Chapter Two: The Opportunity to Become Nalan Yanran’s Junior

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and now Lin An could be considered an official disciple of the Cloudmist Sect.

Zhao Lin and Lin An had been assigned to the same courtyard, a place reserved for newcomers to the sect. Since the two already knew each other, this arrangement suited them perfectly.

Lin An found Zhao Lin to be someone easy to get along with.

“I never expected you to be so deeply hidden, Brother An. Before even joining the Cloudmist Sect, you’d already reached the fifth stage of Battle Qi,” Zhao Lin said, a touch of envy in his voice. To secure his own place in the sect, Zhao Lin had resorted to rare elixirs just to barely break through to the fourth stage. Otherwise, whether he would have become a disciple at all remained uncertain.

“I only managed that by chance, thanks to a rare spiritual herb,” Lin An replied with a smile.

“I heard Sect Leader Yun Yun is planning to take on a new personal disciple for the sake of Nalan Yanran. What a pity that we’ve only just joined the sect and our cultivation levels are still low. Otherwise, for Senior Sister Nalan’s sake, I’d definitely try to compete for that final disciple’s position,” Zhao Lin lamented. He was surely not the only new disciple with such thoughts.

“Do you know when it begins?” Lin An asked, his interest piqued.

To become Yun Yun’s disciple would mean a great boost to his status in the sect; more importantly, it would bring him closer to Nalan Yanran—a truly perfect opportunity.

“You’re not thinking of participating, are you? For this selection, many disciples who’ve been here a year or two are doing everything they can to increase their strength. With just the fifth stage of Battle Qi, you don’t have a chance,” Zhao Lin advised.

“Don’t worry, I know my limits,” Lin An responded.

“The selection will be held in ten days at the Cloudmist Sect’s training ground. Senior Sister Nalan will be there, and even the Sect Leader herself will attend…” Zhao Lin explained.

Lin An nodded. Ten days was tight, but not impossible for him. After all, he had the system with him.

The only trouble was that to gain points from the system, he needed to seize the souls of the dead.

On the surface, the Cloudmist Sect seemed peaceful, but Lin An knew there were always dark undercurrents. Where there were people, there was intrigue and bullying—and such individuals made perfect targets for Lin An.

Soon, the elders of the sect gathered the new disciples to begin their daily training tasks. For newcomers, there was much to do; and in time, each would be chosen as a disciple by one of the elders.

It was late into the night before Lin An finally slipped quietly out of his room.

He was unfamiliar with the Cloudmist Sect, but fortunately, every disciple was given a general map upon arrival to keep from wandering into the wrong places.

According to the map, the sect’s dungeon was not far from the newcomers’ quarters—a fact that gave Lin An some confidence.

During his earlier cultivation, the system had allowed him to sense waves of spiritual energy, and as he drew closer to the dungeon, those waves grew stronger.

The dungeon was an important place, holding traitors or dangerous criminals from outside, and always guarded by experts.

Lin An hid nearby, watching the entrance. Entering the dungeon itself was out of the question. But thanks to the system, as long as someone died, he could open the Underworld Gate and a mysterious power would pull the soul inside.

This limitation was due to the low level of the Yama System. Once upgraded, he could eventually send envoys to capture the souls of the dead, without moving himself.

If the system’s level increased, it might one day become the legendary Underworld, with Lin An as its master.

Of course, not every day saw death in the dungeon. Lin An had come tonight on a whim, ready to leave if nothing happened by midnight.

But luck was on his side.

Suddenly, a soul appeared above the dungeon, expressionless and vacant, drifting like a corpse.

Seeing this, Lin An felt a surge of joy.

This soul had clearly been weak in life; otherwise, it would not look so lost and powerless after death.

That suited Lin An perfectly, giving him a chance to get accustomed to the Yama System’s functions.

In the next moment, a long whip materialized in Lin An’s hand—a Spirit-Binding Whip from the system, capable of restraining souls.

He lashed the whip at the fading soul as it began to rise and dissipate.

Ripples, visible only to Lin An, shimmered in the air as the whip wrapped around the soul. A hard tug, and the soul was drawn instantly into the Yama System.

Then, a sudden sense of danger swept over Lin An, as if some terrifying presence had locked onto him.

Without hesitation, he entered the Yama System.

He knew this feeling was real—someone had definitely noticed him.

Moments after he vanished, a strange black shadow appeared where Lin An had been.

“Who could it be? Their speed is astonishing,” the shadow murmured, then disappeared as suddenly as it had come.

Lin An, safely inside the Yama System, knew nothing of the mysterious visitor. He focused all his attention on the captured soul before him.

Just as before, the soul’s eyes were empty, devoid of intelligence.

The system presented Lin An with options: he could refine the soul into a wandering wraith, equipped with a Spirit-Binding Whip, to search the world for other newly dead souls.

However, the system also warned that such mindless wraiths were easy to destroy or discover.

Jiang Feng: One-star Battle Disciple. Can be converted into thirty soul points, and will raise the host’s cultivation to the sixth stage of Battle Qi!

In the end, Lin An chose to convert the soul into points.

As soon as he made his choice, the soul vanished, leaving behind a milky-white glow that surged into Lin An’s body. A warm current flowed through him, and his cultivation rose rapidly to the sixth stage of Battle Qi.

He also acquired the combat technique Wind Wolf Seal, once practiced by Jiang Feng.

Lin An was quite satisfied with this technique. The Six Paths Reincarnation Art was far too powerful for his current level; using it now would only draw unwanted attention.