Lin Xuan hadn't expected Lin Hai to pull such a move during the monthly strength assessment.
However, Lin Xuan was completely unafraid.
He had long wanted to fight, to thoroughly practice and familiarize himself with the two martial arts he possessed.
"Brother Lin Xuan, be careful."
Lin Shiyun said worriedly.
In this monthly strength assessment, challengers could be freely chosen.
The only rule was that the strong could not bully the weak.
But if opponents were of the same rank, neither could refuse to fight.
Lin Xuan and Lin Lei were both at the seventh layer of Body Refinement.
Since he had to accept the challenge, there was nothing she could do.
"Don't worry, I've got this."
Lin Xuan patted Lin Shiyun's jade-like hand and said with a faint smile.
Then, he walked toward the arena.
At that moment, many around them turned their gazes toward him.
Suddenly, a cool voice echoed in Lin Xuan's ears.
"Ding, detected that the host is being watched by many, generating significant mental fluctuations. Energy point absorption mechanism activated."
"Ding, congratulations, host. Received +24 attention energy from Lin Yu, a sixth-layer Body Refinement martial artist."
"Ding, congratulations, host. Received +67 attention energy from Lin Yuan, a seventh-layer Body Refinement martial artist."
"..."
Lin Xuan listened to the system prompts that only he could hear, his expression freezing for a moment before breaking into a smile.
So this was how energy points were obtained.
Now, the golden finger could be used.
Wasn't that enough to deal with a mere Lin Lei?
Immediately, Lin Xuan felt his steps grow lighter.
He strode forward and quickly reached the arena.
Standing opposite Li Lei, his gaze swept over.
"Name: Lin Lei"
"Cultivation: Body Refinement, seventh layer"
"Talents: Mid-grade cultivation talent, low-grade strength talent"
"Martial Arts: Rolling Stone Fist (First-rank, upper grade, Mastery)"
"Carried Treasures: None."
As expected, he could see others' attribute panels.
Lin Xuan looked at Lin Lei's panel, a smile in his eyes.
No wonder Lin Lei was so confident—he had an extra low-grade strength talent.
Don't underestimate that talent.
A low-grade strength talent could even double one's strength at the Body Refinement stage.
That was enough to create a gap with peers of the same rank.
But Lin Xuan was more interested in the attribute panel of the referee overseer.
That man might not have exceptional talent, but after decades of cultivation, his treasures far outnumbered those of a young martial artist like Lin Lei.
His gaze swept over.
"Name: Li He."
"Cultivation: Aperture Opening, mid-stage."
"Talents: Low-grade cultivation talent, low-grade strength talent."
"Martial Arts: Stone-Shattering Fist (Second-rank, lower grade, Peak)."
"Carried Treasures: One bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills."
Looking at the referee overseer Li He's attribute panel, Lin Xuan's smile deepened.
"Lucky break."
Lin Xuan then turned to his own attribute panel.
By now, his energy points had exceeded a thousand.
Lin Xuan pondered.
Copying treasures of different grades required different amounts of energy points.
First-rank treasures or low-grade talents only needed 200 energy points.
Second-rank treasures or low-grade talents required 300 energy points.
Third-rank treasures or mid-grade talents needed 1,000 energy points.
And he didn't have many energy points at the moment.
Still, it was enough to drain the referee overseer and Lin Lei dry.
With a thought, his energy points decreased.
At the same time, the cool prompt sounded.
"Ding, consumed 200 energy points. Copy successful. Obtained [Low-grade Strength Talent]."
"Ding, consumed 500 energy points. Copy successful. Obtained [Stone-Shattering Fist (Second-rank, lower grade, Peak)]."
"..."
Soon, he had copied all the treasures from Li He and Lin Lei.
"Fuse!"
Lin Xuan silently commanded.
"Ding, congratulations, host. Obtained Low-grade Strength Talent."
"Ding, congratulations, host. Obtained Peak-level Second-rank lower grade martial art, Stone-Shattering Fist."
"..."
Immediately, Lin Xuan felt streams of warmth flowing through him.
They quickly dissipated.
He sensed his physical strength had increased significantly.
He looked at his attribute panel again.
Whoosh!
"Divine Copy System."
"Host: Lin Xuan."
"Realm: Body Refinement, seventh layer."
"Talents: Mid-grade cultivation talent, low-grade strength talent."
"Martial Arts: Stone-Shattering Fist (Second-rank, lower grade, Peak), Rolling Stone Fist (First-rank, upper grade, Mastery), Yellow Sand Palm (First-rank, mid-grade, Mastery)."
"Energy Points: 37."
"Carried Space: 7."
His attribute panel had changed considerably.
Lin Xuan felt even more confident about the upcoming duel.
And all of this happened in the span of a breath.
No one on the field noticed anything unusual.
The referee overseer glanced at both of them and announced:
"Challenge begins!"
"Lin Xuan, daring to ignore Brother Hai's orders—you've got guts!"
Lin Lei sneered, clenching his fist, which cracked audibly.
"Time to teach you a lesson."
"Enough talk. If you're going to fight, then fight!"
Lin Xuan said calmly.
"Fine!"
Lin Lei's expression turned cold as he charged at Lin Xuan, throwing a punch.
"Rolling Stone Fist!"
"Get down!"
The fist force exploded like tumbling boulders, its momentum impressive.
Everyone in the training ground turned their attention, showing interest.
They all knew that although both were minor geniuses at the seventh layer of Body Refinement, Lin Xuan was far inferior to Lin Lei.
But then, their smiles froze.
On the arena, Lin Xuan's expression remained unchanged as he threw a punch in return.
"Rolling Stone Fist!"
His momentum was no less than Lin Lei's.
The same martial art.
The two fists collided.
Bang!
A loud explosion rang out.
What followed stunned the crowd.
On the arena, after the clash of fists, they separated instantly.
Lin Xuan only trembled slightly and was fine.
But Lin Lei on the opposite side was sent flying, letting out a cry of pain before crashing off the arena.
Everyone's eyes widened in shock.
This result exceeded almost everyone's expectations.
Not only had Lin Xuan not lost, but he had also sent Lin Lei, known for his strength, flying with a single punch.
Such a huge gap was hard for anyone to believe.
For a long moment, no one could snap out of it.
On the arena, having sent Lin Lei flying with one punch, Lin Xuan remained calm.
He had fused two low-grade strength talents. Though not reaching mid-grade, it far surpassed Lin Lei.
And with the same level of fist technique mastery, this result was no surprise.
But that wasn't the main point.
The main point was that this fight had shown Lin Xuan a way to harvest a large number of energy points.
"Ding, congratulations, host. Received +87 shock energy from Lin Haiyu, a ninth-layer Body Refinement martial artist."
"Ding, congratulations, host. Received +172 surprise energy from Li He, a mid-stage Aperture Opening martial artist."
"Ding, congratulations, host. Received..."
"..."
Listening to the cool prompts in his ears, Lin Xuan smiled.
It seemed his guess was right.
Next, it was time to harvest energy points in bulk and massively boost his strength.