Lin Yun

In the rear courtyard of the Lin Mansion, inside a dilapidated room.

Ever since returning from Lin Dong's home, Lin Yan had gone back to his own shabby little wooden hut, held his breath, and sat in meditation.

Qingtan was worthy of being a Fiend Devil Body. The Yin Fiend Energy emanating from her body was actually purer than some natural energy. After the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire devoured and absorbed the energy contained within that cold air, it too grew rapidly. Along with the results of Lin Yan's beast hunting during this period, the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire, which had originally been the size of a tiny spark, had now grown to the size of a fist.

If the previous Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire had still been nothing more than an embryo, then now it was like a one-year-old child. Though it could not speak or walk, it had laid a firm foundation for its future growth!

Even that terrifying aura and its violent, scorching might had surged by a great deal. If the current Lin Yan were to fight that Scorpion Leopard again, he could probably burn it to nothing with a casual wave of his hand.

And for Lin Yan, the pleasant surprises did not stop there.

When he felt waves of soreness and pain inside his body, Lin Yan's expression changed at first. But immediately after, he discovered that the aching sensation seemed to be clinging to the bones within him. It felt as if something were trying to bore into his bones.

"Bone refining!"

This discovery immediately made Lin Yan's eyelids twitch despite himself. So-called bone refining was the step of the Body Tempering Fifth Level. This step tempered the bones within the body, making them tougher and thereby greatly increasing both strength and speed.

One had to know that Lin Yan had only advanced into the fourth level not long ago. According to his original expectations, even with the help of the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire, it would still take around ten days at the very least for this sensation to appear. He had not expected it to come so quickly.

Lin Yan guessed that the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire's help was only one factor; the cold air from Qingtan's body was equally important.

In the process of warming Qingtan, currents of cold and hot energy had constantly darted through Lin Yan's body. Though the feeling had not been pleasant, it had indirectly helped Lin Yan temper his muscles and bones.

When others refined their bones, they did it step by step and with extreme caution, afraid that the slightest mistake might leave lifelong consequences. Lin Yan, however, under the tempering assistance of the Heavenly Flame and cold air, had achieved it in one go, directly completing bone refining. This was truly a stroke of great luck.

If one failed to act when decisive, one would suffer chaos from it. Seizing this opportunity, Lin Yan decided to break through in one push.

There were still three or four months until the Lin Family Competition. Though the Lin Family was small, it still had some fairly valuable things. Lin Dong wanted the champion's position—and he wanted it too!

As Lin Yan made up his mind, his body began to tremble violently beyond his control. A kind of intense pain spread out from the bones inside him and swiftly extended to every part of his body.

"It's still not enough!"

It felt as if he could break through the Body Tempering Fourth Layer and step into the Body Tempering Fifth Level with just one final push, yet for some reason, he could not take that last step no matter what.

Thinking of this, Lin Yan suddenly took out the Azure Origin Grass Qingtan had given him and actually swallowed it raw.

This world was not as developed in the field of medicine refinement as Douqi Continent. What existed here was only some crude, shallow usage. Although Lin Yan possessed a Heavenly Flame, he knew nothing about the art of medicine refinement, so he directly chose to swallow it raw.

Although Azure Origin Grass was considered extremely good among first-grade spiritual medicines and might normally only bring Lin Yan a little help, at this moment, it could act as the final straw that broke the camel's back.

When the first ray of morning sunlight rose, the wooden hut that had been as silent as death finally produced a sound.

"It's breaking through!"

Inside the wooden hut, this feeling as though he were standing amid a mountain of blades and a Sea of Fire was precisely the breakthrough opportunity Lin Yan had waited for eagerly throughout the night!

The sharp pain spread rapidly. That feeling was like a drill boring hard into his bones. At this moment, Lin Yan could clearly sense that the bones within his body seemed to be slowly becoming stronger and tougher!

The intense pain came quickly and left quickly as well. In only around ten short minutes, that agony gradually faded away.

Body Tempering Fifth Level!

Along with the disappearance of the intense pain, Lin Yan's cultivation also broke through smoothly. His original exhaustion suddenly turned into vibrant energy. He sprang straight up from the bed, straightened his body, and a crisp series of crackling sounds rang out from within him. His height also increased slightly at that moment, making him look as if he were even sturdier.

"Pap, pap, pap, pap..."

As soon as he landed, Lin Yan unleashed an extremely practiced set of Stone Crushing Fist. Crisp sounds rang out one after another inside the room. Faintly, the force hidden within those sounds was clearly a notch stronger than before.

"Bang!"

When the final punch fell, Lin Yan slammed his fist into a rock outside the house. Several cracks immediately appeared on the rock. After advancing into the Body Tempering Fifth Level, whether in bodily toughness or strength, he was no longer comparable to when he had been at the fourth level.

Seeing this, Lin Yan also smiled faintly. Just as he was about to finish and stand at ease, his heart suddenly stirred. He did not withdraw his hand gesture. Instead, he closed his eyes, sensing the strange feeling of that scorching force shuttling through the muscles and bones inside his body.

As he sensed it, Lin Yan's body also began to sway with extremely subtle movements following the flow of that force. Even the skin beneath his clothes was covered in a faint crimson hue at this moment.

The muscles throughout his body seemed to have been mobilized, pushing out layers upon layers of strength, which finally gathered swiftly in Lin Yan's arm.

"Crack!"

When those layers of strength surged to his fist, Lin Yan's tightly shut eyes suddenly opened. An extremely faint, crisp sound quietly came from within his body.

This sound was not loud, but it was filled with a sense of violent, terrifying power!

"Bang!"

As the force reached the tip of his fist, Lin Yan took a deep breath, let out a low shout, and viciously blasted straight toward the hard rock before him. A dull sound rang out, and cracks rapidly spread across the rock. Finally, with a bang, it burst apart.

"Fire Force!"

After the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire grew to the size of a fist, Lin Yan no longer needed to summon it every time he used it. Through his own body, he could gather the power of the Heavenly Flame into a certain part of his body and swiftly erupt with a violent, terrifying killing move like Fire Force!

Just as Lin Yan was marveling at the might of this killing move, a dull, steady voice suddenly came from not far away.

"Cousin Lin Yan, you've hidden yourself so well..."

As soon as the words fell, a gray-clothed youth slowly walked over. Looking at the shattered stone fragments, his gaze was faintly unsettled.

When Lin Yan noticed the person before him, he also seemed to think of something. The corners of his mouth lifted in a faint smile as he said calmly, "So it's Cousin Lin Yun. Long time no see..."