The first clash had ended just like that, and the vampire struck in the eye had returned to normal. From beginning to end, the old Zen master had shown no reaction, letting outsiders fight on his turf. He still sat slumped outside the relic tower forest, silently reciting scriptures, eyes half-closed, as if his only duty was to guard the Tower Forest, and as long as no one intruded, you could do whatever you wanted.
Another who hadn’t moved was the Demon Exorcism Girl outside the battleground, who, after the fighting had stopped, flicked her right hand and suddenly had a golden talisman paper in it. She tossed the talisman paper, chanting under her breath, "Spirit of wind lend me your power, bring the wind, scatter them!"
The talisman paper in the air turned into a wisp of blue smoke and vanished, then suddenly a fierce wind started blowing across the area, dispersing the thick smoke created by the ninja in the blink of an eye.
The five ninja who had been hiding in the smoke were now exposed, some crouched and others lying flat, each in a different position. Now suddenly visible, the scene was quite comical. Xiao Manxuan, with her zither in arms and her eyes wide in amazement, stared at the girl casting the spell, obviously having never seen such a miraculous thing.
She hadn’t seen the vampire’s severed arm, otherwise her reaction might not have been just amazement; she might have been frightened too. The Miss showed no surprise whether it was the regeneration of the vampire’s severed arm or the Demon Exorcism Girl’s spell casting; she seemed to have known a lot about these secretive matters beforehand.
"Lin Tian, is that girl casting a spell? How is it that she seems like the Taoists in the legends?" Xiao Manxuan asked Lin Tian, quite puzzled.
She was just a normal person, and seeing someone casting a spell without screaming in fear was already quite something. Perhaps because her sister was an Ancient Martial Artist, and Ancient Martial Artists had seen it all, seeing a Taoist casting a spell wasn’t so shocking for her.
"To say she’s a Taoist isn’t accurate; it’s better to say she’s a Demon Exorcist. She leans more towards subduing demons and suppressing evil spirits, much like the Heavenly Masters of legend," Lin Tian explained from his understanding.
"A female Heavenly Master, wow, that’s so impressive, so fun, and so cool," the little girl, hearing that the girl was a Heavenly Master, exclaimed enviously, drawing sidelong glances from those around, leaving Lin Tian speechless.
Little girl, you’ve watched too many movies and TV shows. Thinking it’s fun and cool? That’s life-threatening stuff. Lin Tian silently questioned the heavens about what was going on in your head.
But speaking of impressive, that’s true. Didn’t you see the Demon Exorcism Girl throwing the talisman and chanting? She looked liked she had the world under her command with a talisman in hand.
After the smoke cleared and the ninja had retreated, the area was again empty, save for the golden sword still stuck in the ground, seeming to wait for its master to come. To be precise, not only was there a golden sword, but also a metallic baton left by the unfortunate vampire.
Lin Tian looked at the baton with some fondness, its beauty carrying a sinister killing intent, as if its sharp bat wings could slice through skin at any moment and its pointed end could pierce through a body, releasing bright red blood.
Since the vampire couldn’t retrieve it, it would belong to him, Lin Tian shamelessly thought, finding the idea of using this object in a fight quite exhilarating and stylish, perhaps it had even been crafted by the vampire centuries ago.
Then it was a genuine antique, and possibly very valuable. Thinking so, Lin Tian walked towards the center of the field, intending to take the baton into his possession. As for the golden sword, it seemed ominous, and he wouldn’t be foolish enough to test it on himself.
However, Lin Tian forgot something: he might not be interested in the golden sword, but others didn’t know that. As he entered the field, he immediately became a target for many. Lin Tian was not afraid of them; if they dared, let them come.
His indifferent expression was perceived by the people around him as arrogant, as previously they hadn’t noticed anything special about Lin Tian. At this moment, his "arrogance" deeply stung the pride of these experts.
The Demon Exorcism Girl was fine, her target was only those vampires; she looked at Lin Tian with an odd expression, wondering what he was up to. The vampires and ninjas were annoyed, thinking, what right does a commoner have to compete for the golden sword?
"Young man, who are you? Hurry up and leave, there is no place here for you, and you certainly don’t deserve this sword." One ninja pointed at Lin Tian, telling him to leave.
You self-righteous folks, I was originally too lazy to bother with you, but the more you try to keep me from this sword, the more I won’t let you get it. Lin Tian bent down to pick up the baton from the ground, clipped it to his belt, and then said indifferently, "I discovered this sword first. If you want to get it, you have to ask me, the discoverer. Whoever can pass my challenge can have it."
His words almost made the people around him burst out laughing, as they just considered him a commoner. However, for some reason, seeing Lin Tian’s arrogant demeanor, the Demon Exorcism Girl revealed an inexplicable smile in her eyes.
"Hey, that beautiful female Heavenly Master, why are you smiling? Hurry up and take off your veil, let this old man see what you look like," Lin Tian called out to the Demon Exorcism Girl, beckoning with his finger and laughing.
The girl ignored him and didn’t approach, seemingly just waiting to see how things would unfold with Lin Tian’s appearance.
"Manxue, what’s with your friend? He’s so arrogant; isn’t he afraid of dying?" The woman in white frowned as she looked at Lin Tian in the middle of the scene and asked.
Miss hesitated and felt embarrassed to speak out, should she say that this person is even more powerful than your disciple? That would be a slap in the face to the master! She was pondering how to answer when the ninjas made their move again.
A ninja, with his hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist, charged at Lin Tian. As he approached, the ninja suddenly drew his katana from his waist, a dazzling reflection that was blinding, and the bright white blade light lunged at Lin Tian, aiming directly for his neck.
"Sword Drawing Technique, Lin Tian, be careful!" Miss exclaimed in shock.
Sword Drawing Technique, leveraging the high-speed drawing of the sword for a tremendous attack power, its core principle is "unexpected, lethal strike"! Therefore, the ninja didn’t leave any leeway for Lin Tian, going straight for the kill. They might have been laughing, but that was just the ninjas’ art of deception.
The goal was to make others underestimate them, but once they launched an attack, it was meant to be lethal. In warfare, deception is key! Japan had already integrated military tactics into martial arts with only one purpose—to defeat the enemy.
In the blink of an eye, as the katana flew at him, the speed was so fast that there was no time for others to think of a countermeasure. Lin Tian neither dodged nor drew his baton to block. He simply struck out with his bare hand, grabbing the blade of the katana with one swift movement.
However, there was not a single wound on Lin Tian’s hand, which confused everyone. Even though Xiao Manxue knew he practiced Cross Training, she had never noticed Lin Tian using True Qi, and she couldn’t understand how this was a type of martial art impervious to blades and spears.
Lin Tian’s bare-handed blade grasp shocked everyone. Before the ninja could react, Lin Tian exerted force with his hand, and with a crisp "snap," the robust katana was broken.
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