Lin Hua's death filled Lin Xuan with sorrow, but he couldn't change what had happened. All he could do was accept it.
There was no point in wallowing in sadness. He had to look forward. Revenge was his ultimate goal now. Only then would he be worthy of the life Lin Hua had sacrificed to save him.
'He had told me to just live a peaceful life, but I still want revenge! If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have ended up here. Lin Hua wouldn't have died.'
"In half a month, Qingcheng Mansion will hold its assessment. I have to make the most of this time and raise my Cultivation again!" Lin Xuan's eyes were filled with determination.
He wasn't satisfied with his current Cultivation. He had to keep breaking through if he wanted to stand out in the Qingcheng Mansion assessment.
Half a month was enough time for him to improve. He didn't just want to meet the minimum requirements for the assessment; he wanted to fight his way into the top ranks!
HUFF, HUFF...
After a session of intense Cultivation, Lin Xuan was drenched in sweat. He took a few deep breaths and stretched, a series of CRACKS and POPS echoing from his bones.
More than a week flew by. Without Lin Hua to supervise him, he became even stricter with himself. He had originally been running with a six-hundred-pound weight on his back, but now he was carrying eight hundred!
It was practically self-torture. If not for the medicinal herbs he could find deep in the mountains, along with some Elixir Pills, his body would have collapsed long ago.
THUD!
Lin Xuan slammed the Dragon Cloud Rod into the ground, its heavy shaft sinking deep into the earth. He tossed the massive stone he'd been carrying aside.
He found a rock to sit on and took a Wood Carving from his Storage Pouch. It was an unmistakable carving of Lin Hua.
To commemorate Lin Hua, he had chosen to carve his likeness. He had worked on it several times, always during his breaks so as not to waste any time he could be using for Cultivation.
'It's almost finished.' Lin Xuan carved with intense focus. The Wood Carving was so lifelike it looked as if Lin Hua had been shrunk down dozens of times to a small figure he could hold in his palm.
During his years of blindness, he had used his spare time to carve wood, both to hone his Mental Realm and to delve deep into his memories, unwilling to forget anything important.
Now that his sight was restored, not only had his carving speed increased, but the quality of his work also far surpassed his previous efforts. He carved every line with his heart and soul, allowing for no mistakes.
With one final cut, he completed the Wood Carving. Lin Xuan was very satisfied with the lifelike result, but his heart was filled with a swirl of emotions.
'No matter how much it looks like him, it's not the man himself... Before he died, Uncle Lin's soul was stored in the Dragon Cloud Rod. I wonder if it can enter this Wood Carving?' Lin Xuan mused.
As he mused, he suddenly felt the Soul Pearl inside him tremble. An instant later, a beam of light shot out from the Soul Pearl and bored into the Wood Carving. The carving immediately began to emit pulses of bright light, and Lin Xuan felt it grow heavier and heavier in his hand.
CRACK!
The Wood Carving made a splitting sound. Then, with a flash of light, Lin Hua himself appeared before him! He was life-sized, standing on the ground with his hands clasped behind his back. The aura of a powerful expert radiated from him, enough to make one tremble.
"Un-Uncle Lin!"
Lin Xuan cried out in shock, but he saw that Lin Hua didn't react. His gaze was vacant and expressionless, like a puppet. And it was clear this Lin Hua *was* a puppet; upon closer inspection, he could see the faint texture of wood grain on its skin. It was almost unnoticeable without looking carefully.
'What in the world is going on?' Lin Xuan circled the figure, but its gaze never moved. 'Is this the power of the Soul Pearl?'
He had yet to fully grasp the Soul Pearl's abilities. In fact, he didn't even know where to begin. It hadn't come with any instructions, so he could only figure it out through trial and error.
Lin Xuan took a moment to sense the puppet's aura. Its Cultivation was roughly at the Seventh Layer of Body Refining Stage, the same level as his own.
'Could it be that the summoned being's Cultivation always matches my own?' Lin Xuan frowned in thought before his expression cleared. Pointing to a large tree ahead, he commanded, "Attack that tree!"
A bright light flashed in the puppet's eyes. Without a word, it charged forward, its speed reaching the absolute limit for the Seventh Layer of Body Refining Stage. As it reached the tree, it fiercely struck with Wave Cloud Palm. With a loud BANG, the tree, as thick as a man's torso, was snapped in two by the single palm strike!
Lin Xuan was floored by its power; it was far stronger than his own current limit. 'If I can summon all the souls within the Soul Pearl, does that mean I'll have a whole army of helpers? Their Cultivation is the same as mine now, but what happens when my own Cultivation increases?'
POP!
After about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the Lin Hua puppet suddenly exploded, dissolving into a pile of wood chips that fluttered to the ground. Simultaneously, a ball of Energy flowed back into Lin Xuan's body. He swayed as he felt nearly half of his Elemental Power drain away.
'So, there is a price to pay.' However, the price was only the consumption of Elemental Power; it hadn't caused any damage to his own body. The negative impact had been transferred to the Wood Carving instead, and its explosion was the best proof.
'This Wood Carving can't handle much...' Lin Xuan quickly deduced the reason. The wood itself probably wasn't strong enough to last for long. 'If I used a higher-grade material, I wonder how long it would last?'
Lin Xuan immediately began to experiment, trying to see if a simple, uncarved block of wood would work. Regrettably, it had no effect. It seemed he had to carve a figure first to be able to infuse a soul into it. Otherwise, it was useless.
He quickly carved another "Lin Hua" and used the Soul Pearl to infuse the soul into it. The result was identical to before: after the time it took for an incense stick to burn, it couldn't hold on and exploded. Even if it did nothing, it could only last for that amount of time.
Next, he switched to stone. After carving it, he had the soul of Lin Hua merge into it, which was another success. The Cultivation level remained the same, but its durability changed. Both its power and its duration increased significantly, lasting for the time it took two incense sticks to burn!
"So it really is the material!" Lin Xuan's eyes lit up with excitement. This was an incredible ace up his sleeve! It consumed a fair bit of Elemental Power, but having an extra helper was a complete game-changer.
However, the drawback was also significant: the attacks were purely physical, with no Elemental Power behind them. A Martial Technique could only display its true power when enhanced by Elemental Power. Since the puppet could only attack with its physical body, its destructive capability was obviously much weaker.
'That makes sense when I think about it. If it could use Martial Techniques at will and had an endless supply of Elemental Power, that would be absurdly overpowered.' That said, its physical attacks alone were already formidable, and it also possessed the rich combat experience of the original soul. Every move it made was as smooth as Flowing Clouds and Water!
'The material... if I used something like Divine Wood to carve it, the effect would surely be even greater!' Lin Xuan's heart pounded with excitement. Some materials contained Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. He couldn't imagine what kind of results he would get if he carved one of those!
After calming his racing heart, Lin Xuan sat down again and began carving a few backup statues. These would be trump cards he could use at a critical moment.
He quickly carved several stone statues to keep as backups, a task which took him a day or two.
Once he was finished, Lin Xuan placed the statues into his Storage Pouch. His gaze drifted to the distant horizon as he spoke in a low, determined voice, "Qingcheng Mansion, here I come!"