The next day, Lin Dongming woke up in a lazy warmth of sunlight.
These few days were the period for distributing Spirit Stones and Magical Resources, so Lin Dongming washed up casually and prepared to go out.
But before leaving, he suddenly remembered the scruffy cat that had jumped into his arms at White Zhiqing’s house on its own accord. He found himself missing that feeling a little.
He glanced at his empty dwelling.
“If I had a cat, it might not be so bad.”
He muttered.
“Hang in there, little sister. Don’t get stuck at the Foundation Establishment stage.”
Lin Dongming summoned his Flying Sword, turning into a stream of light and disappearing near the Dongfu.
“Come to think of it, I forgot to ask that Wenxin Heavenly Sect Disciple for a Yuling Pill before.”
Lin Dongming thought.
“I should find time to ask about it.”
With the Forbidden Land Trial approaching, Lin Dongming wanted to resolve this matter as soon as possible.
His sword-riding speed wasn’t slow, and the Lingfeng Pavilion appeared before his eyes in the blink of an eye. But as he landed, he saw several familiar figures.
“Yo, isn’t this Ming-ge?”
A yellow-haired guy called out to Lin Dongming.
Lin Dongming’s face darkened.
“How many times have I told you? Ming-ge is unlucky. I’d rather you call me Lin-ge!”
This yellow-haired guy was Yuan Zhe, a natural blonde. In every sense.
Most of the Disciples of the Heavenly Extreme Sword Sect had black hair and eyes, but for some reason, Yuan Zhe was born with golden hair and eyes, like a child of destiny.
But in reality, though his talent was decent, among the talented Inner Sect Disciples or Direct Disciples, he was just average—not outstanding.
Also, unlike Lin Dongming, he aspired to be a true Sea King.
Although he indeed had a naturally handsome face and tall figure, he was often ruled by his lower head, and spending too much time with him made his flaws obvious.
Most Shijie and Shimei were still sensible, so after spending some time with him, they’d instinctively or rationally avoid this Sea King, leaving him unable to fulfill his wish to this day.
Then Yuan Zhe would come to Lin Dongming to complain.
“That Shimei from Thunder Peak is just average-looking, only her figure’s a bit better. But she won’t take the bait or let me hug her. How annoying!”
If he hadn’t witnessed it himself, Lin Dongming wouldn’t have believed such a handsome face could produce such a voice loyal to its desires.
But this person had one strength—he was especially sensitive to all sorts of gossip, rumors, and news. Usually, if something happened last night, he’d know before dawn.
So Lin Dongming kept in touch with him, supplementing news from Song Yumian.
After all, Song Yumian was reserved and not as simple-minded as Yuan Zhe. Having someone to cross-verify information was quite useful.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t come here at all. An Inner Sect Disciple’s monthly spirit salary of a hundred Lower-grade Spirit Stones wasn’t even as much as a random tip from a rich lady.
“Any gossip lately?”
Lin Dongming queued up with Yuan Zhe for the spirit salary.
“Of course. Lin-ge, which do you want to hear? There’s plenty.”
Yuan Zhe greedily rubbed his hands together, just like that fly hand-rubbing meme from Lin Dongming’s previous life.
“Tell me all of them, for now.”
Lin Dongming took out a small pouch of Lower-grade Spirit Stones and flicked one into his hand.
“Sure thing, Lin-ge!”
Yuan Zhe said,
“I heard the flashing of the Barrier a few nights ago was because Lei Long Xuanting sensed the aura of the Modao and went out to fight a late-stage Demonic Cultivator. Several Modao traces were found near the sect, and some Elders have already reduced the Disciples’ tasks of going down the mountain.”
“Mm. I know.”
Lin Dongming replied noncommittally.
“I also heard that not just our sect, but places like Xuankong Temple and the Bihai Blade Sect have seen more activity from Demonic Cultivators lately. It seems the Modao are plotting something.”
Lin Dongming raised his eyebrows.
“Do you know what it is?”
Yuan Zhe shook his head.
“No idea. But some speculate the Modao’s actions have been coordinated recently, probably prearranged. Some even say heroes have emerged among them, uniting the entire Modao.”
“That I haven’t heard. Interesting.”
Lin Dongming replied carelessly.
“Anything else?”
“Yep. It’s said this year’s Forbidden Land Trial will be near the Ancient Kingdom of Jiangnan.”
Lin Dongming lifted his eyelids.
“Oh? Interesting. Though everyone will know sooner or later.”
The so-called Forbidden Land Trial wasn’t held at the same place each time.
Although there were many resource-rich forbidden Dongtian, most could only be opened after a long interval—decades or even centuries—enough to raise several generations of Disciples.
So every so often, the Elders would select a suitable forbidden Dongtian for Disciples to train and obtain promotion resources.
Lin Dongming tossed a few more Spirit Stones to Yuan Zhe.
“Early knowledge, early preparation.”
Yuan Zhe continued rubbing his hands.
“The last one’s related to you, Lin-ge.”
“Me?”
Lin Dongming blinked.
Since when did the gossip circle come around to himself?
“Go on.”
He decided to listen for now.
“It seems Senior Brother Yuan Jianyi has a grudge with you and wants to duel?”
The excitement in Yuan Zhe’s eyes faded, as if he was peeking at Lin Dongming’s expression.
“That’s it?”
Lin Dongming waved his hand.
“Got it.”
Yuan Zhe was stunned, lowering his voice.
“But Lin-ge, aren’t you afraid of Senior Brother Yuan Jianyi? He’s so strong, even Qin Feng from the Bihai Blade Sect, who’s known for being wild, was beaten by him.”
Lin Dongming shrugged.
“Is being afraid useful? If you can avoid it, avoid it. If not, there’s nothing to be done.”
He ignored Yuan Zhe, and in the corner of his eye, he saw a few more familiar faces: White Zhiqing, Song Yumian, and the Little Junior Sister Zhong Ziyu.
Great, today all the troublesome people gathered in one place.
Just thinking about the possible accidents made Lin Dongming’s head ache.
For safety’s sake, Lin Dongming always tried to avoid having different clients meet, especially those with emotional demands.
Otherwise, each client would think the service they received was unique, but when they ran into another client, they’d come to question him.
“Who is she, then?!”
For Lin Dongming, this was like Halley’s Comet hitting Earth—no way to handle it well.
—This question, I can’t answer!
At this moment, Lin Dongming almost wanted to put on a mask and run.
But in a safe place like the sect, wearing a mask would only look more suspicious and might get him arrested and interrogated.
Better to forget it.
“Isn’t this Senior Brother Lin?”
White Zhiqing spotted him and walked over.
“What a coincidence.”
Lin Dongming quickly put on a smile.
“Bai Shimei, what a coincidence. But… you might get criticized for cutting in line like this.”
He lowered his voice to remind her.
White Zhiqing blinked.
“What’s so hard about that?”
She directly took out a small pouch of Spirit Stones.
“This Shidi, I’ll trade you one hundred Spirit Stones for your spot. How about it?”
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