Su Yu had long since noticed that what Lin Xiaotian had on his hands was just some dirt. With a slight release of Power from his palm, he easily pushed the flailing boy away as if shoving a ball of cotton.

"Well, look at you! Not even afraid of Lord Lin Xiaotian’s Dogshit Turtle Fist. What’s your name?"

Su Yu pretended not to hear. He finished putting away his spare clothes, then turned, picked up Mo Yuan, and walked straight out the door toward the Martial Arts Arena.

’There are still several hours left in the day. I can’t afford to neglect my White Ape Fist training.’

’The Martial Examination is only a month away. I have to break through to the First Acupoint before then!’

"Hey! Are you mute?"

Seeing that he was being ignored, Lin Xiaotian squawked in anger, sticking to Su Yu’s back like a little tail and muttering nonstop the entire way.

However, the boy didn’t do anything too outrageous, so Su Yu continued to ignore him.

In a corner of the Martial Arts Arena, Su Yu stopped and assumed the White Ape Fist stance.

His Qi and Blood circulated, and his major tendons hummed like taut bowstrings.

Seeing how absorbed Su Yu was in his training, Lin Xiaotian’s eyes darted about as he prepared to rush over and cause more trouble.

Su Yu’s brow furrowed slightly. With a flick of his toe, he sent a dry twig flying into his hand.

CRACK!

With a flick of his wrist, the twig lashed out like a whip, striking Lin Xiaotian squarely on the butt.

"WAAAH!"

Lin Xiaotian froze for a second, then plopped down on the ground and began wailing at the top of his lungs, his face instantly covered in tears and snot.

The commotion immediately attracted the attention of others in the Martial Arts Arena.

"What’s going on?"

"Who is this outsider? How dare he bully the young master here in the Lin Family estate!"

A dozen or so Lin Family branch members and guards surrounded them, every one of them looking hostile.

"You’re asking for death, kid! Who do you think you are!"

"Get him!"

"He looks like the guy Sister Lin brought back. We should ask what happened first."

"Ask my ass! He’s just some disciple from who-knows-which branch family. He dared to bully Xiaotian, so beat him up!"

Seeing he had backup, Lin Xiaotian immediately stopped crying. He pointed at Su Yu, looking cocky. "See, kid? Now do you see how powerful I am? Apologize to me right now, and I’ll tell them to leave!"

Su Yu’s expression remained calm; he simply found them noisy and continued his training. ’But if they really dare to make a move, I don’t mind putting them in their place.’

Seeing Su Yu’s silence, a few hot-blooded branch disciples sneered, thinking he was scared. Rolling up their sleeves, they closed in with sinister grins. "Young Master Xiaotian, we’ll take care of him for you!"

Just as a fight was about to break out...

CRACK!

The sound of a whip tearing through the air like a clap of thunder made everyone flinch, and they scrambled backward.

"Stop it, all of you!"

Lin Jing strode over, swaying her hips. She held a purplish-bronze soft whip, her pretty face filled with a menacing aura.

"Here comes that little tyrant," someone muttered under their breath.

Lin Jing was one of the family’s newly-promoted Martial Artists. She was powerful and had a fiery temper, so none of the ordinary disciples dared to provoke her.

"Lin Xiaotian, what is the meaning of this!"

Lin Jing didn’t confront Su Yu, but instead berated Lin Xiaotian, which made Su Yu glance at her with curiosity.

Lin Xiaotian bared his teeth like a little tiger cub, but his retreating footsteps gave him away. "It wasn’t my fault! He hit me! But... but I forgive him! Bye-bye!" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Though young, the kid was extremely cunning. Seeing things were not going his way, he immediately made a run for it.

Just then, Lin Dong walked over. He cupped his fists toward the crowd and said, "Everyone, this is Brother Su, an expert of the Martial Artist Realm and an honored guest invited personally by Sister Lin. Let’s all disperse now. No need to make a spectacle of ourselves."

"A Martial Artist?"

"Invited by the Second-in-Command?"

The once-menacing crowd instantly lost their nerve. The few Lin Family disciples who had been the most aggressive shrank back, shot Su Yu an awestruck glance, and then scattered in all directions.

With the area now quiet, Lin Dong approached Su Yu and cupped his fists apologetically. "Brother Su, I’m sorry about that. Xiaotian is the Patriarch’s son, and he can be a bit of a handful."

"That little brat is asking for another beating!" Lin Jing said, angrily cracking her whip on the ground and leaving a white gash on the bluestone paving.

Lin Dong explained with a smile, "Xiaotian doesn’t mean any harm, he just loves to stir up trouble. My sister whipped him once, and ever since then, he’s been scared to death of her."

"It’s nothing," Su Yu said lightly. "Thank you both for your help."

’This is my first time in the Lin Family estate; I don’t want to cause unnecessary trouble. If I had beaten up that group of ordinary disciples, who knows what kind of schemes their families would cook up later.’

’After all, it’s impossible for a clan like this not to have a few brain-dead, spoiled brats among its disciples.’

’Still, judging by the way Lin Dong and Lin Jing handled things, the Lin Family’s general conduct seems to be alright.’

Pushing aside these thoughts, Su Yu went back to practicing his White Ape Fist, putting the incident out of his mind.

Seeing Su Yu practicing his forms, his Qi and Blood surging, and noting that he, too, had yet to open his First Acupoint, a flicker of eagerness flashed in Lin Jing’s eyes. "Su Yu, since we’re both going to participate in the Martial Examination, why don’t we have a sparring match? We can gauge each other’s level in the Martial Arts."

"Sister Lin told us to learn a lot from you, so don’t you dare back down like a coward!"

With that, she took two long strides closer. Her leopard-print tunic accentuated her powerful, explosive curves, and she looked like a true leopardess that had just locked eyes on its prey—Su Yu.

Lin Dong spoke, feigning helplessness. "Brother Su, my sister’s just a bit blunt. She has always preferred to let her fists do the talking. Please don’t take it personally."

Su Yu smiled. ’As if he couldn’t see what these siblings were trying to do.’

’But a Martial Arts spar does have its benefits. Master Qin’s instructions for the month were for Senior Sister Lin to take me around to various sparring matches.’

’Fighting Lin Jing now is also a form of training.’

"In that case, I will gladly experience Miss Lin’s skills."

"Excellent!"

Lin Jing’s eyes lit up. She flicked her soft whip, making it dart like a snake’s tongue. "But I have a rule when I spar: there must be stakes! Otherwise, what’s the point?"

"What kind of stakes?"

"If I win, I get to hit your butt three times with this whip, and you have to be my lackey from now on. How about it?"

Su Yu’s expression grew cold. "And if you lose?"

"I’ll be at your mercy!" Lin Jing declared with absolute confidence.

Hearing this, Lin Dong quickly tried to mediate. "Brother Su, my sister is just joking. Let’s keep things friendly, let’s keep things friendly."

Su Yu said calmly, "I won’t take advantage of you. If Miss Lin loses, I’ll also whip you three times, and we’ll add a wager of one hundred silver taels. How does that sound?"

"Fine! Enough dawdling, let’s start!"

The words had barely left her mouth when Lin Jing’s long whip shot out like a striking viper. With a HISS, it tore through the air, aimed directly at Su Yu’s face.

Su Yu immediately executed the Swaying Forest Step. His body drifted backward like a falling leaf in the wind, effortlessly dodging the strike.

But the whip immediately changed direction in mid-air and continued to snake toward Su Yu!

Lin Jing’s volley of whip strikes was a single, fluid motion. It was incredibly fast, making the air crackle with a series of sharp reports.

The other Lin Family disciples practicing nearby were drawn by the commotion and gathered to watch.

"Sister Jing’s whip technique has improved again! Combined with her Purple Gold Whip, its power is incredible!"

"Yeah, you’re right. This newcomer Su Yu might be a Martial Artist, but he looks so young. He’s probably going to be at a disadvantage."

"Sister Jing is an expert aiming for a top rank in the Martial Examination. How could some nobody like Su the kid, who just appeared out of thin air, possibly compare to her?"

In the center of the arena, Su Yu’s expression remained neutral as he constantly shifted his footwork to evade the attacks.

’I’m currently cultivating the Seven Fiends Thunder Collapse Step. Although I haven’t reached the Skilled mastery level yet, my base speed has already increased by over twenty percent. For someone at the First Acupoint stage, that’s more than enough to handle most situations.’

’And that’s without even using techniques like the Thunder Collapse Step.’

’This fight with Lin Jing is the perfect opportunity to temper this footwork.’

That was why he wasn’t in a hurry to counterattack; he was simply getting used to the pace.

"Su Yu, is all you can do run and dodge? Why don’t you just kneel before me now and let me give you a proper whipping!" Lin Jing grew increasingly smug as she saw she was forcing Su Yu back step by step.

’This is his level? And Sister Lin actually told me to learn from him?’

Hearing this, Su Yu’s expression turned cold, and his fingers tightened around the hilt of his Mo Yuan Saber.