"Master." At this moment, a dark cyan puppet leaped towards Li Lin, emitting a cold, emotionless voice from its mouth. Although its eyes were hollow, they sparkled with a hint of sharpness, clearly distinguishing it from ordinary puppets.
Li Lin observed the puppet he had refined. Although it was also considered a zombie puppet, it was much higher in rank compared to ordinary zombie puppets. The puppet still retained the appearance of the Jiuhua Sect elder, except its skin had turned into a thick layer of metal, with its original facial features vaguely recognizable.
"You are my first puppet. From now on, you will be called Puppet One." Li Lin said, touching the hard metal skin of the puppet.
"Yes, Master." A cold voice came from the puppet again.
Looking at the puppet, Li Lin became more and more satisfied. Unlike ordinary puppets that lacked intelligence, Puppet One could act on its own with just a thought from Li Lin. It could also use the martial techniques it had known before, coupled with a simple intelligence and an exceptionally strong puppet physique, its strength was truly astonishing.
Li Lin sized up Puppet One. The original Jiuhua Sect elder had the cultivation of the eighth level Martial Soul, and had just made a breakthrough. Judging by the puppet's level, it had reached the peak of the fourth level late stage, equivalent to the peak strength of the ninth level Martial Soul. With its formidable body, the puppet's strength was undoubtedly more than that, capable of fighting against a first level Martial General.
"Jiuhua Sect, this is really a big thank you gift." Li Lin smirked. A fourth level late stage peak puppet capable of contending with a first level Martial General was undoubtedly a loyal and strong Martial General given by Jiuhua Sect, a significant gift indeed.
Li Lin was happy about refining a puppet of such a high level, knowing that it wasn't just due to his own strength. If the Jiuhua Sect elder was still alive, it would have been impossible for him to refine him into a puppet.
All of this was possible because the Jiuhua Sect elder had become vegetative, and Li Lin's soul power was stronger compared to others at the same cultivation level, allowing him to refine the puppet. Otherwise, with his current strength, refining a third level middle stage puppet would have been quite good. This was a whole level and more higher.
"Collect…"
Li Lin stored Puppet One into his spatial ring. With Puppet One by his side, he undoubtedly had a first level Martial General as a bodyguard, giving him much more confidence when going out.
"Let's meditate for a while." Li Lin then sat cross-legged on the Lingyu bed again. The refining process had been extremely consuming, requiring the intake of three third level elixirs worth tens of thousands of gold coins, which made Li Lin quite heartbroken. However, the success of the refining made it all worth it.
Three days later, when the cave's secret chamber opened, Li Lin came out looking rosy and healed from his injuries. As soon as he left the chamber, a little dragon affectionately rubbed against him.
After returning home, Dong Wuming, the Soul Poison General, sensed Li Lin's aura becoming stronger and couldn't help but be surprised, although he had gotten used to being amazed by Li Lin.
Then, Li Lin asked Zhang Mingtao to gather the disciples in the hall for an important discussion.
In the grand hall of the Flying Spirit Sect, Li Lin sat at the top, with Hu Nansheng, Chang Lei, Zheng Ying, and Chen Xinjie, four elders, sitting below him. At this time, Zheng Ying and Chen Xinjie had already reached the cultivation of the third level Martial Soul after this retreat.
As for Zhou Yuhou, he was still in retreat, likely on the verge of a breakthrough.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
"Greetings, Sect Leader." The disciples saluted. Those present in the hall were key disciples of the Flying Spirit Sect, with relatively high cultivation levels.
"Hu Elder, what's the situation in Tuan Mountain Town now?" Li Lin asked.
"Sect Leader, we no longer have disciples stationed in Tuan Mountain Town, letting Jiuhua Sect people run rampant. All our shops have been notified to waive all tributes before Jiuhua Sect's people cause trouble," Hu Nansheng replied.
Li Lin said, "Four elders, select four hundred disciples to follow me into Tuan Mountain Town. Huang Boran, here is a letter for you. Leave for the Ghost Martial Sect on time three days later and deliver it to the elder of the Ghost Martial Sect, saying it's for the Sect Leader of the Ghost Martial Sect, then come back immediately. If anyone asks you anything, just say you don't know."
After finishing, Li Lin handed a written letter to Huang Boran, who was clever enough to handle this small matter without any mistake.
"Yes, Sect Leader." Huang Boran and the elders replied.
"Sect Leader, are you planning to move against Jiuhua Sect?" Dong Wuming, the Soul Poison General, asked lightly from the top seat.
"Yes, this time we will need Elder Dong to preside over it. We will wipe out Jiuhua Sect in one fell swoop," Li Lin said, a killing intent spreading from his eyes.
"Why are you sending a letter to the Ghost Martial Sect?" Dong Wuming asked, puzzled.
"Hehe." Li Lin chuckled, "Wiping out Jiuhua Sect, we need to block the Ghost Martial Sect's mouth. Jiuhua Sect is considered an external force of the Ghost Martial Sect. Wiping them out for no reason would make the Ghost Martial Sect lose face. By sending the letter first, the Ghost Martial Sect can only turn a blind eye. We act first and report later, and they can't do anything to us, especially since Jiuhua Sect provoked me first."
"What did you write in the letter?" Dong Wuming asked, then laughed.
"Nothing much, just saying that I was ambushed and severely injured by an elder of Jiuhua Sect on my way back from the Ghost Martial Sect. In anger, the Great Elder of the Flying Spirit Sect led the disciples to wipe out Jiuhua Sect, and I couldn't stop it. So, I asked the Ghost Martial Sect to mediate and calm the Great Elder down," Li Lin explained with a smirk.
"If the Ghost Martial Sect intervenes, we might not be able to wipe them out," Dong Wuming was startled, not knowing what conspiracy Li Lin had planned.
The other four elders were also puzzled; this was not the Sect Leader's style. To wipe out Jiuhua Sect and notify the Ghost Martial Sect first would make it difficult to proceed.
"Elder Dong, I arranged for Huang Boran to reach the Ghost Martial Sect three days later, and it would take at least five days for them to learn about it. Eight days later, by calculating the distance, it takes only three days from Tuan Mountain Town to Jiuhua Sect. By the time the Ghost Martial Sect knows, Jiuhua Sect will have already disappeared," Li Lin cunningly smiled, planning to wipe out Jiuhua Sect before the Ghost Martial Sect could intervene.
"Smart boy," Dong Wuming immediately laughed, and the others felt a chill, realizing the cunning nature of their Sect Leader.
"Elder Dong, how is your strength recovery? The strongest in Jiuhua Sect is Sect Leader Mo Tianwen, with the cultivation of a fifth level Martial General, and there's also an elder with the cultivation of a first level Martial General," Li Lin inquired.
"A fifth level Martial General is not a threat. Rest assured, my injuries have healed by sixty to seventy percent. Killing anyone below Martial Commander is easy for me," Dong Wuming stated, with several Martial Generals being no challenge for him.
"That's good. This time, we will wipe out Jiuhua Sect to warn the Ghost Martial Sect that the Flying Spirit Sect is not to be trifled with," Li Lin said with cold determination, intending to shake the Ghost Martial Sect by eliminating Jiuhua Sect.
"With the Great Elder here, wiping out Jiuhua Sect is just a matter of ease. There will be no Jiuhua Sect anymore," the elders were excited, having never dared to think about eliminating Jiuhua Sect before. Joining the Flying Spirit Sect changed everything.
"Wipe out Jiuhua Sect and bring back anything valuable. Do you hear me?" Li Lin commanded all the disciples in the hall.
"Yes, Sect Leader!" All the disciples responded loudly, excitedly agreeing with the Sect Leader's thoughts. This was a united effort with significant potential rewards.
The next morning, four hundred disciples of the Flying Spirit Sect rode fast horses towards Jiuhua Sect, kicking up dust along the way. Many people wondered what the Flying Spirit Sect was up to with such a grand display.
From the Flying Spirit Sect to Jiuhua Sect, it was less than four days' ride. Li Lin assigned Chen Xinjie, Zheng Ying, and Chang Lei to lead the team directly to Jiuhua Sect, while Hu Nansheng waited outside Tuan Mountain Town with fifty disciples for Li Lin.
Li Lin planned to visit Tuan Mountain Town first to deal with the Jiuhua Sect disciples there. With the Tianchi Snow Lion with him, he would likely reach Jiuhua Sect before the Flying Spirit Sect disciples.
Watching the four hundred disciples of the Flying Spirit Sect depart, Li Lin's eyebrows relaxed slightly. This time, Jiuhua Sect must be eliminated in one fell swoop.