Chapter 371: Test Objective

Lin Dongguang, at the Sky Commanding Realm, could fully control those one realm lower than him. For this test of the Void Commanding Realm, the ideal candidate would undoubtedly be one realm higher than him; if at the same realm, it would still be possible to gauge its true power.

In Lin’s Inn, and even throughout Lingnan City, there was only one person who met Lin Dong’s criteria—Ji Zhenghong, the sole strongman in Lingnan City who was willing to submit to the rule of the Great Han Nation. Of course, this assumed Lin Dong hadn’t yet registered at the Military Testing Institute. Truth be told, he could also be considered the second strongman in Lingnan City to voluntarily submit to the Great Han Nation’s rule. The only difference was that he hadn’t gone to Ren Qingsong to register yet. Due to his relationship with Ren Qingsong, he hadn’t bothered to travel to the Autumn Wind City Military Testing Institute, so his strength remained at the seventh level of the Mental Focus Phase.

The emergence of a strongman within the jurisdiction of a prefecture-level Military Testing Institute who was willing to submit to the Great Han Nation was a tremendous achievement for its director. It allowed them to skip promotions based on the number of warriors trained or merits accumulated, and instead rise two ranks directly to become the director of a county-level Military Testing Institute. This was undoubtedly excellent news for Ren Qingsong, who was extremely eager for promotion. Even as a county-level Military Testing Institute director, he could receive many rewards. If such a strongman was also willing to pledge loyalty to the Great Han Nation, the director of the local Military Testing Institute could soar even higher, directly taking up a position at the Tianwei Pavilion in the capital.

In Lin Dong’s eyes, Ren Qingsong was somewhat of a friend. Logically, he should have informed him of this good news right away, but Lin Dong was even more eager to test the Void Commanding Realm.

Ji Zhenghong was from Lingnan City and had already reached the first level of the Mental Reversal Phase six or seven years ago. As for now… he should still be at the first level of that phase.

Those who reached the realm of strongmen were geniuses among geniuses, but even among them, there were differences in strength. Ji Zhenghong had reached this realm in his sixties, making him relatively weak. According to Lin Dong’s estimation, without special circumstances, it would take at least three to five years for him to break through to the second level of the Mental Reversal Phase.

As the only strongman in Lingnan County willing to submit to the Great Han Nation, Ji Zhenghong enjoyed an extremely high status and reputation in Lingnan City. Although Lin Dong didn’t know his address, he simply asked a random person, and he got the answer right away.

It was morning, the busiest time of the day. After leaving the inn, Lin Dong found an alley, leaped onto a rooftop, and then accelerated at an almost imperceptible speed, flying through the city.

Upon arriving in the city, he asked around and quickly found Ji’s residence. Outside Ji’s residence, it was as bustling as Lin’s Inn, with a constant stream of vehicles and people. Undoubtedly, Ji Zhenghong himself might not be interested in power or wealth, but his family was very keen on them; otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many people coming to flatter him. Lin Dong planned to head to the back courtyard when figures getting off one or two carriages made him stop in his tracks. A burly man in a blue robe, with a rough face and a fake smile… Hong Wanfu. Lin Dong hadn’t expected Hong Wanfu to appear at Ji’s doorstep. His purpose was undoubtedly related to business. Lin Dong frowned. Even if Hong Wanfu’s goal was his own gambling house, if he could get Ji Zhenghong involved—even just his descendants—Ji Zhenghong’s reputation and strength in Lingnan City would be enough to help Hong Wanfu turn the tide. With a major victory for Hong Wanfu’s gambling house, he could surely free up his resources to fully confront the alliance between Fenglin Restaurant and Lin’s Inn. With strong financial support, even if he couldn’t turn the situation around, it wouldn’t be a problem to hold out for a year or two. Soon, Lin Dong’s frown faded. If he hadn’t noticed ahead of time, dealing with the situation once it escalated would indeed be a challenge. But now that he knew Hong Wanfu’s plans in advance, he could nip it in the bud. He strode to the courtyard wall and leaped inside. Ji’s residence covered a vast area, with pavilions and courtyards everywhere. It wasn’t until he reached the back that Lin Dong stopped. Closing his eyes slightly, he slowly extended his consciousness outward—flowers, grass, pebbles, butterflies fluttering, insects moving… Under the cover of his consciousness, various pieces of information streamed into his mind. Compared to before his breakthrough, there was not only more and more complete information but also a sense of merging with the earth, a world of difference from before. Ten meters, a hundred meters, a kilometer… As his consciousness continued to spread, suddenly, Lin Dong stopped. In an ordinary small courtyard behind Ji’s residence, a consciousness met his, ready for a battle. A mental battle consumed a great deal of spiritual energy. Lin Dong’s intention was to test the “Control Without Boundaries” technique and take care of Hong Wanfu’s issue at the same time, not to fight to the death with Ji Zhenghong. He immediately retracted his consciousness and flew toward the courtyard where Ji Zhenghong was. In the courtyard, there were flower pots everywhere, all of ordinary varieties, but arranged in a way that enhanced each other, exuding an air of elegance and leisure. As he extended his consciousness, Ji Zhenghong’s consciousness had already disappeared. He quickly scanned the two-story stone house and its rooms, but there was no sign of Ji Zhenghong. “It seems there’s a secret passage.”

Lin Dong’s gaze sharpened. Without Ji Zhenghong’s mental guidance and given their similar levels, if Ji Zhenghong wanted to hide his whereabouts, his own mental senses simply couldn’t detect him. After a brief consideration, Lin Dong smiled, channeled spiritual energy into his throat, and turned to shout, “Ji Zhenghong, if you don’t come out, no one in the Ji family can match me!”
“Wait!”
A deep voice rang out from deep within the ground. Moments later, Lin Dong turned and saw an old man with white hair and beard standing at the entrance of the main hall.
“This young master, if our Ji family has offended your clan, please forgive us,” Ji Zhenghong said with neither arrogance nor humility.
Undoubtedly, Lin Dong’s young age made Ji Zhenghong mistake him for a disciple of some major sect. That’s why Ji Zhenghong showed weakness as soon as they met.
Lin Dong shook his head with a smile. “I have no grudges against the Ji family. I’ve just discovered a new spiritual technique and wanted to test it on someone. I happened to pass by Lingnan City, and since you are the only strong person here, I came to seek your advice.”
Ji Zhenghong’s tense mood relaxed. If Lin Dong had come just for a fight, handling it properly wouldn’t harm the Ji family; instead, it might even help establish some connection with a major sect.
After thinking this through, just as Ji Zhenghong was about to speak, Lin Dong waved his hand and said, “There’s no need for you to speak modestly, Senior Ji. I’ve only entered the Heart Reversal Phase a few months ago, while you reached this level five or six years ago. During the fight later, please don’t hold back—otherwise…”
Lin Dong’s expression darkened. “I’ll think you disdain competing with me.”
Ji Zhenghong’s heart rate quickened as he inwardly groaned. Elite disciples from major sects really didn’t have good tempers.
“In that case, please go first, young master!”
“I think Senior Ji should go first!” Lin Dong replied leisurely.
Ji Zhenghong felt slightly angry, clearly annoyed by Lin Dong’s arrogance.
“Then be careful, young master!”
Ji Zhenghong stretched out his right hand, and a fiery red whip appeared in his hand. Then he leaped into the air, the whip coiling like a red serpent with a blood-red tongue, aiming at Lin Dong.
Lin Dong stared straight at Ji Zhenghong’s throat, his gaze sharpening slightly.
An invisible force surged forth at a speed even peak warriors known for their speed couldn’t match.
Silent and colorless, from afar, Ji Zhenghong, who was flying swiftly, suddenly felt a tightness in his left shoulder. His body instantly lost balance, and instead of continuing forward, it spun around around his left shoulder.

Lin Dong smiled bitterly. To be honest, Ji Zhenghong’s speed wasn’t fast at all. And since he was coming head-on, there was still a considerable deviation. The invisible force wielded by Yu Wu Jing was indeed fast—completely beyond comparison with Ji Zhenghong’s speed. But when Ji Zhenghong moved quickly, his vision and reaction time suffered from a certain delay. The reason he couldn’t land a single hit lay in this delay. He needed to try predicting moves! Immediately, Lin Dong stopped channeling his spiritual energy, and the pressure on Ji Zhenghong’s left shoulder vanished. With a few kicks in the air, Ji Zhenghong’s spinning body stabilized quickly before shooting upward into the sky. Looking down at Lin Dong, who remained calm below, Ji Zhenghong’s heart was filled with turmoil. He hadn’t even noticed that move just now. Was it a difference in strength or in spiritual techniques? It must be the latter. Both of them were at the third stage of Xin Ni. Without some extraordinary advanced spiritual technique, he would never have been so weak. This was the gap in talent! Ji Zhenghong sighed secretly. Tian Wei Ge, compared to the major sects, had the most and best spiritual techniques, materials, and pills. Unfortunately, like the major sects, Tian Wei Ge’s rewards also depended on one’s cultivation speed and strength—faster cultivation meant higher rewards. Reaching the third stage of Xin Ni in his fifties was nowhere near as good as those who reached it in their twenties. On top of that, Tian Wei Ge distinguished between those loyal to the Great Han Nation and those who only agreed to be under its rule, and as the latter, his treatment was even worse. Glancing at Lin Dong’s expression and seeing no sign of hostility, driven by his earlier anger and not wanting Lin Dong to look down on him, Ji Zhenghong suddenly dived downward. His spiritual whip emitted intense red light, which, as he swung his arm, turned into thousands of red raindrops that descended toward Lin Dong. Seeing Lin Dong remain motionless, a smile grew on Ji Zhenghong’s lips. This move, called “Hundred Reds, Thousand Raindrops,” wasn’t extremely powerful, but it was incredibly fast and covered a vast area. It was a seventh-level spiritual technique given to him by Tian Wei Ge when he entered the realm of the strong. Over the years, Ji Zhenghong had mastered it to perfection. He was confident that within ten meters, no one below the third stage of Xin Ni could evade such dense and widespread attacks.

Due to the huge age gap, although they were both in their rebellious phase and he even had more experience, Ji Zhenghong never once thought he could defeat Lin Dong from start to finish. For him, as long as he could cause Lin Dong some minor physical injuries, that would be sufficient. This way, no enmity would arise, and it would also show that he wasn’t deliberately slacking off—kill two birds with one stone.
Ten meters, nine meters, eight meters…
The red raindrops fell from above. Within a radius of twenty meters centered around Lin Dong, only a rat could squeeze through the gaps.