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For Xiao Lin, the greatest harvest of this secret realm journey was becoming a Spiritual Array Master!
If there were an opportunity right now to choose between advancing to the level of Dou Zun without any side effects or becoming a Spiritual Array Master, Xiao Lin would choose the latter without a second thought.
After all, there would be many chances to become a Dou Zun, but on the Dou Qi Continent, this might be the only chance to become a Spiritual Array Master. In Xiao Lin's eyes, no fortuitous encounter could compare to his transformation into a Spiritual Array Master.
Unless, of course, it was becoming a Dou Di... but that was obviously no different from a dream. Therefore, it was absolutely impossible for Xiao Lin to hand over the inheritance he obtained from the Formation Pavilion!
Even if he had to risk exposing his strength and drawing the attention of the Hun Clan, Xiao Lin would not do it.
One must realize that in the current era, the injuries Hun Tiandi sustained a thousand years ago have not fully healed, and the Hun Clan is still in a phase of low-profile development.
Based on the original story, Xiao Lin knew that Hun Tiandi's injuries would only fully recover after the main plot begins. There were still about thirty years left until that time.
During these thirty years, it was highly unlikely for the Hun Clan to dispatch experts above the Dou Zun level to target the Xiao Clan.
After all, one must not forget that the Gu Clan is also keeping an eye on the Xiao Clan. Once the Hun Clan mobilizes too much power, it will inevitably attract the Gu Clan's attention. This was unacceptable for a Hun Tiandi who was still in his recovery period!
Thus, according to Xiao Lin's deduction, before the original plot starts and Hun Tiandi's injuries are fully healed, the strongest combat power the Hun Clan could dispatch would not exceed the Dou Zun level!
When facing a Dou Zun powerhouse, although Xiao Lin was currently no match, he still had enough strength to put up a resistance. So, if it truly came down to it, his strength would have to be exposed.
However, that was the choice of last resort.
If possible, Xiao Lin still wanted to keep a low profile.
Taking the enemy by surprise later would clearly buy more developmental space for the Xiao Clan. It was for this reason that the moment Ying Changkong set his sights on Xiao Lin's inheritance, he was already a dead man in Xiao Lin's heart.
However, the strength Xiao Lin was currently displaying was, after all, only that of a one-star Dou Wang. Therefore, when facing a Dou Huang powerhouse, the others around him naturally felt worried.
"Xiao Lin, what do you plan to do now? We won't pry into what you obtained in that nine-story pavilion, and the right to choose lies with you."
"But the opponent is a Dou Huang after all. Even if so many of us join forces, we might not be able to hold out. Not to mention, the opponent also has the rest of the Luo Yan Empire as helpers. You must be cautious with this choice!"
As Xiao Lin's best friend, Nalan Jie was very worried for his pal at this moment.
After all, the one staring Xiao Lin down wasn't a Dou Wang, but a Dou Huang!
Don't be fooled by the fact that he, Xiao Lin, and Mu Chen had all stepped into the Dou Wang realm around the age of thirty. In the realms following Dou Wang, one never knew how many years it would take to increase even a single star!
Truthfully, Nalan Jie didn't even have the confidence to break through to a high-level Dou Wang in his lifetime, let alone the Dou Huang realm above that. To him, that realm was like a towering mountain!
In the original story, Xiao Lin's situation was unknown, while Nalan Jie had only reached about a Four- or Five-Star Dou Wang level by the time the main plot started.
From this, one could see just how difficult it was for most people in the Jia Ma Empire to raise their level within the Dou Wang realm. The Dou Huang level above Dou Wang was the lifelong dream for over 99% of the people in the various nations of the Northwestern Region!
Thus, as a Dou Wang powerhouse, Nalan Jie understood the gap between them and a Dou Huang all too well. It was no exaggeration to say that if given enough time, Ying Changkong could slaughter everyone from the Jia Ma Empire present!
One must remember that besides Xiao Lin, Nalan Jie, and Mu Chen—the three Dou Wangs—there was also a Dou Wang from the Yun Lan Sect, one from the Jia Ma Imperial Family, as well as veteran rogue Dou Wangs like Feng Li and Yan Shi present!
Yet even so, everyone felt a deep sense of helplessness when facing a Dou Huang. That was a gap in strength that was hard to bridge!
"Xiao Lin, if there's no other way, just hand over the inheritance. Otherwise, it will be hard for you to last long in the hands of a Dou Huang powerhouse!"
Mu Chen also spoke up at this time.
One could see from this that although Xiao Lin's current relationship with Mu Chen was good, it was still a bit inferior to his bond with Nalan Jie. Nalan Jie let Xiao Lin choose for himself, while Mu Chen suggested that Xiao Lin hand over the inheritance.
"And what about you all? Are you all going to leave your storage rings as well? Although I know you wouldn't carry your most valuable items on you for this secret realm trip, those are still significant resources, right? Do you plan to hand them over together?"
Xiao Lin did not answer Mu Chen's question but instead turned to ask the others.
"What else can we do? We don't have a Dou Huang powerhouse present, so we can only swallow this bitter pill."
A bitter smile appeared on Yan Shi's face.
"Yes, no matter how unwilling we are, we have no chance of victory against a Dou Huang powerhouse. We can only hand over the storage rings in our hands to save our lives."
Feng Li expressed the same view as Yan Shi.
While the Dou Wang powerhouses from the Yun Lan Sect and the Jia Ma Imperial Family didn't speak, their expressions were equally unsightly.
Clearly, if possible, they didn't want to hand over their storage rings either! But the situation was stronger than the individual; what could they do? Were they really supposed to go head-to-head with a Dou Huang powerhouse? Better forget it.
As the saying goes, "As long as the green mountains remain, one need not worry about firewood." Wealth is just an external possession; how could it be more important than one's own life?
At this moment, when faced with the threat of the Dou Huang powerhouse Ying Changkong, the inner thoughts of the Jia Ma Empire crowd were actually quite similar: they wanted to pay a toll to avoid disaster.
Meanwhile, the people from the Luo Yan Empire side all wore playful expressions as they watched the distressed faces of the Jia Ma Empire group.
Truth be told, although Ying Changkong and his Black Eagle Bandit Group had been ravaging their Luo Yan Empire, seeing him raise his butcher's knife against the Jia Ma Empire people made them feel an inexplicable surge of excitement!
Seeing the dejected looks of the Jia Ma Empire crowd, Xiao Lin knew it was time for him to make a decision.
"I have a way that might reduce our losses, but I need everyone's cooperation. I wonder what your thoughts are on this?"
Xiao Lin's eyes flashed as he suddenly spoke mysteriously.
"Oh, a way to reduce losses? Brother Xiao, you don't have some sort of devious scheme again, do you?"
Because he had performed a mission with Xiao Lin before, in Mu Chen's eyes, Xiao Lin's head was definitely filled with a bunch of clever tricks.
Therefore, when Xiao Lin said he had a way to reduce everyone's losses, he instantly became excited. In matters like this, for someone who had experienced it once, he trusted Xiao Lin implicitly!
Xiao Lin merely curled his lips slightly and didn't state the method immediately.
At this time, the others from the Jia Ma Empire looked at each other.
However, with the mindset of "treating a dead horse as if it were alive," they decided to listen to Xiao Lin's plan. Immediately, Xiao Lin gathered the several Dou Wang and Dou Ling powerhouses around him and explained his method.
As Xiao Lin's words fell, conflicted expressions appeared on many faces. But for a segment of the people, their eyes lit up.
Truth be told, they felt this method was indeed feasible!
In the end, the crowd discussed it a bit more.
Before any better ideas surfaced, they could only choose to agree with the method Xiao Lin proposed!
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