Nightmare’s Call

Despite the inaccessibility, Lin Sheng was inspired by the Ashen Seal. “The Ashen Seal of the temple cannot be passed on in any form other than the written method. The Ashen Seal is unique in that when any person learns the Ashen Seal outside of the sacred scripture, the person must repeatedly face the Ashen Seal and meditate to transcend its limits. Any Ashen Seal engraved outside of the sacred scripture can only be used once, and this has become the key factor that affects all Temple Knights.”

“Also, one has to fulfill another criterion in acquiring the Ashen Seal, which is to have enough will power. Does this not mean that I can make use of this to control all the masters who want to transcend their limits and control the Ashen Seal?” These materials had enabled Lin Sheng to conjure up a core recipe for forming the Ironfist Society quickly. Meanwhile, he would have to wait until he had reached Level 3 before he could perform the Vows ceremony. The good news, however, was that materials required for the Vows ceremony were not expensive. For now, Lin Sheng might as well concentrate on meditation at home, and go to the Blackwater district to check on the progress that Sarroux had made.

Just as he had expected, though, no one from the clubs wanted to follow him. For one, he lacked the prestige factor; besides, it was also his intentional arrangement. The club might yield some influence, but in times of trouble, its members would likely break under pressure. He needed a force that would absolutely not bend under pressure to help him save and protect his friends and family in the increasingly chaotic world. And this was the reason Lin Sheng had laid down the sixteen rules as a pretext as he intended to break off from the original club. Of course, if there were anyone who could trust him as much as Sarroux did, he would not mind accepting that person. Now, the good news was that everything went smoothly as the new Ironfist Society had recruited some new members, who were basically vagrants from the Blackwater district.

These vagrants seemed to be not much use to him, not forgetting that Lin Sheng had to spend money just to keep them in, but at least, the society was starting to get a foothold in the martial art business. Lin Sheng had formed a company providing security service in the Blackwater district, with Sarroux leading the vagrant members looking after the safety of the shops in a small area. Together with some transportation business thrown into the mix, the company barely kept its head above water.

During all these days, Lin Sheng did not slack either; he had been working hard in meditation and training. Especially when he found that the time flow in the dreams was much slower than in reality. Sometimes, after he finished ten laps of marathon meditation in his dream and woke up, only one hour had passed in the real world, where it usually took at least three hours.

Lin Sheng found the differences in time flow extremely useful. All the more so when he already lacked time for practicing various combat techniques that he got from the memories. With this time misalignment, he found the best training venue. He needed more time to digest and absorb the vast volume of mystical knowledge that he just obtained from the priest’s fragmented memories.

Lin Sheng did not continue to explore the fortress after hunting down the last priest. Instead, he decided to stay at his current position, taking his sweet time to sort out all the memories before continuing his journey.

Earlier, absorbing the memories of Sacred Shield Tyrant and the priest was tormenting enough, as if things were being shoved down his throat at once. He was not afraid of his enemy. What really sent a chill washing down through his guts was the following memory absorption process, which could break him down mentally.

A week had passed. Lin Sheng and his dad, Lin Zhounian, were standing at the bus station exit, waiting for passengers to disembark. The station was jam-packed with travelers and their luggage. The floor was littered with plastic bags and tissue papers. People were sleeping on the beam chairs, with some even occupied four seats at a time.

Lin Zhounian had brought along Lin Sheng to the bus terminal, saying that he was there to receive someone—allegedly his best old classmate, and needing Lin Sheng to help with the luggage. But what Lin Sheng found utterly baffling was if they were merely former classmates, his dad would not have dragged him along. Especially when knowing that Lin Sheng was in his third years of high school—time and energy were as precious as gold to him.

His dad had not only done it, but he also behaved mysteriously by asking Lin Sheng to dress up by taking out the most expensive black leather jacket and soft leather boots in the closet while reminding Lin Sheng to be polite when speaking.

At the terminal exit, Lin Sheng leaned lazily against the metal handrail with the support of his hands. His dad also dressed to the nine, continually looking at his watch. Standing amongst the crowded bus terminal with the constant movement of people, the duo looked somewhat out of place.

“Dad, why do you bring me here?” Lin Sheng asked in a baffled manner.

“Why do you have to ask? He is only passing by, and I just want to invite him for a meal, after which I will send him to his hotel. It’s not going to take a lot of time. It’s just a meal, after all.” Lin Zhounian flung his hand up impatiently.

“But…” Just when Lin Sheng wanted to say more, Lin Zhounian interrupted. “You will know when he comes. Do you think your dad will set you up for this?”

Lin Sheng let out a sigh and said no more.

In just a while, another three long-haul buses pulled into the terminal. The door of the white bus in the middle hissed open as it stopped in the bay. Passengers began to alight and waited in line to retrieve their luggage from the luggage compartment under the bus.

“Follow me!” Lin Zhounian seemed to have spotted his friend. He quickly went forward, dragging Lin Sheng along. Lin Sheng had no choice but to follow from behind. Earlier, his dad woke him up from his meditation in the dream. He thought something had happened, but it turned out that his dad just wanted him as a bellboy.

Before the father and son reached the bus, Lin Zhounian already began to wave his hands in the air from afar. “Wu, this way! This way!”

Among the passengers beside the bus was a family of four—husband and wife and two children. The husband and his wife, dressed pretty smartly, saw Lin Zhounian from afar as well. “Hey, Zhou! I can’t believe that you’ve actually come!” The middle-aged man, who grew a pair of thick eyebrows and an austere, square face, guffawed as he stepped forward to give Lin Zhounian a giant man hug. Even his smile was flinty as if he had been a soldier before. His wife beside him was plump, wearing gold rings and erring that made her look tasteless. But her black lace dress that partially exposed her white skin on her arms gave the impression of a matron.

Lin Zhounian politely smiled at the woman and then turned his sight to the daughter and son behind them. “So, they are your children?”

“Let me introduce.” The middle-aged man allowed his two children to come up to the front. “This is my daughter, Wu Manwen, and this is my son, Wu Zong.”

Not to be outdone, Lin Zhounian pulled Lin Sheng to the front. “This is my son, Lin Sheng, about to complete his third year in high school.”

“Third year? He must be busy this time around. My daughter is only in her second year,” the man said, smiling.