Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 272 Lin Chen: Is he praising himself?
"Young Master Lin, no problem!"

Reminded by Lin Chen, Liu Yue regained her composure and walked past the two battle puppets herself.

The two war puppets remained unmoved.

"Ah."

With Liu Yue's verification, Lin Chen didn't hesitate and headed towards the palace. The two entered the palace one after the other.

The moment Lin Chen stepped into the palace, he once again felt that unique energy, the same energy he had felt when he touched the stone tablet, sweep over his entire body.

"Who is this?"

A corpse lay on the floor of the main hall.

"They're from the Xiang family."

Liu Yue stepped forward to examine the face of the corpse on the ground, then turned to Lin Chen: "Cao Shan, ranked twenty-first on the Earth Ranking."

"So Cao Shan also knew about the Qingtian Sect's tomb?"

"Ah."

Liu Yue nodded. The reason why the young disciples of the four major families could not find this palace and tomb in the past was not only because they were not strong enough to get here, but more importantly, without a map, it would be almost impossible to find the tomb in three days.

Cao Shan was able to arrive before me, so he must have had a map of the tomb.

“Young Master Lin, Cao Shan only has three demon cores on him.”

Liu Yue casually rummaged through Cao Shan's body for a while, then untied the bag at his waist and tossed it to Lin Chen.

Loot the corpse!

It's a traditional skill that most martial artists know, and there's nothing shameful about it.

"Unfortunately, Cao Shan has already registered these three demon cores."

Hearing this, Lin Chen didn't feel regretful. The points he had earned for the Dan family so far were already worth the reward they had given him.

"With Cao Shan's strength, he shouldn't have only killed three demonic beasts. He must have encountered no fewer than ten demonic beasts along the way. It seems that Cao Shan chose to avoid these demonic beasts."

"That's right, I think so too."

Lin Chen nodded, agreeing with Liu Yue's assessment.

"How did Cao Shan die? There were no wounds on his body, and he didn't look like he was poisoned."

Liu Yue frowned. The inexplicable death of a powerful figure on the Earth Ranking cast a shadow over her heart.

The family only had a map leading to the tomb, but knew nothing about what was inside.

"Perhaps it's related to that thing."

Lin Chen looked up at the top of Liu Yue's head. Liu Yue followed Lin Chen's gaze and looked up, her beautiful eyes narrowing.

Above that palace dome, there is a star array outlined in jade.

At the very center of that star array, there is a raised groove.

"Is this a formation?"

Liu Yue made a judgment in her mind: "Cao Shan became like this after the formation was activated. Could it be that there is danger after the formation was activated?"

"If there is danger, Miss Liu, are you going to give up?"

Lin Chen's question left Liu Yue silent for a long while: "No!"

The clan has been preparing for this moment for decades; how could she possibly give up so easily?

Liu Yue would not give up, and Lin Chen was also very curious about the Qingtian Sect. The two exchanged glances and understood the determination in each other's eyes.

"Young Master Lin, I'm going to activate the formation."

"Ah."

After Lin Chen agreed, Liu Yue flicked her right finger at the protruding rock in the array above her head.

The protruding stone was pressed down with force, and soon light flowed in the sky above the dome. An energy swept through the entire hall, and after this energy swept through, a stone door rose from the ground and appeared in front of Lin Chen and Liu Yue.

"Those who enter the Stone Gate must first pass the test of their soul; those who fail will have their soul and spirit destroyed."

Above the stone gate, a line of red characters slowly appeared. Lin Chen and Liu Yue exchanged a glance and understood how Cao Shan had died.

His soul was destroyed!

No wonder Cao Shan had no external injuries.

Liu Yue's expression turned solemn as she looked at the line of blood-written words.

Entering Shimen carries risks.

Her agreement with Lin Chen was that Lin Chen would help her obtain the Guiding Token. This agreement was more about Lin Chen shielding her from others when they competed for it.

“Young Master Lin, I never expected things to turn out this way. This stone gate… If you are unwilling to go in, you can wait outside. If I fail, my body will likely end up outside, just like Cao Shan’s. In that case, I will trouble you to take my body out. After we leave the ruins, my elders will come to find you.”

Liu Yue did not ask Lin Chen to accompany her into the stone gate, while Lin Chen was also considering whether he should enter the stone gate himself.

A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall, so the mere prospect of ancestor worship was not very attractive to him.

Just as Lin Chen was pondering, there was a commotion at the door, and several figures appeared at the door.

"The rumors were true. Senior Brother Gao is really amazing."

"Hey, I didn't expect someone to be here even before us."

After Liu Yue's figure appeared at the door, she moved a few steps closer to Lin Chen.

Lin Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, but he wasn't too surprised. Since Liu Yue was here for the Guiding Sect Token, and Cao Shan was too, it was acceptable that Gao Yongsi could also find his way here.

The group all shared the same goal: to use the competition between the four major families as an opportunity to enter the ruins.

What surprised Lin Chen was that Zhuang Lei was also following behind Gao Yongsi. It seemed that the relationship between Gao Yongsi and the Zhuang family was deeper than he had imagined.

"Aren't you from the Dan family? How come you're hanging out with the Zhou family?"

When Zhuang Lei saw Lin Chen and Liu Yue, his gaze lingered on Liu Yue with a hint of fervor, but when he looked at Lin Chen, his eyes were filled with disdain.

In Zhuang Lei's mind, apart from Yun Zhongjin, the Dan family was only slightly worthy of his attention. He only glanced at the other four people he invited and didn't even care about their names.

Lin Chen did not answer Zhuang Lei's question, while Gao Yongsi walked straight ahead as if no one was there. When he saw the words on the stone gate, his expression did not change.

"I'd like to see just how utterly annihilated soul and spirit are!"

With absolute confidence in his eyes, Gao Yongsi pushed open the stone door and strode inside.

“Miss Liu, even if you want to find someone to cooperate with, you can go to our company. Some people probably can’t bring you any benefits.”

Zhuang Lei saw Gao Yongsi enter the stone gate and followed closely behind, but as he brushed past Liu Yue, he said something meaningful.

"No need."

Liu Yue's face was cold. She could not cooperate with the dealer because she and Gao Yongsi were competitors.

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Lei gave Liu Yue and Lin Chen a sinister look before following them into the stone gate.

However, just as Zhuang Lei was about to step into the stone gate, Lin Chen moved, his figure shooting out and unleashing his Wind and Cloud Palm at Zhuang Lei without reservation.

The main reason he agreed to come here with Dan Muqing was because of Zhuang Lei.

Now that Zhuang Lei was standing in front of him, and Gao Yongsi was no longer there, it was the perfect opportunity to make a move.

It wasn't that he was afraid of Gao Yongsi, but rather that if others witnessed him killing Zhuang Lei, the news would leak out after they left the ruins, and the powerful members of the Zhuang family would turn against him. Lin Chen believed that Liu Yue wouldn't betray him, and judging from Gao Yongsi's behavior, he didn't value Zhuang Lei much; his target was the Guiding Token.

boom!
Lin Chen's all-out attack, especially since it was a sneak attack, caught Zhuang Lei completely off guard. He had no chance to react and Lin Chen shattered his entire back, causing him to collapse to the ground like a lump of mud.

Liu Yue, who was standing to the side, only reacted at this moment, and looked at Lin Chen with a hint of wariness in her eyes.

“Miss Liu, I have some personal grudges with the Zhuang family, but that won’t affect our cooperation.”

Seeing the wariness in Liu Yue's eyes, Lin Chen explained that his rash action had made Liu Yue think he had other intentions.

"I understand. Please do as you please, Young Master Lin. I will keep this a secret."

Liu Yue suddenly realized that she should trust Lin Chen. If Lin Chen had any ulterior motives regarding the Guiding Token, he wouldn't have reminded her when they were facing the two battle puppets outside the main hall.

Lin Chen looked at Zhuang Lei, who was slumped in front of the stone gate, staring at him with disbelief. A cold smile crept onto Lin Chen's face. He figured Zhuang Lei would never have imagined that he would try to kill him.

Are you wondering why I would target you?

Lin Chen walked over step by step, and seeing the confusion in Zhuang Lei's eyes, his smile became even brighter.

"boom!"

However, the next moment, Lin Chen stomped on Zhuang Lei's throat, and a crisp sound of his throat bones breaking rang out. Zhuang Lei's face was still filled with confusion even as he died.

It may be pleasurable to enlighten an enemy before they die.

But in his previous life, Lin Chen had read so many novels and watched so many TV series, and a big reason why the villains were ultimately defeated was because they talked too much.

"Miss Liu, please wait a moment."

After killing Zhuang Lei, Lin Chen carried Zhuang Lei's body out of the palace and returned only after a short while.

"Young Master Lin, I certainly won't reveal this matter, but what about Gao Yongsi?"

When Liu Yue saw Lin Chen return, she knew that Lin Chen must have gone to dispose of Zhuang Lei's body.

In these deep mountains, if you kill someone and dump the body anywhere, no one will find out.

However, if Zhuang Lei does not come out when the time is up, the Zhuang family will definitely investigate, and Gao Yongsi will surely reveal that he had met the two of them before.

“Gao Yongsi and Zhuang Lei didn’t have a deep relationship. In his eyes, Zhuang Lei was just a tool.”

Lin Chen could guess a thing or two about Gao Yongsi's thoughts. This man was extremely arrogant, as could be seen from the fact that he ignored him and Liu Yue as soon as he entered.

But arrogance doesn't mean stupidity or lack of brains. Gao Yongsi's arrogance stems from his confidence in his own abilities. He and Liu Yue entered first, so Gao Yongsi couldn't have failed to observe him. And since he could perceive Liu Yue's extraordinary qualities, Gao Yongsi should have been able to see something of the same sort as well.

If Gao Yongsi and Zhuang Lei really had a good relationship, he wouldn't have left Zhuang Lei behind; he would at least have given him a verbal reminder.

"Since Young Master Lin has already made up his mind, then there's nothing more to it. Let's go inside."

Liu Yue didn't want to delay any longer. She didn't know what was inside the stone door. Gao Yongsi had already been inside for a while, and she couldn't wait any longer.

"Ah."

Lin Chen nodded, and this time he didn't wait for Liu Yue to go in first, but instead walked towards the stone gate first.

He was putting Liu Yue's mind at ease with his actions.

The moment Lin Chen stepped through the stone gate, his body trembled, and he felt a wave of dizziness. But as his mind trembled, the dizziness vanished instantly.

As his unconsciousness subsided and his mind returned to normal, Lin Chen immediately scanned his surroundings, his gaze finally settling on a pillar of light in front of him.

Gao Yongsi was enveloped in the beam of light, his eyes closed and his brows furrowed, as if he were under some kind of pressure.

Just as Lin Chen was sizing up Gao Yongsi, a beam of light descended from above his head, enveloping him.

"The Trial of the Sky Begins!"

A majestic voice rang in Lin Chen's ears, and the next moment the scene around Lin Chen changed, and he appeared in a vast world.

Rumble!
The thunder roared, shaking the heavens as if it would tear the sky apart.

boom!
After a long while, a thunderclap exploded.

Lin Chen felt his mind begin to shake under the impact of the thunder, but fortunately it only shook a few times before stabilizing.

"This is the soul test?"

Lin Chen's eyes gleamed. A martial artist's spiritual platform is his soul, and the martial will is something that is born from the soul.

The thunder struck straight to the soul!
Rumble!
Just as Lin Chen made his judgment, thunder rumbled again from the sky.

One sound,
Two sounds,

Three sounds...

……

The thunder grew louder and louder, and Lin Chen's mind swayed constantly, but remained stable.

Several hundred breaths later, the thunder finally dissipated, and the scene around Lin Chen changed, returning him to reality once again.

This time, the pillar of light around him disappeared.

"Did I pass the test?"

Freed from the constraints of the beam of light, Lin Chen found himself able to move around freely, and at the same time, he saw Liu Yue's figure.

Liu Yue also had a beam of light around her. At this moment, Liu Yue's brows were furrowed and her pretty face was pale. However, unlike Gao Yongsi, Liu Yue's beam of light was light green, while Gao Yongsi's beam of light was dark green.

"The varying shades of light should represent the progress of the trials. Gao Yongsi entered earlier and is progressing faster than Liu Yue. However, according to the timeline, I have already passed the trials. There's no reason why Gao Yongsi is still undergoing them, unless the frequency of the thunder changes according to the test takers' conditions."

Thinking of this possibility, Lin Chen's lips twitched. Wasn't this just setting people up for trouble?

Because I could withstand it, the frequency of thunder increased when I was put to the test.

"Young friend, would you like to undergo a second test?"

A gentle voice suddenly rang out, and Lin Chen's hair stood on end. He looked at the middle-aged man in black robes who had suddenly appeared in front of him with a wary expression.

"Who is your Excellency?"

"You've entered my grave, and you still don't know who I am?"

"Senior, are you the Sect Master of the Sky-Supporting Sect?"

Lin Chen didn't say the words "last generation," as saying them would be hurtful.

"Yes, I am the last sect master of the Qingtian Sect. Young friend, you don't need to save face for me."

Lin Chen's pupils shrank suddenly. At this moment, goosebumps rose all over his body again. This person could actually hear his thoughts.

“Our Qingtian Sect cultivates the Dao of Divine Soul Puppets, and this place also has an array set up by me, so it is not surprising that I know your thoughts. It’s just a pity that the energy here is insufficient. Even I can only detect you when you are off guard. Right now, you are on guard, so I don’t know what you are thinking.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen silently muttered to himself, "What a pervert."

Then, seeing that the senior's expression didn't change, he realized that what the other person said was true.

When you are on guard, the other person can't hear your thoughts.

“Young friend, my divine soul has existed here for hundreds of years. Dozens of people have come here, but you are the only one who has ever seen me appear in person.”

The last sect leader of the Qingtian Sect looked at Lin Chen and said, "Young friend, the depth of your soul has surprised me. Even in the Yan Dynasty, you could barely be considered a minor genius."

Lin Chen: ...

Is he praising himself?

(End of this chapter)