C18 Sleep!!

The Wolf King was taken aback. It had assumed the human before it was on his last legs, victory seemingly in its grasp, but to its astonishment, as soon as it sneered, the man broke through the siege.

He was ferocious as if fueled by some potent stimulant!

"Kill!"

Lin Chen, like a wild beast gone mad, sent Ironback Wolves flying with each charge. His mastery of the Three Linked Force was so complete that the Combat Skill had become an extension of his own body; no sooner had the thought formed than his fist had already struck!

He seemed to enter an ineffable state in an instant.

"Ha!"

Lin Chen closed in on the Wolf King and unleashed a punch, carrying a terrifying force and moving so swiftly that only a blur remained in its wake.

Aoao!

With an enraged roar, the Wolf King pushed off with its hind legs, cracking the ground like a spider's web, and shot forward like an arrow, retaliating with a powerful claw strike.

Boom!

The air shook, and a blast of wind swept up, sending sand and stones swirling.

Incredibly, they were evenly matched. The Wolf King had managed to withstand Lin Chen's Three Linked Force, holding its own against the fearsome 3,000-kilogram force!

It was unprecedented; no peak Rank One Ironback Wolf had ever withstood a punch from Lin Chen without sustaining severe injuries or coughing up blood!

Despite being at the same level, the Wolf King's strength was in a league of its own, truly deserving of its title.

After clashing with Lin Chen, a touch of arrogance flickered in the Wolf King's eyes, as if to say, "See, I am a force to be reckoned with!"

Yet, Lin Chen's face betrayed not a hint of surprise, but rather, a cold smirk emerged.

"I said I would kill you, and I keep my word!"

With a thunderous roar, he leapt into the air, his right fist raised high, his features twisted in rage, like a wrathful deity descending from the heavens.

"Four, Linked, Force!"

Crack!

As he bellowed, Lin Chen's body resounded with the crackling of bones. A domineering aura burst forth, like a slumbering dragon awakening, its pitiless eyes opening to disdainfully survey all before it.

"Die!"

His right fist descended with a thunderous force, the whooshing wind enveloping the Wolf King like a series of sharp blades.

The Wolf King's eyes widened with terror, and with a desperate howl, it turned to flee.

But it had only anticipated the punch's terrifying power, not its speed. As it began to turn, the fist had already slammed into its back.

Bang!

The Wolf King's body burst apart at the waist, a shower of blood and viscera raining down as its carcass was flung into the distance.

The ironback, the Wolf King's most formidable defense, crumbled like paper under Lin Chen's Four Linked Forces.

Having slain the Wolf King, Lin Chen dropped to one knee, paying no heed to the myriad pairs of wolf eyes behind him.

Fear filled the gaze of every Ironback Wolf as they watched Lin Chen, especially after seeing their leader pulverized. The thought of retreat took hold.

They were afraid.

A collective howl rose, and like a receding tide, the pack scattered, each wolf fleeing in panic.

Puff—

Lin Chen could no longer hold on, and with a final cough of blood, he succumbed to unconsciousness, his breath faint as a whisper.

Whoosh—

A flash of light signaled Chen Wuji's arrival beside Lin Chen. He looked down at his severely injured disciple and frowned, muttering, "Such a stubborn kid."

He crouched down, his hand materializing from mist, and gasped as he quickly sealed dozens of acupoints on Lin Chen's body.

"You reckless boy, don't push yourself too hard. Can't your master handle such a minor scene?" He sighed heavily, "Three meridians broken, spiritual energy running wild inside you, ravaging your organs. If anyone else were your master, they'd be looking for a new apprentice by now."

The Supreme Spirit Pill contained an immense amount of spiritual energy. Had Lin Chen taken it and meditated properly, he would have been fine. Instead, he consumed it mid-battle, allowing the energy to surge uncontrolled through his meridians, bypassing the conversion to Primordial Energy and directly using it to power his Combat Skill.

Although he experienced a brief surge of power, such an act was tantamount to drinking poison to quench his thirst!

By killing the enemy, he would also perish. Lin Chen had resorted to a method of mutual destruction.

"At such a young age, you're so ruthless. You have an unlimited future ahead of you, kid!" Chen Wuji said with a sigh, "It's a shame that the bit of Soul Energy I had so painstakingly accumulated was compelled to be used by you, my rebellious disciple..."

As he spoke, Chen Wuji's ethereal soul form burst forth with an incredibly intense light, exuding an aura that made all beings in the world shudder. The light gently fell and merged into Lin Chen's body.

...

Deep within the Sunset Mountain Range, within a circular lake, a geyser of water shot up tens of meters high as a monstrous creature with the head of a bull and an enormous body emerged from the depths. It was the Level 5 Demonic Beast, the Ox-head Azure Dragon.

It looked in a certain direction with a mix of confusion and fear in its eyes.

"What... What kind of presence is that? It's too frightening, like a deity! Could I be mistaken?"

The creature was actually speaking human language!

After a moment, the Ox-head Azure Dragon withdrew its gaze, hesitating slightly before speaking to itself, "Even though it was just a fleeting instant, the terror was real. I must not be mistaken; that is a being that surpasses a Master Martial Cultivator! It seems this is not a time for me to be awake in this world. I better continue my slumber. I'll go back to sleep for another two hundred years."

...

Lin Chen struggled to open his eyes, his consciousness slowly sharpening, yet he felt no pain in his body as he had expected. He was supposed to be gravely injured and near death!

He still recalled the events leading up to his blackout. He had consumed the Supreme Spirit Pill with a resolve to face death, and in the final moment, he had mastered the Four Linked Forces, using it to deliver a fatal blow to the Ironback Wolf.

Then... his memory went blank.

"Awake?"

The voice of Chen Wuji came from the jade pendant.

Lin Chen's eyes widened in disbelief because Chen Wuji's voice was barely audible, laden with weariness and fatigue, as if he was on the verge of falling asleep at any moment.

"Master... Master, what's happened to you? What's going on?" he asked urgently.

"The details aren't important," Chen Wuji replied faintly. "Make sure you remember every word I'm about to tell you."

Lin Chen nodded. "Please go ahead, Master."

"I'm going to be in a deep sleep for some time. I'm not sure how long it will last, but it won't exceed three months. During this time, I can't offer you any assistance; you'll need to fend for yourself."

Lin Chen felt a profound sense of concern but refrained from asking further questions, nodding to acknowledge his understanding.

"I've left three marks within your mind. As your power reaches certain thresholds, these marks will unlock on their own, revealing what you need," Chen Wuji's voice grew fainter, as though sleep was imminent. "I regret that I won't be there to see you compete in the Clan Competition. Remember, no matter the difficulties you face, never give up. Often, the moment you're about to give up is when things start to turn around..."

With those words, Chen Wuji fell silent, seemingly succumbing to the deep sleep he had predicted.