Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 256 Lin Chen: Did the Canglan Energy escape?
Canglan Martial Arts Academy.

Lin Chen and Jiang Qing strolled in Wu Garden.

"It seems like there are fewer senior and junior brothers from the Martial Arts Academy."

"The Northern Frontier demons have invaded, and the Martial Academy has issued a notice. Many disciples have begun to cultivate diligently."

Hearing Lin Chen's words, Jiang Qing offered an explanation.

"No wonder, I said I didn't see anyone."

Lin Chen suddenly realized that this was the cohesion of the warriors of the Great Liang Dynasty.

"I heard from the teacher that many senior students volunteered to go to the northern frontier, but the dean rejected them."

Jiang Qing spoke crisply, saying that the Martial Academy had many disciples who had entered the ranks, and these disciples all wanted to go to the Northern Frontier after hearing the news.

"The Great Liang doesn't need us disciples to go to the battlefield right now."

Lin Chen smiled. He could understand the feelings of his senior brothers. The Great Liang had a deep hatred for the demon race, which was ingrained in their bones.

The relationship between Zheng and Daliang is very strained because Zheng is home to many demons, and many of these demons committed numerous massacres in Daliang in the past.

Even the five major clans of Guanzhong, who allowed their members to cultivate in other countries, dared not go to the State of Zheng.

"Yes, that's what my father said too."

Jiang Qing nodded slightly. Her father had told her that if the court allowed them to go to the battlefield, it meant that the Great Liang Dynasty was facing a life-or-death crisis.

Because of the matter of the demon clan in the northern border, Lin Chen and Jiang Qing lost their desire to continue strolling around.

It's one thing that the Great Liang doesn't need them yet, but they also need to be prepared and, like their fellow disciples, work hard to improve their strength.

"Senior sister, I will be heading to the Canglan Mountains tomorrow, and I'm afraid I'll have to go into seclusion for a while again."

"The Canglan Mountains?"

Jiang Qing's eyes were filled with doubt: "The Dean sent you to absorb the Canglan energy so quickly?"

"Does Senior Sister know what's in the Canglan Mountains?"

“My father also graduated from Canglan Martial Academy. Junior brother, do you think I know a lot about Canglan Martial Academy?”

Jiang Qing asked a question with a smile, leaving Lin Chen speechless; he had almost forgotten about it.

"The dean only let me enter the Canglan Mountains, but he didn't tell me what was inside the Canglan Mountains."

"There is Canglan Lake in the Canglan Mountains. The Canglan Martial Academy was established here because of the existence of Canglan Lake."

Jiang Qing naturally wouldn't hide anything from the person she loved, and told him everything she knew from her father.

This doesn't violate the martial arts academy's rules. Even if I don't say anything, Junior Brother Lin will find out once he enters the Canglan Mountains.

Do you still remember Santan Mountain?

"Ah."

Lin Chen nodded. He had a deep memory of Three Pools Mountain, where his Water Cloud Palm technique had reached perfection and even broken through its limits.

"The water in the pools of Santan Mountain is actually Canglan energy, but it is extremely rare. In my father's words, compared to Canglan Lake, the Canglan energy contained in the pools of Santan Mountain is just a drop in the ocean."

When she mentioned "a drop in the ocean," a playful smile appeared on Jiang Qing's pretty face. Her father's original words were not like that; they were a bit more rude.

"However, you can no longer take pills before entering Canglan Lake. Its coldness is even greater than that of the pools in Santan Mountain. You should be prepared. Even those senior brothers and sisters dare not stay in Canglan Lake for too long."

"It's going to be another tough battle."

Lin Chen nodded and whispered something.

Fortunately, he had already fought several tough battles like this and was used to them.

……

……

next day!

Early in the morning, Hua Qianwu led Lin Chen into the Canglan Mountains.

After venturing ten miles into the mountains, Lin Chen felt a chill. With his current level of energy and blood, even the freezing winter had no effect on him, which shows how cold it was in the mountains.

To Lin Chen's surprise, the vegetation in the mountains was extremely lush and completely unaffected, despite the cold weather.

Two hours later, it was almost noon.

Lin Chen finally arrived at his destination.

Where several mountain peaks converge, a pool of azure water reflects the clouds in the sky like a mirror.

At the same time, Lin Chen also saw many of his senior brothers standing by the lake.

"Damn it, I'm freezing!"

The next moment, ripples appeared on the water near the lake, and a figure leaped out of the water like a carp, cursing as he ran ashore.

Lin Chen looked at his senior brother who had come ashore. His face was ashen, and his skin was flushed red, a sign that his skin had suddenly warmed up after being exposed to extreme cold for a long time.

"Senior Brother Zhang, you once boasted that you would stay underwater for a quarter of an hour during tomorrow's high tide, and you can't even do that?"

"I'll pretend I farted!"

"Haha."

Many young people by the lake burst into laughter upon hearing this, and even Lin Chen couldn't help but smile.

Hua Qianwu's face darkened instantly: "Zhang Gao, if you cannot stay in the lake for half an hour tomorrow, I will leave you in the back mountain of Canglan until graduation."

The youths who were playing around by the lake turned to look when they heard the noise. When they saw Hua Qianwu, all of them fell silent and their expressions became serious.

"Dean, in half an hour... I will die in the lake."

Only Zhang Gao wore a bitter expression. He had to stay at the bottom of Canglan Lake for half an hour during high tide. The dean was trying to kill him.

"If you die in the lake, I will personally preside over your funeral."

Hua Qianwu gave Zhang Gao a cold, insincere smile, then said to Lin Chen, "You'll stay here for the rest of the time. You can leave when you break through."

"Yes."

Lin Chen nodded in agreement; the breakthrough the dean mentioned was the seventh stage.

"Qu Feng, you are acquainted with Lin Chen, so you can tell Lin Chen about the situation at Canglan Lake."

"Don't worry, Dean, I will definitely take good care of Junior Brother Lin."

Qu Feng chuckled and nodded, and as soon as he said that, several young people in the room turned their attention to Lin Chen.

Not all of these disciples from the previous two graduating classes of Canglan Martial Academy knew Lin Chen; many of them hadn't attended the academy's entrance ceremony.

However, they had heard of the name Lin Chen before.

After Hua Qianwu left and his figure disappeared into the depths of the mountains and forests, many young people breathed a sigh of relief.

"Junior brother Lin."

Qu Feng walked up to Lin Chen with a smile: "I really didn't expect that he would accomplish so many great things in just three months of exchange at Lingxiao Martial Academy, becoming number one on the Hidden Dragon Ranking... Tsk tsk tsk... The three deans of Lingxiao Martial Academy must be regretting it to the core."

"It's just a fluke."

"Don't be modest, do you think I don't know you? Since the dean asked me to tell you about Canglan Lake, I'll..." "Junior Brother Qu!"

A young man suddenly interrupted Qu Feng, a smirk playing on his lips: "It's no use talking about the situation at Canglan Lake. Junior Brother Lin will know once he goes down to the lake."

“That’s right. Nothing can help you understand better than experiencing it for yourself. Junior Brother Lin, just take off your clothes and go into the lake. You’ll understand everything when you come back up.”

The other senior brothers also spoke up one after another. Qu Feng saw their expressions and knew perfectly well that these guys wanted to see a good show.

The most anticipated event at Canglan Lake is the arrival of each newlywed couple.

Many headstrong newcomers, refusing to believe in superstitions, stop being headstrong after venturing into Canglan Lake.

And since the newcomer this time is Junior Brother Lin, these guys are even more eager to see a good show.

Believe it or not, he was also very eager to see it.

“Junior Brother Lin, what these senior brothers said is true. As for the situation of Canglan Lake, my explanation to you is ultimately just words. You still have to go down to the lake and experience it for yourself.”

Qu Feng patted Lin Chen on the shoulder and said casually, "Actually, there's nothing special about Canglan Lake except that the water is a bit colder than ordinary lakes."

Is it colder?
Lin Chen's expression remained unchanged, but he silently rolled his eyes in his heart. If it weren't for Senior Sister Jiang's prior introduction and the scene he had just witnessed that senior brother emerging from the lake, he would have truly believed Senior Brother Qu's words.

"Alright, then I'll go down to the lake. If I still have any questions, I'll ask Senior Brother Qu for help."

Lin Chen didn't expose him, and walked to the lakeside, readily taking off his coat.

"Junior Brother Lin, don't push yourself. If you can't hold on, come up immediately."

Qu Feng gave one last reminder: although Lin Chen wouldn't be in any danger with them watching over him, he was afraid that Lin Chen might overexert himself and get injured by the Canglan energy.

"Thank you, senior brother, for reminding me."

Nodding back, Lin Chen stepped into the lake. The moment his feet touched the water, he felt a chill, but thankfully it was tolerable.

One zhang, two zhang... three zhang...

Lin Chen walked step by step toward the center of the lake. When he was ten feet away, his right foot slipped and the lake bottom suddenly became deeper.

At the bottom of the lake, a force was pulling him downwards.

Lin Chen did not resist the force; he simply circulated his internal energy to maintain the flow of qi and blood within his body and drive away the chill.

The lake water was so clear that even with his eyes open underwater, he could see everything clearly.

Not far from his feet was the bottom of the lake, and it got deeper and deeper as he went forward. The entire lake bottom was like a bowl, with the deepest part of the lake in the very center.

The force pulling him came from the depths of the lake.

"When the water and clouds of Santan Mountain meet, silver threads will enter the water, but there are no clouds here... If I want to absorb the so-called Canglan energy, I'm afraid I'll have to go deeper underwater."

Lin Chen tried to absorb the energy from the lake, but after circulating his cultivation technique for a full cycle, there were no significant changes in his body.

Is there no turbulent energy in the water?
Or is it that I haven't gone deep enough in my current progress?
……

……

shore.

"How long do you think Junior Brother Lin can stay underwater?"

"He should be able to hold out for about fifteen minutes, after all, he's number one on the human ranking."

One of the senior brothers pondered for a moment and spoke up, saying that if it were any of the other junior brothers, they probably wouldn't even be able to stay still for a hundred breaths.

Do you think Junior Brother Lin will stay in the shallow water and not move?

"You think Junior Brother Lin is like you?"

Qu Feng rolled his eyes: "Let me tell you, Junior Brother Lin is an extremely pragmatic and humble person. He would never break records for the sake of so-called empty fame. Moreover, with the achievements Junior Brother Lin has made so far, there is no need for him to do so."

"How long do you think Junior Brother Lin can stay in Qufeng?" the young man asked in return after being refuted.

Qu Feng pondered for a moment and then gave his guess: "Half an hour."

"Qu Feng, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"Even those who have reached the highest level of cultivation might not be able to endure half an hour."

“I admit that Junior Brother Lin has strong martial arts talent and his strength is not weak either, but if you say that Junior Brother Lin can last for half an hour, I, Zhang Gao, will write my name backwards.”

"Half an hour is a bit too long; 15 minutes should be fine."

A figure appeared by the lake. Upon seeing this figure, Qu Feng and the others quickly said, "Senior Brother."

The newcomer was Li Yuan, the senior disciple of Canglan Martial Academy, and also the strongest among the disciples of Canglan Martial Academy.

"Senior Brother, are you also going to Canglan Lake?"

"Ah."

Li Yuan nodded. This time, he planned to cultivate in Canglan Lake until he broke through to the eighth rank, and then challenge the Hidden Dragon Ranking.

If the Potential Ranking had been released last year, he would have been eighteen and could have competed for the Earth Ranking. But this year he is already nineteen and can only aim for the Heaven Ranking.

Not only him, Li Yuan also knew that the three from the other martial arts academies were the same. After the Hidden Dragon Ranking came out, they all began to cultivate desperately in preparation for breaking into the Heaven Ranking.

Although it was difficult, they still wanted to give it a try.

"Qu Feng, did you hear that? Even Senior Brother said Junior Brother Lin can only last for half an hour, and you dare to say half an hour!"

Qu Feng pursed his lips and didn't reply. He estimated that Junior Brother Lin could last for half an hour, based on the astonishing time predictions Junior Brother Lin had made in the past.

He still trusted Senior Brother Li, after all, he was the top student in their martial arts academy, and his judgment was naturally better than his own.

Li Yuan wasn't in a hurry to go down to the lake; he also wanted to meet his junior brother.

Alternatively, I could share some of my cultivation experience with Canglan Lake with him later.

……

……

bottom of the lake.

Lin Chen didn't know how far he had gone before his body finally couldn't withstand the cold anymore.

In fact, his body had been stiff for a long time, but with a thought, the golden sun of his spiritual platform poured down golden light, which fell on the little figure in his dantian. A warm current flowed through his body from his dantian, dispelling the chill in his body.

But now, even though the sun was pouring out golden light, the warm current in his dantian could not dispel the chill on his body. Lin Chen knew that this was the limit his body could withstand.

Lin Chen did not choose to continue forward, but instead stood at the bottom of the lake to stabilize himself and began to circulate the Nine Revolutions True Blood Refining Visceral Technique.

As the cultivation technique circulated, Lin Chen felt his body swirling like a vortex, with the surrounding lake water rushing towards him. At the same time, a chill, like thousands of silver needles, pierced through his pores and entered his body, penetrating straight to his muscles and bones.

Lin Chen's muscles twitched uncontrollably, and the pain of thousands of ice needles piercing his bone marrow almost made him grind his teeth to pieces.

The icy blue energy seeped into Lin Chen's internal organs and blood. The moment this energy appeared, Lin Chen's blood and qi briefly stagnated, but then surged up again as if stimulated by something.

At the same time, the golden sun on the Lingtai suddenly shone brightly, and the green shadows in the shape of a solar corona surged like a tide.

The power of Lingxiao and the essence of the mother tree simultaneously resisted this icy blue energy.

Three breaths later, the icy blue energy disappeared and was dispersed into the body.

Lin Chen was stunned. Had the two energies within his body driven away the Canglan energy?

What's happening here?
(End of this chapter)