"What do you want?" asked the Second Elder whose voice was trembling as he watched Lin Hai approach.
The crowd had been astonished by Lin Feng's performance. At that moment the crowd had just noticed that Lin Hai was already on the battle stage and was approaching the second elder.
"What do I want? You haven't forgotten our deal of a moment ago, right? Lin Hai said smiling coldly.
"Brother please listen, The Second Elder… no…. Lin Ye is a member of our clan after all… He has always worked hard and performed a valuable service for the clan. Please forgive him this time." Lin Ba Dao said loudly as he quickly tried to block Lin Hai's path.
"Forgive him? Lin Ba Dao, don't you think you're ridiculous? A moment ago, you had all taken advantage of my son and you were completely indifferent. Did you ever ask yourself, how much I, Lin Hai, as head of the clan, have done for the benefit of the Lin clan? Are you saying that you intend to go back on your promise in front of everyone and leave that kind of impression on the young members of the clan?"
Lin Hai's was extremely strict with his rebuke which made Lin Ba Dao embarrassed to have said anything in the first place. The entire chain of events could speak for itself. He wanted to go back on his words but had no argument as to justify his actions. If he went back on his words now then he would surely lose face.
"Now, move out of my way. I would like to announce that Lin Ye, Second Elder, is no longer in charge of his functions. In addition, I'm going to teach him a lesson." Said Lin Hai while moving past Lin Ba Dao.
"If you think things will go that smoothly then you underestimate me." Said Lin Ye while quickly turning to flee.
"Whoosh"
"Whoosh."
Lin Hai flicked both of his sleeves lightly which caused the atmosphere to violently vibrate and become icy cold. This was followed by a groan from Lin Ye. He was trying to escape but his body had become completely stiff and he could no longer move an inch. His bones were cold and brittle to the touch. His whole body was covered in a layer of ice and his skin felt like it was burning from the cold.
"BOOOM!"
The ice covering his body shattered causing a terrifying impact. Lin Ye's entire body was still freezing over and the ice was penetrating deep into his body. Blood was flowing out from the corner of his mouth but the warm sensation only lasted a moment before that blood would freeze solid. He collapsed onto the ground, unable to keep himself standing. His body looked like it had shrunk as he curled into a ball and rolled on the ground. He was shaking all over and all he could do was try and keep himself as warm as possible. Only his malicious looking eyes were still staring at Lin Hai. With each movement, layers of his skin which had frozen solid were breaking apart causing unbearable pain.
Lin Ye wasn't a weak cultivator. He couldn't be defeated that easily by most of the clan members, but he didn't dare fight against Lin Hai. Lin Hai was like an unmovable mountain, he was unable to tell how strong Lin Hai was exactly, but fighting him was courting death.
Many people watched the scene like statues, unmoving with mouths wide open in shock. They hadn't expected that Lin Hai would be so powerful and even use his powers in cruel ways. It was clear that Lin Ye had enraged the head of the clan and was being punished for it. It was also a clear warning, by showing just how easily he could deal with an elder of the clan, he was warning those who plotted against him that they would be risking their lives. After all, the Second Elder was Lin Ba Dao's assistant.
"Now, lets continue with the annual meeting, I assign the Sixth Elder to take over from where Lin Ye failed. If you cannot follow clan rules or want to refuse then tell me now." Said Lin Hai while rolling up his sleeve which made him look incredibly imposing.
Lin Feng was looking at his father full of admiration, he was smiling from ear to ear. His father was so strong and in this world only the strong deserved respect. Lin Hai didn't usually give such displays of his strength, this was not because he was not strong enough but rather he did not enjoy needless displays of strength.
Nobody dared to call into question what Lin Hai had done to an elder of the clan. Even though Lin Ba Dao and Lin Zhen were furious, they just had to contain their anger and stay silent.
The battles continued. Lin Feng was the strongest of the fourth group. Only Lin Yu was at the eighth Qi layer, all the others were at the seventh Qi layer. Six battles later, nobody had been able to take a single blow from the piece of trash, Lin Feng. There was only Lin Yu and Lin Feng left to fight within the fourth group.
As far as the other groups were concerned, in the first group, Lin Qian hadn't fought a single battle, all her opponents had given up before even attempting to fight. In the second and the third group, Lin Hong as well as Lin Wu were undefeated. They had won all their battles as expected. There was another disciple who stood out and his name was Lin Hen. Nobody had expected him to be that strong as there was not much known about his strength previously. He had won all of his battles, but unfortunately he had to fight Lin Wu next. Many clan members thought it would be a good experience to humble him.
Finally the rankings were already in place and soon the third round would begin. The last battles of the third and fourth group were taking place. However the top eight clan members had already been decided.
"Third group: Lin Wu versus Lin Hen. Fourth group: Lin Feng versus Lin Yu." Announced the Sixth Elder. Everybody looked very interested again. These four cultivators were all undefeated in their previous matches. They wanted to see how long Lin Hen would last against Lin Wu. The majority of the crowd was focused on watching to see if Lin Feng would be able to defeat Lin Yu who had already reached the eighth Qi layer.
The crowd erupted in cheers for the upcoming fights. Lin Hen was fighting with Lin Wu who was one of the best junior cultivators of the Lin Clan. This would surely be a great battle to watch.
They had been shocked by Lin Feng but they didn't expect much from him as he was previously only sixth Qi Layer. He could have only reached the seventh Qi layer at most or maybe had just broken through to the eighth Qi layer. How was he supposed to be win against Lin Yu who was already at the peak of the eighth Qi layer? Many members of the clan still had trouble removing the previous association of Lin Feng being useless and a piece of trash. So many assumed he would surrender his next fight.
The four practitioners stepped onto the arena. Lin Hen was pretty straight forward, he cupped his hands before his chest as a sign of respect and said: "We have already qualified for the third round, we do not need to fight unnecessary battles with other clan members."
"Even though we already qualify for the next round, I, Lin Wu, always welcome a fight. I want to show everyone who the strongest of our group is." Said Lin Wu while shaking his head in refusal.
"I Surrender." Said Lin Hen while smiling and completely ignoring Lin Wu's wishes to fight.
"Lin Wu wins." Said the Sixth Elder with a wry smile. It was his son that had just given up…
"Coward." Lin Wu said insulting Lin Hen, then turned around and left. On stage there was only Lin Feng and Lin Yu left.
"Hehe, finally. Lin Yu will fight that piece of trash. I hope that Lin Yu can teach him a good lesson." Said Lin Ba Dao in an ice cold tone. He had thought that Lin Feng would get crippled during the second round but he hadn't expected that Lin Feng had actually become so strong in such a short period. He was no longer weak, like many had thought. He hadn't lost a single battle so far in the fourth group and had not even used more than a single strike.
"Don't worry, Lin Yu is a true member of the Lin Clan, he will definitely show that piece of trash what it means to be strong." Said the Third Elder confidently. He was very confident about his son's abilities and skills. It would be difficult for Lin Yu to finish amongst the top three at the end of the annual meeting but he was hopeful that his son would finish amongst the top five within the younger generation.
"Let's watch and enjoy the show." Said Lin Ba Dao while nodding.
Lin Yu's confident expression had vanished but he still tried to keep his head calm. He couldn't forget that moment when Lin Feng had slapped him. He hated Lin Feng bitterly for that but at the same time, he was also terrified of the monster that stood before him. That piece of trash that was also the clan's young master, had changed into a mysterious beast. Gu Song wasn't weak but had been injured and thrown out of the window by Lin Feng. Lin Yan could use his sword with great skill but when he battled with Lin Feng, his sword had looked like a toy in the hands of a child. Lin Yu didn't have even have a small amount of self confidence in beating Lin Feng.
He could feel the pressure created by the entire audience staring at him, Lin Yu could not help but gulp with the amazing pressure he was under. He really was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Everybody was waiting for him to teach Lin Feng a lesson, including his own father but did he even have the power to do such a thing?
"Since we're already qualified for the next round, do we really need to fight?" asked Lin Yu in a very soft voice.
Lin Feng had a fake smile on his face and kept glaring at Lin Yu yet remained silent.
"Bastard." Thought Lin Yu. He then took a deep breath and said: "I give up."
"Huh?"
The Third Elder as well as the crowd were all stupefied when they heard Lin Yu.
"Did he just give up…?"
At the moment when everyone couldn't wait to see Lin Feng be taught a lesson, Lin Yu surprisingly acted the same way as Lin Hen and chose not to battle.
"What's going on?" Lin Ba Dao asked looking extremely puzzled.
"Maybe Lin Yu wants to humiliate him during the finals." Guessed the Third Elder without being convinced of his own words.
The second round finished. The top clan members were Lin Qian, Lin Hong, Lin Feng, Lin Yu, Lin Wu, Lin Hen, Lin Ying as well as Lin Li.
The third round was also the finals. It consisted of one-on-one battles.
Lin Ying and Lin Li were staring at Lin Feng with longing eyes. They were praying to fight against Lin Feng, they had no grudge with Lin Feng, they had only wanted to guarantee a spot in the top four.
"First battle: Lin Qian versus Lin Ying." Said the Sixth Elder. Lin Ying's face turned white in a second. That was the unluckiest situation he could be in. He was assigned to fight the strongest of all the young clan members.
"Lin Qian, even though I probably will not be able to touch you even once, I still wish to fight. I hope that you can show me how great the distance between us is."
She had no other choice but to fight against Lin Qian. That was going to be her last battle. Everybody was aware that she was definitely going to lose, but she would not surrender her pride.
"I will." Replied Lin Qian cold and detached to the extent that she even looked somewhat arrogant.
"Let's Begin!" shouted Lin Ying advancing towards Lin Qian. She didn't even release her spirit. She was going to lose in any case, but this was a matter of the Lin Clans pride. She only wanted to see how strong Lin Qian was so she could aim to one day be as strong as her.
"Ice." Shouted Lin Qian. Lin Ying's hand hadn't even touched Lin Qian yet but her hand was already feeling extremely heavy as if it weighed one thousand jin and the speed had dropped drastically.
In an instant, Lin Qian's tiny hand was already on Lin Ying, whose body was already covered with a layer of frost.
"You lose." Lin Qian shook her hand and Lin Ying immediately collapsed onto the ground. Lin Ying was shaking on the ground from the cold. She looked similar to the Second Elder a moment ago, but much less pitiful.
"How strong! So that what a cultivator of the Ling Qi layer is capable of. What a power! Good thing that I don't have to fight against Lin Qian." Said the others who felt lucky they didn't have to fight against Lin Qian.
"First battle: Lin Qian wins. Second battle: Lin Hong versus Lin Yu." Announced the Sixth elder.
"I give up." Said Lin Yu making a wry smile. He was obviously not going to fight against Lin Hong. He hadn't thought he would successively give up twice. He was eliminated.
"Second battle: Lin Hong wins. Third battle: Lin Feng versus Lin Li."
"Pheww, awesome." Lin Li had a big smile on his face. Lin Li was at the peak of the eighth Qi layer. He thought all the others would be quite hard to defeat but Lin Feng should be an easy win.