Chapter 704: Mountain Challenge
Five days had passed since the enormous Great Desolate Tablet once again sunk into the ground. During these five days, the commotion that was created because of the birth of the Great Desolation Scripture finally come to a gradual decline. This allowed Lin Dong to feel relieved as if a great burden had been laid down.
After experiencing a period of intensive training, Lin Dong’s subsequent days had become much freer. He would occasionally head to the Pill River to train, familiarise himself with the Great Desolation Scripture or roam freely around the martial arts hall. These days were much more relaxing compared to before.
In contrast to Lin Dong’s comfort, the training atmosphere within the four halls gradually began to turn increasingly tense. This was because the Hall Competition, which was considered the most sensational event in the Dao Sect, would be held after one month…
The Hall Competition was a competition that reviewed the strength of the disciples from the four halls. Furthermore, the ranking of the four halls will also be determined by the result of this competition. Therefore, all the disciples from the four halls would put in great effort to train for each year’s Hall Competition. Otherwise, it would really be a little unsightly should they end up being miserably defeated.
Therefore, as the day of the Hall Competition approached, the training atmosphere within the four halls became increasingly explosive…
Lin Dong naturally felt the atmosphere too. However, he was not affected by it. His strength had advanced quite rapidly during this period of time. Additionally, he had now obtained the Great Desolation Scripture and only needed to quietly study it. Hence, there was no need for him to be overly zealous in his training. As such, he turned into the most laid back person while every other disciples in the sect was training fervently.
A couple more days passed while Lin Dong leisurely enjoyed himself.
While Lin Dong was relaxing, he would occasionally meet Ying Huanhuan within the sect. There was no need to doubt the allure of this girl within the Dao Sect, and she never lacked companions wherever she went to. Moreover, her companions consisted of both sexes. The liveliness and lovely laughter of the young lady appeared as though it was contagious, causing everyone to involuntarily slow down their footsteps.
However, each time Lin Dong appeared, this young lady, who was the centre of attention, would rotate her sly large eyes. After which, she would escape with a swift rabbit-like speed. That manner clearly indicated that she was hiding from him. This caused Lin Dong to be a little stunned. He mused for a moment before he recalled the bet that he had made with her when he first joined the Dao Sect. Immediately, he laughed involuntarily. Was that girl afraid that he would give her a difficult task…
Lin Dong merely smiled in response this. The bet from back then was merely something that he had randomly mentioned. If he did not intentionally think about it, it was likely that Lin Dong would have forgotten about the matter. Therefore, he did not specially chase after the weird young lady and find trouble with her.
Other than this small episode, Lin Dong’s life was quiet, peaceful and relaxed during this period of time. Time passed one day after another amidst this calmness, until a certain day arrived...
Lin Dong was seated in front of a chess set within a dimly lighted martial arts hall. The blind old man was seated in front of him. As time passed, the relationship between Lin Dong and the latter became quite cordial. Furthermore, Lin Dong found this eccentric blind old man extremely pleasing to his eyes. They conversed to and fro and were rather intimate.
“Click.”
Lin Dong’s long finger grabbed a chess piece and gently placed it on the chessboard. His eyes swept around the martial arts hall. He was not very interested in chess but the blind old man really loved it. Therefore, Lin Dong casually accompanied him.
“Why are there fewer people in the martial arts hall today?” Lin Dong suddenly asked after his chess piece landed.
Due to the approaching hall competition, the martial arts hall was usually full of people during this period of time. However, it appeared much emptier today. This involuntarily caused Lin Dong to feel a little puzzled.
“Because some people have embarked on the mountain challenge. Many disciples have headed over to join in the fun.” The blind old man offhandedly said.
“Mountain challenge?” Lin Dong was startled.
“The relationship between the various factions in Eastern Xuan Region is extremely complicated. Although the eight super sects are the strongest, there are still some rather powerful super sects ranked slightly behind them. The strength of these factions cannot be underestimated.”
“The ones who have come to our Dao Sect this time around appear to be the Great Precipice Cave. This faction is the nearest one to our Dao Sect territory. At the same time, it is also one of the strongest super sect in this region. Moreover, this faction loves to fight. Although it does not dare to offend our Dao Sect, some elders will occasionally bring some outstanding disciples to our Dao Sect for a mountain challenge.”
Ridicule flashed across the face of the blind old man when he spoke yo this point, “If they win, they will use it as a gimmick and say something about their disciples beating our Dao Sect etc…”
“The Great Precipice Cave has come every year for the past three years. However, they lose every year. Hence, they are not troublesome to deal with and there is no need to be worried.”
Lin Dong nodded his head when he heard this. He ignored the matter as the chess piece in his hand landed once again.
Half a day flew by in such a way for the two. The chess match had also entered the end phase. However, Lin Dong’s eyebrows lifted just as he was prepared to end the game. He raised his head and looked a short distance away. A hurried rushing wind sound was being transmitted from that spot. A moment later, a figure landed, revealing itself to be Mo Ling. However, his expression appeared a little grim.
“What is it?”
Lin Dong asked smilingly. He was also startled by Mo Ling’s expression.
“Do you know what happened at the front hall?” When Mo Ling saw Lin Dong here, he clearly also sighed in relief and asked.
“Those mountain challengers from the Great Precipice Cave?” Lin Dong thought for a moment before replying.
“Yes.”
“It is merely a bout between the disciples. Senior sister Xiaoxiao, Senior brother Qing Ye and Mu Li are all around. Can’t they handle the disciples from the Great Precipice Cave?” Lin Dong frowned and asked.
“Senior sister Xiaoxiao and the rest have shut themselves off to train half a month ago.” Mo Ling rolled his eyes. He was clearly quite helpless in the face of this poorly informed Lin Dong.
“Those fellows have likely purposefully chosen to come at this time. Moreover, a couple of troublesome people from the Great Precipice Cave have appeared this time around and are very powerful. Amongst the senior direct disciples of our four halls, the more powerful ones have also shut themselves off due to training.”
“We have already spared for three rounds earlier and our Dao Sect has lost two rounds. The tone of the Great Precipice Cave disciples are extremely arrogant and they have infuriated quite a number of disciples. Some were unable to control themselves and have returned to find those seniors in retreat.” Mo Ling’s expression was somewhat ugly when he spoke until this point. After all, the Great Precipice Cave’s mountain challenge usually ended up in complete defeat in the past. How could they defeat their Dao Sect? Moreover, the arrogant manner these fellows displayed after their victory caused one to feel completely furious.
“Currently, it is the fourth round of sparring. Little senior sister Huanhuan is fighting. From the looks of it, she is able to temporarily hold off the opponent. However… the Great Precipice Cave still has one troublesome character who has yet to fight. If we are unable to find you today, it is likely that little senior sister Huanhuan will have to fight twice. After all, she is the strongest amongst the disciples currently not in retreat.”
Lin Dong slowly frowned when he heard these words. He understood Ying Huanhuan’s character a little. Although this girl usually acted a little weird and did not seem reliable, she would turn into a completely different person when it came to a matter that concerned the reputation of the sect. The last time, she was even willing to stay behind alone and stop Yao Ling’s group for sake of the Immortal Yuan Ancient Seed. Even less needed to be said for this matter of fighting two consecutive times…
It was indeed a little overboard to allow a girl to fight twice. Just where would the disciples of the Dao Sect hide their faces if news of this spread.
“Deputy hall chief Wu Dao has asked me to find you and head over to control the situation. Otherwise, it will not look good should we lose to the Great Precipice Cave.
Lin Dong frowned tightly. Immediately, he shook his head helplessly. He placed his chess piece on the chessboard, glanced at the blind old man by the side and said, “It seems that I need to make a trip.”
“A bunch of rude rascals. They should be punished a little. Do not hold back. The Dao Sect will back you up if there is any problem.” The blind old man kept the chess pieces and spoke in a faint voice.
Lin Dong smiled and nodded. He did not hesitate any longer as he stood up and waved at Mo Ling. After which, the two of them flew directly in the direction of the front hall.
The Dao Sect was extremely vast. The front hall was specially used to host visitors from the various factions. Normally, the disciples of the Dao Sect would seldom come here. However, each time they met with this kind of mountain challenge, quite a number of people would come and watch the show.
There were quite a number of large stages in the front hall and these stages were used for sparring. Currently, a stage was surrounded by a black mass of people. Some noise that was mixed with anger was faintly heard.
Swoosh!
The Lin Dong duo swiftly rushed over from the distance. Finally, they landed beside the stage. The Dao Sect disciples swiftly threw their gazes over with their appearance. Soon after, joy appeared on the faces of these Dao Sect disciples. After which, a sound that appeared like a sigh of relief swiftly spread across the stage.
“Senior brother Lin Dong is here!”
Lin Dong watched the numerous joy-filled gazes looking at him as though he was their saviour, and felt somewhat helpless. After which, his gaze turned towards the battleground.
From this spot, he coincidentally saw a familiar delicate figure. A dark black ponytail formed an arc on her soft waist. At this moment, the emerald green zither had once again appeared in front of her. It seemed that the opponent Ying Huanhuan met this time was fairly strong...
Lin Dong’s eyes narrowed when he thought of this. After which, he looked towards the opponent opposite Ying Huanhuan.