Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 634 - 629: Lingering 3

Chapter 634: Chapter 629: Lingering 3

The virtual sun’s light shone down, casting a gentle warmth on the face.

Lin Xin gently pushed Lin Yaoyang in a small cart, strolling within the territory’s war city.

After several months, Lin Yaoyang finally woke up; his body was somewhat emaciated, looking less vigorous than before but with an added touch of delicate charm.

The two walked on the empty expanse of the war city’s snow-covered ground.

The surface was level and firm, pressed down and smoothed out by the rune dwarves, making the walk exceptionally comfortable.

Looking towards the city gate from afar, one could faintly see the towering silhouette of steel men guarding the entrance, like giant sculptures reflecting a silvery glow.

"What place is this?" Lin Yaoyang asked curiously. There was nothing here, so why would his younger brother, who should have been in secluded cultivation at Green Lake Mountain, end up in this godforsaken place?

"This is a trial within the Sect, and also my own domain," Lin Xin smiled, "It’s still in the Void, just not Snowman City anymore. It’s the territory granted to me as a True Transmission disciple."

"Territory?" Lin Yaoyang paused, the idea of a territory within the Void seemed beyond her understanding, but it sounded quite impressive.

"Yes." Lin Xin pointed to the sun overhead. "See that? The sun is actually fake. It’s a special environmental device set up by the Sect. This vast city was also built by the Sect long ago."

"Really? Fake?" Lin Yaoyang instinctively reached for her wine gourd at her waist. "Eh? Where did you take my wine to!?"

Her eyes suddenly widened.

"You can’t drink now."

Lin Xin was unequivocal.

"Tell me, how did you end up in this place this time? For someone with your cultivation to venture into such Void is almost certain death, with hardly a second option."

When this topic came up, Lin Yaoyang’s attention was diverted.

"I’m not very clear myself."

She frowned slightly.

"I only remember that... initially, I was nearly killed by the self-detonation of that Demon Spirit. Then I felt a force burst in and dragged me away. By the time I opened my eyes, I was in Snowman City."

Her explanation was vague, and Lin Xin also frowned slightly.

After pondering for a while, he asked for more details but still came up empty-handed.

"In future, don’t get too involved with Song Danhao. It’s not good for you."

"Song Danhao? What happened?" Lin Yaoyang asked puzzled.

"The matters he’s involved in are troublesome. It’s not easy to explain to you in detail." Lin Xin didn’t want to burden his sister with the complexities behind Song Danhao which, if one is not at that level, would only add to their troubles.

"Let’s not talk about this now; I probably won’t have any intersection with them in the future. This time it was just an accident, I almost lost my life." Lin Yaoyang smiled wryly.

"I feel like walking."

"Can you?" Lin Xin was worried.

"Should be no problem." Lin Yaoyang beamed, "Plus, you’re here to support me."

Lin Xin smiled and walked to the front.

Lin Yaoyang changed out of her ragged dress, and thankfully, as the Family Head, she still had her Space Ring with her. She took out a cotton white dress that hugged her body closely.

The material was woven like sweater yarn, fitting snugly on her delicate figure, accentuating her curves completely.

Lin Xin extended his hands, slipped them under her arms, and spread them out to help her up as if she was a child asking to be held.

Lin Yaoyang stepped out, her foot touching the snowy ground, but she almost lost her balance immediately.

"Hiss..."

She couldn’t help but take in a sharp breath of cold air.

"Does it hurt?"

"It’s alright, just a bit. It’s nothing to me."

Lin Yaoyang stubbornly said.

As the Family Head, as the elder sister, how could she show weakness in front of her younger brother?

"Try walking a few steps?"

"If it’s just a few steps, then sure."

Lin Yaoyang, not wanting to show weakness, took a step forward.

Thud.

Her foot twisted, and she ended up stepping directly on top of Lin Xin’s foot.

"Accident! That was an accident!" Her face instantly flushed red.

"I know, I know," Lin Xin smiled warmly at her. "Come on, let’s try again."

"Of course, who am I? I am the esteemed Family Head of the Lin Family! The president of the Sin Eradication Society, known as the ’Wild Little Chili Pepper’... uh, the ’Little Night Tiger’ Lin Yaoyang!"

She suddenly became anxious and embarrassed.

"Little Night Tiger? Night pot?" Lin Xin looked puzzled; this was quite a unique nickname, seemingly a roundabout way of insult that she herself had not realized.

"It’s not night pot!!" As expected, Lin Yaoyang exploded in anger. She threw a punch, but it was so weak and Lin Xin so unyielding, that her own fist turned red upon impact.

Catching her wrist in one swift move, Lin Xin pacified her as you would a child.

"Alright, alright, try walking a few steps and see."

For some reason, he felt that phrase was a bit odd, stirring memories from his time on Earth.

Lin Yaoyang then raised her foot again. After her body’s outburst, her nerves sustained damage, rendering her somewhat unable to control her movements.

Thud.

Her foot once again stepped on Lin Xin’s foot, and then she lost her balance, tumbling into his arms.

The two were suddenly pressed close together.

Lin Yaoyang, who was already shorter than Lin Xin, appeared even shorter as she plunged into his embrace.

Her ample chest was tightly squeezed against his chest, and the clear sensation left both momentarily stunned.

Without thinking, she looked up, staring blankly into her brother’s face.

As their eyes met, they both saw something inexplicable in the other. Her cheeks turned red in an instant.

They held each other for a while before Lin Xin gently released her.

"Are you okay?"

"Mind your own business!" Lin Yaoyang, unable to save face, irritably sat back in the wheelchair.

Lin Xin smiled, thinking that this guy was just like a child, all bluster and no bite. Just like the punch she had thrown at him earlier, it seemed forceful, but in reality, she hadn’t used any cultivation or evil power to amplify it, just pure physical strength.

Her unprotected fist had hit his attribute-enhanced body, and the outcome was clear without saying.

She appeared careless and unrestrained, but in reality, she was afraid of hurting him with a single blow.

They pushed the chair and walked along for a bit more.

"Don’t you feel lonely being here by yourself?"

Lin Yaoyang suddenly spoke up again.

"I’m fine, I got used to being alone," Lin Xin said with a smile.

"Used to it... I guess so. Since childhood, you’ve been different from us, pursuing a different path," Lin Yaoyang exhaled.

"Did you know? Lin Shizaki is about to get married."

"Really?"

Lin Xin was slightly startled.

Time seemed to not have passed by much, but some things, indeed, were quietly changing.

"Her betrothed is Qiushi’s fifth prince. It was her own initiative."

Lin Yaoyang also sounded somewhat reflective.

"Forget it, don’t keep me company anymore. You’re meant for greater things, destined for a boundless future. Don’t waste precious time with me," she added.

"It’s fine, it’s nothing to spend a bit of time with my own sister," Lin Xin said, unconcerned.

"Go on, get going. I’m a bit tired anyway, it’s a good time to go rest," Lin Yaoyang urged.

Only then did Lin Xin give in, pushing her quickly back to the central fortress and incidentally increased some of her attribute enhancements for her.

This transfer was done unconsciously, but it also allowed her to feel a slow sense of growth.

This time he planned to let his naive sister stay with him for a bit longer, not feeling at ease unless he increased her attributes by a few hundred points in one go.

But too much more than that would be difficult to obscure, and in the future, he could use bringing her some medicinal pills every so often as an excuse.

Leaving the snowy terrain, several four-armed rune dwarves were busily hammering away at the fortress, inscribing reinforcement runes to the barrier.

Inside the fortress was a huge circular space, with a three-story building situated at the center, beside which stood a steel man guard.

Lin Yaoyang looked enviously at the steel man, thinking this type of Taoist soldier was the ideal guardian in her mind.

"If you want one, I can send you a few later. But I need to explain to you how to maintain them," Lin Xin said. These second-rank Taoist soldiers, though only having Foundation Establishment level cultivation, were extraordinarily sturdy and immensely strong, the best kind of Taoist soldiers for charging and guarding.

As long as they didn’t encounter a third-rank attack, they should be fine.

"Then I won’t be polite," Lin Yaoyang nodded, as she used to manage the Lin Family and needed to combat a multitude of demon spirits.

Such war machine-like existences were naturally as good as their numbers were large.

For Lin Xin, boosting a few steel men, given his current state, was extremely easy.

However, the distance between the Taoist soldier and its seed building was too great, it wouldn’t receive replenishment and had to rely on self-repair or external maintenance.

After sending his sister to rest in her room, Lin Xin started to consider bringing in some manpower.

A maid or servant was necessary after all.

The rune dwarves could only forge and repair, lacking other abilities, unable to be taught, and they were very rigid.

As for the steel men, given their size, they were out of the question.

Day-to-day living still required the hiring of some servants.

But the Void Territory wasn’t a place to carelessly lose one’s life, and since his place wasn’t yet a fully built great city, he might have to purchase some slaves.

Returning to his room, Lin Xin specially arranged a training hall there.

The first thing he did was to take out the share of the loot that Feng Huai had brought him from a mission.

It was a black space ring.

Tossing the ring onto the ground, as it was a single-use item, with a ’poof’, the training hall’s floor suddenly became littered with a hodgepodge of miscellaneous items.

"Two thousand five hundred contribution points, I took half, the rest he still had to share with those with lower cultivation in the team. It looks like I got the better deal," Lin Xin assessed the spoils before him.

A silver shield from a snowman guardian, as well as some supply packs Feng Huai had prepared himself, containing high-nutrient food and water bottles.

Along with other assorted items.

He delved into the pile, pulling out two black Taoist soldier seeds.

These two seeds resembled two black coal balls, no contents visible inside. Even with True Yuan sensing and mental probes useless.

Handling the coal balls, they felt hard. They were inscribed with many tiny, blurry glyphs. They seemed like runes, or perhaps just ordinary text.

"Black market Taoist seeds, two given at once, quite the generous gesture," Lin Xin said, stroking the seeds, a glint of expectation in his eyes.

According to Feng Huai, black market Taoist seeds, mostly unearthed from ruins because of their excellent sealing, left no one knowing what Taoist soldiers were inside.

They might be very powerful or very weak.

Or most likely, utterly useless junk.

The price of black market Taoist seeds was the same, each around five hundred contribution points; together, these two were more than a thousand points.

Feng Huai was truly generous.

Maybe he was even taking a loss in contribution points this time.