strike. His fierce true qi vibrated, distorting the air around him.

Li Lin dodged rapidly, releasing a surge of true qi with a powerful palm strike towards the second-in-command's back.

The axe-wielding man grunted, altering his stance and kicking back powerfully, twisting his body to face Li Lin.

Their forces collided, and the power contained within their attacks rapidly dispersed, causing Li Lin to be pushed back, feeling a great force on his palm.

Fortunately, the Qing Ling Armor absorbed most of the impact, and Li Lin did not suffer significant damage. But he became more cautious of the strength of a third-level martial warrior.

"Kid, you dare to mess with our Wild Wolf Mercenary Group, you're seeking death!" the axe-wielding man coldly stated.

At that moment, a fourth-level and a third-level martial warrior, each wielding a sword, launched an attack on Li Lin. One was an earth-element warrior and the other a water-element warrior, their attacks whistling as they rapidly approached.

"Little dragon, help quickly." At this point, Li Lin had no choice but to rely on Little dragon's help, knowing it was fully capable of dealing with these second-tier warriors.

Before Li Lin could finish speaking, a lightning-fast yellow flash burst out from his sleeve. The yellow light, incredibly fast and catching people off guard, instantly shattered the sword strike from the fourth-level warrior.

In the blink of an eye, the yellow light struck the neck of the fourth-level warrior, who screamed in agony and collapsed to the ground.

"Break!" Li Lin's Fury Flame Fist glowed with intense heat as it collided with the attack of the third-level warrior. The collision caused a loud explosion, pushing the third-level warrior back. He could not withstand Li Lin's full-strength blow as a seventh-level warrior and blood trickled from his mouth.

"Die." Without any hesitation, Li Lin launched a deadly attack. Showing mercy to an enemy was like digging one's own grave. Five Fire Shadow Fingers instantly tore through the air towards the man.

The man's expression turned to terror, hurriedly setting up a protective circle. But under the onslaught of the Fire Shadow Fingers, the first two strikes shattered his protective circle, and the remaining three left blood holes in his body.

"You're a dual-element warrior," the axe-wielding second-in-command exclaimed in surprise, then turned his attention to Little dragon on Li Lin's shoulder. The small beast had just killed a fourth-level warrior instantly, proving its exceptional strength.

After the surprise, the axe-wielding man released a dazzling white light that shot into the sky and exploded above the forest.

"Not good." Li Lin's heart sank, realizing that the second-in-command was summoning others. He knew he needed to leave quickly.

After sending the signal, the second-in-command didn't hesitate. Swinging his giant axe, he unleashed a ferocious attack, the blade tearing through the air towards Li Lin's head with a threatening sound.

Feeling the fierce energy, Li Lin's expression changed slightly. He released a powerful force from his palm and retreated rapidly, unleashing a Mountain Splitting Palm.

"Break!" The second-in-command shouted, his axe splitting the Mountain Splitting Palm imprint and then stepping forward to chase Li Lin, swinging his axe again.

"Kid, you're going to die," the second-in-command roared.

With a sizzling sound, Little dragon instantly leaped from Li Lin's shoulder, pouncing towards the second-in-command with lightning speed, almost as fast as lightning itself.

The second-in-command's expression darkened as he diagonally swung his axe to block the attack from Little dragon. Facing this unusual demon beast, he was somewhat puzzled and did not dare to be careless.

A golden flame suddenly enveloped Little dragon, and it also spat out a burst of golden fire. The space seemed to be consumed by the flame, with the air around the golden fire distorting under its intense heat.

"What kind of demon beast is this?" The second-in-command felt the scorching temperature. His own true qi was completely incinerated upon contact with the golden flames. He had never seen such a terrifying demon beast before and quickly retreated, not daring to confront it.

However, Little dragon's speed was beyond his expectation. It instantly pierced through the air currents, and its small body suddenly expanded to about fifteen meters in length, with a thickness comparable to the size of a bowl. Its body was covered with dense golden scales, emitting a dazzling light.