Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 258 The Shocking Change at Canglan Lake

next day!

The number of disciples appearing by Canglan Lake was significantly higher than yesterday.

Disciples who wish to absorb the energy of the Azure Sea will choose to come before high tide.

On this day, the Canglan energy in Canglan Lake will continuously gush out, enduring the same coldness but being able to absorb more Canglan energy.

The disciples of Canglan Martial Academy all know how to choose what is most advantageous for them.

Many of the older disciples looked puzzled when they saw Li Yuan standing with another unfamiliar face they didn't recognize.

Senior Brother Li is usually quite aloof and rarely spends time with others. What is this person's background that allows him to stand with Senior Brother Li and even have Senior Brother Li introduce him to the situation at Canglan Lake?

Is he the illegitimate child of a certain dean or vice dean?
"Stop looking, people can't be compared. This is Junior Brother Lin."

Someone who knew Lin Chen offered an explanation, and everyone present suddenly understood. If it was Junior Brother Lin, then it would make sense.

Although Junior Brother Lin's current strength is not as good as Senior Brother Li's, his potential is undeniable, so it's normal for Senior Brother Li to treat him differently.

"In the end, it's because Senior Brother Li looks down on us."

One disciple pouted, his words filled with resentment, but as soon as he said this, he was immediately refuted by the other disciples around him.

"Why should Senior Brother Li respect you? Martial artists are judged by their strength. If you had the potential of Junior Brother Lin, Senior Brother Li would also look at you differently."

"If you can't speak properly, then speak less and stop being so sour."

"Senior Brother Li is the eldest among our senior disciples, and Junior Brother Lin is the eldest among the new disciples. This is called passing the torch from the old to the new."

As soon as one of the disciples said this, everyone else immediately looked over.

Wow, that's quite the smooth talker.

Brother Li's actions, as the saying goes, are a testament to the passing down of knowledge from generation to generation.

Only those who can't speak properly would say that Senior Brother Li looks down on them.

“Junior Brother Lin, as the tide rises, the amount of energy in the Canglan will be much greater than before, and the amount flowing into the body at one time will also be greater. If it exceeds the body’s limit, it will damage the meridians.”

Li Yuan gave Lin Chen a word of advice: disciples like them who had entered the ranks naturally had nothing to fear. The reason why many disciples dared not go into the lake during high tide was because the energy in the lake surged. Sometimes, when they circulated their cultivation techniques, they absorbed too much energy at once and could not refine it, leaving it in their bodies and harming them.

Of course, Li Yuan believed that this problem should not exist for Junior Brother Lin, but he was just reminding him as usual.

Chen Shi (7-9 AM)

Snapped!
Suddenly, a loud crashing sound came from the lakeside.

Lin Chen's gaze immediately fell upon the lake. The once calm lakeside was now turbulent, with ripples spreading outwards from the center of the lake.

These ripples spread faster and faster, with each subsequent wave absorbing the previous one, until by the time they reached the lakeside, they had grown into waves as high as three feet.

Waves crashed against the shore, sending up sprays of water several meters high.

call out!
As soon as the first wave reached the shore, many figures leaped into the Canglan Lake.

“Junior Brother Lin, the high tide at Canglan Lake will last for a day. The energy of Canglan will become more and more terrifying as time goes on, and many junior brothers will not be able to withstand it. That’s why we have to race against time.”

The eruption of Canglan energy is both a good thing and a bad thing.

The good thing is that the disciples can absorb more Azure Energy, but the bad thing is that as the Azure Energy erupts later, many disciples simply cannot withstand the impact of a single wave of Azure Energy.

"Thank you, senior brother."

Lin Chen nodded, and without waiting until the end, he followed his senior brothers and leaped into the lake from the sky.

Li Yuan did not do that. Instead, he leaped up and traversed the lake surface, finally stopping only thirty feet from the center of the lake, where he slowly sank to the bottom.

Before long, dozens of disciples on the shore entered the lake, and the lake became deserted once again.

Rumble!
The moment his body entered the lake, Lin Chen clearly felt a chill rushing towards him, causing his body to momentarily freeze underwater.

Standing on the shore, one could only feel the surging of the lake water, but now that he had gone deep into the lake, Lin Chen realized just how terrifying the surging energy of the Canglan Lake was.

One wave after another.

Each surge of Canglan energy was like a heavy hammer pounding his entire body. Even without circulating his cultivation technique, Lin Chen could feel the Canglan energy flowing into his body.

However, the Canglan energy that actively flowed into the body was expelled again in less than a breath.

This vast energy is not enough!

Lin Chen continued his journey underwater, arriving at the spot where he had been the day before.

The underwater lake water was no longer as clear as it had been yesterday. Terrifying turbulent energy filled the entire lake bottom, turning the water completely ice-blue.

Stopping his advance, Lin Chen began to circulate the Nine Revolutions True Blood Refining Visceral Technique. The moment the technique was activated, endless Canglan energy surged wildly into his body.

The icy, azure energy surged and crashed through Lin Chen's meridians, coursing through his limbs and bones.

This time, even with the golden sun pouring down its golden light from Lin Chen's spiritual platform, it was still unable to expel the Canglan energy from his body.

The Lingxiao and Canglan energies within his body were constantly clashing, making his body resemble a battlefield. His limbs and bones alternated between hot and cold, and Lin Chen's entire face became ferocious.

This pain far surpasses any previous one.

Even the energy absorbed in the Lingxiao Palace back then was far less than what I experienced this time.

Left with no other choice, Lin Chen had to activate the [Medicine Jar Body] again. Since they were underwater, if the pain caused him to lose consciousness, he would risk drowning.

With the activation of the [Medicine Jar Body], Lin Chen's pain lessened, and he circulated his cultivation technique underwater, continuously absorbing the Canglan energy contained in the surrounding lake water. If one were to look at the lake surface at this moment, a whirlpool would appear above Lin Chen.

As time passed, the vortex grew larger and larger, but Lin Chen was still not satisfied.

This vast energy is still not enough; at least in his current view, it is not enough to reach the seventh level.

After the fifth revolution, the energy absorbed in each revolution was comparable to the total of the previous five revolutions. By the sixth revolution, he didn't know how much Mother Tree essence Wu Yuan had prepared for him, but it was definitely a terrifying number.

He spent more than two months in the Lingxiao Palace from the second to the fifth stage, and now, from the sixth to the seventh stage, he needs to absorb no less Canglan energy than Lingxiao energy.

Lin Chen continued to move towards the center of the lake while circulating his cultivation technique; he needed more Canglan energy.

On the nearest mountain peak to Canglan Lake, several figures stood.

Every day when the tide rises in Canglan Lake, instructors from Canglan Martial Academy keep watch on the mountain peaks, though the disciples are unaware of it.

"There are three whirlpools heading towards the center of the lake. The one on the left must belong to Li Yuan, but we don't know whose the other two are."

Standing on high ground and looking down at the surface of Canglan Lake, the instructors could clearly see a dozen or so whirlpools on the lake, but they naturally didn't pay attention to the smaller ones that were farther away from the center of the lake.

Only the three whirlpools that were constantly moving toward the center of the lake could attract their attention.

The vortex on the left is not only large in area, but also moves forward very quickly. According to the instructors' deductions, only Li Yuan could do it.

The two vortexes in the middle and on the right are smaller in comparison, and their speed is also slower than that on the left, making them harder to judge.

Today, a total of five disciples from the Martial Academy have come to Canglan Lake. Apart from Li Yuan, any two of the other four could have done it.

"Compared to being curious about which two disciples these two vortexes belong to, I am more curious about which vortex Lin Chen is and how long he can stay in the rising tide this time."

Liu Ru smiled slightly. He came to Canglan Lake today because he learned from Qu Feng that Lin Chen had come to Canglan Lake yesterday, so he came to take a look.

Although Lin Chen ultimately chose Canglan Martial Academy mainly because the academy offered him amazing conditions, his contribution as an admissions instructor cannot be denied. Upon returning to the academy, he received a substantial reward.

He hadn't shown himself during this time because he was using the resources from the Martial Academy to cultivate and break through. Although he hadn't broken through to the next rank, his strength had improved significantly.

What pleased Liu Ru even more was that Lin Chen's performance after entering the Martial Academy was already quite remarkable, especially in the two battles after going to Lingxiao City.

The better Lin Chen performs, the more valuable Liu Ru's recruitment this time will be.

Now, which of the other instructors at the martial arts academy doesn't envy me?

Now, the Martial Academy has also issued the Hidden Dragon Ranking. It's no exaggeration to say that as long as Lin Chen can enter the top three of the Heavenly Ranking, he will be able to become the number one instructor of the Martial Academy based on his enrollment achievements.

If Lin Chen wins the top spot on the Heavenly Ranking...

He will undoubtedly have a place as the future vice president of the martial arts academy.

It's too wonderful to even imagine.

Liu Ru suddenly understood. It was said that the instructor in Poyang County was promoted to the eighth rank by the Jiangnan Dao Martial Arts Administration because he taught Lin Chen at the Martial Arts Hall.

Although this method almost completely eliminates the possibility of further growth in martial arts strength, to put it bluntly, if that instructor were to cultivate on his own, he would probably only reach the ninth rank at most.

This is like climbing to the eighth rank while lying down, saving ten years of walking.

As instructors at the martial arts academy, their cultivation resources come from the academy, and the amount of resources the academy gives them depends on the improvement in the strength of the disciples they teach.

Although he cannot compare with the instructors, because of Lin Chen, he receives more resources from the martial arts academy, giving him a natural advantage in breaking through martial arts realms compared to other instructors.

Half an hour later, many disciples had already come up from the lake.

As the tide rose over Canglan Lake, it was nearly impossible to maintain the water level for even half an hour. When Liu Ru saw that Lin Chen was not on the shore, a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes.

"what!"

Suddenly, one of the instructors let out a soft exclamation and looked toward the center of the lake: "A whirlpool is heading toward the center of the lake."

"Is it Li Yuan?"

"No, it's the original vortex in the middle."

The instructor, who had been staring at the vortex in the center, explained, "This vortex wasn't moving very fast at first, but it suddenly accelerated a few breaths ago..." "Suddenly accelerated?"

A slightly older instructor's expression changed instantly: "Could it be that Canglanjian has appeared again!"

Swish!
Almost as soon as the words were spoken, the instructors shot off from the mountain peaks toward the lake.

"All disciples, get ashore immediately!"

An instructor's voice echoed throughout the entire Canglan Lake. Some disciples who had come ashore stared in shock at the instructor's figure shooting towards them from above, not understanding what was happening.

These instructors came from the mountain peaks and, without stopping, rushed directly into the lake, pulling the disciples who were still absorbing the energy of the Azure Waves out of the water.

This sudden turn of events left many disciples puzzled, as they had never encountered such a situation before.

Within a dozen or so breaths, the instructors led their disciples back to the shore.

Are there any disciples who haven't come up yet?

"Li Yuan and Lin Chen have disappeared without a trace."

Upon hearing this, the teachers present immediately turned pale.

puff!
But just then, a figure appeared near the center of the lake. Liu Ru carried the unconscious Li Yuan back to the shore.

"Li Yuan fainted in the water and was almost sucked into the Canglan Ravine. If it had been any later, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Liu Ru breathed a sigh of relief upon reaching the shore, but seeing the still grim expressions on the faces of the other instructors around him, he seemed to have thought of something. He looked around, and after scanning the entire area and not finding that figure, his heart skipped a beat.

"Lin Chen...didn't make it ashore?"

Three breaths later!
A bell rang from the Canglan Mountains, and several aged figures sped toward Canglan Lake.

……

……

At the edge of Canglan Lake, all the disciples had disappeared, leaving only a few vice deans.

A few breaths later, Hua Qianwu's figure appeared from the center of the lake, his face extremely ugly.

"The Canglan Gorge was closed, but Lin Chen was sucked into it."

Hearing this, although they had some guesses in their hearts, the other vice deans' expressions became even more unpleasant.

This is the outcome they least wanted to see.

Before the dean went down, they still held onto a sliver of hope that Lin Chen might have been knocked unconscious by the violent Canglan energy and might still be in the lake.

"Dean, the Canglan Gorge only appears once every thirty years. The last time it appeared was five years ago. Why is it appearing so quickly this time?"

A vice president looked thoughtful. The Canglan energy of Canglan Lake comes from the Canglan Stream at the center of the lake.

The bottom of Canglan Lake used to be sealed off, but Canglan energy overflowed through the cracks in the rocks at the bottom of the lake. On high tide, the Canglan energy simply overflowed even more.

Lake Canglan is like a volcano, and its energy is magma.

These magma are sealed deep at the bottom of the lake, constantly surging upwards. Every thirty years there will be a major eruption that will break through the lake bottom and form a huge opening similar to a mountain stream.

Once the Canglan Ravine is formed, it will not only gush out a great deal of Canglan energy, but when the Canglan energy is swallowed and released, it will also pull everything in the lake toward the Canglan Ravine.

The Canglan Martial Academy has existed for hundreds of years and has a thorough understanding of the Canglan Gorge at the bottom of Canglan Lake. It only has such a major outbreak once every thirty years, and there is no deviation in this understanding.

This time, it was clearly different.

"Order the Canglan Martial Academy to enter a state of high alert!"

Hua Qianwu's face was extremely gloomy as he looked at the vice deans and immediately issued orders.

"Dean?"

"Senior Brother Hua?"

Upon hearing Hua Qianwu's order, the eyes of the several vice deans flashed with a sharp light, as if they had thought of something.

"Activate the protective formation!"

"Yes!"

All the vice deans responded immediately and quickly disappeared from their original positions.

Hua Qianwu glanced at the surface of Canglan Lake, said nothing, but as he turned to leave, he exuded endless killing intent.

……

……

Turn back time!

Lin Chen, who was absorbing and refining the energy of the Azure Waves at the bottom of the lake, suddenly felt a terrifying suction force pulling him toward the center of the lake.

Yesterday, he also felt the suction force, but it was nowhere near as terrifying as it is now. Even though he resisted with all his might, his body was still being pulled towards the center of the lake.

If it were just being sucked in, that would be fine. What made Lin Chen feel the danger was that the closer he got to the center of the lake, the more terrifying the Canglan energy became. In the end, it even became so tangible that he didn't need to absorb it himself; the Canglan energy just poured into his body.

In just a few breaths, it filled his entire body, even covering the golden figure in his dantian.

"Something has happened at Canglan Lake!"

If the suction force of Canglan Lake were so terrifying at high tide, Senior Brother Li or Senior Brother Qu Feng would definitely have reminded me, and the Dean would have given me some instructions as well. But neither the Dean nor Senior Brother Li mentioned these things, which means that there is no danger in Canglan Lake.

If it were Senior Brother Qu Feng, he would probably have already fainted from the current Canglan energy and been sucked into the center of the lake by this terrifying suction force.

There is only one possibility to explain the current situation: something has happened to Canglan Lake.

Just as Lin Chen figured all this out, the suction force was pulling him forward rapidly, and more and more Canglan energy was pouring in, making his consciousness become blurred.

The Azure Energy is beginning to damage his spiritual platform.

Without any hesitation, Lin Chen took out the jade pendant given to him by Murong Yan from his bosom and stuck it to his chest. He had to protect his mind and soul.

Lin Chen looked inward at the jade pendant, and the throbbing sensation in his head subsided. But before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, he saw a beautiful figure appear.

……

……

Yan State.

Princess House.

"Princess, are you really not going? Today, we have Young Master Wei, who is ranked first on the Earth Ranking, as well as many other martial arts talents."

"not going."

Murong Yan waved her hand. If it were in the past, she would definitely have attended the banquets hosted by her aunt.

The daughters of the Great Yan royal family either marry into the royal families of other countries or into the most outstanding talents of those countries.

The aunt's banquet for geniuses was also an opportunity for them to choose their future husbands.

Those who are invited to the banquet are all qualified. If you find someone you like at the banquet, it is naturally much better than a marriage arranged by your father in the future.

"I told my aunt that I wasn't feeling well."

The maid nodded. She felt that her princess seemed to have changed completely since her trip to Daliang.

Previously, the princess would have them collect information on martial arts prodigies from various countries, but now the princess seems uninterested in such things.

Seeing the confusion in the maid's eyes, Murong Yan naturally knew what her maid was wondering about, but she wouldn't explain, and Qin Gu, the only one who knew the reason, wouldn't reveal it to anyone.

Moreover, it's not that she didn't collect information on the talents of other countries; she just focused her attention on a particular person.

Thinking of someone, a hint of resentment appeared in Murong Yan's eyes.

It's been three months, and this person hasn't even sent a letter.

Before the resentment in Murong Yan's eyes had faded, a blush suddenly appeared on her pretty face.

"I need to rest."

Ignoring everything else, Murong Yan grabbed her beautiful long dress and headed straight for the palace's sleeping quarters.

"Is the princess really unwell?"

The maid noticed the blush on the princess's face and muttered something to herself, but as soon as she turned around, she was stopped by a figure.

"Master Su."

Su Qin looked at the maid with an indifferent expression: "The princess is not feeling well. Go to the Princess's residence to report this."

"If the princess asks, just say that there was a problem with her cultivation technique, but I have already resolved it. She only needs to rest for a few days."

"My slave understands."

Watching the maid's departing figure, Su Qin looked towards the palace and her bedroom, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

Even now, she doesn't know whether the princess's decision was right or wrong, but she and the princess are now in the same boat, so she can only cover for the princess.

(End of this chapter)