C3 Mysterious Old Man!

"The Lin family will never perish, and I, Lin Chen, refuse to be worthless!"

With fiery anger, Lin Chen gripped his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, drawing fresh blood that dripped onto the ground.

But now, how was he any different from the worthless?

"Heaven bestows great tasks upon those it wishes to strengthen, first by tempering their will and humiliating their flesh and spirit. Young man, you have faced adversity and shame without abandoning your pursuit of the martial path. Well done, indeed!"

The abrupt voice gave Lin Chen quite the fright. It was raspy yet filled with a heroic vigor, as if it were commanding the world itself!

Despite being far more composed than his peers, Lin Chen couldn't help but feel terrified. Martial artists may not believe in spirits, but who wouldn't fear such an inexplicable event?

His eyes darting around sharply, Lin Chen demanded, "Who's playing ghost? Show yourself immediately!"

"Heh, kid, am I not right in your hands?"

Lin Chen paused, looking down abruptly to find the bloodied jade pendant in his grasp glowing rhythmically, pulsating as though it possessed its own life.

"Kid, you've caught my attention!"

The voice from the jade pendant was both authentic and eerie, causing Lin Chen's hair to stand on end and nearly making him drop the pendant.

In this day and age, was it possible that because he couldn't cultivate, even the King of Hell had taken pity and sent a ghostly envoy to fetch him?

"You... Who... Who are you? How are you inside our Lin family's ancestral jade pendant?"

After all, he was only a fifteen-year-old boy. No matter how steady Lin Chen's nerves were, this was his first encounter with such an occurrence. Were it not for the significant meaning of the jade pendant to him, he would have cast it aside long ago.

"Lin family? Ancestral jade pendant? Could it be from some illustrious clan?" The voice inside the pendant hesitated, as if stumbling upon a remarkable revelation.

Yet, these words only caused Lin Chen's expression to grow somber. He sighed, "A prestigious clan? Perhaps it once was, but not anymore. I've never heard of a great clan that's down to just two members, one of whom is considered utterly useless!"

"Huh?" The voice hesitated, clearly not grasping Lin Chen's meaning. Yet, it seemed disinterested in clarification and went straight to the point, "Kid, since fate has brought us together, let's strike a deal!"

Lin Chen's gaze sharpened instantly, "What kind of deal?"

He knew better than to trust a stranger without question.

"It's quite simple. I can make you a Peerless Expert! In return, you must help me rebuild my body!"

Lin Chen's face twisted into a bemused expression. In the dead of night, a voice emerging from a jade pendant offering a deal that sounded too good to be true was bizarre, to say the least. The continent was full of oddities, but tales of hauntings were few and far between.

Could it be that Wang Qianjue and his goons were playing a trick on him?

The more he pondered, the more plausible it seemed. Anger surged through Lin Chen, and he couldn't help but lash out, "Peerless Expert? Rebuild your body? Do you take me for Nuwa, capable of molding you a new form from clay? Listen here, whoever sent you, I want you out of my sight now, or you'll regret it!"

The mysterious voice from the pendant stalled, evidently stunned by the tirade. It took a while before it responded.

"You impudent youth, spouting such nonsense. If I weren't trapped, I'd discipline you myself to teach you the meaning of respect for your elders!"

"Respect for elders? I respect your nerve!"

With a clench of his jaw, Lin Chen hurled the pendant towards a nearby pile of grass. He had calculated the throw precisely, aiming to test this person's oddity – how could anyone transmit their voice through a pendant?

"Ouch! You little rascal! Have you lost your mind?!"

A sharp cry followed. The voice from the pendant seemed to travel from near to far, and when it hit the ground, it let out a timely grunt, as if it had indeed taken a hard fall.

"This guy's timing is impeccable. Could he actually be inside the pendant?"

Lin Chen felt his certainty waver as the voice was perfectly in sync. If someone were hiding close by, such coordination would be nearly impossible.

Unless... it was a master of profound cultivation!

Lin Chen's hair stood on end as he leapt behind a massive boulder, warily scanning his surroundings like a startled rabbit.

"Hiss... That doesn't make sense. If it were really a master, why all the subterfuge? Why not just strike me down directly?"

The more Lin Chen pondered, the more he felt something was amiss. Just then, a stream of angry swearing erupted from the grass: "Damn it! You little punk, so many have begged to become my disciple, and I've refused them all. And you just toss me aside? I'll be damned!"

"Kid, if you aspire to be a formidable martial artist, you'd better pick me up quickly. We've got things to discuss!"

Despite his confusion, Lin Chen hesitated to approach—the jade pendant was just too bizarre.

The voice from the pendant seemed to grow weary of cursing and shifted its tone, feigning depth, "Kid, don't you want to know why your cultivation hasn't advanced for so many years?"

The air grew tense, followed by a brief silence. Then, Lin Chen darted out, snatched up the jade pendant, his breathing turning ragged.

"You... You know what's going on!?"

"Cough, cough. Do you truly wish to know? Then first—"

Lin Chen hoisted the pendant over his head, cutting it off impatiently, "Enough with the nonsense. Are you going to tell me or not?"

"Oh heavens, don't throw it! Don't throw it! I'll talk!"

The voice became panicked, quickly blurting out, "You possess the Divine Martial Bloodline!"

Silence fell once more. After a long pause, Lin Chen finally spoke, "Divine Martial Bloodline, what's that?"

"You don't know?" The mysterious jade pendant paused, then explained, "The Divine Martial Bloodline means that within the same family, if three or more individuals break through to the Supreme Realm, it will have a profound and mystical impact on the family's bloodline. This results in an incredibly small chance that descendants will inherit the Divine Martial Bloodline. Those with this bloodline are naturally gifted for cultivation, achieving results with half the effort. Even without any external aids, their cultivation speed far outstrips others, leaving them in the dust! And when it comes to breaking through realms, they hardly ever encounter bottlenecks. It's as if they're... the favored children of the gods!"

Lin Chen was dumbstruck upon hearing the claims about the Divine Martial Bloodline. If it were as formidable as this fellow suggested, then what of Chu Qianxun's Exquisite Treasure Body, a rarity of a millennium? Would it not be reduced to mere rubbish in comparison?

But how could he be sure this person wasn't just spinning tales?

"Do you have any proof?" Lin Chen demanded, waving the jade pendant in his hand, the threat in his gesture unmistakable.

The mysterious individual was visibly shaken, pleading urgently, "Please, don't toss it away! Let's talk this through! You see, the Divine Martial Bloodline has to undergo a foundational tempering process before it can fully develop!"

"The Divine Martial Bloodline isn't just any constitution; it's a physique blessed by the heavens, extraordinary by nature. It can't be compared to that of an ordinary person. The principle of 'accumulating a solid base to unleash immense power' applies here!"