Seeing the figure behind Lin Shan, the expressions of Qing Tan and Lin Changqiang changed slightly, a trace of worry flashing in their eyes.
Lin Dong's expression also tightened. His gaze similarly swept behind Lin Shan, where a youth clad in white was holding Lin Shan's shoulder with one hand, preventing him from falling to the ground.
This youth looked to be around fifteen or sixteen years old. He had rather handsome features, and a faint smile played on his face. However, in Lin Dong's eyes, that smile carried a hint of coldness.
Lin Hong was Lin Shan's biological older brother and was considered quite outstanding within the Lin Family. Before he even turned fifteen, he had already reached the Fifth Layer of the Tempered Body stage. Only at this level could one cultivate a Yuan Power seed. At that time, looking across the younger generation of the Lin Family, he was undoubtedly one of the top three contenders.
"Brother!" Although Lin Shan was overbearing and arrogant toward others, in front of Lin Hong, he seemed quite gentle, behaving as obediently as a little lamb.
"You haven't even mastered that tiny bit of skill, yet you still go out and make a fool of yourself?" Lin Hong released his grip and said with a faint smile.
"I was just careless and suffered a setback. If we fight again, I won't be afraid of him!" Hearing this, Lin Shan's face instantly flushed red. However, as he spoke, he was a bit apprehensive; Lin Dong's punch just now had indeed been very powerful.
"A Tongbei Fist with four echoes is not something you can block." Lin Hong turned his gaze toward Lin Dong. After staring at him for a long while, he suddenly said, "Cousin Lin Dong, it seems you've been hiding your strength for quite some time..."
Cultivating the Tongbei Fist was very difficult, and Lin Hong was well aware of this. To train this fist technique to the point of producing four echoes would take at least several months. Yet, before this, he had never heard of Lin Dong possessing such skill.
"How could I compare to Cousin Lin Hong?"
The corner of Lin Dong's mouth twitched as he spoke. Perhaps due to the rift between their fathers, the relationship between Lin Hong's side and Lin Dong's side was extremely poor. Likewise, Lin Dong had no affection for them either.
On the surface, Lin Hong appeared gentle and amiable, but Lin Dong knew that this person was actually far more sinister and disgusting than the overtly aggressive Lin Shan. The reason Lin Shan could run rampant among the younger generation of the Lin Family was not only because of his father, but also because he had Lin Hong backing him up.
Of course, the most important thing was that half a year ago, Lin Dong had heard from Lin Xiao that Lin Hong had wanted to arrange a childhood betrothal with Qing Tan. However, Lin Xiao had flatly rejected the proposal.
Because of this incident, their already strained relationship had deteriorated even further.
"Brother Lin Dong, let's go back first."
Qing Tan secretly tugged at the hem of Lin Dong's shirt and whispered. Although Lin Dong's defeat of Lin Shan earlier had greatly astonished her, in her eyes, Lin Hong was several times more difficult to deal with than Lin Shan, whether in terms of cunning or martial strength.
"Haha, Qing Tan, we haven't seen each other in days," Lin Hong laughed, his eyes sweeping over Qing Tan, a strange glint flashing in them. Although Qing Tan was still young, she was already a budding beauty capable of toppling cities. In Qingyang Town, many of her peers secretly admired her, and he, of course, was no exception.
"Lin Shan has always been reckless in his actions. However, if you ever need elixirs, you just need to come find me. This Red Sun Herb is merely a Grade One elixir, after all; it doesn't amount to much at all."
Hearing Lin Hong speak with such familiar intimacy, Qing Tan's curved eyebrows furrowed slightly. However, wary of his strength, she did not speak up to refute him despite her displeasure.
"Damn it, this guy is disgusting. I'll definitely beat him to death in the future," Lin Changqiang muttered unhappily behind Lin Dong.
"Thank you for your kindness, Cousin Lin Hong, but we still prefer to search for them ourselves. It's not easy for the family to earn money, so saving whatever we can is probably for the best." Lin Dong ignored Lin Changqiang's whispering behind him and smiled as he spoke. In the past, if he had run into Lin Hong, he would have had no choice but to grit his teeth and back down. But now, things were different. With the mysterious Stone Talisman, surpassing Lin Hong was only a matter of time.
"Oh? Cousin Lin Dong has quite some backbone, just like your father. Like father, like son indeed." Lin Hong chuckled. To anyone else's ears, his words carried a clear tone of mockery.
Hearing this, a flash of anger flickered in Lin Dong's eyes.
"Haha, since this Red Sun Herb was found by Qing Tan, it should naturally be returned. Don't worry, Qing Tan. Once we get back, I'll teach this reckless fool a lesson on your behalf." Lin Hong snatched the Red Sun Herb from Lin Shan's hand and waved it toward Qing Tan with a smile.
Seeing his gesture, Qing Tan pursed her small lips, hesitating to step forward. She was worried that he might use this as an excuse to cause trouble for Lin Dong later. If so, she would rather just give up on this Red Sun Herb.
Seeing this, the corners of Lin Hong's mouth curled up slightly.
"Cousin Lin Hong is indeed magnanimous."
However, before the smile on Lin Hong's face could widen, Lin Dong chuckled. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he took a stride forward, stopped right in front of Lin Hong, and reached out without the slightest hesitation to grab the Red Sun Herb.
Lin Dong's sudden action caused Lin Hong's expression to freeze. He stared intently at the youth in front of him, a cold light flickering in his eyes. Lin Dong's gesture was no different from slapping him in the face in front of everyone.
Lin Dong completely ignored his gaze. He gave a light tug on the Red Sun Herb, only to find that Lin Hong's hand was gripping it tightly like an iron vise. He immediately smiled and said, "What's wrong? Has Cousin Lin Hong also taken a liking to this Red Sun Herb?"
Hearing this, the corner of Lin Hong's eye twitched. He slowly released his grip, staring at Lin Dong with a cold light in his eyes. With a chuckle, he said, "Cousin Lin Dong, I happen to have a bit of interest in your Tongbei Fist. Why don't we have a friendly spar?"
As soon as his last words fell, he did not wait for Lin Dong's reply. Taking a powerful step forward, he struck a palm toward Lin Dong's chest. The palm wind whipped against Lin Dong's face, countless times stronger than Lin Shan's previous attacks.
Seeing that Lin Hong had attacked without warning right after speaking, Lin Dong's face darkened. He quickly raised both arms in front of his chest to block, shielding his vital spots.
"Bang... bang!"
As fist and palm collided, Lin Dong instantly felt a powerful force and a sharp pain transmit through his arms. He stumbled back a dozen steps, but fortunately, his foundation was solid, allowing him to avoid falling to the ground.
"Yuan Power? The sixth layer of the Tempered Body?!"
Steadying himself, Lin Dong stared solemnly at Lin Hong and spoke in a low voice. Just now, he had clearly seen an extremely faint glow flicker across Lin Hong's palm, which was obviously the power of Yuan Power.
In other words, Lin Hong had already stepped into the sixth layer of the Tempered Body stage, and a seed of Yuan Power had already been born within his body.
Lin Hong glanced at Lin Dong, his brow furrowing. He was clearly dissatisfied that his previous strike had failed to defeat Lin Dong. However, he was confident that he could defeat Lin Dong within five moves. This was the confidence of the sixth layer of the Tempered Body.
"Cousin Lin Dong is indeed quite capable. Let's keep going!"
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. Lin Hong obviously had no intention of letting Lin Dong off. With a faint smile, he charged forward once more. This time, many people could see an extremely faint glow surging across Lin Hong's body, causing quite a few of them to gasp.
Seeing Lin Hong's aggressive advance, the anger on Lin Dong's face deepened. Just as he was gritting his teeth, preparing to unleash his Tongbei Fist with all his might to fight to the bitter end, a sharp, angry shout suddenly rang out.
"Stop this instant!"
Lin Hong's footsteps halted because of this voice. Looking over, he saw a young girl pushing her way through the crowd, her beautiful face filled with anger.
The young girl was dressed in red, looking to be around seventeen or eighteen years old, slightly older than the others present. She was quite beautiful, with brown hair tied in a high ponytail, a slender waist, and raised eyebrows that gave her a somewhat heroic, masculine aura.
"It's Sister Lin Xia!"
As soon as she appeared, several startled cries immediately rang out from the surroundings.
"So it's Sister Lin Xia," Lin Hong said with a chuckle upon seeing the red-clothed girl.
"Lin Hong, we are all members of the Lin Family. Is there any need to use Yuan Power during a friendly spar?" The girl named Lin Xia glanced at the scene and said with a frown.
"It was just a bit of fun. Since Sister Lin Xia has spoken, then of course it's nothing," Lin Hong said nonchalantly.
Lin Dong, who had already pulled back his fists, also greeted her as Sister Lin Xia. She was the daughter of his eldest uncle. Although she was a girl, she was currently the most outstanding among the younger generation of the Lin Family. It was said that she had reached the sixth layer of the Tempered Body stage half a year ago, and who knew how much she had progressed since then.
Lin Xia's reputation, even among her peers in Qingyang Town, was considered quite decent. Therefore, her status within the Lin Family was relatively high, and even Lin Hong did not dare to offend her.
"What's the point of bullying your own family members? Wait until the Qingyang Town Hunt begins. If you have the ability to compete with the younger generation of other families, then that would be considered real skill," Lin Xia scolded. Although she acted like an authoritative older sister, she was quite fair and upright.
"Sister Lin Xia is absolutely right," Lin Hong replied smugly. He then walked over to Lin Dong with the Red Sun Herb, tossed it to him, and suddenly said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "At the Family Competition in half a year, I will make it into the top three. Then, I will ask Grandfather to arrange a marriage between me and Qingtan. So, take good care of Qingtan for me; she is my future wife, after all."
Having said that, he patted Lin Dong's shoulder as if they were very close, then turned around with a squinting smile and swaggered away with Lin Shan.
Looking at Lin Hong's retreating figure, Lin Dong clenched his fists tightly, a cold light flashing in his eyes. He would absolutely never let Qingtan marry such a fool!
"You want to make the top three? It won't be that easy!" Although he was currently lagging far behind Lin Hong, now that Lin Dong possessed the Stone Talisman, his confidence had surged. Combined with his own relentless efforts, he would surely be able to surpass Lin Hong before the Family Competition.