Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 237 Why was Lin born if Pei was already here?
The main hall of Lingxiao Martial Academy.

When Lin Chen followed Hao Jifeng into the main hall, there were already several figures there.

At the very top is an old man dressed in a golden robe, with four old men standing on each side.

Upon seeing the elderly man at the head of the table, Lin Chen knew that this must be Hou Zhantian, the dean of Lingxiao Martial Academy.

Before leaving Canglan Martial Academy, the dean revealed to him that the dean of Lingxiao Martial Academy liked to wear gold robes. In the dean's words, none of the four major martial academies paid more attention to their image than this old guy Hou Zhantian.

It is precisely because Hou Zhantian values ​​his image that people who value their image are often very concerned about their reputation.

This is also why Lingxiao Martial Arts Academy invited Lin Chen to serve as an exchange student there – to save face for Lingxiao Martial Arts Academy.

"Lin Chen, I regret something now."

Lin Chen was taken aback, a look of confusion on his face.

Hou Zhantian saw Lin Chen and sighed, "I now regret why I didn't compete with Canglan Martial Academy to the end. Even if Canglan Martial Academy offered thirty drops of Jiaolong True Blood, my Lingxiao Martial Academy could have offered something better."

As soon as he said this, the vice deans next to him all agreed. Although they hadn't been to the martial arts arena, they knew everything that happened there.

Given Lin Chen's strength and talent displayed at the martial arts arena, Canglan Martial Academy can be said to have struck gold.

They were shocked by the conditions offered by Canglan Martial Academy and ultimately chose to give up on Lin Chen because they felt that internal cultivation and enlightenment were different. Being invincible through enlightenment did not mean that one could be invincible through internal cultivation.

Looking back now, Hou Zhantian realizes he's been tricked.

It wasn't just Lingxiao Martial Academy; Qingyun Martial Academy and Kyoto Martial Academy should have realized it as well.

He was just discussing with some of his fellow disciples that Hua Qianwu is really smart.

Is thirty drops of dragon's true blood a lot?

a lot of!

But it depends on when it is.

If it were in Linhu Village, and Canglan Martial Academy hadn't directly offered thirty drops of Jiaolong True Blood, but instead offered ten drops, twenty drops, and then gradually increased the offer through competition among several academies, the three martial academies might not have given up.

The clever thing about Canglan Martial Academy was that they raised the bar to a level higher than their expectations from the very beginning, which made them back down.

Noticing the expressions of Dean Hou and the other vice deans, Lin Chen simply smiled awkwardly and didn't respond.

"Fine, whether it's Canglan Martial Academy or Lingxiao Martial Academy, they are both martial academies of my Great Liang. Today you have brought glory to the martial artists of my Great Liang. According to the agreement between me and your Dean Hua, I will allow you to enter the Lingxiao Hall."

"The original agreement was that you would stay in the Lingxiao Palace for three days, but I'm giving you a chance. You can stay in the Lingxiao Palace indefinitely and absorb as many Lingxiao Stones as you can."

Hou Zhantian was very generous because Lin Chen had won very well this time. After the battle, the martial artists in Lingxiao City would only discuss Lin Chen's strength and the excitement of the two battles, and would ignore the fact that Lin Chen was not a disciple of Lingxiao Martial Academy.

This is an extra reward for Lin Chen.

Of course, there is another reason why Hou Zhantian is so generous: the Lingxiao Stone contains extremely rich energy, and even if a martial artist who cultivates internal organs were to absorb it freely, they could not absorb much of it.

With Lin Chen's current level of cultivation, he can only stay in the Lingxiao Hall for a maximum of five days. A day or two more to absorb the energy of a few more Lingxiao Stones would be acceptable to the Martial Academy, and it would also do Lin Chen a good deed.

"Thank you for your guidance, Dean."

Lin Chen was grateful; being able to stay in the Lingxiao Palace for a few more days was naturally a good thing.

Why not take advantage of this freebie?

"Yes, get some rest today, and we can head to the Lingxiao Palace tomorrow."

Lin Chen nodded and left the martial arts academy. Hou Zhantian watched Lin Chen's departing figure and sighed again, his regret evident in his expression.

The more I think about it, the more I regret it!
That old fellow Hua Qianwu really made a fortune this time.

……

……

When they came out of Lingxiao Palace, Meng Xing was already waiting here. Besides Meng Xing, there were also Fu Ze and a few others, all of whom were the best of the current generation of disciples of Lingxiao Martial Academy.

Lin Chen followed Meng Xing and the others to the villa arranged by the martial arts academy. Today was his first time visiting Lingxiao Martial Arts Academy, so Meng Xing naturally wanted to receive Lin Chen. Not to mention, Lin Chen's three matches in the martial arts arena had saved face for Lingxiao Martial Arts Academy and for them, the new disciples.

In the detached courtyard of the martial arts academy disciples.

"Junior Brother Yu, you said you know Senior Brother Lin, is that true?"

"How could it be fake? I participated in the Jiangnan Dao special training with Senior Brother Lin back then."

"If that's the case, why didn't you greet Senior Brother Lin earlier?"

Hearing this, Yu Fei shook his head: "Senior Brother Lin has just arrived at Lingxiao Martial Academy and must have many things to do. I'm afraid it wouldn't be good for me to bother him."

"I think, even though Junior Brother Yu was the loudest in the training ground, Senior Brother Lin might not even know Junior Brother Yu."

Another young man standing nearby said with a mocking expression, "Senior Brother Lin comes from Jiangnan Road, but that doesn't mean he knows any martial artists from Jiangnan Road."

Yu Fei looked at the boy who had spoken, his face turning cold: "Fang Nan, what do you mean?"

"What else could it mean? Some people are clearly not familiar with Senior Brother Lin, but they still shamelessly try to get close to him."

Fang Nan chuckled. He and Yu Fei were evenly matched and were rivals in the martial arts academy.

The distribution of resources among disciples at Lingxiao Martial Academy is based on ranking. Last month, he was surpassed by Yu Fei, which made him very unhappy.

“Junior Brother Fang, that’s a bit much!” Another disciple frowned.

"I'm telling the truth. If I really knew Senior Brother Lin, I couldn't possibly not even have time to say hello."

Yu Fei glared at Fang Nan, about to explain, when footsteps came from the courtyard gate. The group looked in the direction of the sound and their expressions became respectful when they saw the figure standing at the gate.

"Senior Brother Fu!"

The person who came was Senior Brother Fu Ze, who ranked third among the freshmen of their year.

The group of disciples were puzzled. They, the disciples at the bottom of the rankings, didn't have much interaction with the top senior brothers like Senior Brother Fu. In particular, Senior Brother Fu was extremely arrogant. In the nearly three months since he entered the martial arts academy, they had no interaction other than occasionally nodding to each other when they met on the road.

Fu Ze smiled as he looked at Yu Fei and the other three in the courtyard and asked with a smile, "Are you junior brothers discussing cultivation matters? Are we disturbing you?"

Hearing Fu Ze's words, Yu Fei and the other three were even more puzzled. When did Senior Brother Fu become so friendly?
"No...no."

"Senior Brother Fu, is something the matter?"

Fu Ze nodded: "May I ask who Junior Brother Yu Fei is?"

Yu Fei was taken aback. He hadn't expected that Senior Brother Fu had come to find him. Before he could react, another young man beside him immediately said, "Senior Brother Fu, this is Junior Brother Yu Fei."

"Junior Brother Yu!"

Having confirmed Yu Fei's identity, Fu Ze's smile became even warmer: "We were just talking with Senior Brother Lin, and he mentioned you, Junior Brother Yu. He said he misses you very much and asked me to call you over."

There was a brief silence in the courtyard after Fu Ze said this.

Yu Fei's face flushed bright red. He did know Senior Brother Lin, but to be honest, their relationship wasn't particularly deep. He hadn't expected Senior Brother Lin to specifically ask Senior Brother Fu to call him. Besides Yu Fei's flushed face, Fang Nan's face also turned a deep liver color, feeling hot and flushed.

"What's wrong, Junior Brother Yu? Is something going on here?"

Seeing that Yu Fei did not respond, Fu Ze asked another question out of curiosity.

"Yes... I'm free."

Yu Fei immediately realized what was going on, and Fu Ze smiled and said, "In that case, Junior Brother Yu, come with me. Don't keep Senior Brother Lin waiting too long."

"it is good."

Yu Fei followed Fu Ze out of the courtyard, leaving the two of them behind. At this moment, they looked at Fang Nan with somewhat strange expressions.

"Even if Yu Fei knows Senior Brother Lin, in the end, martial arts still depend on one's own strength."

After a long pause, Fang Nan finally managed to utter a sentence.

Hearing Fang Nan's words, the other two shook their heads silently. Fang Junior Brother was obviously just saying that out of anger. It is true that martial artists rely on their own strength, but their circle and connections are also very important.

Especially here at the Martial Academy, Yu Fei has Fu Ze and Senior Brother Meng to take care of him. Being able to integrate into Senior Brother Meng's circle will definitely bring him more gains at the Martial Academy than he does now.

……

……

The next morning, before dawn, Lin Chen got up and left the courtyard. A servant led him to the Lingxiao Palace.

Lingxiao City is very large, but Lingxiao Martial Academy is located to the east of Lingxiao City, beyond which lies the endless sea.

The Lingxiao Grand Hall is located at the easternmost part of the Lingxiao Martial Academy. Along the way, Lin Chen encountered many disciples of the Lingxiao Martial Academy, both new and old students. He smiled and nodded when they greeted him.

After walking for about half an hour, the sky in the distance began to lighten, and red light appeared and disappeared among the clouds.

"Young Master Lin, you will have to go in on your own from now on. This is a forbidden area of ​​the Martial Academy, and entry is not permitted without an invitation."

The servants from the Martial Academy led the way for Lin Chen. Looking at the outline of the main hall with nearly a thousand steps in front of him, Lin Chen nodded and stepped onto the steps without hesitation.

Yesterday, during his conversation with Meng Xing and the others, he learned that even Meng Xing and his group could not enter the Lingxiao Palace frequently. The winner of each month's competition could enter the palace for one day, while the second and third place winners could only enter for half a day.

As for those ranked third and below, none of them are qualified to enter the Lingxiao Palace.

It's not that Lingxiao Martial Academy is too pragmatic and only values ​​the top three freshmen; rather, other freshmen can't even climb the thousand steps to reach the Lingxiao Hall.

The Lingxiao Hall is only open at sunrise each day, and disciples who wish to enter the hall must begin ascending the steps at the moment of sunrise.

As the sun rises and falls upon the steps, a terrifying pressure arises.

According to Meng Xing, it would take him half an hour to climb all the steps.

"coming!"

"Junior Brother Lin Chen has appeared. I wonder how long it will take him to reach the top of these thousand steps."

At the top of the steps stood a dozen or so young figures. These were the best among the senior students of Lingxiao Martial Academy. For them, climbing these thousand steps was no difficult task.

The group had gone to the martial arts arena to watch the battle yesterday, and upon learning that Lin Chen was going to ascend the Lingxiao Hall today, they came here early to see if Lin Chen could break the martial arts academy's record that had been sealed for more than ten years.

This is because the record was set by Senior Brother Pei Qingming.

Lin Chen broke the record left by Senior Brother Pei on Martial Arts Mountain. Now, can he break the record set by Senior Brother Pei again?

When Senior Brother Pei first climbed the steps, it took him two thousand breaths.

Lin Chen also saw the figures on the thousand-step staircase, but he didn't know that there was such a thing as breaking records.

Even if he knew, he wouldn't deliberately speed up his ascent of the steps. His purpose in coming to Lingxiao Martial Academy was to obtain the Lingxiao Stone, not to break any records.

Given Lin Chen's personality, he likes to leave himself an out, especially when there is no conflict.

As a disciple of Canglan Martial Academy, I broke the record set by a disciple of Lingxiao Martial Academy, which is somewhat overshadowing the main event.

As Lin Chen stepped onto the first step, he felt a slight weight on his body, as if something was pressing down on his shoulders, but this pressure wasn't too great for him.

One step, two steps...

Lin Chen's expression remained unchanged as he climbed the first three hundred steps.

Three hundred breaths, three hundred steps.

"Three hundred steps, how long did it take Senior Brother Pei to complete that?"

"It's three hundred breaths, one hundred breaths slower than Senior Brother Pei."

"It seems that Junior Brother Lin will not be able to break Senior Brother Pei's record."

The senior students of Lingxiao Martial Academy breathed a slight sigh of relief amidst their emotions. Senior Brother Pei could be considered the symbol of their Lingxiao Martial Academy over the past decade or so.

The Martial Arts Mountain record was broken, and now if even this record is broken, Senior Brother Pei is really in a bad situation.

At that moment, the sun rose from the horizon in the distance, casting golden rays onto the steps.

The sun rises in the east!

Lin Chen glanced at the rising sun in the east, and a surge of heroic spirit welled up in his heart for no reason; even the blood and qi in his body began to boil.

These steps seemed to possess some kind of magic, making him unable to resist the urge to sprint at full speed.

Since he couldn't help himself, Lin Chen didn't suppress it.

The next moment, he took a step, leaping over two steps in one stride.

The speed suddenly increased!
What the hell!

At the top of the steps, the senior disciples of Lingxiao Martial Academy, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly narrowed their eyes and opened their mouths in disbelief when they saw this scene.

The thousand steps of the Lingxiao Palace have always been a slow-down process, but this is the first time someone has ever climbed them faster!
Could it be that Lin Chen overheard their conversation, realized he was slower than Senior Brother Pei, and deliberately sped up?

Snapped!
The man who had previously said that Lin Chen was a hundred breaths slower than Pei Qingming couldn't help but slap himself.

It's my own fault!
If Lin Chen breaks Senior Brother Pei's record, then he will be a sinner.

Slow down, slow down!
Amidst the anticipation of these dozens of senior disciples of Lingxiao Martial Academy, and in their desperate and incredulous gazes, Lin Chen's figure grew clearer and clearer, drawing ever closer to them.

Finally, amidst their complicated gazes, Lin Chen reached the top of the steps and stood before them.

"Seven hundred and twenty-one breaths, Senior Brother Pei... I'm sorry."

"Since Senior Brother Pei was born, why was Junior Brother Lin born?"

(End of this chapter)