Lingbo Weibu
Despite being rebuked by Ma Feifei, Zhang Yunji wasn't angry. He cheerfully turned around and leaned against the doorway, waiting to watch the show. He didn't know when it started, but Zhang Yunji had also picked up the same habit as Ma Feifei, liking to sit at the doorway with a small stool whenever he had free time.
The situation was already tense, but the masked man seemed completely unfazed, standing there quietly as the six men surrounded him.
The leader of the Heavenly Fiend Pavilion stepped forward, looked at the masked man, and said in a deep voice, "Hand over the one million Spirit Crystal you just exchanged, or don't blame us for bullying you with our Heavenly Fiend Pavilion."
For the Heavenly Fiend Pavilion, this is no longer just about a million Spirit Crystal; it's also about their prestige. If they let the masked man leave without taking back the million Spirit Crystal they exchanged for the fragments, the Heavenly Fiend Pavilion will become the talk of the Dubian Town a laughingstock in less than a day.
Therefore, even though they are being watched by a large number of cultivators as their seven powerful figures at the Heavenly Fiend Pavilion Spirit King level bully a cultivator at the Spirit Ancestor Stage Five Sect, the Heavenly Fiend Pavilion has no choice but to grit their teeth and continue bullying him; they cannot back down.
Of course, what the Heavenly Fiend Pavilion Master hoped for most was that the masked man would be sensible and hand over the one million Spirit Crystal, so that the Heavenly Fiend Pavilion would not have to take action in the town and give the authorities a bad impression.
However, the masked man remained completely unfazed, calmly stating, "Like I said before, if you're so capable, come and take it yourselves."
Upon hearing this, not only the surrounding audience understood, but even the members of the Heavenly Fiend Pavilion knew that there was no other choice but to fight to the death.
"Call!"
Without hesitation, the Heavenly Fiend Pavilion Master extended a large hand from his wide robe and struck directly at the masked man's crown. If this blow landed, the masked man would likely die on the spot.
'Swish~'
The masked man channeled his spiritual energy, shifted his feet, and dodged the palm strike from the Heavenly Fiend Pavilion Master.
"Lingbo Weibu!"
Some of the onlookers exclaimed in surprise.
"What is Lingbo Weibu?" a cultivator asked curiously from the side.
The other cultivators, who were also confused, turned their attention to the one who had spoken earlier.
Seeing everyone's strong desire for knowledge, the cultivator explained, "Lingbo Weibu is a top-tier footwork technique from the Blue Quality book 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils' in the Mysterious Bookstore. This footwork is exquisite and can be used by practitioners to evade attacks from numerous enemies. In terms of rank, it should be on the same level as the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms."
"Hiss~" Upon hearing this, everyone gasped. It was on the same level as the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms! After more than half a year of research and understanding of the Mysterious Bookstore, the martial arts techniques that had been comprehended by cultivators were roughly classified by them. For example, the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms was directly positioned as a seventh-level technique, which is a high-level technique and belongs to the first tier.
The fact that the masked man's "Lingbo Weibu" technique was actually classified as being in the top tier by this cultivator is truly astonishing.
It should be known that even for a powerful figure like Spirit Venerable, a seventh-tier cultivation technique is an invaluable asset. For cultivators of lower levels, such as Spirit King and Spirit Ancestor Masters, it is practically a matter of life and death.
Most importantly, since the masked man used the martial arts techniques from the books in the Divine Artifact Bookstore, it means that he had been inside the Bookstore before.
As the Mysterious Bookstore has become increasingly famous, the identities of the practitioners who are now able to enter the Bookstore to read books have changed significantly compared to the beginning.
There are generally three types of people who go to Bookstore to read books these days: one is a very important person with exceptional cultivation, another is someone who is extremely wealthy, and the third is one of the lucky ones who bought the first batch of exclusive numbers issued by the Wantong Trading Market.
Here, the first two categories account for over 90%, because most lucky individuals choose to sell their exclusive numbers on the trading market for hundreds of thousands of Spirit Crystal to use for cultivation. After all, while the books in the Mysterious Bookstore are magical, they don't guarantee profits just by reading them; it's all based on chance. It is precisely this chance that deters the vast majority of cultivators who are not wealthy. In weighing their options, they choose to exchange their numbers for Spirit Crystal and cultivate slowly.
So the masked man is one of these three types of people. Judging from his cultivation level, he can't be the first type; so he can only be either rich or lucky.
But for some reason, everyone subconsciously assumed the masked man was the second type, because a cultivator of his level, if he really obtained a unique number, would 99% choose to sell it rather than try his luck at Bookstore.
If it's the second type—young and wealthy—then it implies a powerful background...
"It seems like the Heavenly Fiend Pavilion has really messed up this time," one cultivator muttered to himself.
"And look at that masked man, he's not flustered at all. That proves he's definitely very knowledgeable, and his background might be so powerful it's terrifying," another cultivator said, somewhat exaggeratedly.
But the cultivators around him all seemed to think he was right. Where was this? Dubian Town! The headquarters of the Mysterious Bookstore. Right now, if you randomly grabbed someone off the street in Dubian Town, they might just be a big shot at least Spirit King.
Unfortunately, the Heavenly Fiend Pavilion was unaware of these intricacies. As the Heavenly Fiend Pavilion Master, he had never even been able to enter the Bookstore to read a book, let alone the other higher-ups.
Seeing that the masked man had dodged his attack, the Heavenly Fiend Pavilion Master instantly turned around, switched his left palm to his right, and struck at the masked man.
'Swish~'
The masked man channeled his Spiritual Power and dodged the attack with another movement.
After three or four consecutive back-and-forths, the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Fiend Pavilion finally couldn't hold back any longer.
A giant hammer appeared out of thin air in his hand. He poured all his Spiritual Power into it, and the hammer shone with a silver light. The nails covering the hammer started spinning rapidly, like shooting stars.
"Drink!" The Heavenly Fiend Pavilion Master swung his giant hammer at the masked man. This strike carried a powerful aura, enveloping the masked man completely and creating immense pressure.
The masked man seemed to be suppressed by this aura and was unable to unleash his 'Lingbo Weibu' (a martial arts technique).
The giant hammer, roaring with force, was about to smash into the masked man.
Suddenly, a red and white Poké Ball appeared out of thin air in the man's hand.
A crisp "bang!" rang out, and a beam of light shot out from the red and white Poké Ball.
'Whoosh~' At the same time, two branches as thick as arms struck the giant hammer that was being hurled at the masked man.
'Bang!'
The tree branch Tackle the giant hammer, producing a tremendous Tackle that echoed throughout the long street with a muffled groan.
Immediately afterwards, the onlookers saw the masked man use the "Lingbo Weibu" technique once again to escape the aura range of the Heavenly Fiend Pavilion Master.
Because he was struck by the thick tree branch, the Heavenly Fiend Pavilion Master's attack paused for a second, and he was exhausted when he landed.
'Thump!'
Even so, the sound of the giant hammer hitting the ground was terrifying. Even Ma Feifei, who was drawing talismans in the Bookstore, couldn't help but frown and get up to walk outside.