Chapter 533: Enemies for Most of a Lifetime

After the terms were agreed upon, Lin Dong personally took the old man to the lodging building to arrange a room for him. After instructing Ma Chun to treat him well, he returned to the backyard.
After hesitating for a moment, Lin Dong knocked on Yun Lan’s door.
The door creaked open, and Lin Dong eagerly asked, “Yun Lan, do you know which peak-level expert in the Great Han Nation has the ability to foresee the future?”
“Foresee the future?” Yun Lan frowned slightly and replied hesitantly, “There is a peak-level expert who calls himself the Fortune Seer; he does have such an ability, but it’s not truly foresight. It’s more like he has a stronger intuition than others. Moreover, I haven’t heard of the Fortune Seer in fifty or sixty years.”
“Yes, just a stronger intuition. I never thought such a person actually existed,” Lin Dong said, relieved, realizing that the old man simply had an extremely keen sixth sense—much less terrifying than that.
Bang!
Suddenly, the door of the first room on the left shattered into wood chips, and Old Man Ding appeared abruptly beside them.
“What happened?” This sudden occurrence startled Lin Dong.
“Have you met the Fortune Seer?” Old Man Ding grabbed Lin Dong by the arm and asked.
“Yes, he’s in the guest room,” Lin Dong nodded blankly.
“I can’t believe he’s still in the capital!” Old Man Ding sneered. Before Lin Dong and the others could react, he vanished down the corridor in an instant.
“What does that mean?” Lin Dong’s expression darkened. Old Man Ding’s reaction clearly meant he knew the Fortune Seer.
As for whether this acquaintance was positive or negative, Lin Dong hoped it was positive. But given Old Man Ding’s attitude and the fact that Lin Dong had been injured in the capital before, it seemed more likely they were enemies—possibly even old enemies.
No wonder the Fortune Seer said staying would mean facing certain death. It was because of Old Man Ding as an enemy.
“That’s bad! They must not fight!”
Lin Dong was extremely worried. If they fought, it would be inside Lin’s Inn’s lodging building. Two top-tier peak experts clashing—just one punch could collapse the entire building. If anyone died, even with Lin’s Inn’s strength, it would take a year or two to recover.
With spiritual energy surging, Lin Dong rushed toward the lodging building as a blur, with Yun Lan following closely behind.
To Lin Dong’s immense relief, on the fifth floor of the lodging building, in Room 5A, Old Man Ding and the Fortune Seer hadn’t fought. One was glaring angrily, while the other remained calm. By appearance, Old Man Ding seemed like a commoner, whereas the Fortune Seer exuded an air of nobility and wealth.

Of course, it remains to be seen who is stronger. A few years ago, Old Ding returned defeated, which undoubtedly showed that his strength was slightly inferior. But times have changed. Although a few years don’t help those at the peak of their power much, the cultivation benefits from Lin’s Inn aren’t given for free. At its highest multiplier, just three or four years is equivalent to ten or twenty years.

“What kind of worthless fortune-teller are you? How come you didn’t predict that I, Ding Tian, would be here before coming to Lin’s Inn?” Old Ding kept provoking the fortune-teller. “You’re just a swindler in the jianghu. If you’ve got the guts, come out and fight me! If I can’t grind you to dust, I’m not Ding Tian!”

“A defeated foe is nothing worth mentioning!” The fortune-teller remained calm as a rock, sitting steadily in his wooden chair.

“Nothing worth mentioning? Are you too cowardly to admit it? It’s been years, and your courage has shrunk so much. If word gets out, it’ll make people laugh their heads off,” Old Ding sneered hatefully.

“A defeated foe is nothing worth mentioning!” The fortune-teller remained leisurely, completely ignoring Old Ding’s insults.

“Um…” Lin Dong was about to speak when Old Ding waved his hand to stop him.

“Look at you—good-looking on the surface, pretending to be virtuous, but actually a complete fool. If you don’t accept the challenge today, I’ll spread slander about you everywhere. A rapist, plunderer, gambler—this fortune-teller is nothing but a shameless scoundrel,” Old Ding said through gritted teeth.

“If you’re ugly, don’t show your face and embarrass yourself,” the fortune-teller replied calmly, with slightly altered words that still enraged Old Ding even more.

“Damn it! How dare you call me ugly! I’m not like you, a scoundrel disguised as a decent person. You don’t even have the pretense of decency—calling me ugly makes you look even uglier. With your thick beard, you’re uglier than a goat. Pale as if you crawled out of a coffin—seeing you at night could scare children to death. Your hair, beard, and eyebrows are all white; you look disgusting no matter how you’re viewed.”

Old Ding roared furiously. Although he hadn’t gone through the mental training methods of major sects, his strength at this level meant his composure was far beyond that of ordinary people. Normally, he wouldn’t be so irritable, but the fortune-teller had been his enemy for most of his life. Whenever he saw him, he would explode with anger. Moreover, the fortune-teller was deliberately provoking him.

“Calm down, calm down!” Seeing Old Ding’s head practically smoking with rage, Lin Dong, moved with concern, quickly stepped forward to hold him back. His slight goodwill toward the fortune-teller vanished entirely.

There are differences in closeness. Originally, Lin Dong was on Old Ding’s side. If it weren’t for the upgrade task related to the Oracle and the fact that he was staying in the dormitory building, Lin Dong would have undoubtedly helped Old Ding without hesitation. Now that Old Ding was so angry yet still controlled himself and didn’t attack the Oracle, it was clear he understood Lin Dong’s predicament—knowing that if a fight broke out, Lin Dong would be heartbroken beyond measure.

Plus, since the Oracle had pushed Old Ding to this state, to be honest, Lin Dong even wanted to draw his sword and fight. But if he really did draw his sword, kicking the Oracle out of the inn wouldn’t be hard, and Lin Dong believed killing him wouldn’t be difficult either. The problem was what to do about the upgrade task. If he killed the Oracle, the upgrade task would be considered failed. Lin Dong had never experienced what happened after a failed upgrade task—perhaps his experience level would reset to the early stages of level eight, or a new upgrade task might appear, but it was also possible that his leveling process would stop altogether.

The other issues were still manageable; Lin Dong could endure them. But if he couldn’t level up anymore, he wouldn’t be able to bear such a loss. Locking the Oracle up in a guest room for three days and then letting Old Ding deal with him would also be useless. Not to mention the Oracle’s strength and the dignity of a peak warrior—whether he would choose to endure a few more days or blow himself up, just passing the system’s test was already difficult.

Using force, rather than the other party’s willingness, was cheating, as Lin Dong knew without having to think about it. Even staying there for three years might not guarantee receiving a system notification that the upgrade task was complete.

“It seems the great Ding Tian Jiuzun can only rely on bluffs. Just a warrior at the eighth stage of the Heart Reversal phase—if we really fought, he surely couldn’t hold you back, right?” the Oracle added, his voice calm yet provocative.

“If you’ve got the guts, come out with me. If I don’t grind you to dust, I’m not Ding Tian!” Old Ding roared, his face red with anger.

“Go outside? It’s windy and rainy outside. We can fight here—why go out and get wet? Are you afraid of getting hurt by tables and chairs?” the Oracle laughed. “Or maybe that’s just your fate—liking to be exposed to wind and rain? But just because you like it doesn’t mean I do too.”

Old Ding was furious, trying to attack several times but forcing himself to hold back. His expression showed extreme anger and turmoil.

Seeing Old Ding suffering so much, Lin Dong gritted his teeth and said, “Elder, if we’re going to fight, let’s do it! Behind the inn, at the back door.”

Old Ding was stunned for a moment before vanishing in an instant.

The Oracle frowned and looked at Lin Dong, puzzled. “Aren’t you going to keep this inn?”

Lin Dong replied calmly, “I am!”

“You can’t have it!” The Oracle said leisurely, “I’m deliberately provoking Ding Tian. If you, a junior, get involved, it shows a lack of respect for elders. The consequences are beyond your prediction.”
“Then haven’t you thought about whether those consequences will work on me?” Lin Dong was unfazed. He had already thrown himself into this. Old Ding had taught him the Sky Control Technique and had also provided Lin’s Inn with secret weapons for years. Logically and emotionally, he had to let Old Ding satisfy himself first.
As for everything else, he would have to act as the situation demanded.
“Since that’s the case…”
The Oracle’s spiritual energy surged, but Lin Dong moved first, kicking him out of the inn—toward the back courtyard door.
In the back courtyard, Old Ding was ready to strike. The moment the Oracle appeared, his spiritual energy surged, trapping the Oracle’s body. Then, he delivered a palm strike.
The Oracle, still reeling from the sudden movement, felt his body trapped. Years of experience fighting Old Ding allowed him to quickly gather a large amount of spiritual energy to push back the restraint. But the next second, Old Ding’s palm struck. Caught off guard, he could only defend hastily.
Boom…
With a deafening crash, although Old Ding’s right palm was blocked by the Oracle’s palm, the difference between someone prepared and someone reacting in haste was obvious.
Old Ding remained motionless, while the Oracle flew backward at high speed.
Mid-flight, the Oracle tapped the ground with his toes and suddenly disappeared.
“Trying to escape?”
In previous encounters, the Oracle could predict Old Ding’s moves based on intuition, winning repeatedly. Old Ding almost always fled injured, barely escaping thanks to his speed. That’s how it had been dozens of times. But today, the situation was reversed. With the advantage of acting first, he clearly held the upper hand. If he could seize this opportunity, he could gradually defeat the enemy he hadn’t been able to beat for most of his life.
Faced with such a perfect chance, Old Ding naturally wouldn’t let it slip away. With a cold laugh, he focused his mind to the fullest and pursued the Oracle’s trail.
“Huh? Where are they?” By the time Lin Dong and Yun Lan arrived, the two had long vanished. If not for the small pit left on the ground from the Oracle’s toes, Lin Dong might have doubted whether they had fought here at all.
“Judging from the situation, it seems the old man has the upper hand. But it’s also possible the Oracle is deliberately luring him away,” Yun Lan said gravely.
“I’ll go call the guards. You go find Senior Feng.”

Lin Dong immediately made arrangements. The speed of peak-level experts was beyond his mental perception. To catch up with the two of them, he would undoubtedly need to conduct a large-scale search from the sky. The upgrade task was minor; if Old Ding were tricked by the Divine Calculator and something unexpected happened, he would never be at peace for the rest of his life. After all, he had left the Divine Calculator in the dormitory building.