Chapter 65: Pardon the Display

A Spirit Cauldron Stage 5.

The gap in power between him and Lin Yun was immense. Against such an opponent, all Lin Yun could do was dodge.

Even so, he didn't stop trying to explain.

"I have not killed anyone from your Beast Taming Sect," he said, his voice clear amidst the chaos. "I am here today to give you an explanation, on a task entrusted to me by Elder Li himself."

Under the circumstances, it was the only thing he could do.

But it was obvious that Meng Ketuo was in no mood to listen.

"Don't waste your breath, brat! I've already heard the whole story from Junior Brother Li," he sneered. "He woke up in the Flowing Cloud Sect's custody, and he explained what happened very clearly."

Because Liao Changping and his men had been masked, Li Wuze couldn't identify them. They had incapacitated him before they made their move. Connecting that to Lin Yun's earlier warnings, Li Wuze came to a simple conclusion: Lin Yun was lying.

The attackers were targeting me? What a joke. From the very beginning, their target must have been the disciples of the Beast Taming Sect.

This became the truth in Li Wuze's mind. Compounded by his existing dislike for Lin Yun, he readily accepted this version of events. Upon his return to the sect, he spread the story far and wide. Now, a great number of disciples in the Beast Taming Sect couldn't wait for Lin Yun to die.

"Do you really think your pathetic excuses will save you?" Meng Ketuo's right hand formed a claw. "Phantom Eagle, it's your turn!"

Another howl of wind ripped through the air. Above him, a spirit beast with a massive wingspan of over a hundred feet shrieked. A vortex of green energy spiraled down from the sky.

"Kill him! Kill him!" the surrounding disciples chanted, their voices a unified roar.

No one believed Meng Ketuo could lose. A Spirit Cauldron expert against a mere Origin Sea cultivator? It was laughable. Furthermore, they were fighting at the sect gate—this was Meng Ketuo's home turf.

"This Lin Yun is a fool for daring to provoke our sect."

"The Beast Taming Sect has been in decline for too long. People have really started to look down on us."

As the crowd murmured, Lin Yun had no choice but to draw his sword. "I have no intention of fighting anyone from the Beast Taming Sect," he declared. "Why can't we simply talk this through?"

Great River Sword Style.

Myriad Blossoms Sword Style.

In an instant, Lin Yun's form flickered through the air, weaving and dodging. Each blast of wind energy seemed to graze past his skin, missing by a hair's breadth.

The crowd stared, dumbfounded. That was Meng Ketuo's Phantom Eagle, a beast whose power was equivalent to a Sky-Soaring Stage 3 cultivator. How could it fail to even touch Lin Yun? They couldn't comprehend his movement technique; he was evading every attack with the most minimal of movements, buying himself precious time to counter.

Even Meng Ketuo was startled by Lin Yun's skill. It was terrifying. With a movement technique that precise, an inch of deviation could mean the difference between life and death. He was using the smallest possible shifts in time and space to dodge, creating openings for a counter-attack.

Against a weaker opponent, such a gamble would be unnecessary. But against someone of the same realm, or even higher, this technique was incredibly dangerous. The slightest miscalculation could lead to a fatal wound.

Yet here was Lin Yun, executing this impossibly risky technique flawlessly. He wasn't just avoiding the attacks; he was managing to launch counter-offensives against Meng Ketuo himself.

This gave Meng Ketuo a pounding headache. If he couldn't even handle this kid today, he'd become the laughingstock of the entire sect.

"Hmph! Let's see you dodge this, boy!"

With a flick of his wrist, Meng Ketuo threw a small, shuttle-like object into the air.

What is that? Lin Yun's brow furrowed. It was clearly another treasure.

The shuttle transformed into a stream of light, circling Lin Yun in the blink of an eye. In the next moment, countless tough, silken threads shot out, wrapping around him and binding him completely. Unable to move, he plummeted from the sky.

Seizing the opportunity, Meng Ketuo strode forward like a meteor and drove a fist into Lin Yun's abdomen. At the same time, the Phantom Eagle's hurricane engulfed him.

Just at that critical moment, an ancient voice echoed down from the mountain.

"Meng Ketuo, stop."

Hearing the voice, the disciples immediately fell to their knees.

"It's… it's the Sect Master!"

"This kid is finished now. He killed our people, provoked us at our gate, and now he's even alarmed the Sect Master himself!"

"Heh, after taking those last few hits from Senior Brother Meng, he'd be lucky to be alive, let alone in one piece. Now that the Sect Master is here, he'll be annihilated for sure!"

A man in a white robe, Jiang Zhengqing, descended, sitting cross-legged on the back of a colossal black ox. The beast was over twelve feet tall, with enormous horns and eyes like bronze bells staring intently in Lin Yun's direction. Its hooves were restlessly pawing at the ground.

Jiang Zhengqing found it strange. His great black ox had been with him for years; when had it ever been so agitated? It was acting as if it had encountered a formidable rival.

Just then, Meng Ketuo cupped his hands in a respectful bow. "Sect Master, you've arrived." He grinned with pride. "A pity you're a moment too late. The boy is already dead."

After taking two of his killing blows, how could a mere Origin Sea disciple possibly survive?

Jiang Zhengqing frowned. "You boy, you always act so rashly. I told you to watch him. When did I ever tell you to kill him?"

He was genuinely annoyed. If Lin Yun was truly dead, the truth would be buried with him.

"Sect Master, what is there to say to trash like him?" Meng Ketuo said dismissively. "He murdered one of our own and then came here to flaunt it. It was my duty to kill him."

Just as Jiang Zhengqing and all the disciples assumed Lin Yun was gone, a cough sounded from behind Meng Ketuo.

"Thank goodness for Xiao Bai," a voice grumbled. "Otherwise, I would've really met my end here today."

As the dust settled, Lin Yun slowly rose to his feet from within the crater. His already tattered robes had been completely shredded, leaving him in only his trousers.

His bare upper body revealed a torso of well-defined, corded muscles, immediately drawing gasps of admiration from the female disciples.

"Gods, that's the most perfect physique I've ever seen."

"Even Senior Brother Meng, who takes such pride in his physique, can't compare to that…"

Hearing their whispers, Meng Ketuo's expression soured instantly.

"Hmph. You're not dead?" he sneered, his voice dripping with disdain.

At that moment, they could all see Xiao Bai perched on Lin Yun's shoulder. It was the little monkey who had intervened, absorbing a portion of the force. But the attack had been too sudden for even Xiao Bai to nullify it completely. The rest had been endured by Lin Yun's own Sword Embryo Physique. Without it, he would have been dead.

Even Jiang Zhengqing's gaze held a trace of shock as he looked at Lin Yun. To take a direct assault from Meng Ketuo and survive… even with the help of a spirit beast, that level of physical resilience was astounding.

While it was known that the sword cultivators of the Flowing Cloud Sect possessed formidable bodies, how strong could a new Origin Sea disciple possibly be?

Lin Yun's performance had truly been an eye-opener for the Sect Master of the Beast Taming Sect.