Chapter 55: The Vanishing Underworld Candle

After the battle in front of the inner treasury began, the entire armory guard mobilized, gathering towards the inner treasury from all directions, like a surging tide.

Wei Yan charged outwards with his blade, as if swimming against the current.

To avoid leaks, none of the armory guards were informed of the operation, and only Wei Yan was lying in ambush.

He alone was enough.

More experts were actually scattered throughout the city. Wei Quji, as the city lord, although using the Nether Candle as bait, would never endanger the people of Maplewood City.

Fortunately, the Three Cities Tournament of Dao attracted a large number of onlookers, and the arena was absolutely safe. This greatly reduced the pressure on defense.

The city guards who met Wei Yan turned around and followed him without a word. Wei Yan casually said, "Just guard here, do not leave without authorization."

Although the Nether Candle was taken, the armory was still a top priority.

Two city guards were still guarding the armory gate. Of course, they heard the commotion inside, but before receiving orders, the gate was their post.

They were fully alert, but when a streak of blood-red light slid out along the wall, they remained completely unaware.

At this moment, a richly dressed young master passed by, waving a folding fan. With a sweep of his sleeve, as if brushing away dust, the blood snake disappeared.

The young master walked forward, to the end of the street, passing a tailor shop, and brushed past a peddler carrying a shoulder pole at the corner.

Walking on Xuanwu Street, he seemed relaxed, even humming a tune.

Two city guard experts passed him, and behind him, hacked to death an exposed heretical cultivator with a flurry of blows.

The young master seemed oblivious, walking further and further away.

"Stop!" one of the city guard experts shouted.

The young master was too calm, arousing his suspicion.

The young master, with his back to the two vigilant city guard experts, slowly raised the corners of his mouth, turning into a ferocious grin.

Just as he was about to go mad in the street, suddenly a long blade howled through the air.

"Quick Snow!" He widened his eyes, looking down at the narrow, straight blade, slowly disappearing from his chest as it was withdrawn.

The blade was named Quick Snow, and the man was named Wei Yan.

Perhaps realizing the inevitability of death, he did not ask how he was discovered or how he was caught up.

The fear in his eyes faded, gradually replaced by a kind of fanaticism. He smiled triumphantly, "The thing... is not with me!"

Wei Yan sheathed his blade and left.

At this time, the peddler with the shoulder pole was already walking on Qingmu Avenue. The two bamboo baskets containing his scattered goods were covered with burlap, swaying on his shoulders.

In one of the bamboo baskets, among the sundry goods, was an odd item: a small, jet-black candle.

…

On the viewing platform, both Dong A and Wei Quji were watching the battle in the arena, but no one knew that their attention was not actually there.

For Wei Quji, he cared more about the trap he had laid out in the city today. A very simple lure, but effective due to perfect execution.

For Dong A, on the one hand, he was more concerned about the safety of Maplewood City than the outcome of the Three Cities Tournament of Dao. On the other hand, he had some confidence in Zhang Linchuan, even after Lin Zhengren had shown the strength of a sixth-grade cultivator.

The voices of the two great figures standing at the apex of Maplewood City were only exchanged between themselves.

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

The Nether Candle was a treasure of the underworld and precisely something left behind by the White Bone Sect. Wei Quji deliberately took out the Nether Candle to verify his suspicions.

Dong A frowned, "The White Bone Sect's lineage has been extinct for two hundred years. Emperor Gaozu purged them for nine years, killing them all. Are there still remnants remaining?"

"A centipede dies hard."

…

Lin Zhengren defeated Fu Baosong, seemingly without much effort. And the next battle would be his duel with Zhang Linchuan.

Zhang Linchuan did not lower the hand covering his mouth, frowning, "Can you clean up here before we fight?"

Previously, his defeat of his opponent was a crushing victory, a quick fight was fine. But fighting Lin Zhengren now, he would not be able to attend to anything else.

The Daoist Academy did have a dedicated sparring ground, but the Maplewood City Daoist Academy itself could not accommodate so many spectators. And the square outside the City Lord's Mansion had no inscribed array patterns at all.

The battlefield where they were fighting was already a mess, with broken tiles, mud mixed with water, many potholes, plus the blood splattered by some people, it could be said to be a scene of devastation.

Zhang Linchuan frowned deeply: "This combat environment is really dirty."

Dong A didn't even lift his eyelids: "If you say one more word of nonsense, I'll throw you into a latrine for three days."

Zhang Linchuan immediately put away his handkerchief, smiling very politely and very formulaically at the referee: "We can begin."

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

Then thunder roared.

Boom!

Boom! Boom!

Lin Zhengren's body was like a rolling wave, with three crashing crests.

And behind him, three scorched pits were left.

Zhang Linchuan had many faults. You could say he was fastidious, fussy, hated trouble, and went his own way.

But you couldn't deny his strength.

Everyone knew that lightning techniques were fierce, but how many could truly control them freely?

The two instant-cast Daoist arts inscribed in Lin Zhengren's Heavenly Palace were Rolling Waves and Tangling Vine Serpent. He didn't choose defense first, but instead chose to move, naturally for… attack!

A seed broke through the soil, the flower bud opened, teeth sharp as hooks. It bit down!

A low-grade Class B Daoist art, Flesh-Eating Flower.

Zhang Linchuan glided past lightly, throwing a ball of lightning into the flower's mouth with a backhand, leaping up, pinching his fingers and pointing at the sky above the charred corpse of the Flesh-Eating Flower.

Dark clouds gathered, and thunder rumbled.

Roar!

A wave of water dragon roared out, but did not attack Zhang Linchuan. Instead, with a flick of its tail, it directly blasted away the dark clouds.

Water mist burst in the sky, lightning flashing in succession, then dissipating.

This scene was extremely beautiful, eliciting exclamations from the viewers.

But Zhang Linchuan's carefully prepared Daoist art dissipated.

If the most significant difference between a powerhouse who opened the Gate of Heaven and Earth and cultivators below the seventh grade was that they could begin to master Class A Daoist arts.

And some extraordinarily talented individuals, before the sixth grade, prematurely mastered a certain Class A Daoist art, like Wang Changxiang, like Zhang Linchuan. Then could the gap be closed? Where was the difference between them and a powerhouse who opened the Gate of Heaven and Earth?

Lin Zhengren gave the answer.

A powerhouse who had opened the Gate of Heaven and Earth was almost one with the heavens and earth, able to perceive the flow of heaven and earth's essence energy, and instantly discern the loopholes in Daoist arts.

Manifested in battle, this was used to destroy Zhang Linchuan's powerful Daoist art while it was still being prepared.

But that was not all.

Almost in the blink of an eye, Lin Zhengren appeared in front of Zhang Linchuan.

Only then did everyone notice that he was stepping on a wave of water dragon. He had actually used this attack Daoist art to complete his close-range attack!

After opening the Gate of Heaven and Earth, he had a completely new understanding of all Daoist arts, greatly shortening the time to cast spells and quickly developing other variations.

Zhang Linchuan was still in the air, and Lin Zhengren's hand was already on him.

The victory or defeat seemed to be decided.