武动乾坤 - Wu Dong Qian Kun by 天蚕土豆 - Tian Can Tu Dou

[chaossojer]

TN: We have decided to term the ‘red-liquid from the Stone Talisman’ simply as ‘Stone Talisman Ling Liquid’ from now onwards or sometimes just ‘Stone Talisman Liquid’. Note that this is the same ‘Ling’ as ‘Ling Qi’ found in our WDQK World Information Page. I hope this clarifies everything and if anyone has any questions feel free to comment and we’ll try to get back to you ASAP.

Chapter 16: 8 Desolation Palm


Ever since Lin Dong successfully made a breakthrough to the 5th Layer, his crazy training speed started to tone down. Although he still had help from the Stone Talisman Ling Liquid, he understood that too much excess will only bring harm upon oneself. Thus he decided to moderate his pace.

Consequently, over the next few days, Lin Dong seemed more relaxed than before. Whenever he had time, he would practise his almost perfectly mastered Penetrating Fist. Having previously grasped the secret behind it, Lin Dong was now finally able to smoothly execute the tenth echo of Penetrating Fist. However, he continued to keep this a secret, after all, this was his secret finishing move.

After relaxing at this gradual pace for a few days, Lin Dong finally resumed his intensive training. However, this time, he did not return to soak in the rock pool because it did not bring much benefit to him.

In fact, Lin Dong planned to start directly consuming the red liquid from the stone talisman.

Lin Dong had pondered for a day before he finally decided on this course of action. The Stone Talisman Ling Liquid was extremely rich in Ling Qi. Based on Lin Dong’s calculations, he reasoned that the degree of Ling Qi within was greater than that of a normal Grade 3 elixir. Thus, if one was not careful, such a potent Ling Qi may instead do more harm than good.

However, he had little alternatives left, if he did not use this method. This is because the diluted Stone Talisman Ling Liquid already had little effect on him. Furthermore, there was only three months left before the Family Competition and Lin Dong desperately needed to advance to Tempered Body 6th Layer before that. Only then, could he secure his victory over Lin Hong. He knew that if Lin Hong managed to obtain a good result, he would definitely ask Grandfather for an engagement with Qing Tan. When that time comes, should Lin Xiao disagree, it would definitely cause some commotion. This was a scenario that Lin Dong did not wish to see play out.

Thus, to put an end to this matter, the only way was for him utterly humiliate Lin Hong until he lost all face to make that request!

However, although Lin Dong extremely disliked Lin Hong, he had to admit that the latter was indeed skilled. Lin Hong had already advanced to Tempered Body 6th Layer a few months back, who knew how much he had improved since then? Therefore, Lin Dong knew that he must be thoroughly prepared.
With all these issues in mind, consuming the Stone Talisman Ling Liquid to boost his training was clearly the only option.

“Gulp!”

In his room, Lin Dong started at the bowl of crimson red liquid before him. As he gritted his teeth, he took in a deep breath before he immediately lifted the bowl, emptied its contents into his mouth with a ‘gu lu gu lu’ sound.

As the crimson red liquid entered his body, Lin Dong’s cheeks instantly turned fiery red. White steam started to emerge from the top of his head before spiralling upwards.

“Glup glup!”

Lin Dong’s teeth chattered uncontrollably. The crimson red liquid that he had poured into his body seemed to have transformed into lava as it flowed inside his body. An intolerable burning sensation struck Lin Dong in every part of his body that the ‘lava’ passed.

Both his arms hugged his body as he laid paralyzed on the ground. As he curled up in pain, he tried desperately to resist and endure the burning sensation in his body.

Within the room, a figure thrashed about in pain, rolling back and forth on the ground. His constrained gasps sounded a little hoarse as he was afraid that if he shouted too loudly, Lin Xiao and the rest be alerted.

The inhumane torment lasted for a full ten minutes before it gradually receded.

As the last wisps of burning pain faded from his body, Lin Dong’s trembling self slowly calmed down. He gasped deeply a few times, before stretching out to lie powerlessly on the floor.

As he laid face flat on the ground, within his body, a sudden cooling medicinal effect appeared. This medicinal effect quickly infused itself into his bones, causing him to faintly feel slightly numb, as if something had entered into the deepest part of his bones.

“Refining force has entered my bones?”

When he became aware of the numbness that spread out from the deepest part of his bones, Lin Dong’s mind abruptly jolted. What he was experiencing now, implied that he was slowly advancing towards Tempered Body 6th Layer. When the force channels merged with the bone marrow, a Yuan Power Seed will be born in the bone marrow!

“The pain was worth it!”

Lin Dong wiped the sweat from his face as he chuckled. Under normal circumstances, it will take at least two or three months before the refining force will enter one’s bones. Yet the Stone Talisman Spiritual Liquid had shortened the time needed by an insane amount. Although consuming the liquid had caused him a tremendous amount of pain, comparing the rewards that he had gained, all the pain now seemed insignificant.

“The medicinal effect will linger in my body for a few days, I can’t waste this opportunity. Time to start a hyper intensive training regime.”

Lin Dong crawled up from the ground while he could feel the lingering medicinal effect of the Stone Talisman Spiritual Liquid in his body. This medicinal effect was quite valuable, hence he knew that he must not waste any of it. After all, he had a limited amount of Stone Talisman Spiritual Liquid and it was good for him to be frugal when using it.

As he wriggled his body, Lin Dong let out a satisfied grin. He pushed open the door and exited the house in order to proceed with his daily training.

Since he had tasted the benefits from directly consuming the Stone Talisman Ling Liquid, Lin Dong decided that he will consume one drop of Stone Talisman Ling Liquid every four days.

A drop every four days. This rate of consumption caused Lin Dong’s heart to feel somewhat pained. Although he did not know just exactly how valuable the Stone Talisman Ling Liquid, he knew it definitely would not be lower than Grade 3 Elixirs. And, consuming a Grade 3 Elixir every four days was truly lavish and it was probably something only a handful of people in QingYang Town could afford to.

Of course, though he consumed lavishly, the rewards was indeed bountiful. In a short half a month’s time, Lin Dong could feel as if something was burning in the deepest part of his bones. This sensation was like something was about to be born in his bone marrow.

And when Lin Dong was taking a break from Tempered Body training, he once again went to disturb Lin Xiao in order get the latter to teach him more martial arts.

After several months of practising Penetrating Fist, Lin Dong had completely mastered it. Yet he was hardly satisfied, thanks to the miraculous powers of the Stone Talisman, martial arts were like a shortcut to becoming strong, as even a normal martial art would transform into an extraordinary one under the guidance of Stone Talisman Glowing Shadow.

Hence, for Lin Dong, it was definitely beneficial for him to learn more martial arts.

However, Lin Xiao held a contrasting view. To him, martial arts were important, but the most important factor was still the strength of one’s body. He was worried that Lin Dong will neglect training his body if he focuses too much on learning martial arts. In that case, it would not be worth it at all.

However, despite his concerns, when Lin Dong executed the seventh echo of Penetrating Fist, the former was finally cornered. Lin Xiao looked at Lin Dong with a strange gaze for a good part of the day, before he eventually forced himself to admit that his son had surpassed an affinity with martial arts that even surpasses him.

After convincing Lin Xiao with his performance, Lin Dong successfully obtained a set of martial arts from the former.

8 Desolation Palm, Lower Category Level 2 martial arts.

Lin Don was very satisfied because he knew that this set of palm techniques was the same martial arts that Lin Hong primarily focused on.

Lin Dong was very eager to see the expression on Lin Hong’s face once he realized that Lin Dong’s 8 Desolation Palm had immensely surpassed his, during the Family Competition.

In the quiet night, Lin Dong once again drifted into the dark Spiritual Domain.

This time, when Lin Dong appeared in the dark space, two glowing shadows also blinked into existence. As he gazed at the familiar palm technique the second glowing shadow was executing, an impatient smile formed on Lin Dong’s face.

He was eager to know, just how much of an improvement will this Lower Category Level 2 martial art experience be, in the hands of the glowing shadow?

[chaossojer]

Chapter 17: Scorpion Tiger


In the darkness of the Spiritual Domain, two glowing shadows seemed to danced in pace as they displayed their respective set of palm and fist techniques.

Lin Dong’s eyes were tightly locked onto the new glowing shadow as the latter demonstrated the 8 Desolation Palm that he had just learnt from Lin Xiao today.

“This stone talisman is truly magical. I guess it draws from my memories and projects the things I have learnt in a unique manner. Furthermore, during the process, it perfects the moves…”

Lin Dong was stumped at how incredulous it sounded. However, although these mystical powers were truly unimaginable, right now, he could only accept the facts that were presented before of him.

Since he could not unravel the mysteries behind the stone talisman, he decided to focus on his training instead. After all, the stone talisman did not harm him, so why should he bother wracking his brains over this issue?

Putting his thoughts into action, Lin Dong fully focused his attention onto the 8 Desolation Palm the glowing shadow now displaying. The 8 Desolation Palm was noted for its ferocity. Though it looked simple, hidden within each move was a monstrous force.

Engrossed in the glowing figure as it executed 8 Desolation Palm again and again, Lin Dong’s brows gradually furrowed more and more as he concentrated. He realized that the 8 Desolation Palm of the glowing figure actually melded the forceful blows with traces of gentle strokes. As strength and gentleness twined together in perfect harmony, the power to devastate any opponent was born.

“By making a few tiny adjustments, one can actually add traces of gentle strokes into the aggressive 8 Desolation Palm. This stone talisman is truly magical.”

Lin Dong marvelled at the stone talisman. Though these martial arts merely belonged to the lower category, it was not impossible for some truly skilled practitioners to refine and improve them. However, the stone talisman was not a person...

“Combining gentle and hard strokes will increase the attacking power of 8 Desolation Palm. In fact, if utilized correctly, its strength may even rival that of the tenth echo of Penetrating Fist. Though, this will definitely be an uphill battle to accomplish.”

Of course, Lin Dong was long ago mentally prepared for this thus he did not feel disheartened. Instead, a fervour grew in his eyes that were glued onto the glowing shadow as he moved into the stance of 8 Desolation Palm and began to practise…...

Like sand that slipped through one’s fingers, time passed by swiftly as he trained and drilled. In the blink of an eye, another half a month passed.

During these past few months, everyone in the Lin Family was training intensively. Even the usual trouble makers were forced by their respective parents to train hard. After all, the Lin Family Competition in two months time was a very important event for every member of the Lin Family.

If one is able to distinguish himself in this competition, he will not only be given the best treatment, but his parent's status in the Lin Family will also skyrocket. Therefore, many parents hoped that their children will perform well during the competition.

In this half a month's time, the burning sensation deep within Lin Dong’s bones blazed hotter and hotter. However, the Yuan Power Seed continued to elude him, leading him to feel slightly resigned.

Nonetheless, he took comfort in his practise of 8 Desolation Palm. Under the guidance of the glowing shadow, he had come close to mastering the 8 Desolation Palm. Even though he was unable to combine the gentle and hard strokes perfectly, when he executed 8 Desolation Palm, the force that he produced was still very impressive.

Furthermore, Lin Xiao’s had also made a complete recovery. After a few days of cultivation, he also succeeded in absorbing the Yin Energy from the Yin Pearl. Even though Lin Dong was not able to pick up anything from his father’s outer appearance, he could faintly sense that Lin Xiao’s strength was growing by leaps and bounds.

Based on his speed, it was only a matter of time before he is restored to Heavenly Yuan level.

In the midst of the dense forest, Lin Dong stood atop a large tree as he gazed down upon the forest. Traces of blood dotted his body as a slightly bloody scent floated his near vicinity.

Naturally, this fresh blood did not belong to Lin Dong, but rather to the wild beasts that he had hunted. Over this past half a month, Lin Dong could feel that something was about to be born in his bone marrow. However, no matter how hard he trained, he was unable to break through the final barrier.

In desperation, Lin Dong decided to test his skills in the wild as he hoped that his Yuan Power Seed will be born during a real battle. Furthermore, it also provided him with a good opportunity to test his mettle.

As he was unable to find anyone to engage in actual combat with, he could only turn towards the wild beasts.

Over these past few days, several wild beasts have already met their maker at Lin Dong’s hands. Furthermore, after overcoming his nerves in the initial fights, Lin Dong was now used to killing these wild beasts.

“Movement!”

Lin Dong suddenly froze, a split second later, he jumped off the tree and shot off like an arrow. However, he abruptly stopped as he stared at the fearsome wild beast in some distance away.

“Scorpion Tiger.”

This was a brown creature, whose body resembled that of a tiger. However, its tail was razor-sharp and looked similar to a scorpion.
(TN: wow... that creativity… I wonder how he came up with the name)

Scorpion Tiger was a savage creature covered in fur as hard as metal, an extremely difficult adversary. Therefore, Lin Dong briefly thought about retreating after he discovered his new “opponent”.

However, just as Lin Dong saw the Scorpion Tiger, the latter also discovered his presence. The creature immediately turned its scarlet eyes towards Lin Dong, releasing a loud roar as it stood up.

Just as the creature stood up, from the corner of his eyes, Lin Dong spotted a crystal clear dark-red fruit, below a tree that was right behind the creature. He could faintly smell a light fragrance emitted by the fruit.

“Is that…a Grade 3 elixir, Crystal Vermillion Fruit?”

As the Crystal Vermillion Fruit reflected in his eyes, Lin Dong immediately gasped in a breath of cold air. To think that he would encounter a Grade 3 Elixir here, it seems like today was really his lucky day?

Lin Dong had seen this Crystal Vermillion Fruit before in QingYang Town, where it was being sold at an exorbitant price.

Upon this accidental discovery, Lin Dong’s footsteps paused mid step. Seeing this, a murderous intent flashed across the Scorpion Tiger’s eyes. Releasing a low growl, it lept towards Lin Dong.

At this sight, Lin Dong hastily retreated, only to see the creature trampling over a tree, which had a girth as thick as his arm.

“Thump!”

As Lin Dong side stepped behind the creature and threw a few blows in succession onto its body. The strength behind his blows sent the creature flying onto its back. However, it did not look like it took any damage.

“Such a tough hide…”

At this scene, Lin Dong froze. He knew that he had underestimated this creature.

“Roar.”

The Scorpion Tiger immediately jumped back on its feet and then leaped into the air as it attempted to stomp on Lin Dong’s chest with its thick and powerful tiger hoof.

“Pa Pa Pa…”

A strong musky smell assaulted his senses. Faced with such a ferocious incoming attack, Lin Dong did not dare to take any chances. Instantly, ten echoes from Penetrating Fist sounded out as he delivered the final punch to counter the creature’s attack.

“Boom!”

Fist and hoof collided in mid air. Immediately, a large and small figure were blown away in opposite directions. As Lin Dong crashed onto a tree, fresh blood spilled out from the corner of his mouth. Just as rage boiled in his body, he suddenly felt an intense burning sensation. Amidst that burning sensation, Lin Dong could feel that a mysterious power was being born in his bone marrow!

“Yuan Power Seed?!”

Lin Dong’s body stiffened. His mouth hung open in shock as his body started to tremble uncontrollably in excitement. To his amazement, his intense battle with the Scorpion Tiger was the trigger for the birth of the Yuan Power Seed that had constantly eluded him!

[chaossojer]

Chapter 18: Yuan Power Seed


From the depths of his bone marrow, a bizarre energy slowly flowed as an incredulous force gradually spread out from his bone marrow and started coursing through his body. Eventually encompassing every part of his body.

“Is this the Yuan Power Seed?”

A look of joy sprung up in Lin Dong’s eyes. All of a sudden, it was as if the whole world had brightened up. He could even feel within a mystical force flowing through the surrounding air which greatly resembled the Yuan Power Seed hidden in his bones.

“Yuan Power…”

Lin Dong stood up and could not help but release a hearty laughter. After so such a long period of hard training plus the aid from the Stone Talisman Ling Liquid, he had finally refined a Yuan Power Seed in his body today! Right now, he had officially stepped into the realm of a true practitioner!

“Roar!”

As Lin Dong laughed, the Scorpion Tiger nearby continued to stare at Lin Dong with it’s scarlet eyes. This time, it could faintly sense a familiar scent coming from the latter. However, this was not enough to deter it. With a low growl, it opened its bloody mouth and charged towards Lin Dong.

Sensing the incoming murderous intent, Lin Dong lifted his head. However, in his eyes, the movements of the Scorpion Tiger felt much slower than before. Allowing him to instantly grasp the attack trajectory of the creature.

“Is this the power of Tempered Body 6th Layer…?”

Lin Dong’s eyes lit up as he gently step to the side and avoided the creature’s pounce. Lightly extending his right palm, a weak light flashed as his palm chopped heavily towards the Scorpion Tiger’s head.

“Chop!”

A deep and low sound rang out and scalding fresh blood sprayed into the air. Lin Dong’s palm had directly chopped through the Scorpion’s Tiger thick hide and decapitated it!

The Scorpion Tiger’s body stiffened before it landed on the ground with a thud. Fresh blood splattered onto the ground, dyeing it crimson red.

“Yuan Power… so strong…”

As Lin Dong stared at the corpse of the Scorpion Tiger he had killed in one blow, he involuntarily sucked in a breath of cold air. Is this the strength of Yuan Power? No wonder people often say that the 5th and 6th Layers are worlds apart.

“Thankfully, I did not fight it out with Lin Hong previously. Or else, I would definitely suffer.” Lin Dong carefully examined his palm and picked up some leaves to clean off the bloodstains. His heart was still filled with trepidation as this was his first time witnessing the formidable Yuan Power.

Lin Dong kicked the corpse to one side and arrived at place where the Crystal Vermillion Fruit in two strides. As he stared at the sparkling exterior of the fruit, an envious glint surfaced in his eyes. The price of this Grade 3 Elixir was rather high. Normally, one would only find them within the ancient deep forests. To be able to discover a stalk here today, he must be really blessed by Lady Luck.

After Lin Dong carefully examined the fruit, he then stretched forward to grab it. However, just as he touched the Crystal Vermillion Fruit, a faint warm sensation suddenly emitted from the Stone Talisman at his chest.

In response to the sudden change in the Stone Talisman, Lin Dong fell into a daze. Soon after he decided to remove the Stone Talisman and hold it on his palm. Ever since he advanced to Tempered Body 6th Layer, his senses had sharpened considerably. Hence, he could indistinctly feel that the Stone Talisman was currently releasing a weak suction force. Thanks to this suction force, faint streams of energy were pouring into the Stone Talisman.

“The Stone Talisman Ling Liquid is perhaps crystallized from the energy that the Stone Talisman absorbs!”

As this concept formed in his head, Lin Dong thought for a while before gazing at the Crystal Vermillion Fruit in his other palm. He suspected that the sudden change in the Stone Talisman was likely caused by this Crystal Vermillion Fruit.

Holding onto the Crystal Vermillion Fruit, Lin Dong hesitated for a moment before he gently brought the Crystal Vermillion Fruit near to the Stone Talisman. However, just as the Crystal Vermillion Fruit was inches away from the Stone Talisman, a powerful suction force abruptly emerged from the Stone Talisman. Instantly, the Crystal Vermillion Fruit flew towards the Stone Talisman and mysteriously disappeared on contact.

Lin Dog was stunned by this sight. Did the Stone Talisman just swallow the Crystal Vermillion Fruit?

Can the Stone Talisman eat?

Just as Lin Dong regained his wits, he suddenly noticed the crevice on the Stone Talisman flicker with a vermillion glow. Soon after, the glow intensified until eventually, it condensed into two bean-sized vermillion pills. As they tumbled down, Lin Dong quickly swiped them up.

Catching the lukewarm pills in his hand, Lin Dong could faintly feel that these pills contained a pure and highly-concentrated energy. In fact, this energy was even more potent than that of the Stone Talisman Ling Liquid.

“These pills should have been condensed from the Crystal Vermillion Fruit…” From the pills, Lin Dong could smell the same fragrance he had smelt from the Crystal Vermillion Fruit. In addition to the scene that had just played before his eyes, it was not difficult to guess how the pills were produced.

“It looks like Stone Talisman is not only able to assimilate the energy from Heaven and Earth, but it can only absorb Elixirs and refine them into pills or liquid medicine of a greater purity…”
(TN: Suddenly… the MC has become a Genius... perhaps the Stone Talisman also increases one’s Wisdom and Intellect?)

Excitement surfaced in Lin Dong’s eyes as he contemplated this new discovery. One Crystal Vermillion Fruit was refined into to two pills. Furthemore, the medicinal properties of each pill seem to more potent than an individual Crystal Vermillion Fruit. It was as if the Stone Talisman had to function to upgrade the effects of elixirs to its peak.

“I must obtain more elixirs. The energy in these pills seem to be even stronger than the Stone Talisman Ling Liquid. If I utilized these pills, I can definitely accelerate my training progress!”

As he imagined the potential it held, Lin Dong’s could not help but tighten his fists. He kept the Stone Talisman properly before he turned to speed away.

After discovering this miraculous property of the Stone Talisman, Lin Dong was extremely excited for a few days. However, his excitement gradually subsided, as he realized that things were not as rosy as he had imagined.

Firstly, he did not have enough elixirs for the Stone Talisman to refine. Even though Lin Xiao’s had recovered from his condition, he still refused any resources from the Lin Family. Therefore, Lin Dong could only rely upon himself to look for elixirs.

Furthermore, when Lin Dong tried to feed Grade 1 elixirs to the Stone Talisman, to his surprise, only two flimsy beans were produced. After a few more experiments, he understood that if he wanted to produce pills like before, he needed to use a Grade 3 elixir or better. However, just where was he going to find these rare Grade 3 Elixirs?

He got extremely lucky the last time. It was almost impossible for lightning to strike the same spot twice...

Faced with these huge obstacles, Lin Dong was forced to temporarily suppress the hopes in his heart. Right now, he could only hope to excel at the upcoming Family Competition so that he could finally utilize the vast resources of the Lin Family, and all his previous troubles would be swept away.

As he suppressed the extravagant hope in his heart, Lin Dong decided to turn his energy back to his training. Even though he had advanced to Tempered Body 6th Layer, he knew that consuming the Stone Talisman Ling Liquid directly still held significant benefits for him. Therefore, as time passed, Lin Dong could clearly feel that that the Yuan Power Seed coursing through his bone marrow was gradually seeping out from his bones.

And when the Yuan Power finally breaks out of his bones and flows into the channels within his body, he would have reached the first step of Tempered Body 7th Layer: Refining Yuan into the Channels!

Of course, even with help from the Stone Talisman Spiritual Liquid, it would still take some time before he could reach that step…

As Lin Dong’s strength continued to grow by leaps and bounds, the hot summer period gradually ended, heralding the start of the important Lin Family Competition...

[chaossojer]

Chapter 19: Breakthrough before the Family Competition


Time flows like water, in a blink of an eye, the summer heat had dissipated and was replaced by cool breezes that blew across the lands.

Even though the heat was gone, the fire within the Lin Family members only burned hotter and hotter. This was because, the most important Family Competition was about to begin.

In the dense forest, a shadow flickered, as a set of fist techniques were being perfectly executed, flowing as naturally as the clouds in the sky. A series of crisp echos constantly reverberated in the forest.

Just as the eight echo sounded out, the figure abruptly opened his fists into palms as drafts of wind followed behind each forceful thrust, blowing away all the leaves on the ground.

In his hands, the two completely different palm and fist techniques had become exceptionally swift and nimble. His performance clearly demonstrated his complete mastery of these techniques and the fact that he had drilled them countless times before.

As the display ended, the figure also withdrew his fists.

“Excellent.”

Just as Lin Dong stopped, a content voice sounded out nearby. Immediately, he saw Lin Xiao approaching with a wide smile on his face. Beside him, Qing Tan followed while secretly winking as she made eye contact with Lin Dong, an extremely adorable sight.

“Not bad, in less than 4 months, you have managed to reach Penetrating Fist eighth echo. Moreover, you have also became highly proficient with the 8 Desolation Palm. This is indeed a remarkable achievement.”

Lin Dong humbly scratched his head, yet in his heart he cheekily smiled. He had yet to reveal all his cards in that display. Eight echoes was an easy task for him who was already extremely proficient in ten echoes. As for 8 Desolation Palm, after two months of intensive training, he reached the step of coupling strength and gentleness. And its destructive potential definitely rivalled that of Penetrating Fist tenth echo.

By possessing these two powerful signature moves, Lin Dong was probably unrivalled among the younger generation in the Lin Family.

“The Family Competition will be held tomorrow. Since you are now Tempered Body 5th Layer, and equipped with Penetrating Fist and 8 Desolation Palm, it should not be difficult for you to achieve a decent result.”

For the nine Layers of Tempered Body, only the 4th Layer was particularly easy to observe. Beyond that, the changes normally occur internally. Therefore, unless one is carefully inspected, one’s level would not be known. Even though Lin Dong had already advanced to Tempered Body 6th Layer two months ago, he wanted to keep the Stone Talisman secret so he did not tell anyone about his frightening training progress.

As such, even his father, Lin Xiao, believed that Lin Dong was only at Tempered Body 5th Layer. Moreover, his father never suspected a thing, as it was already an outstanding achievement to rise from Tempered Body 2nd Layer to 5th layer within half a year.

“Father, have you recovered your strength?” Ling Dong suddenly asked as he looked at Lin Dong’s face.

Upon hearing these words, Lin Xiao let out a chuckle. As he gently ruffled Lin Dong’s hair, he murmured: “ All these years, you, your mother and your sister have suffered immensely because of my illness. Rest assured, I will make sure this kind of thing never happens again.”

As Lin Dong gazed at Lin Xiao, he could vividly feel that the decadence within Lin Xiao had completely disappeared. Right now, Lin Xiao resembled his old majestic self, except he seemed a bit more calm and reserved.

Lin Dong lightly nodded his head, as he began to tear. All these years, his biggest dream was for his Father to pull himself together. Thankfully, he finally succeeded.

“Heh, it's getting late. You can stop training today. Rest well tonight in preparation for the Family Competition tomorrow.” Lin Xiao said as he patted Lin Dong’s shoulder before turning to leave.

As he gazed at Lin Xiao’s back, Lin Dong’s fists tightened as he muttered in a low voice: “Father, rest assured. Tomorrow, I will shock the whole family. The son that you taught will definitely be the best!”

“Lin Dong-ge, please be cautious if you encounter Lin Hong tomorrow. According to Lin Chang Qiang, Lin Hong has already advanced to Tempered Body 7th layer.” Qing Tan who was standing at one corner, came up to warn Lin Dong right after Lin Xiao departed, worry on her face.

“Tempered Body 7th Layer?”

Lin Dong was momentarily stunned, though soon after, he chuckled. It seemed like Lin Hong’s father has really spared no expense in order to ensure that Lin Hong excelled in the Family Competition.

However, so what if he is at Tempered Body 7th Layer?

As the night descended, moonlight poured through the windows into the room.

Seated on his bed, Lin Dong retrieved a tiny bottle from his person. Next, he dripped two drops of Stone Talisman Ling Liquid into his mouth.

Over these few months, Lin Dong’s body had gradually adapted to the Stone Talisman Ling Liquid. Therefore, he was now able to endure two drops at once.

As the two drops of Stone Talisman Ling Liquid entered his body, Lin Dong’s face turned red. Faint white smoke emerged from the top of his head, as his body temperature rose rapidly.

Having gotten used to it, unlike his first attempt, Lin Dong no longer tossed and turned on the floor in pain. Instead, his body merely trembled a few times as he felt that the warmth feeling of the Yuan Power Seed in his bone marrow become stronger and stronger.

After these past two months of training, Lin Dong could clearly feel that the Yuan Power Seed within his bones has gradually strengthened. At times, he could even feel signs that the Yuan Power Seed was about to burst out of his bones. Lin Dong understood that these signs indicated that a breakthrough was about to happen.

Facing these circumstances, Lin Dong did not try to forcibly accelerate the breakthrough. He knew that if he wanted to, he could forced his way to Tempered Body 7th Layer. However he somehow felt that it would be better to let nature take its course instead.

And the moment that he was waiting for had finally arrived...

As the two drops of Rock Talisman Ling Liquid entered his body, the vibrations deep within his bones suddenly became more and more violent, until eventually Lin Dong’s entire body began to shake.

“Something is finally about to break through…”

Sensing the imminent situation, Lin Dong immediately took a deep breath. He knew that the instant the Yuan Power Seed broke through the confines of his bones, it would flow into his body’s internal channels. And then, he would finally be able to absorb Yuan Energy from between heaven and Earth to train his body. An extremely important step!

“Buzz Buzz!”

His body started to trembled even mores severely. All of a sudden, a deep sound rang out from within Lin Dong’s body.

After he heard this deep sound, Lin Dong’s vision immediately darkened. Suddenly, he could vaguely see that within his body was a glowing walnut-sized light ball, slowly coursing through his body. Moreover, a mysterious suction force gushed out, and thanks to this suction force, traces of extremely mild energy within the surrounding Heaven and Earth were slowly moving in accordance with Lin Dong’s breathing and pouring into his body.

“Is this Yuan Power Seed? Why is it so big?”

As Lin Dong recovered his vision, a look of shock immediately surfaced on his face. Under normal circumstances, the Yuan Power Seed that just broke through the practitioner’s bones, should not be bigger than a thumb. Yet this Yuan Power Seed was larger than normal by over ten times!

“Is it because of the Stone Talisman Ling Liquid?”

Lin Dong held a strange expression on his face. The size of one’s Yuan Power Seed largely depends on how rapidly one absorbs Yuan Power. However, from the get go, his Yuan Power Seed was already so much larger compared to others...

After contemplating this issue for a while, Lin Dong finally gave up as he helplessly shook his head. Lying down on his bed, he knew that all he could do now was prepare for the upcoming Family Competition tomorrow…

“Lin Hong, lets see if you have what it takes to marry Qing Tan!”

[chaossojer]

Chapter 20: The Family Competition Begins


Just as the first rays of dawn broke through the clouds and shone onto Earth, a hubbub buzzed in the Lin Family as a rowdy atmosphere enveloped their manor.

When Lin Xiao brought Lin Dong and Qing Tan to the training chambers of the Family Competition, it was already a lively place, packed full with people.

Even though the Lin Family could not be considered as a first-rate faction in QingYang Town, they still held considerable sway. Therefore, there were several VIPs who had come specially to witness this Family Competition in order to use this occasion to build relationships with the Lin Family. Also, this competition also gave them an opportunity to assess the capabilities of the younger generation in the Lin Family. After all, the abilities of the next generation is vital for the continued prosperity of any family.

If the younger generation in the Lin Family prove themselves to be incompetent, then the Lin Family will fall sooner or later.

Even though this was not his first time witnessing a Family Competition, Lin Dong could not help but feel slightly tensed. After all, this time, he would be the one in the spotlight.

Lin Xiao patted Lin Dong’s shoulders reassuringly, trying to ease the latter’s nerves. Soon after, he brought the two of them and approached the VIP section of the training chambers.

Currently, there were already many people already seated at the VIP section, happily conversing among themselves.

Seated in the middle of the VIP section, was a somewhat lean middle-aged man who was cheerfully conversing with the other guests. Suddenly, his caught a glimpse of Lin Xiao and his children, causing him to freeze up on the spot. Though he quickly recovered as a frowned formed on his face.

In the past competitions, Lin Xiao would normally never appear. Even on the rare occasions when he turned up, he would stand in a discreet corner where no one would notice him. This was the first time in many years, that he directly approached the VIP section.

On the left side of the lean middle aged man were two youngsters, the brothers Lin Hong and Lin Shan. Tellingly, the man seated next to them was likely their Father, Lin Mang, who had bad blood with Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao paid no heed towards Lin Mang’s stare. Without missing a beat, just as he was about to walk past the latter, Lin Mang suddenly smiled. A teacup in his hand, he casually asked: “Third-brother, what finally brought you out of your house?”

Lin Xiao stopped and glanced at his half-brother, whom which he had a terrible relationship with ever since young. A smile surfaced on his face as he replied: “Is it a problem?”

As he witnessed Lin Xiao’s smile, Lin Mang was shocked as he noticed that he could not find any traces of the usual decadence in that smile. This discovery made him feel uncomfortable, yet he remarked in an indifferent manner: “There is no problem. Its just that today is an important occasion for my Lin Family. Since you have appeared, I just hope that you don’t embarrass us.”

Lin Xiao lightly chuckled. Ignoring the insult hidden in Lin Mang’s words, he immediately brushed past him before seating himself in a nearby seat.

“Humph.”

Lin Xiao’s actions caused Lin Mang’s face to distorted slightly as he coldly snorted.

“Ahh, Lin Mang-xiong. Is this the man that once had the best chance among the Lin Family members to advance to Yuan Dan stage, Lin Xiao?” A man seated by Lin Mang’s side casually asked with a smile.

“Those are just rumours. How can you believe them?”. Lin Mang replied in derision.

“Ahh, of course. Right now, Lin Mang-brother is the prime candidate among the Lin Family to advance to Yuan Dan stage. In the future, let’s look for more opportunities to collaborate.” The man cheerfully replied, a tone of subservience in his voice. Two years ago, Lin Mang successfully advanced to Heavenly Yuan level and became the third Heavenly Yuan practitioner in the Lin Family. Over these two years, he was heavily favoured by the family and he now controls the finances of the entire Lin Family. In comparison, Lin Xiao, had almost been forgotten after being an invalid for many years.

Even though Lin Mang knew those words were merely flattery, the corners of his mouth still formed into a smile.

“Father rest assured. Later when Lin Dong is thrashed publicly, third-uncle’s expression will definitely worsen.” Sensing his father’s unhappiness, Lin Hong, who was sitting behind Lin Mang, reassuringly told his father.

“En.”

Upon hearing these words, Lin Mang smiled again as he slowly nodded his head.

“That guy is so irksome.”

Qing Tan, who was sitting beside Lin Xiao, unhappily complained after she saw Lin Mang’s deliberate provocations.

“They are on the winning side, for now.”

Lin Xiao shook his head, undisturbed by Lin Mang. Just as he was about to continue, he suddenly turned towards the main entrance. There was a large crowd currently streaming in. Leading the pack, was an old man with headful of white hair and dressed in embroidered robes. He had an impressively robust aura and at this moment he was scanning the training chambers.

This man, was the current head of the Lin Family, and also Lin Xiao’s father plus Lin Dong’s grandfather, Lin Zhen Tian.

Following closely behind Lin Zhen Tian, was a middle-aged man. At his side, stood Lin Xia, whose slim and elegant figure naturally drew the gazes of several young men.

As Lin Zhen Tian appeared, the commotion in the training chambers intensified as everyone hurriedly rose to pay their respects. After all, Lin Zhen Tian was considered as a legend in QingYang Town. After he arrived here, he single handedly built the Lin Family. Therefore, his methods and capabilities have left a strong impression on many people.

Lin Zhen Tian cheerfully greeted the VIPs before coming to a halt in the middle of the VIP area. However, just as he stopped, he spotted Lin Xiao a short distance away, causing the former to be startled for a moment. Lin Zhen Tian quickly recovered and swiftly walked over

“Father.”

As he saw Lin Zhen Tian approaching, Lin Xiao’s fists involuntarily tightened, as he stood up and respectfully greeted his father.

“You are finally willing to come and visit me?”

As he looked at Lin Xiao, who was in front of him, Lin Zhen Tian offhandedly asked, a complicated emotion in his eyes.

In the past, Lin Xiao was the son that Lin Zhen Tian had dedicated the most effort to. Even though the former’s eventual defeat had disappointed him, the most disappointing fact was Lin Xiao’s descent into decadence after the defeat.

The old man was as stubborn as his son. After Lin Xiao’s descent into decadence, the downhearted Lin Zhen Tian never initiated a meetup as well regardless of how much he missed his son in his heart.

“Father, I am sorry.” Lin Xiao softly muttered. He knew that Lin Zhen Tian was extremely disappointed by his years of decadence.

“Grandpa…”

Qing Tan and Lin Dong, who were standing at one side, also hurriedly greeted their grandfather.

“Ahh, its Dong-er and Qing Tan. You kids have really grown…” Upon hearing their voices, a smile resurfaced on Lin Zhen Tian’s face. As he gently stroked their heads, he gave the image of a rather kindly and doting grandfather.

“Its good that you have now finally come out. At least, you bothered to visit me before I have to enter my coffin.” Lin Zhen Tian said, as he turned his gaze back towards Lin Xiao. As he spoke, Lin Dong could feel a slight tremble from the old man’s hand. It seems like in that aged heart, he was not as calm as he appeared to be.

“Haha, Father. Now that Third-Brother has finally decided to appear, let's spare him the nagging. After all, there are still many guests around.” The middle-aged man who was following behind Lin Zhen Tian remarked with a smile.

Lin Zhen Tian sighed. With one more glance at Lin Xiao, the former finally returned to his seat.

“Da-ge (Big brother).” Lin Xiao gratefully thanked the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man smiled as he nodded his head, before proceeding to pat Lin Dong’s shoulder and said: “Dong-er, make sure you do not embarrass your father in today’s competition.”

“Yes, 1st uncle.”

Lin Dong nodded in response. This man was his oldest uncle and his name was Lin Ken. Besides that, he was also Lin Xia’s father.

As he recalled Lin Xia, Lin Dong immediately turned to see the young lady standing behind the middle-aged man waving her tiny fists at him in a show of support.

After Lin Ken and Lin Xiao exchanged pleasantries, Lin Ken brought Lin Xia back to their respective seats. Soon after, the crowd finally settled back into their respective seats and the noise in the training chambers gradually began to die down.

Everyone was intently staring at the Clan Head, Lin Zhen Tian.

Lin Family Competition had officially begun!

[chaossojer]

Chapter 21: Lin Yun


Under the attentive gazes of the crowd, Lin Zhen Tian stood up and cupped his hands together as a sign of respect to the VIP booth. With a bright smile, his clear voice rang out: “Today is the Family Competition of our my Lin Family. Thank you everyone for coming to support us. Everyone here is a familiar friend so this old man shall tarry any further, let us go straightaway to the main event.”

As the last word fell from his mouth, Lin Zhen Tian looked to Lin Ken who was beside him. The latter also smiled and nodded before walking to the huge open space in the training chambers and taking out a bamboo tube. Many smaller sticks with words inscribed on them filled the bamboo tube.

“Old rules, draw lots to determine your opponent. All of the little brats who want to participate in the Family Competition come out and draw your lots.”

Hearing Lin Ken instructions, one after another, tens of figures appeared in the open space and drew a bamboo lot from the bamboo tube in Lin Ken’s hand.

“There are five platforms here, those who drew the front five numbers will start first.” When all the participants had drawn a lot, Lin Ken smiled as he pointed towards the five stone platforms behind him.

Lin Dong glanced at the bamboo lot in his hand, painted on it was the white figure of the number ‘four’. Without the slightest hesitation, he straightaway walked to the fourth stone platform. After he had stepped onto the platform, a round thing also climbed up, at which Lin Dong could not bear but roll his eyes.

“Lin Chang Qiang, why is it you.” Lin Dong helplessly gazed at the tubby Lin Chang Qiang before him.

“I didn’t want this either……” Lin Chang Qiang scowled miserably. After Lin Dong had defeated Lin Shan previously, Lin Chang Qiang understood that the current Lin Dong could not be compared to before. It was most likely that Lin Chang Qiang was not even considered an opponent for Lin Dong. Yet the lots had already been drawn, and Lin Chang Qiang could not withdraw either else his father would never let him off when he returned.

Lin Dong shook his head, pity on his face: “Don’t worry, I will go gentle on you.”

“......” Lin Chang Qiang was also speechless, a little bit of bitterness in his expression.

The two resigned themselves to their fate as they exchanged a glance. Below, seeing that the first batch had were all on stage, Lin Ken waved his hand and shouted: “Let the Family Competition begin!”

As Lin Ken’s shout faded, the mood in the training chambers abruptly erupted in a frenzy. On the few stone platforms, figures flashed before finally colliding together in sudden ferocity.

“Heh heh, I had also advanced to Tempered Body 4th Layer two months ago. Lin Dong, you’d better take care too!”

Hearing the signal, Lin Chang Qiang chuckled as his body suddenly jolted. The folds of originally soft blubber unexpectedly hardened substantially. Following which he stamped ferociously off the ground and flew forward like a huge meat bullet.

As that amusing sight was reflected in Lin Dong’s eyes, he involuntarily broke into a laugh. In this moment, Lin Chang Qiang’s rapidly approaching body suddenly turned and a thick right leg rather violently lashed at Lin Dong.

“Level 1 martial art, Rock Splitting Leg?”

Lin Dong was somewhat surprised as he felt the wind from Lin Chang Qiang’s decently renowned leg style. To think that this guy had actually practised martial arts! Yet to the current Lin Dong, just this little was of no threat at all.

Lin Dong’s arm agilely stretched forward and bypassed Lin Chang Qiang’s whipping leg before lightly tapping on his thigh.

“Ah!”

Lin Chang Qiang cried out as his now unstable self fell and landed on his butt.

After striking down Lin Chang Qiang with one palm, Lin Dong once again lifted his fist as if he were preparing to send it chopping down at his opponent. Lin Chang Qiang immediately held his hands over his head and called out: “I admit defeat!”

“Lin Dong wins.”

Below the stone platform, Lin Ken grinned while shaking his head. Soon after, he shifted his somewhat astonished gaze to look at Lin Dong. Although Lin Chang Qiang could not be considered outstanding in the Lin Family, he had still managed to reach Tempered Body 4th Layer. Though the palm from Lin Dong had looked casual enough, the fact was that it had landed on the spot where Lin Chang Qiang’s strength was the most scattered. If it was just a fluke, the nothing can be said, however if it was intentional, then Lin Dong who was already armed with such discerning eyes at his young age was truly a force to be reckoned with.

After hearing Lin Ken’s declaration, some of the gazes in the training chambers also turned to rest upon Lin Dong. Although they were slightly flabbergasted, in the end they did not pay too much attention to what had happened. After all, Lin Chang Qiang strength was only average in the Lin Family. Winning over him was not a very huge achievement.

Lin Dong did not take much notice of these gazes, his own eyes turned towards another stone platform just in time to see Lin Hong absent-mindedly blowing his opponent off the stage with a single strike of his palm.

Easily dispatching his opponent, Lin Hong also sensed Lin Dong’s gaze and turned to lock eyes with the latter, the corners of his mouth raising to form a sneer.

Lin Dong shot one last glance at Lin Hong before withdrawing his gaze and dragging Lin Chang Qiang off the stage.

Lin Dong did not meet any problematic opponents in the first round, thus after Lin Chang Qiang, Lin Dong once again won the match. Advancing to the top ten with nothing to write home about. Due to his easy victories in both matches, Lin Dong did not reveal his excessively astonishing strength, thus many people believed that good luck was all there was to Lin Dong.

In contrast to Lin Dong’s dull matches, Lin Hong and Lin Xia had become the main stars in the training chambers. From start to end, the two had beat their opponents in a single move. These overwhelming victories made everyone understand that the strength that these two possessed had by far exceeded the rest of the younger generation of the Lin Family.

“I’m afraid that Lin Hong has really attained Tempered Body 7th Layer……” Seated in the audience, Lin Xiao concluded while nodding after seeing how easily Lin Hong had fared in both of his matches.

At these words, concern surfaced on Qing Tan’s tiny face. She still remembered that what Lin Hong had said that day: If he achieved a good result in the Family Competition, he would ask grandfather to be engaged to her. When that time comes, if father was not willing, maybe he would once again part on bad terms with grandfather.

“Don’t worry, nothing will happen.”

Seeing the worry on Qing Tan’s tiny face, Lin Dong smiled as he lightly patted her arm to console her.

“En.” Qin Tang slightly inclined her head. A while later, she asked: “Who do you think Lin Dong-ge’s will face next? If you win the next match, you will advance to the top five……”

Lin Dong grinned though he did not really care. His current strength was more than enough to face any of the younger generation in the Lin Family.

“Let the second round of the competition begin, Lin Dong.”

Lin Ken’s eyes turned to gaze at Lin Dong before indicating to the big stone platform in the middle. Because they had already reached the selection of the top ten, no matter what, it would be more exciting than the previous round. Thus there were no longer five matches occurring simultaneously. Instead, competition would go match by match, allowing the audience absolute clarity.

At Lin Ken’s voice, Lin Dong lightly sighed before quickly walking towards the stone platform.

“Lin Dong-ge, you can do it.”

Behind him, Qing Tan waved her tiny fists in the air while aiding him with a rallying cry of support.

Within the training chambers, several other gazes also turned towards Lin Dong, a hint of curiosity and expectation in their eyes. Although Lin Dong’s reputation in the Lin Family was incomparable to the brilliance of Lin Xia and Lin Hong, his father was after all once the most talented in the whole Lin Family. As they thought back to the past Family Competition, they recalled that LIn Xiao had effortlessly been crowned number one. Exactly how much of that capability will his son show in today’s competition?

From the VIP booth, Lin Zhen Tian and the rest also locked their eyes onto Lin Dong. A similar curiosity in their hearts.

Under the attentive watch of the crowd, Lin Dong walked up the stone platform. When he reached his spot, Lin Ken looked to the competition list in his hands as his brows slightly furrowed. After a little hesitation, he read out the second name: “Lin Yun.”

Hearing this name, a small uproar emerged in the training chambers. Some of the younger generation of the Lin Family turned to look at Lin Dong with sympathy.

Lin Dong was also stunned by this name, evidently somewhat astonished at the thorny problem his opponent will be.

Like Lin Xia and Lin Hong, Lin Yun was considered as one of the elite among the younger generation of the Lin Family. Both parents were from the Lin Family but had died at the hands of bandits. Thus he had become uncommunicative since a young age, yet he was quite gifted. It was heard that two months ago, he had condensed a Yuan Power Seed in his body, becoming the third one, after Lin Xia and Lin Hong, to reach Tempered Body 6th Layer among the younger generation of the Lin Family.

This opponent was going to be somewhat troublesome.

Lin Dong licked his lips as a fire gradually burned in his eyes. This was exactly the kind of opponent he needed!

[chaossojer]

Chapter 22: Crowd Stunning Martial Arts


“Heh heh, that chap is really unlucky……”

Lin Shan inwardly rejoiced at the misfortune that had fallen upon Lin Dong, while gazing at the latter who stood on the stone platform. To a certain extent, Lin Yun was not inferior to Lin Hong. In fact, if they both were given the same treatment, it would difficult to say who would be stronger in the future. Now that Lin Dong had actually met Lin Yin in this round, it seems like Lin Dong’s competition journey would be cut short here.

"Too bad, I had originally planned to teach him a lesson personally. Looks like there's no need now." Lin Shan snickered as lazily remarked.

"To think that his opponent would be Lin Yun."

When Lin Xiao heard about Lin Dong's current matchup, the former could not help but furrow his brows. Clearly, this name was not foreign to him.

On one side, Qing Tan tightly clenched her fists, as a worried look surfaced on her tiny face.

"Don't be too worried, even if he loses to Lin Yun, he would still have made the most of a bad situation. After all, Lin Dong has only trained for a much shorter period than him.” Lin Xiao remarked. After he had recovered from his injuries, he had naturally became much less strict on Lin Dong.

Upon hearing these words, Qing Tan did not say anything. As her pupils shifted to stare at the young man on the stone platform, even though she did not know why, in her heart, she was anticipating a different outcome…...

“Lin Dong-ge will not lose so easily……”

After Lin Ken announced the opponent, a youngster dressed in ash-colored clothes silently emerged from the crowd, before walking up the stone platform.

This youngster was rather skinny, yet his gaze was as penetrating as an eagle’s. Looking at him, you could tell that he was not only wise but that he also possessed an unwavering determination.

Having witnessed his parents meet a violent death at the hands of bandits, the youngster had inevitably matured earlier than his peers.

“Lin Yun.” The youngster dressed in ash-colored clothes slowly announced his name as he faced Lin Dong.

“Lin Dong.” Lin Dong courteously replied, as he solemnly cupped one fist in his other hand, giving his opponent the respect he deserved. Although he had never had any contact with Lin Yun before, Lin Dong rather admired the latter.

"I will not hold back." Lin Yun warned Lin Dong as he stared at the latter.

"Thank you." Lin Dong smiled.

Upon witnessing this sight, Lin Xiao was slightly stunned, though he recovered shortly after. As he stared intently at Lin Dong, he slowly released a sigh. On the former’s fists, an extremely weak radiance flickered, signalling that he would use Yuan Power.

“Since both of you are here, let the match begin.” Lin Ken anxiously glanced at Lin Dong before he waved his hand and shouted.

“Thump!”

Just as Lin Ken’s voice faded, Lin Yun’s eyes narrowed. In a single step, he forcefully charged at Lin Dong, as he gripped his five fingers into a fist and directly attacked Lin Dong’s chest.

Faced with the Lin Yun’s attack, Lin Dong did not retreat. Rather, to the astonishment of the crowd, he also took a step forward as his right palm quickly extended to catch Lin Yun’s fist. As the Lin Dong’s palm collided against Lin Yun’s fist, the latter was unexpectedly blown backwards upon impact.
Just as his fist was deflected, Lin Yun’s body stance abruptly shifted, effectively evading the palm that Lin Dong had opportunistically threw in his way. Clenching both fists together, he suddenly extended them to smash onto Lin Dong’s face. Layer upon layer of fist images were like a torrent of huge hailstones falling from the sky. That kind of power was not one that any sane man would dare to clash against.

“Falling Rock Fist?”

This familiar fist technique caused Lin Dong to raise his eyebrows. He had seen Lin Shan execute this set of fist techniques before, yet compared to the one Lin Yun had used, Lin Shan’s fist technique would appear to be riddled with flaws.

“Huff……”

Spitting out a breath of air through his throat, Lin Dong knew in his heart that the power of Falling Rock Fist would only grow stronger in a prolonged fight, making it even harder to deal with at the later stages. Thus, he understood that he could not afford to back away now.

Since he could not retreat, he could only face it head on!

“Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa……”

With a serene expression on his face, Lin Dong’s palms tightened into fists. Immediately, a series of crisp echoes sounded out from the top of the stone platform. All in all, there were eight echoes!

Eight echo Penetrating Fist!

Upon witnessing this sight, many people in the crowd were slightly alarmed. They never expected that Lin Dong would be able to master Penetrating Fist to such a degree at this age.

“This brat, to think that he has made such progress……” Lin Xiao was also shocked at Lin Dong’s sudden display, though soon after, a cheerful look surfaced on his face.

“Yes, not bad……”

In the VIP booth, Lin Zhen Tian stroked his beard, slowly nodding.. Being able to utilize the eighth echo of Penetrating Fist at such an age was a pretty impressive accomplishment.

“Yet the force behind Lin Yun’s Falling Rock Fist is also extremely strong, and it even has the support of Yuan Power. Hence, even though the eighth echo Penetrating Fist is powerful, it is still going to be difficult to overpower the former…”

Though he was thoroughly amazed, Lin Zhan Tian still maintained a discerning eye as he assessed the situation, while muttering to himself.

“Pa!”

However, just as Lin Zhen Tian’s words faded, another clear and crisp sound reverberated in the air. In that instance, the entire training chamber lapsed into a moment of silence.

Ninth echo!

The pinnacle of Penetrating Fist!

Swish!

In a flash, everyone member of the crowd immediately turned towards Lin Dong. This time, they managed to spot a weak glow flickering on Lin Dong’s fist.

Yuan Power! Tempered Body 6th Layer!

“Crack!”

Cracks emerged on the teacup in Lin Xiao’s hand, as he blankly stared at the young man on the stone platform. The ninth echo Penetrating Fist? Tempered Body 6th Layer?

Lin Dong…...since when did he become this powerful?

“Brilliant!”

As he sat on the Clan Head’s seat, Lin Zhen Tien was briefly silent, before he slowly uttered out the compliment. Everyone who knew him personally, understood that the strength Lin Dong displayed caused him to be extremely satisfied.

Standing in a corner, Lin Mang’s expression darkened. He kept his lips tightly sealed and did not utter a single word. Standing behind him, Lin Hong’s brow also slightly furrowed.

“This brat really has some skills……”

“Thump!”

Under the crowd’s stupefied gazes, like a huge boulder, Lin Dong’s fist crashed against both of Lin Yun’s fists. A tremendous blow erupted as the latter’s body flew away like a kite whose string had broke, before finally landing on the ground just outside the perimeter of the stone platform.

“Crash……”

Seeing that Lin Dong had blew away Lin Yun with just one punch, the surrounding crowd burst into an uproar. Those who had known Lin Dong from before, had their mouths wide open, as they were clearly unable to believe that he had made such astounding progress in merely half a year.

Lin Ken was likewise stunned by the strength that Lin Dong had displayed. A short period later, he finally hastily opened his mouth and announced the results.

“Lin Dong is the victor!”

The training chambers abruptly exploded into applause and cheers as they finally understood that Lin Dong had reached this stage unscathed not through luck, but by the genuine strength he possessed.

Lin Dong watched the roaring crowd from his spot on the stone platform, as a small smile formed on his face. He leapt off the stone platform and extended a hand to Lin Yun: “Are you alright?”

“Penetrating Fist ninth echo and Tempered Body 6th Layer. My defeat is justified.” Lin Yun looked at Yun Dong with a smile also on his face. He continued: “If there is ever an opportunity, I would like to spar with you again.”

Finishing his words, Lin Yun did not linger and instead turned to leave.

Gazing at Lin Yun’s back, Lin Dong also smiled. Towards him, he had quite a favorable impression. If there was a chance in the future, perhaps they could get to know each other better.

However, before that, he still had to finish Lin Hong off, or else he would continue to harass Qing Tan…...

Lin Dong turned his head and cast his gaze toward Lin Hong’s position, only to see that the latter was also looking back at him with faint disdain in his expression.

[chaossojer]

Chapter 23: The Final Three


“Lin Dong-ge, that was brilliant!”

As Lin Dong was walking back to his seat, Qing Tan excitedly exclaimed while she stuck her tiny thumbs out in a thumbsup.

“You little brat, you’ve hidden it well.” Lin Xiao said, with a smile on his face. Nonetheless, Lin Xiao did not scold his son as he was simply too astonished by Lin Dong’s current strength.

Furthermore, Lin Dong’s stellar performance today had caused Lin Xiao’s face to dazzle with happiness. The excitement in his heart, was even greater the day where his injuries healed.

“Hehe”

Lin Dong humbly scratched his head as he chuckled. When he realized that Lin Dong was not going to pursue this matter further, he secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

After Lin Dong’s duel ended, the competition resumed. The top ten contestants were all fairly famous members among the younger generation in the Lin Family. In fact, most of them were at Tempered Body 5th Layer or above. Therefore, their duels were naturally quite exciting to watch, thus from time to time, the crowd would burst into cheers.

Five rounds were quickly over. As predicted, Lin Xia and Hong were able to easily secure their victory thanks to their overwhelming strength. Besides them, Lin Dong and two other outstanding youths in the Lin Family made it through to the final five.

As the final five were announced, the atmosphere in the training chambers heated up. Everyone knew that the following matches were the true highlights of the competition.

After drawing lots, one lucky person managed to draw the empty lot. This time, Lin Dong’s opponent was a young man named Lin Ting. He was reportedly at Tempered Body 6th Layer, though this did not pose much of a threat to Lin Dong.

The two of them swiftly proceeded to their fight after drawing lots and the end result was hardly surprising. Lin Dong’s Penetrating Fist Ninth Echo forcibly pushed Lin Ting off the stone platform, even though the latter utilized his full strength to resist.

Therefore, Lin Dong easily advanced to the final three.

Nothing special happened in this duel. Therefore, after it ended, the crowd instantly turned their attention towards the upcoming duel.

The next matchup was piqued everyone’s interest, even Lin Dong was interested. On account of the fact that it was Lin Xia against Lin Hong.

The two of them were considered as the most elite among the younger generation in Lin Family. In fact, most people predicted that either one of them will win this Family Competition.

However, the two of them were to now clashed unexpectedly before the final round, this exchange would be exciting indeed…...

“Lin Xia.”

Lin Ken hesitantly announced after he saw that both of them had drawn the same lot.

Upon hearing Lin Ken’s call, Lin Xia acknowledged in her lovable voice. With a twist of her tiny waist, she floated up onto the stone platform like a butterfly. Her slender and valiant look, drew the attention of several youngsters.

As Lin Xia ascended onto the stone arena, Lin Hong also elegantly leaped onto the arena. Dressed in white, he appeared handsome and refined, at this sight, several people in the crowd lightly nodded their heads in approval.

“Lin Xia-jie, please go easy on me.” Lin Hong respectfully bowed towards her.

“If I hold back, the one who loses will likely be me.” Lin Xia grinned. A rare look of concentration in her eyes, she knew that based on Lin Hong’s strength, she will most likely have to fight with everything that she had.

Lin Hong smiled as a fire burned in his eyes. Lin Xia could be counted as the most outstanding member among the younger generation of the Lin Family. If he could defeat her today, he will be able to claim the number one position.

“Let the duel begin!”

Standing below the platform, Lin Ken shouted as he signaled for the match to begin.

Just as Lin Ken finished his announcement, a faint glow emerged from the bodies of the two contestants. This was Yuan Power.

“Tempered Body 7th Layer…”

As they gazed at the rather dense glow emerging from their bodies, many people in the crowd gasped in surprise. Even though they had their suspicions after watching the previous duels, they were still amazed upon witnessing this sight.

To be able to advance to Tempered Body 7th Layer at such a tender age. This clearly showed the latent potential they possessed. If there were given proper training, they will definitely have a bright future ahead.

On his seat, Lin Zhen Tian had a content smile on his face as he witnessed this sight. The more stellar the younger generation was, the happier he felt.

“Lin Xia-jie, watch out!”

As the glow on his body flickered, Lin Hong’s expression turned deadly serious as he abruptly leapt forward. A devastating force could be felt from his two palms which he swung in a horizontal arc towards Lin Xia.

Faced with the biting cold wind from Lin Hong’s palm, Lin Xia gently took a step back. Her long and elegant finger came together and curled slightly in the shape of a hawk’s mouth. She struck heavily on the back of Lin Hong’s palms, causing them to fall downwards and avoiding the attack.

“8 Desolation Palm!”

Just as his palm was deflected, Lin Hong let out a growl. The force behind his palm turned ferocious as he continuously rained blows at Lin Xia’s head. The sound of his hands breaking through the air was indeed impressive.

As she was being assaulted by the aggressive palm technique, Lin Xia lightly frowned. She aligned two fingers together, and like a sword, she deftly bypassed Lin Hong’s palms and stabbed towards his body, causing the latter to have no choice but to bring back his hands to defend.

On the stone platform, two figures intertwined as they fought vigorously while constantly exchanged blows with their palms and fingers. With help from Yuan Power, each blow was amplified, captivating the audience’s attention.

“Lin Dong-ge, who do you think will win?” Qing Tan nervously asked as she involuntarily tightened her tiny fists at the intense duel.

“Hard to say...…”

Lin Dong hesitated before he finally shook his head. Lin Hong has clearly mastered 8 Desolation Palm as the force generated by his palm techniques were extremely aggressive and packed a huge punch. However, Lin Xia did not lose out to the former. In fact, the martial arts that she used was the Level 2 martial arts, Spirit Finger Sword.

Even though that type of martial arts did not look formidable, if it was properly mastered, one’s fingers will became a sword. Therefore, even Lin Hong did not dare to take a hit from her.

As such, it was very difficult to ascertain who would become the eventual victor. Nonetheless, in Lin Dong’s heart, he hoped that Lin Xia would win…...

While they spoke, the battle on the stone arena gradually intensified to a climax. Palms and fists collided, causing a series of deep sounds continuously rang out.

This exchange lasted for nearly ten minutes as the glow on their bodies burned brightly. Evidently, they had pushed the Yuan Power within their bodies to the maximum extent.

Just as the intensity of the glow reached its peak, the two of them took a step back in unison. Soon after, both of their palms suddenly reached out and collided together under the watchful gaze of the crowd.

“Bang”

An explosive bang sounded out on the platform as both of them were jolted apart by the impact. Both of their feets desperately tried to claw onto the platform, but in the end, both of them fell off at the same time...

After witnessing both of them fall off together, a commotion erupted in the training chambers. Evidently, no one was expecting this outcome...

“Haha, not bad, not bad at all…”

On his seat, Lin Hong could not help but nod his head in satisfaction after he witnessed that Lin Hong was able to go toe to toe with Lin Xia in their spectacular duel. Lin Mang, who was sitting beside him, let out a bright smile as he smugly turned to look at Lin Xiao.

“This match shall be judged as a draw. Since there are only four people left, if there are no objections, Lin Xia and Lin Hong will both take first place, whereas Lin Dong and Lin Chen, will be ranked as second and third respectively. Of course, if anyone still wants to compete and exchange pointers, please step forward now...…”

Lin Zhen Tian stood up and announced with a smile. At this juncture, the rankings for the Family Competition had largely been decided and any further duels should likely make no difference.

Upon hearing Lin Zhen Tian’s words, the crowd nodded in agreement.

“That fellow is number one…”

Lin Dong frowned as he turned to look at Qing Tan, only to discover that she had tightly gripped her tiny fists. Plastered on her delicate and tiny face, was a look of worry.

After hearing Lin Zhen Tian’s announcement, Lin Hong’s smile brightened. Turning his gaze towards Lin Dong and Qing Tan, the corners of his mouth lifted into a sneer. Soon after, he took a step forward and prepared to announce his intention for an engagement request, as they say: strike while the iron is hot.

However, right before Lin Hong announced his request, Lin Dong, who had been observing the former, suddenly stood up with a dark expression on his face. His voice reverberated in the training chamber.

“Lin Hong-biao-ge, Lin Dong is untalented. Could you please give me some pointers?”
(TN: Yea, some people like to refer themselves in third person)

[chaossojer]

Chapter 24: Complete Victory


The sudden voice caused the training chamber to lapse into silence and one by one, astonished gazes turned to rest upon Lin Dong.

“Dong-er, what are you doing?”

Lin Xiao hastily asked, also shocked by Lin Dong’s actions. Though Lin Dong’s performance today had exceeded his expectations by far, when all is said and done, his son still had a while to go before reaching Lin Hong’s level. Armed only Tempered Body 6th Layer and nine echo Penetrating Punch, it was not possible for Lin Dong to beat the Lin Hong who had already reached Tempered Body 7th Layer!

“Lin Dong-ge, don’t go!”

Quickly regaining her wits, anxiety replaced the shock on Qing Tan’s tiny face. She knew that Lin Dong’s sudden actions were likely all for her sake.

“Don’t worry father, I only want to exchange some pointers with Lin Hong-biao-ge. Even if I lose, you will not lose face……” Lin Dong grinned as he said.

These words knocked Lin Xiao out of his daze. He hesitated for a while before grudgingly nodding his head, cautioning his son: “Be careful.”

Lin Dong nodded in reply. He patted Qing Tan’s tiny head before turning to walk into the arena under the numerous gazes of the crowd. As he was turning, a sneer flitted across his eyes. If Lin Hong had just been satisfied with obtaining first place, the Lin Dong would not even bother to excessively expose his strength. It’s a pity that even with first place, Lin Hong was still greedy for the only thing he would never have! Really, give someone an inch and he’ll want a mile...

“Since things have played out this way, don’t blame me for thrashing you till you lose the face to mention the engagement ever again……”

Lin Dong’s footsteps stopped at the perimeter of the stone platform as he turned to look at Lin Zhen Tian, smiling as he inquired: “Grandfather, would it be alright for me to issue a challenge?”

Regaining his wits, Lin Zhen Tian inspected Lin Dong with an astonished look. Even after Lin Hong’s strength had been clearly displayed to Lin Dong, he still dared to issue a challenge. Either Lin Dong was asking for trouble or he had some kind of assurance in himself.

“Looks like he seems to have found some weak point……”

Suddenly, a faint sense of anticipation appeared in the depths of Lin Zhen Tian’s eyes. In the same competition many years before, Lin Xiao had also distinguished himself in a similar way, causing Lin Zhen Tian to finally find hope in returning to the clan…...but no one knew if Lin Dong was able to be like the Lin Xiao from the past and once again give this old man the greatest surprise.

“Normal rules, request for challenge accepted.”

Seeing Lin Zhen Tian’s approval, Lin Dong finally smiled.

“You brat, to think that you would come knocking on trouble’s door. Even I had a hard time dealing with the current Lin Hong.” Lin Xia’s angry voice sounded out as she stomped towards Lin Dong.

“Now is not the time to show off and act brave.”

Lin Xia was unhappy that she had failed to meet her own expectations and Lin Dong could only chuckle in response. Without a word, his figure leaped up onto the stone platform where Lin Hong was already standing, arms crossed and staring at Lin Dong while sneering.

“Lin Dong, looks like your self confidence has swelled after reaching the top three?” With a forced smile on his face, Lin Hong looked at Lin Dong who now stood before him

“Thus I would like to invite Lin Hong-biao-ge to help me sober up.” Acting as if he did not hear the mockery in Lin Hong’s words, Lin Dong replied with a smile.

“It’s my duty.” Lin Hong lazily said.

“1st uncle, can we start?” After one last glance towards Lin Hong, Lin Dong turned to ask Lin Ken who was at the bottom of the platform.

“You……” Lin Ken opened his mouth as if he had something to say before finally sighing in helplessness. He waved a hand: “Begin.”

As Lin Ken’s voice faded, Lin Hong’s originally lazy expression turned ice-cold. A weak glow bathed his body. He was clearly not going to pull any punches…...

“Lin Dong, I will now show you how huge of a gap there is between us!”

Yuan Power rolled about in his channels as ripples of power spread across Lin Hong’s body. He sneered at Lin Dong before quickly taking two steps forward and appearing before the latter. A cold force on the palm that was heavily thrusting towards Lin Dong.

In the face of Lin Hong’s extremely powerful blow, to everyone’s horror, Lin Dong did not show even the slightest signs of dodging. At this sight, many in the crowd secretly shook their heads, looks like the winner of this match would be decided very soon…...

“Heh heh, to actually initiate a challenge, he is only finding trouble for himself.”

In the training chamber, Lin Shan smiled, delighted at this turn of events. By his side, Lin Mang was also grinning as he leisurely leaned against the back of his seat and sipped on the tea in his cup.

“Thump!”

Just as the blow was about to make contact with Lin Dong’s chest, Lin Dong finally made his move. He extended his right palm and thrust at Lin Hong’s palm.

To everyone’s surprise, this collision did not end in Lin Hong’s victory. Rather, like an iron tower, Lin Dong’s body unexpectedly endured the blow without budging an inch. It was as if Lin Hong’s blow was completely unable to affect Lin Dong’s in the slightest.

“How can this be?”

This unimaginable scene caused many in the crowd to be flabberghasted. How could the power of Lin Hong’s Tempered Body 7th Layer be unable to force back Lin Dong’s Tempered Body 6th Layer?

Even Lin Hong’s complexion changed at that moment. From what he could feel, Lin Dong’s palm was akin to a thick wall that he could not break through.
And at this instance, he finally felt a sense of unease.

“You are not the only one who is at Tempered Body 7th Layer!”

Lin Dong stared at Lin Hong who was wearing a completely different expression from before, making sure to pronounce each word clearly. As Lin Dong spat out each word, a weak glow emerged from his body; this was due to the undulating Yuan Power! And, this kind of undulation was much stronger than Lin Hong’s!

The 7th Layer of Tempered Body!

“Sss……”

Gazing at the Yuan Power that flickered on Lin Dong’s body, gasps suddenly sounded out in the training chambers. As it turns out, Lin Dong’s true strength was not at the 6th Layer but the 7th Layer!

No wonder he dared to challenge Lin Hong!

“This repulsive brat……”

Lin Xiao foolishly gazed at the figure on the stone platform, the expression on his face slowly changing to an extremely excited one. He had yet to digest the amazement Lin Dong had forcefully fed him from before and now, his son had given him yet another heavy blow…...

Below the stage, Lin Xia’s jade-like hands also subconsciously moved to cover her tiny mouth, her eyes colored with astonishment.

“7th Layer? So what!”

Lin Hong’s constantly changing complexion eventually formed into a sneer. With a shake of his arms, both palms abruptly extended, following which a fierce gale shot forward like a knife, ready to shred a person to pieces.

“8 Desolation Palm?”

Lin Dong laughed in response to Lin Hong’s incoming palm attack. He brandished his own palms and from a tricky angle, Lin Dong bypassed Lin Hong’s thrust, quickly slapping down on the latter’s arm. Just as this casual looking tap made contact, the power of Lin Hong’s ferocious 8 Desolation Palm was suddenly scattered, causing it to weaken.

“That’s not the way to use 8 Desolation Palm!”

Having scattered Lin Hong’s palm thrust, a small smile danced on Lin Dong’s lips. The latter suddenly stretched both palms forward as they cut through the air like a knife through hot butter. Compared to Lin Hong, the force behind was much stronger and ferocious.

“You actually know 8 Desolation Palm too?!”

Lin Hong cried out involuntarily at the familiarity of Lin Dong’s palm technique. Just as his voice faded, he became aware of some subtle differences, the might of Lin Dong’s 8 Desolation Palm was much more tyrannical than the one he had displayed previously.

“How is this possible?!”

This discovery caused Lin Hong’s complexion to turn somewhat pale. He had practised 8 Desolation Palm for half a year, how could there be such a disparity from Lin Dong’s?

“I refuse to believe it!”

With a face as white as sheet, a wild fury flashed in Lin Hong’s eyes. He once again executed 8 Desolation Palm, but this time, to the best of his abilities. The Yuan Power in his body madly gushed out of his palm as he hacked at Lin Dong in anger!

The palm hummed with raw energy, causing the crowd to be emotionally moved.

Faced with Lin Hong’s final desperate counter-attack, Lin Dong maintained his calm as his palm strike suddenly evolved to incorporate a slight trace of gentleness before meeting Lin Hong’s blow in mid-air.

In the moment they contacted, Lin Dong’s arm strangely jolted as an exceedingly violent strength rushed forth like a tsunami.

“Thump!”

The crowd watched as Lin Hong’s body was unexpectedly blown away like a kite which had been cut loose and with a final stagger, Lin Hong’s sorry figure tumbled off the stone platform…...

An absolute silence dominated the training chambers, no one could have imagined that the originally first placed Lin Hong had been so cleanly dispatched by Lin Dong’s hands…...

“Good…...excellent……”

Lin Zhen Tian gazed blankly at the youngster on the stone platform. A split second later, he slowly sat down, mumbling to himself as an uncontrollable ecstasy and emotion sprang up in his eyes.

[Gopper]

huge fan of your works... look forward to the releases, keep up the good work

[chaossojer]

(TN: we have decided to interchangeably use Stone Platform and Stone Arena, note that they refer to the same thing~)

Chapter 25: Accepting a Position

The training chambers were deadly silent. One by one, stupefied gazes came to rest upon the youngster on the stone platform, paralyzed in their seats with astonishment and unable to utter a single word.

“To think that he actually won……”

Lin Xiao was also stumped at this outcome. A split second later, his body started to tremble violently as an ecstatic look surfaced on his face.

The delightful surprises that Lin Dong had delivered today was simply overwhelming.

Below the stone platform, Lin Xia lightly patted her chest as if to ease the shock in her heart, her eyes nailed onto Lin Dong. Previously, her bout with Lin Hong had only ended in a draw, yet Lin Dong had just triumphed over Lin Hong. Indirectly, this implied that even she, could not defeat Lin Dong.

In fact, the true victor of this competition could be said to be the dark horse, Lin Dong!

“He’s truly his father’s son……” Beside Lin Xia, Lin Ken also slowly murmured.

On the ground just at the fringe of the stone platform, Lin Hong sat with a pale face. His vacant daze evidently showed that he was still unable to come to terms with this abrupt reversal. Never in his wildest dreams, did he imagine that he would actually lose to Lin Dong, who he had always treated as mere dirt beneath his feet.

He simply could not accept this end result.

“Impossible!”

The surrounding gazes caused Lin Hong to feel as if his back was pricked by countless needles. His face twitched erratically, as the expression on his face rapidly fluctuated. Suddenly, he let out a roar of anger as the sole of his foot stamped off the ground, and he dashed back onto the platform and prepared to attack Lin Dong.

Lin Dong’s brows knitted together. Although the competition has ended, Lin Hong still stubbornly refused to accept the outcome. Instantly, he took one step forwards, and like a pair of metal pincers, both of his palms readied themselves to stop Lin Hong’s in his tracks. Just as he planned to push Lin Hong off the platform again, a sudden shout abruptly sounded out.

“Get lost!”

A figure descended from the skies, his hands like an eagle's claws as they grabbed at Lin Dong. Alarmed, the latter hastily withdrew his arms, yet the other party refused to let him off as the ‘claws’ went directly for Lin Dong’s shoulders.

“Lin Mang!”

This sudden turn of events greatly alarmed the audience. And when he saw the identity of the aggressor, Lin Ken immediately roared out in anger.

“You get lost! Don’t touch my son!”

Before Lin Ken’s roar could fade away, another figure flashed onto the platform and appeared in front of Lin Dong. This figure was Lin Xiao.

“Lin Xiao, do you really think that you can match up to me?” Seeing that Lin Xiao had appeared to protect his son, Lin Mang could not help but sneer. Yuan Power violently flickered at the hollow of his palm as it furiously swatted at Lin Xiao, slicing apart the air and leaving a thunderous sound in its wake.

“Get lost!”

Faced with Lin Mang’s attack, Lin Xiao’s expression slightly darkened. Surprisingly, he neither dodged nor ducked, instead he directly countered Lin Mang's attack with his fist.

“Thump!”

A strong wave erupted with the clash at its epicentre, as every speck of dust was cleanly blown off the stone arena. The entire crowd was unexpectedly stunned once again, as they saw Lin Mang being forcibly pushed back!

Lin Mang, who was at Heavenly Yuan level, was unexpectedly pushed back!

At this moment, Lin Ken, who was just about to intervene, froze in his steps. On his seat, the anger and agitation that was just about to explode from Lin Zhen Tian also likewise came to a screeching halt.

“Your strength?!”

Lin Mang stumbled as he tried to steady his body. Yet, at this moment, the surface of his heart was like a raging storm churning the seas. A terrified look on his face as he stared at Lin Xiao.

“When injuries have healed, strength will naturally follow and recover. You dare to cause such a scene at the Family Competition for the younger generation? Do you really think that us father and son are so easily bullied?” Lin Xiao said icily.

“Third-brother, you’ve regained your strength?”

At the bottom of the platform, delight lit up on Lin Ken’s face. A Heavenly Yuan level practitioner was an exceedingly important factor that determined a faction’s power. Currently, in the entire Lin Family, including himself, there were only three people who had reached the Heavenly Yuan stage. However, even such a small number allowed the Lin Family to command a rather substantial power in QingYang Town. Now that Lin Xiao had made a complete recovery and his strength had returned, their Lin Family would have one more Heavenly Yuan practitioner.

Hence, the guests in the training chambers also were also greatly shaken by this news. After all, they understood that from today onwards, the power of the Lin Family will rise dramatically.

On his seat, Lin Zhen Tian finally regained his wits and hastily leaped onto the platform. He grabbed Lin Xiao’s arm, and after sensing the surging Yuan Power in the latter’s body, a hearty laughter burst forth.

“Good, in the end, you did not let me down!”

Lin Zhen Tian heavily patted Lin Xiao’s shoulders. To one side, Lin Dong could see that the old man’s eyes were somewhat red. It looks like Lin Zhen Tien was exceptional moved by this.
“Lin Mang, even in such a public place, you actually dare to intervene because of your personal feelings? Do you really want to utterly disgrace the Lin Family?” Lin Zhen Tian’s tearful state did not last for long as he suddenly turned and sternly glanced at Lin Mang, a red hot anger in his voice.

Hearing Lin Zhen Tian raise his voice, Lin Mang’s expression slightly changed. In the Lin Family, Lin Zhen Tian’s authority was absolute and he was a respectable person who always kept his word. Even though Lin Mang had advanced to Heavenly Yuan level, he still did not dare to refute Lin Zhen Tian and could only bow his head in silence.

“Father, please let this matter go for now. After all, there are many guests here.” Lin Xiao hurriedly approached and softly muttered.

Lin Zhen Tian took in a deep breath as he suppressed the rage in heart. Then, with a swipe of his sleeve, he commanded: “I will leave you to settle this situation. Then, all of you will meet me at the backyard!”

As he finished, he immediately turned and left, the heavy thuds of his footsteps betraying the fact that he had yet to simmer down.

Upon witnessing this situation, Lin Ken let out a pained smile as he glanced at Lin Xiao and Lin Mang. After all these years, the two of them were still at constant loggerheads, and they had even involved their children in their dispute...

The Lin Family backyard was considered as an important area in the Lin Family. Under normal circumstances, no outsiders would be allowed to enter.

In a large hall at the backyard, sat several figures. The man sitting right in the center, was a slightly enraged Lin Zhen Tian. Beside him, were Lin Ken, Lin Xiao, Lin Mang and other key members of the Lin Family.

Lin Dong and Qing Tan, who were sitting beside Lin Xiao, did not dare to breathe a word in this uneasy atmosphere.

“Lin Mang, you have really outdone yourself. As a senior member, you actually attacked a younger generation. Do you want to humiliate our whole Lin Family?” As he glanced at the crowd, Lin Zhen Tian fiercely barked before he slammed his palm on the table.

“Father, I was impulsive.”
Lin Mang softly apologized as he took in a deep breath. He had been truly traumatized after witnessing Lin Hong’s utter humiliation by Lin Dong. After all, since young he had always been competing with Lin Xiao, and now, this competition had extended to their sons as well.

“Father, second-brother was indeed impulsive. However, please do not be too angry.” Lin Ken sighed, as he was forced to intervene as the oldest brother.

“Third-brother’s injuries have finally healed, and he has returned to the Heavenly Yuan level. This is truly a joyous occasion. You should not be angry.”

Upon hearing these words, Lin Zhen Tian’s expression softened. As he turned to face Lin Xiao, he suddenly let out a disgruntled snort: “ You should have recovered from your injuries long ago, yet you chose to let your pride stand in the way.”
(TN: Probably in reference to the fact Lin Xiao had rejected all aid from the Lin Family)

Lin Xiao nodded his head, forcing a smile.

“Nonetheless, its great news that you have finally recovered. Our Lin Family’s businesses have been greatly expanding, and we lack manpower now. From now on, you should come back and help us out. After all, we are family.” Lin Zhen Tian remarked.

“Yes.” Lin Xiao nodded his head, after a moment of hesitation. Now that he has recovered his strength, he knew that he ought to return and help the family.

Seeing that Lin Xiao did not decline, Lin Zhen Tian nodded his head in satisfaction. He hesitated for a moment before saying: “Recently, we have been exceedingly busy at the Blazing Manor. Head over there and help manage that place. If you require assistance, Lin Ken will be there to help.”

Just as these words left Lin Zhen Tian’s mouth, Lin Mang’s cheek could not help but twitch. The Lin Family owned several businesses in the vicinity of of QingYang Town. However, Blazing Manor was the most crucial one. In fact, every year, the profits from Blazing Manor made up almost 50-60% of the Lin Family’s entire income. Furthermore, this Blazing Manor used to be under his domain…

Though Lin Mang was extremely unhappy, he did not have the guts to oppose Lin Zhen Tian. Especially since he had only just angered Lin Zhen Tian.
When he heard that he would be put in charge of Blazing Manor, Lin Xiao was slightly dazed. Evidently, he knew the importance of this manor to the Lin Family. Nonetheless, after a moment of hesitation, he eventually nodded in agreement.

After finishing his instructions, Lin Zhen Tian turned to kindly gaze at Lin Dong, Lin Xia and the still somewhat unsightly Lin Hong. With a gentle smile, he said: “Meanwhile, Lin Dong’s performance today was the most outstanding. Truthfully, he should be crowned as number one in this Family Competition. As for the competition prizes, I will assign someone to bring all of you to the Martial Arts Library later on. Do feel free to use all the resources there. If there’s anything else you three need, do not hesitate to tell grandfather. After all, I hope that the three of you can rapidly grow before the QingYang Town Hunt and achieve a good result to boost the reputation of our Lin Family.”

Upon discovering that they were now permitted into the family’s Martial Arts Library, Lin Dong’s eyes immediately started to shine…

[chaossojer]

Chapter 26: The Hunt

Ever since the Family Competition ended, it became much more lively on the small hill where Lin Dong lived. Since noon, a constant stream of visitors had arrived to congratulate them. Everyone knew that based on Lin Dong and Lin Xiao’s performance, they would definitely rejoin the Lin Family’s inner circle, a pretty respectable position.

Faced with so many visitors, Lin Xiao instructed Liu Yan to treat them all hospitably before sending them off.

In the room, four figures gathered for a family dinner. This time, a bright smile was ever present on Liu Yan’s face. She did not care much for wealth or power, instead what mattered to her was the wellbeing of Lin Xiao and Lin Dong. For the sake of the two of them, she would gladly sacrifice everything.

“Dong-er, Tempered Body 7th Layer, Penetrating Fist Ninth Echo and a mastery of 8 Desolation Palm that is not inferior to Lin Hong’s. The progress you have made is indeed terrifying…” Lin Xiao commented as he laid down his chopsticks onto his bowl.

Upon hearing Lin Xiao’s comment, Lin Dong’s hand, which was placed under the table, involuntarily trembled. It seems that his insane training speed had aroused a little of Lin Xiao’s suspicion.

“I only just advanced to Tempered Body 7th Layer last night before I went to bed. With regards to Penetrating Fist and 8 Desolation Palm, I have been practising them regularly. I don’t really understand why but I seem to learn and master those skills really quickly.” Lin Xiao replied in a soft voice as he scratched his head humbly while frowning.

“Oh?”

Lin Xiao was perplexed. His eyebrows furrowed as he stared at Lin Dong’s earnest expression. Some people can indeed master martial arts extremely quickly. In fact, it was reputed that these gifted geniuses can rapidly learn any forms of martial arts taught to them.

Therefore, Lin Xiao could still accept that fact. However, Lin Dong’s Tempered Body training still seemed too speedy. After all, he was only at Tempered Body 2nd Layer half a year ago.
Successively advancing 5 Layers in half a year: This kind of speed was extremely remarkable in QingYang Town, and even the whole Lin Clan.

“Are you sure you did not take anything in the past half a year?” Lin Xiao asked. Previously, he had suspected that Lin Dong’s body was able to absorb the medicinal properties from elixirs to a much higher degree than most people. However, due to their circumstances, Lin Dong did not have access to high quality elixirs during the last six months.

Therefore, without a ready supply of elixirs, even if he was blessed with the ability to fully utilize them, what use would it be?

“I seem to recall…. Two months ago, when I was training in the woods, I found a golden fruit and ate it. At that time, it did not seem to have any effect… Maybe, it could be due to that…?” Lin Dong replied with a straight face. He constantly blinked his eyes as he acted as if he was trying hard to recall something.

Lin Xiao was at a loss for words while he tried to figure out what exactly the golden fruit was. Soon after, he shook his head helplessly and muttered uncertainly: “Perhaps so… Nevermind. Maybe you really did have the good fortune to eat some elixir-like fruit…”

Based on his expression, it was evident that Lin Xiao knew that something was off with his explanation. However, he decided to stop pursuing the matter. After all, it was good news that Lin Dong’s strength continued to grow.

Seeing that Lin Xiao had stopped pursuing the matter, Lin Dong’s heart secretly heaved a sigh of relief. When the time was right, he had planned to personally tell Lin Xiao about the stone talisman. However, right now he did not want to reveal its existence just yet.

“I was completely stunned when you won first place in today’s Family Competition. However, you must stay humble and remember to persist in your training. It will be the end of the year soon, and the QingYang Town Hunt will commence. The younger generation of QingYang Town’s other factions will also be participating. Thus, you must ensure that you do not embarrass the Lin Family.” Lin Xiao seriously remarked.

Lin Dong naturally knew about the upcoming event. The QingYang Town Hunt was held once every three years and was arguably the the time when QingYang Town was at its most crowded. Even many from outside the town would join in and witness the festivities.

Of course, whenever one mentions about the QingYang Town Hunt they will naturally talk about the three major factions in QingYang Town, the Lei Family, Xie Family and the Raging Blade Dojo.

The Lei Family and Xie Family could be considered as the original Families of QingYang Town. Therefore, after several generations, they had laid down deep roots within the town and they could be considered as the most well-established factions. With regards to the Raging Blade Dojo, even thought they were only established for slightly longer than a decade, they have rapidly caught up in terms of power. In fact, even the Lei and Xie Families knew that the Raging Blade Dojo’s current strength was not to be trifled with.

Moreover, this Raging Blade Dojo had a reputation that preceded them. If merchants chose to hire them as bodyguards, it was said that most bandits would definitely opt to steer clear of them.

Below these three major factions, the Lin Family could be considered as the next most powerful faction. In fact, ever since Lin Xiao had recovered his strength, the Lin Family now had the qualifications to stand toe to toe with these three major factions. After all, even the Lei Family, which was one of the most well established faction, only possessed five Heavenly Yuan practitioners.

As for the QingYang Town Hunt, it was an event jointly held by these three major factions. However, its was not really a “hunt”, but rather a test for the younger generation in each faction.

Of course, this was also a way for each faction to secretly compete with each other.

Naturally, whoever rose above the others in this hunt would bring much glory to their family. The results were determined based on individual comparisons, and whoever could suppress the rest would emerge as the unofficial victor.

Therefore, every faction in the QingYang Town placed great emphasis on the “hunt”, and in order to secure a good result, they would send their most elite younger generation members to take part. Hence, the intensity of the competition definitely exceed that of the Family Competition today...

And those opponents, would definitely be stronger than Lin Hong.

The ‘hunt’ was the real deal!

“I understand, Father. I will not rest on my laurels.”

In the house, Lin Dong collected his thoughts as he lifted his head and smiled. He recalled that the Lin Family had performed dismally in the past few “hunts”, and they were thus constantly ridiculed for it. Therefore, Grandpa had placed an exceptional emphasis on the upcoming hunt.

“Good.”

Lin Xiao nodded his head in contentment and said: “The Lei and Xie Family are both pioneers in this town. Therefore, they often discriminate against the Raging Blade Dojo and us, the Lin Family. All these years, they have been constantly undermining us as they seek to demonstrate their dominance in this town and force us to submit to them.”

At this point, Lin Xiao involuntarily snorted before continuing: “All these years, our Lin Family has been waiting in the wings. Now that my power has been restored, we no longer need to fear them. Therefore, you must work hard and secure a decent result for this hunt and restore our Lin Family’s reputation.”

Lin Dong once again nodded his head.

Upon witnessing this sight, Lin Xiao gently smiled. He then proceeded to hand over a embroidered box to Lin Dong and said: “This was a reward from Grandpa. There are two Grade 3 Elixirs contained within. Besides, you have also gained the qualifications to enter the Martial Arts Library. In the future, if you want to learn any martial arts, you can enter by yourself to take a look around.”

“Two Grade 3 Elixirs?”

As these words entered his ears, Lin Dong’s eyes immediately sparkled. Ever since he had fortunately stumbled across a Crystal Vermillion Fruit, he had yet to encounter another Grade 3 Elixir. Therefore, he could not bear to use the two pills that were refined from the Stone Talisman. Now that he had two more Grade 3 Elixirs, he could finally afford to try those pills and experience their effects.

“Alright, it's getting late. Go and get some rest. During this period of time, I will be busy with the Blazing Manor. Therefore, you will have to train hard on your own.” As he saw Lin Dong take the silk box, Lin Xiao waved his hands and instructed.

“Yes.”

Lin Dong nodded his head as he left the room with the embroidered box in hand. He was extremely eager to find out, just how potent the pills refined from Grade 3 Elixirs would be...

[chaossojer]

Chapter 27: Martial Arts Library


As he slipped back into his room, Lin Dong immediately locked his door before he collapsed against it and heaved a sigh of relief. Soon after, he walked towards his table and opened up the embroidered box.

When he opened the embroidered box, sitting atop of the red silk lining were two stalks of blood-red elixirs, which looked like they were on fire. Meanwhile, a seductive aroma filled the room.

“Flaming Crimson Reishi.”

As he gazed at these two stalks of reishi, a look of delight surfaced on Lin Dong’s face. After all, he knew that these were pretty costly elixirs.

“These two Flaming Crimson Reishi probably costs more than a thousand taels of silver…” Lin Dong gasped. He had never seen such a huge sum of money before.
(Note: a tael is a unit of measurement in of $.$)

As Lin Dong gleefully rubbed his palms, he retrieved the Stone Talisman from his chest and gently brought it towards a stalk of Flaming Crimson Reishi.

Upon contact, the stalk of Flaming Crimson Reishi was rapidly drained dry as all the Ling Qi contained was completely swallowed by the Stone Talisman.

Soon after the stalk of Flaming Crimson Reishi was completely drained, three flaming-red pills fell from the Stone Talisman and were instantly scooped up by Lin Dong.

A lukewarm sensation filled his palm as he grabbed the pills. The smile on Lin Dong’s face widened as he realized that the potency of the Flaming Crimson Reishi was much stronger than the Crystal Vermillion Fruit that he encountered by chance previously.

After this bountiful harvest, Lin Dong proceeded to feed the Stone Talisman his other stalk of Flaming Crimson Reishi. In the end, the two stalks of Flaming Crimson Reishi were refined into six flaming-red pills.

Lin Dong nodded in satisfaction after keeping these six pills into a bottle. As he sat down on his bed, he took out two other bottles hidden under his pillow. In the first bottle, were two pills refined from the Crystal Vermillion Fruit, while in the second, were ten white Yin Pearls. These Yin Pearls were obtained over this period of time when he used the Stone Talisman to suck out and tame the Chilling Cold in Qing Tan’s body.

According to Lin Xiao, these Yin Pearls were extremely precious as the Yin Energy contained within, was very crucial for any Earthly Yuan practitioners. Therefore, Lin Dong planned to save these Yin Pearls for his own consumption when he advances to the Earthly Yuan level.

As he gently held the bottle with the Crystal Vermillion Pills, Lin Dong carefully tipped it over and retrieved one pill. Gritting his teeth, he immediately popped the pill into his mouth. Even though he felt a heavy pinch of regret, knowing how valuable these items were, he decided that it was more important to raise his strength before anything else.

As the pill entered his body, Lin Dong could vividly feel a stream of pure and potent medicinal power explode within his body.

As the pill took its effect, Lin Dong’s body became like a hungry ghost. His muscles and internal organs fervently devoured the pure medicinal effect.

As his body hungrily gorged itself, the Yuan Power Seed that was flowing within his body’s inner channels also released a suction force, as it gradually grew while consuming a part of the medicinal effect.

This situation continued for approximately ten minutes. After which, the potent medicinal effect began to weaken. Another half an hour later, Lin Dong finally opened his eyes slowly.

“Such a potent medicinal effect…”

As he opened his eyes, Lin Dong could feel the vigorous energy flowing through his channels and the growth of the Yuan Power Seed. A look of uncontrollable excitement surfaced in his eyes.

This was his first time consuming a pill refined from a Grade 3 Elixir, and its effects were beyond his expectations.

In general, most elixirs would supplement one’s body, however due to various reasons, they also lead to unexpected side-effects. However, the pill that Lin Dong just consumed, did not have any side-effect. It was almost as if the Stone Talisman had removed every impurity and flaw in the elixirs during the refining process.

As such, one was now able to fully absorb and benefit from the elixirs consumed.

Therefore, the efficiency of just one particular pill far surpasses that of its respective elixir.

As there was no wastage during the absorption process, the benefits from one pill probably equaled to that of multiple stalks of elixirs from the same grade.

“My Yuan Power Seed is expanding. At this rate, it will not be long before I can advance into Tempered Body 8th Layer.”

Excitement surfaced in Lin Dong’s eyes. When he first heard that Lin Xiao and the rest had placed such high expectations of him for the QingYang Town Hunt, it would be a lie to say that he did not feel any pressure. However, he knew that the Lei and Xie Family had the advantage in terms of resources. Furthermore, it was said there were several capable members among the current younger generation in their families. Therefore, Lin Dong knew that if he wanted to catch up to them, he must work extra hard.

As part of the Lin Family, he knew that he also had to think about the big picture. If he could achieve a good result at the upcoming QingYang Town Hunt, it would greatly bolster the reputation of the Lin Family and improve their standing. Enabling the Lin Family to become like the Raging Blade Dojo, able to stand toe to toe with the Lei and Xie Family in the future.

“I have already thoroughly mastered Penetrating Fist and 8 Desolation Palm. Tomorrow, I will visit the family’s Martial Arts Library and see if I can learn any powerful martial arts to boost my fighting potential.” Lin Dong muttered to himself. After all, his advantage lied in having a glowing shadow as a mentor, allowing him to bring the potential of any martial arts to its peak. Therefore, he could not forsake this advantage.

As he reached this decision, he kept his bottles carefully and fell into a deep sleep. Today’s intense battles had completely drained him.

The next day, just after Lin Dong finished his training regime, he immediately fled to the Lin Family Residences. On his way, many unfamiliar faces instantly greeted him as he passed by. Their overly friendly demeanor caused Lin Dong to feel uncomfortable and he casually dismissed them and carried on.

The Martial Arts Library was located in the Lin Family’s backyard and it was considered as an important place in the Lin Family. Without permission, one would not be able to enter.

At the entrance of the Martial Arts Library stood a few guards. However, they clearly recognized Lin Dong as they jovially welcomed and ushered him into the premises.

As he stepped into the Martial Arts Library, the scent of musty books immediately assaulted him. As Lin Dong scanned the surroundings, he realized that this facility was quite huge. Within the facility, were rows of red bookshelves filled with martial arts manuals.

This was the first time Lin Dong saw so many different martial arts manuals. Immediately, a fire lit up inside his heart, he knew that the Lin Family must have spent an exorbitant sum in order to build up such a vast collection.

As he leisurely strolled in the library, glittering manuals were reflected in his constantly darting his eyes.

Level 1 Martial Arts, Landslide Punch.

Level 1 Martial Arts, Whirlwind Kick.

Level 2 Martial Arts, Roaming Fist.

Lin Dong was dazzled as his eyes soaked up all the different varieties of martial art manuals available. However, most of these martial arts were Level 1 or Level 2. Thus far, he had yet to discover any Level 3 martial arts.

“All the Level 3 martial arts are located at the deepest part. You will not find them out here…” Just as Lin Dong furrowed his brows, a sweet voice suddenly echoed behind him. He hurriedly turned his head, only to see Lin Xia leaning on a bookshelf with her arms folded across her chest, looking at him with a smile.

“Oh Lin Xia-jie. You are here as well.” Lin Dong returned a smile upon seeing Lin Xia.

“Lin Dong-biao-ge, it seems like still water runs deep…” Lin Xia commented, a sweet smile on her pretty face as she approached Lin Dong.

Upon hearing these words, Lin Dong could only reply with a dry laugh.

“Come, let me take you to where our Level 3 martial art manuals are. However, Grandpa once said that if one had not reached Earthly Yuan level, it would be unwise to train in Level 3 martial arts or higher.” Lin Xia gently scoffed as she brushed past Lin Dong. Her slim and elegant figure appeared especially alluring.

Lin Dong put down the Level 2 martial art manual in his hand and followed her with a chuckle.

After following Lin Xia for a few minutes, they walked into a area with fewer bookshelves. Finally, Lin Xia stopped at a bookshelf hidden right at the end and said: “These are all the Level 3 martial art manuals that the Lin Family possess.”

Lin Dong curiously tilted his head forward only to see ten old manuals that had faded yellow with age on the bookshelf. Beside each manual, was a wooden block explaining each martial art in detail.

“Level 3 martial art, Gentle Whirling Palm

“Level 3 martial art, Shadowless Claw…”

“...”

Lin Dong’s eyes brightened as his eyes swept across these ten wooden blocks. Based on their names alone, he could sense that these martial arts were indeed more powerful.

“You can’t be thinking about learning Level 3 martial arts?” Lin Xia, who was standing right next to him, grumpily commented as she saw Lin Dong’s expression.

Lin Dong chuckled as he casually picked one of the martial art manuals. However, his vision suddenly turned towards the corner of the bookshelf as he realized that hidden there, was a dark-colored martial art manual.

“What is that?”

Lin Dong walked over with a puzzled look as he kept his eyes peeled on the wooden block beside it.

Level 3 martial arts, Mysterious Seal, incomplete.

[chaossojer]

Chapter 28: Mysterious Seal, Incomplete


“Mysterious Seal, incomplete…”

Lin Dong blankly stared at the description on the wooden block. He did not expect that the Grade 3 martial art manual was actually incomplete.

“This martial art manual was coincidentally found by Grandpa. However, as the description says, this martial art manual is incomplete. If you really want to learn a Grade 3 martial art, I suggest that you learn something else.” Lin Xiao uttered as she walked forward.

“If Grandpa is willing to display an incomplete manual, this must imply that the Mysterious Seal martial art must be very powerful indeed?” Lin Dong curiously asked.

“It’s alright. However, there is no point since you can’t fully master it. According to Grandpa, even if you master this incomplete martial art manual, it will only be as powerful as a Grade 3 martial arts. Or perhaps, even weaker.” Lin Xia replied with a smile.

“Furthermore, it is exceedingly difficult to master this incomplete Mysterious Seal. In fact, many people in the Lin Family have attempted, but thus far, only Grandpa and your Father have been successful. However, as it’s might lose out to other Level 3 martial arts, eventually they abandoned it.” Lin Xia warned him, noticing that Lin Dong was still tempted to try it out.

“Oh?”

Lin Dong was slightly taken back, to think that only his Father and Grandpa have managed to master this martial art. Seems like this Mysterious Seal martial art is indeed something special...

“If it is incomplete, I wonder if the mysterious glowing shadow can automatically restore the lost chapters?” Lin Dong wondered. Based on his experience with Penetrating Fist and 8 Desolation Palm, it seems that glowing shadow could perfect any martial arts. Could it also perfect this incomplete Mysterious Seal martial arts?

If the glowing shadow was really able to perfectly restore this Mysterious Seal martial art, Lin Dong would have undoubtedly discovered a massive treasure. Even though he was unable to grasp how strong the Mysterious Seal was now, the fact was, even incomplete, it could qualify as a Grade 3 martial arts. This hinted that should the martial art manual be complete, it will at least be a Grade 4 martial arts!

Grade 4 martial arts. That no longer belongs to the lower category but rather the middle category of martial arts!

In fact, in the entire Lin Family, there was only one Grade 4 martial art manual: The one secretly stolen by Grandpa when he was banished from the Lin Clan.

If Lin Dong could master a Grade 4 martial art, he had full faith that he could even defeat a Tempered Body 9th Layer practitioner!

“I have to give it a try!”

Lin Dong’s heart was now burning in excitement about the prospects of learning a Level 4 martial arts as he stared at the dark-colored manual with passionate eyes. Momentarily, he suppressed the excitement in his heart as reached out to take the manual. However, his arm was suddenly stopped mid-air.

“Oi, you cheeky fellow, why don’t you listen to me? Are you aching for a beating!” Lin Xia, who was beside him, chided after she saw that Lin Dong was still determined to chose this incomplete martial art manual even after all of her advice.

“Ahhh, let me try learning this first. If it’s not suitable, I will just exchange it for another one. “ Lin Dong replied with a chuckle.

“You… Argh, fine. Whatever.”

Lin Xia was evidently frustrated as she stamped her foot on the floor. Previously, she had seen many people attempt to learn this incomplete martial art as well. Many of them held the same mentality as Lin Dong and naively believed that they could master it. However, in the end, all of them ended up disappointed and eventually switched over to a new martial art. Therefore, she did not want to see Lin Dong waste his time on this hopeless endeavour.

“Rest assured Lin Xia-jie. I am merely curious. I have not made any concrete plans to start training yet.” Lin Dong replied with a smile, he knew that Lin Xia was merely looking out for him.

“Alright, you best take care of yourself. Don’t delay your training because of this. Those bastards from Lei and Xie Family have been eyeing us for a while, and so far, we have frequently clashed with their younger generation members.”

As she mentioned this fact, traces of anger flashed on Lin Xia’s cheeks. Immediately, her expression turned slightly dark as she sighed: “However, the matter of the fact remains that those bastards are indeed stronger than us. Every time we clash, we have came out on the losing end. Furthermore, it is inappropriate for adults to intervene in these matters, they can only stand aside helplessly…”

“Who is the current strongest amongst the younger generation in Lei and Xie Family?” Lin Dong asked as he gently nodded his head. He was not surprised by this fact, after all the two families were very well-established in QingYang Town. In comparison, the Lin Family definitely felt like an outsider.

“Amongst the younger generation in the Lei Family, the strongest fellow should be Lei Li. Based on my knowledge, he has already advanced to Tempered Body 8th Layer four months ago. Right now, he may have perhaps even reached 9th Layer…”

“As for the Xie Family, it should be Xie Yingying. She should be at Tempered Body 8th Layer.” When Lin Xia mentioned this name, she gritted her teeth. Evidently, there was some bad feelings between them.

“Lei Li, Xie Yingying…”

Lin Dong silently recited their names as he lamented the fact that the Lei and Xie Family were indeed much more well-established than theirs.

“What about the Raging Blade Dojo?” Lin Dong suddenly recalled the faction that had advanced even more rapidly than the Lin Family, even though they had arrived later at QingYang Town.

“For the Raging Blade Dojo, the strongest fellow should be Wu Yun. Right now, his strength seems to be approximately at Tempered Body 8th Layer. However, he is constantly squabbling with the other two from the Lei and Xie Families. In fact, he fought with Lei Li before, though he was defeated in the end.” Lin Xia replied.

“Indeed a fearsome bunch…” Lin Dong lightly smiled, involuntarily tightening his grip on the dark-colored martial art manual. There was no point for him to compete with Lin Hong and the rest anymore, instead, he should contend against these reputable figures from the younger generation of QingYang Town.

“Yeah, in comparison, the younger generation in Lin Family is definitely weaker.”

Lin Xia sighed, however, her spirits promptly lifted as she stared at Lin Dong and happily proclaimed: “However, things are going to change. With a dark horse like you around, our Lin Family will definitely excel in the upcoming “hunt”.”

“Lin Xia-jie, you speak too highly of me. After all, my current strength is similar to yours. Compared to these three fellows, I still have a long way to go.” Lin Dong shook his head, a smile on his face.

“Quit acting coy. You merely started training less than one year ago, don’t you know how much earlier I have been training? At your current speed, you can easily overtake Lei Li and become the top younger generation member in the whole QingYang Town.” Lin Xia retorted as she rolled her eyes.

“However, let me warn you first. Once you become stronger than Lei Li, you must help me take care of that ***** Xie Yingying. Or else, I will never forgive you!” As if she recalled something, Lin Xia’s suddenly threatened Lin Dong.

Lin Dong was shocked as he witnessed the terrifying glint in Lin Xia’s eyes, it was as if he was looking at a small female tiger. Immediately, he nodded his head, and replied with a dry laugh: “ Since Lin Xia-jie has requested this favor, I will definitely fulfill it. However, why must I bother with Lei Li to deal with Xie Yingying?”

“That is because Xie Yingying is that bastard’s fiance. If you are dealing with her, you must get past Lei Li too.” Lin Xia explained.

“Understood.”

Lin Dong was taken back, though soon after, he nodded his head.

“Alright, it’s getting late. Time to leave. After you register, you can bring this incomplete martial art manual home.” Lin Xia nodded in satisfaction before she turned and walked away. As she placed her jade-like hands behind her back, her pony tail extended towards her slender waist, swing back and forth in tandem with her gait, giving off the impression of a lively girl.

As he followed behind Lin Xia, Ling Dong quickly registered and then left the Martial Arts Library with the incomplete Mysterious Seal martial arts manual in hand.

After he left the Martial Arts Library, Lin Xia and Lin Dong chatted for a while before she finally left. Lin Dong heaved a sigh of relieve as he swiftly proceeded back home. He was extremely eager to see if the mysterious glowing shadow could fully restore this incomplete Mysterious Seal martial art…

[chaossojer]

(TN: We have made the following name changes to some skills
游身掌: Roaming Fist to Wandering Palm
奇门印: Mysterious Seal > Wonder Gate Seal
回风绵手: Gentle Whirling Palm > Velvet Hand of Returning Air
)


Chapter 29: A Change in the Stone Talisman

The faint moonlight shrouded the entire land like a layer of silver yarn.

Lin Dong’s figure once again appeared in the darkness of the Spiritual Domain. Closely following which, two glowing shadows also winked into existence as they displayed Penetrating Fist and 8 Desolation Palm respectively.

However, this time, Lin Dong’s did not bother to glance at either of these two glowing shadows. Instead, he firmly stared at the spot behind the second glowing shadow, as shades of anticipation and nervousness coloured his face.

In the afternoon, he had already read through the Wonder Gate Seal manual. Yet, just as Lin Xia had said, this was only an incomplete manual, and to master this extremely complicated and detailed martial art, was indeed excessively difficult.

Thus, a whole afternoon of intense studying yielded little results. Moreover, this Wonder Gate Seal incomplete manual was also different from the other martial arts Lin Dong had came into contact with before. For example, Penetrating Fist and 8 Desolation Palm were both martial arts that involved a fixed sequence or pattern of moves. In comparison, Wonder Gate Seal used some kind of hand-seals in order to draw out the Yuan Energy within the body, and when Yuan Energy is combined with the hand-seals, an exceedingly strong power will be generated.

Although he merely skimmed through the manual, Lin Dong was still able to sense that the Seal Method described in the incomplete manual was not complete. Maybe that was why Lin Xiao and Lin Zhen Tian had decided to give up on this martial art, even after successfully mastering the Hand-Seal method. After all, without the full manual, it was impossible to bring out the true might of Wonder Gate Seal.

As for the missing Hand-Seal Methods, Lin Dong hope that the Stone Talisman Glowing Shadow was able to complete it...
Under Lin Dong’s strained gaze, at first, nothing happened in the darkness behind the second glowing shadow. Momentarily, the darkness heaved as a third glowing shadow was formed.

Upon witnessing the glowing shadow take shape, Lin Dong could not help but heave a sigh of relief in his heart.

When that glowing shadow finally winked into existence, its hands folded together to form into a complicated hand-seal.

“This is indeed the opening Hand-Seal Method of the Wonder Gate Seal.”

A fire lit up in Lin Dong’s eyes as he focused all his senses on the glowing shadow.

After the first hand-seal, the glowing shadow displayed five other hand-seals in succession. Each different Seal method displayed was fairly complicated, yet with the preparations that he had done in the afternoon, though hard pressed, Lin Dong was able to keep up with its rhythm.

When the hand-seal made by the glowing shadow changed for 7th time, Lin Dong’s heart started to beat rapidly as the Hand-Seal Methods written on the incomplete manual had been cut off here. Thus, the rest of the Hand-Seal Methods were not recorded in this incomplete manual…

Under Lin Dong’s fiery and intense gaze, the originally smooth movements of the glowing shadow suddenly came to a standstill. After what seemed like an eternity, fortunately, the hand-seal finally continued to change!

“Success!”

Gazing at the hands of the glowing shadow, the new hand-seal was clearly very unfamiliar, yet it also looked extremely in place with the previous set of hand-seals. Lin Dong could barely restrain himself from jumping in joy, as excitement and happiness flooded his face.

The incomplete martial art manual was perfectly restored thanks to the fantastic ability of the Stone Talisman glowing shadow!

“To think that it actually works…”

Overcome by emotion, it took a while before Lin Dong finally regained his composure and he once again focused on the Stone Talisman Glowing Shadow. However, his complexion suddenly changed as he found that the Glowing Shadow had seemed to fade off and looked much fainter than before. Even the speed at which the hand-seals changed had started to slow down.

“What’s going on?” Upon witnessing this scene, Lin Dong felt highly alarmed. This was the first time something like this had happened, ever since he obtained the Stone Talisman.

The expression on Lin Dong’s face turned slightly ugly, as the rate at which the Glowing Shadow moved from each hand-seal became gradually slower. In the end, the Glowing Shadow unexpectedly came to a halt. However, the last hand-seal in its hands was clearly not the last step in Wonder Gate Seal.

“Perhaps the Stone Talisman Glowing Shadow is unable to completely restore this Wonder Gate Seal?”

Lin Dong’s eyebrows tightly furrowed together, as he was evidently unable to comprehend why the Stone Talisman Glowing Shadow, which was fine moments ago, had suddenly become incapable of executing Wonder Gate Seal.

However, although the Stone Talisman Glowing Shadow had paused, after a while, it once again returned to the starting point of Wonder Gate Seal. Yet, even at its second repetition, Lin Dong was disappointed when he realized that the Glowing Shadow still stopped at the same place it had previously...

Even though it kept repeating itself over and over, there was still no further improvements to the Wonder Gate Seal...

Lin Dong blankly stared at the Stone Talisman Glowing Shadow. A long time later, he finally reached his wit’s end, and gave up. As he sighed, he self-mockingly said: “Forget it, I’ll just make do with what I have. At least it’s still more complete than the incomplete version written in the manual.”

After saying this, Lin Dong stretched out his hands, as he imitated the Stone Talisman Glowing Shadow and formed hand-seals...

This lasted for a long time before Lin Dong finally relaxed his hands and took in a deep breath. Though the hand-seal were complicated, under the perfect tutelage of the Stone Talisman Glowing Shadow, committing these hand-seals to mind was not a difficult task. However, though it was easy to remember these hand-seals, it would be a different story when he was forced to use them in a battle.

“According to the incomplete manual, this Wonder Gate Seal is split into four chapters. However, the incomplete manual only records the 1st chapter of hand-seals. If I’m not mistaken, the extra hand-seals displayed by the Stone Talisman Glowing Shadow belonged to the 2nd chapter. Yet why can’t the Glowing Shadow restore the 3rd and 4th chapters as well… Could it be too complex for it to handle?”

Lin Dong’s pupils flickered from side to side as he racked his brains for a solution. In the end, he could only shake his head as he sighed: “If it’s two chapters then it’s two chapters. Anyways, with my current strength, it would be a pretty good accomplishment to master the 1st chapter of Wonder Gate Seal.”

Lin Dong consoled himself in his heart, before leaving exiting the Spiritual Domain with a tinge of regret.

...

On his bed, Lin Dong’s tightly shut eyes finally opened. His strong and healthy figure jumped off the bed before concentrating his energy into his abdomen, as his hands came together to form rough imitations of those complicated hand-seal.

As he moved from one hand-seal to the next, ripples of Yuan Power were suddenly transmitted from the Yuan Power seed within Lin Dong’s channels. However, its movements were extremely minute, and after flickering, it disappeared once again.

As the ripples faded, Lin Dong helplessly shook his head. Although he had memorised the hand-seal, in order to reach the stage where he could use Yuan Power and Hand-Seal Method in tandem, he still had a long way to go. After all, when all is said and done, the 1st chapter of Wonder Gate Seal was already considered as a Level 3 martial arts.

“The 1st chapter of Wonder Gate Seal is already equivalent to a Level 3 martial art, if the 2nd chapter is added, then even if Wonder Gate Seal could not be considered as a Level 4 martial art, it would definitely still tower over the other Level 3 martial arts.”

As Lin Dong’s thoughts reached this point, the gloominess from before weakened considerably. He lightly released out a sigh, as his hand reached to retrieve the stone talisman from his body. However, he suddenly noticed something from the corner of his eye and his complexion greatly changed.

“What is going on…”

The stone talisman had turned slightly dark and the originally lukewarm jade-like feeling had almost dissipated completely. Even the strange mystical characters that covered it had also become barely discernable.

The current stone talisman, looked almost no different from a rock by the roadside!

It was as if the stone talisman had lost it’s power supply and turned back into a normal rock.

“Energy defficiency?!”

A thought flashed in his mind, causing the franticness in Lin Dong’s heart to scatter. Only now did he vaguely understand why the Stone Talisman Glowing Shadow could only restore till half of the chapters before automatically stopping.

Perhaps this Stone Talisman required energy in order to perfect these martial arts. Since it had already expended its energy on Penetrating Fist, 8 Desolation Palm, and now Wonder Gate Seal, its original energy source had been depleted!

“That should be the case…”

In his room, Lin Dong wiped off the cold sweat from his forehead. Since he now knew where the problem laid, he could devise a solution to solve it. After all, this Stone Talisman was too important to him. No matter what, he could not afford to let anything happen to it.

[chaossojer]

Chapter 30: A Minor Accomplishment


Lin Dong knew that there were two methods to acquire more energy: From elixirs or from Yuan Power.

The likelihood of the former was comparatively less. Based on the ability of the stone talisman to refine pills, it did not seem to be too interested in the energy contained in elixirs. Therefore, he had to rely on Yuan Power.

As this realization dawned on Lin Dong, he hesitated for a moment before he slowly closed his eyes. As he felt the Yuan Power Seed within his body, a weak glow suddenly emerged at the center of Lin Dong’s palm. A weak trace of Yuan Power simmered below the skin on his palm. However, the Yuan Power was unable to break out from body. After all, based on his current ability, he had yet to reach that level of mastery over Yuan Power.

“Buzz”

Nonetheless, just as Lin Dong frowned, while gripping onto the Stone Talisman, it suddenly jolted and he could suddenly feel streams of energy within him being violently sucked out by the Stone Talisman.

Due to that suction force, the small trace of Yuan Power simmering below the skin on Lin Dong’s palm was instantly swallowed up by the Stone Talisman. However, the Stone Talisman was not satisfied, as Lin Dong felt the suction force extend into his body and continue to absorb more Yuan Power from the Yuan Power Seed within him.

This sudden change caused Lin Dong’s face to turn pale. This Yuan Power Seed was the fruits of his labour after more than half a year of training, if it was completely sucked dry by the Stone Talisman, all his hard work would have gone down the river...

Just as Lin Dong panicked, a sharp pain abruptly emerged from his palm. He hastily turned to look, only to see that the Stone Talisman had unexpectedly started to embed itself into his palm!

The rate at which the Stone Talisman was fusing with Lin Dong's palm quickly sped up. Just as he hurriedly tried to pluck it out, the Stone Talisman had already slipped into his palm. However, his palm was completely unharmed with not a single scratch on his skin.

As the Stone Talisman slipped into Lin Dong’s palm, the suction force gradually became weaker, until it eventually disappeared.

“This…”

Lin Dong suppressed the panic in his heart as he turned to look at his palm, only to find a row of faint glowing symbols. These symbols looked like they were imprinted underneath the skin of his palm, and were hard to find unless one looked closely.

These symbols were not foreign to Lin Dong as they were exactly the same symbols on the Stone Talisman.

As he gazed at the mysterious symbols, Lin Dong stood at a loss for words. He could vividly feel that the Stone Talisman had entered his palm. Perhaps it was because of this physical connection, Lin Dong now felt an increased familiarity with the Stone Talisman.

As he attempted to interact with the Stone Talisman inside his palm, Lin Dong closed his eyes, and instantly, he was brought into the Spiritual Domain. In there, the brightness of the third glowing shadow seemed to have recovered slightly.

“As expected, the Stone Talisman needs Yuan Power in order to perfect martial arts…”

Upon witnessing this scene, Lin Dong nodded his head as he finally grasped one of the mysteries behind the Stone Talisman. He closed his eyes and retreated from the Spiritual Domain. Ever since the Stone Talisman entered his body, he could now enter the Spiritual Domain whenever he wanted.

“The Yuan Power in my body is too weak. Hence, the Stone Talisman is still unable to perfect Wonder Gate Seal. I guess this martial arts is indeed rather complex…” Lin Dong muttered to himself as he curled his fingers into a fist.

“Looks like I will have to first improve my strength as quickly as possible…”

Lin Dong softly sighed. He finally understood that the Stone Talisman required a huge amount of Yuan Power in order to perfect higher-level martial arts. Previously, when it encountered a Level 1 martial art like Penetrating Fist, it could easily perfect it. However, now that it had encountered a higher-level martial arts, which was furthermore incomplete, it needed the support of vast quantities of Yuan Power.

Upon this thought, Lin Dong decided to temporarily suppress his desire to master Wonder Gate Seal. As he sat down on his bed, he took out a bottle of Stone Talisman Ling Liquid and dripped a few drops into his mouth. Soon after, his body began to absorb streams of pure medicinal power as his Yuan Power seed gradually grew...

……

In the following month’s time, Lin Dong decided to seclude himself. He was rarely seen walking about in the Lin Family as he focused all his time and effort on training.

Thanks to help from the Stone Talisman Ling Liquid, various Elixirs Pills and his tireless training regime, he managed to achieve significant progress.

Within a month’s time, the Yuan Power Seed within Lin Dong’s body had grown in size by a few times. In fact, the Yuan Power contained within far surpasses the amount he had during the Family Competition. Though he had yet to advance to Tempered Body 8th Layer, it was only be a matter of time.

As for the 1st chapter of Wonder Gate Seal, Lin Dong had been ceaselessly practising it during this period. Hence, he had became more and more proficient and could now better use Yuan Power and Hand-Seal Methods in tandem. However, with regards to the 2nd chapter of Wonder Gate Seal, regardless of how hard he drilled, Lin Dong was still unable to activate any Yuan Power in conjunction with it. Perhaps, his strength was still too weak.

Nonetheless, his hard work over this month had indeed paid off.

...

In the dense forest, Lin Dong sat atop a stone block with his eyes tightly shut. Faint traces of sweat were visible on his body, indicating that he had just went through a period of vigorous training.

As Lin Dong sat with his eyes closed, traces of Yuan Power floating in the air were constantly flowing into his body in tandem with his breathing and nourishing every part of his body.

Of course, the trickling Yuan Power was unable to satisfy Lin Dong’s demand. Therefore, he gently swallowed a Flaming Crimson Reishi Pill.

As the pill entered his body, a powerful medicinal power instantly exploded in his body. In that instance, Lin Dong could sense an invigorating feeling constantly coursing through his bones and tissues.

As the medicinal power coursed through his body, it was refined by his channels into traces of Yuan Power which then assimilated into his Yuan Power Seed.

“Buzz buzz”

As more and more Yuan Power flowed into his Yuan Power Seed, the Yuan Power Seed which had never moved before suddenly trembled slightly. A faint mist that was previously surrounding the Yuan Power seed turned into a glowing halo as it spiralled around the Yuan Power Seed.

Just as the glowing mist turned into a halo, Lin Dong could clearly feel that the Yuan Power Seed within him had started to flow along his channels and move towards his lower abdomen. However, just as the Yuan Power Seed reached the end of his inner body’s channel, an invisible resistance appeared. It was like an invisible wall that immediately stopped the Yuan Power Seed in its tracks.

Faced with the obstruction of the invisible wall, the Yuan Power Seed tried to forcibly barge through. However, after a few tries, there seemed to be little effect and it could only grudgingly give up...

“Tempered Body 8th Layer...”

After the Yuan Power Seed was blocked off by that invisible force, Lin Dong slowly opened his eyes. As he exhaled deeply, a look of excitement flashed in his eyes.

His Yuan Power Seed had grown several times in magnitude since the Family Competition. Based on his current progress, he should be already at Tempered Body 8th Layer.
“That invisible barrier should be the Dan Tian Barrier. If I can break through this barrier, my Yuan Power Seed would be able to enter into my Dan Tian and lay its roots securely in there, forming a stable foundation for training…”
(TN: Dan Tian is specific spot near the navel)

Lin Dong murmured to himself. When the Yuan Power Seed laid its roots into his Dan Tian, it is a major sign that one was about to advance to Tempered Body 9th Layer. However, based on his current situation, he still had to work hard for a period of time before he could reach that step.

Nonetheless, progressing from Tempered Body 7th Layer to 8th Layer in merely one month’s time was already a remarkable achievement. Therefore, it would be overly ambitious to aim for 9th Layer now. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day…

As he leaped off the stone block, Lin Dong straightened his body. With a serious expression on his face, he formed a complicated hand seal.

In the instance the hand-seal took shape, a special aura emerged from his body and filled the air.

Lin Dong’s hand-seals swiftly changed as he formed several complex hand seals in a short span of time. Following his changing hand-seals, the Yuan Power Seed within his body constantly emitted streams of Yuan Power, which rapidly flooded towards Lin Dong’s palm.

“Go!”

As the glow on Lin Dong’s palm gradually became brighter, he suddenly let out a roar as he slammed his palm onto a solid rock boulder.

“Boom!”

Upon contact, the rock boulder instantly exploded, as rock shrapnels scattered in every direction.

Panting heavily, a flushed Lin Dong stared at the rock debris. A look of uncontrollable delight in his eyes. He was finally able to execute the first move of Wonder Gate Seal after he had advanced to Tempered Body 8th Layer...

This overwhelming might outshined even his Penetrating Fist 10th Echo. Level 3 Martial Arts are indeed in a league of their own!

[Chosen5000]

Thanks for the chapters.

[chaossojer]

Chapter 31: Demon (Reference to Qing Tan, we think)

In the dense forest, Lin Dong put away his fists, feeling some weakness in his body. Based on his current strength, executing Wonder Gate Seal once took up a huge chunk of his Yuan Power reserves. Thankfully, the force generated was truly tremendous and definitely worth the cost.

“Yuan Power Seed now is unable to store too much Yuan Power. It would be much better if I could quickly advance to Tempered Body 9th Layer…”

Once he reached Tempered Body 9th Layer, he will finally be able to open his Dan Tian. The Dan Tian had a far larger reserve compared to the Yuan Power Seed. When he reaches that stage, he could then freely expend his Yuan Power.

“During this period of training, I have almost exhausted all of my Elixir Pills…”

As he thought about his training, Lin Dong’s eyebrows knitted together. In less than half a month, he had advanced to Tempered Body 8th Layer. However, this had came at a huge cost to him. He had expended a large amount of Stone Talisman Ling Liquid. Moreover, his Elixir Pills had almost been completely used up. Right now, he only had 2 Flaming Crimson Reishi Pills left...

Overall, this half a month’s training, had nearly depleted Lin Dong’s collection of resources.

“I must find a way to secure more elixirs…”

Lin Dong softly sighed as a serious expression surfaced on his face. Based on the current strength he displayed, he could get some resources from the Lin Family. However, he did not care much for Elixir Pills refined from lower grade elixir. Yet, he also knew that Grade 3 elixirs were costly items and even the Lin Family did not possess too many of them. In fact, he was already very fortunate to receive two stalks of Flaming Crimson Reishi as an encouragement gift previously.

“Lin Dong-ge.”

Just as he was racking his head over this problem, a sweet voice sounded out from the dense forest. He turned to see Qing Tan hop over like a butterfly with a joyous glow on her rosy cheeks.

“Qing Tan, what’s up?” Lin Dong casually asked with a smile as he glanced towards her while he lifted up a section of the shattered rock boulder.

“Ling Dong-ge, I now possess Yuan Power!”

“Thud!”

The piece of rock in his hands fell to the ground with a thud as Lin Dong turned and stared blankly at Qing Tan.

“Yuan Power? Have you reached Tempered Body 6th Layer? How is that possible?!”

After overcoming his initial shock, Lin Dong regained his wits and a look of utter astonishment surfaced on his face. Even though Qing Tan had been harping about training for some time now, she had always slacked off. After all, Tempered Body training was indeed very tiring and unsuitable for some girls.

Based on his calculations, even if he secretly helped her, Qing Tan would need half a year before she could reach Tempered Body 6th Layer. However…, out of the blue, she came by to announce that she already possessed Yuan Power!

This was practically unheard of! It was even more ridiculous than the Stone Talisman.

As Lin Dong stood, overwhelmed with shock, Qing Tan extended her jade-like palm. On her hands, a light glow shimmered and its familiar pulse indicated that it was indeed Yuan Power...

“How could this be?” Lin Dong exclaimed as he sucked in a deep breath of air. He had never witnessed Qing Tan hard at work. How could she suddenly possess Yuan Power?

If his training speed was considered astonishing, then Qing Tan’s speed can only be described as ethereal.

“I don’t know either… When I woke up this morning, I felt like something was wrong with my body. And then, I discovered this…” Qing Tan coyly said as she stuck out her tongue.

Lin Dong’s expression gradually turned serious as he grabbed onto Qing Tan’s delicate hands. Even though her hand felt soft and smooth on the surface, upon applying a little pressure, one could clearly feel that her bones possessed an exceptional tenacity. This result could only be accomplished after one has trained in Tempered Body for a long time.

As Lin Dong continued his careful examination, he suddenly discovered that beneath that toughness seemed to be a slight chill.

“It must be due to the Chilling Cold in her body!”

Suddenly, a light bulb lit up in Lin Dong’s head. Previously, he had discovered that even though the Chilling Cold within Qing Tan’s body was violent and savage, it was highly beneficial for a Tempered Body practitioner. Of course, this benefit could only extend to Qing Tan and Lin Dong, who had the Stone Talisman.

Over the past decade, this Chilling Cold would periodically flare up causing Qing Tan to be in massive pain every time. Qing Tan would be in massive pain. Perhaps, parts of her body gradually transformed due to constant attacks by this Chilling Cold.

Though only tiny part of the Chilling Cold entered and strengthened her body, they accumulated in her body bit by bit. Now, even though Qing Tan did not train hard, her body’s muscles and bones had already been strengthened multiple times until Yuan Power eventually appeared. With the right conditions everything will easily fall into place.

Even though she did experience day after day of tough training, her body had naturally given rise to Yuan Power...

“Qing Tan’s body must have some difference from others.”

Lin Dong slowly suppressed the shock in his heart. He had never heard of anyone who possessed a Yuan Power Seed without physically tempering one’s body. If news of this got out, how devastated would those individuals desperately training to reach Tempered Body 6th Layer be?
Of course, this was not the whole truth. After all, ever since she was young, Qing Tan would be gruesomely tortured by the Chilling Cold every time it flared up. Therefore, in a way, she had actually payed a different kind of price to gain this naturally occurring Yuan Power Seed.

“Do not tell anyone else about this matter. Let's talk to Father when he returns and ask for his opinion…” Lin Dong said after a moment of hesitation.

“Yes.” Qing Tan nodded her head obediently. She knew that this matter was very strange and if news got out, it might draw some trouble.

“Lin Dong-ge, it’s nearing the end of the month in a few days. The bazaar in QingYang Town will be exceptionally crowded. How about we go and take a look?” Qing Tan pleaded as she begged Lin Dong with puppy eyes.

“Bazaar?”

Lin Dong was stumped. This Bazaar was an event jointly organized by some of the more successful merchants in QingYang Town and all sorts of items will be sold there. Hence, it was extremely popular place. In fact, it was arguably one of the most popular spots in QingYang Town.

“Yeah. Lin Xia-jie and the rest have all went too…” Qing Tan continuously nodded her head. She was a young and lively girl and naturally these places piqued her interest. However, as she was still grounded by Lin Xiao, she did not dare to go on her own. Therefore, she tried to rope in Lin Dong.
(probably grounded when she ventured to the forests to pick elixirs for Lin Dong)

As Lin Dong muttered to himself as an idea suddenly sprung up in his head. Right now, he desperately needed elixirs and naturally he did not have the funds required to purchase the exorbitant elixirs that he needed. However, he had the Stone Talisman Ling Liquid and his last two Flaming Crimson Reishi Pills...

These two items are definitely valuable. In particular, the Flaming Crimson Reishi Pills were especially prized. Furthermore, these items all contain exceedingly pure Ling Qi, compared to normal elixirs, they were much more potent. Therefore, it was almost assured that there will be many people clamouring to buy these items from him.
However, he could not sell too many of these items as that might arouse other’s suspicion.
Moreover, Lin Dong was highly reluctant to part with any of his Stone Talisman Ling Liquid or Elixir Pills.

However, once he sold these items, it will be an easy matter buy the elixirs that he required...

As he stumbled upon this thought, Lin Dong could not help but smile as he felt a weight lifted off his chest. He had finally found a solution to this thorny problem.

“Alright, lets go visit the Bazaar.”

After he made up his mind, Lin Dong did not want to waste any more time and he quickly agreed with a chuckle.

When she saw that Lin Dong was willing to accompany her to the Bazaar, Qing Tan’s eyes curled into a crescent moon. Her sweet expression was truly mesmerizing.

[chaossojer]

Chapter 32: The Underground Bazaar


The bazaar was located in the north plaza of QingYang Town. Coincidentally, this was where numerous influential factions came into contact with each other. And because of the various conflicts between the groups, not one of them was able to take control of this area. Thus, the bazaar was established.

In the bazaar, there were various establishments set up by different factions in QingYang Town. Due to this profitable arrangement, most of the factions tolerated the existence of the bazaar and eventually a strange, delicate balance was struck.

Even outside of town, the QingYang Town bazaar was very well known. Therefore, besides the local crowd, it also attracted some bandits from the neighbouring villages. However, this helped to increase the diversity of the crowd and hence even the local tyrants, the Lie and Xie Family, did not dare to seize this area for themselves in fear of destroying their cash cow.

...

When Lin Dong and Qing Tan arrived at the bazaar’s entrance, they could not help but gasp as they saw the flood of people and the ruckus inside the bazaar. This bazaar was definitely the largest market around QingYang Town and its crowds were indeed intimidating.

“Lets go.”

Lin Dong looked at the bazaar with an inquisitive gaze. These days, he rarely ventured into these kind of places. Nonetheless, as a young man, he was still curious about them.

After he spoke, he grabbed Qing Tan’s tiny hand and burrowed into the bazaar.

In the bazaar, the variety of items displayed was dazzling. Even though the streets were relatively wide, due to the overwhelming amount of people present, they still felt somewhat congested.

Qing Tan and Lin Dong were dripping with sweat after merely walking through a small alley. However, Qing Tan was extremely excited and her tiny face flushed in excitement. Together with her adorable laughter, she looked extremely cute and inadvertently drew much attention from the crowd. As they turned to look, many of them were left breathless as they saw her picture perfect looks and snowy white skin.

At last, the two of them stopped at a lavish building located at the tip of a street. This part of the bazaar was considered as a rather posh district. The Lei Family, Xie Family and the Raging Blade Dojo all had shops here.

“Qing Tan, wait for me here. I will be right back…” Lin Dong reminded Qing Tan as he scanned the surroundings. Then, he slipped into the crowd and disappeared from view.

As he traversed through the crowd, Lin Dong casually bought a bamboo hat from a little shop, giving him a peace of mind before he returned to one of the main streets. Finally, he stopped before a giant black door.

There were all sorts of people in the bazaar. Naturally, some of the items sold here could attract unwanted attention due to a variety of reasons. Therefore, an underground bazaar was born.

The place that Lin Dong had arrived at was one of those underground bazaars. In this place, one can easily sell their goods at a fairly reasonable rate, no questions asked.

Outside of the giant black door, there was a constant stream of visitors. However, just like Lin Dong, all these visitors wore a black bamboo hat to conceal their identities.

As he lightly spit out a sigh, Lin Dong suppressed the anxiety in his heart and calmly walked through the door. As he stepped through the door, he could sense an ominous aura that could cause a chill to be felt on one’s skin.

Behind that door laid a long alleyway. Following the path, Lin Dong discovered several tightly shut doors along the way. He knew that this was where the transactions took place and he quickly looked for a half-opened door before walking in.

As he entered the room, he saw that it was rather dimly lit and a large table stood in the middle. The center of the table was blocked by a black metal grille and just inches below it was a small opening.

“Please take a seat. If you have any items to exchange, please put them in the slot.” A seemingly aged voice sounded out from behind the black metal grille.
By now, the fear in Lin Dong’s heart had subsided. As he sat down, he took out a transparent bottle from his sleeve. Contained within the bottle were ten drops of Stone Talisman Ling Liquid. However, these drops were not pure as they had been diluted by Lin Dong.

“A medicinal liquid refined from an elixir. It is very good for Tempered Body practitioners and it can be used for treatment purposes as well.” Lin Dong deliberately croaked in a strange voice. Even though it sounded terrible, it helped to mask his real voice.

A wrinkled palm reached out and took the glass bottle. Soon after, Lin Dong heard a dripping sound as the man inside was trying to examine the properties of the Ling Liquid.

This examination took nearly ten minutes before the voice once again sounded out from behind that window: “This medicinal liquid has approximately the same amount of Ling Qi as a Grade 2 elixir. It is also gentle in nature and thus very suitable for Tempered Body practitioners. Since it also has medicinal properties, I am willing to pay you a higher price. What do you want in exchange?”

Lin Dong’s finger trembled as he marvelled at the shop keeper’s ability. After slightly hesitating, he answered: “Seven stalks of Grade 3 elixirs”.

“Thats too much. Your medicinal liquid is too luxurious for Tempered Body practitioners to use. On the other hand, though it has some medicinal properties, it is also too wasteful to use it for treatment. Therefore, it is not easy to sell.” After a moment of silence, the man behind the window replied. He was evidently bothered that Lin Dong had asked for such an exorbitant sum.

“How about three stalks of Grade 3 elixirs.”

“Six stalks.” Lin Dong firmly replied.

“Five stalks. That’s the best I can do…” It was as if the man behind the window shook his head as he resolutely replied. This was evidently the highest he could offer.

“Deal.”

Lin Dong shrugged his shoulders as under the bamboo hat, a smile emerged on his face. Ten drops of Ling Liquid that had been diluted once could actually be exchanged for five stalks of Grade 3 Elixirs. This was a pretty good harvest for him. It did not matter if the shopkeeper had intentionally short changed him, after all he personally did not care much for the diluted Ling Liquid.

The shopkeeper was extremely efficient. Within five minutes, an intricate box was pushed out from below the window. As Lin Dong opened the box, he saw five thumb sized dark yellow fruits quietly resting within. He could faintly smell a fragrant aroma drifting up from them.

“Grade 3 elixir, Yellow Mud Fruit.”

Lin Dong obviously recognized these dark yellow fruits. After a carefully inspecting the goods, he nodded his head in contentment as he kept the wooden box. Then, he swiftly left the room.

After Lin Dong exited the room, the metal barrier was slowly raised. Behind, stood an elderly man dressed in grey robes. As he held onto the bottle, he smelt the aroma from within before gently nodding his head.

“Old Shopkeeper, is this thing really worth 5 Yellow Mud Fruits?” Standing behind the old man, a middle-aged man with a blood thirsty stench growled.

“This medicinal liquid is extremely beneficial for any Tempered Body Practitioner. I believe that either the Lei or Xie Family, or Raging Blade Dojo will be glad to purchase it for an exorbitant sum.” The old man replied with a faint smile.

“Oh? Should I run a background check on that fellow then?” The middle-aged man was momentarily shocked, however just as his words left his mouth, the expression on the old man darkened. Upon witnessing this scene, the middle-aged man immediately shut his mouth.

“Don’t you know our rules? If you wreck our reputation, how would we continue on in QingYang Town?”

The middle-aged man hastily nodded after hearing the old man reprimand him.

“Snort.”

The old man snorted as he stood up and left with the bottle.
...

After Lin Dong came out of the underground bazaar, he strolled about randomly in the huge bazaar for a while before speedily throwing away the bamboo hat and heading towards a certain street.

At the place where they had initially parted, Lin Dong easily found Qing Tan who was still obediently waiting for him there. Just as he prepared to bring her to once again roam about, the latter suddenly pulled at his arm.

Lin Dong shifted his gaze only to see a familiar figure walking out from the entrance of the building. Unexpectedly, it was Lin Shan.

As Lin Dong saw Lin Shan, the latter also discovered the two of them. Initially, a pleasantly suprised look burst forth before his expression abruptly changed as if he had suddenly recalled something as he stood rooted on the spot.

Lin Dong shot a glance at the bruises on Lin Shan’s face. The latter looked like he had been cruelly beaten...

Glued on the spot, Lin Shan looked at Lin Dong. It was as if the former desired to walk over and yet was afraid to because of their history. In the end, Lin Shan was at a loss of what to do.

“Hai.”

Lin Dong sighed as he pulled Qing Tan over and asked: “What happened?”

Lin Shan somewhat fearfully glanced at Lin Dong. After some hesitation, the former finally said: “We ran into those bastards from the Xie Family, after that, Lin Xia-jie was bullied and then we fought with them...but...there were too many of them. I escaped...to find...help.”

Lin Shan’s face flushed red as he involuntarily dipped his head downwards.

“Lin Xia-jie is there too?”

Stunned, Lin Dong quickly recovered as his eyebrows tightly knitted together. He muttered to himself for a bit before commanding Lin Shan as he gestured with his hand: “Bring me there.”

After all, he had a fairly good relationship with Lin Xia. As for Lin Hong and Lin Shan, all of their past clashes were confined to within the family. He was not so narrow minded as to look on without lifting a finger when such a thing happened.

At Lin Dong’s words, Lin Shan immediately lifted his head and looked at Lin Dong with astonishment. He clearly never imagined that Lin Dong would disregard their past enmity and extend a helping hand. With somewhat red eyes, Lin Shan forcefully nodded.

[chaossojer]

Chapter 33: Xie Ting


"We were originally here to have some fun. However we encountered those bastards from the Xie Family. Lin Xia-jie wanted to buy a little trinket but those bastards intentionally caused a ruckus. In the end, Lin Xia was so angry that she could no longer bear it and started a fight..."

"However, the ring leader of that Xia Family bunch was the wretched Xie Ting. She is Xie YingYing’s younger sister and currently has the strength of Tempered Layer 7th Layer. Plus they had more people...in the chaos, that woman took the opportunity to give Lin Xia-jie a slap."

The three swiftly ran towards the wide building. Lin Shan had explained everything that had happened in detail, as he was explaining, his fists clenched tightly, the extreme anger in his heart very evident for all to see.

Lin Dong slightly frowned, these members of the younger generation from the Xie Family were really a little too unbridled. After all, Lin Xia-jie was a girl, hitting her face was crossing the line.

“People from the Xie Family are indeed very loathsome.” To one side, Qing Tan fumed. No matter what, as a member of the Lin Family, they must now show a united front.

“Let us make a little more haste.” Lin Dong nodded in agreement as he once again accelerated.

…

Deep in the building was a wide area littered with bits of rubble. Surrounding it were some rather popular stores. All kinds of elixirs, weapons, armors and even martial arts manuals and crystals were on display.

This place counted as one of the more high-end districts in the bazaar. Those who came here were mostly people of a certain level of status in QingYang Town. And at this moment, there were many people crowding around a spot on the fringe of the open space, gazing at the two groups within.

The members from both parties were quite young, yet the atmosphere that they exuded appeared especially intense.

The Xie and Lin Families were both considered as major factions in QingYang Town. However, most people also knew that Lei and Xie Family were constantly trying to undermine the Lin Family. Therefore, there were hardly surprised to see their younger generation clash.

“Lin Xia, hand over the fox crystal necklace, or else, I will not let you off.” Standing at the head of the Xie Family’s younger generation, an elegantly dressed young lady proudly stood as she remarked with a hint of ridicule on her fair oval face. Together with her thin lips, she gave off a harsh aura.

“Give it to you?” Lin Xia snorted as she faced the young lady opposite her. On her cheek, was a faint red hand-print, which had been left by that ***** when she had been struggling with the others.

Lin Xia immediately ripped the snow white necklace apart. She understood that this was merely an accessory and based on Xie Ting’s status, she could hardly care for such an item. Rather, she was just intentionally stirring up trouble.

Just as Lin Xia expected, after witnessing her rip the necklace apart, Xie Ting’s eyebrows lifted as she snickered: “You are really a stubborn one. Looks like I will have to deal with you today.”

“Xie Ting, don’t be too overbearing.” Lin Hong, who was standing behind Lin Xia, hollered. He looked rather ragged, as if he had just been through a fight.

“What can you guys do? If it was not for the magnanimous of our Xie Family, do you think the Lin Family can survive in QingYang Town?” Upon hearing these words, the corners of Xie Ting’s mouth curled up as she ridiculed them.

“Hehe, let us teach them a lesson. In the future, they will know who is the master.”Standing beside Xie Ting, a young man dressed in yellow clothes chuckled in a strange manner.

“Yes.” Just as the yellow-clothed youngster finished his sentence, another youngster standing beside immediately nodded his head with a smile. It seems like the two of them had some pull among the younger generation in the Xie Family.
Lin Hong’s expression darkened upon hearing their conversation. He knew that on his side, only him and Lin Xia were at Tempered Body 7th Layer, while on the other side, they had three people at Tempered Body 7th Layer. If they really clashed together, they would definitely lose out.

“Good, let's teach them a lesson and put them in their place, a foreigner family can never compare to the local one” Like a little demon, Lin Xia smiled as she stared viciously at Lin Xia.

Seeing that Lin Xia’s was in agreement, the younger generation members of the Xie Family started to get excited as they stared maliciously at Lin Xia and company.

“Attack!”

Immediately, a light glow exploded on the bodies of Xie Ting and the two other youngsters. The three of them immediately dashed towards Lin Xia and Lin Hong as the rest of the Xie Family’s younger generation members also rushed forward and intercepted the rest of the Lin Family’s members.

Lin Hong and Lin Xia’s expression became pained as they saw the three of them dashing towards them. Two against three, they knew that they were bound to suffer.

“Buzz!”

However, right before the trio reached Lin Xia and Lin Hong, a sound suddenly echoed from the side. The three of them hurriedly dodged as three pieces of rock were heavily slammed into a nearby post, releasing deep thuds.

“Who is that?!”

The trio furrowed their eyebrows as they witnessed this unexpected development. As they turned to look, they saw three figures hurriedly rushing over. Leading the pack, was Lin Shan, who had previously ran away after a harsh beating.

“Lin Dong!”

Lin Xia and Lin Hong gasped in unison as they saw the figure behind Lin Shan. Instantly, delight filled their eyes.

“Are you alright?” Lin Dong asked as he led the other two towards the crowd. As he glanced at Lin Xia, his eyebrows tightly knitted together after he saw the red hand-print on the latter’s cheek.

“Lin Dong? You are that fellow that suddenly emerged from the Lin Family?” Xie Ting said as her eyes darted across Lin Dong’s body, the corner of her mouth pulling downwards.

“Why are you here?” After a moment of delight, Lin Xia was a little worried again. Even if Lin Dong arrived, it would only lead to a stalemate now.

“We came here to enjoy ourselves and happened to run into Lin Shan.” Lin Dong replied with a smile. Up till now, he had yet to look at that haughty Xie Ting, much less reply to any of her questions.

Lin Dong’s actions inadvertently enraged Xie Ting. She was not used to being treated as air. Just as rage clouded her mind, suddenly a person beside her muttered something to her ears.

“Chey, I thought he was somebody. Turns out he is the son of the disabled Lin Xiao.”

Xie Ting sneered. Lin Dong’s body clearly froze before he turned firstly to look at Xie Ting’s face and then letting out a laugh. He lifted his foot and walked towards Xie Ting.

“Be careful.” Seeing his actions, Lin Xia hastily warned. The opponent was after all three Tempered Body 7th Layer practitioners.

“Heh heh, let me test how good this so called Lin Family genius really is.” Eyeing Lin Dong as he walked over, the yellow clothed youngster could not help but sneer before quickly stepping forward as a weak glow rapidly condensed at the center of his palm.

“Thump!”

As the youngster in yellow charged at Lin Dong, a low sound thud immediately followed as a figure flew backwards under the astonished gazes of the crowd before finally landing heavily onto the ground.

As they gazed at the sorry figure of the youngster in yellow, many of them were startled. Even the surrounding onlookers also cast astonished gazes at Lin Dong who had so easily defeated a Tempered Body 7th Layer practitioner. Looks like this newly risen genius from the Lin Family did have some skills.

“Xie Zhen!”

Xie Ting and the rest of the Xie Family younger generation members expressions rapidly changed after seeing Lin Dong sweeping away the yellow clothed youngster with a single swipe of his palm.

“You dare to attack a member of our Xie Family, you’re just courting death!” The other Tempered Body 7th Layer youngster rushed forward, slightly unable to believe what had happened as a hot anger burned in his eyes. Likewise, his figure was straight away blown away by Lin Dong with a thrust of his palm.

“Hsss…”

This time, quite a few people gasped. The first time might have been luck but the second time was definitely not a fortunate coincidence...

“Tempered Body 8th Layer…”

Lin Xia, Lin Hong and the rest foolishly stared at Lin Dong’s back. So easily beating a Tempered Body 7th Layer opponent can only mean that Lin Dong’s strength had stepped into the 8th Layer!

“You...what do you plan on doing? My sister and her gang are also here. If you don’t want to get beaten, then bring your people and get out of here!”

Gazing at how effortlessly Lin Dong had dispatched the two and then started closing the distance between them, Lin Ting’s face finally turned pale. Yet she still raised her head and coldly looked at Lin Dong. She did not believe that Lin Dong would dare to hit her!

Faced with the pale oval-shaped face before him, Lin Dong laughed as an icy light shined in his eyes. He lifted his palm.

“Stop!”

In the instant that Lin Dong raised his hand, a sharp and clear voice urgently sounded out. Next, a strong wind shot straight at Lin Dong.
“Pa!”

Right before the shout could fade away, Lin Dong’s expression slightly darkened. Under everyone’s gazes of disbelief, his palm swiftly jerked before finally slapping fiercely on Xie Ting’s face. This loud and clear slap caused the entire area to lapse into silence.