Book 2: Chapter 4: The Squirrel Devours the Dragon

Vol 2 Chapter 4: The Squirrel Devours the Dragon No one expected that after Fang Shilin’s latest victory over a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, his next challenger would be a Qi Refining cultivator.   In Hidden Dragon City, even the stray dogs in the streets might be at the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining. Such a low cultivation stage was hardly impressive.   Fang Shilin frowned. A victory over a Qi Refining cultivator would bring him no glory—people might even accuse him of bullying the weak. And losing? The idea was laughable. How could he possibly lose to someone so far beneath him?   This was a no-win situation, and Fang Shilin felt it wasn’t even worth dignifying with an insult. He was about to dismiss the challenge outright when something caught his eye.   “Wait a moment,” he said, his gaze landing on the Pine Leaf Mouse and dragon carp. “That attire… You’re a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect in the Great Wasteland!”   At his words, the crowd erupted.   “Beast Taming Sect? Isn’t that the sect the Sect Regulatory Office just ordered to suspend operations for having more demonic fortune than human fortune?”   “I heard all their Nascent Soul elders are demon kings, and not a single one is human. Each demon king has three or four human pets. Truly terrifying.”   The gathered cultivators stared at Lin Jing with strange expressions.   Lin Jing sighed. The rumors were getting more absurd by the day.   “Yes, I am Lin Jing of the Beast Taming Sect,” he announced calmly. “But the sect isn’t nearly as exaggerated as the rumors suggest. We do have one strong human expert.”   Fang Shilin chuckled at the crowd’s chatter. As someone from the Great Wasteland, he was familiar with the Beast Taming Sect. “So, after the suspension, the disciples fled to the Ancient Domain?”   Lin Jing replied evenly, “The Ancient Domain is a nexus of fortune. As a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, I’ve come to hone my skills and restore my sect’s reputation. It’s only natural.”   “I see. Well, I sympathize with your situation,” Fang Shilin said, clearly amused. “Fine, I accept your challenge.   “You’re only at Qi Refining. Your two spirit beasts—one contracted and one not—should fight alongside you. That would be more fair.”   Fang Shilin rarely accepted such low-stakes challenges, but seeing Lin Jing’s sect affiliation intrigued him. Interacting with a Beast Taming Sect disciple could amplify the buzz around his public dueling event.   Moreover, if he fought all three opponents at once, he could claim he was giving them a handicap, avoiding accusations of bullying.   Lin Jing gave a polite nod. “Thank you, but this dragon carp is not yet contracted. It wouldn’t be proper to use it in the duel.”   With that, he planted the meditation staff firmly into the ground, leaving the dragon carp as a spectator. He stepped forward with only the Pine Leaf Mouse, facing Fang Shilin directly.   Fang Shilin squinted.   The crowd, too, was perplexed. Lin Jing already had slim odds with all three fighting together. Now he was deliberately limiting himself to two combatants?   “He’s just trying to make a name for himself to boost his sect’s human fortune,” someone speculated.   “Is the Beast Taming Sect really relying on a Qi Refining disciple to rebuild its reputation?”   Most spectators thought Lin Jing’s actions were foolish. A Qi Refining cultivator challenging a Foundation Establishment stage genius from the academy was the height of recklessness.   Unperturbed, Fang Shilin remained seated. With a casual flick of his fan, he summoned a Binding Spell.   The ground behind him split, and dozens of vine-like tendrils emerged, snaking toward Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse like a swarm of green serpents.   The crowd watched with bated breath, expecting Lin Jing and his beast to be overwhelmed. But then…   The vines froze mid-air.   “What’s this?” someone muttered.   The spectators initially assumed Fang Shilin was holding back. But his startled expression quickly dispelled that notion.   “Impossible… My Binding Spell was interrupted?” Fang Shilin’s eyes widened.   Lin Jing took a single step forward, and the immobilized vines shattered into countless green sparks, dissipating harmlessly.   Sёarᴄh the nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. It was only then that the crowd noticed the Pine Leaf Mouse. Clad in its ceremonial robe, it stood on Lin Jing’s shoulder, calmly gesturing as if casting a spell.   “Squeak!” The mouse shook its head, as though unimpressed by the display of strength.   “Damn it!”   Gritting his teeth, Fang Shilin dismissed his fan’s gentler approach. With a more deliberate movement, he unleashed seven massive vine dragons, each as thick as an ancient tree.   These emerald behemoths roared toward Lin Jing with renewed fury.   And then, behind Lin Jing, an extraordinary phenomenon unfolded.   A towering wooden deity materialized, its form cloaked in verdant energy and brimming with the essence of life itself. Draped in emerald robes, it stood majestically, like the ruler of spring. With each step, grass and flowers blossomed anew beneath its feet.   The aura of this divine apparition left Fang Shilin’s mind reeling. His movements slowed, his focus wavered. The vine dragons faltered, splintering apart as they neared Lin Jing.   The phenomenon crystallized into a surreal image:   A massive squirrel, identical to the Pine Leaf Mouse, loomed over the battlefield. It clutched one of the shattered vine dragons in its claws and devoured it whole.   The Squirrel Devours the Dragon—an ethereal manifestation of the Pine Leaf Mouse’s inner power.   Fang Shilin sat frozen in disbelief.   “This… This is Qi Refining?”   The crowd, too, was stunned into silence. They couldn’t fathom how a Qi Refining cultivator had conjured such overwhelming power.   Before Fang Shilin could react further, his wooden chair came alive. Countless vines erupted from it, binding him tightly in place. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t free himself.   Lin Jing stopped walking.   “Curious,” he said, his voice calm but loud enough for the crowd to hear. “If I’m this strong, how could the Sect Regulatory Office claim my sect’s human fortune is weak?   “Perhaps their judgment was flawed. Perhaps I need to take down a few more Foundation Establishment cultivators to prove them wrong.”   With that, the towering apparition dissipated, and Lin Jing turned away. Picking up his meditation staff, he walked toward the city, leaving the crowd in stunned silence.   On his right hand, the Hidden Dragon Seal began to glow faintly, a small section illuminating with newfound renown.   …   The battle quickly became the talk of Hidden Dragon City.   “A Qi Refining cultivator at the seventh layer, with a ninth-layer spirit beast, effortlessly crushed a Foundation Establishment genius wielding a powerful artifact?”   “A Pine Leaf Mouse with mastery over wood techniques, completely suppressing Everlasting Spring Valley’s Young Valley Master? And that bizarre phenomenon—what is the Squirrel Devours the Dragon?”   “Is this Lin Jing really just from the Beast Taming Sect, a so-called third-rate sect? Isn’t their ‘human fortune’ supposed to be weak?”   Within the academy, the news spread like wildfire. Fang Shilin’s humiliation drew both ridicule and awe.   Among the academy’s other top students, three figures in particular—the Blue-Robed Scholar, the Violet Flame Alchemist, and the Silent Swordsman—each reacted to Lin Jing’s name with visible unease.   “He’s here. That monstrous disciple from the Beast Taming Sect… Last time, he even gave us a fake name. Does he have to start by beating up a Foundation Establishment cultivator?”   Lin Jing’s reputation soared. Yet he lamented privately: in the chaos, he’d forgotten to collect the 100 Spirit Stones from Fang Shilin.   “Thankfully, we’re classmates. I’ll find a way to get them later.”