I Refuse to Accept This

After the final round of drawing lots, Lin Changqiang had "luckily" drawn a bye, while Lin Dong's opponent was a youth named Lin Guangjiang, who was said to have reached Body Tempering Stage Six not long ago as well.

At ringside, both Lin Xiao and Liu Yan frowned slightly. Qing Tan clenched her delicate hands, her little face filled with worry.

Only Lin Changqiang smiled faintly. No one understood Lin Dong better than he did! In his view, although Lin Dong was likely somewhat weaker than himself, who had only broken through to Body Tempering Stage Seven that morning, with strength second only to his own, taking one of the top three spots in the Clan Competition would be easy.

Sure enough, after drawing their bamboo lots, the two quickly began their match. Yet the result took many by surprise. Under Lin Dong's Nine-Echo Through-the-Back Fist, even though Lin Guangjiang used every trick he had, he was still blasted off the arena by several punches and lost his qualification to compete.

"To defeat Lin Guangjiang so easily, it seems this child Lin Dong inherited his father's talent from back then." From the seat of honor, Lin Zhentian looked at his grandson on the arena and stroked his long beard with satisfaction.

"Lin Dong wins."

"Next match, Lin Xia."

A barely noticeable trace of concern flashed through Lin Ken's eyes.

"Against Lin Hong."

Hearing her father call her, Lin Xia first answered in a sweet voice. Then, with a twist of her slender waist, she drifted onto the arena like a butterfly. Graceful and valiant, she made quite a few young men's eyes light up.

Only Lin Changqiang rolled his eyes, feeling powerless to comment.

"It's just getting onto the arena. Did she have to make it so flashy?" Of course, he knew he could not blame Lin Xia. After all, in so many of Great God Tudou's worlds, plenty of female characters treated stepping onto a stage like entering a beauty pageant.

At the same time, Lin Hong gave a light leap and elegantly landed on the arena from the other side. Smiling, he cupped his hands and said, "Sister Lin Xia, please go easy on me."

"If I were going easy on you, then I should be the one sitting out." Lin Xia pursed her lips, though her eyes held an unusual trace of seriousness. Lin Hong's strength was probably no weaker than hers.

"Begin!"

The moment the words fell, a faint glow abruptly emerged from both of them. It was Yuan Power!

"Body Tempering Stage Seven..."

Seeing the glow flickering around their bodies, many people exclaimed in amazement. Though they had already suspected it while watching the previous two rounds, witnessing it firsthand still left them unable to suppress their emotions.

Reaching Body Tempering Stage Seven at such an age was itself proof that both possessed considerable potential.

"They're the same age as you, yet they're at Stage Seven while you're only at Stage Five. How can you even sleep at night? Do you have any ambition at all?" Many elders could not help scolding their own children, leaving the youths angry but afraid to speak.

"Sister Lin Xia, be careful!"

Lin Hong shouted. Light flickered over his body as his eyes turned sharp and his figure shot forward. A fierce gale gathered around his palms as he swept one hand toward Lin Xia.

Lin Xia retreated half a step, her right hand shaped like an eagle's beak as she heavily struck the back of Lin Hong's palm, deflecting his force away.

Seeing this, Lin Hong gave a low shout. "Eight Desolations Palm!" The wind from his palms suddenly became fierce and powerful, surging continuously toward Lin Xia. Deep whooshing sounds tore through the air, making the technique seem especially formidable.

Lin Xia's willow-like brows knit slightly. She weaved and darted through Lin Hong's palm strikes, then seized an opening and formed sword fingers with both hands, stabbing fiercely toward his vital points. It frightened him into withdrawing his hands to defend himself.

For a time, figures crisscrossed atop the arena, palms and fingers flying back and forth in an exceptionally fierce battle that left the spectators below unable to look away.

"Brother Lin Dong, who do you think will win?" Qing Tan clasped her little hands as well, tense because of the fierce battle on the arena. She did not want that hateful Lin Hong to win.

"Hard to say..." Lin Dong hesitated before shaking his head. Although Lin Hong had trained the Eight Desolations Palm to an extremely proficient level and its palm force was incomparably fierce, Lin Xia's Spirit Sword Finger was no less impressive. "Changqiang, what do you think?"

"Lin Xia will definitely lose!"

Lin Changqiang casually waved a hand, wearing an unconcerned expression. What a joke. Although he had forgotten most of the plot of Martial Universe, he was still quite certain about this part.

Lin Hong had never gotten along with Lin Dong and had even said that he wanted to ask for Qing Tan's hand in marriage. If he lost to Lin Xia, how would Lin Dong get to humiliate him?

"Definitely lose? Sister Lin Xia's Spirit Sword Finger may indeed be slightly inferior to Lin Hong's Eight Desolations Palm in terms of force, but it's sharper than the Eight Trigrams Palm." Lin Dong frowned, unable to understand why he was so certain.

"The problem lies with the Spirit Sword Finger!" Lin Changqiang nodded with a deliberately profound look and began fooling Lin Dong. "Sister Lin Xia is young, yet she doesn't follow martial ethics. She actually ignored the custom of calling out your move's name before fighting. She's already scared before the battle even begins~"

"Heh." Through his actions, Lin Dong proved to Lin Changqiang that men could change their expressions quickly too. Qing Tan, beside him, also gave an awkward laugh before turning back to continue watching the match.

Ding, detected that Lin Qingtian's favorability toward the host has dropped to fifty-nine.

"..." Lin Changqiang's mouth twitched as he realized that joke had not been very funny.

By then, the battle on the arena had entered its most intense stage. As fingers and palms collided, the glow around their bodies grew brighter and brighter. Clearly, both had pushed the Yuan Power within them to its limit.

When the light reached its peak, the two unexpectedly stepped back at the same time. Then they swung their palms out once more, and beneath countless gazes, their attacks collided heavily!

Bang!

Whoosh—smack!

A resounding blast erupted across the Stone Platform. The two figures were both sent flying backward, stumbling repeatedly across the Stone Platform before falling off the arena at the same time...

Seeing them both fall from the arena, the Training Hall broke into a commotion. Clearly, no one had expected such a result.

"Hehe, not bad..." From the seat of honor, Lin Zhentian watched Lin Hong and Lin Xia fight to a draw and nodded approvingly. Hearing this, Lin Mang could not help revealing a smile, casting a proud glance at Lin Xiao not far away.

"This match shall end in a draw. There are now four people remaining. If no one has any objections, Lin Xia and Lin Hong shall be tied for first place in this Clan Competition, while Lin Dong and Lin Changqiang shall take second and third respectively." Lin Zhentian paused, then continued, "Of course, if anyone is dissatisfied with this result and wishes to continue challenging, you may raise the matter."

Lin Changqiang knew those words were mainly directed at him and Lin Dong. Everyone believed that only Lin Hong and Lin Xia among the younger generation had reached Body Tempering Stage Seven, so they naturally assumed those two would take first place.

"That guy is first..." Lin Dong muttered with a frown as he looked toward Lin Hong.

Sure enough, Lin Hong was sneering at him and Qing Tan. He then directly stepped forward, intending to strike while the iron was hot and bring up his proposal to marry Qing Tan.

However, before he could spit out a single word, Lin Dong, who had been watching him all along, darkened his gaze and abruptly rose to his feet. A thunderous voice rang through the Training Hall!

"I refuse to accept this!"