Good brother, you can't handle this, collecting the Ancestral Stone!

[Ding! Host stood up for your brother, demonstrating brotherly affection. Reward: one Rejuvenation Pill. Additionally, you have triggered a critical hit on Lin Dong's favorability; Lin Dong's favorability has skyrocketed tenfold!]

[Note: Rejuvenation Pill, a basic healing pill, has miraculous effects on those at the Heaven Origin Realm and below!]

On the other side, just as Lin Yi had carried Lin Dong a few steps away, the system's milky, childish voice rang out in his mind once again.

At the same time, a small porcelain bottle appeared in Lin Yi's hand.

Hmm? A healing pill? This could actually be useful for Father, Lin Yi thought with a surge of joy, then seemed to recall something.

System, in the future, if someone is around when you issue rewards, I won't be able to explain it. Can you change the way you distribute them?

[Ding! Very well, Host. From now on, rewards will be deposited directly into your Universe Ring, and you may retrieve them at any time!]

That was perfect!

Lin Yi's brows twitched; he felt the system was quite considerate.

After Lin Yi sent Lin Dong back, he inevitably received a lecture from Lin Xiao.

However, he treated it as wind passing by his ears and didn't take it to heart.

After sending Lin Changqiang away, Lin Yi returned to his room, his brows slightly furrowed as a hint of hesitation stirred in his heart.

Based on today's situation, Lin Dong had not yet obtained the Ancestral Stone.

Lin Yi felt a bit conflicted about whether he should go and retrieve the Ancestral Stone himself.

The Ancestral Stone represented not just an opportunity, but a heavy burden of responsibility!

Once he snatched this opportunity from Lin Dong, he would have to take Lin Dong's place and shoulder the responsibility of saving the Tian Xuan Continent!

For the sake of this duty, the Lin Dong in the original story lived an incredibly arduous life and nearly lost his life several times!

In the end, Lin Dong saved the Tian Xuan Continent, but he lost his beloved and nearly suffered a mental breakdown.

Damn it! What am I afraid of? In the original story, Lin Dong just charged ahead blindly and still succeeded in the end!

Now, I have the advantage of foresight, and I have this heaven-defying cheat called the system. There's no reason I should fail!

After his expression shifted for a moment, Lin Yi gritted his teeth and made up his mind!

Lin Dong, my good brother, you can't handle the Ancestral Stone, so let your big brother take it!

The responsibility of taking revenge on Lin Langtian and saving the Tian Xuan Continent—I'll take that on for you, too. You just stay by our parents' side and be a good son. I'm doing this for your own good...

After some mental preparation, Lin Yi made his final decision. He walked out of his room with his head held high, striding toward the depths of the back mountain with an unstoppable momentum.

Ten minutes later, a steep cliff appeared before Lin Yi.

He scanned his surroundings and carefully leaped down along some protruding rocks on the cliff face.

These rocks were inconspicuous, but they formed a hidden path.

Before long, a cave hidden beneath several giant boulders appeared before his eyes.

The cave was extremely well-concealed; one would never notice it unless they were specifically searching for it.

This cave was something Lin Dong had discovered by chance when he was young, and later, Lin Yi and Qing Tan had learned of it as well.

Inside the cave, aside from a stone pool about two or three zhang wide, there didn't seem to be anything special, though a faint chill drifted above the pool water.

Lin Yi glanced around the cave casually, then looked up at the ceiling above the stone pool.

After a bit of fumbling, Lin Yi found a stone the size of two fingers.

The stone was a pale, grayish-white color, yet when he pressed his palm against it, it had a strangely soft texture.

The sensation was neither quite stone, nor jade, nor wood—it was truly miraculous!

On the surface of the stone, some obscure patterns were vaguely visible, looking like a magical rune.

Clearly, this stone was the second divine object of the Tian Xuan Continent: the Ancestral Stone!

The Ancestral Stone was severely damaged now, and many of its functions were unusable; perhaps calling it a Stone Talisman was more accurate.

In a groove on the surface of the Stone Talisman, a drop of deep red liquid had condensed, looking just like blood.

Without a doubt, that was the Stone Talisman Spirit Liquid!

Lin Yi knew the effects of the Stone Talisman Spirit Liquid perfectly well.

With a thought, he took the small porcelain bottle that had previously held the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill from his Universe Ring and carefully collected the drop of Stone Talisman Spirit Liquid into it.

Lin Yi put the small bottle back into his Universe Ring. He tried to see if he could store the Stone Talisman in the Universe Ring, but found he couldn't, so he tucked it into an inner pocket of his clothes and strolled back toward his residence.

"Brother Lin Yi, you're back! I was just about to go look for you," a figure like a butterfly fluttered up to meet him just as Lin Yi reached the entrance of the small courtyard.

It was a young girl who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen, wearing simple, light-colored clothes that couldn't hide the liveliness on her small face.

Though the girl was young, her face was already quite exquisite, and her large eyes flickered, making her look extremely adorable.

This girl was Qing Tan, the younger sister of Lin Yi and Lin Dong, though she had been adopted by Liu Yan in the snow years ago.

"Is something the matter?" Lin Yi rubbed Qing Tan's little head, a gentle smile on his face.

"It's almost dark. Mother told me to call you home for dinner," Qing Tan said, lightly swatting Lin Yi's hand away with her small palm.

"It seems I've returned at just the right time."

Lin Yi responded with a smile, then stepped into the small courtyard where his family of five lived.

Qing Tan skipped along, following closely behind Lin Yi.

"Big Brother, thank you for standing up for me today." Lin Dong had already woken up, and upon seeing Lin Yi return, he stood up to express his gratitude.

Lin Yi smiled slightly. "Between brothers, there is no need for such formalities. However, before the Clan Competition, try your best to avoid conflicts with Lin Shan and the others. Focusing entirely on improving your strength is what matters most."

"Mn," Lin Dong nodded upon hearing this.

Lin Xiao, standing to the side, nodded slightly at the sight. "Alright, let's eat."

After finishing dinner, Lin Yi returned to his small room.

He locked the door, practiced the Tong Bei Fist he had been working on for two and a half months to refresh his memory, washed up briefly, and then climbed into bed to rest...

Night shrouded the earth.

Cool moonlight poured down, washing away the lingering heat from the land.

On the bed, Lin Yi lay in a deep sleep, and wisps of moonlight spilled in through the window, shining upon his body.

The cool moonlight actually began to converge toward Lin Yi's chest, right where the stone talisman was hidden.

Suddenly, the stone talisman emitted a faint glow, reflecting onto Lin Yi.

At this moment, Lin Yi, who had been fast asleep, opened his eyes slightly, followed by a wave of dizziness in his brain.

Then, he discovered that he had appeared in a pitch-black space.

"Swish!"

In the dark space, a sound suddenly rang out, and a light figure identical to Lin Yi abruptly emerged, expressionlessly performing a set of fist techniques.

That set of fist techniques was none other than the Tong Bei Fist that Lin Yi had been practicing for two and a half months...

Lin Yi stared at the light figure without blinking, discovering that the Tong Bei Fist performed by this figure was even more perfect than that of his father, Lin Xiao!

"Pa, pa, pa..."

In the pitch-black space, the light figure moved with the speed of flight, its fists swinging incessantly; though its face remained expressionless, its posture was filled with spirit.

When the light figure struck out the perfect nine echoes of the Tong Bei Fist, a faint, muffled sound actually emanated from its arm once more!

"Is this... the tenth echo of the Tong Bei Fist..."

Lin Yi stared intently at the figure's movements, whispering to himself.

Although he had long known of the stone talisman's miraculous nature, seeing this scene with his own eyes still left him filled with a mixture of surprise and joy!

After a long while, Lin Yi spread his legs, took a stance, and began to perform the Tong Bei Fist, imitating the light figure.