260: Chapter 260 Martial Ancestor Lin Dong!

A few days later, the reply from Martial Realm arrived.

The reply contained only a few lines, written in a vigorous, powerful hand, each stroke sharp as if carved by a blade, without the slightest superfluous decoration— "We welcome the Hall of Souls Master to visit; Martial Realm awaits with swept mats."

It was personally signed by Lin Dong.

Hun Feng read the reply over and over twice, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"This Martial Ancestor is certainly a straightforward man."

He placed the reply on the desk and turned to Hun Qian, saying, "Prepare a generous gift. Tomorrow, Cai Lin and I will go to Martial Realm."

Cai Lin was in the side hall organizing documents submitted by the various halls. Hearing this, she looked up, a flash of surprise crossing her purple snake-like pupils.

Hun Feng never specifically took her along when visiting others—not because he didn't want to, but because she was usually busy managing the affairs of the inner palace and coordinating the defenses of the various branch halls, making it impossible for her to leave.

But since he had specifically named her this time, she understood that this trip was extraordinary.

She didn't ask more questions, simply nodding and setting down the documents before returning to her sleeping quarters to change.

When she emerged, she had changed into that platinum ceremonial dress—a stand-up collar, slim-fitting, with a tight waistband; her long, straight legs were vaguely visible through the high slit of the skirt, and her silver stilettos clicked crisply against the stone floor.

Her black hair was tied high, and the flame-feather pattern on the golden crown atop her head gleamed with a cold luster in the morning light, making her look like a peerless sword carefully enshrined in a temple.

Hun Feng watched her walk from the end of the corridor, stunned for a moment, before retracting his gaze and rubbing his nose.

"Let's go," he said.

Martial Realm was located in the northern part of the Great Thousand World, with the Ice Spirit Continent as its foundation. The main city, Tiandu, was built around the ancestor stone and was the largest ore trading center in the Great Thousand World.

When Hun Feng and Cai Lin stepped out from the spatial rift, what met their eyes was a city completely different from Imperial City—Tiandu lacked the wildness of the volcanic eruptions of the Burning Heaven Mountain Range, nor did it have the heavy, thousand-year-old gravity of the Great Thousand Palace; instead, it possessed a deeply restrained stability.

The city walls were constructed from an unknown dark blue ore, the surface gleaming with a faint metallic luster under the sunlight; this was Martial Rock, a specialty of the Ice Spirit Continent, with a hardness comparable to extraterrestrial meteorite iron.

The buildings within the city were not tall, but the layout was rigorous and the streets were wide. The cultivators coming and going were dressed simply, and upon seeing outsiders, they were not surprised, merely taking a few extra glances before continuing on their way.

A slender figure was already waiting outside the city gate.

It was a young woman who looked to be about twenty years old, dressed in black robes, with a slender figure and features as beautiful as a painting.

Her features were delicate but not flashy, and her eyes were full of spirit; standing beneath the towering city wall, she was like an orchid blooming in the cracks of blue stone.

Behind her followed two maidservants, both with cultivation levels around the Earth Supreme.

"Junior Lin Jing, acting on my father's orders, is here to welcome you." She bowed slightly, her voice crisp like jade striking stone. Her gaze paused for a moment on both Hun Feng and Cai Lin, her manners perfect, neither servile nor overbearing. "Two seniors, please follow me."

Hun Feng remained expressionless on the surface, but inwardly, he raised an eyebrow slightly.

Lin Dong had only sent his daughter to welcome them outside the city; he had not appeared himself.

He didn't consider this a slight—he and Lin Dong had never met, so the fact that the other party had sent his only daughter to welcome them personally was already considered a courteous gesture.

But Cai Lin clearly did not think so.

She stood beside Hun Feng, her gaze sweeping over Lin Jing and then moving to the empty watchtower on the city wall, a faint chill flashing in her purple snake-like pupils.

She didn't say anything, but Hun Feng knew her too well—when she walked, her chin was slightly raised, the flame feathers on her golden crown were motionless in the sunlight, and her footsteps were half a beat slower than usual.

These subtle changes meant she felt slighted.

Hun Feng reached out and patted her lower back gently, lowering his voice to say, "His daughter came out personally; that's giving us enough face."

Cai Lin ignored him, merely straightening her already upright back by another three points.

Lin Jing walked in front to lead the way, occasionally turning to introduce some of the sights of Martial Realm. Her voice was soft and not noisy, and when she spoke of the ore trade in Tiandu, a trace of pride would unconsciously rise in her eyes; she clearly had deep feelings for this city.

Hun Feng casually asked a few questions about the local customs of Martial Realm, and she answered them neither servilely nor overbearingly, neither feigning humility nor deliberately showing off, and occasionally she would even ask a well-timed question about the situation at Spirit Hall.

Listening to her, Hun Feng felt a bit more admiration for Lin Dong—to be able to raise such a daughter, he himself shouldn't be too bad.

Lin Dong was waiting in front of the main hall of Tiandu.

He was quite tall, dressed in black martial attire, with a resolute and rugged face. Beneath his thick eyebrows, his eyes were as calm as water, yet they faintly revealed an undeniable sharpness.

That sharpness was different from the pressure of the Heavenly Supreme that Hun Feng was accustomed to seeing—it wasn't flashy or aggressive; it was more like a boulder polished by flowing water for thousands of years, its edges retracted, but the foundation remained too hard for anyone to bite through.

Standing beside him were two women, none other than Ling Qingzhu and Ying Huanhuan.

Ling Qingzhu wore a simple and elegant long dress, her long hair like a waterfall, her face beautiful and gentle, her temperament like an orchid in a deep valley, standing quietly beside Lin Dong with a calm expression.

Ying Huanhuan was dressed in an ice-blue robe, her long hair tied casually behind her head, her eyebrows and eyes as cold as frost and snow; standing there, she had an aura that kept strangers at a distance.

"Brother Hun, you have come from afar, and I have failed to welcome you properly." Lin Dong clasped his fists, his voice deep and calm, getting straight to the point without a hint of pleasantries. "Please."

Hun Feng clasped his fists to return the salute: "I have long admired the great name of the Martial Ancestor. Seeing you today, it is truly as the rumors say."

The host and guests took their seats, and the maidservants served tea.

After Lin Dong sat in the main seat, he did not initiate any conversation, simply picking up his teacup and looking at Hun Feng. His gaze was very frank—no probing, no scrutiny, just waiting quietly, as if saying, "You didn't come all this way just to drink tea; say what you have to say."

Hun Feng did not feel awkward.

He had seen too many occasions of hypocrisy and insincerity; by comparison, Lin Dong's straightforwardness actually made him feel comfortable.

The two chatted happily, from the recent development of Spirit Hall to the landscape of the Great Thousand World, and from the movements of the Extraterritorial Evil Clan to the balance of power among the Five Ancient Clans.

Lin Dong didn't speak much, but every sentence was to the point. His judgment of the situation was concise and accurate, without beating around the bush or playing tricks.

When they talked about the Extraterritorial Evil Clan, a rare trace of gravity appeared between his brows, and when mentioning the seal of the Heavenly Evil God, his fingers gently rubbed the edge of the teacup.

Hun Feng noticed this small gesture—Lin Dong was worried about the seal, but he wouldn't say too much in front of someone he was meeting for the first time.

Hun Feng listened while holding his teacup, feeling a sense of emotion in his heart.

This man was indeed a reckless brute—not the brainless kind of reckless, but the kind that would never turn back even if he knew there was a mountain of blades and a sea of fire ahead.

Such a person was hard to persuade once he had set his mind on something, but his likes and dislikes were written all over his face, making him much easier to get along with than those old foxes of the Five Ancient Clans who hid knives in their smiles.

During their conversation, his gaze drifted from time to time to Ling Qingzhu, who was sitting beside Lin Dong.

Today she was wearing a plain white long dress, the material light and soft, clinging gently to her body as she occasionally turned to whisper to Ying Huanhuan, outlining a figure that was breathtaking—shoulders as if carved, a waist like a silk ribbon, and the parts that should be full were rounded to perfection, neither overly plump nor appearing thin.

The waist of the skirt was tied slightly high, further setting off her long and well-proportioned figure. Her sitting posture was dignified and elegant, her hands folded on her lap, her fingertips occasionally tapping lightly on the back of her hand, her demeanor impeccable.

Her appearance could only be considered above average, but this figure and temperament—neither the best nor the worst, it was still pleasing to the eye.

His gaze did not linger for long, just a brief moment, but that instant was still accurately captured by a pair of purple eyes.

A slender and slightly cool hand reached over silently from the side and pinched the soft flesh on his waist fiercely.

The hand accurately found the most sensitive spot, acting without mercy, as if wanting to twist that piece of skin and flesh three hundred and sixty degrees.

Hun Feng's expression remained unchanged, the tea in his teacup didn't even ripple, he merely moved his Adam's apple imperceptibly for a moment.

Lin Dong noticed nothing, but he did notice that the expressionless Cai Lin sitting opposite seemed to have the corners of her mouth curve slightly.

He retracted his gaze, properly picked up his teacup to take a sip, and refocused his attention on the conversation at hand.

"Brother Hun, you haven't come here just to drink tea, have you?" Lin Dong put down his teacup, direct and straightforward.

Hun Feng also put down his teacup and said frankly: "Brother Lin is a straightforward man. Although Spirit Hall has developed rapidly in recent years, its foundation is still shallow. I am an ascender from the lower realms, and you are an ascender from the lower realms—speaking of which, we are fellow travelers. I came today just to build a friendship, with no other intentions."

"Fellow travelers." Lin Dong chewed on these three words, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

He was a man of temperament and had always respected the strong. Hun Feng, as a Saint-Rank Heavenly Sovereign, had come to visit in person, and his words held no arrogance; this attitude alone made him feel favorable.

The eyes with which he looked at Hun Feng gained a bit more genuine warmth. "Brother Hun, you have fought your way up, and I can empathize with the hardships involved. No more nonsense; stay at Martial Realm tonight, and you and I, brothers, will drink heartily. Whatever matters you have, we will discuss after drinking."

Hun Feng's heart stirred slightly.

Brothers—these two words spoken from Lin Dong's mouth were not pleasantries, not solicitation, but purely a meeting of minds.

He clasped his fists and said: "Then I will impose upon you."

Lin Dong laughed loudly and turned to instruct Lin Jing: "Pass down the order; prepare good wine tonight. I want to drink until we are both drunk with Brother Hun."

Lin Jing was slightly taken aback.

She rarely saw her father so enthusiastic towards outsiders, especially strangers he was meeting for the first time.

But she didn't ask more questions, simply nodding with a smile to acknowledge the order, and turning to go out to make arrangements.

That night, in the back hall of Tiandu, the candles were blazing.

The wine was a strong ore liquor brewed by Martial Realm itself, using the Cold Iron Flower—a specialty of the Ice Spirit Continent—as the starter. It was spicy as fire upon entering the mouth, but after going down the throat, it left a strange, cool aftertaste.

The way Lin Dong drank was exactly like his personality—not coy, not evasive, he would pick up the bowl and gulp it down, then slam the bowl down heavily, wipe the remaining wine from the corners of his mouth, and his whole body exuded a rough and heroic air.

Hun Feng accompanied him, drinking bowl after bowl. The two chatted about cultivation insights, past events in the lower realms, and the threat of the Extraterritorial Evil Clan. When they reached a point of great enjoyment, Lin Dong would slap the table and laugh heartily and heroically.

"Good!" Lin Dong gulped down another bowl of wine, put down the bowl, and looked at Hun Feng. "Brother Hun, when I, Lin Dong, make friends, I don't look at status, only at the person. You suit my temperament. From now on, Martial Realm and Spirit Hall are friends. If there is anything in the north, just come to me."

Hun Feng raised his bowl to clink with his, but the corner of his eye suddenly caught a glimpse of a slender black figure flashing past the corridor outside the window—it was Lin Jing, carrying a hangover soup from the direction of the kitchen, her steps light, her skirt swaying slightly in the moonlight.

He retracted his gaze and drained the wine in his bowl.

Deep in the night, with the wine in full swing, Lin Dong was already somewhat tipsy, his speech becoming even more rough and direct.

Ling Qingzhu and Ying Huanhuan also accompanied them for a few cups. Ying Huanhuan remained in her usual cold and detached manner, but Ling Qingzhu had a faint blush on her face due to the wine, lowering her eyes, her fingertips gently resting on the base of the wine cup, and her slight smile made her appear even more gentle and lovely.

Hun Feng kept his gaze firmly fixed on Lin Dong's face, the old injury on his waist seeming to ache faintly again, reminding him not to repeat the mistake he made earlier that night.

Cai Lin sat upright throughout the entire time, her expression always calm, only occasionally when Hun Feng reached out to pick up the wine bowl, her gaze would drift over imperceptibly to confirm that his hand was going toward the bowl and not elsewhere, before she would retract her line of sight.