Chapter 403: Unqualified to Be a Threat

Warning, warning—someone has invaded the inn!
As night fell, the urgent system alerts caused Lin Dong to slowly open his half-closed eyes. A faint smile appeared on his face in the darkness.
When he checked the inn’s map, a small red dot appeared in one corner of the backyard.
Adjusting the inn’s defensive settings back to their original configuration, Lin Dong whistled softly, waiting for Feng Zhengyang to show up.
In the corner of the courtyard, Feng Zhengyang was covered head to toe in dark clothes and a black cloth, blending in with the night.
After carefully scouting for a while, Feng Zhengyang’s pupils, visible through the black cloth, gleamed with cold fury.
In a flash, he appeared at Lin Dong’s door. Both being at the ninth level of the Mental State phase, Feng Zhengyang didn’t dare use his mental powers to sense Lin Dong. After taking a deep breath, he drew out a spirit sword that gleamed with a chilling light.
Staring fixedly at the closed door, a fierce killing intent surged within Feng Zhengyang.
“Frog! Today is your death day!”
Just thinking of Lin Dong made his teeth ache with hatred. Jealousy, resentment, anger—all surged through him.
As the second strongest among the younger generation of the Heavenly Sword Sect, having reached the ninth level of the Mental State phase at just 23, he would undoubtedly be the number one in any other major sect.
Charmous, handsome, and skilled in both martial arts and literature… Feng Zhengyang always believed that no man in the Great Han Kingdom could compare to him, let alone rival him.
Yun Lan disdained him only because she didn’t yet realize this.
Who would have thought a frog would fall from the sky? And this frog even had Yun Lan’s approval.
When he first heard this news, Feng Zhengyang felt an urge to kill every man in the world. He had held back, not wanting to become a laughingstock.
Competing with a mundane merchant out of jealousy seemed like a great shame in his eyes—even though that merchant had strength comparable to his own.
Fortunately, it would all be over soon. No one would know it was him who did it. Even if they did, he would just be following his master’s orders. It wasn’t out of jealousy, but for the benefit of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
Suppressing his excitement, Feng Zhengyang clenched his fist and suddenly swung his sword at the door.
With a sharp sound, the door shattered into countless pieces under the cold light of the spirit sword.
Like a sharp arrow, Feng Zhengyang, with a bloodthirsty smirk, rushed into the room.
The sword light flashed as it headed straight for the wooden bed, but stopped halfway.

Across from him, Lin Dong sat on the bed edge, quietly watching Feng Zhengyang. At this moment, Feng Zhengyang felt guilty, and the spiritual sword in his hand also stopped moving. It wasn’t that he lacked the courage to act; rather, Lin Dong sitting on the bed edge made it clear he was waiting for him. Acting rashly could easily lead to an ambush. Staring intently at Lin Dong, beads of sweat trickled down Feng Zhengyang’s forehead, wetting his mask. His mind was scattered, and it took some time before his racing heart stabilized and the sweat on his forehead gradually dried. No ambush! “Do you know someone is going to kill you today?” Feng Zhengyang channeled spiritual energy into his throat to make his voice sound hoarse and cold. Lin Dong simply watched Feng Zhengyang silently, his mind constantly pondering what to do with him. This was the only issue that could trouble him for months. He felt uneasy if he didn’t cripple Feng Zhengyang, but if he did, Qin Mengtai would surely turn against him, possibly leading to an uncontrollable situation due to his own insufficient strength. Neither outcome was what Lin Dong wanted to see. Lin Dong’s gaze filled Feng Zhengyang with shame and anger. Used to being a favored elite and a virtuous man, he was accustomed to endless admiration and respect. Now, caught red-handed attempting an assassination in the dead of night while disguised in black, Lin Dong’s gaze held pity, disdain, mockery… and a contempt he had never encountered before in his life. He couldn’t tolerate such a look, yet he had to suppress his anger, worried that some scheme awaited him ahead. Since there was no ambush, there must be a trap. Lin Dong suddenly smiled, amused by Feng Zhengyang’s suspicious gaze. “Why are you smiling?” Feng Zhengyang was furious. “I find you funny, so I’m smiling,” Lin Dong replied leisurely. Feng Zhengyang flew into a rage, gripping his spiritual sword tighter and tighter, yet unable to make up his mind to act. Lin Dong shook his head, stood up, and opened his right palm—whereupon a Ruyi stool appeared in his hand. “Since you don’t have the courage to come forward, I’ll do it then.” With a step forward, Lin Dong raised the Ruyi stool high, his momentum surging like that of a giant deity wielding a massive axe, swinging it down at Feng Zhengyang’s head. Boom! Feng Zhengyang swung his sword to block it. Amid the roar, he stumbled back four or five steps before barely managing to steady himself. “Again!” Without giving him a chance to catch his breath, Lin Dong swung the stool again.

Feng Zhengyang was shocked. His trembling right hand made him afraid to engage head-on, so he quickly stepped back. As Lin Dong caught up to him at the door, he swung the bench again. Feng Zhengyang flew backward like a cannonball. But Lin Dong didn’t pursue him. He looked down at the two cracks on the Ruyi Bench, poured spiritual energy into them, and the cracks instantly healed. Feng Zhengyang stared at Lin Dong, filled with urgency and fear. This speed and strength far exceeded his expectations. “Have you reached the first level of the Heart Reversal Phase?” Feng Zhengyang suddenly exclaimed. If both of them were at the ninth level of the Mental Phase, no matter how advanced their movement-related spiritual techniques were, it would be impossible to catch up to him in just a few meters. Nor could such strength force him to this extent. “Good eyes!” Lin Dong gave Feng Zhengyang a thumbs up. Filled with rage, Feng Zhengyang opened his left hand, and three pink pills appeared instantly. Then, in a flash, he stuffed them into his mouth. “Lin Dong, your death is near!” Lin Dong remained silent, watching Feng Zhengyang with interest. He knew these were the advanced pills Qin Mengtai had given Feng Zhengyang, as mentioned by Feng Yue. The Heavenly Sword Sect was a pill-making sect, so the pills in Qin Mengtai’s possession must be extraordinary. Yet Lin Dong wasn’t worried about that. No matter how extraordinary, they were still only ninth-level spiritual pills—they certainly couldn’t help Feng Zhengyang boost his strength by five or six minor realms in one go. He also had ninth-level spiritual pills that could force strength improvement, obtained from the Wuyou Cave. The most potent among them was called the Wind and Moon Pill. After taking it, one’s strength below the ninth level of the Heart Reversal Phase could be forcibly raised by three minor realms to one major realm in a short time. It seemed incredibly powerful, but its effect lasted only a day. Afterward, it could cause severe internal injuries at worst or serious depletion of vital energy at best. The stronger one was, the harder it was to recover from such injuries. Even the mildest consequences took a year or so to heal. If unlucky and the dantian was severely damaged, even with a ninth-level spiritual pill for treating the dantian, it would take three to five years to fully recover. Naturally, Qin Mengtai wouldn’t give his favorite disciple such powerful ninth-level pills. At most, they would cause minor internal damage that could be healed with a month or two of rest. The three pills Feng Zhengyang took would at most temporarily raise him to the second or third level of the Heart Reversal Phase. With Lin Dong’s strength at the first level of the Heart Reversal Phase, and since he wouldn’t use his ultimate skill, the Sky Control Realm, to avoid exposure, his strength was definitely inferior to someone at the second or third level of the Heart Reversal Phase.

But this is Lin’s Inn. At Lin’s Inn, even if a peak-level expert arrives, as long as their speed isn’t so fast that one can’t react in time, Lin Dong has the ability to protect himself. With the third layer of Heart Reversal Phase, he can handle it with ease. “I didn’t expect you to have already reached the first layer of Heart Reversal Phase. It’s a pity…” Feng Zhengyang sneered coldly, “It’s a pity that a toad like you, who dares to covet Yun Lan, is doomed to die here.” “Has the effect of the medicine worn off?” Lin Dong asked calmly. Feng Zhengyang’s expression stiffened, then he thrust his spirit sword forward and charged at Lin Dong. Sword lights flashed, sword shadows multiplied, forming an impenetrable net that covered Lin Dong. Lin Dong pushed off with his right foot and flew toward the courtyard wall. “Trying to escape?” Feng Zhengyang sneered and accelerated instantly, catching up to Lin Dong in an instant. Boom… The moment the sword net touched the Ruyi Stool, bursts of starlight surged in the center, and the situation suddenly reversed. Lin Dong was flung backward like a kite with its string cut, breaking through the courtyard wall and crashing to the ground amidst swirling dust. “Well? The strength of the third layer of Heart Reversal Phase—isn’t it pretty good? Has Yun Lan mentioned our Tianjian Sect’s Magic Pills to you?” Feng Zhengyang’s face regained its arrogance and indifference. At this moment, he regained the confidence of that Feng Zhengyang from Tianjian Sect. “I seem to have heard of them!” Lin Dong replied indifferently. “And this sword technique—is an eighth-tier spirit skill. It’s a pity… I’ve only been learning it for over four months and have only grasped 60% of it. Otherwise, this one strike would have been enough to kill you on the spot.” Feng Zhengyang said coldly, “If I used this sword technique to kill you, I think, not to mention Yun Lan, even the people from Tianwei Pavilion would likely be unable to figure out who really killed you.” Lin Dong laughed, his laughter growing louder and more unrestrained. The problems that had troubled him for months vanished with that hearty laughter. “Why are you laughing?” Feng Zhengyang demanded angrily. “I thought the elite disciples of major sects would be so troublesome. Turns out… they’re just like this after all.” Looking at Feng Zhengyang’s furious eyes, Lin Dong’s smile carried deep disdain. Caught in an assassination attempt, they became suspicious. Defeated, they panicked. Having turned defeat into victory, they became arrogant and even revealed their background. To what extent can a person be strong? Talent is important, but character is equally crucial. It was only now that Lin Dong realized that this Feng Zhengyang, despite his astonishing talent, wasn’t even worthy of being considered a threat. Whether he was useless or not wasn’t really a big issue at all. “Damn it!”

Feng Zhengyang, filled with anger and shame, channeled his spiritual energy wildly into his arms and swung his sword. Beneath the black cloth, his face was grotesque and terrifying. With sword shadows everywhere, Lin Dong neither dodged nor avoided, allowing the dazzling web of swords to surround him.