Quarrel

"It looked like I'd be taking First Place in this Clan Competition with ease." A smile appeared on Lin Tianci's lips.

Just one Body Cultivation Pill had brought Lin Tianci such an enormous improvement.

He looked forward even more to what the system would return to him ten thousandfold once Lin Dong obtained the Stone Talisman!

After all, the Stone Talisman was a peerless treasure no weaker than the Ancestral Symbol!

Lin Tianci stood up and casually swung his fist.

Immediately, he felt power far surpassing the Body Tempering Fourth Layer erupt within him.

He unleashed a series of punches and performed the first stance of the Throughback Fist.

With just a gust from his fist,

a sturdy tree beside Lin Tianci suddenly exploded.

"So this was the power of the Body Tempering Ninth Layer." Lin Tianci took a deep breath.

Although the only Martial Skill he currently knew was the Throughback Fist,

by the day of the Clan Competition, barring any surprises, aside from Lin Tianci at the Body Tempering Ninth Layer, the strongest among the rest would only be at the Body Tempering Seventh Layer.

With his current strength, along with the Ten Echo Throughback Fist, it would be more than enough to take First Place in the Clan Competition!

"Keep it up, Lin Dong. I'm really curious what kind of surprise you'll bring me over these next fifteen days."

Meanwhile, as Lin Tianci muttered to himself,

Lin Dong had already dragged his wounded and exhausted body to a steep cliff in the Back Mountain.

Then, using the protruding rocks along the cliff face, he leaped down and made his way into a cave hidden beneath a Giant Stone with practiced ease.

Other than Lin Tianci, who had thoroughly read Martial Movement, only Lin Dong knew about this place.

After entering the cave, he came to a Stone Pool roughly two or three zhang wide.

He was so exhausted that he did not even take off his clothes before lying directly in the Stone Pool.

"Lin Tianci..." Lin Dong muttered.

The exhaustion emanating from his body could not conceal the fighting spirit blazing in his eyes.

Although he did not know how Lin Tianci had undergone such a dramatic transformation in a single day, Lin Dong had already made up his mind.

"In this Clan Competition, I'll definitely surpass you and take First Place fair and square!"

With that thought, Lin Dong no longer hesitated. He drove away the trace of laziness rising in his heart and sat cross-legged in the Pool Water.

Using the Stone Pool's miraculous effects, he began cultivating at an astonishing pace.

Elsewhere in the Back Mountain, after carefully familiarizing himself with the power of the Body Tempering Ninth Layer, Lin Tianci prepared to head down the mountain and return home.

After breaking through so many levels in one go, once his initial excitement faded, a mental weariness quietly crept into his mind.

On top of that, he had not eaten all afternoon, and his stomach had long begun to protest.

All he wanted now was to go back, have a good meal, and then lie down in bed for a satisfying sleep.

Deliberately increasing his speed, Lin Tianci took only one-fifth of the time he had spent coming here to traverse this rarely traveled path.

Then, the view before him suddenly opened up.

Though the road ahead was still rugged and mountainous, this stretch had long been developed by the Lin Family, making it far easier to travel.

Lin Tianci increased his speed a little more.

Suddenly, a burst of arguing reached his ears.

As his strength rose, the sensitivity of his Five Senses had increased severalfold as well.

Those quarrels naturally entered his ears with perfect clarity.

At first, Lin Tianci assumed it was merely some Lin Family servants arguing over trivial matters, so he had no intention of getting involved.

But when he listened more carefully, several voices sounded exceptionally familiar. They did not belong to servants, but rather juniors his own age.

Lin Tianci could not help stopping before heading toward the source of the argument.

Soon, he saw quite a few people gathered near the entrance to the forest.

Their faces still carried obvious traces of childishness. None of them were old, all around their early teens.

Lin Tianci recognized several of them. He had seen them during today's Fist Technique Mini-Test.

Looking through the wall of people, Lin Tianci noticed a Little Girl in pale-colored clothes standing at the very center of the crowd.

The instant he saw her face, even with the memories of Two Lives, a flash of astonishment still appeared in Lin Tianci's eyes.

The girl's face was as delicate as carved jade, her features exquisite and her skin as fair as snow. Though she was still young, it was not difficult to imagine how devastatingly beautiful she would become in the future.

At that moment, the girl was glaring with her lovely eyes at the figures blocking her path.

In her small, dirt-covered hands, she tightly protected an Ice Blue Fruit.

Clearly, this fruit was Spirit Medicine she had just gathered.

"Lin Qingtan?" Lin Tianci easily recognized the indignant Little Girl as Lin Dong's Younger Sister.

The burly figure blocking Lin Qingtan was also quite distinctive.

He was naturally Lin Hu, the junior who had been first to take the stage during today's Fist Technique Mini-Test.

The Falling Stone Fist he used had some power to it, but to the current Lin Tianci, it posed no threat whatsoever.

"Qingtan, we clearly discovered this Ice Spirit Fruit first. Don't you think it's a little inappropriate for you to pick it without saying a word?"

Lin Hu stared at the Ice Spirit Fruit in Lin Qingtan's hands as he spoke. His words formed a sharp contrast with his somewhat honest-looking appearance.

"When I gathered the Ice Spirit Fruit, there wasn't a single person nearby. You're only twisting the truth because you're jealous of this Second Grade Spirit Medicine!"

Lin Qingtan clenched her pearly teeth and spoke stubbornly. Even surrounded by so many people, there was not the slightest retreat in her eyes.

"There wasn't anyone?" Lin Hu chuckled.

"I have all these people here to testify for me. On your side, it seems there's only you."

"Qingtan, hand over the Spirit Medicine obediently, and we won't make things difficult for you." Beside Lin Hu, Lin Shan also spoke with a teasing grin.

"If you insist on refusing, we'll have no choice but to report this to Grandpa and let him decide. Tell me, will Grandpa believe so many of us, or only you?"

"Maybe when Grandpa gets angry, he'll even revoke your ge's place in the Clan Competition."

Lin Shan's words struck directly at Lin Qingtan's heart.

Her eyes reddened with anger, and her little hands could not help trembling. She looked so pitiful that it tugged at the heart.

She thought of the grueling training Lin Dong had undergone these past few days for the Clan Competition.

"Then... then I'll give you the Ice Spirit Fruit. Don't tell Grandpa."

Lin Qingtan bit her lip and reluctantly handed over the Ice Spirit Fruit, which had grown slightly warm in her palms.

However, just as Lin Hu was about to take the Ice Spirit Fruit, a voice sounded from nearby.

"Little Qing Tan, are they bullying you?"