Chapter 366: The Power of Unity

“Good! Smart enough and bold enough. If only your strength were a bit greater, you’d be the second person I respect in this life, after Yun Cangqiong!”
After a brief silence, Feng Yue suddenly roared.
Cheng Bao struggled to stand up, his palm opening to reveal a golden sword. In his eyes, Lin Dong was the only person he respected at this moment.
Qiao Tianhao and the others also stood up, their kitchen knives and spirit swords appearing one after another. Even Hua Wuyue, who had always been anxious about the Hua family losing its heir, raised his spirit sword high, ready to act at any moment.
Qin Mengtai’s expression changed sharply, his murderous aura surging around him.
A violent wind arose, with pressure rushing toward Lin Dong from all directions.
Cold sweat streamed down Lin Dong’s forehead. He felt as though his entire body was about to tear apart.
Just as he was about to collapse under the pressure and use the inn’s system to kick Qin Mengtai out, a white figure quietly appeared in front of him, reducing the overwhelming pressure.
“Elder Brother, Yun Lan’s situation is problematic!” Liang Liren said slowly.
“Old Qin, you won’t go back on your word, right?” Feng Yue sneered as he stepped beside Lin Dong.
Qin Mengtai stared intently at Lin Dong, gradually weakening the spiritual energy he had directed at Liang Liren in front of Lin Dong.
“Talking nonsense—seeking death!”
Qin Mengtai stopped. Behind him, Feng Zhengyang, who had finally recovered from his shock, rushed forward, his spirit sword appearing silently, glowing faintly as it aimed straight at Lin Dong’s throat from the side.
“Xiao…”
Before Mo Jianchen could finish warning him, the spirit sword was already close. The intense pressure caused Lin Dong’s throat skin to sink slightly inward.
Bang!
Liang Liren stepped forward, blocking the sword tip. The backlash from his energy shield sent Feng Zhengyang staggering back four or five steps before he could stabilize himself.
“Second Elder!” Feng Zhengyang said gravely.
“Do you really want to kill me as well?” Liang Liren shouted.
“I dare not!” Feng Zhengyang rotated his wrist, changing the direction of the sword tip from Lin Dong to the ground.
Seeing that Feng Zhengyang hadn’t withdrawn his sword, Liang Liren frowned slightly but said nothing, turning to look at Lin Dong with a forced smile. “Brother Lin, we’re just tidying up the spirit arrays and related items for Yun Lan, so that once we find her, we can return to the sect right away. We definitely won’t touch anything else.”

Lin Dong had a very good first impression of Liang Liren. As the second elder of a major sect, such a status granted him the right to hold his head high anywhere—even in the imperial palace. The fact that he could speak calmly to a junior, even if it was pretended, meant he had no reason to speak arrogantly until he was certain of things.

After a brief consideration, Lin Dong nodded and said, “Second Elder, please go ahead!”

“Sorry for the interruption!” Liang Liren’s gaze shifted toward Mo Jianchen, who was not far away.

Mo Jianchen quickly turned and headed straight for the room Ma Chun had taken him to before.

Feng Yue clicked his tongue and muttered, “So troublesome!”

Liang Liren smiled but ignored him. Instead, he gave Feng Yue a cold look before suddenly raising his right arm. His spirit sword shot out like a silent lightning bolt, piercing the ground about ten meters away.

In the next moment, there was a loud explosion, and a crater about four or five meters in diameter and over three meters deep appeared in the ground.

With a gesture of his right hand, the spirit sword returned to his hand. Feng Zhengyang glanced at Lin Dong indifferently.

“Feng Zhengyang!” Liang Liren couldn’t help but call out.

“A dragon sect produces dragons; a rat sect produces rats. A teacher who isn’t disgusting enough can never produce such disgusting disciples,” Feng Yue snorted.

Lin Dong smiled and suddenly raised his arms. Under Feng Zhengyang’s focused gaze, he unexpectedly started clapping.

As everyone was puzzled, after clapping a few times, Lin Dong gave Feng Zhengyang a thumbs up. “Good! A brilliant strike! Truly worthy of being a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect. Go to the accounting office later and get two taels of silver.”

Pfft…

Feng Yue couldn’t help but burst into laughter, spitting out bright red liquid. If it were Feng Zhengyang, whose expression had changed drastically, one might think he was vomiting blood from anger.

“Shopkeeper, this move is graceful and swift, the sword speed is as fast as lightning, and its power is astonishing. More importantly, it’s silent—hard to detect at all. How can two taels of silver be enough?” Qiao Tianhao took out the ten taels of silver he had received three days ago but hadn’t had time to spend yet from his storage ring and tossed it over.

“I’ll give an extra ten taels.”

“Rarely do you show some backbone,” Cheng Bao said. He stretched out his left palm, which resembled a fan, and rubbed Qiao Tianhao’s head rudely a few times. In his right hand, a golden sword was tilted downward, and an indescribable sense of dominance began to build around him.

“Feng Zhengyang, right? There was only one time I, Cheng Bao, let something slip without getting it back. I won’t let it happen again. If you survive, the Heavenly Sword Sect will eventually come for you.”

“You won’t live long enough to see that day!”

Feng Zhengyang cast a cold glance at Lin Dong, who was standing slightly beside Liang Liren. Suddenly, he swung his arm, and the spiritual sword in his palm emitted intense light, swiftly enveloping Lin Dong entirely. Then, it flew toward Cheng Bao—person and sword as one.

Liang Liren tried to intercept, but Lin Dong said calmly from behind, “Elder Second, your disciple refuses advice and brings shame upon himself. You can help him once, but not twice.”

As Liang Liren was stunned, a loud explosion erupted in the backyard, sending Cheng Bao flying backward.

Liang Liren shook his head with a bitter smile, “It was Zhengyang who injured these chefs. Now, each of them is injured. Even if they unite, they probably can’t withstand more than a few rounds.”

“If you’re not good enough, you deserve to die!” Lin Dong suddenly shouted. “Recover ten times, a hundred times what you’ve lost!”

Seemingly in response to Lin Dong, Jiang Kui suddenly yelled, “Great!” just as Feng Zhengyang was about to chase after Cheng Bao.

Thunder rolled, and the entire backyard trembled from the force of Jiang Kui’s shout. Feng Zhengyang, the target of Jiang Kui’s full-force cry, froze in place, as if struck by lightning, struggling to stay upright.

The next moment, Yu Linglong’s massive figure rushed upward like willow fluff in a hurricane above Feng Zhengyang. With a lift of her right arm, a blue whip adorned with strange patterns swirled downward toward Feng Zhengyang’s body. Like a nimble snake, it instantly wrapped around his head.

Qiao Tianhao acted promptly. His black iron kitchen knife flashed forward at a speed that even Liang Liren and the others could only barely see as a blur, aiming straight at Feng Zhengyang’s face.

Clanging sounds like rapid blacksmithing rang out continuously, and sparks flew up like brilliant fireworks in front of Feng Zhengyang, so frequently that it seemed like an endless wall of light.

Hua Wuyue, who had realized what was happening, darted forward and appeared behind Feng Zhengyang. Her spiritual sword, along with dozens of bright white peach blossoms, was thrust at various vital points on his back.

“Damn it!”

With a loud boom, Qiao Tianhao and Hua Wuyue were both sent flying. Above, Yu Linglong’s right hand trembled as the whip slipped from her grasp. She stamped her feet several times in the air, then strangely flew backward behind Feng Zhengyang.

Seeing that the whip wrapped around his body couldn’t be shaken off, Feng Zhengyang, now fully alert, flew into a rage. His surging spiritual energy surged back into his energy barrier.

With a buzzing sound, the whip expanded outward abruptly before contracting back again.

A high-grade spiritual weapon?

Feng Zhengyang’s expression darkened as he suddenly grabbed the handle of the whip with his right hand.

“Bastard, die!”
Cheng Bao appeared silently. The golden sword in his hand swelled several times larger, wreathed in blazing golden flames, as he swung it down at Feng Zhengyang’s head.
Realizing that the immense spiritual energy couldn’t be blocked by a barrier, Feng Zhengyang panicked. Without bothering to untie his spiritual whip, he stepped his left foot on the ground.
“Hah!”
Jiang Kui opened his mouth wide. Spiritual energy surged from his dantian into his throat. With that roar, invisible sound waves were emitted. Soon, aside from a little leakage, most of the sound waves condensed into an invisible net that covered Feng Zhengyang.
His foot, which had been on the ground, suddenly stopped. Feng Zhengyang’s eyes became confused once again, and his body staggered.
Cheng Bao’s golden sword, carrying his master’s fury and rage, slashed downward swiftly.
Boom…
A blade mark over ten meters long and more than a meter deep formed instantly, starting from the tip of the sword.
“Master, I can withstand this sword. At most, I’ll suffer some internal injuries,” Feng Zhengyang said urgently.
“Shut up!” Qin Mengtai snapped angrily, his gaze sweeping over Cheng Bao and the others.
“What? The Grand Elder can’t stand seeing his disciple lose, and my chef said he’d go to Tianjian Sect in person to collect the debt…” Lin Dong said leisurely, “Want to break your promise and take action himself to avoid future problems?”
Qin Mengtai’s expression darkened. Feng Yue slapped his palm loudly, saying, “What a scene—disciple loses, master avoids showing up. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! Who’ll give me two taels of silver? I must reward them!”
Feng Yue’s fist rose again. Qin Mengtai’s right fist aimed straight at him.
With unrestrained joy, Feng Yue laughed wildly as he spat out blood and flew backward.
When Feng Yue managed to get up, laughing and struggling, Qiao Tianhao tossed two copper coins, turning his head toward Feng Yue but glancing sideways at Qin Mengtai. He said indifferently, “I only have two copper coins left. Would you like them, elder?”
“Sure! It’s so exciting—I must give silver! Others may lack shame, but I, Feng Yue, can’t afford to lose face.” Feng Yue laughed heartily. Having been in Tianjian Sect for over a decade, today was the happiest day of his life.
“Elder, be ready. I’ve worked hard. Two copper coins may not be much, but they’re enough to buy two big bowls of tea at the shop.” Qiao Tianhao threw the coins, which Feng Yue caught.
Qin Mengtai’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot. His right fist tightened and relaxed repeatedly. Clearly torn between preserving his face and ending Qiao Tianhao’s life forever with one punch.

“Elder Brother!” Liang Liren couldn’t help but call out to remind him.
“Let’s go!”
Qin Mengtai turned around abruptly, his back to Lin Dong and the others, trembling slightly.
Liang Liren breathed a sigh of relief, stepped in front of Feng Yue, and grabbed his arm.
“Wait!” Lin Dong’s voice suddenly rang out.
“Brother Lin!”
Liang Liren felt a headache coming on. If it weren’t for his pride, he would even be willing to ask Lin Dong to stop provoking Qin Mengtai, who was on the verge of exploding.