Nightmare's Call

Lin Sheng chatted with the driver while he looked out of the window.

More and more pedestrians walking on the streets. Huaisha was getting more and more prosperous.

“The population seems to have increased in urban areas recently,” Lin Sheng said casually.

“Yes.” The driver sighed. “A lot of foreigners have entered the harbor area recently, messing some of the streets around it.”

“Foreigners?”

“Yes, mainly from Miga but also from Osiris. I heard it’s because of the open port policy, and Huaisha is also on the list,” the driver lowered his voice.

“Open port?” Lin Sheng was slightly surprised. “Wasn’t it open enough before?”

“I heard that there are tax breaks for foreign companies and all kinds of benefits, but not so much for our own companies.” The driver was not satisfied.

“Is it?” Lin Sheng pondered.

This kind of policy was obviously not initiated by Xilin. It felt more like being forced.

Soon, Lin Sheng arrived at the Ironfist Society.

The Ironfist Society had bought the site which was once a private primary school. Lin Sheng changed the only teaching building in the school into an iron fist assembly hall.

Two new students were standing outside the gate. When they saw Lin Sheng, they immediately bowed their heads and greeted him.

Lin Sheng nodded to them then walked into the gate, one beautiful lady immediately came forward and led him to the dressing room to change clothes.

As the President of the society, he was dressed in a simple black long top and trousers with a large “iron” word sewn on the back with white thread.

Now the money was tight, he had to keep everything simple.

Then, he strode into the lobby.

It used to be a pocket school with no playground, just a building, and a yard. There was also a flagpole on one side.

The lobby was transformed into a training hall.

Sarroux was practicing Blackfeather Swordsmanship with several students. Seeing Lin Sheng entering the door, he stopped immediately and came up.

“Bro, oh nope, President, you’re just in time. Dao Ling seems to have broken through. I feel that he’s getting stronger and stronger these days. No one dares to approach him!”

Sarroux had been practicing Blackfeather Swordsmanship and meditating on Ashen Seal during this period of time. He looked more stable, and his grumpy character gradually calmed down.

“You’ve made a lot of progress, too.” Lin Sheng patted him on the shoulder.

Now, after stepping into the transcendent, he could feel something special that no one else could. Like now Sarroux was emitting a faint wave of the holy power of Ashen Seal. It was obvious that his meditation of Ashen Seal seemed to be working, but he did not know it.

“Really? I have a feeling too, I just don’t know which aspect I’m making progress!” Sarroux was delighted.

“Try to feel it. Meditation gives you more than just peace and stability,” Lin Sheng reminded. “Okay, where’s Dao Ling?”

“Meditating inside,” Sarroux answered quickly.

“I go and see him now.” Lin Sheng also wanted to see what level Dao Ling had reached.

Dao Ling was different from Sarroux. He was himself a martial artist who had reached the limits of the human body, but his body was failing with age. So his breakthrough represented the breaking of the limit. It’s hard for Lin Sheng to determine what effect it would produce.

Lin Sheng left the training hall, walked along the corridor, and soon came to the meditation area.

The meditation area was previously a classroom area.

Only the official members of the Ironfist Society could enter this area. Those at the training hall were just students, not members.

Lin Sheng established two distinct identities—member and student.

A member was also a mentor to the students. They had the freedom to choose whether or not they want to teach students for income. They can also be a member just in name, which allowed them to occasionally exchange martial arts here, but they would not get Lin Sheng’s Ashen Seal. These were just the initial structures; they still need to improve.

Entering the meditation area, he quickly found the room where Dao Ling was.

Just standing at the door, he could feel a slight warmth coming out of the door.

“He did it?” This warmth was similar to the holy power Lin Sheng sensed in his dream. But the difference was that the warmth here was too weak, not even one-tenth of what he had.

He knocked at the door.

“Come in, please.” The voice sounded peaceful yet joyful.

Lin Sheng pushed the door and entered.

It was a closed, white, windowless quiet room.

Dao Ling was sitting in the middle, his long gray hair hanging loose, his muscles and skin hardly showing any sign of old age.

The changes that meditating on the Ashen Seal had brought to him, especially in his spirit, were almost magical.

Lin Sheng was surprised when he saw the appearance of Dao Ling.

“Five days of meditation... Great harvest...” Dao Ling stood up, unable to stop his smile. “Thanks to your unselfish sharing.”

Lin Sheng took off his shoes and stepped onto the wooden floor, the door behind him closed automatically.

“It looks like you’re really breaking the limit,” said Lin Sheng.

“Yeah... The line I’ve been pursuing when I was young... was finally crossed yesterday...”

Dao Ling held out his hands. Before that, his hands were not much different from those of an old man. But now, the skin on the back of his hand seemed rejuvenated, tight and firm.

“I can feel this special layer of strength covering me. It’s like armor protecting me from everything. It’s amazing!”

“That’s the power of the Ashen Seal.” Lin Sheng nodded.

“Yeah... The power, as you said before, is amazing...”

“But it’s not without cost,” Lin Sheng explained. “The Ashen Seal is the result of meditation, and in the process of meditation, we are actually gathering our own spiritual will.”

“You mean that this power, in fact, is our own power?” Dao Ling was surprised.

“You can understand it that way. Ashen Seal is the auxiliary, and the holy power activated is our own power. Although this power belongs to us, it will fade away soon if there is no Ashen Seal,” Lin Sheng explained calmly.

“So I have to keep meditating on the Ashen Seal to stay this way?”

“Yes.” Lin Sheng nodded. “You have to meditate on the Ashen Seal periodically, about once every six months, or the Ashen Seal will fade and your strength will fade, too.”