Seeing Lin Xia walking toward him, Lin Yan stopped in his tracks, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"Oh, it's Sister Lin Xia. I was wondering who it was."
He smiled at Lin Xia.
"What's up, Sister Lin Xia? Is there something you need?"
Lin Xia quickly caught up. By the time she reached Lin Yan, she was already panting slightly.
She took a moment to catch her breath. After hearing Lin Yan's words, she couldn't help rolling her eyes at him.
"What? Can't I come see you if I don't need anything?"
"You're so cold."
Lin Yan smiled and shook his head.
"Of course you can come see me even if you don't need anything."
"It's just that that applies to other people."
"Knowing your personality, Sister Lin Xia, you wouldn't go out of your way to see me for no reason."
He kept looking at Lin Xia as if he could see right through her.
Lin Xia could only scratch her head awkwardly and say,
"All right, all right. You win."
"Honestly, you could at least spare me a little dignity."
"Actually, I came to thank you."
Lin Xia raised one finger. A wisp of blue Yuan Power appeared on its tip. Seeing the blue energy flicker, even Lin Xia couldn't help grinning proudly.
"Look, I've reached the Sixth Layer of Body Tempering too."
"It's all thanks to those medicinal liquids you gave me."
"With their help, I broke through to the Sixth Layer of Body Tempering. Lately, I've even felt like I'm on the verge of breaking through to the Seventh Layer of Body Tempering."
Lin Yan smiled and cupped his hands toward Lin Xia. "Then I really must congratulate you, Sister Lin Xia. Among the younger generation, you're now one of the strongest."
Lin Xia immediately caught the flattery in Lin Yan's words, and her expression turned disdainful. "Give me a break. You reached the Sixth Layer of Body Tempering more than two months ago."
"By now, you've probably already reached the Seventh Layer of Body Tempering, haven't you? Compared to you, I'm terribly weak."
Lin Yan smiled without saying much. He also didn't explain that he had already broken through to the Earth Origin Realm.
Instead, he changed the subject.
"By the way, Sister Lin Xia, do you have any medicinal liquids left?"
Lin Xia answered awkwardly, "Actually, I used them all up a while ago."
Lin Yan's gaze turned meaningful. "No wonder you kept looking for me. So the real target wasn't the wine, huh? Sister Lin Xia, clever plan!"
Lin Xia's face reddened. She really had kept looking for Lin Yan because of the medicinal liquids, but having her motives exposed left her embarrassed and annoyed. Blushing, she said, "What are you talking about? I wasn't planning to take them for free. Don't make me sound so awful!"
After teasing Lin Xia a few times, Lin Yan stopped.
"Here, I was just messing with you."
He handed Lin Xia the few bottles of medicinal liquid he had left and said,
"Take these. Make them last, because I'm out too."
"As for payment, forget it. We're close—no need to talk about that."
Lin Xia paused. She had originally planned to pay for them.
After all, having used the medicinal liquids, she knew how potent they were, and taking them for free really didn't feel right.
She was just about to refuse when Lin Yan saw what she was thinking.
So Lin Yan waved his hand and said, "Don't try to give me payment, or I'll get mad."
"That settles it, Sister Lin Xia. I've got something to do. See you next time."
With that, Lin Yan turned and left, leaving Lin Xia with nothing but his dashing retreating figure.
Lin Xia looked from Lin Yan's back to the bottles in her hands, feeling both amused and exasperated.
She sighed helplessly and muttered to herself, "That guy's as forceful as ever."
"Oh well, I'll take them for now. We see each other all the time anyway. I'll remember his kindness and do my best to help him whenever I can."
Lin Xia soon returned to her cultivation with the medicinal liquids.
As for Lin Yan, just as he'd planned, he headed to the Medicine Hall to buy medicinal ingredients.
He began selecting the ingredients he needed for alchemy.
But he had no idea that Lin Hong, back at the Lin Clan, had also completed a breakthrough.
At that moment, inside the Lin Mansion.
As soon as he opened his eyes, Lin Hong felt his powers of observation had become astonishingly sharper.
He could now clearly see many details that he'd never noticed before.
Lin Hong stood up and threw a punch. The immense force sent the air around him trembling.
His Yuan Power also seemed far more abundant than before.
Lin Hong was overcome with excitement.
Lin Shan, standing nearby, quickly came over.
"Brother, did you... break through to the Seventh Layer of Body Tempering?"
Seeing Lin Hong's increased strength, Lin Shan asked in delight.
"Yes, I've broken through!"
Lin Hong was overjoyed too, and nodded at Lin Shan with a smile.
Lin Shan was ecstatic. It wasn't his own breakthrough, but Lin Hong was his brother, and he was just as happy to see him advance.
More importantly, this meant Lin Hong had all but secured his place as the strongest among the Lin Clan's younger generation!
"Brother, when the Clan Gathering comes, you have to help me get even with them!"
Lin Shan hurriedly urged Lin Hong.
Lin Hong smiled and nodded at him.
"Don't worry. I'll reclaim the face I lost last time at the Clan Gathering."
"I'll show everyone that among the Lin Clan's younger generation, I, Lin Hong, am the strongest!"
After declaring his lofty ambition to Lin Shan, Lin Hong's eyes shone with excitement. He eagerly anticipated the upcoming Clan Gathering.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
"Phew."
"Did I break through too?"
"The Fifth Layer of Body Tempering."
"My Back-Through Fist has reached eight echoes, and I've also learned the Second Grade Martial Art, Eight Desolations Palm."
Inside the wooden cabin, having made another breakthrough in strength, Lin Dong couldn't help exclaiming happily to himself.
But he quickly calmed down again.
"I should keep cultivating."
"I hope I can break through one more time before the Clan Gathering."
"If I reach the Sixth Layer of Body Tempering, with my two martial arts, I won't just be able to hold my own against Lin Hong—I might even be able to take on Brother Lin Yan. I can't let them get too far ahead of me."
With that thought, Lin Dong soon resumed his cultivation.
As for Lin Yan,
he had just finished buying the medicinal ingredients and had now returned home.
Yao Lao brought out his Medicine Cauldron, then floated up into the air and casually picked up one of the ingredients Lin Yan had bought.
He taught as he worked.
He began teaching Lin Yan some of the fundamentals of alchemy.
"All right, young friend."
"I've just gone over some basic theory with you."
"Take a little time to digest it. Once you've got the hang of it, we'll move on to practice."
"You'll try refining a pill with your own hands."
After finishing the brief theoretical lesson, Yao Lao gave Lin Yan time to absorb what he'd learned and waited quietly nearby.
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