A Family

"I refuse to accept this!"

As soon as the words fell, Lin Changqiang strode onto the arena. Then, under the astonished gazes of Lin Dong and the others, he declared loudly, "I have something to say. Please hear me out!"

"The Lin Clan Competition is a matter of great importance. Defeat or being knocked off the arena has always counted as a loss. Among today's top five, Lin Dong has one win. Though I am not particularly capable, I have not lost a single match. Everyone else has lost once! Therefore, by both reason and fairness, Lin Dong should be first, I should be second, and the rest should be tied for third!"

"I'm finished. Who agrees? Who objects?"

For a moment, the entire Training Hall was so silent one could hear a needle drop. Almost everyone stared at Lin Changqiang in stunned disbelief, unable to speak.

Only Lin Dong helplessly covered his forehead, guessing that Lin Changqiang had flown into a rage out of embarrassment because Lin Hong had failed to defeat Lin Xia and disgraced him.

Gradually, some people came back to their senses, pondering Lin Changqiang's words and whispering among themselves.

"What he said seems to make sense?"

"Hiss—this kid is truly talented!"

"Just an ordinary bystander here, but honestly, how can falling off the arena still count as a win?"

Even Lin Hong was dumbfounded. He felt that something was wrong, but he simply could not think of how to refute it.

As the discussions in the Training Hall grew louder and louder, and it seemed everyone was starting to agree with Lin Changqiang, Lin Hong panicked. He hurriedly leaped onto the arena and shouted.

"I object! We haven't even fought. What gives you the right to rank ahead of me?"

Unfortunately, Lin Changqiang had long since slipped his left hand into his pocket and secretly circulated his Yuan Power while talking. He had been waiting for this kid to jump up!

Seeing this, he wasted no more words. With a single stride, he rushed before Lin Hong. Before the latter could react or circulate his Yuan Power, Lin Changqiang swung a heavy Eight Desolations Palm into his chest, blasting him away.

"Now, have we fought or not?"

Lin Changqiang snorted. He had no intention of talking about honor when dealing with such wicked trash who spent every day eyeing minors—especially when the target was his own little sister. Though Qing Tan had actually been adopted.

The people below had just watched Lin Hong rush onto the arena in a frenzy. In the next instant, they saw him fly off like a kite with its string cut, crashing down face-first...

The Training Hall fell silent once more. No one had expected Lin Hong, who had originally been set to take first place in this Clan Competition, to be sent flying in such a dramatic fashion. Only Lin Mang clenched his fists and took a step forward with his left foot. But when he saw Lin Zhentian seated in front of him, he gritted his teeth and stepped back into place.

"Lin Changqiang is also at Body Tempering Stage Seven!"

Feeling the Yuan Power aura radiating from him, Lin Xiao froze. A moment later, his body suddenly trembled, and he abruptly turned toward Lin Dong, wild joy flooding his face.

"If what Changqiang said is true!"

Lin Dong swallowed hard. Lin Xiao's burning gaze made his scalp tingle, but he could not say anything. He could only silently blame Lin Changqiang in his heart.

On the ground outside the arena, Lin Hong's face was pale and his gaze unfocused. Clearly, he had yet to recover from the situation before him.

He had never imagined that Lin Changqiang, whom he had never taken seriously, was also at Body Tempering Stage Seven—and had even sent him flying with a single move! He simply could not accept this outcome!

"Impossible!"

The gazes around him made Lin Hong feel as if needles were stabbing into his back. He suddenly roared, stomped the ground, and charged onto the arena once more, rushing at Lin Changqiang in both panic and fury.

Watching Lin Hong step onto the arena again, then seeing Lin Mang nearby with his hair standing on end in rage, Lin Dong frowned. Thinking of Lin Changqiang's temperament, he could not help feeling a sense of foreboding.

"Father, if Changqiang attacks Lin Hong again later, Second Uncle may very well harm him."

Hearing this, Lin Xiao hurriedly glanced at Lin Mang, then nodded solemnly.

Lin Changqiang was not surprised in the slightest to see Lin Hong charge back onto the arena. However, he did not want to attack Lin Hong again. Who knew what Lin Mang would do to him if Lin Xiao failed to intervene or intervened too late?

Having made up his mind, Lin Changqiang immediately led Lin Hong toward Lin Ken, who stood at the edge of the arena. He stopped before him amid Lin Ken's bewildered expression.

"This way, even if Third Uncle can't intervene in time, Eldest Uncle should be able to stop Lin Mang."

Lin Changqiang took a deep breath, turned around, and fought Lin Hong.

Though both were at Body Tempering Stage Seven, one had just finished an evenly matched battle and been thrown into confusion by the sudden turn of events, while the other was calm and fully energized.

One attacked like rain, using the Eight Desolations Palm with unmatched ferocity, yet his moves were somewhat disorderly. The other combined hardness and softness, deflecting and counterattacking with ease.

The outcome of this battle had already been decided before it began.

After only a few exchanges, Lin Hong was once again knocked away by Lin Changqiang's palm and fell several meters away.

"Still want to fight?"

Lin Changqiang withdrew his hand and stood there, looking utterly relaxed. Yet it was precisely this ease that made Lin Hong question his entire life.

"No, no... That's impossible!" Lin Hong struggled to prop himself up, panting heavily. "Why? Why is this happening? A month ago, neither you nor Lin Dong was any match for me!"

Sorry, I'm using cheats. Lin Changqiang muttered to himself. At that moment, he strangely understood how Lin Hong felt.

He had never felt qualified to look down on those who worked hard but had lower cultivation just because he had rapidly improved through the system. After all, if he did not have the system and Lin Dong did not have the Ancestral Stone, then no matter how much the two of them cultivated or how hard they worked, they probably would not be Lin Hong's match right now...

"Give up. You can't win. Under normal circumstances, you might have had a chance to defeat me, but you just went through a hard battle today, and your condition is far too poor. I suppose my victory... was somewhat unfair."

His voice was not loud, barely enough for the few people on the arena to hear. Yet it stirred a ripple in Lin Hong's heart.

"Are you pitying me?" He raised his head and looked at Lin Changqiang, who was slowly walking closer. A few glistening tears actually flickered in his eyes.

"Think whatever you want." Lin Changqiang curled his lips impatiently and extended his right hand toward him. "Get up already. Do you need me to help you?"

At the end of the day, Lin Hong was only a child of around ten who had not yet grown up, and he was also his cousin. Blood was thicker than water. Though he always liked bullying Lin Dong, teaching him a lesson was enough. Lin Dong himself did not hold it against him in the original story, so was Lin Changqiang really going to meddle further?

Besides... it was not him who had been bullied anyway~

"..." Lin Hong stared blankly at Lin Changqiang. Perhaps because sunlight shone upon him, he felt that Lin Changqiang gave off a warm, calming aura.

"Tsk, are you getting up or not? Can you show a little backbone as a member of the Lin Family?" Lin Changqiang irritably waved his hand. "If you refuse to accept it, stand up and fight me again. If you accept it, take my hand, get up, wipe away your tears, and stop sitting there feeling sorry for yourself. Are you trying to let outsiders laugh at our Lin Family?"

"Right, I'm still on the arena!"

His originally pale little face flushed red. He hurriedly wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeve, then grabbed Lin Changqiang's right hand and stood up.

"You don't hate me?"

"??? Why would I hate you?"

"...Because I often bullied Lin Dong."

"Tsk, how should I put it? If you were an outsider, Lin Dong and I would definitely beat you half to death together. But since you're family, we'll just treat it as you being immature and give you a little beating."

"So, you forgive me? But Lin Dong..."

"Lin Dong is actually pretty easy to talk to. Like me, he has always been very tolerant toward family. As long as you sincerely apologize to him, I doubt he'll care."

To be honest, the protagonists written by Lord Potato all seemed to be like this. They smiled and let old grudges fade away. Xiao Yan forgave the Xiao Family elders, Lin Dong forgave Lin Hong and Lin Shan, and as for Lin Langtian...

Best not mention him.

"...I'm sorry."

"?" The voice was a little too soft, and the wind was a little too loud. Naturally, Lin Changqiang did not hear clearly.

"I said thank you."

"Hey, it's nothing."

Anyway, even if you wanted to bully Lin Dong now, you couldn't beat him anymore...

Ding. Detected that Lin Hong's favorability toward the host has risen to sixty-nine, surpassing Lin Dong's sixty-eight. The activation target of the passive skill—Guerrilla—has changed to Lin Hong.

"??? You fucking backstabbed me!"

Lin Changqiang's eyes widened. He somewhat regretted not saying that last part out loud.