Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 281 The Great Liang Dynasty Has Successors

You've already done a great job for forcing me to draw my sword.

Hearing Brother Pei's words, Lin Chen's expression was a bit strange. Did every prodigy speak in this style?
Am I the only one who adopts a humble style?
"I heard from Dean Hou that you also practiced body tempering techniques."

In terms of martial arts will, Pei Qingming has already grasped Lin Chen's level, comparable to a martial artist who has just entered the eighth rank.

"it is good."

Lin Chen nodded, and a faint golden light surged around him as he activated the Zhenyue Manual to its limit, causing his body to glow with a faint golden luster.

"Brother Pei, please give me your guidance."

With a soft shout, Lin Chen stomped his right foot on the ground, sending mud flying, and his palm, accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder, slammed towards Pei Qingming's face.

"Six in hand!"

He immediately unleashed the sixth move of the Wind and Cloud Palm, his entire body's energy and blood instantly exploding and accumulating in his palm.

A look of surprise flashed across Pei Qingming's eyes, and he followed suit with a palm strike.

boom!
The moment their palms collided, an invisible gale swept up the soil within a three-zhang radius, sending it flying everywhere.

Lin Chen's eyes narrowed, and he struck again with his palm. Pei Qingming retaliated with the same palm strike.

Within ten breaths, the two exchanged sixty blows, tearing up all the grass and trees around them. Lin Chen's sleeves were torn to shreds, and the veins on his arms bulged out, while Pei Qingming remained calm and composed.

"Lin Chen, it's my turn next."

Pei Qingming laughed loudly. This time, he took the initiative to attack for the first time. The sword energy gathered at his fingertips transformed into a gale and shot towards Lin Chen.

The moment Lin Chen received the reminder, he activated the Zhenyue Manual to its maximum level once again, but it only lasted for five breaths before his blood aura was shattered by the sword energy.

The terrifying sword energy gusts struck him, instantly leaving thousands of sword marks on his upper body.

"Brother Pei, I lost."

Lin Chen landed back on the ground, his Reverse Scale Armor exposed. Fortunately, it hadn't been pierced, but there were tiny bloodstains on his exposed arms, shoulders, and other areas.

"Defeated but still honorable. Your physical body is much stronger than I expected. It truly lives up to its reputation as a legendary body tempering technique."

Pei Qingming smiled. Although he had just casually pointed out a few sword energies, these energies contained his martial will and his understanding of the sword path, which even an eighth-rank martial artist would find difficult to withstand.

"Have you ever wondered why my finger strike just now had such power?"

"Is it the will of martial arts?"

"Your teacher should have told you about martial will, but martial will is not just the soul, nor is it just a spiritual weapon."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen pricked up his ears and began to listen attentively.

Brother Pei is about to impart his martial arts experience to him.

"Think about the process of you gathering your martial will..."

"The process of cultivating martial will?"

Lin Chen recalled the scene of the golden figures condensing in his dantian. Inside the Lingxiao Palace, with the help of the power of Lingxiao, he condensed nine golden figures, each of which represented a cultivation technique he had learned.

Finally, by integrating these techniques into one, the golden figure within the dantian appeared.

Martial willpower is also related to the comprehension of martial arts techniques.

Seeing Lin Chen deep in thought, and his eyes growing brighter, Pei Qingming knew that Lin Chen must have figured something out, and smiled, "Martial will is not just the soul, but also your own understanding of martial arts techniques."

"I've been exposed to swords since I was a child. Although I had never practiced swordsmanship before reaching the Qi Refining stage, I had seen many of my elders practice swordsmanship. Later, after reaching the Internal Organ Refining stage, the finger techniques I practiced were derived from swordsmanship. It wasn't until I reached the Rank 1 stage that I began to practice swordsmanship..."

"Martial will is indeed formed by the differentiation and condensation of the soul, but martial will is not just the soul, it also includes your understanding of martial arts."

"Many martial artists are unaware of this because their martial arts skills are not profound. Even some high-level martial artists may not be able to understand this point."

Facing Lin Chen, who had the same potential as him, Pei Qingming made no attempt to hide anything.

"Many people think that I can't reach the third rank because of my talent, but they don't know that if I wanted to, it would only take me one night. The reason I haven't broken through to the fourth rank is because I'm still lacking a bit of sword will in my swordsmanship."

"The Will of the Sword?"

“Every martial art has its own unique martial will. Swords have their own will, sabers have their own will… even fist and palm techniques are the same. Forcibly raising your rank by relying on spiritual weapons and spiritual grades is equivalent to cutting off your martial potential. You must remember this.”

If it were an ordinary genius, Pei Qingming wouldn't tell them these things; knowing them would only add to their troubles.

In the pursuit of perfection, some even stagnate in their progress.

However, Pei Qingming felt it was alright to tell Lin Chen, since Lin Chen was a genius of the same level as him.

“You have a huge problem in your martial arts training right now, which you may not even be aware of yourself.”

Pei Qingming spoke, his gaze falling on Lin Chen. Seeing that Lin Chen only showed surprise, without any dissatisfaction or doubt, a hint of satisfaction appeared in his eyes. Such geniuses are usually arrogant and cannot bear to hear others say there are problems with their martial arts cultivation.

At the very least, one would subconsciously question and feel unconvinced, but Lin Chen did not; this humility is extremely rare.

If he had such humility at Lin Chen's age, he might have already reached the third rank.

But precisely because he had taken a wrong turn, he didn't want Lin Chen to follow in his footsteps.

"You and I are both martial arts geniuses. We can master any technique extremely quickly. While others might reach their limit after practicing two or three techniques, you and I can practice six or seven, or even more..."

"Fists, palms, legs, knives, swords, clubs..."

"But the more you learn, the more complex your understanding of martial arts becomes, which means it will be more difficult for you to perfect your martial arts will."

"Is there any other way to say this?"

Lin Chen was speechless. He really didn't know that the advancement of martial arts will could be limited by the cultivation method.

"Just keep an eye on it."

Pei Qingming raised his right hand. This time, the longsword in the scabbard was not drawn, but a pure longsword appeared in his hand. Just by looking at it from a distance, Lin Chen could feel the purity of the sword energy within it.

"The improvement of spiritual weapons is ultimately limited. The highest level of spiritual weapons in the entire Nine Kingdoms is only Grade One. The reason why there are no beings in the Nine Kingdoms that have surpassed Grade One is because it is difficult for spiritual weapons to surpass Grade One. To break through Grade One, one can only rely on martial will, the purer the better."

This was the first time Pei Qingming had revealed his ambition in martial arts to others. The first rank was never his goal; his goal was to surpass the first rank.

"You are currently cultivating a body tempering technique, and your palm technique is also very strong. In addition, you have also practiced archery. These three are in conflict. Body temperers usually use wide and powerful attacks, but I observe that your palm technique is ethereal and explosive. As for your archery, it emphasizes speed, ruthlessness, and accuracy..."

"Three completely different styles of martial arts will make it more difficult for you to comprehend martial arts than for the average person."

"I see. Then, Brother Pei, what should I do?"

"Two choices: give up one and choose the one with a similar style."

Lin Chen frowned. He would not give up on any of them, whether it was the Wind and Cloud Palm, the Cowardly Arrow, or the Mountain Suppressing Manual.

"What about the other one?"

"Strengthen the divine soul!"

"Strengthen the divine soul?"

“Strengthen your divine soul. When your divine soul is strong enough to be able to divide and bear the martial will, and a single martial will reaches perfection, you can break through. However, strengthening your divine soul is far more difficult than breaking through a realm.”

Hearing Brother Pei's words, Lin Chen pondered. If he hadn't obtained the Thousand Machines Refining God Technique, he would have to consider whether to choose or abandon the technique. However, Senior Zhu of the Sky-Supporting Sect had said that his soul was far superior to that of ordinary people. In addition, the Thousand Machines Refining God Technique itself had the effect of enhancing the soul, so this path was not out of his reach.

"The choice of which path to take is up to you."

Pei Qingming did not make a choice for Lin Chen. Geniuses of their caliber have their own choices regarding how to pursue their martial arts path.

All others can do is explain the pros and cons.

"Thank you for your guidance, Brother Pei. I understand now."

"Ah."

Pei Qingming nodded, then changed the subject, asking, "Where are you planning to go next?"

"I'm going back to Canglan Martial Arts Academy."

"Yes, it's best for you to stay at Canglan Martial Academy right now. As for the struggles outside, you don't need to worry about them for the time being. We'll take care of things. All you need to do is focus on your cultivation."

"I will."

Lin Chen nodded emphatically. Daliang is currently competing with Han Guo. Although he is a genius, his strength is still too weak, and he will not have much impact on the overall situation.

"I'm leaving now, so let's say goodbye. I look forward to seeing you again, and I hope you can give me a surprise."

Pei Qingming patted Lin Chen on the shoulder, and the two of them didn't say anything more.

Lin Chen didn't ask Pei Qingming where he was going. If his older brother Pei wanted to tell him, he would have already done so. If he hadn't said anything, there must have been a reason why he hadn't.

……

"How about it?"

After Lin Chen left, Dai Qingqing appeared beside Pei Qingming.

"The great Liang dynasty has a worthy successor."

Pei Qingming looked in the direction where Lin Chen disappeared, a smile playing on his lips. Meeting Lin Chen was the happiest thing that had happened to him in recent months.

(End of this chapter)