Martial Universe (Wu Dong Qian Kun)

“Is this grandmaster Yan’s residence…”

Lin Dong stood outside a seemingly ordinary courtyard as he stared in surprise at the compound which did not look the least bit luxurious. For a time, he was somewhat unable to accept the fact that this was the place where the famed grandmaster Yan lived.

“Growl!”

Beside Lin Dong, Little Flame suddenly growled deeply. Lin Dong had decided to bring it along for this trip. Even though its large size drew much attention towards them, it was still fairly tolerable. After all, there were several elite practitioners who could control Demonic Beasts in Yan City too. Therefore, most people only turned to look at Lin Dong’s majestic Fire Python Tiger with somewhat astonished gazes but did not crowd around him as he had anticipated.

Lin Dong patted Little Flame’s head as he instructed it to keep quiet. Then, he walked nearer to the courtyard and looked at the two guards, who were staring vigilantly at him, before he cupped his hands and said: “May I request for you to notify grandmaster Yan that Lin Dong requests to meet him!”

When they heard Lin Dong’s name, the two guards stared at him in astonishment. Evidently, they had heard of his name, which was now being spread rapidly throughout Yan City. Promptly, one of them nodded his head before he withdrawing into the manor. A while later, he finally resurfaced and politely said: “Grandmaster Yan welcomes you. Please follow me.”

Lin Dong nodded his head. Together with Little Flame, they walked into the courtyard. Upon entering the premises, Lin Dong realized that the interior was not only extremely spacious, but was also filled with greenery, creating an overall atmosphere of tranquility and serenity.

Furthermore, there were already several people present inside this spacious courtyard. What shocked Lin Dong the most, was that these people were all Symbol Masters!

“What exactly is this place?”

While Lin Dong was still perplexed, the guard leading the way suddenly stopped in front of a bamboo house before politely signalling for Lin Dong to enter.

“Please!”

As he recalled his thoughts, Lin Dong gratefully nodded at the guard before gently pushing open the door and entering the bamboo house. It was completely silent inside the bamboo house and an elderly man dressed in ash-colored robes had his eyes closed while seated within, as if he was meditating.

When Lin Dong walked into the bamboo house, he immediately felt fine threads of Mental Energy spread around every corner of the house like a spider web. He knew that this was grandmaster Yan’s Mental Energy. Therefore, even though the latter’s eyes were shut, Lin Dong’s every move was clearly imprinted into the latter’s mind.

“Grandmaster!”

Lin Dong had always fairly respected this elderly man who had introduced him to the world of Mental Energy. Thus, Lin Dong immediately bowed respectfully in greeting.

“Haha, you have finally arrived. Take a seat…”

Grandmaster Yan gently smiled as his tightly shut eyes slowly opened. In his eyes, one could detect no trace of old age, but rather his eyes seemed particularly enigmatic and filled with wisdom.

Lin Dong respectfully nodded his head before seating himself on the ground. Beside him, Little Flame also quietly laid down on its stomach. Its keen senses told it that this fragile-looking old man before it was actually extremely powerful.

“Such an intelligent Demonic Beast. It should be a Fire Python Tiger, yet, the intellect that it displays far exceeds that of a Fire Python Tiger.” Grandmaster Yan somewhat intriguingly stared at Little Flame as he discovered some unique points about the latter.

“Yes.” Lin Dong smiled as he nodded his head before continuing to speak: “Could I inquire why grandmaster has summoned this young one. Are there any instructions for me?”

“Haha, instructions are out of question.” Grandmaster Yan chuckled as he turned to look at Lin Dong. With a gentle smile on his face, he asked: “Right now, you should be a second seal Symbol Master right?”

“Yes.” Lin Dong hesitated for a moment before he nodded his head again. He knew that he would not be able to hide anything from this exceptionally perceptive old man.

“Furthermore, your Mental Energy is much stronger than any Symbol Master of the same level. If I am not mistaken, the Destiny Symbol that you have condensed should be a Destiny Soul Symbol.”

Grandmaster Yan’s subsequent words caused Lin Dong’s facial expression to change. Ever since he discovered the rarity of his Destiny Soul Symbol, he had done his best to keep it a secret. He never expected that the former had managed to discover this too.

“Your affinity with Mental Energy is the strongest I have seen all these years.” Grandmaster Yan chuckled, not lingering too much on the previous topic.

“It is all thanks to grandmaster’s initial guidance.” Lin Dong politely said.

“However, the current you is only at the initial stage of Mental Energy cultivation.”

“Please educate me grandmaster.” Lin Dong solemnly replied.

“Haha, the truth is I am no better than you.”

“Grandmaster, you are too humble. You are a fourth seal Symbol Master, the strongest Symbol Master in the entire Yan City!” Lin Dong hurriedly replied.

“*Sigh*, fourth seal… even if it’s fifth seal, it’s still just the beginning…” Grandmaster Yan softly sighed before he said: “Do you know what comes after the fifth seal Symbol Master?”

“I do not know.” Lin Dong honestly shook his head. That stage was still rather distant for him.

“After the fifth seal Symbol Master, one becomes a Soul Symbol Master. When one reaches that stage, one’s Destiny Symbol would already possess spiritual abilities. An elite practitioner at that stage can move mountains and flip oceans in a flick of his mind. When dueling with others, he can easily lift even an entire mountain.”

Lin Dong’s mouth was ajar. Moving an entire mountain with a thought. How powerful would that be. At that stage, if anyone dared to obstruct you, one could casually squash him with an entire mountain, such that even the remains of the person would not be found. With that kind of power, even destroying an entire city would be possible with just a gesture right?

“That power is not something that can be attained by any ordinary person. Only a few individuals have managed to reach that stage. Even in the entire Great Yan Empire, Soul Symbol Masters are a legendary and extremely rare existence.”

“After Soul Symbol Masters, there are even further stages. However, with regards to those stages, even for me, I only dare to admire them and I do not ever hope to reach those stages.”

As he gazed at grandmaster Yan, who had an expression of reverence on his face, Lin Dong silently nodded his head. However, inside his heart, a fire was lit up. He yearned for such power…

“Haha, we have digressed…” While Lin Dong was submerged in thoughts of such power, grandmaster Yan smiled as he shook his head: “ Have you heard of the Symbol Master Guild?”

“Nope.” Lin Dong was taken aback before he once again shook his head.

“This is a type of faction where Symbol Masters gather. Every somewhat large city will have its own Symbol Master Guild and Yan City is no exception. I am the head of Yan City’s Symbol Master Guild. The common people only know of the three top factions in Yan City. However, the Symbol Master Guild’s might does not lose out to them. It is just that our Symbol Master Guild is not as strictly regulated, comparatively speaking, we are more easy going. Nonetheless, this does not hinder our influence.” Grandmaster Yan explained.

Lin Dong was a little stunned. Evidently, this was the first time he had heard that there was another faction in Yan City that could match up against the likes of the Thousand Gold Association. Quickly, he recalled all the Symbol Masters that he saw in the courtyard and he finally understood why they were there.

“Since you have never heard of Symbol Master Guild, I guess you do not know about Symbol Master Tower as well?”

Lin Dong awkwardly nodded his head. Right now, he felt somewhat like a frog in a well.

“The Symbol Master Tower is a mysterious tower forged by the Mental Energy of numerous Symbol Masters in the past. This tower has the magical ability to purify and cleanse one’s Mental Energy. We have one of these towers In our Yan City Symbol Master Guild too. It is the fruits of the collective effort of all Yan City’s Symbol Masters in the past hundred years!”

“This is one of our Yan City’s proudest accomplishments. After all, even amongst the thousands of large cities in the Great Yan Empire, there are less than a tenth that possess their own Symbol Master Towers.”

As he gazed at the prideful look on grandmaster Yan’s face, Lin Dong nodded his head. An item that took nearly a hundred years of hard work by numerous generations indicated that this was no ordinary thing.

“However…”

The pride of grandmaster Yan’s face did not last for long before it turned into a slightly pained look. With a sigh, he said: “The Symbol Master Tower is extremely beneficial to Symbol Masters in the city. Therefore, it is treated as a holy ground for most Symbol Masters. The Symbol Master Guilds in other cities will utilize every means possible to obtain a Symbol Master Tower. Yet, how can one obtain such a thing so easily?”

Lin Dong blinked a few times. He knew that the main topic was coming…

“Some cities have Symbol Master Towers, while others do not. This will naturally stir up resentment and lead to some trouble. For example, some elites practitioners may forcefully take a Symbol Master Tower… Fortunately, in recent years, this was banned by the Imperial Courts. However, at the same time, an unwritten rule appeared, that is the Tower Battle!”

“Tower Battle!”

“It refers to a battle between Symbol Masters from different cities. More accurately, it refers to a battle between younger generation Symbol Masters. And the prize for the victor is the Symbol Master Tower.” Grandmaster Yan sighed.

“What grandmaster means is that other cities’ Symbol Master Guilds are able to issue a challenge against Yan City’s Symbol Master Guild. And if they win, they will be able to take away the Symbol Master Tower?” Lin Dong’s lifted his eyebrow as he asked.

“However, if one wants to claim the Symbol Master Tower, they must obtain three consecutive victories. Furthermore, there can only be one challenge per year.”

“That sounds fine. So it will take three years for a victory.” Upon hearing these words, Lin Dong heaved a sigh of relief as he smiled.

“Yan City’s Symbol Master Guild has already lost twice in a row. This year is the last time.” Grandmaster Yan did not smile back. Instead he shook his head while wearing a pained expression.

Lin Dong’s smile turned stiff. Two losses already…the Yan City Symbol Master Guild seemed pretty weak.

“Which city does the other party hail from?” Lin Dong somewhat curiously asked. Which city could be powerful enough to defeat Yan City’s Symbol Master Guild twice in a row.

“Sky Fire City.”

After hearing this name, Lin Dong finally understood why. If one were to rank the largest cities in the Tiandu Province, then Tiandu City would be number one, Yan City number three and the number two position would belong to Sky Fire City.

“The Tower Battle this time is extremely crucial to our Yan City Symbol Master Guild. If we lose once more, the Symbol Master Tower will be relocated to Sky Fire City.” Grandmaster Yan smiled bitterly as he stared at Lin Dong.

“So grandmaster Yan’s intention is?” Lin Dong forced a smile as he very carefully asked.

Grandmaster Yan stared straight at Lin Dong before slowly speaking: “For this Tower Battle, I would like your assistance!”