Chapter 25: Lin Bai's First PK

【Anger from Daoist Qingfeng; +1+1+1……】

Blue veins throbbed on the Daoist's smooth forehead as he raged, "Greedy."

Lin Bai said, "As the saying goes, an inch of time is an inch of gold; cutting off a man's path to wealth is like killing his parents. You want to buy a year of my time and are also trying to kill my parents—eighteen thousand taels is a bargain. If you can't even cough up ten thousand plus taels, your heart for saving people, Daoist, is not sincere!"

"……" 【Deng Li Buduo】 looked at Lin Bai, stunned as if seeing a celestial being.

"This poor Daoist has never seen someone who would risk their life for a mere pittance." The fat Daoist was trembling with rage at Lin Bai's twisted logic.

"Eh! You've seen one today," Lin Bai said, raising his eyebrows.

【Resentment from Daoist Qingfeng; +1+1……】

"……" The Daoist was silent for a moment, then suddenly sneered, "Fine, fine, fine. Since you are obsessed and refuse to repent, this poor Daoist will simply send you in to keep them company; the result will be the same……"

"Daoist, wait a moment," Lin Bai said hurriedly, "Actually, it's not impossible to negotiate."

"How do we negotiate?" the Daoist asked.

"I can give you a discount, Daoist……" Lin Bai smiled brightly. Halfway through his sentence, he slightly bent his left leg, drew a circle with his right palm, and thrust it forward violently, "The Proud Dragon Repents!"

With a dragon's roar, Internal Energy circulated through Lin Bai's meridians, and a dragon head flew out from his palm, heading straight for the Daoist.

The Daoist had already bared his fangs; clearly, verbal sparring could no longer solve the problem.

Lin Bai naturally chose to strike first to gain the advantage. He was racing against time to complete tasks; wasn't he waiting for this very day?

In a world full of players, relying on force to decide the outcome when encountering trouble was simply inevitable. Did they think the Daoist wouldn't hit them just because they were eloquent?

The Daoist opposite hadn't expected someone doing business to be so despicable as to strike first. Caught off guard, the dragon head had already struck his chest; it was too late to dodge.

Bang!

A crisp sound rang out.

The dragon head formed by Internal Energy dissipated. The Daoist spat out a mouthful of blood, staggered back three steps before steadying himself, his face showing shock.

Little did he know.

Lin Bai, on the other side, was even more surprised.

A dragon head!

Holy crap!

It actually produced a dragon head!

Is this damn thing really the Dragon Subduing Palm (Incomplete)?

Moreover, one palm strike consumed one-twentieth of his Internal Energy; it seems five years of Internal Energy is only enough for one set of palm techniques.

That's way too mana-intensive!

Complaining aside.

Lin Bai was still satisfied with the effect the dragon head caused. Sending the Daoist vomiting blood with one strike was enough to prove this Daoist was just a silver-plated pewter spearhead.

He should have realized earlier: how could a big boss pop out in a novice village?

"Little thief, mixing with ghosts and demons, I knew you weren't a good person." The Daoist, having suffered internal injuries, was furious, "Today, this Daoist will send you to the afterlife to restore purity to the human world……"

Whoosh!

Lin Bai didn't stand on ceremony. While the Daoist was talking, he thrust both palms out, using the incomplete move that was actually "Shocking a Hundred Miles" but written as "Shocking a Hundred Armor."

The most powerful move in the Dragon Subduing Palm (Incomplete).

Eighteen incomplete dragons emerged from all around Lin Bai's body.

Some were just dragon heads, some were just dragon bodies, some were just a dragon head attached to half a neck, and that one missing scales—wasn't that just half a snake……

Looking at the dragons he had unleashed and comparing them to the dragons unleashed by Chief Qiao, Lin Bai was speechless. This might just laugh the enemy to death!

However, what comforted him was that despite being incomplete, the power hadn't diminished.

For a moment.

A group of dragons that looked like they had been butchered by a chef and escaped from a cutting board flew into the sky in a panic, shining with golden light, exceptionally eye-catching.

"My god." 【Deng Li Buduo】 was dazzled, both shocked and delighted. He was delighted because he hadn't misjudged the person—the shopkeeper really was a hidden NPC. He was shocked because the moves the shopkeeper used were too weird; this was clearly just a half-finished special effect that had been released!

So cool!

Must learn, must learn!

The Daoist let out a strange cry, drew a circle with his hands, and propped up a transparent protective shield around himself.

Crackle, pop!

The incomplete dragons slammed into the protective shield, sounding like a string of firecrackers.

The protective shield shattered at the sound.

One dragon tail and two dragon claws smashed inside.

The Daoist spat out another mouthful of blood.

This time, the Daoist learned his lesson. He didn't waste any more breath, endured his injuries, and while Lin Bai was in the interval between his old strength being spent and his new strength not yet born, he flicked his horsetail whisk.

A solid phantom image of the horsetail whisk swept straight toward Lin Bai; the audio-visual effects were much better than Lin Bai's incomplete dragons.

Lin Bai was startled. With his left hand in a circular stance and his right hand in a straight stance, he used the move "Seeing the Dragon in the Field" to protect himself.

The headless and tailless dragon bodies circled around him, shielding him in the center.

Bang!

The phantom of the horsetail whisk collided with the dragon bodies.

Both shattered.

His Internal Energy was limited; having used three moves, a third was already gone. Lin Bai didn't dare hesitate and used the most powerful "Shocking a Hundred Armor" again.

Strike while the iron is hot; if you can throw a royal flush, who would play a pair of threes?

The Daoist cursed inwardly. A spiritual talisman appeared in his palm. With a surge of Spiritual Power, the talisman dissipated into specks of light, forming a new protective shield that blocked all eighteen incomplete dragons.

"Shopkeeper, don't waste your effort. This is a Shield Armor Talisman refined by my master. Unless your strength exceeds my master's, you can't break it." Inside the protective shield, the Daoist wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, took a bottle of pills from his bosom, poured out one, and swallowed it with a pained expression, saying with difficulty.

"Who are you trying to fool!" Lin Bai scoffed, "Without a continuous supply of Spiritual Power, any Shield Armor Talisman is nothing but duckweed without roots; how long can it really hold up?"

As he spoke.

He struck out with another "Tunyuchulai".

Half a dragon head flew out from his left palm, collided with the protective barrier, and transformed into a burst of fireworks.

The protective barrier remained unscathed, and the Daoist inside changed color.

He had guessed right; the protective barrier really couldn't hold on for much longer.

Two consecutive uses of his most powerful "Shocking Hundred Armors" had drained nearly half of Lin Bai's mana; he estimated his remaining Internal Energy and struck out with the least mana-intensive "Tunyuchulai".

At this moment, his energy failed to keep up; Lin Bai felt the supply of Internal Energy in his meridians was obstructed, and before he could even react, the half-dragon head that had just emerged from his palm and hadn't yet flown out dissipated with a *poof*.

"No..."

At the same time, the Daoist inside the protective barrier said in a panic, but seeing the dragon head in Lin Bai's palm suddenly vanish, his voice came to an abrupt halt, and he looked at Lin Bai in disbelief.

Damn this Nine Days True Scripture (Fragment)~!

This damn thing turned me into Duan Yu!

What a scam!

Lin Bai cursed inwardly and calmly put his hands behind his back: "Daoist, the protective barrier can't last much longer, can it? It's fortunate that I can control my power as I please, otherwise, I'm afraid I would have beaten you to death, Daoist."

"You're out of Internal Energy, aren't you!" Inside the protective barrier, the Daoist cursed loudly.

"Why don't you try dropping the Shield Armor Talisman, Daoist?" Lin Bai said calmly.

"If you have the ability, strike another palm," the fat Daoist said coldly.

Lin Bai looked at the fat Daoist and smiled: "Daoist, there is a saying that one does not make friends without fighting. You can't beat me, and I can't do anything to you either; why don't we sit down and talk calmly?"

"Bullshit!" The fat Daoist's self-restraint was clearly not as good as Lin Bai's, "If you hadn't ambushed me, you wouldn't have lasted three rounds under my hand."

Lin Bai pondered for a moment, then turned his head and said to Deng Li Buduo: "Little Deng, go find some more firewood and pile it outside the Daoist's protective barrier. It's dark and the temperature is low; don't let the Daoist freeze."

"..." Deng Li Buduo's mouth twitched violently, "Yes, Shopkeeper."

The fat Daoist's expression changed drastically; he jumped up and said: "Shameless! How can there be such a shameless person in this world? My master is True Person Daoxu of Huilong Temple; if you hurt me, he will not spare you."

"So you are a disciple of Huilong Temple, Daoist." Lin Bai smiled, "What a coincidence, my palm technique happens to be the Dragon Subduing Palm; I am your natural nemesis!"

【Resentment from Daoist Qingfeng; +1+1+1...】

"Bullshit Dragon Subduing Palm, one look and I can tell you haven't mastered it." Daoist Qingfeng felt he couldn't keep up with Lin Bai's train of thought and said with a dark face, "The dragons you strike out are all broken."

"That is because you are ignorant, Daoist." Lin Bai looked at the Daoist with Zhaofeng, "Dragon Subduing, as the name implies, means a dragon that has been subdued. How could a dragon that has been subdued be complete?"

"..." Daoist Qingfeng had the urge to vomit blood again, "Shopkeeper Lin, stop being unreasonable. You have ruined the important affairs of Huilong Temple and injured me; you are now an enemy of Huilong Temple. Letting me leave would be one thing, but if not, my master will certainly not spare you..."

Calling for his parents when he can't win!

Shameless!

Lin Bai spat inwardly: "Daoist, I also have a master."

Daoist Qingfeng's words were choked back again.

"You look like you're in your forties, Daoist, and I'm only twenty. Since I, at twenty, can suppress and beat a forty-year-old Daoist, it is obvious that my master is more powerful than yours." Lin Bai used his master's reputation as a banner, "I'm afraid it is you who will bring disaster upon Huilong Temple."

"I... I am my master's most incompetent disciple," Daoist Qingfeng said.

"What a coincidence, so am I." Lin Bai raised his eyebrows, "I've practiced Martial Art for so many years, and to this day, I still can't strike out a single complete dragon."

You just said the dragon was intentionally made broken!

Daoist Qingfeng choked on his breath: "My master has fellow apprentices, all of whom possess heaven-defying abilities."

Lin Bai had a strange expression and said: "My master has no fellow apprentices, but I have a group of senior brothers above me, all of whom are also Dragon and Phoenix Among Men, with power a hundred times greater than mine, and influence spanning the Nine Provinces and Five Oceans..."

"My sect's heritage comes from the Heavenly Dao Sect..." Daoist Qingfeng refused to be outdone.

Lin Bai fell into silence.

"Scared!" Daoist Qingfeng said triumphantly.

Lin Bai looked at Daoist Qingfeng with pity and shook his head: "It's not fear; I just think it's a bit childish. You are at such an age, Daoist, yet you are here comparing whose parents are more powerful with a young brat like me. It's like two toddlers comparing whose dad eats more shit. I feel a bit embarrassed; let's just say you win, Daoist."

*Pfft! *

Daoist Qingfeng couldn't hold back a mouthful of blood and sprayed it out; his face turned as pale as gold paper, and he looked at Lin Bai, his lips trembling, unable to say a single word.

【Resentment from Daoist Qingfeng; +1+1+1...】

(End of chapter)