Chapter 58: The Minor Villain’s Last Stand

For the past three days, Lin Tian’s private office had been a locked forge.

No windows. No interruptions.

His massive cedar desk was a mess of basic hammers, scrap metal, and highly volatile spirit-ink.

Madam Shen stood quietly in the corner. In public, she was the Pavilion Master in strict crimson robes.

Here? She kept her head bowed. Her posture was entirely submissive.

"Master," she whispered, stepping forward with a cup of premium spirit-tea. "You haven’t slept in three days."

Lin Tian didn’t look up from the glowing blue schematic.

"Even at Level 8," she continued softly, "studying the Dao of Refining from scratch drains the soul. Please, rest."

"My foundation is stable," Lin Tian murmured. "I am simply mapping a new path."

To ordinary cultivators, ancient runes were miracles. Gifts from the heavens. They spent decades on blind memorization.

Lin Tian found it pathetic.

It wasn’t magic. It was logic. Spiritual energy was the current; array lines were the circuits.

"Watch," he commanded.

He placed his newly forged Hidden Wrist-Blade flat on the desk.

He dipped his brush into the spirit-ink. The Compendium demanded elegant, swirling curves to ’harmonize with the wind.’

Lin Tian sneered. Useless.

He ruthlessly ignored the manual. His hand moved with mechanical precision, drawing sharp, hyper-optimized geometric lines.

He connected the energy nodes through the absolute shortest distance. No decorative fluff. No wasted energy.

To seal it, he didn’t use expensive jade dust. He used the gray ash of an exhausted Yang-Fire Crystal.

He rubbed the worthless ash into the ink grooves.

Ding!

[Insight Eye Active.]

[Scanning Artifact...]

[Item: Modified Hidden Wrist-Blade]

[Grade: Tier 1 (Peak-Grade / Flawless)]

[Diagnostic: Circuitry optimized. Energy loss reduced to 0.1%. Lethality increased by 300%.]

Lin Tian smiled faintly. He channeled a single wisp of golden Yang Qi into the hilt.

SHING!

The blade extended with an ear-piercing hum. A blinding white aura of compressed Qi wrapped around the razor edge, warping the air itself.

Madam Shen gasped, stumbling back.

"Master!" Her eyes widened in absolute shock. "I’ve managed this inventory for fifteen years. I’ve never seen a basic weapon emit a flawless aura!"

She dropped to one knee. "You bypassed the lower grades entirely. Your talent is..."

"I simply removed the flaws that fools worship as tradition," Lin Tian cut her off, retracting the blade.

He leaned back. "News?"

Madam Shen’s demeanor snapped back to cold professionalism.

"Twenty low-grade sect swords are officially ’damaged in transit’," she reported. "Wiped from the ledgers. Ready for the Ghost Market."

She paused. A cruel glint flashed in her eyes. "My guards spotted Wang in the outer toxic slums."

"The exiled heir," Lin Tian noted, bored.

"He’s broken, Master. He sold his mother’s heirloom for a handful of spirit stones. He’s raving in the streets."

Lin Tian picked up his teacup. "Let him rave."

"He claims a ’demonic scavenger’ brainwashed me," Shen’s voice dripped with venom. "Worse, he hired black-market thugs to ambush you."

She looked up, eyes filled with fanatic loyalty. "Give the word. I’ll send the Disciplinary Guards. I will wipe his existence from this earth."

Lin Tian gently stroked her hair. She leaned into his touch like an obedient hound.

"No, Shen. Using sect guards to kill your stepson leaves a trail. It draws Inner Sect Elders."

He stood, throwing a heavy leather cloak over his shoulders.

"We operate in the shadows."

He adjusted his collar, hiding the wrist-blade. "I need to visit the Ghost Market tonight anyway. If there is trash in my path, I prefer sweeping it myself."

Ten miles outside the sect. The toxic ruins.

Yellow smog choked the jagged canyon.

Deep within a narrow gorge, five heavily scarred mercenaries crouched behind a boulder.

"You sure he takes this route, kid?" asked Scarface. His Level 6 Qi aura pulsed aggressively.

"He will come! He always takes this shortcut!"

Young Master Wang crouched in the mud. He was unrecognizable. His silk robes were filthy. His eyes twitched with paranoia.

He had lost everything. His status, his wealth, his stepmother.

It’s that scavenger’s fault! Wang’s mind screamed. He used Gu-poison on her! He has to die!

"Listen to me," Wang hissed, grabbing the mercenary’s arm. "He’s weak! Level 5 at most! Break his legs and drag him to me!"

Scarface sneered, violently shaking Wang off.

"Relax your grip, kid, before I snap your wrist," Scarface warned, patting his heavy saber.

"Just get it done!" Wang giggled hysterically. "I’ll cut off his fingers until he breaks the hex on my mother. Then I’ll return as the rightful heir!"

Scarface rolled his eyes at his men. Crazy rich kids.

A sharp whistle echoed from the ridge.

"Target sighted. He’s alone."

Wang scrambled up the muddy bank.

Walking calmly down the smog-filled canyon was a cloaked figure. No heavy armor. No visible weapons.

Unguarded.

"That’s him!" Wang shrieked, spitting in his fury. "Surround him! Don’t let the rat escape!"

Scarface gave a lazy hand signal.

The five mercenaries exploded from the shadows. They dropped into the gorge, completely blocking the path forward and backward.

Schwing!

Five heavy sabers were drawn. Five killing intents locked onto the cloaked youth.

Lin Tian stopped.

He didn’t flinch. He didn’t gasp. He didn’t reach for a weapon.

He just stood there.

Wang stumbled forward, a manic grin stretching across his filthy face.

"We meet again, Lin Tian!" Wang roared. "Did you really think a sewer rat could outsmart a noble dragon?!"

Lin Tian slowly raised his head.

Beneath the hood, his dark eyes were dead. Cold. Apathetic.

"You look terrible, Wang," Lin Tian stated simply.

"SHUT UP!" Wang shrieked, his face turning purple.

He pointed a trembling finger at Lin Tian. "I know you used a mental hex on Madam Shen! But your game ends today!"

Wang laughed, stepping behind the mercenaries. "The Blood Fang gang will crush your cultivation. Then, I will peel your skin!"

The mercenaries chuckled.

"Don’t make this hard, kid," Scarface growled, cracking his neck. "Get on your knees. If you resist, I might take your head off."

Lin Tian stood perfectly still.

To these thugs, he felt completely ordinary. His [Primordial Yang-Tyrant Body] flawlessly concealed his immense Qi.

System, Lin Tian commanded silently.

[Insight Eye Active. Scanning Hostiles...]

[Target 1 (Leader): Level 6. Flaw: Damaged right shoulder. Reaction speed compromised.]

[Targets 2 & 3: Level 5. Flaw: Uncoordinated footwork.]

[Targets 4 & 5: Level 5. Flaw: Over-reliant on heavy weapons. Wide defensive gaps.]

[Target: Wang. Level 4. Threat Level: Zero.]

Trash, Lin Tian analyzed coldly.

Execution time: under ten seconds.

He slowly lowered his hands, letting them rest casually at his sides.

Beneath his sleeves, the Peak-Grade Wrist-Blade clicked silently into place.

He looked directly past the five hulking mercenaries. He locked his predatory gaze solely on Wang.

"You are right about one thing, Wang," Lin Tian said.

His voice dropped into a terrifying octave. His hidden killing intent leaked out, violently pushing the yellow smog away.

"What?" Wang sneered, though a sudden shiver ran down his spine.

Lin Tian’s dark eyes flashed with a faint, golden ring of absolute power. A ruthless smirk curled his lips.

"I am a demon," Lin Tian whispered.

"And you just walked into hell."