The Top Five

"Lin Changqiang."

Lin Changqiang looked at his opponent and politely performed a fist-palm salute.

The youth across from him smiled slightly, his dimples becoming even more pronounced.

"Lin Jiejun."

"???" Lin Changqiang's expression turned odd. "Do you like singing?"

Lin Jiejun was also stunned. "How did you know? I used to dislike training and preferred practicing songs. But since I was young, my father told me that poor children learn to fend for themselves early, and my mother said singing can't put food on the table, so I stopped practicing."

"Sigh," Lin Changqiang shook his head and let out a breath. "Young man, you were born in the wrong place."

Then, without waiting for Lin Jiejun to react, he channeled the Eight Desolations Palm and charged at him. By the time Lin Jiejun scrambled to raise his hands in defense, the palm was already upon him.

A sharp smack rang out as Lin Changqiang's right hand collided violently with his opponent's palms. But the next second, Lin Jiejun was sent staggering backward by a tremendous force, stumbling until he finally fell off the stage, losing the match.

On the stage, Lin Changqiang stood completely still, unsurprised. In his memory, aside from Lin Hong and Lin Xia, who were both at Body Tempering Stage Seven like Lin Dong, no one else in this Clan Competition was even worth a single exchange.

"Lin Changqiang wins."

Below the stage, Lin Ken watched Lin Changqiang with a surprised look. He remembered that Lin Changqiang had only been at Body Tempering Stage Three two or three months ago, and should now be at most Stage Four or Five—he shouldn't have been able to defeat a Body Tempering Stage Four opponent so easily.

Hearing Lin Ken's voice, Lin Dong, who was sparring with his own opponent, turned his head to glance at Lin Changqiang. Lin Changqiang seemed to sense Lin Dong's gaze and looked back. They exchanged a smile, understanding passing between them without words.

"Bam!"

The next second, Lin Dong, now serious, sent his opponent flying off the stage with a single, perfectly honed Through-the-Back Fist.

"Lin Dong wins!"

In this round, neither Lin Changqiang nor Lin Dong faced any real challenge, and both advanced smoothly into the top ten. But precisely because of that, neither had shown much of their true strength, and some even thought they were just lucky to have weak opponents.

Of course, Lin Dong and Lin Changqiang didn't care.

"Second round begins. Lin Changqiang."

In the arena, Lin Ken's gaze shifted to where Lin Changqiang stood, then pointed to the third training stage at the center of the Training Hall.

Since the competition had reached the top ten, every match would be more exciting than the last. So this round wouldn't have five matches running simultaneously; instead, they would be held one by one, so everyone could watch more clearly.

Hearing Lin Ken's voice, Lin Changqiang took a deep breath. Then, under the gaze of many eyes, he strode quickly onto the stage.

"Opponent: Lin Xuzhe!"

As Lin Ken announced the other contender, a youth in black robes with a resolute face silently stepped out from the crowd and steadily walked onto the stone platform.

"I've heard much about you. I am Lin Changqiang." Lin Changqiang suddenly clasped his fists, his expression solemn. "I will go all out to defeat you!"

The youth across from him was visibly taken aback. Though he returned the salute calmly, he was deeply puzzled—was he really that famous?

Below the stage, Lin Zhentian and the others also fixed their gazes on Lin Changqiang, curious about his strength.

Only Lin Dong smiled slightly. No one knew Lin Changqiang better than him. In his view, though Lin Changqiang was probably a bit weaker than himself—who had just broken through to Body Tempering Stage Seven yesterday—with his Body Tempering Stage Six strength, making it into the top five of the Clan Competition would still be easy.

"Begin!"

"Bam!"

The moment the command was given, Lin Xuzhe's face darkened, and his eyes turned serious. He stomped hard on the ground, using the force to launch himself forward, his right hand clenched into a fist, striking straight at Lin Changqiang without any fancy moves.

But to everyone's surprise, facing Lin Xuzhe's heavy blow, Lin Changqiang didn't retreat—he advanced. He stepped forward and took the punch directly on his chest!

"Thud!"

Under the shocked gazes of Lin Xuzhe and the crowd, Lin Changqiang only let out a muffled grunt before immediately reaching out with his left hand and grabbing Lin Xuzhe's right wrist in a vice-like grip!

Lin Xuzhe reacted at once. He tried to pull free, but even using all his strength, he couldn't yank his fist out. So he swung his left hand, slamming it fiercely toward Lin Changqiang's elbow.

But Lin Changqiang was ready. His right hand, already poised, shot out swiftly and caught Lin Xuzhe's other wrist firmly. In an instant, Lin Xuzhe could neither advance nor retreat!

Seeing the slight panic in his opponent's eyes, a sunny smile spread across Lin Changqiang's handsome face. He pulled both arms outward with force, dragging his opponent's body toward him, then, with lightning speed, lowered his head!

"Thud!"

Body Tempering Stage Seven vs. Body Tempering Stage Five—head wins!

Lin Xuzhe collapsed to the ground, unconscious...

"...Lin Changqiang wins!" Lin Ken was also stunned by the strength and ferocity Lin Changqiang had displayed. It took him a moment to recover before he quickly announced the result. "Someone, take Lin Xuzhe down for treatment!"

The moment the words fell, the Training Hall, which had been so quiet you could hear a pin drop, erupted like a tidal wave with thunderous applause and cheers. A few people, looking at Lin Changqiang's smiling, handsome face, couldn't help but shriek loudly.

"Lin Changqiang! Lin Changqiang!"

"Lin Changqiang! I'm going to marry you in the future!"

"Strong and handsome—that's just unfair!"

Hearing this, Lin Changqiang's eyes lit up, and he eagerly scanned the crowd. But to his horror, he realized that among those shouting they wanted to marry him, there were both men and women!

He was so startled that goosebumps broke out all over him. He quickly jumped off the stone platform and jogged over to stand beside Lin Dong's family. With Lin Xiao, a Heavenly Origin Stage expert, in front of him, he finally felt a bit safer.

"Brother Changqiang is amazing!"

Looking at Lin Changqiang to Lin Dong's left, Qingtian smiled, her lively, big eyes blinking adorably.

"Ding. Detected that Lin Qingtian's favorability toward the host has reached sixty-one, and her cultivation level is lower than the host's."

, the skill Blessing can no longer be triggered."

"Thank you!"

At this moment, Lin Changqiang's face was full of a professional smile, but the pain in his heart was something only he knew.

"Not bad, Changqiang. You've been hiding it well." Lin Xiao was also beaming. Ever since Lin Dong used the Spirit Liquid condensed from the Ancestral Stone to heal his old injury not long ago, there had been more smiles on his face than before.

"Third Uncle flatters me." Although Lin Changqiang often took advantage of Lin Dong in private, when facing his parents in person, he naturally had to behave properly. He scratched his head with a feigned look of honesty, shamelessly throwing Lin Dong under the bus without a shred of guilt. "Compared to Lin Dong, I'm still far behind."

"Oh?"

Lin Dong, who had been lightly smiling, noticed his father's eyes lighting up as they turned to him, and his mouth twitched. "Dad, he's joking. Don't take him seriously."

Lin Xiao just gave a faint smile, neither confirming nor denying, then turned back to face the arena.

Soon, Lin Dong and the others began their own matches one after another. Those who had made it into the top ten, aside from Lin Changqiang, were all more or less well-known among the younger generation of the Lin Family, and practically everyone was at Body Tempering Stage Five or higher. So compared to the first round, it was naturally more exciting, drawing bursts of cheers from the Training Hall from time to time.

The five matches quickly concluded. As expected, Lin Dong, Lin Xia, and Lin Hong all stood out with their impressive strength. Along with Lin Changqiang and another youth who had some reputation in the Lin Family, the top five spots of the Clan Competition were decided.

With the top five determined, the atmosphere in the Training Hall quietly heated up. Everyone knew that what came next was the real highlight of this Clan Competition!