Chapter 490: Hungry Stomach

The sect leaders and elders of the major sects shared nearly the same thoughts as Hao Qingfeng, with the only difference being their awe at Zhang Yuequan’s strength. Although Lin Dong, at the seventh level of Xin Ni Phase, could withstand Zhang Yuequan’s attack unharmed, they lacked the confidence—Zhang’s ice lines were too fast, and his cold aura too intense. Even at the eighth level of Xin Ni Phase, one would surely suffer minor injuries if trying to block such an attack head-on, unless they had extraordinary speed to dodge it. Given these factors, the battle could be decided in just twenty or thirty attacks.

This time, Lin Dong didn’t intend to wait for Zhang Yuequan to strike first. Though Zhang’s speed was remarkable, his ice lines were still impossible to avoid.

With a fierce stomp of his right foot, Lin Dong shot forward, leaving behind a footprint, his drumstick aimed straight at Zhang Yuequan’s throat.

Zhang Yuequan remained motionless, waiting for Lin Dong to reach him. Then, his giant ice axe suddenly rose, covering half of his body.

Bang!

The drumstick struck the back of the axe, producing a deafening crash. Yet Zhang Yuequan still stayed still, while Lin Dong was flung backward in haste.

“Not bad speed, but unfortunately, the gap in strength is too large. Facing off head-on between the seventh and ninth levels of Xin Ni Phase is just asking for trouble…”

The sect leaders and elders reached a similar conclusion about this attack, but before they could finish speaking, something unexpected happened.

As Lin Dong was thrown backward, two thin, black threads, identical in color to the drumstick, suddenly extended from it and shot toward Zhang Yuequan’s feet.

“Be careful!”

The elders of the Ling Jue Sect cried out in alarm. In fact, there was no need for them to warn him. Although Zhang Yuequan’s vision was blocked by his giant ice axe, his mind remained alert during combat, and he had already seen clearly the strange change in Lin Dong’s drumstick.

Though surprised by why the creator of Lin Dong’s drumstick would install such a useless and vulnerable mechanism on a high-grade spiritual artifact, Zhang Yuequan still quickly raised his heel and lightly tapped the ground, sliding forward along it.

Puh!

The next moment, the two black threads pierced into the rocks below before retracting rapidly.

Lin Dong twisted his waist and stabilized himself over twenty meters away, sighing in regret. If those threads had managed to pierce Zhang Yuequan’s instep by surprise, it might not have turned the tide, but it would have given him a few more moments to catch his breath. Unfortunately, it was just a little too late.

“It’s best for the young master to switch to another spiritual weapon before fighting again.” Compared to Lin Dong, who flew backward and barely managed to stop himself, Zhang Yuequan retreated much more smoothly, stopping after just a few meters before immediately pointing out the flaws in Lin Dong’s drumstick. These words reminded the sect leaders and elders of the major sects that high-tier spiritual weapons must not have any mechanisms. The reason was that such mechanisms were almost useless against powerful opponents at the Heart Reversal stage, as trivial as useless trinkets. More importantly, having mechanisms on a spiritual weapon meant it had weak points—after all, mechanisms needed gaps to function, and these gaps were fatal to a high-tier spiritual weapon. Once such a gap was found, continuous attacks with a spiritual weapon of the same rank could likely destroy it.

“Switch to another spiritual weapon?” Lin Dong hesitated for a moment before actually putting away the drumstick into the mobile counter. Then, a ninth-tier great sword obtained from the Wuyou Cave appeared in his hand. After swinging it a few times, under the covetous gazes of everyone, Lin Dong shook his head and put the ninth-tier great sword back into the mobile counter. Next, a ninth-tier spiritual whip appeared in his hand. Again, he shook his head. Ninth-tier, eighth-tier… The sect leaders and elders of the major sects were going crazy. The spiritual weapons Lin Dong took out were either ninth-tier or eighth-tier. For their own sects, being able to produce two or three such weapons was already remarkable; producing dozens at once was something even the top-tier weapon-forging sects could only aspire to.

“Never mind, I’ll just use this one! It’s more convenient to use.” After going through them all, Lin Dong still held the drumstick in his hand. Yet the impact it had was astonishing. One by one, their expressions became dull, with greedy glints appearing in their eyes from time to time.

If they could subdue their opponent and seize his storage spiritual ring, possessing so many high-tier spiritual weapons—even just touching them would give them a great sense of achievement, let alone actually owning them.

If not for various concerns—fearing that Lin Dong might have a peak-level powerhouse backing him, and worried that mid-to-high-tier sects might suffer heavy losses while benefiting the more powerful Fengyun Sect and Lingjue Sect, which in turn feared being attacked by other sects if they seized the weapons—by now they would have rushed forward in droves to strip Lin Dong bare.

“Elder, shall we continue?” Lin Dong looked at Zhang Quanyue, seemingly unaware of what the others were thinking.

“Please!”

Zhang Quanyue hesitated for a moment but still gave up on the tempting idea of cutting off Lin Dong’s palm and fleeing with the storage spirit ring. Not to mention there were peak-level experts backing the other side, even if he managed to escape, he couldn’t escape the consequences—since the major sects would unite to attack the Lingjue Sect, which could lead to its destruction.

Dozens of high-tier spirit artifacts were indeed invaluable, but compared to the destruction of their sect, they paled in comparison. It was far more advantageous to join forces with other sects later to destroy the Yutian Sect and divide up two or three of those artifacts.

Having made up his mind, Zhang Quanyue grew impatient. Whether there were peak-level experts behind the other side or not, finishing the battle sooner meant he could discuss joining forces with other sects to seize what they wanted earlier.

The sect leaders and elders of the major sects were also impatient, even regretting having wasted so much time on the Snow Condensation Fruits earlier. If they had known, they wouldn’t have gotten involved. Anyway, they would still try to seize them later—they would end up belonging to them sooner or later. If the other side didn’t have peak-level experts, they would have already attacked by now. Even if they didn’t, they would likely be devising a foolproof plan by now.

To prevent such a scenario, destroying a sect with peak-level experts required a huge price—even if twenty-one sects joined forces, the cost and risk would still be high. It was never as worthwhile as simply relocating their own sects. But if they could obtain two or three eighth or ninth-tier spirit artifacts from this sect, possibly along with a large amount of Snow Condensation Fruits, and if their plan was flawless, then the cost and risk would be worth it.

Thus, countless eyes watched Zhang Quanyue eagerly, hoping he would end the battle soon. Whether there were peak-level experts or not, the sooner things resolved, the better.

Zhang Quanyue lived up to expectations and launched an attack on Lin Dong first. His Ice Giant Axe, accompanied by a howling wind, was swung repeatedly—this was the strongest technique among the Lingjue Sect’s most powerful spirit skills.

Countless ice strands intertwined to form an impenetrable net that shot toward Lin Dong at lightning speed.

Lin Dong’s shoulders sank slightly as he stared intently at the net of ice strands, his drumstick held across his chest.

The moment the net was about to touch him, the drumstick suddenly transformed, instantly forming a shield that covered his entire body, blocking it in front of him.

Boom…

Lin Dong and his drumstick shot forward like cannonballs, accompanied by the sound of bones breaking. The sect leaders and elders of the major sects, initially shocked by the sudden appearance of the shield, soon smiled. Then they looked around anxiously again.

The result eased their worried hearts, and the smiles on their faces grew deeper.
No peak-level experts appeared!
Even those at the seventh stage of the Heart Reversal Phase were left with fractured bones—such force was undoubtedly extraordinary, capable of damaging internal organs. Since even peak-level experts didn’t appear in such a situation, it meant that the Yu Tian Sect had no peak-level experts at all.
Without peak-level experts, destroying the Yu Tian Sect would be a sure-win deal.
Bang!
Under everyone’s gaze, the giant shield transformed from the drumstick landed first. After trembling on the ground a few times, it lay there covered in dozens of scars.
The next moment, Lin Dong, who had been shot dozens of meters away, also crashed to the ground. He slid more than twenty meters across the thick rocks before finally stopping. The track, over thirty centimeters wide and three to four centimeters deep, was truly terrifying.
This track was left on rocks—rocks from the summit of the Great Sky Mountain, exposed to wind and rain day and night. Their hardness was evident; leaving such deep marks on them meant the impact force was enough to cause internal injuries even to those at the ninth stage of the Heart Reversal Phase.
Pfft…
A mouthful of blood spat out from Lin Dong’s mouth. The spiritual energy, which had been raging uncontrollably through his meridians, finally stabilized a little.
A quick check of his internal organs revealed multiple injuries. For an ordinary person, this would have been fatal. For Lin Dong, it wasn’t life-threatening, but it would take at least a year or so to recover.
The Green Rainbow Sword suddenly appeared in Yun Lan’s hand, but it wasn’t thrown right away. She understood Lin Dong’s plan clearly. She also knew that a warrior at the ninth stage of the Heart Reversal Phase couldn’t instantly kill Lin Dong.
Struggling to get up, Lin Dong waved his right arm, and the giant shield flew back into his hands.
“Quite a fascinating mechanism!” Zhang Quanyue said, looking at the deep scratches on the shield with some regret. Although this eighth-tier spiritual weapon had a somewhat useless mechanism, it was still an eighth-tier spiritual weapon. Destroying it meant the Ling Jue Sect losing one twenty-first of an eighth-tier spiritual weapon.
If the distribution plan was based on strength, the Ling Jue Sect would even lose more than one tenth of an eighth-tier spiritual weapon.
Lin Dong remained silent, slowly gathering the spiritual energy he could now control to protect his internal organs and prevent further damage.
“Should we continue fighting?” Zhang Quanyue asked loudly.
“Why not?” Lin Dong’s reply disappointed everyone. Ending it sooner meant they could discuss the distribution of spiritual weapons earlier.
“Then, let’s go!” Zhang Quanyue slightly raised his Ice Giant Axe.

Lin Dong shook his head, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and suddenly asked, “We’ve been fighting all afternoon; I’m hungry. Would it be alright if I ate something to fill my stomach?”
Zhang Quanyue was stunned, a surge of anger rising in his heart. Since he was destined to become a victim of the swords of various sects soon anyway, why waste another moment? This wasn’t the secular world where one still had to die full after being executed.
The sect leaders and elders of the major sects were also furious, but they quickly focused their gazes on Zhang Quanyue’s face. If Zhang Quanyue surrendered voluntarily, things could be settled as well.
Yet Zhang Quanyue pretended not to notice everyone’s stares and hadn’t considered that possibility. All those sect leaders had prided themselves on their status and hadn’t deliberately lost to Lin Dong for a Snow Condensation Fruit. As the leader of a major sect, he certainly wouldn’t surrender to someone at the seventh level of the Mental State phase.
If they had to wait, they would all wait together! Of course, it would be best to prevent the other side from wasting time by claiming hunger.
It seemed no one had expected Lin Dong to be able to turn the tide with a single move.