Night fell like ink, silently shrouding Qingyang Town. Sparse stars flickered across the heavens, spilling cold, clear light, yet they could not pierce the dense shade of the trees in Lin Chen's small courtyard.
Lin Chen had not gone to rest.
The excitement of his recent breakthrough and the surging power within his body left him brimming with energy, utterly unable to sleep. More importantly, he urgently wanted to verify the bold conjecture in his heart—could this mysterious "Myriad Dao Furnace" truly refine things other than Spiritual Qi?
His gaze eventually fell upon the mountain of discarded medicinal dregs piled up in a corner by the courtyard wall.
These medicinal dregs were the leftovers from the Lin Family's alchemy room after pills had been refined. Most were charred black and dried out, emitting a strange smell of burnt vegetation mixed with medicinal herbs. In ordinary people's eyes, they were no different from dirt—true "trash." Yet, to save on disposal costs, or perhaps because no one cared about this remote corner at all, the Lin Family had allowed the dregs to pile up here. Over time, they had formed a small "mountain of medicinal dregs."
To Lin Chen, who had once longed to cultivate but been unable to, even the faintest trace of Medicinal Power remaining in this discarded waste had once been an unattainable luxury. But now... they might become the first stepping stone for him to test the furnace and embark upon the path of the strong!
Lin Chen drew a deep breath and calmed his excited heart. He walked over to the pile, bent down, and picked up a fist-sized piece of medicinal dregs, charred black throughout and still bearing a few remnants of roots and stems.
It felt cold and hard in his hand, giving off a faint burnt smell.
He sat down cross-legged, held the piece of dregs in his palm, then carefully sank his consciousness inward and tried to use his mind to connect with the Myriad Dao Furnace floating above his Dantian Sea of Qi.
The instant his intent touched that mysterious black iron fragment—
Buzz!
A familiar suction force surged forth from the furnace once more!
Unlike when it had absorbed Spiritual Qi before, this time, the suction targeted the medicinal dregs in Lin Chen's hand with perfect precision!
The surface of the charred dregs visibly began to grow even drier and grayer, as though the last trace of essence within was being forcibly extracted!
Threads of gray-black airflow, carrying impurities, flowed along Lin Chen's arm meridians and were forcibly drawn into the Myriad Dao Furnace within his dantian!
It really works! Lin Chen rejoiced wildly.
He could clearly "see" that the essence from the medicinal dregs, containing mixed energies and countless useless impurities, was instantly enveloped, broken down, and smelted by an invisible, scorching force the moment it entered the furnace!
Hiss, hiss, hiss—
It was as though invisible flames were burning. The gray-black streams of impurities churned and twisted violently within the furnace. Their waste components, toxins, and scorched energy were thoroughly burned away and refined in an extremely short time, turning into the purest wisps of green smoke and vanishing away (in truth, the furnace processed them through some unknown method), leaving behind only a thread of exceedingly faint yet incomparably pure pale-green energy!
Although scant in quantity, this energy carried the pure essence of vegetation and the aura of Medicinal Power!
The next moment, that wisp of pure medicinal energy flowed from the furnace and directly entered Lin Chen's meridians!
Boom!
A warm, nourishing sensation instantly spread through all four limbs and every bone in his body!
Lin Chen felt warm all over, as if he had been soaking in a heated medicinal bath. His Body Tempering Realm Second Layer cultivation, which had only just broken through and was still somewhat unstable, rapidly solidified under the nourishment of this pure Medicinal Power! More than that, his body seemed to receive an almost imperceptible strengthening. His blood and qi circulated more smoothly, and even his mind was invigorated!
"Good! This is wonderful!" Lin Chen was so excited he nearly jumped up!
A piece of discarded medicinal dregs, regarded by everyone as garbage, could actually produce such an effect after being refined and purified by the Myriad Dao Furnace! Though the improvement was not large, it undoubtedly proved his conjecture—the Myriad Dao Furnace could truly refine all things and turn decay into wonder!
Did that not mean...
Lin Chen's eyes blazed as he looked toward the mountain of medicinal dregs. He no longer saw trash, but an enormous treasure trove awaiting excavation!
One piece of medicinal dregs had a weak effect, but what about ten? A hundred? A thousand?
There were at least tens of thousands of pounds of medicinal dregs piled up here! If he refined all of them...
Lin Chen did not dare imagine it!
He forcibly suppressed the urge to immediately "eat every last bite" of the medicinal dregs. He knew that too much was as bad as too little. He had just broken through, his realm was not yet stable, and refining medicinal dregs appeared to consume mental energy as well. It could not be done in one leap.
"Slowly. There's no rush." Lin Chen murmured, his eyes shining with unprecedented light. "With the Myriad Dao Furnace in my hands, my future will never be confined to this tiny Qingyang Town, much less shackled by that so-called Family Test!"
He picked up another piece of medicinal dregs and immersed himself in the marvelous sensation of refining, as well as the joy of his strength steadily increasing.
Time slipped by unnoticed. The night deepened, and all around was silent save for the occasional chirp of insects.
Lin Chen was completely immersed in cultivation, forgetting himself entirely.
However, just as he had refined around a dozen pieces of medicinal dregs and felt his Body Tempering Realm Second Layer cultivation had thoroughly stabilized, even faintly showing signs of advancing toward the middle stage of the Second Layer—
A distinct sound of footsteps, accompanied by a woman's deliberately raised voice filled with obvious arrogance and impatience, abruptly shattered the tranquility of the courtyard.
"So this is the place? Hmph, it really is broken-down and shabby, not even as good as servants' quarters! I truly don't know how I ever got involved with a place like this back then!"
The voice was crisp and pleasant, like an oriole emerging from its valley, yet the undisguised contempt and disgust in its tone were like an icy needle, instantly piercing the peace of the night.
Lin Chen's brows furrowed sharply, and his refining motion came to a halt. He slowly opened his eyes and looked toward the courtyard gate.
Under the moonlight, two figures stood at the entrance to the small courtyard.
The person in front was a young woman dressed in a pale-blue gown. She appeared to be sixteen or seventeen, with a slender, graceful figure and peerless beauty. Her skin was white as jade beneath the moonlight, like a budding blue lotus—elegant and untainted by the mundane world.
Yet her lovely face, which should have made hearts race, was currently covered in frost-like coldness and undisguised disgust. Her delicate brows were tightly drawn, and as her gaze swept over the dilapidated courtyard, it was as though she were looking at something filthy and foul.
Lin Chen knew this young woman, and knew her to the bone.
She was the treasured daughter of the Su Family, one of Qingyang Town's three great families. Hailed as Qingyang Town's greatest beauty, she was also—Lin Chen's former fiancée, Su Qingyao!
Beside Su Qingyao stood a tall, imposing young man in embroidered robes. He looked eighteen or nineteen, handsome in appearance, with a faintly arrogant smile at the corners of his mouth. His gaze toward Su Qingyao held undisguised possessiveness and admiration, while his eyes toward Lin Chen were filled with contempt and scorn, as though he were looking at an ant he could crush at will.
Lin Chen knew this young man as well. He was Wang Teng, young master of the Wang Family, another great family of Qingyang Town! He was also the master of Lin Bao and the others whom Lin Chen had taught a lesson earlier. Wang Teng possessed considerable talent and was said to have long since broken through to the Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer. He was one of the outstanding figures among Qingyang Town's younger generation and had always pursued Su Qingyao relentlessly.
At this moment, the two stood side by side, the handsome man and beautiful woman looking quite "well-matched." Yet their appearance here, especially in the dead of night, was certainly no coincidence.
A thought flashed through Lin Chen's mind, and his gaze abruptly turned cold.
He slowly rose to his feet, dusted off his clothes, and calmly faced the pair at the gate without speaking.
Three years of cold stares and mockery had long taught him how to remain impassive. Besides, his state of mind was no longer what it had once been.
"Lin Chen, you really are here." Su Qingyao spoke first, her voice cold and lofty. "I thought that after your 'great feat' during the day, you would be hiding somewhere, too afraid to show your face."
She had clearly heard about Lin Chen teaching Lin Bao and the others a lesson during the day. Yet not only was there no surprise or praise in her voice, it was instead full of ridicule, as though she found Lin Chen's actions foolish and beyond his station.
The corner of Lin Chen's mouth curved almost imperceptibly. "This is my courtyard. If I'm not here, where should I be? But Miss Su and Young Master Wang have come visiting in the middle of the night. May I ask what business brings you here?"
His tone was so calm that not a ripple stirred within it, as though he were facing two utterly unrelated strangers.
That calmness instead made both Su Qingyao and Wang Teng pause slightly.
In their memories, though Lin Chen had a resilient nature, he had endured and remained silent more than anything else in the face of all manner of oppression over the past three years. When had he ever displayed such indifference, even a hint of detachment?
Su Qingyao in particular had expected that when Lin Chen saw her again, he would either be awkward and uneasy from inferiority, or cling to some fantasy because of her arrival, perhaps even harboring a trace of resentment. She had never expected this calmness—calm enough to make her feel somewhat... uncomfortable.
"Hmph! Lin Chen, stop putting on an act here!" Wang Teng snorted and stepped forward, half-shielding Su Qingyao behind him in the pose of a protector. He looked Lin Chen up and down with scrutiny before sneering. "I heard you beat up Lin Bao and those blind fools today? What, after being a useless piece of trash for three years, you've grown some skills? Or were you a dog driven to jump over the wall, smashing the pot because it was already cracked?"
His words were deeply insulting, and his eyes regarded Lin Chen as though he were a clown leaping about on stage.
A chill flashed through Lin Chen's eyes, though his face remained calm. "The matter between Lin Bao and me seems to have nothing to do with Young Master Wang, does it? On the other hand, Young Master Wang, bringing my... former fiancée to my residence in the middle of the night seems rather improper, doesn't it?"
He deliberately emphasized the words "former fiancée," carrying a faint, barely perceptible mockery.
"You!" Wang Teng's expression darkened, anger flashing in his eyes. What he hated most was having anyone mention the former engagement between Lin Chen and Su Qingyao!
Su Qingyao's face instantly became even colder and uglier. She stepped forward, her voice turning sharper. "Lin Chen! Watch your words! There has long been no relationship whatsoever between us!"
She paused and drew a deep breath, seemingly trying to suppress the disgust and impatience within her. Then she said coldly, "We did not come today to waste words with you. Lin Chen, three years ago, your meridians were destroyed and you became a cripple. For the sake of the past ties between our two families, and because we had known each other since childhood, the Su Family gave you three years, and also gave the Lin Family three years. This was the so-called 'Three-Year Agreement'!"
"Over these three years, if some miracle had happened to you—if you had recovered even to the Body Tempering Realm First Layer—I, Su Qingyao, might have considered it for old times' sake..." At this point, her tone abruptly shifted, filling with contempt and determination. "But it seems now that you are still a thoroughgoing piece of trash! You have even debased yourself by mixing around and fighting with those low-class Lin Family descendants! You have utterly disgraced yourself!"
"So," Su Qingyao raised her snowy chin like a proud white swan and spoke in a bestowing tone, "today, I formally notify you, and the Lin Family as well—my engagement to you, Lin Chen, is completely dissolved from this moment onward! From now on, you may marry and I may wed; we will have nothing to do with one another!"
Breaking off the engagement!
Those two words, like a bolt of thunder he had anticipated, finally fell.
Though he had sensed it coming, when Lin Chen heard Su Qingyao utter those icy, heartless words with his own ears, his heart was still fiercely pierced by something.
Not because he held any lingering attachment to Su Qingyao, but because of this public humiliation, and the other party's utterly natural, lofty attitude!
He recalled three years ago, when he had still been that high-spirited genius youth. When the two families had arranged the engagement, Su Qingyao had looked at him with shy timidity and eyes full of admiration.
He also recalled how, over these three years, the Su Family's attitude toward him had shifted step by step—from initial regret and observation, to coldness, distance, and now contempt and their eager desire to sever ties.
The world was cold, and human hearts changed so easily!
Around the small courtyard, perhaps drawn by the commotion, vague figures had begun to appear. Lin Family servants, even some gossiping Lin Family descendants returning late, hid in the darkness, pointing in this direction and whispering among themselves.
"Did you hear? The Su Family's young miss came to break off the engagement!" "It should have been broken off long ago! How could a piece of trash be worthy of a heaven's proud daughter like Miss Su?" "Exactly! Lin Chen really is a toad dreaming of eating swan meat. He should piss in a puddle and look at what he is!" "Well, now the engagement is dissolved. In seven days, he'll probably be thrown out of the Lin Family. How miserable..."
All kinds of gloating, contemptuous, mocking voices surged over like a tide, trying to drown Lin Chen beneath them.
Watching Lin Chen remain silent, Wang Teng revealed a smug smile. He wrapped an arm around Su Qingyao's slender waist and declared provocatively, "Lin Chen, did you hear that? Qingyao is my woman now! Trash like you is not even fit to carry her shoes! If you know what's good for you, hand over the engagement token from back then and get lost obediently! Otherwise, don't blame me for being rude!"
Su Qingyao symbolically struggled once, but she did not truly push Wang Teng's hand away. Instead, she edged slightly closer to him, seemingly seeking protection, while coldly looking at Lin Chen and waiting for his response—or rather, waiting to see his soul leave his body and his face lose all color.
However, they were destined to be disappointed.
Lin Chen slowly raised his head. There was none of the pain, anger, or pleading they had expected on his face.
There was only an extreme coldness and calmness, along with a trace... of faint ridicule.
"Breaking off the engagement?" he repeated softly. His voice was not loud, yet it clearly traveled through the courtyard. "Miss Su, have you misunderstood something?"
Su Qingyao froze. "What do you mean?"
Lin Chen's lips curled into a mocking arc. "I mean, the one who needs to dissolve this so-called engagement has never been you, Su Qingyao. It is me, Lin Chen!"
What?!
The moment those words came out, not only Su Qingyao and Wang Teng froze, but even the Lin Family members eavesdropping nearby were so shocked their jaws nearly dropped!
Had this trash Lin Chen gone mad?
The Su Family's young miss had come to break off the engagement herself—already an enormous act of mercy—and he still dared say such words? He wanted to dissolve the engagement? On what grounds? What qualifications did he have?
"Lin Chen! You are outrageous!" Su Qingyao was both ashamed and furious, her lovely face flushing red. "You are a piece of trash who cannot even draw qi! What right do you have to say such things? Do you think you are still the genius from three years ago? Stop bringing humiliation upon yourself!"
"Whether I am a genius has nothing to do with you." Lin Chen's indifferent gaze swept over Su Qingyao's lovely face, now slightly distorted with fury. His tone was calm, yet every word stabbed into the heart. "I only want to tell you, Miss Su, that your so-called Three-Year Agreement is nothing but a joke in my eyes. The Su Family, including you, Su Qingyao, has long held no meaning to me."
"Three years ago, when I had fallen into hardship, your Su Family chose to protect itself wisely, watching with cold eyes and even kicking me when I was down. I, Lin Chen, have remembered it."
"Over these three years, you, Su Qingyao, avoided me as though I were a venomous snake or savage beast and regarded me as a disgrace. I saw that too."
"And now, you bring another man into my residence in the middle of the night, using this bestowing attitude to 'break off the engagement,' hoping to display your nobility and trample on my dignity?"
Lin Chen took a step forward. An invisible, icy presence spread from his lean body, causing both Su Qingyao and Wang Teng to subconsciously retreat half a step!
"Su Qingyao, you think far too highly of yourself!"
"This engagement," Lin Chen's voice suddenly rose, carrying absolute decisiveness, "today, it is not you who rejects me. It is I, Lin Chen—who casts you aside!"
Cast aside!
That single phrase exploded like thunder!
In this world where men were honored and women were lowly, it was normally only men who cast aside women. When had there ever been a case of a woman coming to break off an engagement, only to be publicly cast aside by the man instead?
This was simply the greatest humiliation!
Su Qingyao's face instantly turned deathly pale. Her body swayed as though she might collapse, and she pointed at Lin Chen, trembling all over with rage. "You... you dare humiliate me?!"
"Humiliate?" Lin Chen sneered. "I am merely stating a fact. Between you and me, all kindness and ties have long been severed. From now on, you are you, and I am I. We will have no further entanglements! As for the token..."
He reached into his robes and took out a small, exquisite jade pendant tied with a red cord. The jade was warm and lustrous, carved with a lifelike phoenix. It was the token the Su Family had given when the two families arranged the engagement.
Once, Lin Chen had treasured it as dearly as life.
But now, in his eyes, this valuable jade pendant was nothing more than a hot potato.
Without even looking at Su Qingyao, he casually tossed the pendant toward Wang Teng as if throwing away a piece of garbage.
"Take it! Return it to its original owner!"
Wang Teng caught the pendant instinctively, and it felt icy in his palm. Looking at Lin Chen's indifferent expression, which even carried a trace of disgust, then at Su Qingyao in his arms, pale-faced and so enraged she was nearly fainting, an inexplicable fury surged straight to his head!
The woman Wang Teng had set his eyes on had been publicly "cast aside" by a piece of trash? This was simply a slap in his face!
"Lin Chen! You are courting death!" Wang Teng roared. The aura of the Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer erupted violently! A powerful current of air swept outward from him, making the weeds in the courtyard sway wildly!
"You dared humiliate Qingyao! Today, I'll cripple you!"
Before his words had faded, Wang Teng moved like a hunting leopard, pouncing toward Lin Chen. His right hand curled into a claw, carrying a fierce gust of force straight for Lin Chen's throat!
He intended to defeat Lin Chen in a single move and make this trash, who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth, pay the most painful price!
Facing Wang Teng's furious strike, Lin Chen's eyes instantly sharpened like blades!
Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer?
A few hours ago, he might truly have been able to do nothing but await death.
But now...
The power of his Body Tempering Realm Second Layer surged through him, his blood and qi boiling! Though the gap in realms remained enormous, he possessed the Myriad Dao Furnace, and his body had undergone initial tempering. His reaction speed and strength far surpassed those of others at the same level!
More importantly, his state of mind was no longer that of the youth who endured everything in silence!
If others did not offend him, he would not offend them! But if others offended him, he would repay them a hundredfold!
In the instant of lightning and flint, Lin Chen did not retreat but advanced!
He did not choose to meet Wang Teng's claw head-on. Instead, he shifted his body slightly and fired his right fist like a cannonball. His target was not Wang Teng's vital point, but the wrist of the hand reaching for him!
To capture bandits, first capture their king; to strike a snake, strike seven inches from its head!
Lin Chen's punch was fast, accurate, and ruthless! It contained all the power of his Body Tempering Realm Second Layer, even faintly carrying a trace of scorching heat brought by the furnace!
Wang Teng had clearly not expected Lin Chen to dare fight back, much less move so quickly! He had thought that one claw strike would easily crush Lin Chen's throat. Caught off guard, he could only change his claw into a palm, trying to block Lin Chen's fist.
Bang!
Fist and palm collided with a muffled boom!
A tremendous force crashed into him!
Wang Teng felt his wrist go numb, as though a mad bull had slammed into it with all its might! His entire arm shook with aching pain! He staggered back three large steps before barely stabilizing himself!
Lin Chen did not fare well either. The gap in their realms was there, after all. He was sent sliding several meters backward, his right arm trembling slightly as his blood and qi churned violently.
But!
He had ultimately blocked it!
And he had even forced Wang Teng, at the Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer, back three steps!
This scene once more stunned everyone!
Wang Teng clutched his numb wrist, his eyes filled with incredulous shock!
How was this possible?!
Was this trash not someone who had not even reached the Body Tempering Realm First Layer? How could he receive Wang Teng's furious strike? And that power... it had actually made him faintly sense a threat?!
Su Qingyao was stunned as well, covering her mouth, her beautiful eyes full of disbelief.
The Lin Family members watching nearby looked as though they had seen a ghost!
"He... he blocked Young Master Wang's strike?" "Did I see that right? Lin Chen forced Wang Teng back?" "How... how is that possible! Aren't his meridians ruined?" "Could it be... he recovered his cultivation?!"
For a moment, all kinds of conjectures and uncertain, startled gazes focused upon Lin Chen.
Lin Chen shook his slightly numb right arm and looked coldly at the shocked and furious Wang Teng. "Young Master Wang, this is the Lin Family! Do you intend to start a conflict between the Wang Family and the Lin Family by making a move here?"
He deliberately mentioned the Lin Family, attempting to make Wang Teng hesitate out of fear.
Wang Teng's expression shifted unpredictably. He truly had not expected Lin Chen to have concealed his strength! Though he had not used his full power in that strike, being forced back by a piece of trash at the Body Tempering Realm Second Layer—at least, that was his guess—was still the greatest humiliation!
Under normal circumstances, he would definitely have torn Lin Chen to pieces! But Su Qingyao was beside him, and this was Lin Family territory after all. If things grew too large, it would benefit neither him nor the Wang Family.
"Hmph! Lin Chen, consider yourself lucky!" Wang Teng forcibly suppressed the killing intent in his heart and said coldly, "Today, for the Lin Family's sake, I'll spare you for now! But I'll remember how you humiliated Qingyao! At the Family Test seven days from now, you had better show up! Otherwise, even if you hide at the ends of the earth, I, Wang Teng, will grind your bones to dust and scatter your ashes!"
After throwing out that threat, Wang Teng did not linger. He pulled along Su Qingyao, who was still somewhat dazed, turned, and left. Before long, they vanished into the night.
Watching their departing backs, Lin Chen's gaze remained icy, without the slightest fear.
Seven days later? The Family Test?
Good. I'll be waiting!
When the time came, old debts and new would be settled together!
He withdrew his gaze and swept his eyes over the Lin Family members still frozen in shock around him. He said coldly, "Have you seen enough? If you have, then get lost!"
His icy words made the Lin Family members shudder. Remembering how forcefully Lin Chen had driven Wang Teng back just now, they dared not linger any longer and scattered like birds and beasts.
Before long, the dilapidated little courtyard returned to silence.
Lin Chen stood where he was, moonlight spilling over him and drawing out a long shadow.
Breaking off the engagement?
To him, it was not a blow at all, but a release!
From this day onward, he had no more ties holding him back!
There was only one road before him—unceasingly growing stronger!
Strong enough to seize his own fate! Strong enough to make everyone who had once looked down on and humiliated him crawl at his feet, trembling!
He lowered his head and looked at the pile of medicine dregs in the corner, a blazing fire burning in his eyes.
"Myriad Dao Furnace... my greatest reliance..."
He sat down cross-legged once more and continued refining the medicine dregs, stabilizing his cultivation and gathering strength.
Tonight was destined to be sleepless.
Even Qingyang Town's skies seemed poised to quietly change because of this youth who had lain dormant for three years.
Before you continue