The winter sun shone down, and the vast Beast Horn Arena seemed to sink into silence, every gaze filled with shock as they stared intently at Lei Li, who had just been miserably defeated and fallen to the ground.
Such an outcome was almost beyond the expectations of most spectators. No one had expected that the foremost talent among the younger generation in Qingyang Town would be defeated by a young man from the Lin family whose reputation was not widely known.
“He actually won…”
Lin Zhengtian sprang to his feet, then slowly sat back down on the stone bench. Meanwhile, the outcome before his eyes felt like a dream; he truly found it a little hard to believe.
“Ahhh!”
Beside him, after Lin He and the others stared, dumbfounded and wide-eyed at the result, they suddenly cheered joyfully. For years, they had endured the arrogant behavior of the Lei family's juniors, and that arrogance stemmed from Lei Li's existence. But today, knowing that even the strongest, Lei Li, had lost to Lin Dong, this truly filled them with immense satisfaction.
“Third Brother, you’ve raised quite an extraordinary son…” Lin Zhengtian leaned back against the stone bench, trying to suppress his trembling hand, then looked at Lin Xiao with a beaming smile and said.
Beside them, Lin Keng and Lin Mang nodded slightly. Even though Lin Mang had once been somewhat at odds with Lin Xiao, he now had nothing to say. Lin Dong's display of such achievement left him both astonished and helpless, for he understood that in this regard, he would forever be unable to catch up to Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao let out a wry laugh. Because he had recently been busy with matters at Huoyan Manor, Lin Dong had mostly cultivated on his own. Furthermore, he didn't have a very clear understanding of his son's true strength. Today's events not only astonished Lin Zhengtian and the others, but even he himself felt a sense of disbelief.
“The Qi Men Seal that Dong just displayed seemed nothing like ours. With that kind of power, it couldn’t have been the incomplete Qi Men Seal.” Recalling the powerful might of the Qi Men Seal from earlier, Lin Xiao suddenly said, full of doubt. The Lei family’s Rushing Thunder Light was a genuine Fourth-grade martial art. Relying on the incomplete Qi Men Seal, it clearly shouldn’t have been able to contend with it.
Hearing this, Lin Zhengtian nodded slightly, his brows furrowed. He was a little unclear about the underlying reason. After all, he could rack his brains and still not guess that Lin Dong had perfected the Qi Men Seal by relying on the light projection of the Stone Talisman.
Compared to the Lin family's side, which was overjoyed, the atmosphere among the Lei and Xie families was somber. Everyone in the Lei family had grim expressions. Seeing this scene, Xie Qian could only let out a wry laugh, not daring to say anything at such a painful and agitated moment.
At this moment, the Lei family had not only lost the important Ironwood Manor, but most importantly, they had been conspicuously surpassed by the Lin family. This was truly their greatest loss.
The focus of the myriad gazes was now on the center of the arena. As the dust settled, Lin Dong's figure became clearer, appearing in everyone's sight. The sleeves of his arms, where he had been struck earlier, were now torn to shreds. However, this was far better than Lei Li's disheveled appearance.
"I can't believe you actually defeated Lei Li. You're seriously a beast!" Seeing Lin Dong still standing firm and steady, Wu Yun, who had been standing not far away, excitedly rushed over, his face flushed with emotion, and said.
Lin Dong quirked his lips. At this moment, the Yuan Power in his dantian was almost completely depleted. Although he had stepped into the Earth Yuan Realm today, executing the second stage of the Qi Men Seal was still somewhat strenuous. Right now, he was truly a paper tiger; anyone could easily defeat him.
Lin Dong reached out and picked up the young Fire Python Tiger cub, then looked towards the referee standing nearby.
Seeing Lin Dong's gaze fall upon him, the referee, who had been as dumbfounded as everyone else, finally composed himself, his complex gaze sweeping over Lin Dong before he loudly declared: "This match, Lin Dong of the Lin family wins!"
The outcome of the match had long been clear, so no one was truly surprised by the referee's announcement. Waves of excited chatter mixed with awe spread out from the center of the arena; this battle had truly opened their eyes.
In the arena, Xie Yingying's expression flickered as she watched Lei Li collapse miserably to the ground; seeing him in such an utterly pathetic state, the gentle smile she had once reserved for him unconsciously faded a great deal. She hesitated for a moment, then waved her hand, summoning two guards from the Xie family to carry Lei Li back to his seat.
"Hmph, that woman's no good." Wu Yun, seeing Xie Yingying's actions, curled his lip in disdain and whispered to Lin Dong.
Lin Dong merely gave a perfunctory smile at that, not bothering to care about the relationship between those two. Cradling the cub, he stretched and slowly made his way towards his family's seats.
"Hey... hey, aren't you participating in the hunting competition?" Seeing Lin Dong's actions, Wu Yun hastily asked.
"No..." Lin Dong waved his hand. In his current state, there was no way he could continue in the hunting competition. And besides, after this match, whether he participated in the hunting competition or not no longer mattered, because in this one battle, the strongest person had already fallen by his hand.
Under Wu Yun's helpless gaze, Lin Dong carried the cub back to the Lin family's seats. Seeing him return, everyone from the Lin family, even Lin Zhentian, hastily stood up, as if protecting a precious treasure, carefully helping him into his seat.
"First, get some good rest. You don't need to participate in the next part of the hunting competition." Helping Lin Dong into his seat, Lin Zhentian waved a hand and said with a warm smile. He could tell that Lin Dong's current condition wasn't very good, and naturally didn't want him to continue fighting to the death with others. Right now, winning the previous battle was the most valuable thing for their Lin family; they absolutely couldn't afford any mistakes.
Lin Dong nodded. To one side, Lin He and the others edged closer, curiously peering at the still-unopened eyes of the Fire Python Tiger cub in his arms.
"Haha, many thanks to the Lei family for the gift of Ironwood Manor and the transfer of its affairs. If possible, please complete it within half a month. As for the Lei family's honor, I have always had faith in it. Old Man Lei, what do you say?" Lin Zhentian instructed everyone to look after Lin Dong, then turned his head to face the Lei family and said with a smile.
Hearing Lin Zhengtian’s laughter, Lei Bao’s aged face turned ashen. Meanwhile, a Lei family member behind him angrily said, “Lin Zhengtian, your Lin family merely got lucky, there’s no need to be so smug!”
“Slap!”
No sooner had this person’s voice rung out than Lei Bao, already seething with rage, backhanded the person behind him. Then Lei Bao stood up, and with a faint gaze, glanced at Lei Li, who had just been carried back. The corner of his eye twitched uncontrollably.
“Let’s go.”
The gazes from all around, like sharp needles, made Lei Bao’s face turn pale with fury and shame. Without saying much, he quickly lifted his feet and left the Arena. Seeing this, the Lei family members could only hurriedly follow, their figures revealing a hint of embarrassment and disarray.
At this moment, the Lei family truly understood what it meant to try and steal a chicken, only to lose the rice.
Watching the Lei family’s discomfited figures, everyone in the Lin family felt a sense of relief. For years, their Lin family had endured the Lei family’s oppression, but from now on, their position would gradually become more stable.
“Congratulations.”
Luo Cheng, leading the Raging Blade Martial Hall, approached, cupped his hands towards Lin Zhengtian, his gaze then strangely shifting to where Lin Dong was seated behind him, with a hint of admiration in his voice: “For the Lin family to have such a person, that is truly the greatest wealth.”
Hearing this, Lin Zhengtian laughed heartily, nodding his head, then chatted with Luo Cheng for a while, before standing up and leading the Lin family members out of the Arena. The subsequent matches held no meaning for them. After Lin Dong’s fierce battle with Lei Li in the first match, the following matches were all minor skirmishes, no longer holding anyone’s interest.
Although the Lin family said they would forgo the final hunting competition, everyone knew that the true protagonist of this hunting competition was that dark horse, who had come to make people gape in astonishment.
Lin Dong was the name of that young man.