Chapter 354: Duel

“Since both of you have agreed, then it’s settled.”
Hua Wu Yue naturally took Liang Mu Shan and Chen Yan Tian’s silence as consent. After mounting his horse, he called out to Lin Dong, who had remained silent the whole time: “Shopkeeper Lin, get on your horse!”
Lin Dong nodded with a smile and mounted his horse. Today, he had witnessed another side of Hua Wu Yue.
Just a few words had left Liang Mu Shan, another outstanding young man from Lingnan City, speechless. His eloquence and composure might not compare to that of an old fox, but he certainly deserved the title of a young fox.
Vain, troublemaker, highly analytical, with peculiar dressing habits and interests… This young master Hua truly deserved to be the most controversial figure in Lingnan City.
“Wait!”
Liang Mu Shan wasn’t easy to outwit either. He quickly thought and finally fixed his gaze on Lin Dong’s face for the first time.
“Shopkeeper Lin!”
“Young Master Liang!” Lin Dong replied with a smile.
Liang Mu Shan frowned slightly, his displeasure toward Lin Dong clearly visible on his face.
Holding his whip, Lin Dong watched Liang Mu Shan quietly, showing no intention of speaking first, let alone offering flattery out of fear.
“This might be satisfying in the short term,” Liang Mu Shan said, noticing from the corner of his eye that Hua Wu Yue was raising his whip. He had to set aside his displeasure temporarily and continued, “But after this, it will likely be unfavorable for Shopkeeper Lin.”
Hearing this, Chen Yan Tian was overjoyed, wishing he could hug Liang Mu Shan and kiss him. It was obvious that Young Master Liang was trying to find a way to gain an advantage over Lin Dong.
If they could scare Lin Dong into agreeing to settle things, Hua Wu Yue, embarrassed, might just leave. Even if he stubbornly continued to destroy the gambling houses, he would surely be extremely dissatisfied with Lin Dong. In that case, it would only be a matter of closing for a dozen days or so. Since everyone would close down together, losing some money wasn’t a big deal. They could make it up later from Lin’s Gym and Lin’s Inn.
Without Hua Wu Yue as his backing, Chen Yan Tian believed it was almost certain that they could recover double or even ten times the lost money from Lin Dong, as long as they didn’t push him to the brink.
“It doesn’t matter. As long as it’s satisfying, that’s enough,” Lin Dong said nonchalantly, leaving not only Chen Yan Tian but also Liang Mu Shan stunned.
This shopkeeper Lin turned out to be a tough guy too.

“Willing to lose everything, even risk your life, without caring?” Liang Mushan said gravely. “Today we destroyed all these gambling houses. Which of their owners would be willing to accept this? Although Brother Hua has absolute authority in Lingnan City and no one dares to provoke him, it’s still possible someone might strike back at Manager Lin from behind. No matter how capable Brother Hua is, he can’t send people to protect Manager Lin every day, can he?”
“I don’t care. As long as Young Master Hua and Young Master Liang can help me get back ten times or a hundred times more, that’s enough,” Lin Dong said with a smile.
“Don’t worry. If anyone dares to cause you trouble, I assure you it won’t be as simple as just destroying gambling houses,” Hua Wuyue said from atop his horse. “Not just a few gambling houses—even if an entire family tries to interfere, I’ll still make them pay with their lives.”
“Manager Lin, you have great courage. I hope you can maintain it.”
Hua Wuyue’s words terrified Chen Yantian, but they had little impact on Liang Mushan. He stared coldly at Lin Dong, his gaze filled with murderous intent.
Hua Wuyue had silenced him with just a few words, and Lin Dong’s indifference had also shut him up. The difference was that in Liang Mushan’s eyes, their statuses were different—one was tolerable, the other not.
“Thank you, Young Master Liang, for your praise. I will keep it up,” Lin Dong said with a smile and a nod.
Liang Mushan clenched his right hand and suddenly threw a punch at Lin Dong’s chest.
The wind howled loudly, filled with fierce momentum.
A flash of light appeared, and in the next moment, countless silver-white peach blossoms shot toward Liang Mushan’s path.
Liang Mushan was shocked, stopped in his tracks, and forced himself to withdraw his attack.
But Hua Wuyue didn’t stop. He moved swiftly, advancing toward Liang Mushan with an unusual gait, his spiritual sword sending waves of elusive peach blossoms at him.
Liang Mushan thought that since he had withdrawn his attack, Hua Wuyue would surely stop as well. He never expected Hua Wuyue to keep pressing forward.
One mistake, and Liang Mushan, who was already slightly weaker, couldn’t withstand it. He barely held out for a dozen rounds before blood gushed out, and a sword wound appeared on his chest.
“Wuyue, stop!” As Liang Mushan was in a panic, Hua Jingyi finally spoke up to stop him.
Hua Wuyue stopped and calmly walked back to his horse as if nothing had happened. He clenched his right hand, and the spiritual sword disappeared without a trace, before he mounted his horse.
“Young Master Liang, what are you doing?” Hua Jingyi asked coldly.
Liang Mushan was filled with hatred but didn’t dare to show it to Hua Jingyi. He bowed slightly and said coldly, “I just wanted to see if Brother Hua’s reaction speed had improved. I didn’t expect him to be so ruthless.”

“Brother Liang, please forgive me. I thought you wanted to test to what extent my determination really was,” Hua Wuyue said apologetically. “I never expected you were actually testing my reaction speed.”
“A minor injury—nothing serious,” Liang Mushan gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger, and bowed coldly. “Madam Liu, Brother Hua, it’s getting late. I won’t disturb you any longer. Goodbye!”
Hua Wuyue didn’t mention asking Liang Mushan to join them in raiding the casino. Hearing this, he immediately bowed in return, politely saying, “Brother Liang, go ahead! Let’s train together sometime and invite more people. Why wait? How about the day after tomorrow?”
“Okay!” Liang Mushan replied coldly before mounting his horse.
“Young Master Liang, Young Master Liang…”
No matter how Chen Yantian called out or grew anxious, Liang Mushan ignored him. He whipped his horse and tightened his grip on its flanks, riding away filled with anger.
As Liang Mushan disappeared into the distance, Chen Yantian was left alone with Hua Wuyue.
“Young Master Liang has matters to attend to. What about you, Boss Chen?” Hua Wuyue asked with a cheerful smile.
“This… this…” Fearing that Hua Wuyue might really drag him along to raid the gambling house, Chen Yantian hesitated for a moment before having an idea. He quickly said, “Madam Liu, Young Master Hua, and all the ladies, look at my memory! I completely forgot I had important matters to discuss with Young Master Liang.”
“Since you have matters to discuss with Young Master Liang, then…” Hua Wuyue teased, “How about we wait here for Boss Chen?”
“No, no! How dare I trouble Madam Liu, Young Master Hua, and the ladies to wait for me,” Chen Yantian waved his hands repeatedly.
“Alright then. We’ll head ahead then,” Hua Wuyue lost interest in troubling Chen Yantian. She nodded and waved her hand as if shooing a fly. “Go!”
“Thank you, Young Master Hua, for your understanding,” Chen Yantian thanked repeatedly before quickly mounting his horse and swatting its rump hard with his whip.
With the sound of hooves, Chen Yantian and his men vanished in an instant.
“Status truly is a valuable thing,” Lin Dong muttered in amazement as he watched Chen Yantian flee in panic. The last time he saw this Boss Chen, his calm demeanor and enigmatic aura made it obvious to anyone that he was a powerful figure. But today, this powerful man behaved just like an ordinary gambling house owner.
“Indeed, it’s a valuable thing,” Hua Wuyue nodded slowly. He liked the feeling of being able to bully others without breaking a sweat.

“Wu Yue, do you really intend to fight Liang Mushan?” Hua Jingyi suddenly spoke up.
“Of course. How can we make them submit without giving them a lesson?” Hua Wu Yue smiled.
“I’m afraid it might get out of control,” Hua Jingyi shook her head.
“What’s there to worry about if it gets out of control? With Sixth Aunt backing me, I’d not only dare to teach Liang Mushan a lesson but also lead people to attack the Liang family!” Hua Wu Yue said with a flattering smile.
Hua Jingyi gave Hua Wu Yue a glare and didn’t reply, then mounted her horse.
“Shopkeeper Lin, are you still coming?” Hua Wu Yue looked at Lin Dong. Although their relationship had become much closer now, he still felt some pressure every time he saw him. Especially since there was a strong opponent right in front of him—he not only couldn’t show respect but also had to treat the other party as a friend of lower status, adding to his stress.
In Hua Wu Yue’s view, Chen Yantian’s backers had been sent away, and his threat that no one would dare touch Lin’s Inn had been made clear. No matter how furious Liang Mushan became, he wouldn’t dare attack Lin’s Inn until the outcome of the fight was known. Essentially, Lin Dong wouldn’t have much to worry about anymore. Getting Lin Dong to leave was definitely a good thing.
“I won’t go. It’s up to Young Master Hua from now on!” After some consideration, Lin Dong decided not to go. His reason was similar to Hua Wu Yue’s—those who needed to step in had already done so. Unless Hua Wu Yue couldn’t control the situation, there was little left for him to do.
“Shopkeeper Lin, there’s no need to be polite,” Hua Wu Yue was overjoyed, though he didn’t show it on his face.
“Madam Liu, ladies, Lin Dong takes his leave.”
After exchanging a few polite words with Hua Jingyi and greeting the indifferent Hua family ladies one by one, Lin Dong suddenly pulled the reins, and his black horse turned around abruptly.
“By the way, Young Master Hua, please let me know once you’ve finished so I can rest assured,” Lin Dong said before clamping his legs around the horse’s belly and galloping back the way he came.
As he watched Lin Dong leave, Hua Wu Yue suddenly realized what Lin Dong really meant. It wasn’t asking him to send a guard to Lin’s Inn to say hello—after all, with Lin Dong’s strength, he wouldn’t worry over such a trivial matter. The meaning was clearly that he should go in person.
The reason was likely to help him improve his strength, giving him a better chance of winning the fight with Liang Mushan in two days.

Recalling the six Wanhong Fruits that Lin Dong gave at once, Hua Wu Yue’s heartbeat quickened significantly. He had no doubt that, if his assumptions were correct, he would receive a tremendous surprise—one that might even help him reach the fifth level of the Mind Spirit stage within a single day.

Over by the side, Hua Jing Yi hesitated for a moment before saying, “Wu Yue, may I ask…?”

Before Hua Jing Yi could finish, Hua Wu Yue shook his head repeatedly. “Sixth Aunt, don’t ask. It can’t be anything bad. You don’t know me well enough—small troubles are fine for me, but I’ll never get involved in big ones.”

Hua Jing Yi nodded gently and said nothing more.

Meanwhile, back at the inn, Lin Dong immediately began practicing.

A day and a half later, Lin Dong finally opened the door to Ma Chun’s knocking.

Hua Wu Yue had arrived.

Everything went smoothly. The various gambling houses were destroyed, and although their owners were furious, none dared to confront Hua Wu Yue directly. They had no choice but to swallow their anger. Compared to the Hua family, they were not even on the same level.

Of course, Lin Dong had no idea what was going on behind the scenes. It was likely that the two gambling giants, Hong Wan Fu and Chen Yan Tian, were uniting their respective alliance networks and trying to recruit more families to help them.

Lin Dong wasn’t worried about this. The reason was that although the Hua family was just one of the major families in Lingnan City, if all the gambling houses joined forces and two families stepped forward, they would appear stronger than Lin Ji Gymnasium on the surface. But in reality, under Hua Wu Yue’s determination, the Hua family would be willing to go to any extreme, while the families brought in by the gambling houses would never dare to confront the Hua family head-on for mere favors or a little money. Without any sects getting involved, the outcome was obvious.

Even if sects got involved, Lin Dong had already challenged the top sect in Lingnan County, the Fantasy Rain Sect, so he wasn’t worried. At worst, he would have to reveal his strength or his connection to the Gu Huan Sect.

Of course, it would be best if neither his strength nor his connection to the Gu Huan Sect had to be revealed. That’s why Lin Dong asked Hua Wu Yue to visit Lin Ji Inn after touring most of the city’s gambling houses.

As Hua Wu Yue had expected, Lin Dong indeed wanted to give him an edge in battle. What he missed was that what Lin Dong gave him wasn’t a pill but a spiritual technique—a handwritten copy of a sword technique that resembled Hua Wu Yue’s ever-changing sword skills greatly.

Compared to spiritual techniques, pills that enhance strength, if at the same level, would almost always be chosen by ordinary warriors without hesitation—provided they are normal warriors and the spiritual technique cannot be shared with others and can only be used by the user himself, unless it’s absolutely necessary to use it otherwise. No matter how precious a spiritual technique may be, it still falls short compared to pills that assist in cultivation, unless that technique can be passed on and become part of one’s family or sect’s spiritual techniques.

The prospects offered by this were enormous, yet Hua Wu Yue was not surprised but rather overjoyed, to the point where her joy made her tremble for a long time. The reason was that this sword technique was a ninth-level spiritual technique.

Ninth-level spiritual techniques are something that even most disciples of major sects dare not hope for, let alone descendants of families that are not even comparable to small sects.

In Hua Wu Yue’s eyes, this ninth-level spiritual technique was worth ten or even a hundred times more than those six seventh-level Wan Hong fruits.

Lin Dong actually gave Hua Wu Yue a ninth-level spiritual technique out of necessity. Hua Wu Yue thought that high-level pills for cultivation could greatly improve one’s strength overnight, but Lin Dong knew this was utterly impossible.

Moreover, although spiritual artifacts could greatly enhance Hua Wu Yue’s strength, it was inconvenient to reveal them. With no other choice, Lin Dong turned to high-level spiritual techniques. Only with such techniques could he cover up their existence if discovered, and given Hua Wu Yue’s talent, it wasn’t impossible.

Originally, Lin Dong had planned to use high-level spiritual techniques as a secret weapon to attract Hua Wu Yue into the inn, but to increase his chances in the gambling house, and with no other options, he had to use them first.

A ninth-level spiritual technique cannot be learned in just a day or two. But even mastering just the basics would represent a huge improvement for Hua Wu Yue’s current level of strength.