Chapter Seventy-Five: The Enigma of the White Bridge

“Zhang Changlu, do you think you can just leave after losing? Have you forgotten something?”
I walked over and blocked Zhang Changlu’s way. The surrounding Taoists immediately drew their swords, but when I glanced back at them, they retreated step by step; not a single one dared to advance.
Then, I approached Zhang Changlu and spoke in a low voice: “Master Zhang, they only know you’re no match for me and that you’re injured, but they don’t yet know what’s truly happened within you. Do you need me to tell them?”
“Lin Yi, don’t go too far!” the woman exclaimed angrily, even threatening to draw her sword against me.
However, Zhang Changlu quickly stopped her, saying, “Xi’er, don’t say more. Isn’t this just about apologizing to the Master of Qingyi Temple? I… I’ll apologize!”
“Father, you mustn't!” the woman protested.
“Enough!”
Zhang Changlu interrupted her sharply and shook off her support. He turned back slowly, lowered his head, and with hands clasped in respect, prepared to apologize to the Master of Qingyi Temple.
“Wait. Have you forgotten the wager we made before our duel?” I said.
“Lin Yi, you…” Zhang Changlu’s face turned the color of pig’s liver at my words. He trembled all over, stammered, and in the end knelt before the Master of Qingyi Temple.
Zhang Changlu had come with over a hundred Taoists. When they saw him kneeling to the Master of Qingyi Temple, every jaw dropped in shock.
The Taoists whispered among themselves, speculating as to why Zhang Changlu had knelt. After all, defeat alone could not have forced him to such submission and apology; moreover, Zhang Changlu was not known for keeping his word. He possessed the coveted primordial spirit, envied throughout the Taoist world, and had every reason to be proud, not humble.
“Master of Qingyi Temple, I am truly sorry. Earlier, I spoke filth and slander…” he said as he knelt and kowtowed, slapping himself hard across the face again and again, seemingly to etch the humiliation of this day into his memory.
After the apology, the woman helped Zhang Changlu and they left Baiqing Temple.
As they departed, the woman hissed, “Lin Yi, remember this! Today you humiliated my father. One day, you will die by my sword!”
“If your father hadn’t first insulted the Master of Qingyi Temple, I wouldn’t have treated him so,” I replied.
She tried to retort, but Zhang Changlu immediately stopped her. “Xi’er, say no more. Let’s leave quickly!”
Once they had gone, the Master of Qingyi Temple came to me and asked, “What exactly happened? Zhang Changlu is a primordial spirit—how could he be so depleted of vital energy that he couldn’t use any Taoist arts?”
“Actually, his primordial spirit is shattered. He’s become a cripple,” I replied.
“What? His primordial spirit shattered? Your punch did that?” The Master of Qingyi Temple was utterly shocked, looking at me as if I were some strange being. She asked again, “How is this possible? You’ve only trained for half a month with my master in the mountains. How could you shatter someone’s primordial spirit with a single punch? How did you do it?”

“It was just luck. Maybe his primordial spirit was especially fragile,” I explained, for both my grandfather and Master Li had warned me repeatedly never to reveal the true brilliance of my innate primordial spirit to anyone—not a word, not even to those closest to me.
The Master of Qingyi Temple didn’t press the matter further. She said, “So his primordial spirit is shattered. No wonder Zhang Changlu agreed to kneel and confess in front of so many disciples. If word gets out that he’s become a cripple, he’ll lose his position as the chief disciple of Mount Longhu.”
I replied that it hadn’t spread yet, but the truth would eventually come to light.
She nodded in agreement.
The Master of Qingyi Temple was already suffering from old wounds and now had new injuries added. She needed to rest and heal in the temple. Her disciples helped her back inside, grumbling that they should have killed the lecherous Zhang Changlu earlier.
The next morning,
A certain event had already spread throughout the Taoist sects.
Zhang Changlu, the chief disciple of Mount Longhu, was found hanging from a white silk cord above the mountain gate. The impact was enormous, shaking the status of Mount Longhu within the Taoist world. Thus, Mount Longhu immediately decided to select another worthy successor for the position of chief disciple.
That was the official news.
Privately, another rumor had spread—the cause of Zhang Changlu’s death. They all said he’d been crippled by a young man who shattered his primordial spirit with a single punch, and that after returning to Mount Longhu, the truth came out, he was stripped of his position, and in despair, hanged himself.
The latter rumor spread like wildfire among the Taoists. In today’s world, primordial spirits are exceedingly rare, found only among the leaders of the great sects. Now, a young man had shattered a primordial spirit with a punch—what level of power was this?
In this age, Taoist arts are declining, temples lack incense, and the strength of the Taoist world is waning. To refine vital energy into a primordial spirit is already the pinnacle. Even more so, to transcend the primordial spirit and return to the void—this is nearly unheard of. Yet now, someone had shattered a primordial spirit with a punch, causing a sensation. Even the chief masters of the great sects, though possessing primordial spirits, would not dare claim they could destroy another’s in a single blow.
So, the Taoist world spread the rumor: the one who shattered the primordial spirit must have transcended to the void, becoming the only such being in the world today.
Naturally, I knew best; transcending to the void is no easy feat. I am still only a primordial spirit, though mine is not the usual sort attained by refining vital energy. To reach the void, one needs a powerful foundation in cultivation, and most importantly, to find one’s destiny or “heavenly mandate.”
Beneath the thirteen streams of Yunmeng lies a tremendous opportunity, but it isn’t my destiny. To this day, I have no clue about my own fate.
But the Taoists don’t know this. They only know someone shattered a primordial spirit with one punch—his name is Lin Yi, his reputation shakes the Taoist world, and he is believed to have returned to the void, becoming a contemporary legend.
Another rumor claimed Lin Yi belonged to no sect. Thus, many sects began searching for this legendary Lin Yi, hoping to recruit him as their chief disciple or even supreme master. But I had no interest in such titles and kept myself hidden.
More practical sects followed Mount Longhu’s example, starting their own selection of worthy successors. Now, the situation was such that without a primordial spirit to guard the mountain gate, a sect could not stand in the Taoist world. Even though finding such talent was like searching for a needle in a haystack, they refused to give up.
Thus, a wave of selection swept through the Taoist world. Many ordinary people joined in, some even changed their names and claimed to be Lin Yi, trying out for the sects. Of course, most had no real skill and were quickly expelled.
When these rumors reached Baiqing Temple, I truly hadn’t expected things to escalate so far. During this time, many sects came to Baiqing Temple seeking to meet me, but I refused all visits. The Master of Qingyi Temple simply said I had left long ago, wandering the world, whereabouts unknown.

Thanks to the Master of Qingyi Temple, I enjoyed some peace. She remarked that if I truly participated in the selection, no matter which sect I chose, I could single-handedly decide its dominance.
I took it as a joke and had no interest in the selections.
For the next three days, I stayed at Baiqing Temple, helping with aftermath affairs. Once finished, I decided to return to the Mountain God’s Temple and continue my training with Master Li.
As I was about to leave, the Master of Qingyi Temple called me aside and whispered, “Lin Yi, there’s something I’ve never told you. I wonder if you’ve noticed it yourself.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“When Zhang Changlu was struck by heavenly thunder, a shadow appeared around you. I swear, it looked like a dragon,” she said quietly.
I had sensed that shadow at the time, but being within it, I hadn’t realized it was dragon-shaped. Her words surprised me.
That heavenly thunder, in a moment of danger, protected my body—it must have been my primordial spirit. Normally, one’s primordial spirit manifests as a shadow of themselves. I hadn’t expected mine to appear as a dragon. Thinking of the scales on my arm, I couldn’t help but wonder: could those white scales be dragon scales rather than snake scales?
“Lin Yi, you truly are extraordinary,” said the Master of Qingyi Temple.
I said no more on the matter, bid her farewell, and made my way toward the Mountain God’s Temple. But before I could climb the mountain, I ran into Niu Dahuang in our village.
Niu Dahuang told me that Weiyang had come out of seclusion and would wait for me in a place called Baiqiao Town.
I hadn’t heard of it, so Niu Dahuang explained it wasn’t far from our village, the next township over. Wang Shenpo had been taken away by someone riding a white horse to deal with some matter concerning the living and the dead. She left the day before and hadn’t returned since.
Weiyang had gone to Baiqiao Town yesterday to investigate, but hadn’t come back today.
I asked why Wang Shenpo would go so far to handle matters with the dead.
Niu Dahuang shook his head, saying he didn’t know. He had gone down the mountain yesterday intending to ask Wang Shenpo to make some paper clothes for my grandfather, since he was now a spirit and couldn’t wear his old clothes.
But when he reached her house, the door was locked.
He asked the villagers nearby, but no one knew. Eventually, an old man in the village said that during supper the day before, he saw someone leading a white horse, taking Wang Shenpo out of the village. The old man had asked where she was going, and she replied she was headed to Baiqiao Town to take care of some business.
At this point, I began to worry, sensing something strange. I asked Niu Dahuang, “Could it be the underworld at work? A few days ago, the son of the Temple of Justice was killed; unable to find us, and with the Master of Qingyi Temple protected by her sect, maybe they targeted Wang Shenpo instead?”