"...Thirty-second match, Lin Bao versus... Lin Chen!"
When the steward announced those two names together in a tone carrying a hint of strangeness and disbelief, it was like a ladle of cold water poured into a boiling cauldron of oil, instantly detonating the entire training grounds!
Boom—!!!
After a brief, suffocating silence came an uproar and commotion like a volcanic eruption, sweeping across the entire arena!
"What?! Lin Bao against Lin Chen?! Did I hear that right?!" "Heavens! This... what kind of luck is this?! Or was it... deliberate?!" "Now this will be a show! One is a Fourth Layer Peak genius, even if injured, and the other is that newly risen 'dark horse' trash!" "Dark horse? I say he's courting death! Brother Leopard has been swallowing his anger all this time. Lin Chen, that trash, is dead for sure!" "Not necessarily, right? Lin Chen's performance just now was so astonishing, and his foundation is solid. Maybe..." "Maybe my ass! Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer Mid-stage against Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer Peak? They're more than a whole major realm apart! There's no fight to be had!" "It's over, it's over. Lin Chen had only just started to rise, and now Brother Leopard will cripple him completely!"
All sorts of exclamations, discussions, gloating, worry, and regret churned and spread wildly through the crowd like boiling water! Nearly everyone's eyes were locked tightly on the two people about to step onto the fighting platform!
This dramatic scene was more eye-catching than any of the previous matches!
Within the crowd, Lin Chen lowered his head, the corner of his lips curving into an icy arc that no one noticed.
Luck? Perhaps. But hidden within that "luck" was a faint "guidance" from the Myriad Dao Furnace, something only he himself understood. He had not passively accepted fate's arrangement; within the limits of the rules, he had created the most favorable battleground for himself!
This was exactly the result he wanted!
Before the eyes of the entire crowd, he wanted to ruthlessly trample beneath his feet the Great Elder's grandson, who had humiliated him countless times and treated him like an ant!
This would be his first step toward holding his head high and frightening off petty scoundrels! It would also be the perfect prelude to his "hunt"!
On the other side, the instant Lin Bao heard the match list, he first froze. Then an ecstatic, savage, twisted smile appeared on his face!
"Hahahaha! Good! Good! Excellent!" He could not help bursting into loud laughter, his voice filled with venom and cruelty. "Heaven is helping me! Trash! You delivered yourself right to my doorstep to die! Today, I'll beat you until you're crawling around looking for your teeth! I'll take that lowly skeleton of yours apart bone by bone!"
The lackeys around him immediately fawned over him in agreement:
"Congratulations, Brother Leopard! This trash ran straight into the muzzle himself!" "Brother Leopard is mighty! This is perfect for establishing your prestige! Let everyone know the consequences of offending you!" "Brother Leopard, don't go easy on him later! Cripple him outright! That way, he won't be an eyesore anymore!"
Lin Bao licked his lips. His gaze, like that of a venomous snake eyeing prey, locked tightly onto Lin Chen. It was as though he could already see Lin Chen kneeling and begging for mercy, being trampled beneath his feet and humiliated at will! The frustration and unease brought on by Lin Chen's sudden rise to fame were instantly washed away by this unexpected "good fortune"!
In his eyes, this was simply the perfect opportunity bestowed by heaven to avenge his humiliation and restore his prestige!
On the elevated platform, the elders and household heads wore particularly vivid expressions.
Great Elder Lin Zhenhong first frowned, seemingly surprised by this arrangement. But then a trace of ruthless delight flashed through his eyes! He had originally been considering how to find a chance to "reasonably" cripple Lin Chen during the test. He had not expected the opportunity to come knocking so quickly! Though he knew his grandson was injured, dealing with a mere Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer Mid-stage piece of trash would be more than easy enough! He was even beginning to plan how, after Lin Bao "accidentally" beat Lin Chen into grievous injury or near death, he could step forward in "heartbroken indignation" to mediate and minimize the fallout.
Household Head Lin Xiaotian's brows furrowed slightly. He gave Lin Chen a complicated look, then glanced at the endlessly grinning Lin Bao and sighed inwardly. Although he admired the potential Lin Chen had displayed, he had to admit that a Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer Mid-stage cultivator facing a Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer Peak Lin Bao had virtually no chance of victory. This battle would likely be... fraught with danger. He could only hope Lin Chen would be clever enough to concede in time and preserve himself.
Third Elder Lin Zhenyue's eyes flashed with regret. He was quite interested in Lin Chen, this youth with a "solid foundation," and wanted to see how he would perform afterward. Who would have thought that his first actual battle would pit him against the baleful star Lin Bao, especially when Lin Bao was full of pent-up rage? It seemed this promising sapling that had only just broken through the soil would likely wither young.
Under the watchful eyes of the entire arena and amid the steward's loud announcement, Lin Chen and Lin Bao slowly walked, one after the other, onto the broad, sturdy fighting platform paved with bluestone at the center.
The platform was enormous, large enough for dozens of people to fight at once. Yet with only the two of them facing each other upon it, it appeared even more empty.
Lin Bao stood on the platform with his arms folded across his chest and his chin raised high. A cruel smile like a cat playing with a mouse hung on his face as he looked down at Lin Chen from above. He deliberately released a trace of the powerful aura of Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer Peak, attempting to crush Lin Chen completely with sheer presence alone.
"Trash! Didn't expect this, did you? Your good luck has run out!" Lin Bao's voice was icy and full of mockery. "Weren't you quite impressive in front of the Martial Proving Stele just now? What's wrong? Have your legs gone weak from fear?"
Lin Chen raised his head. His face still wore that slightly nervous and constrained expression, and his eyes even carried just the right amount of "fear" and "unwillingness," as if Lin Bao's aura had truly intimidated him.
"Lin Bao... you..." His voice "trembled" as he spoke. "You... what are you trying to do? This is only a test..."
"A test?" Lin Bao seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world and burst into laughter. "That's right! It's a test! A test of... just how hard that lowly skeleton of yours is! A test of... whether my fists can turn you into a puddle of mush!"
His smile abruptly vanished, and his eyes turned incomparably savage. "Trash! Kneel! Kowtow to me three times! Then break one of your own arms! Perhaps I'll consider letting you suffer a little less and roll off this platform like a dead dog!"
Arrogant! Tyrannical! Unmatched beneath heaven!
Lin Bao's words clearly carried across the entire training grounds, drawing an uproar!
"That's... that's too much, isn't it? He actually wants him to kowtow and break his arm?" "Shh! Keep your voice down! Brother Leopard is in a rage right now. Who would dare provoke him?" "Lin Chen is unlucky too, running into a baleful star like Brother Leopard..." "Hmph! He deserves it! Who told him to be so arrogant before and offend Brother Leopard?"
On the elevated platform, Lin Xiaotian's brows knitted tightly, displeasure flashing through his eyes. Lin Bao's actions were truly beneath proper conduct! But out of consideration for the Great Elder, he could not immediately rebuke him.
Lin Zhenhong stroked his beard, a faint, imperceptible sneer at the corner of his mouth, as if he were quite pleased by his grandson's domineering behavior. In his eyes, the strong should possess the bearing of the strong! Crushing the weak was only natural and right!
Facing Lin Bao's utterly humiliating provocation, a chilling killing intent flashed through Lin Chen's eyes! Yet on his face remained that expression interwoven with "fear" and "anger."
"You... you're going too far!" Lin Chen shouted with a "fierce outward show hiding inner weakness," his body even trembling slightly from "anger." "I... I'll fight you to the death!"
"Fight?" Lin Bao laughed even more wildly. "With trash like you?" He grinned. "Fine! I'd like to see how you plan to fight me!"
At that moment, the steward acting as referee—clearly also from the Great Elder's faction and turning a blind eye to Lin Bao's arrogance—announced loudly:
"Thirty-second match, Lin Bao versus Lin Chen! The match... begins!"
Before his words had even faded!
"Trash! Die!"
Lin Bao had long been unable to suppress the killing intent and brutality in his heart! With a roar like that of a wounded beast, he shot toward Lin Chen like an arrow loosed from its bow!
He did not even use any flashy martial technique. He simply poured the full force of his Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer Peak cultivation into his right fist, whipping up a violent gale as he smashed it viciously toward Lin Chen's face!
One punch! Just one punch! He would utterly blow apart this trash who had disgraced him, leaving him without even a chance to concede!
That punch was powerful and heavy! Swift as lightning! It carried dense killing intent!
The people below the platform seemed already to foresee Lin Chen's head bursting apart and blood splashing across the arena! Quite a few timid female disciples were so frightened that they closed their eyes!
On the elevated platform, Lin Xiaotian's pupils contracted, and he nearly made a move to stop it!
Yet at the very instant Lin Bao's inevitable fist was about to strike Lin Chen's face—
Lin Chen moved!
His movement was not fast. It even looked somewhat clumsy! As if he had been scared stupid and was flailing in blind panic!
He merely jerked his body to the left while raising his arm to block Lin Bao's wrist in an extremely awkward posture!
This was the most basic blocking movement he had practiced before! It looked completely devoid of technique!
"Courting death!" Seeing this, even greater contempt and cruelty flashed in Lin Bao's eyes! A block of this level was simply like a mantis trying to stop a chariot before his Fourth Layer Peak strength! He could practically picture Lin Chen's arm being shattered by his next blow!
However—
Bang!!!
A dull impact, like leather being struck heavily, suddenly rang out!
The expected scene of Lin Chen's arm snapping and his screaming body flying backward did not occur!
Lin Bao only felt as though his fist had struck an incomparably tough iron plate that carried a strange elasticity! A huge rebounding force, far beyond his expectations, surged fiercely from the point of contact!
"Hm?!" Lin Bao's expression changed! A sharp pain shot through his wrist, as though the bones were about to crack apart!
Meanwhile, borrowing that rebounding force, Lin Chen drifted backward several steps as lightly as a willow catkin. He looked bedraggled, but was actually completely unharmed! His face still bore an "aftershock" expression, as though he had only narrowly escaped disaster through luck!
"How... how is that possible?!" Lin Bao clutched his agonizing wrist, his eyes filled with incredulous horror!
That trash... had actually blocked it?! And his strength... how could it be so great?!
In that instant of contact, he had clearly felt that the force coming from Lin Chen's arm was absolutely more than Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer Mid-stage! That toughness and explosive power had even vaguely reached... the Triple Layer Peak?!
No! Impossible! It had to be an illusion!
It was because he was injured! His injury must have weakened his strength! That trash had merely gotten lucky!
Lin Bao forcibly suppressed the shock and unease in his heart, attributing everything to his injury and his opponent's luck.
The spectators below the platform were equally stunned!
"He... he blocked it?!" "Lin Chen actually blocked Brother Leopard's punch?!" "He looked quite battered, but he really blocked it! And he doesn't seem injured?" "What... what's going on? Could Brother Leopard really be seriously injured? Has his strength dropped drastically?" "That must be it! Otherwise, how could a Triple Layer Mid-stage cultivator block a Fourth Layer Peak punch?!"
Discussion broke out again, but this time, it carried a hint of uncertainty and confusion.
On the elevated platform, Lin Zhenhong's expression darkened further. A glint flashed in Lin Xiaotian's eyes, and the anticipation in his heart grew even stronger! Third Elder Lin Zhenyue stroked his beard, watching Lin Chen on the platform with keen interest, as though he had discovered an uncut piece of jade.
Lin Chen sneered inwardly. In that block just now, he had used less than fifty percent of his strength and deliberately adopted the clumsiest possible posture. His goal had been to create the illusion of "luck" and "Lin Bao's strength declining due to injury"!
His strategy of playing the pig to eat the tiger had achieved initial success!
"Trash! You're courting death!" After Lin Bao's first strike was blocked by Lin Chen and he heard the faint doubts coming from below the platform, he immediately flew into a rage from shame! He felt he had suffered an enormous humiliation!
"Roar! Frenzied Leopard Claw!"
Lin Bao held nothing back any longer! With an angry roar, the nails on both his hands instantly turned black and sharp—a sign of cultivating some sinister claw art. His hands transformed into a sky full of claw shadows as he lunged madly at Lin Chen again like a truly enraged hunting leopard!
This time, he used the martial technique he kept at the bottom of his chest! The claw shadows were impenetrable, tearing through the air with sharp hissing sounds! Every claw contained enough force to split steles and crack rocks, along with vicious, sinister power! He wanted to tear Lin Chen completely to pieces!
Faced with Lin Bao's storm-like assault, Lin Chen's performance began!
His feet moved through the seemingly clumsy but rhythmically subtle Willow Catkin Movement Technique. Like drifting catkins in the wind, his body swayed left and right, darting and dodging through the sky full of claw shadows by the narrowest of margins!
Sss! Sss! Sss!
Lin Bao's sharp claws continuously tore through the air and even left shallow scratches across Lin Chen's robes! It looked incomparably dangerous! Every evasion drew a chorus of gasps from beneath the platform!
Lin Chen kept that "flustered" and "running for his life" expression on his face throughout. He even "cooperatively" let out bursts of ragged panting, as though he might be shredded apart at any moment!
"Trash! All you know is how to run?! If you have any guts, stop dodging!" The more Lin Bao fought, the more alarmed and enraged he became!
He could clearly feel that every claw of his should have easily torn the other party apart, yet every attack was somehow evaded through an extraordinarily "lucky" method! It felt like punching cotton, with strength nowhere to be used! It was suffocatingly frustrating!
What horrified him even more was that this trash could actually last so long under such an intense barrage?! Could that meager bit of his true qi really be inexhaustible?!
How could he know that Lin Chen's true qi, both in quantity and recovery speed, far surpassed those of the same realm? On top of that, the Myriad Dao Furnace was secretly absorbing the thin Spiritual Qi in the air to replenish him. This amount of consumption was nothing to him at all!
"Dodging? I'm only... warming up!" Lin Chen sneered inwardly, though he still shouted in a "panting" voice, "Lin Bao! You... you're nothing special either! What's wrong? Haven't eaten? Why are you so weak?"
Provocation! Naked, undisguised provocation!
Though his tone sounded short on confidence, those words were like adding fuel to the fire, instantly igniting Lin Bao's rage, which was already on the verge of eruption!
"Ahhh! Trash! I'll kill you!!" Lin Bao completely lost his mind! His eyes turned bloodshot, and he utterly forgot his injuries. He crazily drove all the true qi in his body, launching an even fiercer assault against Lin Chen without regard for anything else!
Yet at the instant a nearly imperceptible flaw appeared in his moves under the influence of rage and injury—
A cold glint flashed through Lin Chen's eyes!
The opportunity had arrived!
His body, which had been swaying like a candle flame in the wind, suddenly halted!
He stopped dodging!
In its place came a powerful counterattack, like a ferocious tiger descending the mountain!
"Fierce Tiger Fist! Tiger Roars in the Forest!"
Lin Chen gave a low cry—naturally, to accompany the performance—clenching his right fist as the strength of Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer within him instantly erupted at seventy percent!
A fist intent far stronger than before, filled with masculine and explosive force, burst forth! It was as though a fierce tiger were truly roaring behind him!
His fist was no longer "weak and feeble" as before. It carried an unstoppable, crushing momentum, meeting with absolute precision the opening at Lin Bao's chest exposed by his rash fury!
"What?!" Lin Bao's pupils abruptly contracted! He had never imagined that this trash, who had been passively taking blows all along, would suddenly unleash such a powerful counterattack! That fist intent, that strength... was absolutely not something a Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer Mid-stage cultivator could possess!
He wanted to change his move and block, but it was already too late!
He could only watch helplessly as that seemingly ordinary fist, containing terrifying power, rapidly enlarged before his eyes!
Boom!!!!
A world-shaking explosion of sound, like a heavy hammer striking a war drum!
Lin Chen's fist slammed solidly into Lin Bao's chest!
"Puh—!!!"
Lin Bao was struck as though by lightning! His entire body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, and he spewed a massive mouthful of blood! There were even fragments of internal organs mixed within the blood!
The robes over his chest instantly exploded apart! Beneath them was a clearly visible fist imprint sunken deep into his flesh! The cracking sound of shattering bones could even be faintly heard!
In that punch, Lin Chen had used seventy percent of his strength! And he had struck with precise accuracy near the damaged meridian node caused by the Qi Condensing Pill mishap!
Under that double blow, Lin Bao suffered grave injuries in an instant!
The entire arena once again fell into deathly silence!
Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at Lin Bao, who flew out like a dead dog and crashed near the edge of the platform, struggling fruitlessly to crawl back to his feet!
Then they looked at Lin Chen, who still stood where he was, withdrawing his fist with "astonishment" and "disbelief" on his face—perfect acting!
He... he won?!
Lin Chen... actually won?!
And... with one punch?!
One punch had sent a Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer Peak Lin Bao flying while coughing blood?!
What... what the hell was going on?!
Everyone's minds seemed to have crashed! They simply could not comprehend the scene before them!
This was no longer a "dark horse"! This was a "monster"! An "aberration"!
On the elevated platform, Lin Zhenhong abruptly rose to his feet, his face deathly pale. Pointing at Lin Chen, he trembled all over with fury. "You... you... brat! How dare you strike with such viciousness?!"
He could never have imagined that his grandson would lose! And lose so miserably?! So... utterly helplessly?!
Household Head Lin Xiaotian was stunned as well! He had imagined Lin Chen might concede, or even that Lin Chen might hold out for some time with some fortuitous encounter or technique. But he had never, in his wildest dreams, expected this result! One punch! A single punch had severely injured Lin Bao?! Just how deeply had Lin Chen hidden his true strength?!
Third Elder Lin Zhenyue's hand froze halfway through stroking his beard. His eyes were filled with unprecedented shock and blazing excitement! Good lad! He had been right about him! Such temperament! Such strength! Such... acting skills! He was simply a born freak of nature!
Below the platform, Lin Hu and Lin Bao's other lackeys were frightened out of their wits, their faces drained of color! Even Brother Leopard had been beaten into this state with one punch. If they went up, would they not be insufficient even to fill the gaps between his teeth?!
After his brief "astonishment," Lin Chen revealed an expression of "sudden realization" and embarrassment. He clasped his hands toward the platform and spoke in an "earnest" tone:
"Uh... Elders, Household Head, this disciple... this disciple panicked just now and... couldn't pull back in time. I accidentally... used too much force. Please... forgive me, Brother Leopard."
"Puh—!"
Upon hearing that, Lin Bao, already grievously wounded and on the verge of death, spewed another mouthful of blood in fury. His head tilted to one side, and he actually fainted from rage!
Couldn't pull back in time? Used too much force?
Was that even human language?!
Everyone who heard those words could not stop the corners of their mouths from twitching. The looks they gave Lin Chen became even stranger and more wary!
This guy... was not only monstrously strong, his heart was black enough too!
After injuring someone, he still had to stab them in the heart!
Lin Chen paid no attention to everyone's reactions. He slowly walked to the unconscious Lin Bao and looked down at the once-unmatched man, now lying like a dead dog. His eyes were cold, without the slightest trace of pity.
He crouched down and, amid everyone's astonished gazes, reached into Lin Bao's robes and began searching.
"You... what are you doing?!" Several of Lin Bao's lackeys gathered their courage and tried to step forward to stop him.
"Get lost!" Lin Chen did not even raise his head, merely spitting out two icy words. A cold aura spread outward, causing those lackeys to stiffen instantly as though ice water had been dumped over their heads. They did not dare move another inch!
Very soon, Lin Chen pulled a small, exquisite storage pouch from Lin Bao's chest, one that gave off faint spiritual fluctuations!
This was a low-grade spatial treasure capable of storing a small number of items. To ordinary Lin Family disciples, it was an exceptionally precious treasure! As the Great Elder's grandson, Lin Bao truly possessed considerable wealth!
Lin Chen weighed the storage pouch in his hand, a satisfied smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
Then he rose to his feet. Without even glancing at the unconscious Lin Bao on the ground, he turned and calmly swept his gaze across the entire arena, especially over the faces of those who had once mocked and bullied him.
His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached every corner, carrying an unquestionable coldness and dominance:
"Who else thinks I'm trash?"
"Who else wants to come up and offer me some 'guidance'?"
Not a sound could be heard!
The entire training grounds were so silent that a needle falling would be audible!
Everyone who met Lin Chen's gaze instinctively lowered their heads or looked away!
Fear! Awe!
At this moment, no one dared associate the youth before them with the words "good-for-nothing" ever again!
With a resounding, overwhelmingly dominant victory, he had viciously slapped every doubter across the face!
In the most direct way possible, he had announced his return!
Who was the real good-for-nothing?!
The answer spoke for itself!
A domineering face-slapping! At last, he held his head high!
At this moment, Lin Chen shone with boundless radiance!
Before you continue