101: Inspector of Dongshan Prefecture

"The 206-meter mark?"

"Sigh! What a pity!"

Three days later, in the courtyard of the mother pool of the scarlet dragon, Lin Yi slowly woke up from his bed. Recalling his performance at the willpower stone pillar three days ago, he couldn't help but shake his head helplessly.

The 206-meter mark of the willpower stone pillar—this result was still quite a distance away from the 205-meter mark.

Even though his Divine Soul and willpower had strengthened significantly again after this coma due to the "My Heart is Like Iron" and "Abyssal Dragon in the Wild" talents exerting their influence, Lin Yi guessed that reaching near the 200-meter mark would already be quite an achievement.

As for the 200-meter mark, it was simply impossible!

And it wasn't just impossible now; even if he tried again next month and his willpower underwent another massive increase and transformation, it would still be impossible to break through!

Because the gap between approaching the 200-meter mark and actually breaking through it was simply too vast—larger than the combined gap from the 230-meter mark to approaching the 200-meter mark.

With such a massive gap, no matter how Heaven-Defying Lin Yi's talent was, it was impossible to cross it in just one short month.

"But now, only one month remains of the year and a half the Sect Master gave me."

"If I can't reach the 200-meter mark of the willpower stone pillar within this month, not only will I not get the massive reward the Sect Master promised, but even the rewards from the first option will be halved!"

"The difference between the two is likely more than several hundred million taels of silver. This loss is truly too great."

Lin Yi frowned deeply, feeling incredibly distressed.

After a year and five months, with his talents, his progress had indeed been massive.

Among his achievements, his cultivation had already reached the Peak of the Third Rank two months ago, just one step away from the Martial Dao Second Rank.

And looking at his current progress, he estimated he would Breakthrough in three or four months at most.

Therefore, the first condition set by the Sect Master was essentially already fulfilled for the current Lin Yi.

As for the second condition, which was the Force Exertion Realm.

After more than a year of Cultivation, although Lin Yi's Force Exertion Realm hadn't reached the Perfection of the Third Level of Limit Breaking, it had reached the formidable level of Major Achievement of the Third Level of Limit Breaking (82%).

Based on this progress, he might even Breakthrough earlier than reaching the Martial Dao Second Rank, so the second condition was naturally not an issue.

Thus, the only thing currently holding Lin Yi back was the third condition—reaching the 200-meter mark of the willpower stone pillar within a year and a half.

This condition was simply too difficult, so difficult that even Lin Yi had no confidence in breaking through within the next month.

"No!"

Lin Yi's gaze sharpened:

"The rewards for the second option are too precious, especially the Low Grade Innate Divine Soul-type Heaven And Earth Treasure, the 'soul profound spirit fruit.' It will be of great help in breaking through to the Innate Realm. No matter what, I must do my best to obtain it."

"It seems I must find a way to strengthen my willpower as much as possible in the next month, or strengthening my Divine Soul would also work."

"After all, while a strong Divine Soul doesn't necessarily mean strong willpower, given equal willpower, someone with a stronger Divine Soul will definitely be more resilient."

"Thus, someone with a stronger Divine Soul can naturally walk further before the willpower stone pillar, which would help me break through the major Bottleneck of the 200-meter mark."

With a thought, Lin Yi stood up and left the room... and just like that, time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, five more days passed.

During these five days, Lin Yi had been constantly looking for ways to strengthen his willpower, even seeking help from the Jiang Family for this reason.

Unfortunately, whether it was methods to enhance willpower or treasures to boost the Divine Soul, they were all too precious. The Jiang Family simply couldn't help him.

Thus, after five days of searching, Lin Yi could only return in disappointment.

However, just as Lin Yi was feeling discouraged, Wang Yu, whom he hadn't seen for several days, suddenly brought him some news.

"Oh? The Sect wants me to go down the mountain for a training mission?"

In Room 99 of the mother pool of the scarlet dragon courtyard, Lin Yi was momentarily stunned upon hearing Wang Yu's words.

training missions—Lin Yi naturally knew about them. This was a tradition established by the Ancestral Master of the Heavenly Mountain Sect, the "Founder of Tianshan Sect," when he first founded the Sect.

It was a rule that all Heavenly Mountain Sect Disciples, after practicing in the Sect for a period of time, had to go down the mountain for training missions to hone themselves.

For it was said that the Ancestral Master of the Heavenly Mountain Sect, the "Founder of Tianshan Sect," rose to power amidst endless slaughter and battle.

Over a century, he struck out in all directions, defeating and killing countless experts and powerful foes, before finally having an Epiphany on Tianshan Mountain, which led to the creation of the Heavenly Mountain Sect's Legacy that has stood for a thousand years.

Therefore, the Founder of Tianshan Sect always believed in one principle: "Jade cannot be crafted into a vessel without polishing; a person cannot break through their Realm without being tempered!"

In his view, a greenhouse can only raise delicate flowers; it cannot Cultivate true powerhouses.

Only through countless battles and tempering by blood and fire can a Martial Artist's spirit, Divine Soul, willpower, and even Physical Body truly sublimate, reaching incredible levels and eventually becoming a true powerhouse!

Thus, in the thousand years since the Heavenly Mountain Sect was founded, no matter how high the talent of the Disciples, they must all undergo the process of "descending the mountain for training."

Even though some Prodigies would often perish during this cruel training, the Heavenly Mountain Sect spared no expense!

"Teacher Wang, I wonder what training mission the Sect has arranged for me this time?"

Thinking of this, Lin Yi asked curiously.

"Your training mission this time is very simple. You are just going back to your hometown, Dongshan Prefecture, to serve as a circuit inspector."

Wang Yu said with a slight smile.

"circuit inspector!"

Hearing these words, Lin Yi's eyes instantly lit up.

circuit inspector—this was a great mission!

Not only was it extremely safe, with the entire mission process being completed within Dongshan Prefecture and requiring almost no combat, but it also held great authority. Even the highest-ranking Governor of Dongshan Prefecture would have to follow Lin Yi's orders.

This mission, compared to tempering oneself in other Great Provinces, hunting down powerful fugitives wanted by the Heavenly Mountain Sect, or even directly heading to the battlefield to join the war against the Great Yuan Dynasty, was far, far easier.

More importantly, Dongshan Prefecture was Lin Yi's hometown.

Since arriving at Tianshan Pavilion, Lin Yi had been separated from his parents for nearly two years. This time, he could take the opportunity of this training to go back and see them.

There were also Dean Zhao Haihong of Dongshan Martial Academy, Dean Zhao Haishan and Dean Li You of Guangling Martial Academy, and even Chen Fengyuan, the master of the Guangling branch of Wanxiang Tower.

He could visit all these people who had helped him along his path of growth and find ways to repay them.

Of course, besides these benefactors, there was also a blood enemy in Dongshan Prefecture who had once dragged Lin Yi into despair, filling him with towering hatred! Someone unforgettable who was etched into his soul—the Big Boss of the Qingfeng Stockade, Six-Armed Nezha, Lu Chong!

"Lu Chong, your time to die has come!"

Thinking of the figure that had echoed in his mind countless times, Lin Yi murmured in a low voice, his heart filled with soaring killing intent!