"Grandfather, you're exaggerating way too much. I was just lucky, that's all."
"Compared to Uncle Xiao and Uncle Ken, I'm still miles behind."
"There's still so much I need to learn."
Of course, when faced with Lin Zhentian's praise, Lin Yan wasn't about to accept it outright.
He was as low-key as ever. So after hearing Lin Zhentian's words, he merely smiled faintly and waved them off, speaking with the utmost humility.
"Come on! You're still so modest."
"What does this have to do with luck?"
Lin Zhentian felt both amused and exasperated.
He sometimes felt quite helpless about Lin Yan's humble, low-key nature.
Other young people his age, full of youthful vigor, couldn't wait to make a grand impression.
But Lin Yan was the opposite. Even when chances to show off were right in front of him, he wouldn't take them.
Still, Lin Zhentian felt that this was a good thing. It meant Lin Yan had an excellent temperament and, at the very least, wouldn't be like other young people—greedy for credit, reckless, and rash.
He smiled and said no more.
As for Lin Xiao and Lin Ken, they took the opportunity to explain to Lin Zhentian, "Father, actually, Yan'er had already fought Lei Ying before, and he didn't fall behind in the slightest."
"More importantly, Yan'er is only at the Late Earth Yuan Stage right now."
At those words, the excitement in Lin Zhentian's eyes grew even stronger.
"Hahahaha!"
"Excellent! Excellent!"
He couldn't help laughing out loud. When he looked at Lin Yan again, his eyes were filled with approval.
"Heavens truly favor my Lin Clan!"
He didn't say anything more. After all, he understood Lin Yan's temperament well by now. Since Lin Yan didn't want to make a grand impression, Lin Zhentian would go along with him.
Even so, after what had happened, the joy in Lin Zhentian's heart was impossible to contain.
His face was wreathed in smiles, and the dark clouds that had hung over him since Ironwood Manor was destroyed had completely dispersed!
"Next, let this old man go take a look at the Sun Essence Mine."
"Who would've thought that even the Lei Clan had no idea there was such a vein beneath Ironwood Manor?"
"They really are a bunch of fools. They lived here for so long and never discovered it. What a waste of a treasure."
Lin Zhentian smiled and quickly headed for the Sun Essence Mine. Once he found the vein's precise location, he excitedly had all the other guards in the Lin Clan brought over to mine it with all their might.
Lin Yan and Lin Dong naturally didn't have to do such hard labor. Given their standing in the Lin Clan, they were completely free to do as they pleased. They could do whatever they wanted, and if they needed anything, they could ask for it directly—the Lin Clan would never refuse.
The next day, Lin Yan had originally planned to start cultivating the Samsara Death Seal right away.
After all, he was very interested in this Spirit Art from the Great Thousand World.
Although it was only the lowest-ranked common-grade Spirit Art in the Great Thousand World,
it was still a product of a higher plane. And in the hands of Mu Chen, another protagonist, this Spirit Art seemed to have shone brilliantly.
So after waking up and having a simple breakfast, Lin Yan was eager to give it a try and planned to begin cultivating immediately.
"Brother Lin Yan."
"Here, take this."
To his surprise, Lin Dong came running to his room first thing in the morning and eagerly handed him a pill.
Lin Yan was an Alchemist, after all. At a glance, he could tell that it contained no medicinal power.
In other words, this pill hadn't been made from medicinal ingredients.
Instead, he sensed a strong aura of Yang Yuan Qi coming from it. After considering it for a moment, Lin Yan asked Lin Dong,
"Little brother Lin Dong, is this a Yang Yuan Pill?"
Lin Dong looked surprised. He hadn't expected Lin Yan to recognize it at a glance, so he asked uncertainly, "Brother Lin Yan, you really could tell?"
Lin Yan rolled his eyes at him. "You think you can fool your big brother with this? Keep dreaming."
Then he asked Lin Dong directly, "Where did you get it?"
Lin Dong grinned. "That's a secret. Don't worry about it, Brother Lin Yan. Just take it."
Lin Yan had more or less guessed that Lin Dong had gotten it from the Stone Talisman. Still, he was happy that Lin Dong had thought of him. The fact that Lin Dong had come straight to share it with him after getting his first treasure showed that he regarded Lin Yan as a real brother.
So Lin Yan said nothing more, only smiling at Lin Dong. "All right, I'll accept it. I owe you one this time."
Lin Dong waved his hands repeatedly. "What are you saying, Brother? We're brothers. There's no need to keep score."
"Besides, you've done far more for me."
Lin Yan patted Lin Dong on the shoulder. "All right, all right. I won't say it again."
Then he added, "I'm going to start cultivating now."
"I'm still too weak. I need to get stronger."
Lin Dong's mouth twitched. He gave a wry smile, then obediently went off to cultivate as well.
After all, from Lin Dong's point of view, if someone as powerful as Brother Lin Yan was still cultivating so diligently and humbly, what excuse did he have not to work hard?
So he soon left too.
Lin Yan watched Lin Dong go, then returned to the back courtyard and began cultivating.
He took out the upper-grade common-level Spirit Art, the Samsara Death Seal, which he had obtained from the system.
Then, together with Yao Lao, he carefully studied how to cultivate and circulate the Samsara Death Seal.
The old and the young read it closely from beginning to end. Once they had fully grasped its intricacies, both of them showed a trace of surprise in their eyes.
"So Yuan Power can be controlled like this?"
Lin Yuan couldn't help speaking up.
Although it was only an upper-grade common-level Spirit Art, the fact that it came from the Great Thousand World remained unchanged.
And through this study, Lin Yan had reached another conclusion.
When it came to using Yuan Power, the people of the Great Thousand World were even more skilled than those of the Dou Qi Continent!
By now, Lin Yan had mastered techniques from three different worlds.
Those of the Martial Movement World were called martial arts, those of the Dou Qi world were called Dou Techniques, and those of the Great Thousand World were called Spirit Arts.
After considering all three planes, Lin Yan came to this conclusion:
The Martial Movement World's use of Yuan Power was the simplest and most direct. Its people preferred to strengthen their bodies, and their use of Yuan Power was nowhere near as intricate as that of the Dou Qi world or the Great Thousand World.
As for the Dou Qi world, although its use of Yuan Power was far more refined than that of the Martial Movement World, it still fell short of the Great Thousand World. Most Dou Techniques in the Dou Qi world could only divide power by attribute. In other words, they transformed Dou Qi into attacks of various attributes to fend off enemies.
But things were different in the Great Thousand World. Its techniques could not only transform attributes, but also create objects and take on forms.
Thinking of this, Lin Yan remembered that many divine arts in The Great Ruler could take shape, transforming directly into all kinds of powerful spirit beasts. Mu Chen's divine art, the Four Gods Constellation Scripture, was one such example.
"As expected of the Great Thousand World."
"Even this old man has never seen such a method of controlling Yuan Power before."
Yao Lao's eyes lit up too.
It wasn't that the Samsara Death Seal was especially profound. It was simply that after seeing how it was cultivated and how its power circulated, Yao Lao and Lin Yan had gained a preliminary understanding of the Spirit Arts of the Great Thousand World and found a new way to control Yuan Power.
"Senior Yao Lao, let me give it a try."
Lin Yan said this to Yao Lao, then sat cross-legged and prepared to test it out right away.
He had a feeling that the Spirit Art might inspire him to some extent. If so, it would surely bring enormous benefits in the future, whether he used Dou Techniques or martial arts.
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