Top Five

"Lin Changqiang."

Lin Changqiang looked at his opponent and politely cupped his fists in salute.

The young man opposite him smiled faintly, making the dimples on his face even more pronounced.

"Lin Jiejun."

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

Lin Jiejun was also stunned. "How did you know? I used to dislike cultivation and preferred practicing songs."

"But ever since I was little, my father told me that children from poor families grew up early, while my mother said singing couldn't put food on the table."

"So I stopped practicing singing."

"Ah," Lin Changqiang shook his head and sighed. "Young man, you were born in the wrong place."

Without waiting for Lin Jiejun to react, he activated the Eight Desolations Palm and charged forward. By the time Lin Jiejun hastily raised his hands to block, the slap had already reached him.

Smack!

Lin Changqiang's right hand collided violently with his opponent's palms. The next second, Lin Jiejun was blasted backward by a tremendous force, stumbling repeatedly before falling straight off the arena and losing the match.

Standing motionless on the arena, Lin Changqiang was not surprised at all. In his memories, aside from Lin Hong and Lin Xia, who were both at Body Tempering Stage Seven like Lin Dong, almost no one in this Clan Competition could withstand even one move from him.

"Lin Changqiang wins."

Below the arena, Lin Ken looked at Lin Changqiang in surprise. He remembered that Lin Changqiang had only been at Body Tempering Stage Three two or three months ago. He should only be at Stage Four or Five now; he should not 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 opponent, took the time to turn and look toward Lin Changqiang. Lin Changqiang seemed to notice Lin Dong's gaze and looked back.

The two smiled at each other, understanding everything without a word.

Boom!

The next second, Lin Dong got serious and used his masterfully practiced Through-the-Back Fist to blast his opponent off the arena.

"Lin Dong wins!"

This round, neither Lin Changqiang nor Lin Dong encountered any worthy opponents. Both advanced into the top ten without much fanfare.

Precisely because of that, neither of them revealed much of their strength. Some people even thought they had merely been lucky enough to face weak opponents.

Of course, Lin Dong and Lin Changqiang did not care.

"Second round begins. Lin Changqiang."

In the arena, Lin Ken turned his gaze toward Lin Changqiang and pointed at Arena Number Three in the center of the Training Hall.

Now that they had reached the top ten, the matches would be more exciting than the previous round no matter what. Therefore, the five matches were no longer held simultaneously; instead, they were conducted one at a time so everyone could see more clearly.

Hearing Lin Ken's voice, Lin Changqiang could not help taking a deep breath. Then, under countless gazes, he quickly stepped onto the arena.

"Facing him is Lin Xuzhe!"

After Lin Ken announced the other contestant, a black-clothed young man with a resolute face silently walked out from the crowd and steadily stepped onto the Stone Platform.

"I've long heard of your great name. I am Lin Changqiang." Lin Changqiang suddenly cupped his fists with a solemn expression. "I will go all out and defeat you!"

The young man opposite him was clearly stunned. Though he calmly returned the salute, he was deeply puzzled. Am I really that famous?

In the audience, Lin Zhentian and the others also fixed their gazes on Lin Changqiang. They too were curious about his strength.

Only Lin Dong smiled faintly. No one understood Lin Changqiang better than he did. In Lin Dong's view, although Lin Changqiang should be a little weaker than himself, having just broken through to Body Tempering Stage Seven yesterday, it would still be easy for him to claim a place in the top five of the Clan Competition with his Body Tempering Stage Six strength.

"Begin!"

Bang!

As soon as the words fell, Lin Xuzhe's face darkened and his eyes turned serious. He stomped the ground, borrowing the force to rush forward, his right hand clenched into a fist as he threw a plain but powerful punch at Lin Changqiang.

Yet to everyone's surprise, Lin Changqiang did not retreat in the face of Lin Xuzhe's heavy punch. Instead, he advanced.

He actually stepped forward and took the blow squarely on his chest!

Thud!

Under Lin Xuzhe's and everyone else's shocked gazes, Lin Changqiang merely grunted before immediately shooting out his left hand and fiercely grabbing Lin Xuzhe's right wrist!

Lin Xuzhe reacted at once. After trying and discovering that he could not pull back his fist even with all his strength, he immediately stretched out his left hand and struck hard at Lin Changqiang's elbow.

Unfortunately, Lin Changqiang had long been prepared. His right hand, which had been poised to strike, shot out swiftly and firmly grasped Lin Xuzhe's wrist. For a moment, Lin Xuzhe could neither advance nor retreat!

As panic appeared in his opponent's eyes, a sunny smile spread across Lin Changqiang's handsome face. He suddenly pulled both arms apart, dragging his opponent toward him, then lowered his head with lightning speed!

Thud!

Body Tempering Stage Seven versus Body Tempering Stage Five—head wins!

Lin Xuzhe collapsed unconscious to the ground...

"...Lin Changqiang wins!" Lin Ken was also stunned by the strength Lin Changqiang had displayed and his ferocious fighting style. It took him a moment to recover before hurriedly announcing the result. "A few of you, hurry and take Lin Xuzhe away for treatment!"

As soon as his words fell, the Training Hall, which had been quiet enough to hear a pin drop, erupted with thunderous applause and cheers. Some people, unable to hold themselves back at the sight of Lin Changqiang's smiling handsome face, even let out shrill screams.

"Lin Changqiang! Lin Changqiang!"

"Lin Changqiang! I want to marry you someday!"

"Strong and handsome too... isn't that just unfair?"

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

He was so frightened that goosebumps rose all over him. He hurriedly leaped down from the Stone Platform and jogged over to Lin Dong's family. Only when he saw Lin Xiao, who was at the Heavenly Origin Stage, standing before him did he finally breathe a sigh of relief and feel somewhat safer.

"Brother Changqiang, you're amazing!"

Looking at Lin Changqiang to Lin Dong's left, Qing Tan also smiled. Her large, lively eyes blinked adorably.

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

The skill Blessing can no longer be triggered."

"Thank you!"

At that moment, Lin Changqiang wore a perfectly professional smile, but only he knew the pain in his heart.

"Not bad, Changqiang. You hid your strength well." Lin Xiao chuckled happily. Ever since Lin Dong had used the Spirit Liquid condensed by the Ancestral Stone to heal his old injuries some time ago, his face had held far more smiles than before.

"Third Uncle, you flatter me." Although Lin Changqiang often took advantage of Lin Dong in private, he naturally had to behave properly before Lin Dong's parents. He scratched his head with a deliberately honest look, burdened by no guilt as he set Lin Dong up. "Compared to Lin Dong, I'm still far behind."

"Oh?"

Lin Dong, who had been smiling faintly, saw his father's eyes light up as he looked at him and immediately twitched at the corner of his mouth. "Dad, he's just joking. Don't take him seriously."

Lin Xiao merely smiled faintly without commenting, then turned back toward the arena.

Soon, Lin Dong and the others began their matches one after another. Aside from Lin Changqiang, everyone who had entered the top ten had at least some reputation among the Lin Family's younger generation, and nearly all of them were at Body Tempering Stage Five or above.

Compared with the first round, the matches were naturally much more exciting, and cheers frequently erupted throughout the Training Hall.

The five matches soon produced their results. As expected, Lin Dong, Lin Xia, and Lin Hong stood out with their exceptional strength. Together with Lin Changqiang and another young man with some reputation in the Lin Family, the top five spots in the Clan Competition were decided.

As the top five emerged, the atmosphere in the Training Hall quietly began to rise. Everyone knew that what came next was the true highlight of this Clan Competition!