A First Glimpse of Fame, Sparring with Lin Xia

After the Back Mountain Conflict, Lin Yun's life was not affected much.

Every day, he still cultivated alone in his courtyard.

That kind of life might have seemed a little dull to others, but for Lin Yun, who had the Task System, it was incredibly fulfilling.

As long as he cultivated, he improved. No effort was wasted, and no sweat was shed in vain.

Lin Yun wished he could stretch one day into three!

However, compared with the quiet emptiness of Lin Yun's courtyard, lively discussions had risen throughout the clan, and his name began to spread among the clansmen.

Body Tempering Sixth Layer—this was the dividing line.

Among the younger generation in the clan, only three people had reached this realm now: Lin Xia, Lin Hong, and Lin Yun.

But behind Lin Xia and Lin Hong were the Lin family's Main Branch and Second Branch, giving them more resources.

Lin Yun was an orphan. In other people's eyes, the fact that he could catch up to the two of them came down entirely to talent and hard work.

So Lin Yun became a model for the clan to learn from.

On top of that, Lin Yun had stood up for Qing Tan and taught Little Tyrant Lin Shan a lesson. That action had won the hearts of most of the clansmen.

Of course, it had also won Qing Tan's heart.

Lin Yun was usually quiet and reserved, living in seclusion. When he made a move to teach Lin Shan a lesson, no one had any other thoughts about it. They all believed Lin Yun simply could not stand by and watch, that he was hot-blooded and righteous, someone who hated evil as if it were his personal enemy.

Who could fail to like and respect such a person! On the second day after the Back Mountain Conflict passed.

Lin Dong and Qing Tan came to Lin Yun's door to thank him. The two little fellows had nothing good to offer, so they prepared to give that stalk of Crimson Sun Grass to Lin Yun.

However, Lin Yun did not accept it. When he acted, he had never intended to seek repayment. He simply could not bear seeing people bully a little girl.

Especially when she was an extremely cute little girl.

Not only did Lin Yun refuse their Spirit Herb, he even treated them to roasted Wild Boar meat.

After that, Lin Yun also gave Lin Dong some guidance on cultivation matters, and he told Qing Tan to learn Martial Dao as well. Once she became strong in the future, no one would dare bully her.

This made Lin Dong and Qing Tan's good impression of him increase greatly.

Repeating the same fist training every day left Lin Yun's hands somewhat overburdened. He had to rest them, and after practicing thousands upon thousands of times, he was also starting to feel a little sick of it.

However, Lin Yun was not prepared to halt his steps forward.

If he got tired of grinding math problems, he would switch to physics problems.

If his hands were tired, he could train his legs! And during his previous hunting, while tracking prey, Lin Yun had also discovered that he was slightly lacking in speed.

He decided to seek out a movement martial art to cultivate.

Training both legs and feet would add more variety, and his four limbs would be exercised more evenly.

The Lin Family Martial Arts Hall was located in the Lin family's rear courtyard. It was an important area of the Lin family. Aside from a few direct descendants who could enter directly, everyone else could only enter after receiving permission from one of the Lin family's managers.

And these managers, aside from the family head, Lin Zhentian, the Lin Family Patriarch, were actually only two people: Lin Ken of the Main Branch and Lin Mang of the Second Branch.

As for Lin Xiao of the Third Branch, who was Lin Dong's father, ever since he had been crippled by Lin Langtian at the Clan Competition, he had basically stopped involving himself in affairs.

As a collateral clansman and an orphan at that, Lin Yun naturally could not enter directly.

He needed to obtain permission.

Lin Mang of the Second Branch was selfish and narrow-minded, always putting on airs and difficult to get along with. Lin Yun generally did not interact with him.

On top of that, he had just beaten up his son, so it was even more impossible for him to go looking for trouble.

So he could only look for Lin Ken.

Lin Ken was modest and amiable, taking the bigger picture into account. He had quite a high reputation in the clan and was deeply respected by the clansmen.

Moreover, back when Lin Yun's parents were killed by bandits during an outside mission, Lin Ken had led that mission.

Lin Ken felt somewhat guilty toward Lin Yun, and over the years, he had taken considerable care of him.

The last time Lin Yun went to the Martial Arts Hall to borrow Tongbei Fist, he had also received Lin Ken's permission.

Lin Yun left and headed to the courtyard where Lin Ken lived.

After arriving, Lin Ken was not at home. His daughter, Lin Xia, was there.

"Sister Lin Xia!" Lin Yun called politely.

"Oh, Lin Yun. You fellow, you're always in closed-door cultivation. What brings you here this time?" Lin Xia looked Lin Yun over curiously.

"I've been going out hunting recently, and I missed several times. I deeply felt that my speed wasn't enough, so I wanted to ask Uncle for permission to go to the Martial Arts Hall and find a movement martial art to cultivate," Lin Yun said truthfully.

"My father had something to do today and went out early," Lin Xia said leisurely. Then her tone shifted. "However, if you want to borrow martial arts from the Martial Arts Hall, I can take you there too."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Sister Lin Xia," Lin Yun said, his eyes bright.

Lin Xia said seriously, "I saw that what you used that day was still Falling Rock Fist. You've already broken through to Body Tempering Sixth Layer. At this realm, a first-grade martial art is a little lacking. The clan contest is coming soon. If you learn a movement martial art now, you might as well learn a second-grade fist technique instead. That would help you obtain a better ranking."

"Mm." Lin Yun pondered briefly, then nodded in agreement. "Sister Lin Xia, what you said makes sense. After gaining Yuan Power, the offensive power of a first-grade martial art is indeed somewhat lacking. I should cultivate a second-grade martial art, but I don't want to give up on a movement martial art either."

"Can I borrow two martial arts manuals?" Lin Yun said with a smile.

Seeing Lin Yun smile, Lin Xia was a little surprised. In her memory, ever since his parents had passed away, Lin Yun had always been rigid and serious, and had never smiled.

"Little Brother Lin Yun, you look very nice when you smile. You should smile more from now on. Open your heart, and your Martial Dao can go even further," Lin Xia said with a caring smile.

As his clan elder sister, she was very willing to see Lin Yun walk out from the shadow of his parents' deaths and embrace a new life.

"Yes, Lin Xia, Sister!" Lin Yun said with a smile.

"However, if you want to cultivate two martial arts at the same time, I'm afraid it may delay you. Bite off more than you can chew, and you'll end up with nothing—especially since they're Second-Grade martial arts. With only a few months left, you may not even be able to get started," Lin Xia advised.

Lin Yun smiled faintly. "It's fine. I can comprehend them first, then practice whichever one seems easier."

"Mm... all right. But before we go to the Martial Arts Hall, can you let Sister test your foundation?" Lin Xia suddenly suggested.

It had not been easy to see Lin Yun make such a positive change, and she was willing to spend some time on this clan younger brother.

Besides, she was also curious. Since Lin Yun could fight Lin Hong without falling behind, could she easily take Lin Yun down?

"All right, then!"

Lin Yun agreed helplessly.

At the same time, he created a mission in his mind.

"System, create missions."

Mission: Spar with Lin Xia.
Reward: One bottle of Second-Grade Qi Blood Pills.

Mission: Defeat Lin Xia.
Reward: Physique +1, Root Bone +1.

Lin Yun directly created two missions.

The mission to defeat Lin Xia was still somewhat difficult for the time being. Lin Xia had long since reached the peak of the sixth layer of Body Tempering and was now attempting to break through to the Body Tempering Seventh Layer. Moreover, she had cultivated the Second-Grade martial art Spirit Sword Finger. With only a perfected Tongbei Fist, it would be very hard for Lin Yun to be Lin Xia's match.

He had not had the system for long yet.

However, creating the mission would not affect anything. There was no time limit anyway. When the clan competition came around, defeating Lin Xia then would be the same.

"Little Brother Lin Yun, I'm starting now," Lin Xia said. Her slender, long fingers pressed together like an eagle's beak as she jabbed straight toward Lin Yun from the front.

The pressure from the two-fingered attack was immense, making Lin Yun feel as if he could not dodge it.

"Falling Rock Fist."

Lin Yun poured Yuan Power into both fists and hammered them down heavily.

Faced with those powerful, heavy fists, Lin Xia had no choice but to withdraw and dodge, surprise flashing repeatedly in her eyes.

"Your Yuan Power is quite strong. Did you really just break through?"

"It's been a few days since I broke through," Lin Yun said with a chuckle.

It seemed his Yuan Power was a little stronger than that of an ordinary person who had just broken through to the sixth layer.

"Interesting. Then Sister is going to get serious." Lin Xia's interest was piqued.

She brought her two fingers together, Yuan Power gathering at her fingertips. Like a finger-sword, they drove straight toward Lin Yun's acupoints and joints.

Pap, pap, pap...

Lin Yun unleashed Tongbei Fist, generating force the moment he touched her clothes. While knocking aside her Spirit Sword Finger, he was still able to launch attacks of his own.

Nine consecutive impacts of Tongbei Fist forced Lin Xia to retreat several steps and defend, nearly causing her to stumble.

"Greater mastery Falling Rock Fist, greater mastery Tongbei Fist. Little Brother Lin Yun, you've truly made Sister see you in a new light."

Lin Xia exclaimed in surprise. At his age, cultivating two martial arts to greater mastery was something only a handful of people in the Lin Family had ever achieved.

However, they were only First-Grade martial arts. Her Spirit Sword Finger was a Second-Grade martial art, and she had also cultivated it to greater mastery.

Lin Xia did not dare underestimate him. Once she became serious, her sword-like fingers nimbly slipped past Lin Yun's fists. After neutralizing several of Lin Yun's attacks, she finally tapped a finger onto Lin Yun's wrist.

The Yuan Power on Lin Yun's fists was scattered by that single tap, and his fists lost their strength.

"Lin Xia, Sister, amazing, amazing. I'm impressed, truly impressed." Lin Yun quickly seized the chance to withdraw and retreat.

He still had Tongbei Ten Impacts, which he had not used. However, even if he did use it, he might not necessarily be Lin Xia's match. He might as well keep something in reserve. It was just a friendly spar; there was no need to go all out. Besides, he had come to ask Lin Xia for help today, not to look for trouble.

Making her happy was what mattered!