Wang Lun

The creature lurking in the black mist was clearly a kind of demon beast. The Silver-Winged Divine Eagle was fiercely aggressive as well; with a powerful sweep of its wings, it sent the shadowy figure flying. Yet the shadow was nimble, rolling back with even greater speed. With a soft hiss, a feather from the Silver-Winged Divine Eagle fell to the ground.

Seizing the moment, Li Zhong shouted, "Wang Lun, didn't you say you relied only on brute force? Why aren't you making a move now? I advise you to surrender quickly, or else your flying spirit companion won't survive!"

Wang Lun ignored him.

"You think if you stay still, I can't do anything? Hmph, you're doomed today," Li Zhong sneered, his face twisted with malice. He never regarded Wang Lun as a threat, believing victory was already his.

At that moment, Li Zhong's left hand suddenly produced a bead, which glowed with a blue light and instantly expanded to the size of a fist, smashing straight at the Silver-Winged Divine Eagle.

With a loud thud, the eagle took the blow, shrieking as it plummeted down the cliff.

"Ha ha ha! My treasure can subdue flying spirit birds!" Li Zhong laughed wildly.

But Wang Lun remained calm. He had already prepared several talisman seals, and now he hurled them all. The talismans transformed into fiery dragons, surging toward Li Zhong.

The power of the fire dragons was comparable to that of a cultivator at the early Foundation Establishment stage. Though Li Zhong was wary, he still struggled to evade them in a flustered manner. Yet the number of fire dragons was overwhelming, and eventually Li Zhong became trapped within a sea of flames, unable to escape, desperately channeling his spiritual power to resist the burning.

"Damn you!" Li Zhong cursed, frantically driving his spiritual energy, but the fire grew ever closer, about to engulf him.

Just then, a strange insect-like buzzing sounded by his ear.

"What is...?" Li Zhong's eyes widened, realizing the temperature around him had suddenly risen sharply.

"It's that magic robe!" He recognized it instantly—it was his own magic robe.

Relief washed over Li Zhong; he knew the robe would save him at a critical moment.

"Let's see how many talismans you have left," Li Zhong thought to himself.

Indeed, with the explosion of the magic robe, the surging flames dispersed, granting him a brief respite.

Li Zhong involuntarily retreated a little, then looked toward Wang Lun.

He saw a palm-sized red jade seal hovering behind Wang Lun!

This jade seal was personally refined by him and named the Crimson Cloud Seal—a sixth-grade magical treasure.

He had deliberately brought the Crimson Cloud Seal on this trip to the secret grounds of Two Dragons Mountain. After all, the seal was a sixth-grade magical treasure of immense value, and Two Dragons Mountain was an excellent place for training. If he could gain some experience in the secret grounds, he was certain to reap great rewards.

Li Zhong had anticipated that Wang Lun, too, had come to the secret grounds for the sake of training, so he specifically brought the Crimson Cloud Seal with him.

"Wang Lun, you've already revealed your trump cards," Li Zhong sneered.

Wang Lun gave no reply, his gaze fixed on the Crimson Cloud Seal, his eyes cold as ice.

Earlier, the seal had unleashed a devastating blow among Li Zhong's magical treasures. Its power was terrifying; had Wang Lun not taken the Ten-Thousand Poison Pill in advance, he would have suffered serious harm.

"I still have five or six thousand pounds of spirit stones left!" Li Zhong took out a bag of spirit stones and threw it on the ground, tempting Wang Lun to come forward and claim it.

At the same time, he manipulated the black mist to shield himself, preventing the fire dragons from spreading further.

He intended to wait until Wang Lun approached before making his move. At such close range, he was absolutely confident he could kill Wang Lun.

"Five thousand pounds of spirit stones? If you have the guts to give them to me, I have the guts to take them!" Wang Lun approached, bent down, picked up the bag, and put it away.

This action left Li Zhong momentarily bewildered. His scheme had failed.

Wang Lun seemed unfazed by his tricks—as if he had come for the spirit stones all along. Something was off; why would Wang Lun act so foolishly?

Li Zhong couldn't make sense of it, feeling that something strange was afoot.

But Wang Lun paid him no mind, heading straight toward Bai Zongnan.

Li Zhong's expression changed dramatically.

He had already used up both the Crimson Cloud Seal and the magic robe, and now had no other means left—unless he could summon an even stronger treasure.

But only a sixth-grade flying sword remained.

His flying sword was a first-grade magical treasure, his greatest reliance.

"Wang Lun, let's make a deal," Li Zhong said urgently. "If you stop now, I'll hand over my storage ring. We each keep half the spirit stones. How about it?"

"There's no need," Wang Lun refused, continuing toward Bai Zongnan.

Li Zhong was furious but dared not use his spiritual power to resist the flames, fearing another surprise attack from Wang Lun.

Meanwhile, blood still dripped from his right hand—a result of exhausting his spiritual power during the previous deadly strike, leaving him unable to use it again.

Li Zhong turned his thoughts and simply stopped resisting, dispelling the black mist and the magic robe, exposing his body to the burning flames.

He hoped to draw Wang Lun's attention, making him abandon his attack—thus giving Li Zhong a chance to escape.

But Wang Lun glanced at his right hand, then shifted his gaze away, not pursuing him.

Li Zhong was startled.

"What’s happening?"

Wang Lun paid him no heed. Instead, his attention seemed to have locked onto something else, the murderous intent in his eyes only intensifying.

"Wang Lun!" Li Zhong gritted his teeth, not burned by the flames.

Wang Lun ignored him, walking straight up to Bai Zongnan.

Bai Zongnan was startled and quickly retreated, but he was no match for Wang Lun's speed. Wang Lun grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

Li Zhong watched from the side, eyes glinting with danger but dared not make a move, only warning, "Wang Lun, if you dare harm him, I'll see to it that you die with no burial!"

"Li Zhong, I don't bear any grudge against you," Wang Lun said calmly.

"No grudge, but you took what was mine. That makes you my enemy!" Li Zhong shouted angrily.

Wang Lun retorted, "Your possessions? Heh, if I took them from you, then I can seize them again. Do you really think you have the face to retaliate?"

Li Zhong laughed bitterly, "You truly believe you can take a magical weapon from me?"

He did not believe Wang Lun dared to make a move.

Magical weapons were among the most prized treasures, used by cultivators at the Golden Core stage for combat and control. Though his Crimson Cloud Seal was a sixth-grade magical treasure, it was meant solely for battle, not for controlling attacks, and it lacked the ability to manipulate fire.

That was why he hesitated to bring out the Crimson Cloud Seal. Sixth-grade treasures were simply too precious; if seized by outsiders, the loss would be catastrophic.

"Hahaha, two esteemed seniors!"

Before the person arrived, the voice echoed ahead; Bai Zongnan's figure darted out from behind the ancient tree.

"I knew you were here. Speak—what do you want?" Wang Lun's voice was icy, feigning composure.

On the other side, Li Zhong, whose spiritual sense was less acute than Wang Lun's, was even more furious and shocked. In less than a day, his long-held dominance over Two Dragons Mountain had been overturned—first by Wang Lun, then by this unknown young monk.

He refused to believe it.

"Wang Lun, I advise you to surrender now. Otherwise, my senior brother is nearby, and you will surely die!" Li Zhong shouted, attempting to force Wang Lun to give up.

But Wang Lun acted as if he hadn't heard, keeping his eyes fixed on Bai Zongnan.

Suddenly, Bai Zongnan grinned and said, "Wang Lun, aren't you curious why I didn't run away?"

Wang Lun was indeed puzzled by this.