Tower Battle

"Tap, tap, tap~"

Lin Dong strolled unhurriedly toward Cao Zhu, who was sprawled limply on the ground.

"I-I surrender! I surrender!!"

Drenched in sweat, Cao Zhu scrambled backward and shouted frantically.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you."

Lin Dong crouched down with a smile, tore the High-grade Cosmic Bag from his waist, and opened it. "Oh, forty thousand Yang Yuan Stones. You Skyfire City talisman masters are quite rich. Give them to me?"

"..."

Cao Zhu's lips trembled slightly for a moment, but he still did not dare refuse.

His intense desire to survive forced him into silence, but his heart was bleeding!

Three Ice Profound Swords worth thirty thousand Yang Yuan Stones, plus forty thousand Yang Yuan Stones—after coming out for just one match, he had lost a full seventy thousand Yang Yuan Stones. If he fought a few more rounds, wouldn't he go bankrupt on the spot?

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother, which master are you a disciple of?"

"Senior Brother, may I ask what your relationship with Senior Sister Ziyue is?"

Lin Dong had originally intended to warn Cao Zhu a little, but the swarm of Yan City talisman masters rushing over frightened him into hastily summoning the Ice Profound Sword and fleeing through the air atop it.

Several minutes later, Lin Dong finally let out a long sigh of relief after escaping the encirclement.

"So you have things you're afraid of too. I thought you feared neither heaven nor earth." A cool voice sounded beside his ear.

"What?"

Lin Dong turned to look at the tall beauty beside him.

"Nothing. Tomorrow is the Tower Battle. Remember not to be late. Also, get a good rest tonight and adjust your condition."

Ziyue, whose expression had softened considerably, spoke calmly.

"Understood. See you tomorrow."

Having already explored most of the Talisman Master Association, Lin Dong waved a hand and walked straight out of the association.

Upon returning to his small courtyard, Lin Dong impatiently shut the door. He then took out Cao Zhu's Cosmic Bag—not because he coveted the forty thousand Yang Yuan Stones, but because there was something better inside that had not been convenient to take out earlier.

As he examined the ancient book in his hand, rows upon rows of densely packed words leaped into Lin Dong's sight:

Soul Destruction Wheel: Elite-grade Mental Secret Technique. Mental Energy can be condensed into a mental wheel with sharp circular blades, which, while rotating at high speed...

"An Elite-grade Mental Secret Technique. Not a bad haul."

"Come to think of it, are the talisman masters of Skyfire City all this rich? A Two-Seal Symbol Master alone had this much to squeeze out. If I rob all of Skyfire City's talisman masters during tomorrow's Tower Battle, wouldn't that be..."

After finishing the ancient book, Lin Dong suddenly had a bold idea.

The next day.

The square before the gray Symbol Master Tower was already packed with figures. Two clearly divided groups stood facing one another, ignoring each other completely.

"That is Skyfire City's leader this time, Han Yun, the president of the Skyfire City Talisman Master Association. He is a Four Seal Talisman Master and Teacher's old rival."

After not seeing him for a day, Ziyue had once again resumed her icy demeanor, as if she had completely forgotten what happened yesterday.

The person she pointed at was a gray-robed old man with an indifferent expression. Beside him stood an ordinary-looking man with thick brows. It was clear that the surrounding talisman masters held him in great respect.

"The one beside Han Yun is Zhou Tong, the Senior Disciple Brother of the Skyfire City Talisman Master Association. He became a Two-Seal Symbol Master two years ago."

Seeing Lin Dong remain silent, Ziyue simply continued introducing them on her own.

"He isn't a Two-Seal Symbol Master, but a Three Seal Talisman Master. He is only one step away from entering the middle stage of the Three Seal Talisman Master realm. Be careful of him after entering the tower."

Lin Dong suddenly spoke.

"A Three Seal Talisman Master? Understood."

A look of realization appeared on Ziyue's face. Yan Xuan had long had suspicions about Zhou Tong's cultivation, but he had never been entirely certain.

Just as Lin Dong and Ziyue were speaking quietly, Cao Zhu approached with a handsome Silver Robe Man.

"Hehe, are you Lin Dong? I am Liu Long, the second senior brother of the Skyfire City Talisman Master Association. Regarding yesterday's matter..."

The Silver Robe Man cupped his hands toward them with apparent grace.

"Those are my spoils of war. I'm not giving them back."

Lin Dong waved a hand, and the Silver Robe Man immediately froze.

"Uh, sir, those were three Ice Profound Swords and forty thousand Yang—"

The Silver Robe Man's expression darkened slightly, though he continued with a smile.

"Not giving them back. What, can you beat me?"

Lin Dong shrugged, drawing a radiant smile from the beauty beside him.

"Lin Dong, don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. If you insist on being so ungrateful, don't blame me for showing no mercy during the Tower Battle later."

The smile on Liu Long's face vanished abruptly as he stared coldly at Lin Dong.

"What a coincidence. I also have a hundred-million project to discuss with you later."

Lin Dong smiled slightly. Liu Long and Cao Zhu immediately left with grim expressions.

"This Liu Long is a late-stage Two-Seal Symbol Master. He is still a little inferior to you and isn't worth mentioning. Once inside the tower, just focus on Zhou Tong."

Before Liu Long and Cao Zhu had gone far, an extremely earnest reminder drifted lightly into their ears. Cao Zhu was fine, but two unnatural flushes immediately rose on Liu Long's face.

"Alright."

Ziyue gave Liu Long and Cao Zhu, who had quickened their pace, an amused look and barely managed not to laugh.

Clang!

A clear toll of a bell rang out, announcing the arrival of the Tower Battle.

As the Yan City Talisman Master Association President, Master Yan led four middle-aged talisman masters forward and stopped before the tightly shut doors of the Symbol Master Tower.

"Let us begin."

Master Yan and the other four exchanged solemn looks. They simultaneously formed hand seals, and five majestic beams of Mental Energy shot from their bodies, rapidly intertwining in midair before finally forming a fist-sized seal of light.

"Ha, open!"

Their unified roar fell, and the seal of light landed precisely in the groove at the center of the doors. The stone doors, sealed for so long, rumbled loudly as they opened!

"Whoosh~"

A tide-like mental pressure immediately poured out. The talisman masters standing closest to the Gray Tower all felt their bodies sink.

"The Symbol Master Tower is open. The Tower Battle officially begins. All talisman masters, enter!"

At Master Yan's command, the talisman masters of both sides surged inside like a swarm of locusts crossing a field.

"Tch, it's like the first person in gets the championship."

Lin Dong shook his head helplessly. Only after the flow of people had thinned did he slowly stroll inside.

"Hehe, this kid..."

Master Yan, who had noticed this scene, smiled faintly. Do your best, Lin Dong. This Tower Battle depends on you and Ziyue.

"Buzz~"

The moment Lin Dong stepped onto the first floor of the Symbol Master Tower, his body sank. A fairly powerful mental pressure rushed toward him, as though he had accidentally entered a gravitational field.

Within the mental pressure was a faint, concealed mental fluctuation. It passed through Lin Dong's body and entered the Niwan Palace in his mind.

The four Life Spirit Talismans lying at the center of the Niwan Palace immediately reacted, swiftly transforming into four rapidly spinning Spirit Talisman Vortices that swallowed the invading mental fluctuation.

The light on the spirit talismans suddenly brightened, as if they had absorbed some extraordinarily pure energy. At the same time, the mental pressure filling the first floor seemed to vanish without a trace.