11: A new talent emerges, a guest from a sect arrives.

The cold wind of early December swept snowflakes across the small courtyard. Lin Yang's Thunder Blast Kill shattered the last block of ice at his fingertips. Pale blue water vapor mixed with crimson sparks condensed into a mist in mid-air. He looked at the half-foot deep ice pit on the bluestone ground; the burning pain in his palm had not yet faded, but a smile already graced his lips—after more than a month of refinement, this move, which once required three breaths to charge, could now be unleashed in an instant, its power surpassing before.

"Again." He pulled a hundred-jin heavy iron Ore from the corner of the wall, and circulated his Metal Element True Essence over his fist. The moment a platinum light flashed, his fist had already struck the Ore. There was no earth-shattering sound, only fine cracks spreading like a spiderweb, and the entire Ore crumbled into powder, falling rustlingly.

This was the profundity of the Explosive Qi Realm—True Essence, once it permeated the body, could be freely controlled, capable of unleashing the ferocity of the Thunder Blast Kill, or condensing into the restrained power of a Metal Element fist. Lin Yang took a deep breath and turned to the table, picking up the last few sheets of Xuan Paper. As the wolf-hair brush was fully dipped in cinnabar, the chaos star core in his Sea of Consciousness trembled slightly. As the forbidden character was written, the paper turned to ashes, and simultaneously, the stubborn outer layer of the Stone Root Grass embryo peeled off, revealing the purple roots inside, with even the finest root hairs completely intact.

"My Mental Energy has condensed a bit more." He rubbed his throbbing temples, the tingling sensation from writing the forbidden character still lingering on his fingertips. This month, by peeling Stone Root Grass, he had accumulated three hundred taels of silver, enough to support his Cultivation needs until after the New Year. More importantly, through the repeated tempering of Mental Energy and True Essence, his control over the five elements of energy became increasingly refined, even allowing Fire Element and Water Element True Essence to flow alternately at his fingertips without conflict.

News of the approaching New Year arrived with the smoke from the Lin family's chimneys. Every household in the town began to air-dry cured meat, but Lin Yang's small courtyard remained quiet and desolate until the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, when a rush of footsteps broke the silence.

"Lin Yang! Get out here!"

The roar exploded like thunder, shaking the accumulated snow off the courtyard gate. When Lin Yang pushed open the firewood gate, he saw a young man in a green robe standing with his hands behind his back at the alley entrance. His figure was as tall and straight as a pine tree, and the sword tassel on his waist swayed without wind. His face bore a three-tenths resemblance to Lin Dongping's, but he appeared more heroic. At this moment, however, his brows were furrowed into a 'chuan' character, and his gaze swept over Lin Yang like a knife.

"Houtian Eighth Layer Peak." Lin Yang's heart tightened. The aura emanating from the other party was several times heavier than Shen Yuelan's, clearly indicating that he was the Lin family's true Prodigy—Lin Dongliu.

What concerned him more was the woman beside Lin Dongliu. She wore a plain white long dress, its hem embroidered with pale purple cloud patterns. Her dark hair cascaded like a waterfall to her waist, and her skin was so fair it seemed to glow. Most astonishing were her eyes, clear as autumn water. When she looked over, it felt as if all his Meridians were seen through. Three faint halos enveloped her body: the innermost layer was pure white, the middle layer was greenish, and the outermost layer was shrouded in a faint, ethereal purple mist, making it impossible to judge her Cultivation level.

"This woman..." Lin Yang's chaos star core suddenly trembled violently, and a needle-like pain shot through his Sea of Consciousness, as if a pair of invisible eyes were peering through his skin, directly into the five-element core within.

"How dare you hurt my younger brother? Today, I will make you pay!" Lin Dongliu stepped forward, and the pressure of a Houtian Eighth Layer Peak practitioner surged like a tide. The accumulated snow on both sides of the alley was stirred up by the Qi energy, condensing into ice shards in mid-air.

Lin Yang, however, advanced instead of retreating. His five-element True Essence circulated simultaneously, and a yellowish Earth Element True Essence condensed into a thin shield on his body: "Lin Dongliu, there is an order of seniority. Have you forgotten how to show respect upon seeing your clan brother?"

"Bastard!" Lin Dongliu's face turned ashen with rage. He had been the Lin family's favored son since childhood; when had he ever been contradicted like this? He slammed his right hand onto his sword hilt, and the long sword, gleaming with a green light, was drawn three inches from its sheath. The Sword Qi cut through the accumulated snow on the ground, parting it to both sides.

"Since you two are of the same clan, why resort to weapons?"

The woman's voice suddenly rang out, ethereal like a clear spring dripping onto stones in a mountain stream. She merely raised her hand gently, her wrist like jade. Before her fingertips could even touch the two, an invisible wave of Qi energy already stood between Lin Yang and Lin Dongliu. Lin Dongliu's Sword Qi collided with the Qi energy and dissipated like a mud ox entering the sea. Even he himself was shaken back half a step, a look of horror on his face.

Lin Yang's heart was even more profoundly shaken—this Qi energy seemed gentle, yet it carried an irresistible rhythm, as if it were the manifestation of the rules of heaven and earth, almost causing his five-element True Essence to stagnate.

"Young Miss Shuanghua..." Lin Dongliu took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and his tone instantly became respectful. "This child is incorrigibly unruly, repeatedly disrespecting his elders. If he is not severely punished, it may damage the Lin family's reputation."

The woman, addressed as Shuanghua, shook her head faintly, her gaze once again falling upon Lin Yang. This time, Lin Yang saw clearly that there seemed to be a river of stars flowing deep within her pupils. The moment her gaze touched the chaos star core in his Sea of Consciousness, a faint trace of surprise flashed in those autumn-water-like eyes, so quick it was like an illusion.

"Clan disputes, stopping when enough is enough is fine." Shen Shuanghua retracted her gaze, her voice still calm. "The New Year's Festival is approaching, why hurt the harmony?"

Although Lin Dongliu was unwilling, he dared not defy her wishes. He glared fiercely at Lin Yang: "Hmph! For the sake of Young Miss Shuanghua, I will spare you for now! If you dare to step onto the stage at the New Year's Festival, I will break all your limbs and make you a cripple forever!"

With that, he respectfully led Shen Shuanghua to turn and leave, their figures in green and white robes quickly disappearing at the alley entrance.

It wasn't until the two had gone far that Lin Yang realized his back was drenched in cold sweat, and the fragment of tianluo molybdenum gold hidden close to his body was actually slightly hot. He leaned on the door frame, panting, his heart still pounding—that woman's gaze had clearly seen through the abnormality of his chaos star core!

"Misty Immortal Palace... Shen Shuanghua..." Lin Yang murmured these two names. From Lin Dongliu's attitude, this woman must be a Prodigy from a major Sect. But why would she appear in Qingshi Town? And why would she notice his chaos star core?

The cold wind, carrying snowflakes, poured into the alley. Lin Yang tightened his clothes, a serious expression flashing in his eyes. He knew that with the arrival of this Sect visitor, the waters of Qingshi Town had become thoroughly deep. And his path of revenge would likely face storms far beyond imagination.