Xiao Yan

"Lin Changqiang wins!"

"Dong, congratulations host, Side Quest One is complete. Reward issued: Honor Broadcast—Overbearing Path of Action."

Though the outcome had long been clear, thunderous applause still erupted in the arena. After all, this fight had truly opened their eyes.

At the edge of the arena, Xie Yingying's face shifted through a series of uncertain expressions as she watched Lei Li, sprawled unconscious on the ground in utter disgrace. After a moment's hesitation, she waved her hand and called over two younger members of the Xie Family to carry Lei Li back to the spectator stands.

"You actually beat Lei Li—that's insane!" Wu Yun rushed over to Lin Changqiang in delight. Even though he'd suspected as much, seeing it with his own eyes still sent him into a frenzy of excitement. Lin Dong followed close behind, smiling as he said, "Changqiang, well done."

"Was there ever any doubt?" Lin Changqiang stretched lazily, took the cub from Lin Dong's arms with a grin, and walked off toward the stands without looking back. "I'm out of steam, so I'm sitting out the rest of the matches. Lin Dong, winning the championship is on you now~"

Under Lin Dong's helpless gaze, Lin Changqiang carried the cub straight out of the arena and back to the Lin Family's seats. Seeing him return, every member of the Lin Family—even Lin Zhentian—hurriedly rose to their feet, surrounding him as if protecting some precious treasure.

"Changqiang, rest up for now. Leave the next matches to Lin Dong." Lin Zhentian pressed him into a chair, patted his shoulder, and smiled with concern.

Unaccustomed to being surrounded by so many relatives, Lin Changqiang looked a little awkward and quickly nodded with a sheepish grin. Lin Hong and the others crowded around too, staring curiously at the cub in his arms.

"Old Lei, I must thank you for your generous gift this time. I hope the handover of Ironwood Manor can be completed quickly. I've always trusted the Lei Family's reputation—you won't disappoint me, will you?" Lin Zhentian turned his gaze toward the Lei Family's direction, his smile brimming with satisfaction.

"Hmph!" At the sound of Lin Zhentian's laughter, Lei Bao's face turned an ashen green. He stood up with a dark expression, glanced at Lei Li being carried back, and couldn't stop his mouth from twitching.

"Let's go!" The stares from all around made Lei Bao's skin crawl. He shot Lin Changqiang a vicious glare, then turned and strode out of the Beast Horn Arena. The other Lei and Xie Family members had no choice but to follow quickly. This time, they had truly learned what it meant to lose both the bait and the catch.

"Congratulations, old Lin." The Mad Saber Martial Hall members approached under Luo Cheng's lead. He clasped his hands toward Lin Zhentian, his gaze lingering curiously on Lin Changqiang in the back, his voice full of envy: "The Lin Family's greatest fortune is having Lin Changqiang and Lin Dong."

Hearing this, Lin Zhentian beamed from ear to ear, stroked his beard, and launched into a lively conversation with Luo Cheng.

Though the hunt wasn't over yet, everyone knew the championship was already in the Lin Family's pocket.

With the Hunting Competition concluded, Qingyang Town returned to its usual calm.

Early morning, mist shrouded the Lin Family's back mountain. Lin Changqiang lay there with a red flower dangling from his mouth, basking in the sun like a salted fish marinating in the open air.

On the open ground nearby, three human-shaped wooden stakes stood in a row. Lin Dong's eyes sharpened as he pressed his index and middle fingers together and struck one of the stakes like lightning.

"Boom!"

Brilliant Yuan Power exploded at his fingertips, and the extremely hard wooden stake instantly burst into a cloud of splinters!

"Boom! Boom!"

Two more sounds rang out as the stakes on either side split apart, wood chips flying everywhere.

"Phew—" Lin Dong calmed the Yuan Power within him and let out a long breath.

"Nice, nice~" Hearing the explosions, Lin Changqiang tilted his head to glance at Lin Dong and clapped with obvious disinterest. "As expected of my brother Lin Changqiang's kin—a true martial prodigy!" He yawned as he finished.

"If you're that bored, you can spar with me for a bit." Lin Dong rolled his eyes in exasperation. Seeing the other man silently turn his back, he let it go.

"Maybe this is what a genius looks like." Lin Dong cast an envious glance at Lin Changqiang. In the month since the hunt, he had trained hard every single day—sparring, mastering Martial Arts, practicing techniques, absorbing Yuan Power and Yin Fiend Qi without missing a beat. Out of twelve hours in a day, he spent nearly eleven cultivating.

Yet even so, he had only fully mastered the Fourth-grade Martial Art, Pure Yuan Finger, today, and his cultivation was still stuck at the early Earthly Yuan Stage. And Lin Changqiang?

Every day, he either lay there sunbathing while watching Lin Dong train, or wandered into the back mountain to admire flowers and slack off, claiming he was searching for Spiritual Medicine. The time he actually spent cultivating and sparring didn't even add up to two hours.

And yet, this same Lin Changqiang had already mastered Pure Yuan Finger to perfection! What frustrated Lin Dong even more was that Lin Changqiang's cultivation was also very close to the late Earthly Yuan Stage. Sometimes he wondered if the guy was cultivating while lying in the sun.

"If it weren't for the Stone Talisman's help, I might never catch up to Changqiang." Lin Dong shook his head and whistled toward the forest.

Not long after the whistle faded, a fiery red figure burst out of the woods and leaped into Lin Dong's arms. That red figure was unmistakably a little tiger about the size of a corgi (ω).

The little tiger was entirely fiery red, looking like a burning flame—quite endearing—but the serpentine tail coiled behind it added a touch of mystery. Or, as Lin Changqiang put it, it was just incredibly cute.

This little tiger was the Fire Python Tiger cub Lin Dong had chosen a month ago, named Xiao Yan. After this period of feeding, Xiao Yan's growth rate was astonishing. Based on their estimates, it was now roughly comparable to a Body Tempering Stage Five cultivator.

At this moment, Xiao Yan was snuggling affectionately in Lin Dong's arms, its little head nuzzling against him. The first person it saw when it opened its eyes was Lin Dong, and the second was Lin Changqiang. Over the past month, Xiao Yan had come to treat both Lin Dong and Lin Changqiang as its closest companions. Of course, if both were present, it was always a bit closer to Lin Dong, since he was the one who usually fed it.

While Lin Dong was feeding Xiao Yan some Ancestral Stone Spirit Liquid, a pair of wicked hands crept up on the little tiger, grabbed it, and started rubbing it all over, making Xiao Yan purr with contentment.

After feeding Xiao Yan, Lin Dong grabbed it and set it on his shoulder. He exchanged a glance with Lin Changqiang, and the two nodded before heading into the small forest together to begin absorbing the day's Yin Fiend Qi.