Cang Wu's Test

"Interesting!"

Cang Wu chuckled softly. After withdrawing his gaze from a spot in the stands, he turned to the arena before him and watched with great interest, occasionally offering a few comments.

"What an idiot. If he'd aimed that kick at the middle, he would've won in three moves."

"That kid's hopeless. Thrust at his throat!"

On the arena, Lin Dong was locked in a fierce battle with Song Cheng. He felt utterly exhilarated, completely unaware that, in someone's eyes, his fighting skills were terribly crude.

Unlike his last battle with Wei Tong, when he had first fought someone several realms above him, Lin Dong had felt mostly excitement and surprise. He'd thought that with someone guiding him, fighting could actually be so easy.

But this time, Lin Dong relied entirely on himself from start to finish. Every punch and kick came from his own effort and sweat. Every dodge that narrowly avoided a blow set his blood surging.

It made Lin Dong truly realize that he really could fight across realms using nothing but his own strength.

Fighting was awesome!

At once, Lin Dong's attacks grew sharper and more decisive. He even fought as if he didn't care whether he lived or died.

Lin Dong raised his fist and swung a hammering punch at Song Cheng. Song Cheng lifted an arm to block it, but Lin Dong followed through by dropping his elbow, then snapping his arm upward to strike Song Cheng beneath the chin.

Song Cheng felt a sharp pain in his jaw and was sent flying. Before he could hit the ground, he heard several sharp whistles through the air.

Song Cheng was a ruthless man. To keep Lin Dong from pressing him further, he abandoned his defense and twisted his body, barely avoiding vital points.

A moment later, Song Cheng felt a chill on his arm and thigh. After landing, he looked down and saw a deep gash on his left arm and another on the outside of his right leg, both steadily spilling blood.

"Good! Good! Good! I nearly forgot—you're a Talisman Master, too."

Song Cheng sneered, then raised a hand. A fine iron longsword appeared in his grip.

Lin Dong's expression grew more serious. In his earlier fight with Wei Tong, as well as his previous exchanges with Song Cheng, they had only used their fists and feet. With the power of the Devouring Spirit Talisman, he could take those attacks head-on.

Lin Dong had fought someone wielding a weapon before—Yue Feng—but his opponent had been far too weak to threaten him. Lin Dong had treated that fight as nothing more than practice.

This time was different. His opponent, Song Cheng, was a powerful warrior at the Lesser Perfection of the Yuan Dan Realm, and he likely knew some high-grade martial arts as well.

Seeing Lin Dong's expression, Cang Wu guessed what he was thinking. A faint smile tugged at his lips as he murmured to himself,

"Kid, becoming the next master of the Ancestral Stone—or even my junior apprentice—isn't going to be easy. As your chief examiner, I'm much stricter than they are."

Yet an invisible barrier seemed to surround Cang Wu, preventing his voice from carrying even the slightest distance.

The people around him couldn't even make out his appearance clearly. He looked blurred, as though viewed through a sheet of water.

Lin Dong had no idea what Cang Wu was thinking. If he had, he might have fought even harder. For now, though, he fixed his eyes on Song Cheng, his expression grave and focused.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Two dark shadows flew back into Lin Dong's sleeve. He leaped into the air, and two more shadows shot out, carrying him aloft.

Seeing Lin Dong's move, Cang Wu chuckled and shook his head. He said nothing, merely watching the contest on the arena with a faint smile.

Seeing that Lin Dong wasn't closing in, Song Cheng's expression eased slightly. Clearly relieved, he channeled the Primal Energy in his body into his sword and raised it to slash at Lin Dong.

"Mountain Splitting Sword Art, Splitting Mount Hua!"

As his low shout rang out, Song Cheng held the sword before him and swung with all his might. A sharp sword wave swept out toward Lin Dong in midair.

Lin Dong's expression turned even more serious. Spiritual Power surged from his Numinous Palace, taking shape before him as a pointed, spiral-shaped wave.

It was the Spiritual Secret Technique Lin Dong had obtained from the Wanjin Merchant Association: Sharp Spiral Wave!

With a wave of his hand, he sent the Sharp Spiral Wave toward the sword wave. At the same time, both hands formed a series of seals: the Mysterious Gate Seal, a martial art perfected through the Ancestral Stone.

As Lin Dong formed the seals, the invisible Sharp Spiral Wave crashed into the sword wave. Spiritual Power and Primal Energy collided, grinding away at each other.

From the looks of it, Song Cheng's sword wave had the upper hand, though not by much.

Song Cheng raised his sword again. Primal Energy gathered along its blade once more, condensing into an even stronger sword wave.

"Ravaging a Thousand Armies!"

The longsword came slashing down, and the sword wave shot forth with the force of splitting bamboo, hurtling toward Lin Dong.

Perhaps bolstered by the second sword wave, the first one suddenly erupted with a violent surge of Primal Energy. After annihilating the Sharp Spiral Wave, its remaining force shot toward Lin Dong ahead of the second wave.

Lin Dong thrust forward the seals in his hands, wiping out the lingering sword wave before charging straight toward the one behind it.

"Boom!"

The collision between the seals and the sword wave was unlike the one before. A powerful shock wave burst out.

Lin Zhentian and the others turned pale. The sword wave rapidly broke through the Mysterious Gate Seal and came slashing toward Lin Dong once more.

"Boom!"

Just then, a massive pure-white finger struck out and shattered the sword wave. It was the Lin Family's martial art, Pure Origin Finger.

After crushing the sword wave with a single finger, Lin Dong clearly realized he couldn't keep exchanging martial arts with Song Cheng from a distance. He immediately waved a hand, sending several dark shadows flying at Song Cheng from all directions.

At the same time, Lin Dong flew toward Song Cheng, standing atop two Primal Shuttles.

Song Cheng was stunned when Lin Dong blocked both of his full-powered sword strikes. He clearly hadn't expected Lin Dong to be strong enough to meet him head-on.

Then, seeing Lin Dong attack, Song Cheng's expression changed again. He hurriedly swung his sword, fending off the Primal Shuttles as they darted back and forth around him.

Lin Dong attacked even more ferociously. He hardly bothered to dodge Song Cheng's sword, instead trading wounds for his life and leaving Song Cheng utterly frustrated.

Feeling his Primal Energy steadily drain—and then noticing that it was draining at a strangely faster rate—Song Cheng was shocked. After forcing Lin Dong back with a sword strike, he tried to concede.

"I..."

But Song Cheng had barely gotten a single word out when Lin Dong attacked again, cutting him off.