Chapter 19: Anticipation: How Strong is Lin Yan Really?

Lin Yan felt somewhat amused by the discussions around him. He hadn't expected that an incident from several months ago would be brought up again.

However, he didn't pay too much attention to it. After all, in his current view, he and Lin Hong were not on the same level anymore.

As he continued forward, he noticed a slim girl in a red dress, with fair skin and a long ponytail, walking towards him.

Lin Yan recognized her as Lin Xia and greeted her with a smile, "Long time no see, Lin Xia."

Lin Xia smiled back at him, but her eyes showed a hint of resentment when she heard "long time no see." "You finally remember 'long time no see,' huh? You're always so busy. Even when you have time, you don't think of visiting your sister. Your sister misses you a lot, you know."

Lin Yan's gaze became increasingly strange upon hearing this.

Seeing his peculiar expression, Lin Xia didn't continue teasing him. Instead, she spun around in front of him and said with a smile, "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. Look, what realm do you think I'm in now?"

After carefully observing Lin Xia, Lin Yan replied, "The eighth layer of body tempering?"

Pleased with herself, Lin Xia nodded, but upon seeing Lin Yan's indifferent reaction, she felt a bit dissatisfied. "You, you're so indifferent. It's as if reaching the eighth layer of body tempering is no big deal!"

Lin Yan exaggeratedly exclaimed, "Wow, Lin Xia is so strong!"

Lin Xia's face immediately darkened. "Alright, alright, stop pretending. You're not sincere at all."

She sighed and continued, "Actually, I have to thank you. If it weren't for your potion, I would probably still be at the seventh layer of body tempering like Lin Hong. So, I really owe my progress to your potion."

Lin Yan just smiled and didn't say much.

Lin Xia then asked, "That poor Lin Hong still thinks he can beat you now, even though he's only ascended one level to the seventh layer of body tempering. He's living in a fantasy world."

"Your strength should be stronger than mine now, right?"

Lin Xia glanced at Lin Yan tentatively. Since meeting Lin Yan several months ago, she hadn't inquired about his progress. But she felt that Lin Yan was much stronger than her now. His current strength might even surpass hers, meaning he might be at the ninth layer of body tempering?

"About the same as you, sister."

"Not much stronger."

Lin Yan modestly replied.

Lin Xia gave him a skeptical look. "I doubt that."

The two continued walking forward and soon met Lin Dong and the others, walking side by side. However, Qingtan, who was following behind them and seeing the two chatting and laughing, felt a sourness in her heart and pouted.

"Today is the day of our Lin family's clan competition. Thanks to everyone for coming to support. Since we're all familiar faces here, I won't waste any time and get straight to the point."

"As usual, we'll draw lots to determine opponents. All the young ones participating in the clan competition, come and draw lots."

On the venue, Lin Zhentian, the head of the Lin family, finally appeared.

He had a decisive personality and didn't like beating around the bush. So as soon as he appeared, he went straight to the point, letting the young members of the Lin family start drawing lots.

One by one, Lin Yan and the others came forward to draw lots and then went to the preparation area to wait for their matches.

After everyone finished drawing lots, Lin Zhentian returned to his seat.

The competition began quickly, but Lin Zhentian didn't immediately watch the matches. Instead, his gaze swept over the preparation area and ultimately settled on Lin Yan.

"That child, he must be Lin Yan."

"I heard he defeated Lin Hong before. I didn't expect another genius to emerge in our Lin family."

Lincoln on the side also chimed in:

"Indeed, not bad. Among the younger generation of our Lin family, Lin Hong is already in the top three."

"The fact that this kid could defeat him indicates he's quite talented."

Lincoln paused for a moment.

"But I heard Lin Hong has reached the seventh level of body tempering, and he's still holding a grudge over what happened last time."

"I wonder if this kid can still beat him."

Lin Zhen Tian just smiled and waved his hand, "It's no big deal."

"Small conflicts among the younger generation are fine as long as they don't get too serious. A little rivalry is a good thing; it motivates them to train harder."

Lin Zhen Tian looked at Lin Yan, who was chatting and laughing with Lin Xia, and smiled.

"But speaking of which, isn't Lin Xia at the age for marriage? It seems her relationship with Lin Yan is quite good."

Lincoln chuckled but didn't say much.

The two men's attention finally returned to the competition arena.

Although they had their favorite dark horses in mind, as elders, they also needed to pay attention to the growth of the other younger members. After all, it was part of their responsibility.

Thus, as time passed, the Lin family competition heated up.

During this time, Lin Hong, Lin Xia, Lin Dong, and Lin Yan had all made their moves and successfully advanced.

But when it came to Lin Yan, his strength was the most unpredictable.

Because in several rounds of matches, Lin Yan didn't even need to use martial skills. With ease, he evaded his opponents' attacks and then struck with a single decisive blow when they least expected it.

This left many people unable to accurately estimate Lin Yan's true strength.

"Have you figured out how strong that kid really is?"

After watching one of Lin Yan's matches, Lin Zhen Tian asked Lincoln.

Lincoln shook his head, "I couldn't really tell."

"But one thing's for sure, he's at least above the sixth level of body tempering."

Lin Zhen Tian gave Lincoln a disapproving look, "Isn't that obvious?"

Lincoln smiled awkwardly, and Lin Zhen Tian turned his gaze back to the arena.

"But not being able to tell now doesn't matter because we'll find out soon enough."

"The family competition is almost over, and there aren't many people left."

"In the next round, whether facing Lin Hong, Lin Xia, or even Lin Yan, they'll have to show their true abilities, won't they?"

The next round of drawing lots quickly began.

Lin Hong's gaze was fixed on Lin Yan.

After all, ever since the last incident, he felt like he had lost face.

So all along, he had been hoping to use this family competition as an opportunity to reclaim his reputation.

"The next match! Lin Hong versus Lin Xia! Both sides, please come forward!"

But Lin Hong's wish was not fulfilled this time. In this round of drawing lots, he didn't draw Lin Yan, but instead drew Lin Xia.

The referee's voice soon rang out.

Upon hearing the referee's voice, Lin Hong could only reluctantly step onto the stage.

"Such a shame, didn't get to draw Lin Yan."

"Oh well, let's defeat Lin Xia first. Then in the next round, we should be able to deal with Lin Yan."

(End of chapter)