chapter 14
14. Arrogance
“She doesn’t like him, and that makes it complicated,” Lin Dongming shrugged. “Senior Brother Yuan is way too arrogant. He acts like everything in the world is beneath him. Aside from the junior sisters who swoon over his sword skills, most people find him kind of unbearable.”
“I heard he said stuff like, ‘Swords are superior to blades, and cultivators to monks.’ Totally pissed off the Blade Sect and the Hanging Temple crowd,” Bai Zhiqing smirked. “Aren’t you afraid he’ll hear you badmouthing him like this?”
Lin Dongming was unfazed. “Only you, me, and the heavens know what was said here. Even if you ratted me out, you’ve got no proof.”
It’s not like Lin Dongming liked gossiping behind people’s backs, but honestly, Yuan Jianyi had racked up quite a few enemies, and it felt good to vent a little. Plus, he needed to build some shared secrets with Bai Zhiqing to get closer to her.
Elder Tuoba didn’t seem like he was planning to tell Bai Zhiqing that Lin Dongming was tasked with protecting her, so he had to rely on himself once they entered the forbidden zone of Eastern Cangzhou.
“You’re sneakier than you look. Not that I mind—it’s better than being brainless,” Bai Zhiqing chuckled. “The elders don’t seem to like him much either. I heard they’re considering nurturing someone else.”
“Yeah, like my master.” Lin Dongming spread his hands. “Apparently the Sword-Wielding Elder taught Yuan Jianyi a few moves once. Though impressed by his talent, he thought Yuan Jianyi’s personality was too harsh and arrogant, so he dropped the idea of taking him on as a disciple.”
Normally, someone like Yuan Jianyi would be a perfect candidate for the Sword-Wielding Elder’s student.
“Whatever. It doesn’t concern us right now,” Lin Dongming changed the subject to avoid getting grilled about Han Xiangjun again. “You planning to join the forbidden zone trial in two months?”
Bai Zhiqing shot him a look. “Of course. What, you think I’ll wait another twenty years?”
The Cangzhou Forbidden Zone trial only happened once every twenty years. It was full of rare treasures and opportunities for breakthrough—basically a goldmine for any cultivator.
And not long after that was the Four-Domain Tournament in Chenzhou. Winners got incredible rewards, the kind that even privileged disciples like Hong Xing and Han Xiangjun drooled over. The tournament officially encouraged the younger generation to toughen up and cultivate hard. Even if you didn’t win, most participants walked away with useful spirit items and stones that helped in cultivation.
For someone like Lin Dongming, who had limited resources, joining both events was a must—whether or not he expected to win. Every extra item or stone boosted his chances of reaching Nascent Soul or even Soul Formation.
Bai Zhiqing was right. Neither of them had a choice.
Or rather, no cultivator really had a choice. Which Foundation Establishment stage didn’t want to reach Core Formation? Which Core Formation didn’t dream of reaching Nascent Soul? They had to throw themselves into these dangerous places just to have a shot.
—No invite to team up, huh? Guess I’m still not likable or trustworthy enough.
The conversation naturally paused for a beat—just long enough that if Bai Zhiqing had wanted to suggest teaming up, she would’ve done it.
Since she didn’t, Lin Dongming didn’t bring it up either. From his years of gaming experience in his past life, he knew: if the favorability isn’t high enough, asking is pointless.
So he chatted with her a bit more, then flew off on his sword to catch up with the Thunder Dragon.
“Oh, and one more thing. There’s demonic sect involvement behind all this. You’d better stay sharp,” Lin Dongming hesitated for a second, but still gave her the warning.
“Demonic sects?” Bai Zhiqing looked confused. She’d spent most of her time in the sect, and even when she did go down the mountain, she’d never encountered anything serious. Her knowledge about the demonic path was pretty limited.
She couldn’t understand how Lin Dongming could even tell there was demonic activity.
“Probably doesn’t concern you or me.” Lin Dongming tossed her a jade pendant Elder Tuoba had given him. “The elder told me to give this to you—it’s probably for protection.”
“Wait, huh?” Bai Zhiqing barely caught the pendant when Lin Dongming was already flying off. She didn’t even get a chance to ask anything.
“Unbelievable. Always leaving things half said. I’ll ask him properly next time,” she muttered and sat down to cultivate.
Meanwhile, Lin Dongming had caught up with the Thunder Dragon, right in the middle of a storm of lightning energy.
He’d always had a thought he wanted to try.
—They say strong lightning techniques can temper the body, just like tribulations do. But he never had access to lightning strong enough.
Now, the chance was right in front of him.
The Thunder Dragon Xuanting, at the Fusion stage, had unbelievably powerful lightning. Even the loose bolts radiating from its body had the strength of a late Core Formation or early Nascent Soul attack—perfect for body-tempering!
Coincidentally, because Han Xiangjun had taken a longer route, she and Lin Dongming ended up cultivating separately without noticing each other.
“Better play it safe the first time. This lightning looks brutal,” Lin Dongming muttered. Even though he was far from the dragon’s body, he wasn’t taking chances. He stacked five layers of spiritual shields and put on his Blackscale Armor, a defensive item he got while working for a rich cultivator, then picked out what seemed like the weakest lightning bolt and charged in.
“!!” Sure enough, the five shields shattered one by one. The lightning pierced the Blackscale Armor and hit his body, paralyzing him almost instantly—he nearly fell out of the sky.
His muscles tore under the blast, but spiritual energy from his core quickly spread through his body, repairing the damage and rebuilding his muscles even stronger than before.
He shoved a Nourishing Pill into his mouth, and the healing sped up.
“My physical body is already decent for my level… and with the Blackscale Armor too… I still almost got wrecked. This method isn’t for normal people,” he thought.
Lin Dongming quickly pulled away from the Thunder Dragon and found a quiet place to recover. The leftover lightning still crackled in his body, and it’d take a while to wear off. The healing energy from the pill and his own spiritual power worked together to rebuild him—destruction and rebirth happening all at once.
He sat cross-legged, sweat pouring down his face.
But what he didn’t see was that nearby, Han Xiangjun had spotted his reckless charge into the lightning—and was now watching him quietly with her aura hidden.
What the hell was that idiot doing? Did he chase after me because he was worried, and then got zapped? That’s just stupid…
As for the insane idea of using lightning to temper your body—Han Xiangjun didn’t even dare to imagine it. Just feeling the thunder energy from a distance was terrifying enough. Touching it directly when you’re three whole cultivation realms below?
Only a lunatic would try that.