Martial World

Under the spiral tower, horrified screams sounded out one after another. Every scream was extremely short; it was clear that those who died were instantly killed. This was a completely one-sided massacre.

Slowly, the women in the spiral tower became numb to this.

The former rulers of the of Fire Worm Tribe were now nothing more than a messy pile of corpses. A moment later, a cell was opened, and a group of prisoners escaped. Their shackles were shattered, granting them the freedom they dreamed of for a long time. Slaves knelt to their feet, kissing the ground. The slave girls that had been tormented within the barracks cried upon each others’ shoulders in joy.

The confusion began to spread. Overnight, the three leaders of the Fire Worm Tribe had been killed, and all of the powerful characters of the Fire Worm Clan were slain. The slaves and prisoners rose up from their chains in a mass revolt, killing their way to the palace!

In this chaos, Lin Ming was like a ghost as he flew from Fire Worm City, arriving at the residence of the Na Sisters at Fog Valley Tribe. His entire body was bathed red in blood and filled with a murderous aura; he was like a monster that had crawled from the depths of the Ashura Hell.

Fog Valley Tribe hadn’t yet obtained the news of what had happened, and they were as tranquil as ever. Na Shui was sleeping in her room. Na Yi quickly put on a thin white robe, hurrying out.

Peng!

Lin Ming tossed a bloodstained package on the ground.

As Na Yu saw this crimson colored package, her pupils narrowed. She suddenly realized what it was, and her lips shivered.

“This is Chi Yue’s head. Take it as a grave blessing for your master. The Fire Worm Tribe is in chaos, and the slaves have revolted against the palace. Maybe, from now on, there will be no more Fire Worm. The flames of war will spread to Fog Valley Tribe. You and your sister should leave…”

As Lin Ming calmly spoke, he was somewhat depressed. When the Magic Cube had opened the second time, it was because it had absorbed the blood essence of a peak Houtian master.

After Lin Ming killed Chi Yue, he had wanted to use a Houtian master’s blood essence to see if the Magic Cube would absorb Chi Yue’s blood essence and open up again. However, he was disappointed.

The Magic Cube had absorbed a bit of Chi Yue’s blood essence, but there was no reaction.

Was it because the blood essence from the Purple Gold flexible armor that the Crown Prince had gifted him was special?

Or was it because a Houtian master’s blood essence had no special meaning for the Magic Cube?

Lin Ming had a faint premonition that it was because of that reason. The flexible armor that the Crown Prince had given him from own judgment, wasn’t special in any way.

“Chi… Chi Yue’s head?” Na Yi gasped. She hadn’t thought that not only would Lin Ming keep his word and kill the Fire Worm Shaman, but he would return so quickly.

Na Yi’s trembling hands slowly untied the package, and she saw that the gruesome head of the fire Worm Shaman was within. She appeared excited, but also pained. She remembered the day that her own master had died a horrific death, and now, that great hatred was finally avenged. She had completed the blood oath that she taken on that day, and could now offer the Fire Worm Shaman’s head as a sacrifice to her master.

“Thank you… thank you Benefactor!” Na Yi said as she bit her lips, her eyes wet with tears.

“There is no need to thank me, he was a man that I needed to kill. Now, things have been settled. Lady Na Yi, take care. If destiny wills it, we will meet again.” Lin Ming’s figure flashed, and he left like a ghost…

……………………

Lin Ming’s expectations were on the mark. After the core leaders and inner circle were all slaughtered by him, the remnants of the palace could not resist the uprising of the mob of slaves. The Fire Worm Palace was taken that evening, and in a single night, the Fire Worm Tribe was completely destroyed!

Under tyranny, there would be a revolt. Behind vast slave empires, there were often many contentious and contradictory forces working behind the scenes. If a single fuse was lit, it would explode just like a volcano.

Since ancient times, the Southern Wilderness was a land of endless chaos. There were many slave empires that existed in these years. They rose with astonishing speed, annexing large swathes of land. However, as soon as they stood straight, they would fall. This was the flow of history.

The Fire Worm Tribe was not the first, nor would they be the least.

Afterwards, war would burn down the entire country, and many powers would emerge, just like mushrooms that were struggling to grow. There were even some small tribes with just a few hundred people.

Lin Ming wouldn’t have imagined that in this chaos, Na Yi would actually rely on the gold that Lin Ming had given her and also the head of Chi Yue to proclaim herself as a Sorcerer Envoy. She would establish vast influence and power, and several years later, she would form a massive tribe with tens of thousands of people.

Na Yi slowly realized the dying wishes of her master and parents, one at a time. Not only was her vengeance fulfilled, but she also reformed the Na Tribe. Afterwards, she and her sister would rely on the resources gathered by her people to step into the Houtian realm together. Of the two sisters, one was cold-blooded, and the other was incomparably warm and gentle, becoming the twin queens that were revered within the Na Tribe.

But in that tribe, there was also a new spiritual belief that would be established, with a new figure as its head. This figure held a long spear in his hand and looked like a youth dressed in black. He was called the Spear Emperor. It was said that the Spear Emperor was an existence even more formidable than the Feather Emperor from 6000 years ago. But after he rose to fame, he returned to his homeland, no one knowing where he went.

It was not only in the new Na Tribe, but also in every major tribe’s ancient texts. They all recorded that a legendary figure known as the Spear Emperor had completely slaughtered all of the Fire Worm Tribe’s masters. Yet this youth was only between 16 and 18 years of age. Such an incredible matter had countless eyewitnesses, including a group of former slave girls that solemnly testified they had seen Lin Ming, and even referred to him as the Sorcerer Envoy. This young boy had instantly killed the Fire Worm Shaman, this is what the people believed.

The people of the Southern Wilderness worshipped powerful figures the most. To them, these powerhouses were gods. Therefore there were several tribes that had formed from the wreckage of the Fire Worm Tribe and took the Spear Emperor into their spiritual beliefs.

Finally, the Spear Emperor was recorded down within the ancient texts with a status equal to the Feather Emperor within the Southern Wilderness.

Of course, all of this is a story for another time.

………………….

After the downfall of the Fire Worm Clan, Lin Ming hid within a remote cave in the Southern Wilderness, going into seclusion as he prepared to swallow the Earthcore Crimson Flame.

He first used the Dreamland Pearl to lay down an enchantment, so that no vicious beasts would disturb him.

Then he took the Fire Essence from his spatial ring and slowly removed the seals, layer by layer. The Flame Essence suddenly moved, as if he wanted to break free.

Although a Flame Essence was eternal and would never be extinguished, its strength would still slowly fade. If a Flame Essence was sealed for too long a time, it would become extremely weak.

After the battle with Chi Yue, not only did Lin Ming obtain the Flame Essence, but he also understood a rough limit of his strength.

Chi Yue had a cultivation at the late Houtian realm. Because he had a Flame Essence, his strength was comparable to a lowly peak Houtian realm master. Within Chi Yue’s so-called Houtian realm, it would be difficult for anyone to rival him. However, this was only within the Southern Wilderness.

There was a vast difference in strength between a common martial artist and a sect’s martial artist. This was because the resources they had were different, but also because their cultivation methods and martial skills had a wide disparity between them. Not just that, but there was also the difference in talent. With all of these factors combined together, it was difficult to place them side by side.

If one casually selected someone from a group that contained talents like Jiang Lanjian or Ouyang Ming, they could compare with a middle Houtian realm master. If it was an earth-step talent like Jiang Baoyun, Bai Shuxuan, or Mugu Buyu, they could compare with a late Houtian realm master.

But with Lin Ming’s current strength – in addition to the support of the Purple Comet Spear and the coiling dragon steel needle – he could defeat a peak Houtian master with ease.

But this so-called peak Houtian master was much weaker than a true sect’s Houtian master like Qin Ziya.

Lin Ming pondered. If he confronted Qin Ziya as he was now, he would definitely be defeated.

But if he also had this Flame Essence…

Lin Ming’s gaze shifted to the Earthcore Crimson Flame. He didn’t know just how much his strength would grow after he swallowed it.

“Even with this Flame Essence, I fear it would be impossible for me to defeat Qin Ziya. I’m just too weak as I am. Compared to the Xiantian realm Ouyang Boyan, I’m simply nothing.”

Thinking of Ouyang Boyan, Lin Ming felt uneasy, like a thorn was stabbed in his back. With such a powerful enemy lurking behind him, he would naturally not be comfortable.

Ouyang Boyan would never dare to kill him outright. On the other hand, it was impossible for Lin Ming to depend on Mu Qianyu’s influence to kill Ouyang Boyan. The sect rules of the Seven Profound Valleys not only protected Lin Ming, but they also protected Ouyang Boyan. No matter how high Mu Qianyu’s status was, it was impossible for her to kill Ouyang Boyan for wrongdoing without even a shred of evidence. That might possibly cause the disintegration of their alliance.

“Power…” Lin Ming clenched his teeth.

What he needed the most right now was power. As long as he was by himself and revealed his location, there was an extreme possibility that he would be chased down by Ouyang Boyan. Then, there was an absolute chance he would die with no grave!

Lin Ming didn’t think that as he was now, there would even be a half chance of him escaping from Ouyang Boyan’s grasp.

Not only that, but his parents were forced to hide because of the threat of Ouyang Boyan. Because of the guilt of having to make his parents live life without being able to go out, Lin Ming yearned for power even more.

“Tempering Marrow is just too difficult. I have to temporarily set aside the Tempering Marrow boundary for now and try to break through to the Houtian realm!” Lin Ming decided that as long as he could complete Tempering Marrow before he was 20 years old, it wouldn’t be considered too late.

After 20 years of age, the best time for Tempering Marrow would pass. His marrow would age, and it would become increasingly difficult to succeed.

Lin Ming tore off the final seals of the Earthcore Crimson Flame and pressed the Flame Essence directly into his own chest.

The burning hot power of fire immediately rushed into Lin Ming’s meridians, recklessly destroying everything in sight.

Lin Ming gave a stuffy cough and his body trembled; his complexion was as red as blood.

With his strength, in combination with the Heretical God Seed, he had the power to suppress the power of fire and absorb the medium-grade human-step Flame Essence. In truth, this wasn’t too difficult; it was just that the Fire Worm Tribe had cultivated their Flame Essence very well.

It was just like taming a tiger. There was naturally an enormous difference between taming an adult tiger and taming a tiger cub.

There were many fire attribute martial artists, that in order to absorb a Flame Essence, would first have to wear down the fiery energy of the Flame Essence before barely being able to absorb it. When Lin Ming had jumped realms and absorbed the Purple Flood Dragon Divine Thunder, he had used the Magnetic Birthstone to channel and absorb the Purple Flood Dragon Divine Thunder’s power of thunder before he could absorb it.

But this time, Lin Ming didn’t have a precious fire attribute version of the Magnetic Birthstone that was able to absorb the power of fire from the Flame Essence. Although wearing down the Flame Essence would be relatively easy, having to build it back up again was very troublesome.

Lin Ming didn’t want to waste this time.

Lin Ming suppressed the bursts of burning pain within him, and then revolved his azure true essence, constantly pouring it into the Heretical God Seed. A wave of suppression surged forth, potently pushing down the Earthcore Crimson Flame.

The Heretical God Seed had an extremely powerful suppressive strength against fire and thunder. The Earthcore Crimson Flame was divided into parts, scattering within Lin Ming’s meridians…

Facing so many flames, Lin Ming meditated in patience, and began to slowly absorb them all…