Chapter 4:
Lin Yun didn't waste any words. Facing the attack of many people, he threw powerful punches without using his元力, engaging in a tussle with the likes of Lin Shan using the Falling Stone Fist.
His punches were heavy; with one strike, even the Ironback Cang Bear, who was at the fifth level of body tempering, felt it, let alone Lin Shan and his weak companions, who were only at the fourth level of body tempering and simply couldn't withstand it.
Anyone who took a punch from Lin Yun cried out in pain.
Before long, several of them were lying on the ground, wailing for their mothers.
"Falling Stone Fist!"
Lin Shan swung his fist towards Lin Yun.
He also practiced the Falling Stone Fist; however, when Lin Yun saw his stance, it was clear he had barely grasped the basics and hadn't even reached a small level of proficiency. Facing Lin Yun's fully developed Falling Stone Fist was like striking a stone with an egg.
"Bang!"
Lin Yun punched out, colliding with Lin Shan's fist, producing a dull sound. The heavy punch directly shattered Lin Shan's wrist.
"You call that the Falling Stone Fist? You're just throwing pebbles," Lin Yun said lightly, shaking his head, and then punched Lin Shan squarely in the face.
"Ah~ Lin Yun, how dare you hit me, how dare you hit me!" Lin Shan screamed like a pig being slaughtered, turning into a repeating machine.
The commotion attracted quite a few onlookers.
Seeing Lin Shan getting beaten, the people around couldn't help but smile, secretly feeling delighted.
Qingtan's little nose twitched, and her big eyes stared blankly at Lin Yun.
"Qingtan, are you okay?" At that moment, Lin Dong and Lin Chang Qiang arrived and came to Qingtan's side.
Qingtan swallowed hard and said, "I'm fine, they wanted to snatch my spiritual herbs, but Brother Lin Yun stopped them."
The three looked at Lin Yun.
Lin Yun was still beating Lin Shan and the others.
Lin Shan's sense of superiority made Lin Yun very angry, as if it was unbelievable that Lin Yun could hit him. Was it forbidden for an orphan to hit a young master?
Lin Shan was the type who relied on his family's power, only daring to be arrogant at home and bullying the younger generation within the clan, but outside, he was just a well-behaved dog.
Such a dog needed a good lesson.
"Stop!"
A larger boy rushed over from behind Lin Shan, shouting for them to stop, but he aimed a palm strike at Lin Yun.
Lin Yun immediately punched out, and the two were both knocked back a few steps from the collision.
"Lin Hong!"
The expressions of Lin Dong and the others changed instantly.
The newcomer was Lin Shan's older brother, Lin Hong. Among the younger generation of the Lin family, Lin Hong was very outstanding, ranking among the top. He had reached the fifth level of body tempering at just fifteen years old, and by now, he had likely cultivated a元力 seed, reaching the sixth level of body tempering.
"Brother, he hit me!"
Seeing Lin Hong, Lin Shan, who had been beaten into a pig's head, seemed to find his support and cried out with a whimper.
"Useless, what are you crying about?" Lin Hong said irritably.
He turned to Lin Yun, his gaze instantly sharp, "Lin Yun, you hit my brother so hard at the fifth level of body tempering; that's not appropriate, is it?"
"Your brother is at the fourth level of body tempering, and he brought a group of people to attack Qingtan, who hasn't even reached body tempering; isn't that inappropriate?" Lin Yun coldly questioned.
He made it clear that he was standing up for Qingtan.
"Did you bully Qingtan?" Lin Hong looked at Qingtan and then questioned Lin Shan.
Qingtan was cute and lively, and Lin Hong had long been smitten with her. He had even thought of making an early engagement with Qingtan, planning to marry her once she came of age, but was rejected by Lin Xiao.
Lin Shan swallowed hard and awkwardly said, "No, brother, we were just playing with Qingtan, we didn't do anything."
"Hmph!"
Lin Hong snorted coldly, temporarily ignoring Lin Shan.
He continued to direct his anger at Lin Yun, "Regardless of the circumstances, my brother Lin Hong's brother is not someone you can teach a lesson to."
"I've already taught him a lesson," Lin Yun replied lightly.
He didn't regard Lin Hong at all.
He was also at the sixth level of body tempering, not inferior to Lin Hong. Even if he offended him, it didn't matter. Qingyang Town was just a small place; not to mention Lin Mang's branch, the entire Lin family wasn't anything significant. With the system in place, Lin Yun would surpass them in no time.
Moreover, this was merely a dispute among the younger generation. As long as it didn't involve life-and-death struggles, it wouldn't have a significant impact within the family and wouldn't alert the older generation to intervene.
Seeing that a conflict with Lin Hong was unavoidable, Lin Yun immediately established a task.
Fighting shouldn't be for nothing; there should be rewards.
[Task: Spar with Lin Hong. Reward: One bottle of Second-Rank Blood Qi Pill.]
Lin Hong's face was grim as he coldly said, "Then let me teach you a lesson too. An orphan without guidance can become lawless."
After saying this, Lin Hong took a step forward and struck out with a palm aimed at Lin Yun's chest, the force of the wind hitting Lin Yun's face, the palm technique fierce.
Lin Hong did not use his elemental power, nor did Lin Yun; they both threw simple punches, colliding hard against each other once more.
However, this time Lin Hong retreated a few steps.
In terms of physical strength, he surprisingly could not match Lin Yun.
"Hmph, is the fifth level of body refinement really that strong?" Lin Hong's expression darkened as he struck out again, this time using his elemental power.
"Eight Desolation Palm."
His palms emitted a faint cyan glow of elemental power as they struck fiercely towards Lin Yun.
"Elemental power seed, sixth level of body refinement!"
Lin Dong exclaimed in surprise, worry etched on his face as he looked at Lin Yun, instinctively clenching his fists.
Qingtan also clenched her small hands tightly, her cute face filled with guilt, because Lin Yun was likely to suffer for helping her.
The birth of an elemental power seed at the sixth level of body refinement marked a fundamental difference from the fifth level; they were not on the same level at all.
Lin Yun was in danger.
"No, Lin Yun offended Lin Hong to help Qingtan, I must help him." Lin Dong hesitated slightly, gritted his teeth, and charged forward.
Even though he was only at the fourth level of body refinement and was far from being Lin Hong's opponent, he couldn't just stand by and watch someone get hurt for standing up for them.
"Lin Hong, brother, you might as well teach me a lesson too."
Lin Dong attacked from behind, launching a sneak attack on Lin Hong.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The sound of the four strikes of the Tongbei Fist echoed as his fists slammed hard into Lin Hong's back.
Lin Hong wanted to turn around, but Lin Yun's fist was already coming at him from the front.
"Falling Stone Fist!"
The expected scene of Lin Yun being sent flying did not happen; instead, he firmly blocked Lin Hong's palm wind.
At that moment, people noticed that Lin Yun's fist also emitted a glow of elemental power, which was even more intense than Lin Hong's.
Lin Hong felt a sting in his palm, and at the same time, he suffered a sneak attack from Lin Dong behind him. Although Lin Dong was only at the fourth level of body refinement, the four strikes of the Tongbei Fist hitting him still hurt, causing his face to twitch.
"It's impossible, how could you also break through to the sixth level of body refinement?" Lin Hong endured the pain, shocked and in disbelief.
He had to expend considerable resources to break through to the sixth level of body refinement. His father, Lin Mang, now controlled the Lin family's finances and had spent a lot of spiritual herbs on him to let him outpace his peers.
Lin Yun was younger than him, and as an orphan, without any support, how could he also reach the sixth level of body refinement?
Not only Lin Hong, but the others were also shocked.
They all knew Lin Yun trained hard, but they didn't expect his talent to be so good, able to catch up with Lin Hong.
"What are you doing?"
At that moment of stalemate, a girl stepped out from the crowd, her pretty face filled with anger as she scolded them loudly.
The girl wore red clothing and appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old, slightly older than the others. She was quite beautiful, with a brown ponytail cascading down her slender waist, and her slightly raised brows exuded a spirit not inferior to a man's.
"Lin Xia, sister!"
Many people called out.
Lin Xia was the eldest daughter of the main branch, Lin Ken, and the foremost among the younger generation of the Lin family. She had broken through to the sixth level of body refinement half a year ago, and in terms of status and strength, she was not inferior to Lin Hong.
Although she was a woman, she held considerable authority among the younger generation.
Lin Xia seemed to have already understood the situation, glaring at Lin Hong, then looking at Lin Yun with some surprise, clearly taken aback by Lin Yun's breakthrough to the sixth level of body refinement.
"We are all brothers of the same clan; what kind of ability is it to fight among ourselves? If you really have the capability, wait until the Qiyang Hunt and compete with the younger generation of other families. Winning against them is what truly counts."
Lin Xia's words prevented the conflict from escalating further.
Lin Hong, feeling unconvinced, shot a glance at Lin Yun. "In the clan competition six months from now, I'll make you see my strength."
"Hehe!" Lin Yun chuckled lightly, not saying anything harsh.
In another six months, he would be able to trample Lin Hong underfoot.
"And you, I won't hold this against you for now. Once I secure a top three finish in the clan competition, I'll ask Grandpa to let me first betroth Qingtan, so make sure to take good care of her. She will be my future wife." Lin Hong glared fiercely at Lin Dong.
After finishing his threats, Lin Hong left with Lin Shan and the others in a huff.
"Lin Yun, I didn't expect you to be able to match Lin Hong. As far as I know, he broke through to the sixth level of body refinement three months ago. Did you surpass him even earlier?" Lin Xia pondered, looking at Lin Yun with curiosity.
"I just recently managed to break through by luck. Being able to fend off Lin Hong is only due to a bit of brute strength; it doesn't mean much," Lin Yun said lightly, not wanting to highlight his own prowess.
Lin Xia said, "It's already quite impressive to break through to the sixth level of body refinement at your age. Brother Lin Yun, you shouldn't belittle yourself. Having such an outstanding junior in the clan will surely make Grandpa very happy. Just perform well in the clan competition."
"As for Lin Hong, you don't need to worry. I will go warn him."
"Thank you, Sister Lin Xia!" Lin Yun cupped his hands in thanks.
After that, Lin Yun lifted the wild boar on the ground and prepared to leave.
"Brother Lin Yun!"
Qingtan suddenly called out to him and said cheerfully, "Thank you."
"Thank you, Brother Lin Yun," Lin Dong also expressed his gratitude.
"Mm!" Lin Yun gave the two siblings a gentle glance and nodded slightly in acknowledgment before turning to leave.
This was his first encounter with Lin Dong and Qingtan since his transmigration, and his impression was quite good.
Especially Lin Dong, who had the courage to take action against Lin Hong; he was bold and had a sense of loyalty.
Having read the original work, Lin Yun really liked Lin Dong, particularly his indomitable spirit, resilience, and strong sense of justice, filled with passion and character.
Back in his room.
Lin Yun began to check his task rewards.
[Task: Teach Lin Shan a lesson and help Qing tan out of a predicament. Reward: A pair of Golden Silkworm Boxing Gloves. Completed, would you like to claim it?]
[Task: Spar with Lin Hong. Reward: A bottle of Second Grade Blood Qi Pills. Completed, would you like to claim it?]
"Claim!"
Lin Yun looked at the boxing gloves and the pills in his hands and chuckled, "This counts as a pleasant surprise."