Soon, Lin Hong and Lin Xia stepped onto the arena.
As for the referee, once he saw that both of them had made it onto the stage, he shouted, "The match begins!"
Their expressions immediately turned serious.
Lin Hong in particular. As soon as he heard the referee's voice, he let out a low shout and revealed his strength without hesitation.
"Ha!"
A faint glow appeared around Lin Hong.
Then a powerful aura surged swiftly from within him.
"Sister Lin Xia, I'm sorry, but you're not my target this time."
"So let's finish this quickly."
Lin Hong glanced at Lin Xia and spoke calmly, evidently brimming with confidence in his Seventh Layer of Body Tempering strength.
But the next moment, Lin Xia completely shattered his confidence.
An even stronger aura burst from Lin Xia. The spectators sensed it at a glance: she had reached the Eighth Layer of Body Tempering.
"Mm. Then let's finish this quickly."
The two soon clashed.
Once the fight began, Lin Xia held an overwhelming advantage and completely crushed Lin Hong.
He was driven back again and again, until Lin Xia defeated him with ease and sent him tumbling off the stage.
"I... actually lost?"
Even after his defeat, Lin Hong could hardly accept it.
Lin Xia had no patience for his earlier arrogance. Not only had she beaten him decisively, but now she delivered a blow that cut straight to the heart.
"You can't even beat me, yet you think you can defeat Lin Yan?"
"Lin Hong, you're really dreaming."
Lin Xia quickly turned and left.
Lin Hong sat on the ground, looking utterly humiliated. He seemed to be questioning his whole life.
Lin Xia's words kept echoing in his mind.
"You can't even beat me, yet you think you can defeat Lin Yan?"
"Does Lin Xia mean that Lin Yan is even stronger than she is?"
"That's impossible!"
"There's no way someone like Lin Yan could have grown that powerful!"
Lin Hong had taken a heavy blow. His face darkened.
Elsewhere, after watching Lin Xia and Lin Hong's match, even Lin Zhentian was delighted.
After all, Lin Xia's performance had surprised him far more than he could have imagined.
He had never expected her to reach the Eighth Layer of Body Tempering at such a young age.
It seemed she was the strongest among the Lin Clan's younger generation!
Thinking this, Lin Zhentian turned to Lin Ken and said with satisfaction, "Lin Ken, you've raised a fine daughter!"
Lin Dong was also astonished by the strength Lin Xia had just displayed. Even he had only reached the Seventh Layer of Body Tempering.
So even he couldn't be certain he could beat Lin Xia.
"But if it's Brother Lin Yan..."
"It's hard to say."
Lin Dong murmured to himself.
Lin Xia was strong, but Brother Lin Yan was just as impressive.
Lin Dong grew even more eager to see Lin Yan face Lin Xia.
The Clan Gathering continued.
Before long, the match everyone had been looking forward to finally began.
Lin Yan versus Lin Xia!
Although everyone now thought Lin Xia would win after her last fight, they were just as curious about Lin Yan, who had yet to show his full strength. Just how powerful was he?
So when the referee called out Lin Yan's and Lin Xia's names, everyone's eyes lit up with excitement.
Lin Xia and Lin Yan soon stepped onto the stage.
Once there, Lin Xia looked at Lin Yan with a smile. "Now I can finally find out how strong you are, can't I, little brother Lin Yan?"
Lin Yan cupped his hands and smiled. "Please go easy on me, Sister Lin Xia."
But Lin Xia didn't believe a word of it.
Without another word, she revealed her Eighth Layer of Body Tempering strength and launched a fierce attack on Lin Yan.
She showed absolutely no mercy. Anyone could see that her attacks against Lin Yan were even stronger than the ones she had used against Lin Hong.
That was mainly because Lin Xia had always believed Lin Yan was stronger than her. Naturally, she could go all out against him.
"Ah, Sister Lin Xia really doesn't hold back."
Lin Yan let out a helpless sigh.
Still, he evaded her attacks with ease.
Lin Xia's eyebrows lifted. She pressed her assault even harder, but the outcome remained the same.
"Just as I thought."
"Little brother Lin Yan, you've been hiding your strength well!"
Lin Xia was now certain her earlier guess had been right. She understood more clearly than ever that she was no match for Lin Yan.
She went straight for her finishing move, pointing one finger as powerful sword energy shot toward Lin Yan like bullets.
"Spirit Sword Finger!"
But Lin Yan dodged that easily, too.
Then, before Lin Xia could attack again, he swiftly closed in and cut her off.
"I lose."
"Little brother Lin Yan, you really are a freak."
Lin Xia let out a helpless sigh.
After those few exchanges, the difference in their strength was plain to see.
So she simply conceded.
But the sight left everyone watching completely dumbfounded.
They had thought Lin Xia's Eighth Layer of Body Tempering was already impressive.
They hadn't expected her to be unable to land a single hit on Lin Yan.
Just how strong was he? The Ninth Layer of Body Tempering?
That was ridiculous!
"So it really is true..."
"Lin Yan is even stronger than Lin Xia?"
Lin Hong was completely stunned below the stage.
Seeing Lin Xia, who had defeated him so easily, unable to fight back against Lin Yan, Lin Hong realized she hadn't been lying.
Thinking back on his own arrogance, he suddenly felt ridiculous.
"So all along, I was the fool."
Lin Zhentian was overcome with excitement. Sitting in his seat, he looked at Lin Yan as if he were a priceless treasure.
"Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful!"
"My Lin Clan is blessed!"
He couldn't help laughing aloud.
He had thought Lin Xia's performance was already a wonderful surprise. But Lin Yan had surprised him even more.
Lin Zhentian had therefore already made up his mind: from this day on, he would make sure Lin Yan received the best training. Lin Yan might well be the Lin Clan's new hope!
"Just as I thought."
"Brother Lin Yan won."
Lin Dong wore an expression that said he had expected this all along.
He had already had a feeling Lin Yan would win, and that was exactly what happened.
But one thing disappointed him: he still hadn't seen Lin Yan use his full strength.
That only made Lin Dong even more curious.
"Even Sister Lin Xia couldn't force Brother Lin Yan to use his full strength."
"Could it be that Brother Lin Yan has really reached the Earth Origin Realm?"
Before you continue