Breakthrough, Yuan Dan Stage!

"Lin Dong!"

"Got it!"

Watching Lin Changqiang relentlessly hammering Xie Qian up ahead, Lin Dong swallowed hard. Without further delay, he dashed forward in a single stride, hoisted Lin Changqiang up, and held him aloft.

"We're even now."

"??? You bastard!" Lin Changqiang was furious. Would he have done this if it weren't for wiping out the Lei and Xie families' men?

That's right—though Lin Changqiang had fully mastered Fire Dance Whirlwind, he could only control the intensity of the attack, not freely change its direction. That would likely have to wait until the Yuan Dan Stage. So this was the plan they'd cooked up on the way over!

Under the stunned gazes of the Lin Family guards, Lin Changqiang focused his mind, turned Gao Lao Village back into a Universal Capsule, and stowed it into the System Space. Then... Lin Dong, with a look of novelty, carried Lin Changqiang around and started sweeping the area.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"

Blazing orange-red light tore through the darkness. Explosions erupted across the woodland, and enemy after enemy fell beneath the pillars of fire. Mud splattered, grass and trees turned to ash, and screams filled the air without end.

Compared to the enemies who died swiftly, the survivors suffered far more. They'd been terrified out of their wits by the hellish scene, scattering in panic with their heads in their hands. Some even broke down crying and wailing.

But Lin Changqiang and Lin Dong showed no mercy. They both knew exactly what would have happened if they'd arrived even a moment later.

"Left, left!"

"Right front, right front!"

"Watch it, don't hit our own people."

"Lin Dong, are you a pig? Is your Spiritual Power only good for peeping?"

"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"

Amid Lin Changqiang's shouts, Lin Dong gritted his teeth and kept changing directions, venting all his anger on the Lei and Xie families.

They kept up the maximum-power bombardment for a long while, until the system's notification chimed. Only then did Lin Changqiang stop outputting Yuan Power.

"Dong, congratulations, host. The Side Quest has been completed. You have received three Lottery Draw Opportunities and Zhuang Zhousan's skill—Unity of Man and Heaven."

"Huff, that was a heavy short-term drain. Almost couldn't recover in time." Lin Changqiang quickly broke free, straightened his clothes, and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"We really did all this?!" Lin Dong looked around. The smoke had cleared, revealing pockmarked, charred ground everywhere. Broken corpses lay scattered across the earth, with only the spot where the guards stood untouched.

"Ugh~" Lin Changqiang finally noticed the gruesome scene around him. Seeing the chunks of flesh on the ground and smelling the strange burnt aroma in the air, his stomach churned, and he nearly threw up.

"Take it easy for a bit. I'll go check on Mom." Lin Dong helplessly patted Lin Changqiang on the back. Though he felt a bit queasy himself, he was still better off than the other.

"Mom!" Lin Dong turned, waved, and ran over to Liu Yan with a smile. "Mom, don't worry. Everything's fine now."

"You, this child." Seeing Lin Dong drenched in sweat, Liu Yan, relieved to have survived the ordeal, quickly pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped his face. Then she looked worriedly at Lin Changqiang, who was still dry-heaving. "Changqiang, is he alright?"

"Don't worry, Mom. A bad penny always turns up. Changqiang will definitely outlive me."

"This child, what kind of talk is that?" Liu Yan shot Lin Dong a displeased glare, but the last trace of unease in her heart quietly faded away.

"Mom, let's head back to Ironwood Manor."

"Mm."

On the walls of Ironwood Manor, Lin Ken and the others wore grim expressions. Ever since Lin Changqiang and Lin Dong had left, they'd been standing there, anxiously staring at the end of the street. Finally, a familiar group appeared in the distance, and the weight lifted from their hearts.

"Even Xie Qian at the Late Heavenly Origin Stage couldn't handle those two. Changqiang and Dong'er are truly remarkable." Lin Mang looked at the two at the front of the convoy and couldn't help but sigh.

Lin Xiao nodded with satisfaction. "Indeed. They say each generation is worse than the last, but our Lin Family—on the contrary—each generation surpasses the one before!"

Under their leadership, the last of the Lin Family's dependents finally made it safely into Ironwood Manor. Hearing the cheers all around, Lin Changqiang smiled with great relief.

"Mom!"

Lin Xia leaped down from the wall in a flash, tears streaming down her face as she threw herself into a woman's arms. This time, she'd been terrified out of her mind.

"Changqiang, Lin Dong, thank you." Lin Xia nestled in her mother's embrace for a good while, then turned and hugged both Lin Changqiang and Lin Dong.

"We're family. No need for formalities." Lin Dong smiled. Lin Changqiang was a bit stunned, taking a few seconds before he managed to choke out, "It's nothing."

"Dong'er, Changqiang, are you two hurt?" Lin Xiao and the others gathered around, their gazes full of concern as they scanned the two.

Meeting everyone's caring eyes, Lin Changqiang and Lin Dong simply shook their heads with smiles. Seeing them unharmed, Lin Xiao and the rest breathed a sigh of relief.

"That bastard Xie Qian—if I ever get the chance, I'll kill him for sure!" Lin Mang's expression turned vicious.

Hearing this, Lin Changqiang immediately looked at Lin Dong. Sure enough, the latter had already opened his mouth, clearly about to say something. He frantically signaled with his eyes.

"..." Lin Dong's mouth twitched. He hesitated for a long time before finally swallowing the words he'd wanted to say.

Forget it. Father and the others will get word soon enough anyway. Let the guy have some peace for now.

"Never mind. Once Father breaks through to the Yuan Dan Stage, we won't have to worry about the Lei and Xie families joining forces anymore." Lin Xiao narrowed his eyes, clearly long tired of the Lei and Xie families.

Lin Ken nodded as well, then ordered everyone to seal the manor gates and go on high alert.

After moving all the dependents into Ironwood Manor, the Lin Family hunkered down and never made contact with the Lei or Xie families again.

Strangely, the Lei and Xie families also chose silence. This bizarre standoff left many people scratching their heads. Yet everyone knew that the Lin Family and the other two were irreconcilably at odds—there was no way it would end peacefully. A clash was only a matter of time.

Under this strange, unspoken truce, a month passed in the blink of an eye.

One day, Lin Changqiang was doing as usual, absorbing Yang Gang Qi alongside Lin Dong, striving to break through to the Yuan Dan Stage as soon as possible. But the next moment, both of them turned to look at the place where Lin Zhentian was in seclusion. There, an overwhelmingly powerful surge of Yuan Power suddenly erupted!

"Such strong Yuan Power!" Lin Dong stared in shock at the Yuan Power vortex forming in midair, took a deep breath, and then burst into joy. "It's Grandfather! Grandfather has finally broken through to the Yuan Dan Stage!"

"Yeah..." Lin Changqiang squinted at the tornado-like Yuan Power vortex. "It's time for us to settle the score with the Lei Family once and for all!"