Completely Abolished! Grudges Settled!

The third watch of the night arrived, the darkness thick as spilled ink, even the stars and moon having vanished, as if drawing the perfect curtain for the impending clandestine operation.

The Lin Family mansion, after the day's boisterous Family Test, had now fallen into a deep slumber. Only a few scattered courtyards still showed faint lights, like weary eyes in the darkness.

And among them was the Leopard Garden, where the severely injured, shocked, and enraged Lin Bao resided.

The atmosphere in the Leopard Garden at this moment was vastly different from previous days. Though still brightly lit, it was filled with an oppressive, tense, and even somewhat panicked aura.

During the day's test, Lin Bao not only suffered a crushing defeat at Lin Chen's hands, but his right arm was also completely crippled. Coupled with the relapse of old injuries, it was a case of losing both the battle and the dowry, his reputation utterly ruined, becoming a laughingstock of the entire Lin Family!

It was easy to imagine that Lin Bao was currently in a state of extreme rage, despair, and utter weakness!

His usual swaggering followers and guards, having witnessed Lin Chen's ruthless and bizarre methods, had long lost their arrogance. Each one was like a startled bird, their guard duty absent-minded and filled with fear.

This was precisely the opportune moment Lin Chen had been waiting for!

A shadow, deeper than the night, like a phantom, silently infiltrated the Leopard Garden once more.

Lin Chen's movement technique was even more elusive and swift than before! His cultivation at the Body Tempering Realm Sixth Layer Peak allowed him an incredible level of control over his own power and aura! Furthermore, although he couldn't fully comprehend the mysterious Beast Hide Book, the "Simulated Deduction" of the Myriad Dao Furnace seemed to imbue his movement technique with an indescribable, profound quality.

He was like an elf in the night, effortlessly evading the lax patrols, both visible and hidden. He even found "gaps" in the warning formations that he previously had to carefully disable (though they might not have been repaired yet, or not perfectly), using his keen perception of energy flow to slip through silently, without alerting anyone!

This time, his target was no longer the medicinal garden, but the main residential pavilion deep within the Leopard Garden, which was more heavily guarded!

He wasn't just looking for any remaining resources, but for Lin Bao himself!

He wanted to settle this feud once and for all!

Inside the pavilion, the lights were bright.

Faintly, Lin Bao's hoarse and distorted roars, fueled by pain and anger, could be heard, along with the crisp sound of shattered porcelain.

"Trash! All of you are trash! You couldn't even keep an eye on a useless brat whose potential is exhausted! He stole my Crimson Sun Grass! Ruined my arm! Ahhh! I'm going to kill him! I will definitely kill him!!"

"Brother Leopard, please calm down! Brother Leopard, please calm down! Your injuries are serious right now! The Great Elder has already ordered that they will find a way to kill that little beast! Just focus on recuperating!" The skinny monkey-like follower's voice was tearful, clearly having been beaten by the enraged Lin Bao for being the target of his misplaced anger.

"Recuperate? My arm is ruined! How can I recuperate?! I'll be useless from now on! It's all that Lin Chen! It's all that damned little bastard's fault! Cough, cough, cough..." Lin Bao became more agitated as he spoke, coughing violently again, his voice filled with endless despair and venom.

Lin Chen, lurking in the shadows outside the pavilion, heard the conversation clearly. A cold arc curved across his lips.

Useless? You'll soon find out what a truly useless person is!

Without further hesitation, he scaled the outer corridor of the second floor of the pavilion like a gecko, silently. The windows here were also tightly shut, but to the current Lin Chen, they were as good as open.

He employed the same tactic! The power of the Myriad Dao Furnace operated with exquisite precision!

Silently, the window latch was melted and destroyed, and the window was gently pushed open a crack.

Lin Chen, like a civet cat, quietly slipped into the room.

This appeared to be a study, elegantly furnished, with bookshelves filled with various books. The air was filled with the faint scent of ink and sandalwood.

Lin Chen didn't linger. He could clearly hear Lin Bao's roars and his follower's attempts at appeasement coming from the adjacent bedroom.

His steps were light, as if walking on clouds, making no sound as he quietly approached the bedroom door.

The door was ajar.

Through the gap, Lin Chen clearly saw the scene inside.

The bedroom was a mess, with broken porcelain shards and overturned medicine bowls scattered on the floor. Lin Bao, with disheveled hair and a face as pale as paper, lay half-reclined on the bed. One arm was heavily bandaged and in a sling, while his other, uninjured hand was clenched so tightly on the bedsheet that his knuckles were white from rage. His eyes were bloodshot, filled with madness and despair, like a wounded beast trapped in a cage.

The skinny monkey-like follower knelt by the bedside, trembling, not daring to breathe too loudly.

"Get out! All of you, get out!!" Lin Bao suddenly erupted again, grabbing a jade pillow from the bedside and hurling it fiercely at the skinny monkey-like follower! "Leave me alone! Get out!"

"Yes... Yes! Brother Leopard, please calm down! Your subordinate will leave now!" The skinny monkey-like follower acted as if he had received a great pardon, scrambling out of the bedroom, even forgetting to close the door in his haste.

Opportunity!

A cold glint flashed in Lin Chen's eyes!

Just as the skinny monkey-like follower fled, and Lin Bao, exhausted from his outburst, was panting heavily!

Lin Chen moved!

His body was like an arrow released from a bow! Yet, it was silent! He instantly passed through the ajar door and appeared before Lin Bao's bed!

"Who?!" Lin Bao was startled! He looked up!

When he saw that cold and unfamiliar face in the dim light, his pupils contracted violently! An extreme fear instantly washed over his entire body like ice water!

"Lin... Lin Chen?! You... How are you here?!" His voice was hoarse, filled with disbelief and shock!

He had never dreamed that this person he wished he could eat alive would dare... dare to sneak into his bedroom in the dead of night?!

"I've come... to collect some interest." Lin Chen's voice was icy, devoid of any emotion.

He gave Lin Bao no chance to react!

His right hand shot out like lightning! Directly gripping Lin Bao's neck! Stifling all his remaining words!

"Mph... Mph..." Lin Bao felt an irresistible, immense force! His breathing became instantly difficult! He wanted to struggle, but his right hand was crippled, and his left was firmly held by Lin Chen! Moreover, he was already injured, his strength greatly diminished! In front of Lin Chen, who was at the Body Tempering Realm Sixth Layer Peak, he was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered! Utterly powerless to resist!

Fear! Boundless fear instantly engulfed him! He could clearly see in Lin Chen's cold eyes... undisguised murderous intent!

He wants to kill me! He really wants to kill me!

At this moment, Lin Bao was completely terrified! He regretted it! He regretted provoking this malevolent star!

"Spare... spare my life..." He painstakingly forced out a few words from his throat, his eyes filled with pleading.

Lin Chen's gaze was icy, unmoved.

Spare his life?

When he had been bullied and looked down upon for the past three years, who had spared him?

When Lin Bao had repeatedly humiliated him and even tried to kill him, had he ever thought of sparing his life?

Repaying kindness with grievance? How could one repay kindness?!

Lin Chen never considered himself a saint!

Avenge your enemies! Settle your grievances! That was his code of conduct!

However... killing Lin Bao directly seemed too easy for him?

Moreover, killing the Great Elder's direct grandson within the Lin Family would cause too much of a stir and lead to too much trouble afterward.

A cruel glint flashed in Lin Chen's eyes.

Death was too easy.

Sometimes, living was more painful than dying!

He slightly loosened his grip on Lin Bao's neck, allowing him to breathe just enough, but still maintaining a firm hold.

Then, his other hand slowly moved towards Lin Bao's... Dantian Sea of Qi!

"No... don't..." Lin Bao seemed to realize what Lin Chen intended to do, his eyes instantly filling with extreme fear and despair! He struggled frantically, but it was all in vain!

Crippling the Dantian!

For a martial artist, this was more cruel than killing him! It meant he would be completely reduced to a cripple, worse than an ordinary person! With no hope of ever recovering!

"Lin Chen! How dare you?! My grandfather won't let you go!!" Lin Bao roared with all his might, trying to threaten Lin Chen with the Great Elder's name.

"Noisy!" Lin Chen's eyes turned cold, and he applied a little more force!

Crack!

A faint sound of bone cracking echoed! Lin Bao's throat bone was directly crushed! The scream was cut short! His eyes widened, and he made gurgling sounds, unable to utter another word! He could only watch helplessly as that icy palm pressed towards the Dantian he relied on for survival!

"Myriad Dao Furnace... Refine!"

Lin Chen let out a low shout in his heart!

This time, he wasn't absorbing energy, but... destroying!

An extremely subtle yet incredibly domineering refining force, like a maggot gnawing at bone, instantly permeated Lin Bao's Dantian Sea of Qi!

Sizzle sizzle sizzle!!!

Lin Bao felt as if his Dantian had been thrown into an invisible meat grinder! The originally somewhat dense liquid true qi (though it had become impure due to the injury) was instantly shredded, decomposed, and dissipated as if it had encountered its nemesis!

And the meridians forming the Dantian Sea of Qi, under the erosion of this domineering power, like being corroded by sulfuric acid, rapidly withered, dried up, and collapsed!

"Gasp... gasp..." Lin Bao's body convulsed violently, his eyeballs almost bulging out of their sockets! The extreme pain and despair of his Dantian being destroyed and his cultivation completely lost made him wish he could die immediately!

In just a few breaths!

Lin Bao's originally full Dantian Sea of Qi had completely turned into a silent ruin! It could no longer hold even a trace of true qi!

Completely... crippled!

Lin Chen slowly withdrew his hand, looking at Lin Bao, who lay limply on the bed like a puddle of mud, his eyes vacant and lifeless, only making silent gurgling sounds. There was no pity in his eyes, only icy indifference.

From now on, Lin Bao would be completely reduced to a cripple! A cripple worse than an ordinary healthy person! He would forever live in the pain and despair of lost cultivation! This, perhaps, was a better way to make him experience... what it meant to be worse than death!

After finishing Lin Bao, Lin Chen did not leave immediately.

His gaze swept over the luxurious bedroom once more.

When he was rummaging through the nanmu chest earlier, he seemed to have overlooked some details.

He walked to the rosewood wardrobe and opened its doors. It was filled with various silks and satins, as well as some neatly folded clothes.

Lin Chen casually flipped through them but found nothing special.

He then went to the bedside and carefully inspected the bedding. He lifted the pillows and felt the interlayer of the bed board, still finding nothing.

Could it be... that Lin Bao had really put all his good stuff in that nanmu chest?

Lin Chen frowned slightly, feeling something wasn't quite right. With Lin Bao's suspicious and cautious (or rather, selfish and greedy) nature, he should have left himself some backup, right?

His gaze fell back on the nanmu chest that he had already emptied.

Wait!

The bottom of the chest!

Lin Chen's heart stirred! He quickly walked over!

He reached out and tapped the bottom of the chest carefully!

Thump thump thump!

Indeed! The sound from one particular area was significantly different from the rest! It was much more muffled!

There's a hidden compartment!

Lin Chen's eyes flashed with a sharp light! He immediately activated the power of the Furnace!

Silently, the bottom wooden board of the box, used as camouflage, was melted into a gap, revealing a small hidden compartment beneath!

Inside the compartment, there was only one item—a palm-sized Storage Ring, carved entirely from an unknown warm jade, etched with complex formation patterns, and emitting strong spatial fluctuations?!

"A Storage Ring?!" Lin Chen's pupils contracted sharply!

This was a spatial treasure infinitely superior to a storage bag! Not only was its space larger, but it was also more discreet and secure! Typically, only cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Realm or above, or core disciples from prominent families, were qualified to possess one!

Lin Bao, that guy, actually hid a Storage Ring?!

Lin Chen's heart began to pound violently again!

It seemed this ring contained Lin Bao's true hidden treasures!

Without hesitation, he picked up the Storage Ring! It felt warm and smooth in his hand, still bearing Lin Bao's mental imprint.

But this was still no match for the Myriad Dao Furnace!

"Melt!"

Hiss...

That layer of mental imprint, representing ownership, was instantly erased by the Furnace's power, like thin paper!

Lin Chen immediately extended his mental power into it!

The next moment!

Even with his current state of mind, he couldn't help but gasp for air!

The space within this Storage Ring was over ten cubic meters! More than ten times larger than the storage bag he had confiscated!

And the items stored inside left him utterly speechless!

Mid-grade Spirit Stones! Piled up like mountains! At least a thousand of them! There were even over a dozen emitting terrifying energy fluctuations—High-grade Spirit Stones!

Various high-level Pills! A dazzling array! Several bottles contained rare treasures of the second or even third tier! They were things he had never even heard of before!

There were also several Magic Tools shimmering with strong spiritual light, clearly of no low grade! A green sword! An ancient small shield! There was even something that looked like a flying Magic Tool—a pair of wings!

In addition, there were large quantities of rare ores, demon beast materials, and... over a dozen Cultivation Technique and Martial Skill Manuals exuding an ancient aura! Several of them even reached Mysterious Tier Low-grade!

"My heavens..." Lin Chen was completely awestruck by this astonishing wealth!

This... this was practically emptying the Lin Family Great Elder's personal vault, wasn't it?!

How much ill-gotten wealth had Lin Bao accumulated?!

No wonder he had kept those Low-grade Spirit Stones and ordinary Pills in the outer box. So all the truly good stuff was hidden in this ring!

He was rich! This time, he was truly rich enough to rival a nation!

Lin Chen trembled with excitement! With these resources! Let alone breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm! Even breaking through to higher realms would have ample backing!

He unceremoniously put the Storage Ring on his hand, perfectly concealed.

Then, he glanced once more at Lin Bao, who was like a dead dog on the bed, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.

Thank you for your "generous gift"!

Having done all this, Lin Chen didn't linger.

He carefully cleaned up the scene, erasing any traces he might have left behind. Then, like a phantom once more, he quietly slipped out through the back window.

Not long after he left.

That skinny monkey follower, perhaps worried about Lin Bao or uneasy, finally mustered the courage to sneak back to the bedroom door.

When he saw the messy bedroom, Lin Bao slumped on the bed like a dead dog, unable to speak, his Dantian crippled—he was utterly terrified! He let out a world-shattering scream!

"Ah!!! Brother Leopard! Brother Leopard, what happened to you?! Help! Someone, help! Something's happened!!!"

The shrill screams instantly shattered the tranquility of the Leopard Garden and the entire Lin family mansion!