Chapter 327: The Youth in the Flower Robe

Another burly man stepped forward, braving the hurricane as he climbed the stairs to the platform step by step. The outcome was not particularly surprising—the man, bent over and gritting his teeth, soon could no longer hold on. Without forcing himself any further, he relaxed, and the fierce wind immediately sent him staggering backward. As he fell from the platform, he was caught by a member of the guard team.

“Next!” the guard member shouted again.

After watching over a dozen attempts, all ending in failure, Lin Dong breathed a sigh of relief. What the Spirit Stone Fans had predicted was true—the reward of 100 taels of silver for those who could get close to the giant Spirit Stone Fans indeed attracted countless people. But the martial artists who could actually approach them easily showed no interest. Throughout the day, perhaps only a few idle people who had nothing better to do showed off their skills in the four training grounds.

“Move aside, everyone, move aside!”

“Are you blind? Can’t you see my young master here? Hurry up and make way!”

“Everyone in front, move aside! Don’t blame us if you break your legs!”

Just as Lin Dong planned to leave the crowd and head to the VIP platform to watch the excitement, several deep-voiced commands came from behind.

Turning around, he saw a young man holding a folding fan, dressed in a brocade robe embroidered with dozens of bright peach blossoms, with guards flanking him on all sides, clearing a path for him as he walked slowly in a staggered gait.

With a fair complexion and slightly raised eyebrows, the youth in the flower robe was quite handsome, though with a hint of femininity.

Swinging his folding fan lightly, he made his way unimpeded through the crowd to the foot of the platform. Glancing up at the platform, his curved eyebrows raised even higher.

“Hey, this is quite the spectacle! It’s worth coming.”

“Is there really something that can generate wind on its own?” The four guards were also amazed. “How was this made?”

“You guys don’t understand, do you?” The youth gently fanned himself with his folding fan. Perhaps sensing the mockery from the dozens of Spirit Stone Fans, he folded the fan and put it into his storage ring, then said confidently, “If I’m not mistaken, these Spirit Stone Fans must all be made using mechanical art.”

“That makes sense, but…” One of the guards hesitated for a moment before asking, “But according to the promotional materials from Lin’s Inn, these Spirit Stone Fans are said to be powered by the spiritual energy in the Spirit Stones.”

“There are plenty of mechanical arts that can use the spiritual energy in Spirit Stones to operate,” the youth said dismissively. “What’s so strange about that?”

“That’s right, that’s right! Our young master is truly well-informed.” The guards nodded repeatedly.

“Huh…” The young man in the floral robe’s gaze was fixed on the smallest spirit stone fan the moment it came into view.
“Young master, what’s wrong?” A guard who turned to see the young man’s expression quickly asked.
“I want that one!” The young man raised his arm, his long fingernails pointing straight at the spirit stone fan, which was only about fifteen centimeters long including the handle. A glint appeared in his eyes. This spirit stone fan could easily be held in the hand and used.
Holding such a large spirit stone fan, with its gentle breeze blowing from within, would surely draw everyone’s attention and envy on the streets during the hot summer days.
“I want this one too.” His long fingernails slowly moved toward an ordinary-sized spirit stone fan.
If placed in the kitchen, this fan would allow one to try their cooking even on calm days, eliminating the need to worry about the pungent cooking fumes.
“Young master, according to Lin’s Inn’s promotional material, it seems one can only get one of these fans if the total cost of meals with a VIP card reaches one hundred taels.”
The guards looked troubled. Under normal circumstances, they would just take it—after all, there weren’t many people in the eastern part of Lingnan City the young master couldn’t afford to anger. But Lin’s Inn had gone to such lengths; behind the creation of such incredible spirit stone fans must be a powerful family. Acting rashly might bring serious trouble.
“What, you’re afraid?” The young man scanned their faces.
“Well…” The four of them looked uneasy. Seeing that the young man was about to get angry, one of them had an idea and spoke up, “Young master, how about we take turns resisting that largest spirit stone fan? Didn’t Lin’s Inn’s promotional material say it costs one hundred taels per attempt as long as you can get close to the fan? Although the wind from that fan is strong, with our four of us, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“Right, right!” Another guard eagerly interjected, “We can take turns. After all, the promotional material doesn’t say anyone can’t go multiple times. That means four hundred taels per attempt. After ten or eight attempts, Lin’s Inn’s people won’t be able to stop us. Then we can demand they give us the two fans the young master wants as compensation. If they refuse, it means they’re in the wrong. Even if they have backing, with our Huo family’s strength, we’ll face at most equally powerful families. We have the upper hand, and there’s still room to maneuver.”
The young man hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding.
“Move aside!” Just as the four guards stepped forward, a calm voice came from behind them.

The five turned to look and saw Lin Dong standing behind them.
“What did you say?” One of the guards sneered at Lin Dong. Over the years, he had encountered many people asking him to move aside—almost once or twice every few days—but this was the first time someone had ordered him to do so. Moreover, the tone wasn’t friendly at all; it was clear the person was ready to hit him if he refused.
“Deaf?”
Lin Dong silently watched the guard who spoke. He had been standing nearby while the five were talking, so he heard everything clearly. With someone causing trouble on stage, Lin Dong wasn’t really worried he wouldn’t be able to handle it.
Although the guard team of Lin’s Inn hadn’t been officially established for long and its members had no foundation in cultivation, thanks to the inn’s cultivation enhancements, along with the help of Blue-Green Fruits, Red-Flowered Fruits, and the internal cores of mutated golden-armored snakes, their strength had improved significantly. All fifty-eight guards had already broken through the Lingdong Phase and reached the Xinshen Phase in less time than Lin Dong had. The most advanced among them, like Wang Liuzhi who had been with Lin Dong the longest, already possessed the strength of the third level of the Xinshen Phase.
Fifty-eight warriors at the Xinshen Phase could practically ignore any family in Qiufeng City. In a county town like Lingnan City, aside from possibly fewer experts, the number of warriors who had broken through the Lingdong Phase was no less than that of the major families. It could be said that even without counting Lin Dong and Cheng Bao and the others, Hengxing Wuji might not be able to dominate, but the major families also wouldn’t dare to provoke them easily. After all, killing ten thousand enemies would cost three thousand of one’s own. Without some huge benefit or hatred, there was no reason to fight a force with over fifty warriors.
The reason Lin Dong stepped forward to stop them was to avoid complications during the promotion. Given that one of the guards had said their family’s strength in Lingnan City was only comparable to other equally strong families, it was more cost-effective to send the troublemakers away as an ordinary passerby rather than using Lin’s Inn’s strength.
“Deaf? You called me deaf?” The guard’s expression darkened. He stepped forward with his right leg, pointing at Lin Dong’s nose and staring at him intently.
Lin Dong raised his right arm. The guard sneered, trying to turn his head back, but it seemed as if something had fixed it in place, preventing him from moving even slightly. To the four young men in the floral robes, it looked as though Lin Dong had simply flicked his hand, and the guard stood there, dumbfounded, unable to dodge, waiting for the slap.
With a slap, Lin Dong struck the guard in the face. A bright red handprint quickly formed on the guard’s face as Lin Dong pulled his arm back.

“I’ll say it again—step aside all of you. Don’t get in the way of me watching.” Lin Dong’s tone remained calm and ordinary. “Otherwise, don’t blame me if I slap you all to the ground.”
“That’s quite domineering of you. Too bad you’ve picked the wrong person.” The young man in the floral robe couldn’t help but take out his folding fan again. With a gentle rub of his index finger and thumb, the fan opened with a swish. A few peach blossoms appeared on its surface, flickering in and out as the young man moved his arm, looking extremely graceful.
Lin Dong remained unfazed, scoffing at the young man’s words. “It seems the force of that slap wasn’t enough. You’re not convinced?”
“If you can slap me again, I’ll immediately step aside respectfully.” The young man fanned himself leisurely. Lin Dong’s previous slap hadn’t been fast, so he naturally assumed that the guard had been hit only because he was careless or distracted.
The guard who had been slapped was face red with shame, embarrassed by his sudden stiffness. He no longer had the face to avoid Lin Dong’s second slap. Drawing the sword at his waist, he raised it high, ready to strike Lin Dong in retaliation. Lin Dong casually raised his right hand again.
In an instant, the guard felt his sword and arm, raised high above his head, once again being trapped inexplicably.
Slap!
To the astonishment of the four men in floral robes, Lin Dong’s slap landed firmly on the guard’s face. Compared to the previous slap, his words were now backed by action—his speed was still unhurried, but the force was dozens of times greater.
With a crisp sound, the guard’s head, as if struck hard, snapped to the right. The next second, his body followed, collapsing to the ground.
Thud. The guard lay motionless on the ground, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to describe his situation, but he could only take a few shallow breaths before losing consciousness.
“Well? Can you step aside respectfully now?” Lin Dong turned to look at the young man in the floral robe, his eyes carrying a hint of mockery.
The young man’s pale face turned as red as pig liver. His eyes, fixed on the guard, were filled with anger and humiliation.
That bastard is really shameless.
Seeing their master’s displeasure yet not daring to argue, the three guards didn’t wait for him to make a decision. They stepped forward together, each slapping Lin Dong.
Lin Dong neither dodged nor flinched. He raised his arm again.

A strange scene unfolded: the three guards, who should have launched their attacks simultaneously, seemed to have rehearsed it in advance. Two of them slowed down, while the third rushed forward to Lin Dong, bringing his face close to the slap he was about to deliver. With a crisp sound, as soon as that guard fell, another one arrived promptly. By the time Lin Dong raised his right arm again, that guard also obediently stepped forward. Three more slaps followed, each accompanied by a distinct sound, and the three guards fell one after another. The eerie sight, as if they had agreed to take the blows willingly, left the young man in the floral robe stunned and finally made him realize something was wrong. If one was careless or distracted, how could two, three, or even four be like this? Moreover, all four guards possessed strength at the sixth to eighth level of the Lingdong Phase—ordinary people certainly couldn’t knock someone out with just a slap. “Your turn?” Lin Dong glanced at the young man in the floral robe, whose expression shifted unpredictably, his tone slightly provocative. “Either step aside respectfully and stand aside obediently until I’m done watching, then see me off. Or I’ll end it with a slap.” “Just for saying that, I won’t leave you even with one arm intact. You won’t get away today.” The young man in the floral robe opened his palm, and a spiritual sword engraved with peach blossoms on both sides appeared silently. Then, he pointed the sword tip at Lin Dong’s throat. “Thinking you can act arrogantly just because you have some strength? Today, I’ll show you what real strength is.” Lin Dong smiled calmly and gently hooked his index finger toward the young man in the floral robe. “Try it.” The young man’s gaze turned cold, and his wrist suddenly moved rapidly, creating a series of sword patterns filled with a sinister aura that rushed toward Lin Dong. Facing dozens of such sword patterns, some real and some illusory, Lin Dong’s lips curled slightly. It seemed he had misjudged him. Initially, based on the conversations of the young man in the floral robe and others, along with the fact that warriors who had broken through the Lingdong Phase could already create spiritual energy shields, the spiritual stone fan seemed useless. Most warriors also stayed at home to train, having no time to cause trouble outside. He had assumed this person was just an unfulfilled young master from some wealthy family. But unexpectedly, although the speed of his sword moves wasn’t fast, the sword patterns were so intricate that even he couldn’t distinguish between real and fake—this person was definitely skilled. After all, in Lingnan City, there was only one person who had reached the ninth level of the Xinshen Phase and entered the realm of a Xinni Phase warrior. With Lin Dong’s current strength at the ninth level of the Xinshen Phase, aside from that strong man, he had a over 90% chance of winning against anyone else.

But if the sword moves of this young man in the floral robe could be made ten times faster, Lin Dong wouldn’t even have a way to dodge. Just based on this, Lin Dong believed that, unless he faced an opponent with extremely fast speed or someone like Cheng Bao, it would be difficult to find a rival within the fifth level of the Mental State phase.

Apart from a few exceptions, no one within the fifth level of the Mental State phase could match him. Among the younger generation, he was undoubtedly the best in Lingnan City. Even the elders of major families would have to yield to him in over 90% of cases.

Unintentionally, he had encountered the top young talent in Lingnan City.

On the other side, seeing Lin Dong neither dodging nor avoiding, a smile appeared on the young man in the floral robe’s face, which had been flushed with embarrassment.

Dozens of sword flowers rushed toward Lin Dong at high speed, completely encircling an area within two meters around him. In the young man’s eyes, as long as Lin Dong’s speed wasn’t unbelievably fast, no matter where he tried to dodge, he would surely not be able to escape the cover of the sword flowers.

“Impressive!”

Although he couldn’t believe that all these sword flowers were real attacks, Lin Dong couldn’t tell whether they were real or not, so he couldn’t help but praise them.

“It’s too late to beg for mercy!”

A cold glint flashed in the young man’s eyes, making it impossible for anyone to stop him from cutting off one of Lin Dong’s arms.

Twenty centimeters, ten centimeters, five centimeters… The sword flowers got closer and closer, and the smile on the young man’s face grew even more radiant, like blooming peach blossoms.

*Thud!*

At less than one centimeter away, a sharp sound suddenly rang out. Lin Dong looked down and saw the tip of the spiritual sword resting on his left arm.

When the sudden resistance appeared, the smile on the young man’s face froze instantly. It was like a flower that had been planted but not yet fully bloomed, giving off a strange feeling.

“Not bad, but your strength is a bit lacking.” Lin Dong slowly raised his right arm.

The young man stared in shock at the slightly trembling sword tip, unable to believe that a fourth-tier spiritual sword, along with a fourth-level Mental State strength, couldn’t break through the other person’s spiritual barrier.

What level of strength would be needed to possess such a powerful spiritual barrier?

A gentle palm wind blew down, but the young man ignored it completely. He suddenly raised his head to look at Lin Dong, his gaze fixed on his face. His expression seemed to be studying Lin Dong’s face, with a faint hope in his eyes, as if hoping to discern that Lin Dong was over fifty years old from his face.

*Slap!*

Before the young man could figure things out, Lin Dong’s palm struck his face without hesitation.

After the crackling sound, despite the flower-robed youth’s considerable strength, he could not avoid the same fate as the four guards. He collapsed to the ground, opened his mouth, his eyelids slowly closing, and a bulge gradually formed where the palm print was.

Lin Dong glanced around. This fight would undoubtedly draw a lot of attention. Fortunately, its impact was limited to the crowd within about ten meters, causing no significant disruption to the display of the Spirit Stone Fan.

Looking at the youth’s severely swollen face on the ground, Lin Dong bent down to see the white powder all over his palm. He stepped forward and stopped halfway, reaching out toward the palm that was aimed at the youth’s robe.

As soon as he raised his right hand, one of the guards immediately moved toward Lin Dong’s palm.

Wiping the faintly scented white powder from his palm onto the guard, Lin Dong stood up and pushed his way through the crowded crowd to the platform where the VIP cards were displayed.

At the front, the VIP card, magnified countless times, was the first thing that caught his eye. A dragon coiling as if ready to soar into the sky, its golden luster exuding luxury, and the bold characters “Lin’s Inn” — the entire VIP card resembled a massive work of art. No matter one’s taste, it was enough to captivate their attention completely.

Next to the giant VIP card, a long queue stretched from the center down to the base of the platform. About half a meter behind the queue, at an angle relative to the card, stood a four-meter-tall package.

At the head of the queue, a person stepped forward. Under the guidance of the guards, they pressed one hand on the VIP card and the other on the package. With a thought, the package disappeared instantly. With another thought, it reappeared right where it was.

Someone followed closely behind. After they left, they repeated the same action — pressing one hand on the VIP card and the other on the package…

With each tester leaving, another person took their place at the end of the queue, creating an endless line that seemed never to end.