The wilderness stretched endlessly, nothing but monotonous shades of earth-yellow.
Here and there, clumps of shrubs added a splash of different color to the drab canvas.
At this moment, a caravan was slowly making its way forward, wagon wheels creaking and raising clouds of dust.
Inside one particularly bumpy carriage, Lin Yang sat with his eyes closed, both hands resting lightly on the sword "Hizama." He carried nothing else.
He was both meditating and cultivating.
A faint silvery light shimmered around his body.
Two or three Blue Silver Emperor leaves peeked playfully from his collar, spreading their delicate blades as if breathing.
Suddenly, the caravan stopped.
Shouts and calls drifted in from outside.
Someone knocked on the carriage.
Lin Yang opened his eyes, a flash of sharp light flickering in his dark pupils before quickly fading.
Glancing at the Blue Silver Emperor leaves brushing against his cheek, his gaze softened with a hint of amusement.
He had not expected the Blue Silver Domain's effect to be this good. It made his meditation feel more natural and harmonious, raising his cultivation efficiency by a full twenty percent.
It truly lived up to its reputation as the Blue Silver Emperor's domain skill.
After gently stroking the leaves—to which the Blue Silver Emperor responded by withdrawing contentedly back into his collar—Lin Yang stepped out of the carriage.
A middle-aged man was waiting outside.
When the man saw Lin Yang, the smile on his weathered face immediately turned much more genuine.
"Lord Lin, we're planning to camp here. If you don't mind, perhaps you could come down and share a meal? It would also give you some time to rest."
Lin Yang swept his gaze around and nodded slightly. "All right."
After leaving Red Maple Village, Lin Yang had found a merchant caravan and—under the alias Lin Ze, a two-ring spirit master—become one of its escorts.
The middle-aged man before him, Phil, was the caravan's manager and leader.
Their destination was the Yunluo Duchy of the Star Luo Empire.
Lin Yang, meanwhile, was headed for the Heavenly Calamity Mountain Range within Star Luo territory, so it made sense to travel part of the way together.
In this barren wilderness, there were few living creatures.
So the caravan relied mainly on cured meats and dry rations they'd brought beforehand, with a few fresh fruits for variety.
Though the taste was just average, it had a certain simple charm.
After eating, Phil came to find Lin Yang again, pulling a roll of yellowed parchment from his chest and spreading it out.
"Lord Lin, we're still within Heaven Dou Empire. At our current pace, we should reach the border pass tomorrow."
He paused, glancing at Lin Yang with hesitation, clearly unsure whether to continue.
Lin Yang naturally picked up the thread. "Is there a problem at the border?"
"The pass itself is fine. As long as we pay the exit fee, they usually won't make trouble."
"It's just that past the checkpoint, between Heaven Dou and Star Luo, there's a no-man's-land where bandits run rampant. There might even be fallen spirit masters."
Lin Yang raised an eyebrow, his expression shifting slightly. "Fallen spirit masters? What's their typical strength?"
"Most are around one or two rings," Phil replied with a reassuring smile.
"Because Spirit Hall hunts fallen spirit masters ruthlessly, there are rarely any powerful ones."
"Please set your mind at ease, Lord Lin."
Lin Yang nodded.
Whatever moves Bibi Dong might make in the future, at least for now, on these two points—awakening spirits for civilians every year and cleaning up fallen spirit masters—Spirit Hall's presence brought civilians more good than harm.
Thinking of the era in Douluo 2 where commoners needed noble vouchers just to enroll in school—
That was essentially giving the nobles full control over civilian access to becoming spirit masters.
And then there were the evil spirit masters who plunged the whole continent into chaos.
The root of it all was something Tang San could hardly wash his hands of.
If you want to destroy Spirit Hall—fine. If you want to blow up Slaughter City—also fine.
But at least clean up your own mess afterwards.
Instead, our lofty, "pure and stainless" Young Master Tang just dug pits and never bothered to fill them in. In the end he patted his backside, soared into godhood, and left a steaming pile for everyone else to deal with.
Thinking of this, Lin Yang couldn't help but curse inwardly: "Tang San, you really deserve to die."
At this point, seeing Lin Yang's calm expression, Phil felt much more at ease and continued,
"If we encounter bandits, I hope you'll be willing to lend us your aid, Lord Lin."
Lin Yang waved a hand. "Since I accepted the job as escort, I'll do my best. You can rest easy, Supervisor Phil."
Phil let out a long sigh of relief and cupped his hands.
"Thank you, Lord Lin."
On the Douluo Continent, spirit masters were always a minority. Ordinary people made up the overwhelming majority of the population.
In this caravan, the only person who could be called a spirit master was Phil, and even then he was just a level-18 spirit master with a white spirit ring.
At his age, reaching level 20 in this lifetime would already be his limit.
That was exactly why he treated the two-ring Lin Yang with such respect—he had even assigned him his own wagon and taken great care of him along the way.
In the business of trade, a single misstep could mean losing both goods and lives.
Having a strong expert on hand provided much-needed peace of mind.
The night passed without incident. The next day, the caravan set out again.
Just as Phil had predicted, around midday they arrived at the border pass.
Once they passed through, they would officially leave the Heaven Dou Empire.
Phil handled the exit procedures. He was an old hand on this route and knew the ropes well.
Within half an hour, the caravan had passed through the border gates to the accompaniment of shouted orders and creaking wheels.
As soon as they exited, the whole caravan's atmosphere changed.
Every escort was on high alert, faces taut. Jokes and chatter had all but vanished.
It was no exaggeration to say that everyone was tense and jumpy.
Fortunately, nothing happened that afternoon. Everyone breathed easier as the sun set.
Once night fell, the wagons were drawn together, forming a defensive ring.
Tents were set up in the center, and the escorts split into two shifts to stand guard.
After dinner, Lin Yang returned to his wagon to resume his meditation.
Before long, the Blue Silver Emperor slipped from his collar again, its wide leaves rubbing insistently against his cheek.
Lin Yang's eyes snapped open, a sharp gleam in their depths.
"So much for a quiet night. I guess what was bound to come… still came."
He stepped down from the carriage and went to find Phil, who was rubbing his eyes sleepily.
"Lord Lin, what's wrong?"
"Tell everyone to get ready. We have bandits incoming."
The moment he spoke, Phil jolted awake, any trace of drowsiness gone. He didn't ask for details, but immediately ran off to rouse all the escorts.
Meanwhile, several hundred meters away, the bandits creeping up under cover of darkness saw the caravan suddenly spring to full alert.
They immediately realized they'd been exposed.
"Damn it, how did they spot us?"
A burly one-eyed man cursed. For a moment, he suspected they had a traitor in their midst—but then dismissed the thought.
At the end of the day, they were nothing but a band of desperate rogues. Who would trust anything they said?
It was far more likely that the small caravan had a spirit master skilled in detection.
Since they'd been discovered anyway, there was no point in hiding.
The one-eyed brute stood up with a roar, his voice like thunder.
"Brothers, with me!"
"Finish this job and there'll be meat to eat, wine to drink, and women aplenty!"
Whether it was true or not, the words were enough to inflame the bandits' bloodlust.
With a chorus of wild howls, shadows surged forward, hurling themselves at the caravan's camp.