Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 282 Lin Chen: Why should Senior Brother Bao bother with such a trivial matter?
Raozhou Prefecture.

Jiang Mansion.

"Princess, Miss has lost a lot of weight recently."

In the garden of the Jiang family mansion, Zhuang Min paused for a moment as she listened to the old woman's report beside her, her hand pruning flowers.

"Princess, why don't you tell Miss what's going on?"

The old woman's face showed heartache. She had personally gone to the Canglan Martial Academy because she saw that her young lady was getting thinner and thinner. The reason for her thinning was that Lin Chen had gone missing in Canglan Lake.

The young lady was worried about Lin Chen's safety, but the madam had given Lin Chen the Flower-Suppressing Token. If Lin Chen lost his life, the token would dissipate, and the young lady would be able to sense it.

"Let's just consider it a test for her."

Zhuang Min shook her head. This was a hurdle her daughter had to overcome. The path of martial arts was long, and she would encounter many things and hurdles in the future that she would have to overcome on her own.

Hearing the answer, the old woman felt a pang of pity, but the young lady, though gentle on the outside, was firm on the inside and would not change her mind once she had made a decision.

"Miss, good news."

Just as the old woman was about to leave, the Jiang family's steward came running excitedly from the garden entrance.

"Young Master Lin is well."

Holding a document in his hand, the steward excitedly announced as soon as he stepped into the garden, "The Martial Garden has just updated the Hidden Dragon Ranking, and Young Master Lin is now ranked eighth on the Earth Ranking."

"show me."

The old woman appeared beside the butler in a flash, snatched the document from his hand, and quickly scanned the names on it.

Lin Chen's name was prominently displayed at the top of the first page of the rankings.

[Eighth on the Local Ranking: Lin Chen (Raozhou Prefecture, Daliang)]

The name and location match.

"It really is Young Master Lin."

The old woman quickly walked up to Zhuang Min. Zhuang Min glanced at the names on the list and smiled, "Send this list to Qing'er... never mind... she can find out about it at Canglan Martial Academy too."

The Hidden Dragon Ranking has been updated, and not only she can get the news, but the Canglan Martial Academy can too.

As soon as Qing'er saw the name on the list, she knew that Lin Chen was safe and sound.

"From first place on the Human Ranking to eighth place on the Earth Ranking, it seems Lin Chen has inherited the legacy of Canglan Prefecture. The little guy has quite a bit of luck."

Zhuang Min murmured to herself, then said with a smile, "Bring out those two pots of daffodils from my room."

"Yes, ma'am."

……

……

The State of Zhao, Zexi.

"So your name is Lin Chen."

Liu Yue looked at the latest updated Hidden Dragon Ranking in her hand, and her beautiful eyes lit up at the name [Lin Chen] on the eighth spot on the Earth Ranking.

Gao Yongsi, who was originally ranked eighth on the Earth Ranking, was killed by himself. However, long before the Martial Garden launched the Hidden Dragon Ranking, the elders of the family had informed the elders of the Martial Garden that the Liu family members would not participate in the ranking of the Hidden Dragon Ranking.

I shouldn't be on the Hidden Dragon Ranking. Logically, the ninth person should take my place, but now the eighth person is Lin Chen.

"The martial arts school must have conducted a thorough investigation into the competition in Linhai County, and since Lin Chen's strength is no less than mine, they ranked Lin Chen eighth."

Liu Yue didn't think her judgment was wrong, because Cao Shan and Shen Tao's rankings were filled by those who came after them, and no new names appeared.

"The number one genius of the younger generation in Daliang truly deserves this title."

……

……

Yan State.

Murong Yan was accompanying her mother on a stroll in the back garden.

"Yan'er, why did you advise your father not to seal off the borders of the Great Liang?"

"Mother, our Yan Kingdom has maintained exchanges with other countries for many years. Now that other countries have blocked the borders of Daliang, our Yan Kingdom will not block the borders. Then other countries will come to our Yan Kingdom to exchange martial arts resources, and we can also profit from it."

"There's no such thing as a free lunch. Your father has been under a lot of pressure lately. The Han Kingdom is very dissatisfied with your father for not closing the border with Daliang."

Murong Yan smiled slightly: "Mother, isn't Second Aunt in Han Kingdom? Let Second Aunt help us out, at least to delay things for a while."

"Even your second aunt might not be able to do that..."

"Your Majesty, the Hidden Dragon Ranking has been updated."

A palace maid stepped forward, and Murong Yan took the document, smiling as she said, "Mother, let me show you what changes have been made to this issue of the Hidden Dragon Ranking."

Murong Yan opened the document and scanned it with her eyes. When she saw the Earth Ranking, her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and continued reading.

"Mother, there haven't been any major changes."

"Princess, there have been changes. The biggest change is that Lin Chen, who was originally ranked first on the Human Ranking, has suddenly jumped to eighth on the Earth Ranking," the palace maid added.

"Really? Let me take another look."

Murong Yan looked at it again and nodded slightly: "It really is. I hadn't noticed it before."

After reading the document, Murong Yan handed it to her mother: "Mother, I'll be going back now."

"Well, let's go."

After leaving the palace, Murong Yan boarded her carriage, lay lazily on the soft cushions, and murmured, "This guy has quietly reached eighth place on the Earth Ranking."

"Qin Gu, please help me investigate something."

Su Qin, who was driving the carriage, tightened her grip on the reins: "Princess, please give your orders."

"Investigate why Lin Chen suddenly rose to eighth place on the Earth Ranking."

……

……

Canglan Martial Arts Academy.

A graceful figure in white stood before Canglan Lake, gazing at the calm surface, lost in thought.

"Senior Sister Jiang!"

Suddenly, a voice came from behind. Jiang Qing turned around and saw Fang Zhan holding a document in his hand, with an excited expression on his face.

"Junior Brother Fang, what is it?"

"We have news about Senior Brother Lin!"

Jiang Qing, whose face had been calm, suddenly brightened up when she heard these words.

"The Martial Arts Academy has just updated the Hidden Dragon Ranking. Senior Brother Lin has jumped from first place on the Human Ranking to eighth place on the Earth Ranking."

Fang Zhan was equally excited. After seeing the update of the Hidden Dragon Ranking, he could hardly believe his eyes.

Senior Brother Lin disappeared at Canglan Lake, and his fate remains unknown.

However, since the Martial Arts Academy updated the Hidden Dragon Ranking and placed Senior Brother Lin in eighth place on the Earth Ranking, Senior Brother Lin must have done something to get this ranking.

Jiang Qing took the document from Fang Zhan. When her gaze fell on the name on the list, a smile finally appeared on her pretty face for the first time in days, like frost melting and spring breezes blowing at dawn.

"Senior Sister Jiang, the Dean should have sent someone to find out why the Martial Academy ranked Senior Brother Lin eighth on the Earth Ranking. We should have news about Senior Brother Lin soon."

……

……

The capital of the Great Liang Kingdom.

Ministry of Military Affairs.

The old man was also looking at the updated Hidden Dragon Ranking in the Martial Arts Garden, a hint of satisfaction showing in his old eyes.

"My lord, how about I prepare a pot of wine for you tonight?"

Hearing the middle-aged man's words, the old man raised his eyes and said, "Go."

Hearing the old man agree, the middle-aged man smiled. Since the news came from Canglan Martial Academy that Lin Chen had gone missing in Canglan Lake, although the old man hadn't reacted much, as the one who took care of the old man's daily life, he could tell that the old man had been in a bad mood these past few days.

In the past, adults would have a small drink every day, but these days they have all given it up.

Now that news of Lin Chen has resurfaced, the adults are in a better mood.

……

……

The month is the hometown Ming.

Although this trip abroad only lasted a few days, Lin Chen felt a strange sense of peace upon returning to Daliang.

vessel!

Several teenagers were standing on the deck.

"This is a warship."

The boy watched as a dozen or so warships sailed past them, each soldier on board clad in armor that gleamed in the sunlight.

He exuded an imposing aura, and the long spear in his hand gleamed with a cold light.

At the bow of the ship, military flags fluttered.

"These are all experts in internal organ cultivation."

"I wish I could join the army and go north to fight those damn demons."

"You... you should probably give up. You'd probably wet your pants if you saw a demon. I've heard that the demons of the Northern Frontier are extremely ugly and can make children cry."

"Do you think I'm still as timid as before? Since I started practicing martial arts, my courage has increased several times over, and I have no fear when facing the demon race."

"Hmph, do they really think the demon race is so easy to wipe out? I really don't know what the court is thinking. The demon race in the northern border is no longer a threat. Just to wipe out the northern demon race, they offended the Han Kingdom, and now several countries have closed their borders. Many elixirs will be unavailable in the future." A discordant voice rang out, and a young man dressed in brocade robes couldn't help but interrupt the others.

"Zhao Xin, what are you saying!"

"Am I wrong?" The young man called Zhao Xin snorted. "War means death. How many martial artists have died in our Great Liang so far?"

"According to you, the demon race of the Northern Frontier should be allowed to constantly harass the borders of my Great Liang and harm the people of my Great Liang?"

"When did I say that we should let the demon race harm the people of my Great Liang? What I meant was that we should be patient now. When my Great Liang was founded, we didn't directly attack the demon race in Jiangnan Road. Instead, we waited until after unification before concentrating all our forces to wipe out the demon race in Jiangnan Road in one fell swoop."

Facing the angry glares of the teenagers, Zhao Xin remained unconcerned: "Since the Northern Frontier Demon Clan has already been largely wiped out by our Great Liang, and they won't pose a threat in the short term, we can temporarily refrain from exterminating them. In this way, the Han Kingdom and the other countries will not blockade the borders of our Great Liang."

"You have a good plan, but if we miss this opportunity, what price will we have to pay to wipe out the demon race once they recover their strength? Will all those fallen predecessors have sacrificed in vain?"

"What's all this noise about!"

A young man came out of the cabin, looked at the arguing teenagers on the deck, and then picked Zhao Xin up like a chicken with his right hand: "You little brat, if you're afraid of being blockaded, then go down the river now. When you get to the East China Sea, you can leave Daliang directly. There's no blockade there, so you can go to whichever country you want."

After saying that, the young man threw Zhao Xin into the river.

This scene brought a look of satisfaction to the other teenagers, who had long been fed up with Zhao Xin.

"You...you just wait."

Zhao Xin, who was thrown off the bed, was unlikely to drown in the river, as almost every martial artist who had reached the Qi Opening stage was able to swim.

"If you keep yelling, believe me, I'll make you the fish food in this river."

Faced with the young man's words, Zhao Xin fell silent instantly, no longer daring to threaten him, and silently swam towards the shore.

"Senior brother, Zhao Xin is a member of the Zhao family in Jiejiang City."

Although the teenagers felt relieved by what they saw, they still offered a word of advice, considering Zhao Xin's family background.

"The Zhao family of Jiejiang City?"

"Yes, Zhao Xin is the youngest son of the Zhao family patriarch, and we are all students of Qingsong Martial Arts School."

Upon hearing Zhao Xin's identity, the young man's expression froze for a moment, but he still remained indifferent: "Just the Zhao family of Jiejiang City, nothing special."

Anyway... this ship is about to leave the Jiejiang City area, the Zhao family won't chase after us over such a small matter.

The teenagers failed to see through the young man's bluster. Hearing his words, they assumed he was someone important and not afraid of the Zhao family, so they stopped worrying.

"Now is the perfect opportunity for our Great Liang to wipe out the demon race in the Northern Frontier in one fell swoop. What I can't stand the most is these people making sarcastic remarks here. Isn't it because they've prevented them from going abroad and affected their shop's revenue?"

"Senior brother, have you ever been to the Northern Frontier?"

"The northern frontier... I stayed there for three years, back when the old Marquis was still alive..."

With a look of reminiscence on his face, the young man recounted interesting stories from the northern frontier, amidst the admiring gazes of several teenagers.

On one side of the deck, Lin Chen leaned against the railing, listening to the young man's story. A slight smile appeared on his lips. This young man was only at the Refining Realm, and he was almost thirty years old. At this age, it was almost impossible for him to meet the old Marquis.

Perhaps, when the old Marquis was mustering his troops, he saw them from afar.

The stories of the Northern Frontier military camps and the slaying of demonic beasts that these young men recounted were likely relayed from other people, but these young men had never been to the Northern Frontier and were unaware of the true situation.

As the conversation progressed, the man went on to discuss the situation of the nine kingdoms, analyzing it in great detail. He spoke as if he had personally experienced many of the events, captivating the young men completely.

Half an hour later, the boat sailed out of the territory of Jiejiang City, and the young man secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Once we get here, the Zhao family shouldn't be able to catch up.

But just as the young man breathed a sigh of relief, a ship quickly came after them.

"Stop the ship!"

A loud shout came from the pursuing boat. Two young men stood on the bow, and Zhao Xin was standing right behind them.

The Zhao family has caught up!

When Bao Chenfeng saw the boats behind him, his expression changed. He hadn't expected the Zhao family to actually catch up.

"Senior Brother Bao, Zhao Xin has arrived with his men."

"What's there to be afraid of? If they run into Senior Brother Bao, the Zhao family will suffer a humiliation."

The young men from Qingsong Martial Arts School were not nervous at all; they believed Bao Chenfeng's words.

With Senior Brother Bao being able to receive an audience with the old Marquis and being on friendly terms with many martial artists of the first rank, why would he be afraid of a Zhao family?
The Zhao family only has one patriarch who is an eighth-rank martial artist, and even that is because his blood and qi have already declined. Zhao Xin's two older brothers are only at the organ level, and they are not comparable to Senior Brother Bao at all.

Bao Chenfeng forced a calm smile; all of that was just boasting. The old Marquis had never even met him.

He had indeed been to the northern frontier and to military camps. This trip was to attend the banquet for his younger sister's wedding.

What he just said was all from what he heard from others in the military camp.

He was only in the early stages of internal energy cultivation and was only in charge of logistics in the army; he had never fought against the demon race on the front lines.

"Brother, this is the person!"

The Zhao family's ship was moving very fast. Zhao Xin pointed to the deck where Bao Chenfeng was. His two older brothers nodded and their gazes fell on Bao Chenfeng, the seriousness in their eyes disappearing.

He dared to attack his own younger brother; I initially thought he was some formidable character, but judging from his demeanor, he's only recently started practicing martial arts.

"Or should I just jump into the river and escape?"

The thought crossed Bao Chenfeng's mind, but he immediately dismissed it.

Even if he jumps into the river, he still won't be able to escape if the Zhao family doesn't let him go.

"At worst, I'll just suffer a loss. I'm a soldier, and I don't believe the Zhao family would dare to really hurt me."

Bao Chenfeng gritted his teeth. He had only returned to attend his sister's wedding and had not yet been discharged from the military. With this status, the Zhao family could at most help Zhao Xin get some face back, but they wouldn't dare to really do anything to him.

He didn't care about getting beaten up, but what embarrassed him was that these people were all looking at him with admiration. If he got his face swollen from the beating, he would completely lose face.

Just as Bao Chenfeng was pondering how to respond, a voice rang out.

“Senior Brother Bao, the Zhao family actually dared to come here. They really don’t know their place. Senior Brother, you only gave Zhao Xin a small punishment. Since the Zhao family doesn’t know what’s good for them, why don’t I, your junior brother, teach them a lesson for you?”

Bao Chenfeng's gaze immediately fell on the person who spoke, and he was somewhat stunned when he saw the smiling expression on the other person's face.

You'll teach the Zhao family a lesson for me?
You call me senior brother, so your strength is naturally inferior to mine.

What can you use to teach the Zhao family a lesson?

Although it was a good thing that someone stood up for him, Bao Chenfeng thought it best to let it go. There was no need to involve unrelated people. It seemed that the young man had also been deceived by his boastful words.

"Do not……"

Just as Bao Chenfeng was about to refuse, he saw the young man who had spoken walking towards the Zhao family's ship, and loudly proclaiming, "Senior Brother Bao is merely giving you a small punishment as a warning, yet you still don't know what's good for you and remain stubbornly unrepentant. You deserve to be punished!"

On the Zhao family boat, Zhao Xin's two older brothers were stunned when they heard this. Because they were only three zhang away, they had heard the conversation on the opposite boat. Where did this hothead come from?
That Senior Brother Bao you're talking about is only at the early stage of Internal Organ Refinement, and you're just a greenhorn like him...

However, a moment later, Zhao Xin's two older brothers' pupils shrank sharply, because they felt a terrifying force approaching.

On the deck, the young man simply struck out with his palm, yet it stirred up a monstrous wave, causing the river water to surge and the entire ship to rock violently.

The strong winds blew the two of them off the boat.

Not only the two brothers, but also the two recruiters behind them, all three brothers were blown into the river by the strong wind.

Snapped!
The next moment, the Zhao family's boat broke in half, and the planks scattered across the entire river surface.

“This is just a lesson. You three brothers can only swim back to Jiejiang City. If you dare to go ashore or board a boat halfway, then I will have to personally visit your Zhao family.”

Lin Chen's voice, falling into the ears of the Zhao brothers, was colder than the river water.

Fear filled the eyes of Zhao Xin's two older brothers. To be able to knock them both into the water with a single palm strike from a distance and then smash the boat in half, the opponent must definitely be a rank-1 martial artist.

To be addressed as "Senior Brother" by a martial artist of the first rank, one must possess immense strength.

The two brothers misjudged the situation!

Such a powerful figure was far beyond the capabilities of the Zhao family to deal with. At this moment, the two men wished they could turn around and kill their own younger brother.

Is this the soldier thug you were talking about?

In the military, this would at least be equivalent to a colonel.

on board!

The young men from Qingsong Martial Arts School stared in disbelief at the scene, and another passenger on the boat was also shocked.

Bao Chenfeng stared in disbelief at the three Zhao brothers, who were leisurely floating on the river. This was truly a hidden master.

"Bao Chenfeng, I have successfully completed my mission."

Lin Chen turned around and looked at Bao Chenfeng with a smile. Bao Chenfeng's face turned red. These young men didn't know that he was bragging, but this expert who had entered the first rank could definitely tell whether he was telling the truth or not.

"Thank you so much."

"It's just a little effort."

Lin Chen waved his hand, sensing Bao Chenfeng's embarrassment, and changed the subject, saying, "Senior Brother Bao, are you going back to the Northern Frontier?"

"Yes, I will return to the northern border region in a few days."

"Junior brother has a favor to ask, and hopes that Senior Brother Bao can grant it."

“Junior brother… please speak.” Bao Chenfeng reluctantly accepted the other party’s self-address as “junior brother”.

"Brother Bao, if you return to the Northern Frontier military camp and are able to see the young marquis, please pass on a message for me. The young marquis is hiding his name, which means he doesn't consider me, his senior brother, to be one of his own. When he arrives in the Northern Frontier, he will have to give me an explanation."

Hearing Lin Chen's words, Bao Chenfeng's scalp tingled instantly.

Young Marquis!
In the entire northern frontier, only the sons of marquises can be called "Young Marquis".

The person in front of me calls the "Young Marquis" my junior brother; he must be someone of great importance.

Thinking about how he had boasted for so long in front of others about meeting the old Marquis and such, Bao Chenfeng's face turned bright red.

For a moment, Bao Chenfeng wondered if this guy was also bragging.

But then I thought, what's the point of the other person bragging to me like this?
Lin Chen was unaware that Bao Chenfeng was still doubting whether he was also bragging. The reason he asked Bao Chenfeng to deliver this message was because he thought Bao Chenfeng was quite interesting. He said that delivering the message was just a way of hoping that Junior Brother Xiao would take care of him in the army.

Once Bao Chenfeng meets Junior Brother Xiao and conveys this message, Junior Brother Xiao will naturally understand his intentions.

(End of this chapter)