“Lin Feng, from today, you are the new Patriarch of the Yun Hai Sect.”
Protector Bei was speaking in a solemn and quiet tone. Lin Feng was trembling from head to toe while staring blankly at Protector Bei.
“Lin Feng, even though the Yun Hai Sect probably has nobody left, I don’t want it to let it disappear forever. That was Nan Gong Ling’s wish as well. In the future, if you have the chance then I hope that you can rebuild it and revive the Yun Hai Sect.”
While looking at the myriad of wrinkles present on the old man’s face, Lin Feng nodded solemnly and respectfully.
“If I, Lin Feng, don’t die, I will definitely revive the Yun Hai Sect.”
“Alright.”
Protector Bei smiled and tapped on Lin Feng’s shoulder with his right hand.
“Lin Feng, there is something else I have to tell you.”
“Protector Bei, please tell me.”
“In the past, Fei Fei’s father, Liu Cang Lan and Nan Gong Ling were the most outstanding disciples of the Yun Hai Sect which gave endless hope to everybody within the sect. Before Nan Gong Ling became the Patriarch of the Yun Hai Sect there was Nan Gong Ling’s teacher and former Patriarch. Actually, he would have preferred to make Liu Cang Lan become the Patriarch. He also wanted to give him his only daughter for marriage.”
“But after that, Liu Cang Lan decided to leave the sect abandoning everything behind him. He wanted to let Nan Gong Ling become the Patriarch but what Liu Cang Lan didn’t know is that the Patriarch’s daughter had already fallen in love with him. Because she had been abandoned by Liu Cang Lan, she was feeling so desperate that…. she committed suicide. Because of the death of his daughter, the Patriarch at the time suffered so much. One day he left the Yun Hai Sect and never came back. Nobody knows whether he was dead or alive.”
“Since that moment, Nan Gong Ling became the Patriarch of the sect. Besides, Liu Cang Lan had completely lost face so he couldn’t come back to the Yun Hai Sect. As an apology, he made Fei Fei join the Yun Hai Sect… He wanted to apologise to the former Patriarch and to his daughter, even more to the former Patriarch’s wife. Her beloved daughter had passed away and her husband had disappeared without leaving trace. Therefore, the old woman had a deep and bitter hatred for Liu Cang Lan. She became Wen Ren Yan’s teacher and dreamed of seeing her student getting married with Liu Cang Lan’s daughter, Fei Fei. That is why Wen Ren Yan had dared to act such a way in the Yun Hai Sect.”
When Lin Feng heard all of these things, his heart was pounding. He was astonished. He wouldn’t have thought that the Yun Hai Sect had such secrets. No wonder Wen Ren Yan was so arrogant and dared say that Liu Fei was his. No wonder that the old woman had seemed so eccentric. That explained everything.
“Lin Feng, did you hear the old woman when she told me to tell Liu Cang Lan that she forgave him? She also said that she had no objections to you getting married with Fei Fei. However, this is your private life and I’ll let you arrange the things yourself.” Protector Bei was speaking honestly, pouring out the content that was locked away in his heart and then continued: “Liu Cang Lan should be in Duan Ren City now. You can go and look for him. He is an honest man. He is afraid of fighting with Duan Tian Lang though. If something happened to Liu Cang Lan, please take good care of Liu Fei.”
“Protector Bei, there is nothing happening between Liu Fei and me.” said Lin Feng while smiling wryly. The old woman had only said that Lin Feng was better suited for Liu Fei than Wen Ran Yan, did that mean that he had to marry Liu Fei?
“What the old woman said was a suggestion. You have to go tell Liu Cang Lan that Liu Fei is still in the Yun Hai Sect. Duan Tian Lang, considering Liu Fei’s status, would never dare kill her… but if Liu Cang Lan fell from power or died, things would be different. Therefore you must take good care of Liu Fei. Besides, Liu Fei is also an outstanding young woman. You two are a perfect match.”
“Alright, we have talked enough for now. The temple is yours. Dispose of it as you wish. Don’t forget to go and find Liu Cang Lan.”
“Protector Bei.” Lin Feng’s voice was firm. Protector Bei’s tone of speech made Lin Feng have an ominous premonition.
“On that side, there is an exit… It leads to the Black Wind Mountain. Please be careful. Of course, you can also practice in the temple. You can wait to become a little bit stronger and then go out.” said Protector Bei while scratching his ear. When he finished talking, he turned around and headed to the exit.
“Protector Bei, you……..” Lin Feng’s facial expression drastically changed. He ran after Protector Bei and wanted to shout and ask him to stay.
“Lin Feng, I am a Protector of the Yun Hai Sect. While the Yun Hai Sect still exists then I can live, however if it were to be destroyed then how can I continue living without protecting it?!”
When he finished talking, Protector Bei was already leaving. The large stone door opened making a rumbling noise. Protector Bei didn’t turn around and left Lin Feng alone within the temple. Lin Feng stared at Protector Bei’s back as he left.
Lin Feng had the feeling that lightning was surging in his heart. He was standing there while gazing blankly into the distance. While the stone door was closing itself, Protector Bei’s silhouette was gradually vanishing. This would probably be the last time he saw Protector Bei.
Lin Feng understood clearly that this temple didn’t only separate him from the rest of the world… It was a spiritual separation like the Yin and the Yang. It was the key to eternal life.
Lin Feng stood there alone at the same place for a long time while staring blankly into the distance and then finally started moving again. He closed his eyes and took a deep sorrowful breath which resonated throughout the temple.
“Patriarch, Protector Bei, Protector Kong, Old Woman… these noble elders… they sacrificed themselves to save my life. They fearlessly handed themselves over to those despicable people to protect me…”
“They are not here anymore… but I am still here… and I have so many things to do.”
Lin Feng was talking to himself. His sad expression had turned into a determined expression full of willpower.
It required an extraordinary strength to change destiny. Lin Feng wanted to make these people who had given their lives for him a chance to find peace in death. He would make them proud and they would not die in vain.
“Hao Yue Sect, Ice and Snow Mountain Village, Mo Shou Sect, Duan Clan, Han Xue Tian, Teng Wu Shan, Duan Tian Lang, Duan Han, Mo Cang Lan, Wen Ren Yan.”
All these names, all these treacherous people. They were deeply engraved in Lin Feng’s memories. He would never forget about them. He would one day get revenge for the events which had happened today.
Lin Feng turned around and walked towards the first room he had visited.
In that room, there was a huge bookshelf full of agility techniques and martial skills. It was divided into sections. One section was dedicated to agility techniques and one section was dedicated to martial skills.
“Blade Cadence, low Di level agility technique, produces pure and sharp energy to propel oneself.”
Lin Feng looked at an agility technique but it didn’t suit him at all. The best was to possess a Blade Spirit when using that agility technique. Of course, Lin Feng was too weak at the moment to use the energy required. He couldn’t learn and practice such agility techniques. After getting stronger and after breaking through to the Xuan Qi layer, he would be able to control pure energy which was extremely powerful.
Lin Feng put the book back into the bookshelf and checked two martial skill books.
“Swift Leaves… skill of the low Di level. Leaves emerge out of the palm of the user. These leaves are faintly discernible and extremely quick. It seems like they have no power, but they can actually penetrate directly into the opponent’s body causing internal damage. These leaves are extremely powerful and can go almost unnoticed.”
That looked like a skill suited to a female cultivator. It didn’t look that strong but if the opponent underestimated that skill, they would probably die in horrible conditions. A female could easily get close and kill her opponent without anyone seeing an attack.
Besides, that attack was faintly discernible which made it almost impossible for opponents to block it.
Lin Feng put it down and looked at another skill.
Deadly Cross Shadow… low Di level skill. Suitable for people whose spirits enable them to become invisible. It is divided into three movements: Vanishing Shadow, Dark Shadow and Deadly Cross Shadow.
“This is similar to Protector Kong’s skill!” thought Lin Feng. His heart bounced for a second. It seemed like Protector Kong had only learnt the first part of the skill and had combined it with other skills. Besides, it was a perfect skill for his Shadow Spirit. It was extremely strong.
Too bad that Protector Kong hadn’t been able to practice until Dark Shadow Pierce, otherwise, he could have been really invisible.
As far as the last part of the skill was concerned, Deadly Cross Shadow, it was indeed extremely powerful making you almost undetectable by the enemy.
“My Celestial Spirit enables me to release a special cloaking Qi and the illusionary demon makes my opponents suffer of hallucinations. Combined with my spirit, that Deadly Cross Shadow should be perfect.”
Lin Feng’s heart was racing. That skill had no strength requirement. A cultivator of any Qi layer could learn and practice it as long as they could understand the complexity of the skill.
That skill was only a tool though, a way to complement one’s other skills. Bringing Deadly Cross Shadow into play could strongly enhance a person’s other abilities.
Lin Feng then continued looking at other skills. He didn’t find any other skill which was appropriate for him. He then put all the skills on the bookshelf into the Na stone.
Apart from Lin Feng, the Protectors hadn’t told anybody else about that place. These things should be safe in the bookshelf but if Lin Feng had a problem, it was probably better to have them near him, especially in case of emergency.
Lin Feng then went to the other room where there were the spiritual weapons. He also began putting them inside the Na stone.
There were a lot of purity stones in the temple, Lin Feng also put them all in the Na stone.
Purity stones contained pure Qi like that of heaven and earth. Any cultivator who had at least, broken through to the Ling Qi layer, could use these to enhance their cultivation. It was a very valuable item.
How could Lin Feng not take these precious items with him?
Lin Feng walked around in that vast temple, he made a few rounds and noticed that on the pillar situated at the both ends of the temple, the ferocious beasts engraved into the stone were exactly the same.
Only by looking at the drawings of the ferocious beasts, Lin Feng could feel an extremely strong and powerful Qi. It was much stronger than that Xuan level Python Fish.
But Lin Feng was more concerned with something else. There was a greenish door made from carved jade which was emanating a strong Qi. Lin Feng tried to push it in vain. No matter what strength he put into it, it wouldn’t move. Furthermore, there also seemed to be no hidden lever or switch to open the door.
“What is the secret of that door? Maybe the one who built this temple has left hints behind. Too bad that I can’t open it.”
Lin Feng frowned. Protector Bei hadn’t opened the door for him. Maybe none of the Protectors of the Yun Hai Sect had ever opened this door before.
“Never mind. If I have the opportunity and I am strong enough, I will come back and try again.”
Lin Feng said these few words while finally giving up. In the history of the Yun Hai Sect which dated back to a thousand years, nobody had ever opened that jade door. It was obviously very hard to open and it would be a waste of time to stay there for too long trying to open it.
These days, the most important thing was to become stronger. Strong enough to protect himself and strong enough to protect those who are close to him.
Lin Feng had broken through to the second Ling Qi layer which was extremely rare for his age but if he had to face cultivators who had cultivated for a few years longer then he would be in a critical situation, no matter their talent. He needed to become strong.