Chapter 55: The Vanishing Nether Candle

Once the battle before the Inner Treasury began, the entire treasury guard mobilized, gathering from all directions toward the Inner Treasury like a surging tide.

Wei Yan, however, charged outward with his blade, moving against the current.

To avoid leaking word of the operation, none of the treasury guards were aware of this mission; Wei Yan was the only one lying in ambush here.

He alone was enough.

In truth, more experts were scattered throughout the city. As the ruler of the city, although Wei Quji had used the Nether Candle as bait, he would never place the entire populace of Fenglin City in danger.

Fortunately, the Three-City Dao Debate had drawn a large crowd of spectators, and the security at the martial arena was foolproof. This greatly relieved the pressure on defense.

The city guards who came face-to-face with Wei Yan turned around and followed him without a word. Wei Yan simply said, "Guard this spot. Do not leave your post."

Even though the Nether Candle had been taken, the treasury remained the top priority.

Two city guard soldiers remained stationed at the main gate of the treasury. They had naturally heard the commotion inside, but until they received orders, the gate was their post.

They were on high alert, yet they remained completely unaware when a streak of blood-light slithered along the wall past them.

At that moment, a wealthy-looking young master passed by, swaying a folding fan. He rolled up his wide sleeve as if brushing away dust. The blood-snake vanished instantly.

The young master continued walking toward the end of the street, passing a garment shop and brushing shoulders with a peddler carrying a shoulder pole at a corner.

Walking along Xuanwu Street, his demeanor was relaxed, even humming a little tune.

Two elite city guards swept past him, moving directly behind him to hack a revealed evil cultivator to death with a flurry of blades.

The young master seemed entirely oblivious, drifting further away.

"Halt!" one of the elite guards shouted.

The young master's excessive calmness had aroused his suspicion.

With his back to the two alerted guards, the corners of the young master's mouth slowly curled into a sinister grin.

Just as he was about to descend into madness in the middle of the street, the piercing whistle of a long blade cutting through the air rang out.

"Kuai Xue!" His eyes widened as he looked down at the long, straight blade as it slowly disappeared into his chest, being withdrawn.

The blade's name was Kuai Xue; the man's name was Wei Yan.

Perhaps realizing that death was inevitable, he did not ask how he had been discovered or how he had been caught.

The terror in his eyes faded, gradually replaced by a sense of fanaticism. He smiled triumphantly: "The item... is not with me!"

Wei Yan sheathed his blade and walked away.

By this time, the peddler was already walking along Qingmu Avenue. His two bamboo baskets, filled with miscellaneous goods, were covered by a piece of linen, swaying rhythmically on his shoulders.

Inside one of the baskets, among the various goods, was a strange new addition: a small, pitch-black candle.

...

On the spectator stands, Dong A and Wei Quji both watched the battle in the arena, but no one knew that their attention was elsewhere.

For Wei Quji, he cared more about the trap he had set within the city today. It was a very simple lure, but because it was executed perfectly, the effect was outstanding.

For Dong A, on one hand, he cared more about the safety of Fenglin City than the results of the Three-City Dao Debate; on the other hand, he had a certain level of confidence in Zhang Linchuan. Even after Lin Zhengren had demonstrated the strength of a Sixth-Rank cultivator, his confidence remained unshaken.

The voices of these two titans standing at the pinnacle of Fenglin City were exchanged only in whispers.

Wei Quji sneered, "Seeing the Nether Candle is like a dog seeing a bone. Those fellows are indeed the demons of the White Bone Sect!"

The Nether Candle was a Nether Treasure, and specifically an item left behind by the White Bone Sect in years past. Wei Quji had intentionally produced the candle to verify his suspicions.

Dong A frowned. "The White Bone Sect lineage was destroyed two hundred years ago. The High Ancestor's nine-year purge should have wiped them out completely. To think there are still remnants surviving to this day?"

"A centipede that is dead does not remain stiff."

...

Lin Zhengren's victory over Fu Baosong had seemed effortless. The next battle was his duel against Zhang Linchuan.

Zhang Linchuan did not lower the hand covering his mouth. He frowned and said, "Can we clean this place up before we fight?"

His previous victory had been a total stomp, so a quick resolution was fine. But facing Lin Zhengren, he would certainly be unable to attend to anything else.

There were dedicated sparring grounds within the Dao Academy, but the Fenglin City Dao Academy itself could not accommodate this many spectators. This plaza outside the City Lord's Mansion had no inscribed formation patterns at all.

The battlefield had already been battered into a mess; floor tiles were shattered, mud and water were mixed together, and the ground was riddled with pits. Combined with the blood spilled by many, it was a scene of devastation.

Zhang Linchuan's brow furrowed deeply. "This combat environment is truly filthy."

Dong A didn't even blink. "If you utter one more word of nonsense, I will throw you into a manure pit to soak for three days."

Zhang Linchuan immediately tucked away his handkerchief and gave the referee a very polite, very formulaic smile: "We may begin."

At the referee's command, Lin Zhengren strode forward.

Then, a thunderous explosion erupted.

Boom!

Boom! Boom!

Lin Zhengren moved like a surging wave, three crests of tide rolling forth.

Behind him, he left three charred, deep craters.

Zhang Linchuan had many flaws. One could say he was a germaphobe, overly fastidious, averse to trouble, and a loner.

But one could not deny his strength.

Everyone knew that Lightning Arts were fierce, but how many could truly control them with such mastery?

The two instant-cast Daoist arts Lin Zhengren had inscribed within the Heaven-Reaching Palace were *Triple Wave Tide* and *Vine Snake Wall-Cling*. His first instinct was not to defend, but to move—naturally, for the sake of... attacking!

A seed broke through the earth, a bud bloomed, and teeth like hooks emerged. It took a bite!

A Second-Class, Low-Grade Daoist art: *Devouring Flower*.

Zhang Linchuan drifted past lightly, tossing a lightning ball into the mouth of the flower with a backhand motion. He leaped upward, performing hand seals toward the sky above the charred corpse of the Devouring Flower.

Dark clouds gathered, and thunder rumbled faintly.

Roar!

A water dragon wave roared forth, but it did not attack Zhang Linchuan; instead, it lashed its tail, directly blasting the dark clouds apart.

Mist exploded in the sky amidst flashes of lightning before eventually dissipating.

The scene was aesthetically magnificent, drawing gasps of wonder from the spectators.

But Zhang Linchuan's carefully prepared Daoist art had been dispersed.

If the most significant difference between those who had opened their Heaven and Earth Gates and cultivators below the Seventh Rank was the ability to begin mastering First-Class Daoist arts...

And if some exceptionally gifted individuals mastered certain First-Class arts before reaching the Sixth Rank—such as Wang Changxiang or Zhang Linchuan—did that mean the gap could be closed? Where was the difference between them and those who had opened their Heaven and Earth Gates?

Lin Zhengren provided the answer.

Those who had opened their Heaven and Earth Gates were nearly in harmony with the universe; they could perceive the flow of Heaven and Earth Essence and instantly identify flaws in Daoist arts.

In combat, this manifested as crushing Zhang Linchuan's powerful Daoist art while it was still in its preparation stage.

But that wasn't all.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, Lin Zhengren appeared before Zhang Linchuan.

Only then did the crowd notice that he was stepping upon a water dragon wave. He had actually used the attacking Daoist art as a stepping stone to close the distance!

After opening his Heaven and Earth Gate, he possessed a brand-new understanding of all Daoist arts, greatly shortening his hand-seal time and allowing him to rapidly deploy various transformations.

While Zhang Linchuan was still in mid-air, Lin Zhengren's hand had already made contact with him.

Victory and defeat seemed about to be decided.