Chapter 3
Deep in the back mountain of the Lin family!
Lin Yun was navigating through the dense woods, searching for suitable demon beasts to take down.
Too strong to handle, too weak to be challenging, too fast to catch up with.
After climbing over several mountains, he finally found a big fellow.
In the forest, a black giant bear was charging toward Lin Yun. It had a massive body, a smooth and hairless back, as hard as iron.
Lin Yun recognized it; this was the Iron-back Cang Bear, which had the strength of the fifth level of body tempering after reaching adulthood. It was very tough and could withstand a lot of damage; ordinary weapons like knives, guns, bows, and swords could hardly break through its defenses.
Before taking action, Lin Yun attempted to establish a mission.
[Mission: Kill the Iron-back Cang Bear. Reward: Low-level Qiankun Bag, Constitution +1.]
"The reward is pretty good."
Before Lin Yun could feel happy about it.
"Roar!"
The Iron-back Cang Bear had already spotted him. Unfriendly to the human intruding in its territory, it let out a furious roar and charged at Lin Yun.
Lin Yun quickly mobilized the elemental energy within his body, channeling it into his fists.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
...
Lin Yun executed the Tongbei Fist, directly clashing with the Ironback Cang Bear. After delivering ten consecutive punches, the bear, weighing over five hundred pounds, was sent flying.
The gap between the fifth and sixth levels of body tempering was enormous; with the elemental energy, it was like a dimensional strike.
The Iron-back Cang Bear could not possibly be Lin Yun's opponent.
However, this beast was tough; after enduring a complete set of Lin Yun's Tongbei Fist, it still wasn't dead and got up, preparing to flee.
Lin Yun would never give it the chance and chased after it to deliver another punch.
The Falling Rock Fist struck heavily, shaking the Ironback Cang Bear's internal organs.
[Mission: Kill the Iron-back Cang Bear. Reward: Low-level Qiankun Bag, Constitution +1. Completed, would you like to claim it?]
"Claim!"
[Constitution 8 (Ordinary) — Constitution 9 (Ordinary)]
A flash of white light appeared, and a palm-sized blue bag appeared in Lin Yun's hand. The bag shimmered with a faint silver-blue glow, embossed with special patterns, and had a wonderful texture.
The inside was relatively spacious, about the size of a room.
Lin Yun stored the Iron-back Cang Bear in the Qiankun Bag and continued hunting.
After searching the woods for a while, Lin Yun hunted two wild boars. Unfortunately, neither was as formidable as the Ironback Cang Bear. He only established killing missions for them and received two Qi Blood Pills as rewards, without any attribute rewards.
As night fell, Lin Yun prepared to head home.
Fortunately, he had the Qiankun Bag, which allowed him to store the demon beast corpses inside, saving him a lot of effort. However, to avoid drawing attention, he still carried one wild boar on his back.
On the way back, Lin Yun reflected on today's battles.
"My fist technique is strong enough, and my attack power is sufficient, but my speed is too slow. I can't catch up to agile demon beasts at all. It seems I need to learn a martial art focused on speed when I get back."
...
As Lin Yun approached the Lin family, he could see scattered figures in the forest.
Most of them were Lin family members searching for medicinal herbs.
The back mountain of the Lin family connected to a vast forest. Besides dangerous wild beasts and demon beasts, there were also opportunities, namely spiritual herbs.
Spiritual herbs were highly valuable; finding a first-grade spiritual herb could not only be used for cultivation but could also fetch a good price.
The nearby forest had been cleared by the Lin family's hunting team, so there were generally no demon beasts. Therefore, many clan members liked to come here to try their luck, making the area quite lively.
Lin Yun had come here before but had no luck finding spiritual herbs. Even this time, after hunting a demon beast at the fifth level of body tempering, he still hadn't encountered a single first-grade spiritual herb.
"Hey, what a beautiful girl!" Lin Yun suddenly saw a figure like a butterfly flashing stunningly through the woods ahead of him.
"Looks like it's that Qing Tan!"
Lin Yun recognized Qing Tan, although he wasn't familiar with her before; he had only seen her in the clan.
Qing Tan was Lin Dong's younger sister, adopted by Lin Dong's mother, and did not belong to the Lin family bloodline.
In the original story, Qing Tan harbored feelings for Lin Dong, but unfortunately, Lin Dong either truly didn't know or pretended not to know, treating Qing Tan like a real sister, which was simply ungrateful! Unaware of her feelings! Wasteful! Shameful!
How could such a cute little loli be left to live a lonely life?
Lin Yun slightly quickened his pace and soon saw her; indeed, it was Qing Tan, looking about thirteen or fourteen years old, very youthful.
She wore a simple light-colored outfit, her skin as white as snow, with a delicate face, picturesque features, and lively eyes. Her large, dark eyes sparkled as she searched around the woods like a little girl picking mushrooms, looking extremely adorable.
Lin Yun slowly followed behind her, not in a hurry to go home.
It was still quite dangerous for the little girl to be alone in the woods. Although this area was close to the Lin family and usually had no demon beasts coming over, what if?
"Wow, this is Chiyang Grass!"
Suddenly, Qing Tan seemed to have found a treasure and exclaimed in surprise.
Lin Yun looked over and saw the little loli's fair hand covered in mud, currently grasping a fiery red plant.
"One-grade spiritual herb, Chiyang Grass." Lin Yun recognized the herb and couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder she is the protagonist's sister; such luck."
However, to Lin Yun, who had already reached the sixth level of body refinement, a one-grade spiritual herb was not very tempting.
With her find, Qing Tan immediately prepared to head home; she wanted to quickly deliver the spiritual herb to her brother Lin Dong.
Recently, Lin Dong had been practicing martial arts diligently, and Qing Tan had been wanting to help her brother, so she had frequently gone to the back mountain to look for spiritual herbs.
The happy little loli, holding the Chiyang Grass, bounced her way home.
Lin Yun followed behind her, not noticing anything unusual.
Before long, they reached the intersection on the way home. A round little chubby boy came out, grinning as he followed Qing Tan, trying to curry favor with her.
Lin Yun recognized him; that guy was Lin Changqiang, Qing Tan's little follower, who had a crush on her.
Qing Tan was delicate and lovely, not just in the Lin family but throughout Qingyang Town, many people liked her.
If she weren't so young, there would probably be suitors lining up at Lin Dong's doorstep.
As they walked, a group of people suddenly appeared ahead and blocked their way.
Lin Yun recognized the group; the leader was Lin Shan, the second son of Lin Mang from the second branch of the Lin family. This guy had a conflict with Lin Dong and had bullied him quite a bit. Now, encountering Qing Tan, he was probably planning to bully her as well.
Qing Tan and Lin Changqiang's expressions immediately turned ugly. Seeing the situation, Lin Changqiang sensed danger and ran away.
Leaving Qing Tan, a little girl, to face Lin Shan and his group alone.
Lin Shan and his gang's target was not Lin Changqiang; they didn't chase after him but surrounded Qing Tan instead.
A few strong young men blocked the intersection, encircling Qing Tan in the middle.
"Hey, isn't that Chiyang Grass? Qing Tan, you picked it for me," Lin Shan said with a smirk, staring at the Chiyang Grass in Qing Tan's hand.
"What do you mean, picked it for you? Go away, this is mine."
Qing Tan shouted, protecting the Chiyang Grass in her arms, not caring that the dirt on the grass was soiling her clothes.
"I guess you want to take the Chiyang Grass to that Lin Dong guy, right? That useless waste would just waste it; better give it to me," Lin Shan said with a wicked smile.
"Lin Shan, don't go too far!" Qing Tan shouted angrily.
Lin Shan was not in a hurry; he crossed his arms and looked at the furious Qing Tan with a carefree grin, saying, "We found this Chiyang Grass yesterday; we were just waiting to come and get it today. You took our stuff and still say I'm going too far?"
"You're talking nonsense!" Qing Tan yelled, her face flushed with anger.
Lin Shan showed no mercy; seeing Qing Tan angry, her fierce little look made him even happier. "I'm serious, Qing Tan. If you give me the Chiyang Grass, I'll let you go."
"Not a chance!" Qing Tan gritted her silver teeth and held the Chiyang Grass tightly.
"In that case, it seems you'll have to sleep here today," Lin Shan said with a sneer, glancing at Qing Tan. "That Lin Changqiang kid seems to have run away; he must be going to find Lin Dong, right? Good, I didn't get enough fun last time."
"You... jerk." Qing Tan became anxious.
Lin Shan took a step forward and threatened quietly, "You wouldn't want your brother Lin Dong to get beaten, would you?"
Remembering how Lin Dong had been knocked unconscious by Lin Shan before, Qing Tan felt a wave of fear and choked out, "No!"
At this moment, Qing Tan looked weak and helpless, pitiful with her big, shiny eyes sparkling with tears that were desperately holding back from falling.
Her appearance was heart-wrenching.
Others around saw this scene, but unfortunately, none stepped in to help Qing Tan. Lin Shan's father was now in charge of the Lin family's finances, and no one dared to offend him, which had led to Lin Shan becoming notorious as a little tyrant among the younger generation.
Lin Yun could no longer stand by.
How could he bear to let such a cute little loli be bullied?
In the past, he might not have dared to offend Lin Shan, but now, he was empowered and had nothing to fear.
"System, establish a mission."
[Mission: Teach Lin Shan a lesson and help Qing Tan out. Reward: A pair of Golden Silkworm Boxing Gloves.]
"Give me the Chiyang grass, and I won't hit him anymore, how about that?"
"Are you going to give it or not? If you don't, Lin Dong is going to get beaten up."
Just as Lin Yun was walking over, Lin Shan was still threatening Qing Tan in a despicable manner.
Qing Tan was clearly on the verge of breaking down.
She was unwilling to give the spirit medicine to Lin Shan, but she didn't want to see her brother Lin Dong getting bullied.
At that moment, she wished someone would come to help her, to stand up for her, and teach Lin Shan a harsh lesson.
"Whoa!"
At that moment, a shadow flew over, and a wild boar weighing hundreds of pounds slammed into Lin Shan.
It directly knocked Lin Shan away, the heavy body of the boar pressing down on him.
The few people surrounding Qing Tan were taken aback, turning their heads to look in the direction the wild boar came from.
Qing Tan also froze in her tearful expression, her lively big eyes looking at Lin Yun who was walking over, momentarily stunned, and a look of hope finally appeared on her face.
Someone really came to help her.
"Lin Yun!"
Lin Shan's few lackeys were somewhat astonished, not expecting Lin Yun to dare to hurt Lin Shan.
He was an orphan, with no backing in the Lin family; how could he dare to offend Lin Shan? Was he not afraid of retaliation? Lin Shan had his brother Lin Hong and his father Lin Mang backing him, neither of whom Lin Yun could provoke.
However, they knew that Lin Yun had been diligently cultivating and had already reached the fifth level of body refining, so they didn't dare to act recklessly.
"Cough, cough, Lin Yun, you damn orphan, are you looking for death? How dare you hurt me."
Lin Shan pushed the wild boar off him, angrily pointing at Lin Yun and cursing.
"Go for him, beat him up." Lin Shan directly ordered his lackeys.
So what if Lin Yun was at the fifth level of body refining? They were all at the third and fourth levels; with so many of them together, they weren't afraid of losing.
As long as he wasn't at the sixth level of body refining and didn't have a Yuan power seed, the gap in strength wouldn't be too great.
Moreover, Lin Shan was furious and didn't care about anything else.
An orphan dared to hit him; how could he tolerate that?