Chapter 537: Chapter 526: Sword Cultivator Father
"Lin Shen." Ye Sheng frowned as he looked at him, not understanding why ever since Lin Shen had appeared, an extremely uncomfortable feeling had arisen within him. He always felt that Lin Shen’s current aura was rather sinister, unlike that of a normal cultivator.
So what exactly had he done to transform himself into his current state?
All along, Ye Sheng had actually admired Lin Shen quite a bit. With the aptitude of the Five Spirit Roots, he had always strived to cultivate in the small world of the Xuanyuan Realm, and his cultivation speed was even faster than theirs with Single Spirit Roots. Faced with rumors and slander, he rarely paid them any heed; instead, he proved his strength, showing just how powerful Lin Shen truly was.
However, ever since that time in the Yuyang Secret Realm, Ye Sheng’s admiration for Lin Shen had waned. Of course, everyone wanted to encounter serendipity, so although Lin Shen’s actions then were not very honorable, nobody could outright fault him for it.
But ever since the meeting at the Thousand-Year Ranking, the feeling Lin Shen gave him grew darker and darker, and Lin Shen would always look at him with a gaze filled with hatred and hostility.
Ye Sheng did not know what had provoked Lin Shen, but his intuition told him that Lin Shen would not let things go easily.
However, since their conflict was destined to be irreconcilable, Ye Sheng had no intention of fleeing. Lin Shen was formidable, but he himself was no less so. Since they were fated to become rivals, become enemies, it might be better to resolve this sooner rather than later.
"Ye Sheng, you’ve finally agreed to the challenge." Lin Shen gave a sinister smile, his eyes brimming with satisfaction and animosity.
Elder Zhao was displeased upon seeing him like this; in fact, he felt more uncomfortable than when encountering the group of cultivators from the Four Seasons Peak that practice the Heartless Path. Nonetheless, having seen him, he still felt the need to ask: "Lin Shen, do you know where your master and grandmaster have gone?"
"My masters?" Lin Shen smiled cryptically, "My masters have probably achieved the Great Dao by now!"
"What do you mean by that?" Elder Zhao’s expression turned even graver. Lin Shen might have great talent, but he was only a cultivator in the Void Refining Stage currently, whereas he himself was an elder in the Transcendance Tribulation Stage from the sect. Was this the way to speak with his senior?
Lin Shen, however, was not willing to speak further with him and scoffed at Ye Sheng, "Ten days from now, I will wait for you at the Life and Death Platform. Ten days should be enough time for your dad to contract a more powerful spiritual beast or Strange Fire for you!"
Ye Sheng understood the sarcasm in Lin Shen’s words, but he did not feel any shame in accepting the things his father had given him. As the saying goes, ’Opportunity comes from fate; perhaps the greatest stroke of luck was being born the son of his father!
"Lin Shen, I will not lose to you." Ye Sheng’s gaze was firm as he looked at him, an unyielding pride emanating from him.
"Father, today I noticed a significant change in Lin Shen’s aura, has he fallen into the Demon Path?" Once everyone had dispersed, Ye Sheng finally brought up his doubts.
"He has borne a great karmic debt; even if he hasn’t entered the Demon Path, he is not far from it." Ye Qiu’s Soul Power Technique had just reached a preliminary stage of mastery, allowing him to sense things beyond the perception of ordinary people. The aura on Lin Shen’s body was far from simple; a Child of Destiny had degenerated into his current state, which only indicated that his mental state had long since been troubled.
Thinking of this, he also remembered the Shariputra and the Buddha Lamp in the space; those two items should have helped Lin Shen quite a bit in his previous life, at the very least in stabilizing his mental state and purging the Evil Qi from his body unquestionably.
But in this life, without those two items, Lin Shen’s mental state had long since been troubled. If he had made timely corrections, perhaps it wouldn’t be a significant issue, but instead, he had been impatient for quick success and increasingly skewed by his environment, leading to his current state.
The Heavenly Dao can accept a Child of Destiny with a ruthless mind and brutal methods, but it will never accept someone who is about to fall into the Demon Path and deviates from the Heavenly Dao. Lin Shen must have already been abandoned, right?
But since the items that had been bestowed on him previously had not yet been reclaimed, this Life and Death Arena was still very dangerous for Ye Sheng.
"The Life and Death Arena is not like ordinary arenas; there are no restrictions on how much you can bring. Sheng’er, put all these on." Ye Qiu handed Ye Sheng a storage bag filled to the brim with high-level talismans.
Ye Sheng made no show of politeness with his father and took everything offered, though Ye Qiu hadn’t finished yet.
"These are a few magic treasures I obtained in a secret realm. Although they are only Half-Immortal Artifacts, they’re better than nothing."
Hmph! Since Lin Shen subtly ridiculed that his son relies on his father’s support, he’ll let Lin Shen understand the importance of having a good father.
Ye Sheng had become numb to this sight; it was the same when he was young. His father would be gone for many years, and when he returned, he would fervently stuff gifts into his hands. Decades had passed, and he thought his father had changed his old habits, not realizing he was just waiting for an opportunity to provide for him.
"Sheng’er, this Life and Death Arena is different from others; the Array can only be activated after someone dies. Father hopes that you won’t be the one to die," Ye Qiu said solemnly.
"Father, rest assured, I won’t have any problems. Besides, I haven’t been without gains over these years," Ye Sheng replied with a firm glint in his eyes. His cultivator’s journey had just begun; how could he fall so easily? If Lin Shen wants to battle, then battle it shall be. Could he possibly fear him?
Time passed quickly, and ten days later, the area around the Life and Death Platform was already crowded with people.
"Brother Ji, who do you think will win?" asked the legitimate son of the Jiang Family, who ranked just below Lin Shen in the Thousand-Year-Old Genius List.
"It’s hard to say, but I still hope that Ye Sheng will win."
"However, the battle may not be easy for Ye Sheng, especially since Lin Shen’s black flames are eerily strange," the Young Master of the Feng Family said, joining the two. Although they had only recently met, as geniuses, they felt a kindred spirit with one another.
The young geniuses of this generation got along very well with each other, except for Lin Shen and Ye Sheng. Ye Sheng didn’t interact much with the others because he withdrew from the final challenge, but Lin Shen’s isolation was entirely his own doing.
In their hearts, everyone hoped that Ye Sheng, the alchemy genius, wouldn’t fall. He was already capable of Artifact Refining Immortal Artifacts, and who knows? Perhaps when his cultivation reaches even higher levels, he might even be able to refine Divine Artifacts. Although no one had ever seen a Divine Artifact, that didn’t stop them from fantasizing.
At sunrise, the crowd started to grow restless, for the main characters Ye Sheng and Lin Shen had arrived.
Lin Shen, dressed in black, seemed even more sinister and ominous, his eyes filled with bloody murderous intent as he looked at Ye Sheng.
"His temperament has become problematic," stated the legitimate son of the Ji Family.
"It’s said that he has Five Spirit Roots; such a pity," a person from the Jiang Family commented, shaking their head.
"Nothing to pity. Even with great fortune, it’s all for naught if one doesn’t cherish it," stated the Feng Family, whose cultivation techniques were peculiar, allowing them to perceive things many others could not.
On the other side, amidst the crowd’s sympathetic gazes, Ye Sheng also made his way closer to the platform.
Although most people came today for the excitement, those who supported Ye Sheng undoubtedly made up the majority.