Chapter 26: I Should Live Unrestrained as a Demon King

Lin Yin naturally recognized the person before him; the sight of Xia Jun brought many memories from his previous life flooding back.

"Lin Yin, from this day forward, you are the Supreme Commander of the Great Wall Legion. I, Xia Changsheng, will support you without reservation!"

"General Lin Yin, the Demon Race is making a comeback. The eighteen Demon Generals have mobilized in full force, heading straight for our Great Xia Kingdom. Can you hold them off?"

"Congratulations, General Lin Yin, for slaying the three great Demon Kings with your sword, achieving the King-Sealing Realm, and being enfeoffed as the King of Suppression..."

A soft call brought Lin Yin back to his senses.

Xia Jun looked at the youth in front of him with curiosity. "Student Lin Yin, are you alright?"

"I am fine. Greetings, Your Majesty," Lin Yin said with a faint smile, cupping his hands in a respectful salute.

His peripheral vision swept across the representatives of the Royal-level academies standing behind Xia Jun. *Why have even the people from the Kunlun Academy of the Dali Kingdom come all this way?*

"Xia Jun, what is this? Are you eyeing my apprentice?" A resonant voice rang out. Old Jiang strode over to Lin Yin’s side, his gaze sweeping over all the Royal-level academies in turn.

The moment they saw Old Jiang, all the instructors from the Royal-level academies were startled.

*An apprentice?*

*The apprentice of the Great Demon King of Jixia, Jiang Shang!?*

"Since he has participated in the national entrance exam, it stands to reason that he intends to join an academy," Xia Jun said with a gentle smile. "There is no issue of snatching him away, Old Jiang. However, seeing you, I finally understand why Student Lin Yin’s blood-qi value is so high. It is truly a case of a famous teacher producing a brilliant student."

The representatives from the Royal-level academies nodded in deep agreement. "Indeed, the times are evolving. Some royal families can now use all sorts of resources to push their children’s blood-qi values and martial arts talent to terrifying heights. As a top-tier master who emerged from Jixia, it is only natural that Old Jiang could achieve this."

"Yes, I heard that Lin Tianjiao, the heir of the Great Xia Imperial Capital's Lin family, has already broken through to the Bone-Condensing Realm at only seventeen years old! It is unimaginable—if such a top-tier, super-talented prodigy were to take the entrance exam, he would suppress his entire generation."

"Haha, he would likely be snatched up by various Royal-level academies before the exam even began."

"More than that, Jixia is the true home for such super-prodigies."

"True, but that is a conversation for later. I believe I understand the situation now. It is no wonder his blood-qi value was so high despite having no martial arts talent; it turns out Old Jiang was working behind the scenes."

Hearing these whispers, Old Jiang’s expression shifted slightly. While he did want to protect his apprentice, he did not want outsiders to view him as a flower raised in a greenhouse. Furthermore, securing a path for the next generation was something he considered his own duty. He spoke up to clarify, "I have only been his master for seven or eight days. Even if I, Jiang Shang, were to pull out all the stops, I could not change the grand outcome. This blood-qi value was earned through my apprentice’s own grueling training!"

Once these words were spoken, even Xia Jun was astonished.

"Earned through his own training?" Xia Jun looked at Lin Yin. "Are you certain?"

Seeing Old Jiang’s explanation, Lin Yin understood that his master wanted him to stand out before others, so he remained silent and nodded.

"Good! That is truly wonderful!" Xia Jun laughed heartily. "Then our Great Xia Kingdom has truly produced a peerless monster! To reach this level through one's own training—Lin Yin, I now believe you are not lacking in martial arts talent. Rather, the testing machines used in the entrance exam and the warrior bases were simply not qualified to measure your true potential. Would you allow me to test you myself?"

*Test my martial arts talent?*

Lin Yin’s gaze shifted as he weighed the pros and cons. Just as he was about to refuse to keep his true potential hidden, he turned and saw the look of encouragement and support in Old Jiang’s eyes.

In that moment, he seemed to read the meaning behind Old Jiang’s gaze: *Be bold and stand before the world. I will always be your sturdiest shield. Do not fear the open spears or hidden arrows; I am here!!*

"Yes, alright." Lin Yin agreed.

...

Half an hour later, a military helicopter airlifted Xia Jun’s specialized testing equipment.

They had relocated to a quieter area, and the staff were busy configuring the machine. The members of the Royal-level academies watched this scene, whispering among themselves. This was the equipment exclusive to the royalty of the Eight Kingdoms, brought in from Jixia. They had not expected Xia Jun to place such importance on Lin Yin.

Soon. "Your Majesty, everything is prepared!"

"Good." Xia Jun turned to Lin Yin, encouraging him. "Go ahead!"

Lin Yin nodded and stepped forward. Before him stood a metal chamber over three meters tall. Through the glass, one could see countless optical fibers; the sheer number of fibers was incomparable to the testing instruments used in the exam hall earlier.

"The Xuanyuan-class test chamber—a fully enclosed testing instrument developed by Jixia. It can delve deep into the human genetic code to directly probe for anything that might exist. Because the materials used to manufacture it are extremely rare, there are only five in the entire human race, allocated to Great Xia, Great Wu, Great Zhou, Great Qi, and Great Qin," an instructor from a Royal-level academy murmured.

*Click!* The chamber door opened. Under the watchful eyes of all the bigwigs, Lin Yin slowly walked inside.

"Life form detected entering the chamber. Initiating detection sequence!"

Countless optical fibers slowly connected to Lin Yin’s entire body. In an instant, Lin Yin’s eyes went white, his consciousness blurred—it was completely different from the entrance exam instruments!

The fibers penetrated his pores, moving with complex precision through his blood vessels, muscles, and bones, placing sensors until they all converged on Lin Yin’s spine to probe the most mysterious and core genetic chain of martial arts talent.

Specialized personnel, exclusive to Xia Jun and the Palace, were nervously observing the changes in data.

*Pale white. No problem. The outermost layer of the genetic chain is pale white, indicating no martial arts talent.*

*Pushing deeper. Beyond the surface layer, the inner layer is still pale white—still no martial arts talent.*

Upon hearing this, Xia Jun became even more expectant. "Continue pushing."

For some reason, Xia Jun felt in his gut that Lin Yin was like a rare treasure intentionally covered by thick layers of gauze; only by persistently piercing through layer after layer of misdirection could one witness the true face within.

*Continue pushing!*

The specialized personnel were sweating with nerves. Genetic chain testing was always a high-precision operation; the deeper one went, the greater the risk. One slip could potentially destroy a person entirely. They were now approaching the core area of the genetic chain, and even with their extensive experience, they hesitated to proceed rashly.

...

At this very moment, Lin Yin, his consciousness blurred, was experiencing the flickering memories of two lifetimes like a lantern.

The life of an eldest son enduring day and night of torture, the endless family punishments, the never-ending slaps and fists.

The cold rain lashing against his body and soul. Looking back, he saw the brightly lit room where Lin Tianjiao and his parents shared laughter. He knelt in the cold rainy night, as if abandoned by the world, as if separated by two different worlds.

They were born of the same womb, and he was the eldest son, yet he lived as if he were a guest under someone else’s roof.

*"You are a loser. You are incompetent and weak. You are not qualified to be the heir."*

*No. I am a dragon in the abyss; I am a wandering soul. I belong in the wild.*

*I do not care for being your so-called heir!!!*

*Rather than living cautiously and miserably as I did in my past life,*

*I would rather be a wild, unrestrained king in this life!*

*Why hide my potential? I will let the whole world know.*

*If I choose to cultivate, the world shall look upon me as an ant looking up at the blue sky.*

*I want the whole world to know who the chosen one is, who is the one and only!*

In that instant, a faint, dragon-like roar seemed to resound within Lin Yin’s body.

...

"Should we continue?" The specialized personnel gritted their teeth, fearful of proceeding.

Suddenly, the originally pale white genetic chain underwent a change in color!

*Light White! Level 1 Martial Arts Talent!*

*Solid White! Level 2 Martial Arts Talent!*

*Dense White! Level 3 Martial Arts Talent!*

*Silver White! Level 4 Martial Arts Talent!*

*Jade White! Level 5 Martial Arts Talent!*

In an instant, under the gaze of everyone present, Lin Yin’s genetic chain shifted from the pale white of zero talent, like a stallion letting out a high-pitched whinny, crossing several color ranges to reach the jade white of Level 5!

"What! The genetic chain's martial arts talent can actually change?!"

"He wasn't hidden in the depths—he was hiding from the very beginning!!"

"Jade White! Level 5! It's still changing! It's still changing!!!"

At this moment, the previously composed members of the Royal-level academies went completely wild, rushing toward the test results.

Xia Jun’s figure trembled slightly, and he stepped forward quickly.

Old Jiang’s eyes unfocused for a moment, and a look of immense pride and satisfaction curled the corners of his mouth.

"It’s still changing! The color range is increasing! The concentration is rising!" the technician shouted.

"He has broken through Level 5!"

*Bone White, Level 6!*

*Pure White, Level 7!*

By Level 7, the venue had fallen silent. Everyone, from the master experts of the Royal-level academies to the king who ruled a nation, stared with constricted pupils at the data that continued to surge forward.

*Pure Silver, Level 8!*

*White Hole, Level 9...*

The test chamber stopped working for a brief moment, then suddenly flashed violently, like a silent war drum booming, announcing to the world the birth of a terrifying and invincible Great Demon King!

Lin Yin’s test data finally slowed and stopped at the pinnacle of Level 9 martial arts talent.

In the silent testing ground, everyone stood still, gazing at the vivid, glaring test result.

*White Hole: Level 9 Martial Arts Talent.*