Perhaps among his peers, Wu Qianqiu possessed a relatively seasoned understanding of maneuvering. However, in Lei Dong’s estimation, his deliberate attempts to provoke through forced pleasantries were utterly childish.

As expected, his temperament lacked true composure. Hearing Lei Dong’s needling words, he couldn't help but allow the forced smile to drain away, his face paling as a look of fierce jealousy surfaced. “Lei Dong, your tongue is sharp indeed. You don’t deserve the position of a direct disciple. Today, I, Wu Qian—”

Before he could finish his opening salvo, he saw Lei Dong’s Bloodthirsty Ghoul materialize, brandishing a long saber and charging forward with menacing ferocity. Its movement was swift and dominant; amplified by the Bloodthirsty Art, it carved a crimson afterimage through the air.

Wu Qianqiu scrambled backward, executing his movement technique and rapidly weaving hand seals to cast a Profound Yin Shield around himself. Almost simultaneously, the Bloodthirsty Ghoul drove its momentum forward, striking the newly formed shield with its long blade. The immense force caused the just-coalesced shield to ripple violently, distorting until it nearly shattered.

Wu Qianqiu’s expression flickered, and without even a moment to curse the villainy, he swiftly circulated his zhenqi and hurled out a jade talisman.

The talisman disintegrated into four pieces as it shot forth, and a translucent, brightly patterned fierce tiger materialized out of thin air before the onlookers. The moment the tiger appeared, it craned its neck and roared, a sound so potent it made the listeners’ ears tingle and their spirits waver. Immediately following the roar, the tiger opened its vast maw, and a glowing white sphere shot toward the Bloodthirsty Ghoul.

Clang! The Bloodthirsty Ghoul reacted with surprising agility, raising its shield to intercept. With a deafening impact, the resulting shockwave radiated outward in all directions, stinging the faces of those nearby. To everyone's astonishment, the Bloodthirsty Ghoul was actually sent tumbling back several zhang, its shield deeply indented.

“What sorcery is this?” The sheer might of the formidable, ethereal tiger sparked exclamations of awe among the surrounding disciples.

A life-and-death duel was a contest where lives were staked, and even in an evil sect, such spectacles could not occur daily. In reality, these duels were infrequent. Consequently, the gathering was not just composed of the current generation; even seasoned disciples from the previous term had flocked to witness the event upon hearing the news.

“It’s a Beast Talisman, one of the signature spiritual talismans of the Spirit Talisman Sect.” A young man from the previous generation, yet only at the sixth layer of the Qi Refining stage, exclaimed in admiration. “Judging by this beast soul’s combat power, it can match at least an eighth-layer Qi Refiner. This spiritual talisman is worth no less than three hundred spirit stones.”

Three hundred spirit stones? For the vast majority of ordinary disciples, three hundred was an astronomical figure—enough to purchase an excellent mid-grade magical artifact. Cheers and gasps of amazement rose ceaselessly. Wu Qianqiu heard them and felt a flicker of smug satisfaction, commanding the tiger to pounce on Lei Dong.

Lei Dong’s complexion also shifted slightly. He had never even heard of something like a Beast Talisman. An eighth-layer Qi Refining strength was indeed troublesome; nouveau riche indeed possessed the demeanor of the nouveau riche. Lei Dong steadied his nerves, weaving hand seals to cloak himself in a Profound Yin Shield. Simultaneously, he tapped the ground lightly, and a faint, ethereal black mist enveloped his body. Like a phantom, he drifted rapidly backward, leaving behind streaks of afterimages that appeared real yet illusory, making his direction of movement difficult to track.

But the tiger was ultimately powerful. Another sharp roar caused Lei Dong’s fleeting form to pause momentarily. Seizing the opportunity, the tiger’s claws struck down fiercely.

Boom! The Profound Yin Shield was instantly shattered. As energy scattered, Lei Dong was thrown backward. Just as the tiger prepared to pursue, the Bloodthirsty Ghoul flashed forward, rigidly blocking the tiger’s path. Blade and shield clashed as the ghoul engaged the tiger in fierce combat.

“Three hundred spirit stones to buy such a ferocious beast soul? I’d sell everything I own for one!” The tiger’s power dazzled the onlookers again, provoking another cry. “Imagine having it swat anyone you dislike—how magnificent! This beast soul is far more worthwhile than buying a high-grade magical artifact.”

“You fool,” the young man chastised sharply. “This Beast Talisman can only be used once, and it lasts, at most, a quarter of an hour. Otherwise, do you think three hundred spirit stones could buy such a powerful, battle-ready pet? Furthermore, these beast souls have low sentience, nowhere near as intelligent as our Yin Sha Sect’s ghost servants.”

A quarter of an hour? Lei Dong, who had been maneuvering his three ghouls into a position to surround the tiger, was just about to execute the Nether Ghost Claws when his sharp ears caught the detail that the beast soul's duration was limited, along with the subsequent mention of its weakness. A cold smirk touched the corner of his mouth. He immediately ordered the Shadow Ghoul to launch a mere probing strike from the tiger’s rear, testing if it could provoke the beast soul tiger.

Meanwhile, the Bloodthirsty and Roaring ghouls wheeled mid-air and drove directly toward Wu Qianqiu. Wu Qianqiu, who had been savoring the tiger’s formidable display, instantly glared hatefully at the garrulous young man now that his weakness had been exposed. But facing the two ghouls closing in for the kill, he was forced to summon a magical shield swirling with fiery red light. At the same time, he raised a flying sword of the same style and color, seemingly complementary to the shield, and sent it directly hurtling toward Lei Dong.

Clang! A metal impact sound, piercing to the eardrums, echoed across the area. Right before Lei Dong, a shield shrouded in spiritual mist, seemingly lacking solid form, materialized, stiffly blocking the fierce strike of the fiery red flying sword. Ripples cut through the air, whipping Lei Dong’s black robes backward, yet his expression was utterly serene.

Time itself seemed to halt. Even the disciples from the previous term were stunned speechless. High-grade magical artifacts—they were all high-grade artifacts!

After their fierce clash, both the fiery red flying sword and the spirit mist shield seemed slightly damaged, their brilliance dimmed. However, the fiery red sword relentlessly circled Lei Dong, seeking an opening to attack. But the spirit mist shield, also a high-grade magical artifact, under Lei Dong’s control, perpetually sealed off the sword’s trajectory, as if the sword had to break through it first before its master could be harmed.

It appeared the situation was similar for Wu Qianqiu. The two ghouls, both nearing the peak of the sixth level, ceaselessly assaulted him with long sabers and arrows. Wu Qianqiu dodged what he could. For what he couldn't evade, his fiery red high-grade shield naturally took the impact. After all, a high-grade shield possessed astonishing defensive capabilities; it wouldn't be broken by the two ghouls in just a few strikes.

Wu Qianqiu no longer had the spare mental focus to micro-manage the beast soul; he could only issue periodic commands for it to attack Lei Dong. Yet, every time the fierce tiger lunged at Lei Dong, it was provoked by the Shadow Ghoul’s annoyance, causing it to shift its target back to the Shadow Ghoul.

Indeed, just as the young man had said, the beast soul’s intellect was far less agile and clever than that of the ghost servants. In a sense, the soul beast retained only a sliver of the instinctual drive of a demonic beast to propel its actions.

Lei Dong, however, mused internally that Wu Qianqiu would not have dared challenge him to a death match with only these few tricks up his sleeve. Though outwardly relaxed, his heart was exceedingly cautious. He also activated the Ghost Shadow Evasion, making his form hazy and elusive, trying his best to evade the flying sword’s attacks rather than relying entirely on the Spirit Mist Shield for defense. Aided by his Cloud-Ascending Boots, his Ghost Shadow Evasion was exceptionally swift.

At the same time, he flicked his hand. A sword, deep ink-green, seeming to harbor a trace of dark green that vibrated the soul, pierced the air and lunged toward Wu Qianqiu.

“Nether Fire Sword—another high-grade artifact?” The young man from the previous term couldn't help but groan. What kind of monstrous freaks were in this current generation? They were all at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, so why did they each possess high-grade items? He himself had struggled for seventeen or eighteen years and had only amassed two mid-grade artifacts. Still, his insight was keen, allowing him to instantly judge the quality of the magical instruments.

Naturally, Wu Qianqiu, protected by his high-grade shield, was not going to be slain by the Nether Fire Sword. But the sword’s fierce strike did carve a crack into his high-grade shield. This startled Wu Qianqiu and left his expression exceptionally grim. He had initially intended to bully Lei Dong, assuming the latter possessed, at most, one high-grade artifact plus his two ghouls. This assumption stemmed from the minor competition a year ago, where Lei Dong had only utilized mid-grade artifacts, never revealing a single high-grade one.

But Wu Qianqiu now realized he had kicked a very thick iron plate.