Chapter 226

"The Peak of Source?"

Inside Dao Yi Stone Workshop, upon receiving the news, holy sect families and lone cultivators surrounded the Son of Heaven-sized stone garden, layer upon layer, from ground to sky, watching with the same awe as children once felt watching the heavenly soldiers and generals in the old Journey to the West TV series.

Everyone in Shengcheng had heard that a madman had appeared inside the workshop, challenging all Source Artisans to duel him.

Normally, such a madman would be nothing more than a nuisance worth ignoring—but rumors spread that Wu Ziming, the eldest disciple of the Five Elements Palace's Zhang Sect, and Li Zhongtian, son of the Illusion Annihilation Palace's Zhang Sect, had both been humiliated by him, so many came to witness the spectacle.

The news spread like wildfire, even stirring the elders of several holy sects.

And curiosity is not merely a mortal trait; cultivators feel it too. From afar beyond Shengcheng, cultivators could see rings upon rings of airborne cultivators surrounding Dao Yi Stone Workshop, and many newly arrived cultivators rushed there at top speed to join the commotion.

For Wu Ziming and Li Zhongtian, this situation was unbearable.

The whole affair had started with them—intending only to mock a group of outsiders unfamiliar with the stone workshop, treating them as a joke—but they never expected the opponent to play completely out of pattern, escalating things to this level.

No matter what happens to Su Lin, everyone now knows the embarrassing incident involving their group.

Wu Ziming and Li Zhongtian were nearly boiling with rage; whether this An Lan was truly insane or merely pretending, he had first publicly forced them to lose tens of thousands of catties of Source, then demanded they find opponents to duel him.

If he simply walked away like this, they would be mocked across the entire Star Region for the rest of their lives!

"I am furious beyond endurance!!!" Wu Ziming saw many young talents among the onlookers, even some elders from holy sects arriving.

"Ziming, I hear there's a Source Art master here?" A man strode forward with the bearing of a dragon and tiger, wreathed in imperial dragon qi, tall and upright—it was Imperial Prince Xia Yiming.

Wu Ziming's face turned green at the remark, yet he forced calm and replied: "Just a rustic fool."

The man was Imperial Prince of Great Xia—he owed him at least some face.

"Fascinating, isn't it? I'd like to see what this An Lan, who dares call himself the Peak of Source, truly has behind his arrogance." The Young Master of Tianyao Palace, Yao Yuekong, descended slowly, his purple robe fluttering in the wind.

As more and more people surged toward them, Wu Ziming sneered—he had just received word from Tuoba Chang, who was visiting the Five Elements Palace, informing him that the man was on his way to confront this madman.

'I'll make sure you regret this!'

He exchanged a glance with Li Zhongtian, both firmly resolved: once Tuoba's brother crushed this clown in Source Art, they would make this country bumpkin and his entire group understand what it meant to "never insult disciples of great sects!"

Trying to build his reputation by trampling on us? Ha—he'll pay with his blood for his stupidity!

Among the onlookers were not lacking Source Artisans, but most were not born into Source Art families; seeing Su Lin's group dare provoke Wu Ziming and Li Zhongtian yet remain utterly composed, they naturally avoided getting involved.

On the contrary, they welcomed it—Shengcheng hadn't seen such excitement in a long time.

"How dare this rustic, crude art claim to be the Peak of Source? Even the ancient Source Heaven Master never dared such arrogance!" A man in brocade robes stepped forward from the crowd, flanked by four four-pole cultivators clearing his path.

"Tuoba brother!" Wu Ziming saw the brocade-robed man and felt as if rescued—he hurried forward and said: "This man's arrogance is unbearable! Please, Tuoba brother, show him what true Source Art truly is!"

Hearing Wu Ziming's address, some cultivators found the surname Tuoba vaguely familiar.

"Tuoba?"

"I think I've heard it before... Could it be?!"

Someone suddenly remembered, eyes widening in disbelief as he stared at the brocade-robed man.

"A member of the Tuoba family," Imperial Prince Xia Yiming exclaimed. "One of the oldest Source Art lineages—legend says they can determine dragon veins and lock mountains and rivers."

"I came to Divine City merely to carve a piece of Divine Source to gift my grandfather for his birthday; I never expected to encounter such an ignorant fool," Tuoba Chang said with haughty disdain, eyes filled with contempt. "The Peak of Source? You're not worthy!"

"Are you a Source Artisan?" Su Lin asked calmly, then swept his sleeve and shook his head at Tuoba Chang. "One who practices Source Art, who fails to bow before me, has already lost his true fate!"

Tuoba Chang's expression froze—he had lived for so many years and had never met anyone more arrogant than himself!

"One step, one kowtow—half your sins on the Source Art path are erased! It protects your Dao!"

Tuoba Chang trembled violently—these words showed no regard for him, heir of one of the Four Great Source Art families, nor for any Source Artisan whatsoever.

"Arrogant!" someone nearby snapped.

Ye Fan: "Arrogant!"

Su Lin and Ye Fan exchanged glances.

Ye Fan: "Continue."

To other onlookers, Su Lin at this moment appeared plainly mad—a fool. Did he even know who he was facing?

That was a Tuoba family member! And this man dared openly defy all ancient Source Art families—did he not know how immense the prestige of these families truly was?!

"Where is the manager of Dao Yi Holy Sect Stone Workshop? Why haven't you expelled this troublemaker?" a cultivator called out loudly—he sought to impress Tuoba Chang.

His words sparked a chorus of agreement.

At that moment, the manager of Dao Yi Holy Sect's stone workshop was being held back by a white-robed elder.

"Don't go! That man is at least a Saint Master!"

It was the Dao Yi Holy Sect elder who had tried to stop the flying vessel upon entering the city—he now gripped the disciple in charge of this workshop and ordered his disciples: "No one is to interfere!"

He recalled the sea of light that had nearly swallowed him, and his legs trembled.

Unless a Saint Master himself came, no one could touch this man.

"I sense his spirit and flesh are both extremely young—could he truly be a Saint Master?!" the disciple's pupils shrank—he possessed a Heaven-Born Spirit Eye and could perceive others' true ages.

"Perhaps he consumed some divine herb... Good thing I accidentally offended him earlier and was merely warned—otherwise, given your temper, you might have..." The white-robed elder shook his head.

The workshop manager broke into cold sweat—given his own temperament, he would have acted already.

"Where's the manager? Where are the Dao Yi Holy Sect people?" others still shouted.

But Dao Yi Holy Sect acted contrary to normal—neither the workshop manager nor any other Dao Yi disciples appeared.

Some sharp-minded observers, like Imperial Prince Xia Yiming and Yao Yuekong, sensed something was wrong.

Though Dao Yi Holy Sect was not tyrannical, it would never allow outsiders to perform for attention on its own grounds, nor would it neglect its workshop's reputation for the sake of foot traffic.

They glanced around—when had all Dao Yi Holy Sect disciples vanished?

"Come with me to the Son of Heaven-sized stone garden."

Su Lin strode forward, feet not touching dust, not stirring mud, radiating an icy, otherworldly aura as he walked toward the Son of Heaven-sized stone garden.

This was no illusion—it was Source Art altering the very aura around him.

"Someone like you..." Some ahead tried to block him, but before they finished speaking, they turned into ice statues.

The onlookers froze—they had not sensed when Su Lin moved.

Some cultivators discovered in horror that these frozen people were still alive, even hearing their cries of agony frozen by the chilling air, yet none could break free from the absolute ice.

"A minor punishment."

The next instant, Su Lin became a lingering afterimage, dashing straight toward the Tian-character stone garden; his voice echoed throughout the Eighteen-Layer Stone Garden.

"The pinnacle of Source Art cannot be insulted!"

His move chilled the hearts of many cultivators who had sought to curry favor, especially those who had spoken insolently moments before—they now felt the urge to retreat, realizing their opponent might be a deeply cultivated master.

"Not bad," an old man chuckled, following Su Lin into the Tian-character stone garden.

The Imperial Prince of Daya laughed heartily and walked into the Tian-character stone garden with his sister: "Tonight won't be boring."

"Tuoba Brother," Li Zhongtian said, watching Tuoba Chang's furrowed brow and growing tense himself.

"Nothing. The technique of manipulating spiritual veins to freeze directly is extremely precise—but I can do it too. From this, the opponent is no rustic, backwoods art." Tuoba Chang no longer carried his earlier arrogance, yet his inner confidence remained unchanged.

"This…" Wu Ziming grew even more depressed, his expression like he'd swallowed a toad whole.

"But he shouldn't have claimed to be the Pinnacle of Source! I'll go confront him!" Tuoba Chang snorted coldly and walked into the Tian-character stone garden.

Wu Ziming and Li Zhongtian's group felt they'd grasped a lifeline and followed him immediately.

At this point, no one paid attention to Ye Fan and the others anymore; all headed toward the Tian-character stone garden.

Ye Fan took the storage bag from Ma Xianhong, counted the source stones he'd won from his bets, and strolled slowly behind the crowd.

If I were to score Su Lin's performance, I'd give him six out of ten. If it were me and Li Heishui, we'd have continued feigning weakness, making everyone see us as novices, letting the opponent develop a progressive illusion: "I can easily beat him, I can beat him, I have a chance to beat him, I can't possibly lose to him."

In fact, had I not known Su Lin and the others, today would have been me and Li Heishui playing the role of the pig pretending to be a tiger, gambling source stones with everyone else.

With Su Lin's display, any cultivator with half a brain wouldn't blindly bet against him.

This good Samaritan Tuoba Chang won't be handing out divine source stones like before—too bad, too bad; at least three months' revenue vanished like this.

Su Lin, inside the Tian-character stone garden, knew nothing of Ye Fan's thoughts—he only wanted to shine as brightly as possible within the limited time, not wasting his youth, not wasting his points.

The Tian-character stone garden.

Experts guarded this place; ordinary people couldn't enter, only those selecting stones were allowed, for the stone materials here were too precious.

Aside from wealthy prodigies like the Imperial Prince of Daya and Yao Yuekong, most others voluntarily followed the rules, watching from the nearby woods and the sky.

They fell silent, surrounding the Tian-character stone garden; though the vegetation was dense, everything remained visible.

Inside the garden sat an old nun, seated on a meditation cushion, her age indiscernible. Seeing Su Lin enter, she smiled bitterly but remained motionless.

Su Lin at this moment used the perception granted by the Fourth-Generation Source Heaven Master's Source Art—each stone beneath the green bamboos, beside the spring, or entwined in vines carried distinct Dao rhythms, utterly incomparable to the ordinary stones outside.

He nodded in satisfaction; after all, displaying divine prowess before others wasn't the priority—these stones were.

The items unearthed here might sell for tens of thousands—or even hundreds of thousands—in the system store! Some might even reach over a million!

Su Lin sighed in wonder: Is this the true value of the ultimate Xuanhuan World?!

He suddenly drifted into a thought: Had he been reincarnated directly into the Xuanhuan World from the start, perhaps his life would've been nothing but mindless wish-fulfillment—pretending to be weak, then humiliating opponents, again and again.

Of course, all this required startup capital; otherwise, he couldn't achieve compound growth.

"You're challenging me to stone selection here?" Tuoba Chang stepped into the garden and said gravely: "I'll accept. But the condition: the loser must surrender everything he unearths. We'll open stones together—whose rarest find is inferior loses."

"Technically, this is a lesson. Among the Four Great Clans, is only you here?" Su Lin reined in his thoughts, shook his head in disappointment, and said coldly: "Source King Nan Gong, Tuoba Ouyang—you've all missed your opportunity."

Tuoba Chang remained unmoved by Su Lin's words, immediately scanning the surroundings, first searching for stones. His index finger tapped repeatedly; each touch turned the stone golden, as if forged from gold.

This was Source Art: Crimson Gold Divine Hand, capable of seeing through stone interiors.

Each time Tuoba Chang touched a stone, his entire body shimmered with a pale golden hue.

Elders from major sects gathered, commenting: "In ancient times, the Source Heaven Master possessed this technique—it could peer into stone interiors."

"No wonder Tuoba's a genius—they say he once unearthed divine source alone—wasn't that the Source Heaven Treasure Wheel?!"

Tuoba Chang halted before a boulder-sized stone, and from his right hand emerged a five-colored swirling treasure wheel.

"I choose this one."

The treasure wheel radiated divine light, revealing within the stone an hourglass-shaped bottle—narrow at the top, wide at the bottom.

"Could this be an ancient relic?!"

The crowd buzzed with excitement; the elder figures inside the garden surged forward, eager to witness this wonder's emergence—some had already secretly whispered offers to buy it.

But Tuoba Chang didn't move further. He turned to Su Lin, who wore no expression—his cold gaze held the condescension of a superior toward an inferior.

"Your turn!" Tuoba Chang growled. He was the one who always looked down on others—when had anyone ever looked at him like this?!

Before all eyes, Su Lin didn't select any stone. Instead, he walked toward the nun on the cushion. As everyone puzzled, ripples spread from his feet, expanding outward.

Clearly visible, intricate patterns emerged on the ground—lightning-like fissures spreading across earth and air, dazzling yet harming nothing.

"This?!" Ye Fan was slightly startled—Spiritual Perception Source Patterns extending—this was Source Heaven Art, only controllable by a Source Heaven Master!

Where did he get a skill card from a Source Heaven Master grandpa?

Ye Fan's lips curled into a smile—it was like entering a newbie village among a group of pay-to-win players and slaughtering them all.

"Huh? Why are some stones glowing? Even the one Tuoba Chang picked is glowing… Could these all be—?!"

Before anyone could react, Su Lin swept his hand—seven glowing stones rose into the air and fell softly onto the empty ground between him and the nun.

Su Lin coldly scanned the stones and said calmly: "I'll take all of these."

The nun rose from her cushion and set up a barrier within the garden, smiling bitterly: "One hundred ten thousand pure source stones."

For the stone shop, this was misfortune, not fortune.

"Wait!" Tuoba Chang's lips turned pale as he reached out to stop it—but Ye Fan rushed forward and handed the storage bag to the nun.

At that moment, Su Lin snapped his fingers. The source patterns sliced like blades, peeling away layer after layer of the stone shells.

Brilliant lights shot into the sky—some like flying immortals, others like lightning swords; the entire night sky shimmered brilliantly.

Dao rhythms resonated together; misty vapor burst forth from the stones!

End of Chapter