"Thump!"

A low muffled sound was heard as both fists collided. The resulting impact caused all the dust on the surrounding ground to be completely blown away.

The outcome that the crowd had expected did not materialize. Rather, Lin Dong's body stood firmly planted on the ground like a giant boulder after he received Lei Li's Tempered Body 9th Layer blow.

"Deng Deng!" (Sound of stepping)

Both of them took a few steps back after the collision. Lei Li fell back by two steps, while Lin Dong fell by three steps. Overall, Lei Li's attack did not have the expected impact that the crowd had imagined.

"He actually managed to take that blow..."

As they stared at Lin Dong, who ended up evenly matching with Lei Li, a look of shock surfaced on every younger generation member. After all, Lei Li had a legendary reputation in the Qingyang Town and many people had speculated that within half a year's time, he would breakthrough Tempered Body 9th Layer and advance to Earthly Yuan level. At that time, the strength of the Lei Family will soar again.

Among the younger generation in Qingyang Town, Lei Li was universally recognized as number one. However, today, this so called number one was actually stopped by a younger member from the Lin Family. This surprising development caused many people's eyes to pop out of their sockets.

Xie Yingying and Xie Ting's facial expressions changed as a look of anxiety surfaced in the former's eyes. It looks like this newcomer Lin Dong was truly capable.

In a blink of an eye, Xie Yingying calmed down. Even though Lin Dong had unexpectedly endured Lei Li's attack, it did not mean that he had the qualifications to go toe to toe with Lei Li yet.

After all, Lei Li was at Tempered Body 9th layer. Hence, compared to Lin Dong, who was only at Tempered Body 8th Layer, he was still much stronger. Furthermore, in their previous exchange, Lin Dong had used martial arts while Lei Li did not!

Therefore, if they were to continue and fighting seriously, Lin Dong's loss was a forgone conclusion.

"Penetrating Fist Ninth Echo? Not bad..."

As Lei Li stepped back, he looked at Lin Dong with a somewhat astonished look. Soon after, he smiled as he shook his head: "No wonder you could act so haughty. Turns out you do have some ability. However, you might not be so lucky the next time..."

After he spoke, on Lei Li's claw-like hands, a thick glow surfaced as the Yuan Power undulated. It seems like he was finally going to use martial arts to confront his opponent.

Upon witnessing this sight, the joy that Lin Xia and the rest felt instantly turned into dread. Based on his expression, it seems like Lei Li had finally turned serious.

Lin Dong's expression was calm. He knew that there was a vast gulf between Tempered Body 8th Layer and 9th Layer. Even if he had utilized the tenth echo of Penetrating Fist, he could barely match up to Lei Li. Furthermore, the latter had obviously trained in martial arts, and thanks to the Lei Family's solid background, he was probably quite well-versed in it. Therefore, if they fought seriously, Lei Li would probably have a better shot at victory.

Nonetheless, Lin Dong was confident that even if Lei Li won, it would be a pyrrhic victory!

"Huu..."

Lin Dong deeply exhaled as he stretched all ten of his fingers. He was anxious to find out just how powerful his Wonder Gate Seal technique would be together with his full strength. Even though it was only the first chapter of Wonder Gate Seal, which had been abandoned by Lin Xiao and Lin Zhen Tian, Lin Dong knew that the might of this martial art had became stronger after it was perfected by the Stone Talisman Glowing Shadow.

More onlookers gathered around as they witnessed the rising tension in the surrounding atmosphere. They were very interested to discover, whether the upcoming talent that had emerged from the Lin Family could match up to the legendary young genius Lei Li...

With his palms bent back, Lei Li's glare towards Lin Dong turned increasingly vicious. The Lei Family was considered as the most well-established faction in the Qingyang Town and they often despised other factions like the Lin Family that suddenly invaded and came into power. Therefore, he knew that if he did not utterly defeat Lin Dong, he would become a laughing stock.

"Hehe, this place is really crowded..."

Just as the Yuan Power in Lei Li's body started to swirl, a contemptuous laughter sounded out. Moments later ten figures leaped off a nearby building and directly walked towards the crowd.

These ten figures were all youngsters aged around sixteen or seventeen. They all wore the same clothes and a picture of a wildly dancing large sabre was sewn on their chest area.

"Raging Blade Dojo."

Lin Dong was slightly stunned when he saw these people. He recognized them based on the picture on their shirts. They were from the Raging Blade Dojo, the third major faction that stood on the same level as the Xie and Lei Family.

Leading the pack of suave youngsters was a lean young man. That young man had extraordinarily large palms and was riddled with scars that were evidently caused by frequent practise with blades. He first glared at Lei Li before he raised his thumb and smiled at Lin Dong: "You must be Lin Dong from Lin Family? Your courage and insight are indeed pretty good."

"Wu Yu, this is between me and him. Don't meddle in other people's business!!" Lei Li shouted at the smiling young man with a dark expression on his face.

"If I don't step in, won't you guys act like the whole Qingyang Town belongs to you?" Wu Yun rolled his eyes as he derisively answered. Looking at him, it was evident that he had some bad blood with Lei Li and the rest.

"Heh heh, Lei Li. Since you are itching for a battle, how about I join in?" As he smiled, Wu Yun replied as he stared somewhat passionately at Lei Li and licked his lips.

Upon hearing these words, Lei Li's expression darkened further. He knew that he could defeat Wu Yun. However, the people from Raging Blade Dojo were rogues and they loved fighting. Once they start fighting, they will fight until the very end like a lunatic. Therefore, under normal circumstances, Lei Li wished to avoid a fight with the latter.

"Wu Yun, Big Brother Lei Li does not wish to fight with you. Going around to stir up trouble, is that the style of your Raging Blade Dojo?" Xie Yingying asked in an indifferent manner.

"I do not know if that is the style of Raging Blade Dojo, but it definitely is my style. If you have any objections, you can discuss it with me, thought I might not accept." Facing the sarcasm in Xie Yingying's words, Wu Yun seriously answered instead as he nodded his head.

Xie Yingying bit her red lips as her facial expression turned slightly black. Nothing seemed to be going her way today. First, she encountered a harsh straightforward talker, Lin Dong, and now she had met a hoodlum. Hence, rage filled her entire body.

At Wu Yun's reply, Lin Dong involuntarily let out a smile. He seemed to have taken a liking to this smart-ass fellow.

Lei Li's face twitched as his expression darkened.

"Alright, all you little fellows have caused enough trouble already. Its time to head home, this is a place for conducting business."

Just as the atmosphere was totally disrupted by Wu Yun, a resigned voice sounded out from a nearby building. As the crowd turned to look, they saw a middle-aged man standing above and looking down at them. Behind him, stood a crowd of burly huge men.

"That man is in charge of the plaza. His name is Wang Jin and he is an Earthly Yuan practitioner." Standing behind Lin Dong, Lin Xia softly said. At this instant, she secretly heaved a sigh of relief in her heart. Now that this man had appeared, the curtain will finally close on this drama.

After Wang Jing emerged, Lei Li's eyebrows frowned as he realized that today would be a difficult occasion to make his move. As the undulating Yuan Power dissipated in his palm, he turned to look at Lin Dong before coldly saying: "You got lucky today. Rest assured, when the Qingyang Hunt arrives, I will make sure to take "special care' of you. Since I promised to retrieve the slap you gave to Ting-er, I will make sure to keep my word..."

"Also, Wu Yun, I will definitely give you a good beating during the hunt. When that time arrives, don't cower away..."

As he finished, Lei Li let out a sneer and turned to leave with Xie Yingying and the rest. In the following days, he knew that once he advanced to Earthly Yuan level, he could easily handle both Lin Dong and Wu Yun together.

As he gazed at Lei Li's back, Lin Dong slightly narrowed his eyes as a smile formed on his lips. Qingyang Town Hunt, he was now starting to look forward to it...