Looking at the seemingly brilliant smile on Lin Dong's face, a glint of coldness also passed through the eyes of the white-clothed man. He stared intently at Lin Dong and spat out two icy syllables: "Trash!"
As soon as these words were uttered, the atmosphere in the field instantly became much more tense. Everyone knew that today’s matter would likely not end well.
On the corridor, Zi Yue also quietly let out a sigh of relief. She hadn't expected Lin Dong to be so individualistic, earlier he had simply turned around and walked away. She didn’t doubt for a moment that if it wasn’t for those final words from that guy, Lin Dong would have ignored her completely and left without looking back.
"I want to see what kind of capital you possess, worthy of such regard from the teacher..." Zi Yue stared at the figure in the field and muttered to herself. Although their previous brief exchange had made her realize that Lin Dong had some skills, she still did not believe Master Yan when he said she was inferior to him.
As one of the outstanding young Talisman Masters in Flame City, Zi Yue possessed this level of confidence. Currently, she was already at the peak of the Second Seal Talisman Master stage, and was just one step away from the Third Seal. This achievement could be considered outstanding among her peers.
Although she had heard about Lin Dong defeating Wei Tong, in Zi Yue's view, the greatest credit should go to Lin Dong's innate Yuan Power strength. She was indeed somewhat surprised that Lin Dong had managed to enter the Small Yuan Dan Realm at such a young age. However, that was all there was to it, because no matter how powerful one's Yuan Power might be, it would be useless inside the Talisman Master Tower. There, only a formidable spiritual power could provide the greatest protection.
And the confrontations between Talisman Masters were mostly contests of spiritual power. Therefore, as soon as Lin Dong and the white-clothed man engaged in combat, Zi Yue would be able to discern his limits.
In the field, Lin Dong looked at the sneering white-clothed man and realized that this person seemed to be deliberately provoking the Talisman Masters of Flame City.
"Are you trying to probe the bottom line of Flame City's Talisman Masters?"
Upon hearing Lin Dong's mocking words, the white-clothed man's eyes narrowed slightly but he did not respond to it directly. Instead, he coldly laughed, "Young man, stop your incessant chatter. If you don't dare to fight, then get out of the way and let someone who can represent your side come out."
While sneering, the white-clothed man actually felt a bit startled in his heart. Although he had an arrogant character, he was certainly not stupid and would never recklessly act so arrogantly on someone else's territory without reason. The reason for his behavior was exactly as Lin Dong had said – he was ordered to investigate the abilities of the young Talisman Masters in Flame City this year.
"Since that's the case... let's start then." Lin Dong smiled and then took two steps forward, saying indifferently.
"Hmph, young man, I am Cao Zhu from the Talisman Guild of Tianhuo City. You'd better remember this name well!"
The white-clothed man coldly laughed, however, this person was clearly a cunning type. Even before his voice had completely faded, several streaks of cold light suddenly shot out from his sleeves like lightning, heading straight towards Lin Dong.
"Ding ding!"
Facing Cao Zhu's sudden attack, Lin Dong remained perfectly calm, lightly flicking his finger. Several streaks of black light also shot out from between his fingers, easily blocking Cao Zhu's attacks.
After blocking Cao Zhu's attack, others noticed that the cold light was actually three sharp short swords. These short swords were entirely snow-white, even emitting strands of cold energy. Moreover, when Lin Dong's Shattered Yuan Dart collided with the short swords, he was surprised to find that the spiritual power covering the dart was stung by the cold energy emanating from them.
"Ice玄Iron."
Lin Dong glanced at the three snow-white short swords, which were covered with sharp serrated edges, and recognized them immediately. Ice玄Iron is a special rare metal that grows in extremely cold places, naturally carrying a shocking amount of cold energy. Even spiritual power could be injured by its cold energy.
Lin Dong hadn't anticipated that Cao Zhu would possess such treasures, no wonder he dared to act so arrogantly here.
Despite Lin Dong suffering a slight disadvantage from the cold energy, Cao Zhu was far more shocked in his heart. In the instant of collision, he was astonished to discover that the spiritual power he had infused into the Ice玄Swords was almost shaken apart. Apparently, the former's spiritual power was stronger than his!
"When did such a formidable figure emerge among the younger generation in Flame City?" Cao Zhu murmured in his heart, then his eyes flashed even colder. The three Ice玄Swords immediately began to dance, transforming into streams of sword shadows filled with intense cold energy, skillfully shooting towards Lin Dong.
From this appearance, it seemed that Cao Zhu was quite skilled at using spiritual power to control objects for attack. The trajectory of the drills, plus the cold energy attached to the sword bodies, would be troublesome even for ordinary Small Yuan Dan Realm experts if they encountered it.
However, this posed no threat to Lin Dong. Raising his palm, ten Shattered Yuan Darts burst forth, clanging and preventing Cao Zhu's three Ice玄Swords from getting within several feet of his body.
Compared to the degree of control over spiritual power, Cao Zhu was clearly unable to match Lin Dong. Even though he relied on the prowess of the Ice玄Swords' cold energy, he still couldn't break through the defense of the ten seemingly tiny Shattered Yuan Darts.
"Shoo!"
When using the Shattered Yuan Darts to block the opponent's Ice玄Swords, Lin Dong also smiled at Cao Zhu. Stepping on the ground, his figure darted towards the latter like an arrow. At the same time, a mighty Yuan Power fluctuation also spread from his body.
Seeing Lin Dong charging, Cao Zhu was also startled. His figure quickly retreated, and a wave of spiritual shock rapidly surged from his Niwan Palace, colliding fiercely with Lin Dong.
Sensing the rapidly approaching spiritual wave, Lin Dong's gaze flickered. He didn't dodge but instead extended his palm. Under his subtle control, a Life Essence Talisman appeared beneath the skin of his palm. Then, the Life Essence Talisman wriggled again, transforming into a talisman vortex.
"Chi chi!"
Lin Dong's hand directly grabbed the spiritual shock wave. What shocked Cao Zhu was that this shock wave not only failed to harm Lin Dong, but instead disappeared into thin air the moment he grabbed it.
As Cao Zhu was shocked by this, a sense of joy welled up in Lin Dong's heart because he discovered that the spiritual shock wave had been completely swallowed by the talisman vortex hidden in his palm!
"What a domineering talisman, capable of swallowing others' spiritual attacks and converting them for its own use!"
While feeling delighted, Lin Dong was also somewhat awed. Such a domineering Life Essence Talisman was something he had never heard of before. This made him doubt whether the mysterious Life Essence Mark he possessed was really just a talisman.
The awe in his heart did not last long before Lin Dong suppressed it. Lifting his head, he looked at the shocked Cao Zhu and couldn't help but sneer. Moving his figure, he appeared in front of the latter. His right palm, hiding the talisman vortex, reached out to grab Cao Zhu's head.
Seeing Lin Dong's large hand coming towards him, Cao Zhu hurriedly retreated. Waves of Yuan Power fluctuations emerged from within his body. However, he was no match for Lin Dong in terms of spiritual power or the powerful Ice玄Swords, which were easily locked down by the other party. To avoid physical pain, he immediately stopped fighting and shouted loudly. Just as Lin Dong's hand touched Cao Zhu's head, the latter's body violently convulsed, his eyes filled with intense horror. He was terrified to discover that the two Life Essence Marks in his Niwan Palace trembled at this moment, and streams of spiritual power flowed uncontrollably, eventually being absorbed into Lin Dong's palm.
"Pfft!"
This bizarre scene literally scared Cao Zhu to death. Unable to think of anything else, he forcibly turned his head, and a streak of blood spewed out, carrying a fishy smell, aiming straight for Lin Dong's throat.
This streak of blood contained strong Yuan Power fluctuations, obviously a desperate move by this person. This move indeed made Lin Dong's figure tremble, and in that brief instant, Cao Zhu escaped from Lin Dong's hand.
"Shoo shoo!"
Just as Cao Zhu fled, Lin Dong frowned. With a thought, a powerful spiritual force coalesced into ten "Spirit Transforming Needles" in front of him. In a flash, they appeared around Cao Zhu, whose face had turned deathly pale, the sharp needle tips gleaming with a faint cold light.
"Stop, I surrender, I surrender!"
Seeing the spiritual needles hovering around him, Cao Zhu's body stiffened. However, he was straightforward. After this brief encounter of a few minutes, he had been utterly defeated without any ability to retaliate. His originally formidable Ice玄Swords were directly locked down effortlessly by the other party. So, to avoid physical pain, he immediately surrendered, shouting loudly.
"Tsk tsk!"
Seeing this person surrender, the surrounding Flame City Talisman Masters also issued a chorus of boos. Many people used this opportunity to retaliate for the humiliation they suffered earlier, hurling a torrent of sarcastic remarks at Cao Zhu, turning his face green with anger. But under the threat of the Spirit Transforming Needles that had yet to dissipate, he didn't dare to open his mouth.
On the corridor, Zi Yue was also startled by this scene. Honestly speaking, this battle seemed rather absurd to her. Regardless of how you look at it, Cao Zhu was a Second Seal Talisman Master. Lin Dong shouldn't have won so easily.
According to common sense, it should be true. If Lin Dong had used normal means, perhaps he would have had to tangle for a while to defeat him. But no one had anticipated that Lin Dong's mysterious "Talisman Vortex" had absorbed most of Cao Zhu's spiritual power in his Niwan Palace in such a short time. How could Cao Zhu continue to fight like this?
Lin Dong grinned and glanced at Cao Zhu, not dispersing the "Spirit Transforming Needles" immediately. Instead, he waved his hand toward the sky, not only retrieving the ten Shattered Yuan Darts but also forcibly taking the three Ice玄Swords into his hands.
Seeing Lin Dong take away the "Ice玄Swords," Cao Zhu's face twitched.
"This will serve as the prize, thank you."
Lin Dong chuckled, ignoring Cao Zhu's fiery glare. He casually stored them in his Heavenly Earth Bag, bowed slightly to the latter, then raised his gaze and gave Zi Yue on the corridor a casual glance, not bothering to say anything more. He turned around and strode away amidst the reverent gazes of a group of Flame City Talisman Masters.