Chapter 96: Trial of the Inner Demon

Azure Cloud was cultivating in his room when he heard the news. He immediately withdrew his spiritual energy, his expression shifting slightly, and walked to the door to open it.

He looked at the man outside and asked gravely, “What happened? Why are you in such a panic?”

“Senior brother, we just caught several people who had slipped into the Clear Breeze Sect by night. We heard Lin Hao mentioned in their mouths,” the messenger reported.

“Lin Hao? Speak quickly!” The moment Azure Cloud heard Lin Hao’s name, he could no longer remain calm. He hurriedly brought the man inside, cast a wary glance outside, and, after sensing nothing unusual, closed the door and went back in.

“Tell me, what exactly happened? What about Lin Hao?” Azure Cloud pressed again.

“Senior brother, tonight we captured a few people. They should have been here to investigate Lin Hao’s whereabouts. We didn’t have time to interrogate them thoroughly, so I came to report first and had others continue questioning them,” the man said respectfully.

Azure Cloud listened, disappointment flickering in his eyes. He had thought Lin Hao had finally been found.

Then he steadied himself and said, “Where are they? Take me to see them now. Also, keep this matter quiet for the time being, especially from Elder Zhou’s side.”

Having said that, he followed the man to the interrogation room.

When they arrived, Azure Cloud was brought to the entrance of a dark chamber. Hearing the sounds of questioning inside, the man who had led him there said, “Senior brother, they’re all in there.”

He knocked on the door. After it was opened, the people inside immediately invited Azure Cloud in.

As soon as Azure Cloud stepped inside, he saw five bound figures. Because they had already been interrogated, they were tied with spirit cords, and their bodies were covered in bruises from the beating they had endured.

Azure Cloud studied them and asked, “How is it? Did you get anything out of them?”

“Senior brother, their mouths are pretty tight. They haven’t said anything useful.”

At that moment, one of the men on the ground spat at Azure Cloud. “Pah. I advise you to let us go while you still can. Know this: the men behind us are not people you can afford to offend.”

“Presumptuous!” Seeing that the man dared insult Azure Cloud, one of the attendants rushed forward and kicked him flying.

A dull groan followed as the man smashed into the wall and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Azure Cloud did not stop him.

Only after the man had fallen to the ground did Azure Cloud’s lips curl into a smile. He stepped forward slowly, one step at a time.

Then the interrogation chamber rang with scream after scream.

Not long after, Azure Cloud emerged from the chamber in a spotless white robe, his clothes untouched by a speck of dust, like a detached immortal who had descended from the clouds.

Only his hand now held a few thin sheets of paper.

He left the chamber with those pages in hand.

Inside, the five bound prisoners had all been reduced to a state of near death. Their pupils were dilated, their faces blank, their eyes filled with terror. No one knew what had just happened to them.

But from the way they looked, it was clear they had endured a fear beyond words.

Azure Cloud looked down at the pages in his hand, his expression deeply troubled, even complicated.

After returning to his room, he sat in silence and thought for a long while.

The five men in the interrogation chamber were clearly not disciples of their sect from the way they dressed; they were all in night clothes. Azure Cloud frowned deeply.

Staring at the words on the paper, he pondered in silence.

In the end, he had learned from them why they were looking for Lin Hao, and he had also obtained news of Lin Hao’s whereabouts.

But precisely because he now knew, he grew even more worried.

From what he had learned, Lin Hao’s situation was far from good. It was obvious that someone was trying to deal with him.

Deep concern flashed in Azure Cloud’s eyes.

And so did a heart full of suspicion.

After learning what had happened to Lin Hao on the side of the Azure City Sect, Azure Cloud thought for a moment and shouted, “Come here!”

At his call, two people entered from outside. “Senior brother.”

“Seal this information immediately and keep it secret. Do not allow anyone else to spread it. Also, order a lockdown of the entire Clear Breeze Sect. I’m afraid more people like those may come. Keep a close eye on Elder Zhou’s side in particular,” Azure Cloud instructed.

Then, as if thinking of something else, he called over another person and added, “Absolutely do not allow any strangers to enter Elder Zhou’s side. Have our people watch everyone over there closely. No one is to contact the outside world. If anything unusual happens, report it to me at once.”

After speaking, Azure Cloud considered it again and still felt it was not enough. That very night, he took the paper to find the sect master and reported everything.

Meanwhile, Elder Zhou had already arranged contact with people outside. The other side’s leader had made contact with Zhou’s faction.

Azure Cloud had been a step too late.

They had already begun plotting together.

By evening, Elder Zhou could not sit still any longer. Bringing two men with him, he personally headed to the inn.

Upon arriving, he was led into a room.

Inside, six black-clad masked figures came into view; none of their faces could be seen.

After probing them, Elder Zhou found that their strength was indeed not weak. In particular, he could not even see through the cultivation of the one in the lead.

That meant the man’s power was above his own.

Elder Zhou and the leader exchanged a look. Neither of them spoke. They quietly tested one another instead.

In the end, it was Elder Zhou who failed to hold back. With caution in his eyes, he said, “So this is the sincerity with which you’ve come? You won’t even show your true face?”

His tone was displeased.

The leader across from him only smiled. “Not at all. We’ve come in good faith to cooperate with you, and before we begin, I want to show you someone.”

With that, he gestured to one of his subordinates.

A portrait appeared before Elder Zhou, and it was none other than Lin Hao’s face from the Azure City Sect.

The instant he saw the painting, a dark glimmer flashed in Elder Zhou’s eyes.

The leader asked, “Is this the Lin Hao you’re looking for?”

Looking at the portrait, Elder Zhou noticed it was somewhat different from Lin Hao, but those eyes were unmistakable. He recognized them at a glance.

“Yes, this is Lin Hao. How do you intend to discuss cooperation with us?” Elder Zhou asked.

After confirming Lin Hao’s identity, the leader felt a wave of relief. It seemed there was no need to force a false identity onto this Lin Hao after all.

He then laid out everything he wanted Elder Zhou to cooperate with in full.

Elder Zhou also put forward his own conditions.

In the end, both sides reached an agreement.

Elder Zhou would help the Azure City Sect bear witness, that is, provide proof regarding Lin Hao.

On the Clear Breeze Sect’s side, the leader agreed to help Elder Zhou deal with Azure Cloud and the sect master, so that Elder Zhou could secure a firm footing within the Clear Breeze Sect.

This cooperation, once concluded, indeed threw the Clear Breeze Sect’s people into considerable chaos, and when those people later returned to the Azure City Sect, they caused Lin Hao no small amount of trouble.

But that, of course, is a matter for later.

In just a few days, Lin Hao had already become quite famous in the Azure City Sect.

Especially since Cao Yi had kept bringing Lin Hao along these past few days, allowing him to learn many things.

He had even passed on the Azure City Scripture to Lin Hao so that Lin Hao could practice it in depth.

At last, Lin Hao had seen the true Azure City Scripture of the Azure City Sect.

After studying some of the sword techniques within it, he found that they did differ somewhat from the Azure City Scripture he had obtained himself.

It was not that the Azure City Sect’s version was so profound, but rather that the Azure City Scripture given to him by the system was even more advanced.

Still, what made Lin Hao happiest was that, from now on, he finally had a legitimate excuse to use the Azure City Scripture while in the Azure City Sect.

He could practice it openly and aboveboard.

Thus, these past few days, Lin Hao had been immersed in training the Azure City Scripture, while also incorporating some of his own inventive blade techniques. In a short time, his swordsmanship had risen significantly.

Even Cao Yi could not help but praise him after seeing it, saying that Lin Hao had truly raised the Azure City Scripture to an entirely new level.

At times, when Cao Yi’s hands itched, he could not help but exchange a few moves with Lin Hao, and even then he would gain a great deal from the duel.

By now, Lin Hao had already passed the trial of his inner demon and shattered it completely within the Mystic Gate. His comprehension of swordsmanship was now faster than ever before.

For Lin Hao, the Azure City Scripture had become nothing more than the most basic of sword arts. He had already met the system’s requirements and completely developed a new superior sword technique of his own.

What was more, Lin Hao had not only been cultivating his swordsmanship and spiritual energy lately; he had also been tempering his body.

The Azure City Sect still possessed many good resources, especially for inner disciples, who received a fairly generous allotment. Lin Hao had been given many pills by Cao Yi.

After discussing it with Cao Yi, Lin Hao exchanged all those pills for ones that could temper the body.

That way, he could better study other sword techniques and integrate some of the methods used by martial cultivators.

That day, Lin Hao did not practice his swordsmanship in the courtyard. Instead, he cultivated his spiritual energy in his room.

Over the past few days, he had discovered that the courtyard assigned to him contained an abundance of spiritual energy, and he could even feel a certain restlessness in his meridians.

Although Lin Hao had long known that he possessed five spiritual roots, he had never systematically trained the others.

Only after coming to the Azure City Sect did he begin practicing his fire, water, and wood roots.

As for the remaining two, he had no real idea where to begin. Even with the wood root, he had only looked up some basic information in the Azure City Sect and tried cultivating it a little.

That day, Lin Hao sensed something within his body as though it were about to break through the soil, constantly searching for an opening and caught in a bottleneck, unable to find a way to balance it.

He had a feeling that this balance was about to be shattered.

So instead of practicing swordsmanship, he focused all his effort on absorbing spiritual energy.

After sitting in the room for a while, Lin Hao suddenly opened his eyes, stepped outside into the courtyard, and sat directly on the ground.

Then he closed his eyes again and began absorbing spiritual energy.

If anyone had been nearby, they would have seen countless tiny points of starlike light slowly rising from the soil and flowing into Lin Hao’s body.

With his eyes closed, Lin Hao wore an expression of deep comfort. The little sparks of light gradually surrounded him, and he began to devour the spiritual energy with almost manic intensity.