Wu dong Qian Kun: I, Lin Langtian, Refuse to be a Supporting Character

”Tower Battle?”

Hearing Lin Ke’er’s words, Lin Langtian paused, then his eyes lit up in understanding. When it came to the Tower Battle, one couldn’t ignore the influence of the Symbol Master Guild.

As the name suggests, the Symbol Master Guild is an organization where Symbol Masters gather. Every major city has its own Symbol Master Guild, and Lin City is no exception. Given that Lin City is home to the Lin Clan’s headquarters, the Lin City Symbol Master Guild is primarily composed of Lin Clan members, with a key Lin Clan elder serving as the guild’s president.

While this guild usually keeps a low profile, it’s still a significant faction within the Lin Clan. And the Tower Battle itself is tied to the Symbol Master Tower.

The Symbol Master Tower is a mystical construct formed by the mental energy of generations of Symbol Masters. It holds immense value for training and refining one’s mental strength. The Symbol Master Tower in Lin City is a treasured achievement of the Lin City guild, which the elders spent centuries perfecting. Within the entire Great Yan Empire, only one in ten cities boasts such a tower.

The Symbol Master Tower is deeply valued by any city’s Symbol Masters, many of whom see it as a sacred place. Every Symbol Master Guild fiercely desires a tower, but creating one requires the work of many powerful Symbol Masters across generations, making it an incredibly rare structure.

Some cities, unable to establish their own towers, have even resorted to forceful attempts to seize one. Naturally, the royal family doesn’t allow this, so they implemented an informal agreement known as the ”Tower Battle.”

The Tower Battle is a formal challenge between the young Symbol Masters of two cities. The prize? The honor of retaining—or winning—the Symbol Master Tower.

As he recalled this, Lin Langtian frowned and murmured, ”I remember our Lin City Symbol Master Tower was lost to another city a few years ago.”

Lin Ke’er sighed and confirmed, ”Yes, you remember correctly, Brother Langtian. Our Lin City Symbol Master Tower was indeed lost a few years ago to the Royal Pu Family’s Pu City.”

”Royal Pu Family…” Lin Langtian’s eyes narrowed. The name reminded him of an unsettled score with Huangpu Ying, a member of the Royal Pu Family.

”But,” Lin Xue chimed in, ”even though we lost the tower to Pu City a few years ago, Lin City’s Symbol Master Guild has won the last two consecutive challenges. If we win this year, the tower will be returned to Lin City.”

”Two wins in a row?” Lin Langtian raised an eyebrow, intrigued. According to the rules, one city must win three consecutive years to secure the tower permanently. It appeared that Lin City was one win away from victory.

He remembered that Lin Dong, back in Yan City, was also preparing for a Tower Battle. But while Lin Dong’s city had endured two years of consecutive losses, Lin Langtian’s Lin City Symbol Master Guild had been winning.

”It’s true,” Lin Ke’er nodded. ”The Royal Pu Family seems to be getting anxious and has reportedly invited many young Symbol Master talents over the past few months. Let’s hope our Lin City Symbol Masters can continue their winning streak this year!”

Lin Langtian rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Perhaps he should represent the Lin City Symbol Master Guild in this Tower Battle. Not only would it be a chance to strike back at the Royal Pu Family, but the Symbol Master Tower itself would aid his mental refinement.

He could feel that as his mental energy continued to grow, the spirit power sealed within the Golden Spirit Wheel Realm was nearing depletion. By his estimates, he could rely on that spirit power to help him reach the Four-Seal Symbol Master level before it was exhausted. Lin Dong had once used the Yan City Symbol Master Tower to ascend from two seals to three, but Lin City’s tower was on a far grander scale. Lin Langtian saw this as an opportunity to push himself toward becoming a true Spirit Symbol Master.

After chatting briefly with Lin Ke’er, Lin Langtian escorted them to the door, ignoring Lin Xue’s lingering gaze. Alone again, he took a seat on his bed, settling into a meditative position. Calming his mind, he sent his awareness into his mind palace.

Inside, his mind palace surged with mental energy. Three whirling spirit seals spun ceaselessly, absorbing the continuous stream of pure spirit power from the Golden Spirit Wheel Realm and channeling it into the vortexes. Lin Langtian’s goal was clear—to break through to the Four-Seal Symbol Master level before the Tower Battle.

He had confidence in his natural talent, but while his physical energy put him among the most formidable youths in the Great Yan Empire, he knew his mental energy didn’t yet give him a significant advantage. Some of the most gifted young Symbol Masters in the empire had already reached the Spirit Symbol Master level. To gain a competitive edge in the Tower Battle, he needed to make this breakthrough.

The Black Swirl Spirit Seal he used to cultivate continually drew spirit energy from the Golden Spirit Wheel Realm, even while he focused on other pursuits. Thanks to this, Lin Langtian was already a hair’s breadth away from becoming a Four-Seal Symbol Master.

His task now was simply to push through the barrier standing between him and that goal.

Time passed as Lin Langtian meditated in silence. The spirit vortexes continued absorbing the vast amounts of mental energy within the Golden Spirit Wheel Realm, merging and twisting until, finally, in the moment just before the spirit power was depleted, a sudden transformation occurred within his mind palace.

”Hummm!”

The merging vortexes trembled, then split apart, forming a mysterious, glowing spirit symbol. Fissures appeared on its surface, spreading until the symbol fractured, releasing four smaller spirit seals that began to spin within his mind palace.

At that instant, a surge of mental power erupted within him, flooding through his body. Muscles and bones vibrated under the onslaught as his tightly closed eyes flew open, releasing a powerful wave of mental energy.

An intense whistling sound, accompanied by a blast of concentrated mental energy, shot from him like a volcanic eruption.

”Four-Seal Symbol Master!”

(End of Chapter)