Chapter 1291: Peak of the Cloud Sea, Formidable Rival

The thin, gaunt Cultivator excitedly spewed out a great many words, every one of them dripping with sincerity. The members of the Flashing Thunder Clan on the plaza below were all dumbstruck; even though they had been in the Heavenly Thunder Sect for quite some time, they had never seen their usually dignified and overbearing Sect Master speak such words.

Wang Lin's usually calm expression also cracked into a strange smile under the barrage of the thin Cultivator's words.

The thin Cultivator's expression held no trace of falsehood, as if everything he had just said was only natural and ought to be so. His expression actually made it difficult for Wang Lin to bring himself to cripple his cultivation.

With Wang Lin's intelligence, he naturally saw through it at a glance—all of this was merely the thin Cultivator's quick wit. This person clearly knew he could not resist him, and only by acting this way could he possibly preserve his cultivation.

"What is your name?" Wang Lin's body descended from the air like a willow leaf drifting in the wind, landing on the plaza of the Heavenly Thunder Sect.

"Replying to Senior, this Junior is Zhong Dahong. The 'Zhong' is for small bell, and the 'Hong' is for small flood. This Junior has always been loyal to others his whole life, only wishing to hack through thorns and brambles for Senior, to traverse the stars and slice the moon, to hack to death…" The thin Cultivator was about to continue when Wang Lin waved his hand, cutting him off.

"That's enough. Bring me the items you've collected that can be exchanged for Origin Crystals."

Although Zhong Dahong appeared calm, he was terrified to his core. He had been meditating in the main hall when he heard four booming sounds like heavy objects falling in the plaza. He swept out his Divine Sense and immediately saw the four great Elders he had subdued, their cultivation crippled and tossed aside. He was immediately shocked and flew into a rage.

However, the moment he saw Wang Lin, his rage vanished, his mind trembling. His cultivation had reached the Early Stage of Soul Transformation. Although he did not comprehend Concepts like Cultivators in the Inner Realm, his Clan Seal had opened by thirty percent. Furthermore, due to his cultivation level, the highest level of Cultivator he had ever encountered was at the Soul Transformation stage.

When he saw Wang Lin, his heart leaped in terror; he actually had a feeling that the sky was collapsing and the earth was splitting. This feeling was countless times more intense than when he had seen the Soul Transformation Cultivator of his clan years ago. Stunned, but fortunate that this person had been extremely quick-witted his entire life of cultivation, he immediately switched to an expression of excitement without hesitation, flattering him repeatedly.

He had only used this trick three times in his life. The first time was during Foundation Establishment, which resolved a crisis. The second time was at the Nascent Soul stage, where he had safely navigated a dangerous situation before a Soul Transformation Cultivator and even gained some benefits. Now, this was the third time he was using this invincible technique.

In Zhong Dahong's view, of all his Divine Ability and cultivation, only this invincible technique was truly powerful, as it could preserve his cultivation at critical moments. Therefore, he had practiced it in secret until it was perfect, keeping it as his trump card, never to be revealed lightly.

At this moment, hearing Wang Lin's order, he hurriedly formed Hand Seals with his right hand and slapped his forehead. A faint light immediately flickered from his brow, and a multitude of items for exchanging Origin Crystals poured out, piling up like a small mountain to the side.

"Senior, these are all the things this small one has scraped together over the years. Although there are no particularly valuable items, they make up for it in quantity. According to my estimation, they can be exchanged for fifty thousand Origin Crystals." As Zhong Dahong spoke, he constantly observed Wang Lin's expression. Seeing Wang Lin's brow furrow slightly, he was immediately terrified, and gritting his teeth, he quickly added.

"Senior, this small one has some other treasures, and I will give them all to Senior." As he spoke, he slapped his Clan Seal on his forehead again, and three more items flew out from within.

The first was a branch as thick as an arm, flickering with lightning; the second was a Medicinal Pill suffused with green light; the third was an ancient mirror.

"These three items are specifically for Senior's enjoyment. Just these three alone can be exchanged for ten thousand Origin Crystals."

Wang Lin looked at Zhong Dahong with a smile that wasn't quite a smile. His gaze immediately made Zhong Dahong's scalp tingle. Just as he was about to speak, Wang Lin flicked his sleeve, and all the items for exchanging Origin Crystals in front of him vanished silently, all taken away by him.

Furthermore, without anyone noticing, he opened the Storage Rift and sent out a Divine Thought. Immediately, a roar of wild joy came from within the Storage Rift.

"Master, you finally remembered me! Master, for so many years, little Xu has been disciplining that Liu Jinbiao for you, and I haven't slacked off in the slightest!" Although Xu Ligou's voice of surprise came from the Storage Rift, it reached the ears of those around as if it were coming from the void of heaven and earth.

At the same time, Xu Ligou's body flickered, and he appeared within the Heavenly Thunder Sect.

The moment Zhong Dahong heard Xu Ligou's voice, his eyes narrowed, and he vaguely felt as though he had encountered a formidable rival.

"Master, little Xu has been tormenting that Liu Jinbiao exactly as you ordered, every single moment. That old guy is actually quite pitiful; he shouldn't have offended anyone, but he just had to offend my wise and martial, handsome and dashing, imposing Master!" As soon as Xu Ligou appeared, he didn't even look at the others around him. Instead, with a face full of flattery, he rubbed his hands together, then switched to a pitiful look, gazing longingly at Wang Lin.

Wang Lin's expression remained normal, but Zhong Dahong's heart skipped a beat. He stared at Xu Ligou, his pupils contracting with hostility. He had only vaguely felt that the other party was a formidable rival earlier, but now it was clear: this person must possess the same invincible technique as himself. And looking at how the other party had effortlessly infused the true meaning of that invincible technique into just a few short sentences, it was clearly a cut above his own long-winded speech earlier!

"A formidable rival!! This person is definitely a formidable rival to me, Zhong Dahong!!" Zhong Dahong took a deep breath, kept his composure, and continued to observe.

"Master, this time coming out, seeing how loyally little Xu has done things for you, don't take me back so quickly…" Xu Ligou blinked, his expression filled with misery and resentment.

"He even managed to infuse the true meaning of the invincible technique into his expression as well!!!" Seeing Xu Ligou's expression, Zhong Dahong's own look became even more grave.

Wang Lin smiled, his gaze sweeping over Xu Ligou and Zhong Dahong. He had summoned Xu Ligou out, and it had something to do with Zhong Dahong.

"Perhaps letting Xu Ligou scavenge for items to exchange for Origin Crystals in this Flashing Thunder Clan would be more suitable than me doing it…" Wang Lin made up his mind, nodded slightly, and said slowly, "If you handle the matter well, everything is negotiable."

As he spoke, Wang Lin sent a Divine Thought into Xu Ligou's ears, giving him instructions. Upon hearing the content of Wang Lin's Divine Thought, Xu Ligou's body immediately began to shake—it was a tremble of excitement. His eyes glowed, and after Wang Lin finished his instructions, Xu Ligou laughed wildly toward the sky in excitement.

"For this kind of thing, there is no one more suitable than your Xu… er, than little Xu! Master, rest assured, a mere few billion Origin Crystals, leave it to me, Xu Ligou!"

Zhong Dahong's feeling of unease grew heavier. He hurriedly stepped forward a few paces, his expression filled with respect, and looked at Wang Lin, saying, "Senior, this small one hadn't finished speaking earlier. I have another treasure here that can be exchanged for ten thousand Origin Crystals! I will present it to Senior now. Only someone with cultivation as heaven-defying as Senior's can possess such a Magic Treasure!" As he spoke, he slapped his Clan Seal again. A black light immediately flew out from within. Inside the black light was a Flying Sword, extremely sharp, emitting a bone-chilling coldness.

A smile appeared on Wang Lin's face. He nodded slightly and took the Flying Sword.

Xu Ligou turned around and swept his gaze over Zhong Dahong. He hadn't paid attention to the person beside him before, but now that he took notice, he immediately felt that something was wrong.

"This person faintly exudes a scent of shamelessness… but it's still far inferior to your Grandpa Xu. When your Grandpa Xu was sucking up to this Evil Star, you didn't even know where to grab milk yet!!" Xu Ligou immediately put on a smile, looked affectionately at Zhong Dahong, and laughed, "And who might this Fellow Daoist be?"

Zhong Dahong turned to look at Xu Ligou, wearing a similar smile, and cupped his hands, saying, "I am Zhong Dahong. The 'Zhong' is for big bell, and the 'Hong' is for big flood!"

The gazes of the two men collided in that instant. Xu Ligou's smile didn't change; he retracted his gaze, his eyes rolling, and was about to speak, but Zhong Dahong took a step forward first, flattering Wang Lin, "Senior, this small one has many disciples in the Heavenly Thunder Sect. Let this small one go and collect all their items for exchanging Origin Crystals and present them to Senior."

As he spoke, he immediately turned around and shouted at the members of the Heavenly Thunder Sect who were dumbstruck by the scenes before them.

Under his pressure, all the items in the entire Heavenly Thunder Sect that could be collected for exchanging Origin Crystals were gathered by Zhong Dahong and immediately presented to Wang Lin. Wang Lin took them all. His gaze flashed imperceptibly, and he flipped his right hand, taking out a Medicinal Pill.

He had taken this Medicinal Pill out casually; in his view, it had no value, having been refined casually with the soul of a fourth-order Vicious Beast while in the Cloud Sea Star Domain. But to Zhong Dahong, at a single glance, his eyes widened, and he exclaimed in excitement, "Soul Containing Pill!! This pill can be exchanged for at least twenty thousand Origin Crystals!! And it is extremely rare!!"

Wang Lin's gaze flashed, and he flicked his right hand, sending the Medicinal Pill into Zhong Dahong's hand.

"I gift this pill to you. From now on, you will collect those items for exchanging Origin Crystals for me!!" Wang Lin said calmly. He did not intend to use his own Medicinal Pills to exchange for the Flashing Thunder Clan's Origin Crystals; doing so would inevitably require him to bring out a large amount, which would invisibly increase the strength of the Flashing Thunder Clan. Therefore, he gifted a small amount with the goal of having Zhong Dahong diligently collect items that already belonged to the members of the Flashing Thunder Clan, using the Flashing Thunder Clan's own things to exchange for Origin Crystals!!

Zhong Dahong took a deep breath, held the pill, and immediately said, "Rest assured, Senior, this small one will definitely do my utmost!!"

Xu Ligou stared fixedly at Zhong Dahong with an unfriendly gaze. Although he didn't think much of that Medicinal Pill, he found Zhong Dahong extremely unpleasant to look at, and his heart couldn't help but turn vicious.

"Damn it, you dare to compete for favor with your Grandpa Xu in front of this Evil Star, huh? You have guts, kid. I think you shouldn't be called Zhong Dahong; you should be called 'Zhong the Seed'!! You wait, your Grandpa Xu has remembered you. In these nearly two thousand years, which person beside this Evil Star who competed for favor with your Grandpa Xu has ever had a good end? Your Grandpa Xu has plenty of time; watch how I mess you up!! I will definitely mess you up just like I did that Liu Jinbiao!!"

Xu Ligou's eyes flickered, and a sinister smile appeared on his face.