Deep in the back mountains of the Lin family!
Lin Yun traversed the dense forest, searching for a suitable demonic beast to prey on.
Those too strong were too much to handle, those too weak offered no challenge, and those too fast were too fast to catch.
After traversing mountains and valleys, he finally found a large creature.
In the forest, a giant black bear was charging towards Lin Yun. It had a massive body, a smooth, hairless back, and was as hard as iron.
Lin Yun recognized it; it was an Iron-Backed Azure Bear. Once fully grown, it possessed the strength of a fifth-level Body Tempering cultivator, making it extremely resilient and powerful. Ordinary swords, spears, bows, and arrows would have difficulty penetrating its defenses.
Before making a move, Lin Yun first attempted to create a quest.
[Quest: Kill the Iron-Backed Azure Bear. Reward: Low-level Qiankun Bag, Constitution +1.]
"The reward isn't bad."
Before Lin Yun could even feel pleased,
"Roar!"
The Iron-Backed Azure Bear had already spotted him. Showing no mercy to this human who had trespassed into its territory, it roared and charged at Lin Yun.
Lin Yun quickly mobilized his internal energy, channeling his power into his fists.
"Crack!"
"Crack!"
...
Lin Yun unleashed his Tongbei Fist, directly confronting the Iron-Backed Bear. He delivered ten consecutive punches, sending the 500-pound Iron-Backed Bear flying.
The difference between the fifth and sixth levels of Body Tempering was enormous; with Yuan Power, it was a matter of overwhelming force.
The Iron-Backed Bear was no match for Lin Yun.
However, this guy was resilient. Even after taking a full set of Lin Yun's perfect Tongbei Fist, he wasn't dead yet and got up to escape.
Lin Yun wasn't about to give him a chance, chasing after him for a follow-up punch.
The Falling Rock Fist was powerful and heavy, shattering the Iron-Backed Bear's internal organs.
[Mission: Kill the Iron-Backed Bear. Reward: Low-level Qiankun Bag, Constitution +1. Completed, claim?]
"Claim!"
[Constitution 8 (Unremarkable) - Constitution 9 (Unremarkable)]
A flash of white light, and a palm-sized cyan cloth bag appeared in Lin Yun's hand. The bag shimmered with a faint silver-cyan luster, was imprinted with special runes, and had a peculiar feel.
The interior was fairly spacious, about the size of a room.
Lin Yun put the Ironbacked Bear into his Qiankun Bag and continued hunting.
After searching the forest for a while, Lin Yun hunted two more wild boars, but unfortunately, neither was as powerful as the Ironbacked Bear. He only received two Qi and Blood Pills as a reward for completing the kill quest, without any attribute bonuses.
It was getting late, and Lin Yun prepared to go home.
Luckily, he had his Qiankun Bag, which allowed him to store the monster carcasses, saving him a lot of effort. However, to avoid suspicion, he still carried one of the wild boars on his back.
On the way back, Lin Yun reflected on today's battle.
"My fist technique is strong enough, and my attack power is sufficient, but my speed is too slow. Agile monsters simply can't catch up. It seems I need to learn a movement technique to increase my speed when I get back."
…
Approaching the Lin family compound, scattered figures could be seen in the forest.
Most of these were members of the Lin family, searching for medicinal herbs.
The back mountain of the Lin family connected to a vast forest, where, besides dangerous wild beasts and demonic beasts, there were also opportunities—spiritual herbs.
Spiritual herbs were highly valuable; finding a grade-grade spiritual herb could not only be used for cultivation but also fetch a considerable sum.
The nearby forest had been cleared by the Lin family's hunting teams, so there were generally no demonic beasts. Therefore, many clansmen liked to come here to try their luck, making the area quite lively.
Lin Yun had been here before, but his luck had been bad; he hadn't encountered any spiritual herbs. Even this time, after venturing deep into the forest to hunt and killing demonic beasts at the fifth level of Body Tempering, he hadn't found a single grade-one spiritual herb.
"Wow, what a beautiful girl!" Lin Yun suddenly saw a figure as graceful as a butterfly flash across the forest in front of him.
"It looks like that little loli, Qing Tan!"
Lin Yun recognized Qing Tan, but they weren't familiar with each other before; he had only seen her in the clan.
Qingtan is Lin Dong's younger sister, adopted by Lin Dong's mother and not of the Lin family bloodline.
In the original story, Qingtan harbors feelings for Lin Dong, but Lin Dong, whether genuinely unaware or feigning ignorance, actually treats her like a younger sister—utterly ungrateful! What a waste! Shameful!
How can such a cute little girl be left to grow old alone?
Lin Yun slightly quickened his pace and soon spotted her. It was indeed Qingtan, about thirteen or fourteen years old, very young.
She wore a simple light-colored outfit, her skin as white as snow, her face delicate, her features exquisite, her eyes bright and lively, her large, dark eyes blinking like a little girl picking mushrooms, searching through the forest, appearing extremely adorable.
Lin Yun slowly followed behind her, not in a hurry to go home.
It was still dangerous for this little girl to be alone in the forest. Although this place was close to the Lin family and generally no demonic beasts came here, what if something happened?
"Wow, this is Crimson Sun Grass!"
Suddenly, Qingtan seemed to have found some treasure, exclaiming in surprise.
Lin Yun looked over and saw that the little girl's fair hands were covered in mud, and she was currently clutching a fiery red plant.
"A first-grade spiritual herb, Crimson Sun Grass." Lin Yun recognized the herb and sighed slightly, "No wonder she's the protagonist's sister, what luck!"
However, a first-grade spiritual herb was nothing to Lin Yun, who was already at the sixth level of Body Tempering.
Qing Tan, having made her harvest, immediately prepared to go home. She wanted to quickly deliver the spiritual herb to her brother, Lin Dong.
Recently, Lin Dong had been diligently practicing martial arts, and Qing Tan had been wanting to help her brother, so she had been frequently running to the back mountain to find spiritual herbs.
The happy little girl, holding the Crimson Sun Grass, skipped and hopped home.
Lin Yun followed behind her without noticing.
A short while later, they reached the intersection leading home. A chubby little boy emerged, smiling broadly as he followed Qingtan, trying to ingratiate himself with her.
Lin Yun recognized him; his name was Lin Changqiang, Qingtan's constant companion who adored her.
Qingtan was exquisitely beautiful, lively and adorable, and not only the Lin family, but the entire Qingyang Town had many admirers.
If she weren't still so young, suitors would probably be lining up at Lin Dong's doorstep.
As they walked, a group of people suddenly appeared and blocked their way.
Lin Yun recognized the group; the leader was Lin Shan, the second son of Lin Mang, the second son of the Lin family. This guy didn't get along with Lin Dong and had bullied him quite a bit; now that he'd encountered Qingtan, he probably intended to bully her too.
Qingtan and Lin Changqiang's expressions immediately darkened. Sensing the danger, Lin Changqiang turned tail and ran,
leaving Qingtan alone to face Lin Shan and his group.
Lin Shan and his men weren't after Lin Changqiang; instead, they surrounded Qingtan.
Several strong teenagers blocked the road, surrounding Qingtan.
"Hey, isn't this the Crimson Sun Grass? Qingtan, you picked it for me." Lin Shan leered at the Crimson Sun Grass in Qingtan's hand.
"What do you mean 'picked it for you'? Get out of the way, this is mine."
Qingtan snapped, clutching the Crimson Sun Grass to her chest, ignoring the dirt on her clothes.
"I bet you were planning to take the Crimson Sun Grass to that Lin Dong guy. That good-for-nothing would be a waste if he used it, so give it to me." Lin Shan said with a wicked grin.
"Lin Shan, don't go too far." Qingtan retorted angrily.
Lin Shan wasn't in a hurry. He crossed his arms, looking at the furious Qingtan with unbridled smirk, and chuckled,
"We found this Crimson Sun Grass yesterday, we were just waiting to pick it up today. You took our stuff, and you're saying I'm going too far?"
"You're talking nonsense!" Qingtan shouted angrily, her face turning red with rage.
Lin Shan showed no mercy, only delighted by Qing Tan's angry, yet fierce, expression. "I'm serious, Qing Tan, give me the Crimson Sun Grass, and I'll let you go."
"Don't even think about it!" Qing Tan gritted her teeth, clutching the Crimson Sun Grass tightly.
"Since that's the case, it seems you'll have to spend the night here." Lin Shan chuckled, glancing at Qing Tan, and said, "That kid Lin Changqiang seems to have run away earlier, probably to find Lin Dong, right? Good, I didn't get enough of a beating last time."
"You... bastard." Qing Tan immediately panicked.
Lin Shan took a step forward, threatening in a low voice, "You don't want your brother Lin Dong to get beaten up, do you?"
Thinking of how Lin Dong had been beaten unconscious by Lin Shan before, Qing Tan felt a wave of fear and cried out,
"No!"
At this moment, Qing Tan was weak, helpless, and pitiful, her large, dark eyes glistening with tears, which she stubbornly held back.
Her appearance was heartbreaking.
People around witnessed this scene, but unfortunately, no one stood up for Qing Tan. Lin Shan's father now controlled the Lin family's finances, and no one dared to offend him, which made Lin Shan a notorious bully among the younger generation.
Lin Yun couldn't stand it anymore.
How could he bear to let such a cute little girl be bullied?
He might not have dared to offend Lin Shan before, but now, with his cheat-like abilities, what was there to be afraid of?
"System, create a mission."
[Mission: Teach Lin Shan a lesson and help Qing Tan out of this predicament. Reward: A pair of Golden Silkworm Gauntlets.]
"Give me the Crimson Sun Grass, and I won't hit him anymore, okay?"
"Are you going to give it to me or not? If you don't, Lin Dong might come and get beaten up."
Just as Lin Yun walked over, Lin Shan was still threatening Qing Tan in a cheeky manner.
Qing Tan was clearly on the verge of a breakdown.
She was unwilling to give the Mind-Body Medicine to Lin Shan, but she didn't want to see her brother Lin Dong being bullied.
At this moment, she desperately hoped that someone would come to her aid, stand up for her, and teach Lin Shan a lesson.
"Whoosh!"
At that moment, a dark shadow flew over, and a wild boar weighing several hundred pounds slammed into Lin Shan.
It sent Lin Shan flying, the heavy boar's body pressing down on him.
The men surrounding Qing Tan were startled and turned to look in the direction the boar had come from.
Qing Tan also froze, her tearful face turning pale. Her bright eyes looked at Lin Yun approaching, and she paused slightly before a glimmer of hope appeared on her face.
Someone had really come to help her.
"Lin Yun!"
Lin Shan's lackeys were somewhat taken aback, not expecting Lin Yun to dare to injure Lin Shan.
He was an orphan, with no support in the Lin family; how could he dare offend Lin Shan? Wasn't he afraid of retaliation?
Lin Shan had his brother Lin Hong and his father Lin Mang behind him, neither of whom Lin Yun could afford to offend.
However, they knew that Lin Yun had been diligently cultivating and had already reached the fifth level of Body Tempering, so they didn't dare to act rashly.
"Cough cough, Lin Yun, you damned orphan, are you looking for death? How dare you hurt me!"
Lin Shan pushed the wild boar off him, pointing at Lin Yun and cursing furiously.
"Attack him!" Lin Shan directly ordered his henchmen.
So what if he's at the fifth level of Body Tempering? They're all at the third or fourth level. With multiple people attacking, outnumbered, they're not afraid of losing.
As long as they're not at the sixth level of Body Tempering and don't have a Yuan Power Seed, the difference in strength won't be too great.
Besides, Lin Shan is furious right now and doesn't care about anything else.
An orphan dared to hit him, how could he tolerate that?