Lin Dong moved quickly.
As soon as he agreed, he immediately carried the beast back home.
In the blink of an eye, Lin Dong was back in front of Lin Yan.
But when he returned, he had brought two more people with him. When Lin Dong had just gotten home, Lin Xiao and Qing Tan had heard that he was going to spar with Lin Yan and had taken a keen interest. So when Lin Dong headed back out, the two of them came along as well.
"Uncle Xiao, Qing Tan."
Seeing them arrive, Lin Yan didn't rush into the spar. Instead, he greeted them.
"Go ahead and spar. I'll just watch," Lin Xiao said with a chuckle.
Qing Tan immediately waved her little fists and began cheering Lin Yan on from the sidelines.
Lin Yan nodded at that.
He didn't continue chatting, but turned his gaze to Lin Dong.
"Then let's get started, Lin Dong."
Lin Dong was clearly already itching to begin.
As soon as he heard Lin Yan, he agreed.
"Then you'd better be careful, Brother Lin Yan!"
He got ready and settled into a stance, his gaze fixed intently ahead as he tried to find an opening in Lin Yan's defense.
Lin Yan, however, looked completely relaxed. He made no move to attack, simply standing where he was and waiting for Lin Dong to make the first move.
This left Qing Tan utterly baffled. She had only recently begun cultivating and rarely sparred with anyone, so there were naturally many things she couldn't understand.
"Dad, what are Brother Lin Dong and Brother Lin Yan doing?"
"Why aren't they fighting?"
Qing Tan asked Lin Xiao, completely confused.
"Heh, it's not that they aren't fighting."
"They're watching for openings in each other's defenses."
"When true experts face off, they often don't rush to strike. Finding an opening in the opponent's defense and taking them down in one blow is the best way to gain the advantage."
Lin Xiao chuckled and explained it to Qing Tan.
He began commenting on their movements.
"Your Brother Lin Dong is clearly taking this very seriously, carefully watching for an opening in Lin Yan's defense."
"But Lin Yan... should I say he's very confident?"
At this, Lin Xiao rubbed his chin. Lin Yan seemed incredibly relaxed, unlike Lin Dong, who stood tense and focused beside him. In that loose stance, several openings were easy to spot. If Lin Xiao hadn't known Lin Yan was strong, he might have taken him for a novice.
"So Lin Yan's doing it on purpose?"
"What an interesting fellow. I wonder how impressive he'll be when he finally shows his true strength."
The more Lin Xiao thought about it, the more eager he became. He stared at the two of them, waiting for one to make a move.
Meanwhile, on the other side—
Lin Dong had finally attacked.
He had meant to look for openings in Lin Yan's defense, but to his surprise, Lin Yan seemed to have openings everywhere. In the end, Lin Dong decided there was no point in studying them and simply went in for the attack.
He quickly stepped forward. With a whoosh, his figure flashed right in front of Lin Yan.
Then, without any unnecessary movements, Lin Dong threw a punch straight at Lin Yan.
"Mm, not bad speed."
Lin Yan remained calm and unruffled. He easily dodged Lin Dong's attack.
Lin Dong's eyebrows lifted.
He found it very strange. Lin Yan looked full of openings, so why couldn't his attacks land?
Was it a coincidence?
Still puzzled, Lin Dong aimed at another opening in Lin Yan's defense.
But when he struck, Lin Yan once again dodged with ease.
Lin Dong threw another punch. This time, it wasn't an ordinary attack; he had already fully mastered a First-Grade Martial Art, the Back-Through Fist.
Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa!
Since Lin Dong had mastered it completely, a series of crisp cracks rang out as he threw the punch. Lin Xiao, who had been counting the sounds from the sidelines, quickly realized that this was the Ten Resonances of the Back-Through Fist!
"The Ten Resonances of the Back-Through Fist?"
"Not bad."
"But the attack is a little too one-dimensional."
Lin Yan praised him with a smile, then shifted to the side and dodged once more with ease.
Cold sweat trickled down Lin Dong's forehead.
In a fight, nothing was more despairing than being unable to land a hit. And now, he was experiencing that very despair.
"Dad, why can't Brother Lin Dong hit Brother Lin Yan?"
"Brother Lin Yan doesn't even seem much faster than Brother Lin Dong, but he just keeps dodging so effortlessly."
Qing Tan was baffled. She glanced at Lin Xiao and couldn't help asking him.
Lin Xiao's face was already filled with delight. As he continued watching Lin Yan, his eyes brimmed with admiration.
After all, he had once been an expert, so his combat experience was far richer than Lin Dong's or Qing Tan's.
At this moment, Lin Dong and Qing Tan couldn't make heads or tails of the spar between Lin Yan and Lin Dong.
But Lin Xiao saw right through it!
He had realized that Lin Yan was indeed doing just as he'd suspected: creating false openings.
Whenever Lin Dong attacked, it looked as if he was aiming for one of Lin Yan's openings, but in truth, he had fallen right into Lin Yan's trap.
Before Lin Dong even launched his attacks, Lin Yan already knew where they would be aimed. Naturally, dodging them was effortless!
Lin Xiao couldn't help praising him. "Lin Yan really is impressive!"
"From this fight, it's clear that he and Dong'er are on completely different levels when it comes to combat experience. It looks like Dong'er will lose soon."
He explained the principle to Qing Tan. Her mouth fell open in shock, and she couldn't help exclaiming, "So Brother Lin Yan is incredibly strong!"
The two of them continued watching from the sidelines.
And the rest of the spar unfolded just as Lin Xiao had predicted.
No matter how powerful Lin Dong's moves were, he still couldn't land a single hit on Lin Yan.
At first, Lin Yan only dodged, but later, he even began intercepting Lin Dong's attacks mid-move. Often, Lin Dong had barely gotten halfway through a technique before Lin Yan stopped him in his tracks.
By then, Lin Dong already knew that there was a huge gap between their strengths.
So Lin Dong didn't keep stubbornly pressing on. This spar had shown him where he fell short. Besides, Brother Lin Yan had already shown him plenty of respect by sparring with him like this. He couldn't make things too difficult for him.
"Brother Lin Yan, I've lost."
Lin Dong admitted defeat on the spot and cupped his hands toward Lin Yan. He was thoroughly convinced by the outcome of their spar. As he continued looking at Lin Yan, his eyes were filled with admiration.
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