The courtyard had barely returned to calm after Lin Tao's hasty escape, when the system's cold voice rang in Lin Chen's mind once again.
[Ding! Daily sign-in refresh completed! Do you want to sign in now?]
Lin Chen's lips curled into a faint smile. He had just broken through to the 4th level of Qi Refining that morning, and now another sign-in opportunity had arrived.
"Sign in."
[Ding! Sign-in successful! Congratulations to host for obtaining:
1. Cultivation Base Upgrade: 5th Level of Qi Refining!
2. High-Grade Earth-Rank Defensive Skill: Vajra Unbreakable Body!
3. Special Item: Foundation Breaking Pill x1!
4. Spirit Stones: 25,000!]
Boom!
A wave of pure, violent spiritual energy erupted inside Lin Chen's body, like a volcano waking from slumber. His cultivation rose without a single obstacle, breaking through the peak of the 4th level and stepping straight into the 5th level of Qi Refining. In an instant, his aura doubled, the air around him rippling with suppressed power.
At the same time, a complete set of defensive skill memories flooded into his mind. Vajra Unbreakable Body, a top-tier earth-rank defensive technique. Once activated, his body would become as hard as spiritual steel, immune to most attacks below the 7th level of Qi Refining. This was the perfect counter to Lin Kun, the 6th level Qi Refining elder who was sure to come for him.
Lin Chen slowly opened his eyes, a sharp light flashing through them.
In just four days, he had gone from a crippled 1st level trash to a 5th level Qi Refining warrior, with earth-rank offensive and defensive skills. Even in the entire Lin Family, there were less than ten people who could stand against him now.
He had just stabilized his new cultivation base when a deafening roar shook the entire inner courtyard.
"LIN CHEN! YOU DARE TO CRIPPLE MY DISCIPLE? GET OUT HERE AND DIE!"
The voice was filled with boundless rage, so loud that every disciple in the inner courtyard could hear it clearly. The ground trembled slightly with the force of the shout, a clear sign of a 6th level Qi Refining expert's power.
Lin Kun had arrived.
Lin Chen walked out of his courtyard calmly. Outside, the entire street was packed with inner courtyard disciples, all of them staring at his courtyard gate with shock and excitement. In the center of the crowd stood a middle-aged man in a dark elder robe, his face twisted with fury, his eyes blazing with killing intent.
This was Lin Kun, one of the Lin Family's core elders, a genuine 6th level Qi Refining powerhouse. He was one of the most influential figures in the younger generation's management, and no one had dared to offend him for years.
Behind him stood a dozen inner courtyard disciples, all of them staring at Lin Chen with hatred and disdain. The crippled Lin Tao was being carried by two of them, his face pale and twisted, staring at Lin Chen with venom in his eyes.
When Lin Kun saw Lin Chen walk out, his rage exploded.
"You little bastard! You dare to cripple my nephews and my personal disciple? Do you really think you can run wild in the Lin Family just because you got lucky a few times?!" Lin Kun roared, the violent aura of a 6th level expert pressing down on Lin Chen like a mountain.
The surrounding disciples all held their breath. They knew Lin Kun was furious beyond measure, and Lin Chen was definitely going to die today. No one had ever dared to humiliate an elder of the Lin Family like this, let alone a former outer courtyard trash.
But Lin Chen stood completely still under the crushing aura, his expression calm and indifferent.
"Lin Hao and Lin Feng bullied me for years, and Lin Tao came to my courtyard to kill me. They lost because they were weak. Why are you here to throw a tantrum?" Lin Chen said lightly, his voice clear enough for everyone to hear. "If you want to fight, then fight. Don't waste my time with your nonsense."
The entire street fell dead silent.
Everyone stared at Lin Chen in disbelief. He was actually talking back to a 6th level elder? Was he crazy?
Lin Kun was so angry he laughed. "Hahaha! Good! Very good! No one has dared to speak to me like this in twenty years! Today, I will not only cripple your cultivation, I will break every bone in your body and throw you into the clan's dungeon to rot!"
He roared, and his right hand shot out. A huge palm print made of thick yellow spiritual power formed in the air, slamming toward Lin Chen with the force of a landslide. This was Lin Kun's full-power attack, a high-grade mysterious rank skill that had killed countless enemies.
The surrounding disciples all cried out in shock, covering their eyes, sure that Lin Chen was about to be crushed into a pulp.
But at that moment, Lin Chen moved.
He didn't dodge. Instead, he took a deep breath, and activated the Vajra Unbreakable Body skill. A faint golden glow wrapped around his entire body, like an invisible armor.
Boom!
The huge palm print slammed into Lin Chen with a deafening crash. The stone ground under his feet cracked and shattered, dust flying everywhere.
The entire street fell silent.
Then, as the dust cleared, everyone's eyes widened in shock, their mouths hanging open.
Lin Chen was still standing there, completely unharmed. The golden glow around his body had faded slightly, but he didn't have a single scratch on him.
He had blocked a full-power attack from a 6th level Qi Refining elder with his body alone.
"How… how is this possible?!" Lin Kun stared at Lin Chen, his face filled with disbelief and terror. He couldn't understand how a 5th level disciple could block his attack.
Lin Chen looked at him coldly, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Is that all you've got, Elder Lin?"
He activated the Thunder Shadow Movement skill, and his figure turned into a thunder-colored afterimage, closing the distance between him and Lin Kun in an instant. Before Lin Kun could react, Lin Chen raised his right fist, and a blue thunder glow wrapped around his hand, accompanied by the deafening roar of a dragon.
Azure Dragon Thunder Fist! Full power!
Boom!
The punch slammed into Lin Kun's chest.
A terrifying explosion of thunder and dragon might erupted, tearing through Lin Kun's spiritual defense in an instant. Lin Kun let out a shrill, blood-curdling scream, and his body was sent flying more than thirty meters away, crashing through three courtyard walls before slamming into the ground.
He lay there, spitting out large mouthfuls of blood, his chest caved in, his dantian completely shattered. His 6th level Qi Refining cultivation, which he had spent decades building, was gone forever.
The entire inner courtyard was dead silent.
Every disciple stood there, frozen in shock, unable to believe what they had just seen.
Lin Chen, the former trash of the Lin Family, had just defeated and crippled Elder Lin Kun, a 6th level Qi Refining powerhouse, in two moves.
This was a miracle that had never happened in the entire history of the Lin Family.
Lin Chen slowly lowered his fist, and looked at the terrified disciples around him. His voice was cold and clear, echoing through the silent street.
"From today onward, anyone who dares to come to my courtyard to cause trouble will end up just like Lin Kun."
No one dared to make a sound. All the disciples lowered their heads, their eyes filled with awe and fear. The name Lin Chen was now etched into their minds as someone they could never afford to offend.
[Ding! Host has defeated Elder Lin Kun and completed the hidden mission!]
[Reward issued: 30,000 Spirit Stones, and full access to the Lin Family's Scripture Pavilion!]
Lin Chen's eyes lit up.
The Scripture Pavilion! That was the most sacred place in the Lin Family, where all the clan's top cultivation techniques were stored. Only the clan leader and the most trusted elders had full access. Now, the system had given it to him.
He turned around and walked back into his courtyard, closing the door behind him, leaving the shocked crowd outside.
News of Lin Chen crippling Lin Kun spread through the entire Lin Family like wildfire in less than an hour. The clan leader, the grand elders, every single high-level figure was shocked beyond measure.
No one dared to look down on the former trash anymore.
Lin Chen sat cross-legged on his stone bed, a faint smile on his face.
Crippling Lin Kun was just another step on his path. The clan leader, the grand elders, the other powerful clans, the immortals and demons in the higher realms—all of them were still ahead of him.
But with the Supreme Sign-In System, he knew that nothing could stop him.
Every day, he would grow stronger.
Every sign-in would push him closer to the peak.
Before long, the entire world would tremble at the name of Lin Chen.
His journey from trash to Immortal Emperor had only just begun.