Chapter 733

The strength of a Dao Seeker depends primarily on their mental power.

The stronger one’s mental force, the greater the Dao secret arts they can wield—

And the more power of heaven and earth they can draw upon.

As for the physical body? That’s the domain of martial artists.

In this world, even the strongest physique remains mortal.

It can’t resist poison, nor withstand blades.

Just a dozen armored soldiers surrounding you—

And you’d be minced into pulp.

That’s why, in battles between Dao Seekers, they often begin by gauging the strength of each other’s mental force, to decide whether to fight or flee.

The golden-robed man at the side had sensed no fluctuations of mental power from Lin Yuan.

That’s why he dismissed him outright, not taking him seriously.

But the one standing in the center thought deeper.

If Lin Yuan was truly an ordinary mortal, what gave him the nerve to interfere in a battle between Dao Seekers?

All four of them were Dao Mages.

Even that hunchbacked old man was a Dao Seeker, albeit an ordinary one.

And to warrant a personal pursuit from four Dao Mages.

That in itself proved his strength.

Which meant—

Something wasn’t right.

The golden-robed man in the center instinctively activated a Dao secret art to probe.

In this world, every Dao art consumed mental power.

No Dao Seeker would recklessly use one unless necessary.

“What an incredibly restrained mental force.” The man in the center was shocked.

He had used Jinlong Sect’s detection technique, and faintly sensed that Lin Yuan wasn’t devoid of mental power—

It was just that all of it was perfectly concealed within.

Like a vast, boundless ocean.

From the surface, it was calm and still—

But within, undercurrents surged.

“Senior Brother?”

The golden-robed man beside him looked puzzled, but halted as instructed, eyeing the man in the center.

“You're the power behind him?”

The central figure asked Lin Yuan in a deep voice.

“Mm.”

Lin Yuan nodded.

“In that case, it is Jinlong Sect that has offended.”

“You may leave.”

After much thought, the golden-robed man relented.

He had no confidence in defeating Lin Yuan. The sense of danger was too strong.

Especially now, when Jinlong Sect was on the brink of a major transition.

Earlier, they had acted so forcefully toward the hunchbacked old man because they believed they had him cornered.

Now, hearing their senior brother back down—though the other three didn’t fully understand—they knew he must’ve noticed something critical.

The golden-robed man who had stepped forward also backed away.

“Leave?”

Lin Yuan looked at the four.

He hadn’t come here just to save his uncle.

He had his eye on Jinlong Sect, and all of Manzhou.

With Jinlong Sect’s Dao Master nearing death, now was the perfect time to strike and take control behind the scenes.

No risk involved.

This was the conclusion Lin Yuan reached after observing countless future timelines.

Manzhou had strategic value.

Originally, Lin Yuan had intended to build trade routes.

Slowly influencing the region over decades before taking it.

But now a shortcut had appeared.

If he could seize Manzhou early, it would greatly benefit his long-term plans.

“I’m not planning to leave.”

Lin Yuan said calmly.

“Not planning to leave?”

The surrounding golden-robed men’s faces darkened.

Senior Brother had already shown great courtesy, and he still wouldn’t back down?

“Since you refuse to leave, then—”

“We go.”

The man in the center interrupted.

The more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt.

He suddenly realize, he had no idea when Lin Yuan had even arrived.

Dao Seekers had powerful perception.

Yet none of them had noticed Lin Yuan’s approach.

“Let’s go.”

He turned and left.

The other three looked at one another.

Then silently followed.

They knew their senior brother well.

He might seem indifferent, but he was extremely domineering.

For him to act like this.

Something was definitely wrong.

“Young Master,” the hunchbacked uncle murmured.

Relieved.

Jinlong Sect was the sky over Manzhou.

Aside from the Grand Feng court, they were the strongest.

Even the court avoided direct confrontation with them here.

Now, four golden-robed cultivators had willingly retreated, it was the best outcome he could imagine.

“You’re not leaving.”

Lin Yuan’s expression remained calm.

In an instant, streams of mental power surged from the surrounding void.

Interweaving, colliding, and rapidly spreading in all directions.

Buzz—

Centered on Lin Yuan, mental force flowed out in all directions, forming a web over a hundred zhang wide.

The four golden-robed men were caught inside.

Trapped like flies in a spider’s web.

They couldn’t move.

The lead cultivator’s expression changed drastically. His soul trembled as he muttered in disbelief, “Heaven-Earth Cage? A Heaven-Earth Cage this vast?”

The other three could barely stand, their faces pale with fear. “Dao Master?!”

Dao Seekers used mental power to commune with heaven and earth.

But ordinary Dao Seekers had weak mental force—incapable of projecting it outward.

Only at the level of Dao Mage could one barely project their mental power.

Yet even then, only a few feet beyond their body.

A Dao Master, however, had such immense mental power that they could form cages of pure spirit energy—

Heaven-Earth Cages.

Only a Master could do this.

“To form a Heaven-Earth Cage of this scale—”

While the others trembled, the senior brother was utterly horrified.

He held a high position within Jinlong Sect.

And had followed their sect’s Master for many years.

Even someone as powerful as their master could only project a Heaven-Earth Cage of 20–30 zhang.

Even the mental power of a Master wasn’t limitless.

But Lin Yuan’s cage?

Over a hundred zhang?

What kind of terrifying mental force was needed to sustain that?

A Dao Master this powerful.

Why had no one heard of him before?

After subduing the four Jinlong Sect disciples, Lin Yuan turned to his uncle.

“Uncle, head back. Leave Manzhou to me.”

“Y-Yes!”

The hunchbacked man quickly replied.

In the past twenty years, this was his first time witnessing the Young Master truly act.

He had always known Lin Yuan was strong.

But a Dao Master?

Even at Red Lotus Sect’s peak, they’d only had a handful of Dao Seekers.

As for Masters?

Unthinkable.

Had they possessed even one Dao Master, they wouldn’t have been forced to flee from province to province.

Though the Red Lotus had established several branches, they were all hunted, forced into the shadows.

If they’d had a Master, they could’ve openly ruled an entire province, building strength in peace.

Back at Jinlong Sect’s rear mountain.

Dao Master Jin Yi sat cross-legged in meditation.

His body was withering, though his mental power remained strong.

But that power came from the flesh.

And once the body died, even the strongest mind would fade.

“Jinlong Sect has yet to produce a new Master.”

He opened his eyes, face marked with worry.

Jinlong Sect held great influence in Manzhou and had a strong relationship with Grand Feng.

Even without a Master for a short time, things would remain stable.

Most provinces didn’t even have one.

But still—

Losing such a pillar was risky.

Without a Dao Master, their confidence would falter.

“I hope I can raise a successor before I pass.”

“At the very least, a potential candidate…”

He sighed inwardly.

For decades, the sect had poured resources into a single disciple, but a Master couldn’t be created through resources alone.

At that moment—

Jin Yi’s expression suddenly changed. “Who’s there?”

“It’s me.”

Before he could react, a young man appeared nearby, smiling.

“You’re…”

Jin Yi’s pupils shrank.

Then he felt his mental power sealed.

The young man walked casually up to him, gazing down.

“Which Master are you?” Jin Yi asked, despair in his voice.

From that brief moment of contact, he understood one thing:

He was no match.

This person had appeared silently, and sealed his spirit with no warning.

Any one of those feats alone meant this man could kill him with ease.

Though Jin Yi was near death, and his body was frail, Dao Masters fought with the mind, and in that domain, he was utterly outclassed.

“You don’t need to know who I am.”

Lin Yuan smiled. “You have two options.”

“Two?”

Jin Yi trembled.

“One: surrender. Let me soul-search you, and cooperate with me in taking over Jinlong Sect.”

“I’ll ensure your sect’s legacy continues.”

Lin Yuan said.

After twenty years of cultivation, his strength now surpassed ordinary Dao Masters.

Jin Yi, a veteran Master, couldn’t even resist.

Though Lin Yuan was still technically a Master.

His mastery of mental power was in a different league.

But to fully read someone’s soul, and obtain complete memories, required cooperation.

At least, no active resistance.

“Soul-searching?”

Jin Yi’s face twitched.

Dao Masters specialized in mental power, and yes, they could soul-search others.

But to be soul-searched themselves?

Unthinkable.

It would expose every last secret.

“What’s the second option?”

Jin Yi asked hoarsely.

“I forcibly soul-search you. Jinlong Sect is wiped out. Your legacy ends here.”

Lin Yuan said bluntly.

Forced soul-searching led to fragmented, unreliable memories.

“Two choices.”

“Pick one.”

Lin Yuan looked down at him.

“I…”

Jin Yi fell silent.

He didn’t doubt the second threat.

With Lin Yuan’s power—

Wiping out Jinlong Sect would be effortless.

“I choose the first.”

Jin Yi sighed.

He had no idea if Lin Yuan would keep his word, but he had no other choice.

Either way, he would die.

Even if he was soul-searched, at least his sect might survive.

“So be it. Jinlong Sect will live on.”

Lin Yuan nodded.

In fact, he had already foreseen this choice through his timeline visions.

“Jinlong Sect…”

A smile formed on Lin Yuan’s face.

With Jin Yi’s full cooperation and complete memories, he could take control of the entire sect smoothly and quietly.

As for slaughtering everyone and planting his own people?

That was the worst option.

First, it would create leaks.

Second, it was wasteful.

Jinlong Sect had over ten thousand disciples.

More than two thousand Dao Seekers.

To purge them all?

Meanwhile, in the Grand Capital of the Grand Feng Dynasty, inside the imperial palace.

The young emperor sat on the throne, frowning in deep thought.

“Over the past twenty years, I too have become a Dao Master.”

He murmured, “The empire’s greatest strength is now in my hands.”

“Within the capital alone, there are over ten thousand Dao Mages, more than a hundred Dao Masters, and hundreds of thousands of elite imperial guards.”

“With such immense power, if I wished, I could easily sweep through the other ninety-eight provinces again.”

“Moreover, this palace is built entirely from materials that suppress mental power.”

“Even a Dao Master, once inside, would be heavily restrained—only one percent of their strength would remain.”

“That’s why all guards here are elite soldiers. Even a Master who infiltrated would be shredded by just a few dozen of them. And the palace houses a hundred thousand.”

The more he thought, the graver he became.

“Yet under these circumstances, the only requirement of this tribulation is that I survive 150 years?”

“No—by now it should be 130 years.”

“Just survive?”

He dared not underestimate it.

If the tribulation could be overcome by doing nothing.

It wouldn’t be the final test he faced.

“…Enough.”

He looked at the imperial palace—the safest place in the world.

And made up his mind.

“I can’t stay here any longer.”

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