"Heh, only you would be this sharp-witted."
Lin Xiao tacitly confirmed Lin Dong's guess, then lowered his voice. "I've already begun cultivating that Pure Yang Art. A first-rate Cultivation Method truly is extraordinary."
Indeed, after Lin Dong himself had mastered the Pure Yang Art, he had secretly passed it on to both Lin Xiao and Qing Tan. Knowing that his son had kept no shortage of secrets since childhood, Lin Xiao wisely refrained from asking about the Pure Yang Art's origins.
"Hm, since grandfather has already stepped into the Yuan Dan Realm, when will our Lin Family move against the Lei and Xie Families and claim dominance over Qingyang Town?"
Lin Dong glanced at the two lavish family seats in the distance. Watching a bunch of Heavenly Yuan Realm has-beens put on airs exhausted him. He wanted to slap every last one of them dead.
"We need a pretext to move against them, a justifiable pretext."
Lin Xiao had likewise noticed the ostentatious entrance made by the Lei and Xie Families.
"A pretext?"
Something stirred in Lin Dong's mind. Ironwood Manor and the Yang Yuan Stone Mine might serve as a fine pretext. It was time to seize them.
"Lin Dong......"
Just as Lin Dong was lost in quiet contemplation, a figure darted over.
The one who came was a young man about the same age as Lin Dong. On the chest of his robes was an emblem, embroidered with a great blade dancing as if caught in a raging wind.
"Wu Yun, it's you."
Lin Dong smiled when he saw who it was. The young man was Wu Yun, the Number One of the Younger Generation at the Berserk Blade Martial Hall, and a Ninth Layer of Body Tempering cultivator.
"Lei Li of the Lei Family has stepped into the Earthly Yuan Realm—not someone easy to deal with. If we get the chance, how about we team up?"
Wu Yun bowed to Lin Xiao and spoke in a rapid stream.
"Sure."
Lin Dong nodded at once, though inwardly he thought: Team up? Do I need to team up to deal with a bunch of snot-nosed brats? Teaming up with you would only slow me down. The moment we enter the dense forest, I'm ditching you.
"Heh heh, then it's settled."
Having secured Lin Dong's agreement, Wu Yun chuckled and left with brisk movements.
As the most established power in Qingyang Town, the Lei Family's Family Head, Lei Bao, rose with reserved dignity to announce the rules of the competition.
The rules were simple. Each Contestant would carry an Identity Token, cross the perilous forest safely, and collect ten Identity Tokens. The final showdown would take place on the Stone Platform in the central plaza of the Beast Horn Arena.
"I declare Qingyang Town's Hunting Competition open!"
Lei Bao released a thunderous shout charged with Yuan Power. More than one hundred Contestants shot forward like arrows loosed from bowstrings, plunged into the lush forest, and vanished from sight.
"Fire Python Tiger, Little Flame, I'm coming."
The moment he entered the dense forest, Lin Dong gathered his Yuan Power and flickered from view in an instant, vanishing without a trace as he shot straight toward the forest's depths.
Wu Yun did not need to tell him where the Fire Python Tiger was. The forest within the Beast Horn Arena stretched for dozens of miles, but a Three-Seal Talisman Master could sense a Heavenly Yuan Realm Fire Python Tiger without difficulty.
Half an hour later.
The dense forest trembled as Wu Yun rushed through it with a girl in a tight-fitting leather skirt. She was Wu Yun's friend, Mu Ling Sha, daughter of the Mu Family Manor's head and an Eighth Layer of Body Tempering cultivator.
"Huh, where did that brat Lin Dong go? I clearly saw him come this way, yet we searched the entire route and still couldn't find him."
Wu Yun stopped in his tracks and let out a deep sigh.
He had found Lei Li, Xie Yingying, and several others besieging a Fire Python Tiger—a mother beast injured after giving birth. He planned to join forces with Lin Dong and seize the three cubs, but he could not find any trace of him.
By then, Lin Dong had ventured more than ten miles into the forest and collected all ten Identity Tokens. He released his Spiritual Power and scanned the path for anything suspicious.
"Hm? There's an energy fluctuation from the Earthly Yuan Realm over there!"
Lin Dong raced between the towering ancient trees, then stopped. He changed direction and accelerated toward the disturbance.
In an open clearing, disciples from the Lei and Xie Families, led by Lei Li and Xie Yingying, surrounded a Demon Beast more than ten feet tall. Blazing fur covered its body. It had a ferocious tiger's head and a tail coiled over its back; its forked tongue flickered like that of a living fire python.
A Heavenly Yuan Realm Demonic Beast — the Fire Python Tiger!
This beast became a Heavenly Yuan Realm creature upon reaching adulthood, but it was in poor condition. Blood streamed from its abdomen, and its existing grave wounds worsened under Lei Li and the others' assault until it breathed its last.
"Heh, better to arrive at just the right moment than early. All of you, lie down."
Lin Dong did not reveal himself. With a thought, the vast Spiritual Power in his Niwan Palace surged out like a tidal wave and became a raging Mental Storm that swept over the dozen or so people present.
"Thud~ Thud~"
Under the attack of Lin Dong, a peak Three-Seal Talisman Master, Lei Li and the others collapsed unconscious one after another without even managing a muffled groan.
Lin Dong ignored the unconscious crowd, strode past them, and stopped before the three Fire Python Tiger cubs behind the rocky outcrop.
"This one must be Little Flame."
Lin Dong looked at the weakest cub, which had made the Ancestral Stone twitch faintly moments earlier. It was a Fire Python Tiger cub with a Mutated Physique and a boundless future.
"Ah well, consider it your good fortune to have run into me."
Lin Dong waved his hand and drew all three Fire Python Tiger cubs into the Ancestral Stone Space. He would raise Little Flame himself, while the other two Fire Python Tigers would guard the Lin Family estate.
Inside the Ancestral Stone Space, Little Marten was dozing when three Demon Beast cubs appeared before him. He stared at them in confusion and muttered, "What in the world is this? Third brother? What third brother? Lin Dong, you'd better explain yourself clearly!!!"
"Hm? That direction — seems like that's Wu Yun and the others? My apologies, looks like you're a step too late."
After storing the three Fire Python Tiger cubs, Lin Dong raised his head toward one direction. A faint, meaningful smile crossed his face, and he vanished in a flicker.
In the distance, Wu Yun and Mu Ling Sha cautiously approached their destination.
"Hm? What's going on? Why would Lei Li, Xie Yingying, and over a dozen others all collapse unconscious at the same time? And the three Fire Python Tiger cubs are gone too? A situation like this would require at least a Heavenly Yuan Stage Expert to pull off, wouldn't it?"
Mu Ling Sha poked her head out and parted her cherry lips in shock. She stared at the Lei and Xie Families' people sprawled across the ground.
"A Heavenly Yuan Stage Expert made a move? We need to leave, now. This is no place to linger."
Wu Yun's expression changed. He grabbed Mu Ling Sha and pulled her back at a rapid pace.
"Right, Wu Yun. Let's go—quickly. We need to get away from here."
Mu Ling Sha understood as well. The scene clearly showed that an expert had ambushed Lei Li and the others and taken the Fire Python Tiger cubs.
If they stayed and Lei Li's group woke up, or if another passerby found the scene, people would assume they were responsible. They would have no way to explain themselves, and the incident might even ignite a war among Qingyang Town's major powers.
The terrified pair fled the area as if they had seen a ghost. They still had to pretend nothing had happened and continue with the competition.