"The Yu Family... I, Yu Xin, am willing to make an exception for you."
She gasped.
Yu Sheng’s eyes widened. She had never seen so many treasures before.
The longsword in particular emanated a dangerously sharp aura that even made her feel threatened.
Yan Jin was even more stunned.
Everyone knew that Mountain Master Disciples were more prestigious than World Traveler Disciples, but no one had ever imagined that while World Traveler Disciples dreamed of acquiring even a Middle Grade—or perhaps even a Low Grade—Magical Artifact...
...a Mountain Master Disciple of the Yu Family was given a Magical Treasure to wear upon entry.
Moreover, this seemed less like a weapon for Magical Combat and more like a Ritual Artifact, a symbol of status.
Yu Xin slowly pushed the pile of items toward the young man.
Lin Shu glanced over but didn’t reach for them. ’After such a long speech from this woman, there’s bound to be a "but" coming.’
"However, while you are accepting these items, you must also accept my congratulatory gift."
Sure enough, Yu Xin slowly extended her hand, revealing a longevity lock that shimmered with a brilliant Golden Light. "This is also a Magical Treasure. It can protect your life. Put it on, and from this day forward, you will be a Mountain Master Disciple of the Yu Family."
Other Mountain Master Disciples didn’t need to be controlled.
Doing so would affect their Sword Heart, making them lose their fearless resolve when they struck.
But Lin Shu was different. He hadn’t cultivated the Yu Family’s Sword Heart Formulas.
Furthermore, it was obvious Yu Sheng couldn’t control him, so an elder of the family had to step in and place restraints on him.
With this item, Yu Xin would no longer need to worry about Miss Yun causing trouble. As long as she had a grip on Lin Shu, Miss Yun—that exceptionally talented Mountain Master Disciple—would serve her with even greater dedication.
Killing two birds with one stone.
"What are you hesitating for?"
Yu Xin offered the glittering golden longevity lock, her gaze toward the young man tinged with confusion.
’To be promoted from a World Traveler Disciple to a Mountain Master... by all logic, he should have dropped to his knees and kowtowed in gratitude for this immortal favor long ago.’
’After all, as long as he harbored no rebellious thoughts, this item was genuinely a life-saving Magical Treasure. It wouldn’t be wrong to call it a gift.’
"..."
Lin Shu stared at the longevity lock, a wave of complex emotions washing over him.
After hearing Elder Xu’s warning—’Fail to become a Mountain Master, and you’ll end up as nothing but fodder’—
...for a time, he had genuinely wanted to amass ten thousand merit points and peacefully walk the glorious path of immortality.
Now, however, it seemed...
’Hard work and toil don’t earn you a future.’
"Let’s just forget it."
Lin Shu smiled casually. With a flick of his sleeve, he conjured a current of Spiritual Power and pushed the pile of items back. "I’m not in the habit of wearing a dog leash."
At his words, Yan Jin and Yu Sheng finally snapped out of their joyful surprise and stared at the beautiful woman in disbelief.
"..."
The last trace of warmth vanished from Yu Xin’s face.
Her eyes grew cold as she spoke in an icy tone, "Are you aware that Yu Duchuan intends to kill your Master?"
"I know," Lin Shu replied with a slight nod.
His indifferent response clearly didn’t satisfy Yu Xin.
The woman pressed on, "Are you aware that Demons are gathering in the mountains, and Immortal Qiheng has ordered all adult members of the family to guard the Demon Mountain? Yu Sheng is among them. Do you realize that with a single transfer order, Yu Duchuan could send you right into that Demon Mountain?"
She sneered. "Because of that Moon-Devouring Demon General, Yu Duchuan nearly had his future ruined. If you were sent to face that fiend instead, you know what would happen, don’t you?"
"I know."
Lin Shu replied nonchalantly, his gaze drifting toward the distance outside the inn as if he were waiting for something.
Two consecutive threats had failed to get any significant reaction out of the young man. He seemed completely unfazed.
A flicker of genuine anger finally surfaced in Yu Xin’s eyes.
’He’s just one of countless split souls, and he’s actually managed to adopt Young Master Qi’s personality.’
’She herself had witnessed countless split souls die miserable deaths over the years, their hosts ranging from lowly street vendors to Scattered Immortals.’
’A mere mortal vessel. Who the hell do you think you are?!’
She glanced sideways at Yu Sheng, then abruptly spread her fingers, letting the longevity lock dangle. "Do you see? This is your man. You’ve spoiled him into such arrogance that he no longer has any respect for his superiors."
"Now, put this on him. Let me see if he’s truly your man!"
As she spoke, the wind inside the inn rose to a howl again, the killing intent in the air growing even thicker.
’If he won’t even obey his own Master’s command, then even if Lin Shu is the Trial’s First Disciple of Yongzhou Pass, Yu Xin can still execute him on the spot, and no one will be able to find fault.’
Shock and fury flashed in Yan Jin’s eyes.
’She knew Yu Xin had come tonight with ill intentions, but she had never imagined the woman was actually prepared to kill!’
"..."
Yu Sheng’s breathing grew ragged as she stared intently at the woman’s hand.
In the next instant, an unprecedented fury erupted across her fair features.
’The Lin Shu she liked the most, the one she relied on more than anyone.’
’And now, someone wanted to treat him like a dog.’
The young fledgling abruptly shot up, snatched the longevity lock from her hand, and hurled it away.
"Lin Shu doesn’t belong to me!"
"But I belong to Lin Shu!"
She clenched her fists, and like an enraged cub, she let out a primal, low growl.
On her delicate cheeks, where the hair of her temples should be, Cyan Feathers sprouted, shimmering with a reddish-gold luster and swaying violently.
Aside from the day she was forcibly awakened, she, who was terrified of pain, had never fought anyone before.
But now, the young fledgling’s eyes blazed with murderous intent!
"Ridiculous! This is absolutely ridiculous!"
Yu Xin couldn’t believe her ears. She even felt a profound sense of humiliation.
It was as if this freak’s existence brought shame upon the entire Yu Family of the Mountain God.
"Come back."
A gentle stream of Spiritual Power pulled Yu Sheng back to Lin Shu’s side.
He gently patted the girl’s head, his voice soft. The gesture made the aggrieved girl, her eyes already red, begin to sob again.
"Given your youth, I will spare you this once."
Yu Xin closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
When she opened them again, her eyes were fixed on Lin Shu, her pupils holding nothing but a threat.
What she said next were words that were a nightmare for any disciple.
She gave a menacing smile. "You knew about all that. But do you know that I can have you branded a Demon for all eternity?"
One didn’t need to possess Demon Qi to be a Demon. If the Yu Family decreed it, if she declared him a Demon, then a Demon he would be.
"I’ve said it many times."
There was none of the terrified paling that Yu Xin had expected.
Lin Shu leaned back in his chair with a world-weary air, casually stroking the ring on his finger. "I know."
Just three breaths ago, one of his wandering split souls, drifting through the mountains, had noticed a burst of Spiritual Power finally erupting from a certain cave residence.
Three breaths later, as his clear declaration rang through the inn...
"You..."
Yu Xin’s body suddenly trembled.
Tendrils of black light slithered across the young man’s body, solidifying into hideous, terrifying Demon Armor that encased his limbs and torso.
His slightly disheveled hair stirred gently as his pupils gradually turned the color of a crimson moon.
Black flames, utterly devoid of warmth, swept through the entire inn like a tidal wave. They engulfed the staircase and the main doors, transforming the space into a Purgatory with no escape.
"Gah!!"
Yan Jin’s eyes flew wide, her head spinning.
Yu Sheng stared blankly, watching as the young man’s face—once fair, delicate, and handsome—suddenly twisted into something bizarre and brutal.
A translucent black shadow coalesced around him, forming the head of an enormous Fierce Wolf that hovered in the air.
Two dark red spheres of light glowed within it, like a pair of suspended Red Moons, radiating a brutal pressure that promised to single someone out and devour them. The gaze fixed upon the beautiful woman was one of taunting ridicule.
"Stay quiet for a moment."
Lin Shu glanced down, calming the girl in his arms, before drawing his long, slender fingers from her hair.
In a flash, his figure vanished.
"Hah!"
Utterly stunned by the scene before her, Yu Xin’s mind went blank.
’Right here in Yongzhou Pass, inside Shihu City itself... there was a Great Demon in hiding!’
She shrieked and shot to her feet, but her body had barely left the chair when a hand with well-defined knuckles clamped firmly around the back of her neck.
Immediately after, the young man swung his arm, brutally slamming her face down onto the tabletop.
KRAK! The long table exploded into dust. Under the terrifying force, a deep chasm split the floor, and even the mountain peak on which Shihu City sat began to rumble and shake!
"Do you know? Do you know?"
"Do I really need you to list out my own affairs for me?"
Lin Shu yanked the woman up, the corner of his mouth twisting into a cruel arc as Thunder Paste surged wildly in his palm.
He finally had the chance to do what he’d wanted to do to Xu Zhonglin last time.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
A long dragon of violet-black lightning writhed and danced, pouring down entirely onto Yu Xin’s head!
"AHHH!!"
Amidst the woman’s piercing screams, her entire body was sent flying.
The Thunder Paste ripped her scalp open, scorching her skull black and nearly carbonizing it. Her mind went completely blank, filled with nothing but a deafening roar!

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