Chapter 467: Heart Broken, Love Gone

A person at the eighth level of the Heart Reversal stage could launch hidden weapons fast enough that those at the sixth or seventh level of the same stage wouldn’t even be able to react. If they reached the strength of a powerful warrior or even a peak warrior, Lin Dong and Yun Lan couldn’t imagine how terrifying such an enemy would be.
“How many levels?” Yun Lan suddenly asked.
Lin Dong understood her question and replied softly, “Third level of Heart Reversal!”
Yun Lan frowned slightly. “If we can’t subdue such a person, we must never make them our enemies.”
Lin Dong shook his head. “It’s not that terrifying. The first time, with his strength at the third level of Heart Reversal, he could indeed kill me. But after encountering him once and knowing the characteristics of his spiritual techniques, even if those sewing needles were spiritual weapons, and even if he had the strength of the sixth level of Heart Reversal, I’m confident I could hold him off.”
“You mean he relies on continuously attacking the same spot with sewing needles, exceeding the speed at which his spiritual energy replenishes his shield, and gradually piercing through it?” Yun Lan asked.
Lin Dong nodded slowly.
Yun Lan breathed a sigh of relief. If that was the case, Cheng Bao’s Immortal Art could indeed be considered the greatest threat to the young man. And Lin Dong’s Heaven Controlling Art would be enough to keep the sewing needles from hitting the same spot repeatedly, preventing him from attacking continuously.
“Hey, Li Xun, why haven’t you started yet?” Zhang Wanfu was puzzled. He never imagined those crisp sounds to be coming from Lin Dong blocking the sewing needles. As for the young man’s movements and the trajectory of the needles, not even Lin Dong and Yun Lan could see them clearly, let alone him.
“There are no more sewing needles!” the young man named Li Xun replied hoarsely, his face expressionless.
“Damn you, dog slave! You didn’t even bring sewing needles when you left!” Zhang Wanfu felt utterly humiliated. He grabbed the wine glass in front of him and smashed it against Li Xun’s head.
Bang!
Li Xun didn’t dodge or explain anything. He let the glass hit his forehead, which then shattered into countless pieces.
“Dog slave! Don’t get in the way!” Zhang Wanfu picked up a wine jug and smashed it at Li Xun’s head again.
Li Xun forcibly suppressed the flow of his spiritual energy, causing his otherwise autonomous spiritual shield to vanish.
Bang!
With another crisp sound, blood splattered everywhere. Blood streamed down from Li Xun’s head instantly. His empty eyes remained unchanged—no explanation, no expression, no attempt to wipe the blood flowing into his eyes. Even Lin Dong, the only one who could counter him with sewing needles, didn’t even glance his way.

Lin Dong couldn’t help but frown. His heart was broken, his feelings gone—expecting such a person to be loyal was nothing but delusion.
“No sewing needle here. Use your fist to cripple one of his arms,” Zhang Wanfu said. Seeing nothing else to smash, his attention shifted from punishing Li Xun to seeking revenge on Lin Dong.
Li Xun raised his right fist and, with steady steps, slowly approached Lin Dong before striking at his arm. The speed was astonishing—faster than lightning, as fierce as a hurricane, giving the impression of a strike carrying the force of thunder.
Midway, the fist, seemingly imbued with immense magic, stopped.
Li Xun’s empty eyes remained as still as dead water. He raised his left fist and struck at Lin Dong’s other arm with lightning speed.
The outcome was the same—both fists stopped just over twenty centimeters from Lin Dong’s arms. No matter how much spiritual energy surged through Li Xun’s meridians, he couldn’t move an inch.
When he tried to move his feet slightly, Li Xun found they too were as if nailed in place, leaving him unable to take a single step.
Lin Dong simply stared into Li Xun’s eyes, only to be disappointed. In the face of such a bizarre situation, not the slightest flicker of emotion appeared in those empty eyes.
“Damn you, dog slave! Cripple one of his arms!” Zhang Wanfu was furious. To him, Li Xun was slacking off.
Being treated like this by Li Xun was something Zhang Wanfu had never encountered before, and it was unacceptable to him.
A household slave daring to defy his master’s will was unforgivable.
Furious, Zhang Wanfu glanced around, found no suitable weapon, and gritted his teeth to lift the armchair that should have been under his bottom. With all his strength, he swung it at Li Xun’s head.
“Don’t resist, don’t defend yourself—or else I’ll skin you…”
Yun Lan frowned slightly, glanced at Lin Dong, who remained calm, and silently gave up the idea of stopping the armchair.
Lin Dong quietly stared into Li Xun’s eyes, ignoring Zhang Wanfu completely.
Boom…
Wood chips flew, and blood splattered. Li Xun’s legs gave way, but Lin Dong’s “Immeasurable Defense” stabilized his falling body.
Blood flowed profusely, covering his forehead, blurring his eyes, blocking his nostrils, and seeping toward his mouth.
No anger, no humiliation—no trace of emotion whatsoever. Li Xun stood quietly in front of Lin Dong, his empty eyes filled with a terrifying emptiness.

“You wretched dog slave, how dare you resist!” Zhang Wanfu was seething with anger as he smashed Li Xun’s head with a chair. He had tried this method countless times and possessed vast experience in it. Under normal circumstances, Li Xun would have already collapsed after such a blow.

Repeatedly defying his master’s orders filled Zhang Wanfu’s eyes with murderous intent. Slaves would always remain slaves. He firmly believed that such people must never be indulged. This was the lesson he had learned from three slaves. As for which slave was the most obedient, Zhang Wanfu could confidently claim that if he wasn’t number one, no one else could be.

These three slaves included Li Xun.

Killing them was out of the question, but Zhang Wanfu had several, even a dozen, ways to make any slave suffer immensely.

“Boss Li, I’m sorry for the trouble. I’ll come back to see you in a few days,” Zhang Wanfu said, taking a deep breath and forcing a helpless smile at Li Chongshang. He had lost face considerably today. Even he, who thought his slaves were the most obedient, sometimes found his words ineffective.

“Master Zhang, this…” Li Chongshang looked at Li Xun, who looked like a bloody mess, and hesitated to speak. This slave’s cooking skills were crucial to the restaurant’s business. If Zhang Wanfu killed him in an fit of anger, the losses would be enormous.

“Don’t worry, Boss Li. I know my limits. If I don’t make this dog slave suffer greatly, he’ll never realize that his status is even lower than that of a dog.” Zhang Wanfu’s anger subsided somewhat after hearing Li Chongshang’s words. It showed that Li Chongshang truly valued the restaurant. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spoken up while Zhang Wanfu was furious.

Other than Li Xun’s cooking skills, what Zhang Wanfu valued most was undoubtedly Ren Qingsong’s status and influence. Since Li Chongshang valued him, Zhang Wanfu would work even harder to persuade Ren Qingsong to help the restaurant.

“Well then, Master Zhang, let me see you out,” Li Chongshang stepped away from the round table and led the way in front of Zhang Wanfu.

“Dog slave, come with me!” Zhang Wanfu strode after Li Chongshang toward the entrance of the hall. After stepping over the threshold with his right foot, he glanced back. His anger, which he had barely suppressed, flared up again.

Li Xun still held his fists ready to attack Lin Dong, showing no sign of turning around.

“Damn it! You damned dog slave!”

Zhang Wanfu searched around for a weapon. Just as Lin Dong was about to speak, his gaze shifted past Zhang Wanfu and the others, looking outside the hall.

Bang!

A figure suddenly rushed through the space between Zhang Wanfu and Li Chongshang. Their shoulders were struck with tremendous force, sending them flying to opposite sides.

“Damn you, East…” Li Chongshang thought it was some reckless servant. Having seen Zhang Wanfu use such brutal force against Li Xun earlier, and Li Xun not resisting at all, he had already been filled with envy. Now, seeing an opportunity, he wanted to show the authority of the second steward. But after spotting the figure to the north, he swallowed his words back.

“M-My lord? How did you return so early?” Li Chongshang shuddered and immediately jumped up, pointing at Lin Dong and Yun Lan and shouting loudly, “My lord, Steward Yang used the spirit beast meat stored in the manor for a long time just to entertain his personal friends. His extravagance far exceeds even the meals prepared for your return. Chongshang tried to dissuade him several times, but Steward Yang wouldn’t listen. Worse, he even incited his friends to beat Chongshang. My lord, this kind of behavior must not continue!”

Li Chongshang’s rapid stream of complaints left Ren Qingsong with his mouth open, unable to speak for a while. Only after Li Chongshang finished did he chuckle and bow, saying, “Shopkeeper Lin, Miss Yun, the steward was unaware of your relationship with Ren. Please forgive him.”

“We’ve been friends for years. There’s no need for such formality, Dean Ren,” Lin Dong said with a smile.

“That’s right!” Ren Qingsong had only been polite because of what Li Chongshang had said earlier, to avoid treating Lin Dong and Yun Lan poorly. Hearing this, he glanced at Li Xun, who stood in a strange posture in front of Lin Dong, then turned his gaze to Zhang Wanfu and asked curiously, “These two…”

Li Chongshang didn’t take Ren Qingsong’s politeness seriously. In his eyes, the lord seemed polite to everyone.

With a quick thought, Li Chongshang immediately pointed at Zhang Wanfu beside him and introduced him, “This is Lord Zhang. He lives not far from our QingSong Manor. He came to our manor today to visit you, my lord, as a neighbor. The other one is Lord Zhang’s servant.”

“What’s going on here?” Ren Qingsong couldn’t help but take another look at Li Xun’s posture. After meeting Li An at the foot of the mountain, he had given up the carriage and rushed here using his spiritual power. He had thought these two were friends brought by Lin Dong, but now it seemed there was an adversarial atmosphere.

Li Chongshang had been waiting for this moment. Immediately, his face filled with indignation as he said, “My lord, you don’t know the truth. These two guests entered and acted as if they were your friends, giving orders and ignoring everyone else. It’s one thing if Manager Yang didn’t stop them, but he even allowed it to happen. Chongshang couldn’t stand it and spoke up a few times. Unexpectedly, Manager Yang took the opportunity to incite them to attack Chongshang. Lord Zhang tried to intervene out of good intentions, but he too suffered greatly and was even driven out by Manager Yang. After all, Lord Zhang is our neighbor and a respected figure in the entire area. Such a way of treating guests is simply unacceptable.”
“Is that so?” Ren Qingsong’s expression turned cold.
Li Chongshang was overjoyed. It was the first time in half a year he had seen Ren Qingsong look like this. Initially, he had hesitated whether to smear Yang Laiting completely to avoid backfiring. Now, he was confident that he could get Yang Laiting out of Qingsong Villa by today.