Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 254 The Bell Tolls Twelve Times: A Sudden Change!

At the very top of the pool, the four water inlets of the corridor converge here.

Below, a turquoise mist surged.

Zhao Qianqiu stood here at this moment, with four green leaves in front of her. The veins of the leaves were like a river carved from jade, flowing with a verdant green that had solidified into a tangible form.

Every fifteen breaths, liquid would flow down from above, passing over the green leaves. Zhao Qianqiu would then strike the leaves with his Xuanjing pestle, and with each strike, the originally pure liquid would turn green.

"The four green leaves of the Cloud Cauldron Mother Tree. The entire mother tree has lived for three thousand years and only has thirty leaves. Looking across the entire Nine Kingdoms, no genius has ever had such an opportunity."

Zhao Qianqiu whispered something she hadn't told Lin Chen yet: these four leaves were also given by the garden owner.

A single green leaf from the mother tree is enough to allow a low-grade martial artist to break through to the first grade.

Now, Lin Chen is using four green leaves from the mother tree for a single turn. Such extravagance is something even royal families from various countries cannot afford.

It wasn't just Daliang who had high hopes for Lin Chen; the owner of the garden also did.

Could it be that Lin Chen has some secret?
Zhao Qianqiu knew very well that for someone like the garden owner, no matter how high Lin Chen's potential was, it wouldn't warrant such attention from the garden owner, who would even personally travel to Zhao State to obtain four green leaves from the mother tree.

There is only one possibility: Lin Chen is hiding a secret that interests the garden owner.

It's either related to the Nine Revolutions True Blood Refining Visceral Technique.

……

……

A day later, Lin Chen stretched comfortably.

This was the easiest and most comfortable breakthrough he'd ever had; it was truly a natural progression.

No surprises!

Lin Chen could clearly feel that although the amount of qi and blood in his body had not increased, the speed at which his cultivation technique circulated had increased by at least 30%.

The Nine Revolutions True Blood Refinement of the Organs is not about continuously improving one's Qi and Blood; after the fifth revolution, it's more about the purity of one's Qi and Blood.

When you reach the Enlightenment Realm, the panel displays the values ​​of True Blood and Qi Blood, which Lin Chen understands very well.

Qi and blood may contain impurities, but true blood is free of impurities.

However, the absence of impurities does not mean that further purification is not possible.

Your body is like an engine, and blood is like gasoline. The purer the gasoline, the faster the engine will run.

"panel!"

[Host: Lin Chen]

[Realm Level: Great Perfection of the Internal Organ Refinement Realm]

[Nine Revolutions to Refine the Organs: 6/9]

[Spirit Rank: First Tier]

【Wind and Cloud Palm: Perfect】

【Whirlwind Kick: Perfect】

[Zhenyue Manual: Body Tempering: 3.9]

……

……

The cultivation technique has been upgraded by one level, and the body tempering strength has also increased by 0.1.

Although the body strength only increased by 0.1, Lin Chen was already very satisfied.

But what surprised Lin Chen even more was that after he reached the fifth level and condensed the golden figure, the gate to his spiritual platform closed again, but now it was completely open, with golden light pouring down and nourishing the golden figure.

Although he didn't know what changes this would bring to the villains, Lin Chen was certain of one thing: it was definitely a good thing.

……

……

Fifteen minutes later, the green mist in the pool completely disappeared. Lin Chen put his outer clothes back on. This breakthrough was the only time his clothes were not torn; even his underwear was intact.

When Zhao Qianqiu came out of the basement, he was already standing in the front yard.

"From today onwards, you may freely enter and leave this courtyard. The cultivation manuals are already on the bookshelf. After you have finished reading them, burn them."

Zhao Qianqiu did not ask Lin Chen if he had successfully broken through. If the four mother tree leaves could not increase the number of revolutions by one, then Lin Chen would never be able to succeed in the ninth revolution in his lifetime.

"Burn it?"

Lin Chen hadn't expected Elder Zhao to ask him to handle things this way.

"This elder will not stay in Poyang County forever. If you need anything, you can go to Yan He'an, and he will make arrangements for you."

"Disciple understands, thank you Elder Zhao."

Lin Chen nodded in agreement. Zhao Qianqiu was indeed very busy. She was now the Golden Elder of the Martial Arts Academy and was in charge of multiple Martial Arts Academyes.

After giving Lin Chen a few instructions, Zhao Qianqiu left.

Lin Chen didn't rush to study the martial arts manuals in the courtyard. He left the martial arts garden and returned to Linhu Village to inform his teacher about breaking through to the sixth level.

At the same time, the situation of the metal sun within the spirit platform was also mentioned.

Jia Nanzhu pondered: "The essence of the Cloud Cauldron Mother Tree?"

"Yes, that's what Elder Zhao said."

"Teacher, I have never heard of the Yunding Mother Tree having any essence. The Yunding Mother Tree that Elder Zhao mentioned should be the Yunding Mother Tea Tree in Zhao Kingdom. It is said to be three thousand years old. It only grows one green leaf every hundred years, with a maximum of thirty leaves. After that, one leaf will fall off every hundred years. Apart from Han Kingdom, no other country has ever obtained it."

"Perhaps the essence of the mother tree that Elder Zhao told you about is just a leaf that fell from the mother tree."

Lin Chen's pupils shrank suddenly, and only one piece fell out every hundred years.

"For the State of Zhao, the mother tree is a priceless treasure, and the reason why the State of Han was able to obtain the fallen leaves of the mother tree was because it was a tribute from the State of Zhao."

"Tribute?"

“Like Yan, Zhao has a small border and is adjacent to Han. If Zhao doesn’t pay tribute, Han could easily annex it.” Hearing the old man’s explanation, Lin Chen asked with some doubt: “Teacher, why doesn’t Han annex Zhao? No matter how much tribute Zhao pays, it’s not as good as taking the mother tree into its own hands.”

"The teacher has been puzzled by this matter for a long time, but now it seems that it is very likely related to Wuyuan."

Jia Nanzhu narrowed his old eyes slightly. Wu Yuan was able to obtain the leaves of the Cloud Cauldron Mother Tree from Zhao State, so his relationship with Zhao State was definitely not ordinary.

Although Wuyuan is a neutral force among the nine kingdoms, no kingdom would underestimate it.

In terms of the number of martial artists, Wuyuan is not as good as the Nine Kingdoms. Those martial artists who join Wuyuan still belong to their respective countries, but one person from Wuyuan is enough to make the other countries wary.

The legendary and mysterious owner of Wuyuan Garden.

"For you, just remember the kindness of the Martial Academy. Since the Martial Academy has provided you with ten thousand martial arts manuals, you should stay at the Martial Academy for the time being. As for the Canglan Martial Academy, I will write a letter to explain on your behalf."

"Yes, this disciple will be staying at the Martial Garden for the next three months."

……

……

The backyard of Wuyuan Garden.

The flowers are in full bloom.

From early spring to late spring, a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

"Senior Brother Lin, Senior Brother Lu has started his closed-door cultivation today and has achieved a breakthrough in his spiritual awakening."

Zhao Jingchuan shared the good news with Lin Chen, who smiled and said, "Given Junior Brother Lu's personality, he wouldn't go into seclusion unless he was confident. It seems our Kaohe Town is about to produce a second martial artist specializing in internal organs."

Kaohe Town has produced martial arts practitioners who practice internal organs before.

However, after the martial artists who practiced internal organ cultivation left Kaohe Town, some settled in the county town, while others went to the prefectural city or other county towns.

Although Lu Yongfeng and his three families still run a fish market, they haven't given up their businesses in Kehe Town and are still operating them.

"You two junior brothers should also work harder and break through to the Internal Organs Training stage as soon as possible, especially you, Junior Brother Zhao. I heard from Junior Brother Cheng that you've been getting along quite well with a junior sister from the Jing Shui Martial Arts School lately?"

Hearing this, Zhao Jingchuan felt a little embarrassed and said helplessly, "Junior Brother Cheng, you even told Senior Brother Lin about this little thing."

“When I came to the Martial Arts Garden last time, you weren’t there. When Senior Brother Lin asked, I told him the truth.”

Cheng Ying chuckled. The three of them would come to the martial arts garden to see Senior Brother Lin about every ten days.

"A beautiful lady is sought after by a gentleman. There's nothing wrong with pursuing the opposite sex, but training one's internal organs is a hurdle. The sooner one trains one's internal organs, the further one can go on the path of martial arts."

Lin Chen wasn't one to allow officials to set fires while forbidding ordinary people from even lighting lamps.

However, Zhao Jingchuan's situation is different. If there are no major accidents, the three of them, including Junior Brother Zhao, will probably be able to enter the rank in their thirties. But if the Opening Acupoint Realm and the Refining Organ Realm work hard, it is not impossible for them to break through to the eighth rank.

Although there is only one rank difference between the ninth and eighth ranks, the gap between them is quite significant.

A ninth-rank martial artist only has the opportunity to serve as the head of the martial arts administration office or a county magistrate, and they need to wait in line for the position. However, an eighth-rank martial artist is guaranteed to be appointed. If they perform well in their position and receive rewards from the imperial court, they may even have the opportunity to reach the seventh rank.

Entering the ranks of the elite is a life-changing event, elevating the family to a higher level.

Once you reach the seventh rank, it's another leap in social class.

They all came from the Martial Arts Hall, and his three junior brothers had also helped him in the past. Lin Chen hoped that Zhao Jingchuan and the other two could go further in the martial arts world.

"I have taken Lin's teachings to heart."

Seeing Lin Chen's serious expression, Zhao Jingchuan quickly agreed.

After chatting with the two for a while, and waiting for Zhao Jingchuan and Cheng Ying to leave, Lin Chen returned to the courtyard and continued to read the cultivation manual.

In one month, he read more than a thousand martial arts manuals.

Classified by the type of martial arts technique, Lin Chen could feel his progress in both the Wind and Cloud Palm and the Greedy for Life Arrow, even though his realm did not improve by studying the same weapon's martial arts technique every day.

Reading martial arts manuals is not for improving strength, but for making one's martial arts foundation more solid.

……

……

Two more months passed.

Looking at the cultivation manuals on the bookshelf, Lin Chen felt somewhat helpless. So far, he had only read and comprehended three thousand of them, and had memorized one thousand more. He had not yet finished reading the remaining six thousand.

It wasn't that he didn't want to write it all down, but that he couldn't.

He memorized the most commonly used weapon techniques, such as knife techniques, spear techniques, sword techniques, and hammer techniques, but he failed to memorize some less common techniques.

Martial arts techniques are extremely difficult to memorize by rote; they require more understanding and comprehension.

The title of "Unrivaled Among Fellow Disciples" gave him a talent that surpassed his junior brother Meng and others in some weapons, but he had no advantage in those less popular weapons.

"If all the martial arts geniuses in the world sincerely called me 'Senior Brother'..."

I was really indulging in wishful thinking.

Lin Chen shook his head, saying that given the grudges between the nine kingdoms, such a situation was impossible.

Just as Lin Chen was about to burn these cultivation manuals as Elder Zhao had instructed, a bell rang out.

Boom!
The bell tolled twelve times in a row.

Outside the courtyard, Yan He'an's voice came: "Young Master Lin, something big has happened!"

As Lin Chen stepped out of the courtyard, he saw a look of panic on Yan He'an's face for the first time.

"Senior, what do you mean by that?"

"When the county government bell rings, three rings indicate that a major event has occurred in the county; six rings indicate Raozhou Prefecture; nine rings indicate the entire Jiangnan Circuit; and twelve rings... indicate that a major event has occurred in Daliang, and it is mostly not a good thing. Any martial artist who hears the bell, whether or not they are in seclusion, must come out of seclusion immediately."

Upon hearing Yan He'an's explanation, Lin Chen's pupils constricted; he truly had no idea that this was the case.

"Young Master Lin, you don't know this, but it's because my Great Liang has been at peace for many years, and I just happened to have read this record and remembered this matter."

　Sorry, I went to the provincial capital today and wrote on the train and continued writing when I got back, so the update is still late.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)