Top-Tier Secret Manual, A Chance Encounter at the Market!

In the clearing in the woods, the layer of ice on Lin Yi's body had completely fallen away, melting into a puddle of water on the ground.

Lin Yi's tightly shut eyes slowly opened, and a trace of ice-blue luster flickered across them before vanishing.

Lin Yi clenched his fist; the strength in his muscles was many times greater than before!

[Ding! Detected that the host has successfully advanced to the Earth Yuan Stage and truly stepped through the gates of martial arts cultivation. Rewarding the first-class cultivation manual Sky Profound Art as encouragement!]

A first-class cultivation manual!

This reward had come at just the right time!

On the path of martial arts cultivation, once one steps into the Earth Yuan Stage, one must begin practicing a cultivation manual.

The Lin Family's ancestral Azure Yuan Art was merely a third-class manual.

Now that he had the system-rewarded Sky Profound Art, he wouldn't have to rack his brains trying to find a higher-level cultivation technique.

I never expected to break through to the Earth Yuan Stage in this manner. Not in a rush to practice the manual yet, Lin Yi picked up the unconscious Qing Tan, shook his head, and began walking toward home.

"Ying ning~"

While Lin Yi was still on the way home carrying Qing Tan, the young girl in his arms had already regained consciousness.

"Brother Lin Yi, what just happened?"

Seeing Qing Tan wake up, Lin Yi set her down and shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure myself. It seemed like the cold energy in your body flared up again, but it was different from the previous outbursts."

Qing Tan said with some self-reproach, "I've caused Brother Lin Yi trouble again."

Lin Yi reached out and flicked her on the forehead. "We're family, why talk like an outsider? Besides, this time you didn't cause me trouble; you actually did me a huge favor."

"Really?" Qing Tan asked, feeling a bit skeptical.

Lin Yi smiled. "Of course it's true. Originally, it would have taken me quite a while to break through to the Earth Yuan Stage."

"But just now, the cold energy from your body surged into mine and actually helped me break through to the Earth Yuan Stage ahead of schedule. I'm an Earth Yuan Stage expert now!"

After speaking, Lin Yi shifted his hand seals. From the ice-blue mass of energy in his dantian, strands of ice-blue Yuan Power rapidly surged out, quickly condensing in his palm.

The brilliant ice-blue Yuan Power enveloped Lin Yi's right palm, and as the cold air rose, the surrounding temperature dropped significantly.

"Bang!"

The shifting hand seals suddenly locked, and Lin Yi took a step forward, slamming his palm directly into a large tree by the roadside.

"Boom!"

The next instant, the tree burst apart, turning into countless wood chips that flew outward.

And at the broken stump of the tree, there was even frost condensing.

"Wow, Brother Lin Yi is amazing!" Seeing this, Qing Tan exclaimed in pleasant surprise. "It looks like the first place in this Qingyang Town Hunting Tournament will definitely belong to Brother Lin Yi!"

Lin Yi returned to Qing Tan's side and affectionately ruffled her hair. "So you see, our Qing Tan didn't cause trouble at all; she helped me a great deal, and in a way, she even helped the Lin Family."

"Hee hee, that was still thanks to Brother Lin Yi's own hard work."

Confirming that she had truly helped Lin Yi, Qing Tan felt very happy. Her dark eyes rolled, and she said coquettishly, "Since that's the case, is Brother Lin Yi going to reward me?"

"Tell me, what reward do you want?" Lin Yi said casually.

Qing Tan looked at Lin Yi with anticipation, blinking her eyes. "It's the end of the month, and the Trading Guild in Qingyang Town is very lively. Could Brother Lin Yi accompany me to look around?"

"Alright, I'll go with you," Lin Yi said with a smile, nodding in agreement.

"That's great, thank you Brother Lin Yi, let's go quickly..."

Hearing Lin Yi agree, Qing Tan was overjoyed and naturally linked her arm with his as she spoke.

The young girl had a lively personality and loved bustling places, but she hoped even more to have Lin Yi play with her.

However, she was very sensible and would not disturb Lin Yi's cultivation for the sake of play on ordinary days.

Today, since Brother Lin Yi had saved time on his breakthrough to the Earth Yuan Stage thanks to her help, he could naturally take some time to relax.

That was what Qing Tan thought.

Lin Yi smiled and let Qing Tan pull his arm as they walked quickly out of the Lin Family estate.

The Trading Guild was located at the North Square of Qingyang Town.

It was exactly where many forces intersected. Because there were too many disputes and no one could swallow it up alone, the Trading Guild came into being.

Within the Trading Guild, there were businesses from all the various factions, forming a peculiar balance.

When Lin Yi and Qing Tan arrived at the gates of the Trading Guild, all they could see was a dense crowd of people, and the sound of noise and commotion was endless.

One had to speak louder just to be heard here.

"So lively," Qing Tan said excitedly, pulling on Lin Yi's arm.

The flow of people here was too great; if they didn't hold hands, they might easily get separated in the crush.

"Let's go, let's head in," Lin Yi smiled slightly, pulling back on Qing Tan's small hand as they squeezed into the Trading Guild.

Lin Yi and Qing Tan had only just finished walking down one street before they were already drenched in sweat from being jostled.

Qing Tan, however, was in high spirits; her delicate little face was flushed with excitement, making her look incredibly adorable.

The pair's footsteps finally came to a halt in front of a magnificent pavilion at the end of the street.

This place was considered quite high-end within the Trading Guild, and the Lei and Xie families, the Mad Saber Martial Hall, and even the Lin Family all had shops here.

The goods sold inside the pavilion were of a higher grade than those on the streets outside, though naturally, the prices were also much steeper.

After Lin Yi brought Qing Tan into the pavilion, he first exchanged two Yang Yuan Stones for a sum of gold and silver before continuing to browse.

Whenever they encountered something Qing Tan liked, Lin Yi bought it for her without the slightest hesitation.

Though Qing Tan said with her lips that they shouldn't spend the money, she was very happy in her heart.

The two had been strolling for a while when a familiar figure suddenly walked toward them; it was none other than Lin Shan.

At this moment, Lin Shan's face was bruised and swollen, his hair was disheveled, and he looked quite wretched.

Lin Shan also spotted Lin Yi and Qing Tan. His expression shifted for a moment, but he still bit the bullet and walked over, calling out to Lin Yi, "Brother Lin Yi."

"Something up?" Lin Yi glanced at him and said indifferently.

Lin Shan's face flushed as he said, "We ran into those bastards from the Xie Family, and after Sister Lin Xia was bullied, we ended up getting into a fight with them..."

"Enough, lead the way and tell me as we go," Lin Yi interrupted him with a wave of his hand before Lin Shan could finish, already understanding what had happened.

No matter how the younger generation of the Lin Family competed among themselves, they naturally had to stand united when facing the Lei and Xie families, especially since Lin Xia, who had a good relationship with his family, was involved.

Lin Shan was surprised that Lin Yi had agreed so readily, but he quickly reacted, nodded heavily, and hurriedly turned around to lead the way.

Lin Yi held Qing Tan's small hand and followed behind Lin Shan, striding forward.

While they hurried along, Lin Shan recounted the full story.

Upon learning that Lin Xia had been ambushed and slapped, Lin Yi frowned, and Qing Tan puffed up her cheeks in anger; among the members of the Lin Family, besides their own small household, Lin Xia was the one she was closest to.

"Faster," Lin Yi urged Lin Shan, then quickened his own pace significantly.