The Entry-plundering Demon Hunter

"Lin Yi..."

"Is that the high school student you came to see me about several times, the one who enrolled as a disciple?"

A sharp glint flashed in the old man’s eyes.

Yang Yong nodded. "That’s him. He’s extremely talented—even more so than Zhou Qi, Zhuang Tao, or Han Song!"

"He came to my place to spar over the weekend, and the feedback was excellent..."

The old man said nothing.

He was lost in thought.

"Lin Yi..."

He murmured the name again.

A glimmer of light flickered in his eyes.

After a long moment, he finally nodded. "Mm, I see."

"Since he’s talented, you should train him well."

As soon as the words were spoken, Yang Yong’s expression darkened slightly.

Evidently, he was a little disappointed by what the old man had said.

The whole reason he had come here to talk about Lin Yi...

...was to get the old man to take notice and, hopefully, invest more effort in him.

Clearly, that hadn’t happened.

The old man didn’t seem to have much interest in Lin Yi.

He had been dismissed with just a casual remark.

’Maybe the old Hall Master just wants to observe him for a while longer?’

Yang Yong comforted himself with this thought after leaving the office.

After all, Lin Yi had only just joined the hall. Although his talent was good and he was a cut above the other students,

he hadn’t been at the Martial Arts Hall for long.

It wasn’t enough to attract the old Hall Master’s attention yet.

Flashes in the pan were common.

Some people displayed astonishing talent right from the start.

But as time went on,

their talent would stagnate, almost as if they were cursed.

Slowly, they would be surpassed, one by one, by people they had once left in the dust.

Eventually, they would fade into the crowd, their dazzling light extinguished forever.

In truth, this sort of thing happened all the time.

That was why lasting brilliance was the only thing that mattered.

Otherwise, how were they any different from all the other geniuses who had been forgotten?

After Yang Yong had left,

the old Hall Master’s expression gradually grew solemn.

With his hands behind his back, he pulled open a desk drawer and took out a photograph.

In the photo was a beautiful young girl.

She looked to be in her early twenties, her face beaming with a happy, joyful smile.

The old man let out a soft sigh, his hand gently wiping the surface of the picture.

The next second, a terrifying light flashed in his eyes.

It was a look filled with rage, resentment, and murderous intent.

In the next instant, the old man left behind an afterimage.

He teleported to the other side of the office with incredible speed.

Reaching out, he grabbed at the empty air and clamped his hand directly around someone’s neck.

Only then did the person’s form slowly materialize.

He was wearing a black cloak, and with the old man’s hand around his neck, he could barely breathe.

Not until he made a series of muffled whimpers...

...did the old man glance at him and release his grip.

"How many times have I told you? Knock when you come to my office.

If there’s a next time, don’t expect to speak to me alive..."

The old man’s voice was low and chilling.

The man coughed a few times and nodded repeatedly.

"Yes... I-I won’t dare to next time!"

"Speak. Did you find out everything?"

"I did..."

The man in black nodded and quickly produced a manila envelope, handing it to the old man.

The old man opened it. Inside were several documents.

As he took them out, the very first page revealed the profile of a high school student.

A photo of Lin Yi was attached.

Seeing the photo, the old man’s brow furrowed deeply.

"Lin Yi?"

...

「Training Room 5」

"Lin Yu, what’s gotten into you lately? You’re always distracted. Now your Qi and Blood hasn’t just failed to increase, it’s actually decreasing."

Coach Wang said with a frown.

"Coach Wang, I don’t know what’s going on either!"

"I’ve also noticed these past two days that my Qi and Blood just won’t rise. I... I..."

Lin Yu’s face grew more and more anxious.

This situation had been going on for two or three days.

Normally, with his level of talent, his Qi and Blood might grow slowly, but it should never decrease.

Besides, he was drinking Blood Replenishing Soup every day now.

At first, the effects were quite good, and his Qi and Blood had been increasing rapidly.

Even Coach Wang from the Martial Arts Hall was very optimistic about him.

He was only a freshman in high school, but his cultivation had already reached the 3rd Tier.

With such terrifying talent,

breaking through to 1-Star by his senior year should have been no problem at all.

But for the last two days,

Lin Yu kept feeling like something had changed in his body.

The Qi and Blood inside him felt chaotic and unstable.

After school today, he had come straight to the Martial Arts Hall and had just finished testing his Qi and Blood.

The result: his Qi and Blood, originally at 57%, had now dropped to 53%.

It was another 4% lower than when he tested it yesterday.

And this wasn’t the first time.

This had been happening for the past few days.

Coach Wang said gravely, "Have you taken any supplements recently?"

"I... I just drink Blood Replenishing Soup every day!"

"Blood Replenishing Soup?"

Coach Wang’s expression changed, and he quickly pressed, "Where did you buy it? Was it medium-grade or high-grade?"

"I’m not sure. My mom bought it for me. I think it was low-grade..."

After Lin Yu finished speaking,

Coach Wang’s face fell, and he grabbed the boy’s wrist.

"Come with me!"

He then dragged Lin Yu toward the elevator.

Soon, the elevator arrived at the third floor, and Coach Wang led him out.

This was the Martial Arts Hall’s medical office.

Normally, students would come here for free treatment if they were injured.

Coach Wang led Lin Yu into the medical office.

Two people were sitting inside. One was older, in his fifties.

He wore a white lab coat and was sitting with his head down, writing something.

The other was younger, in his twenties, looking like a recent college graduate.

"Physician Liang..."

"Hm? Coach Wang, what is it?"

The older physician looked back at them.

"Physician Liang, I suspect this kid’s body is suffering from a side effect backlash. Can you run a check on him?" Coach Wang said anxiously.

After all, Lin Yu was talented, and among all his students, he had the most promising future.

When Physician Liang heard "side effect backlash,"

his expression shifted slightly.

"Alright, don’t worry. I’ll check him."

Physician Liang then opened a drawer and took out a rectangular brown wooden box.

It was embroidered with several patterns.

When he opened the box, it revealed rows of silver needles inside.

He took out a silver needle and said to Lin Yu, "Give me your left hand."

Lin Yu nodded and quickly extended his left hand.

Physician Liang lightly pricked the pad of Lin Yu’s middle finger with the silver needle.

Instantly, a bead of blood welled up.

Physician Liang then gently touched the tip of the needle to the blood droplet.

Strangely enough, the bead of blood was instantly absorbed by the silver needle.

The wound on his fingertip didn’t bleed another drop.

Coach Wang’s expression was extremely tense.

Lin Yu’s heart also began to beat a little faster.

’Side effect backlash?’

’If that’s true, then my future in Martial Arts... isn’t it ruined?’