The Person Who Should Be Here Isn't, I'm Tired!

[Name: Lin Chen]

[Profession: Martial Artist]

[Qi and Blood: 4000/5000]

[Destiny: [When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed]: Martial Arts First Realm, persevere, progress step by step, break through like a hot knife through butter, no bottleneck woes.]

Looking at the growth of his Qi and Blood on his System Panel.

Lin Chen now just wanted to say that people like Lu Yongfeng and Yan Dexing were nothing more than those who would parade their heads for sale.

After cultivating Essence Energy, his Qi and Blood instantly increased by a thousand points, and his strength also reached eight hundred jin.

He should be able to knock out Lu Yongfeng with one punch now.

But what he didn't understand was how his maximum Qi and Blood value had become 5000. A maximum Qi and Blood value of 5000 meant a thousand jin of strength.

What did this thousand jin represent?

"What are you thinking about?"

Yu Yongnian saw Lin Chen in a state of thought and asked with a smile.

"Disc... disciple feels completely different after cultivating Essence Energy. My body is full of endless strength."

"When the body has Essence Energy, Qi and Blood are naturally produced, circulating back and forth. Only upon reaching this stage can one be considered to have truly stepped onto the path of martial arts."

Yu Yongnian smiled slightly and then said, "You seem to know little about martial arts. Today, I will explain it to you properly."

"You should already know about the two and a half realms of Martial Artist body refinement. You are currently in the half realm. The next step is to use the Essence Energy within your body to impact your acupoints. Once successful, you will have entered the Aperture Opening Realm."

"After Aperture Opening is Organ Refining, and only after that are you considered a ranked Martial Artist, from Ninth Rank to First Rank. Those who have not entered the Ninth Rank are collectively referred to as Unranked Martial Artists."

Listening to the Instructor's explanation, Lin Chen finally had a basic understanding of martial arts.

Aperture Opening and Organ Refining were the two major hurdles in martial arts.

Only by overcoming these two major hurdles could one be considered a ranked Martial Artist.

Ninth Rank was the lowest, and First Rank was the highest.

The Ninth Rank system for Martial Artists was also the same as the Ninth Rank official system of the Liang Dynasty.

After working hard for a year, in the eyes of those true Martial Artists, he could only be considered a martial apprentice?

"Don't think there are many ranked Martial Artists. There are only two existing Ninth Rank Martial Artists in the entire Poyang County: the County Magistrate and the head of the Martial Affairs Department."

Yu Yongnian could guess what Lin Chen was thinking. He had walked the same path back then.

After cultivating Essence Energy, he was full of ambition, believing he would gallop freely on the path of martial arts, only to realize later that this was merely the starting point of martial arts.

So few?

Lin Chen clicked his tongue. He hadn't expected that there were only two ranked individuals in the entire Poyang County.

"When I said there are only two Ninth Ranks, I wasn't saying there are no other Ninth Ranks in Poyang County. There are still about ten Ninth Rank powerhouses on the surface in Poyang County, but besides the County Magistrate and the Martial Affairs Department head, the others are already over fifty years old, their Qi and Blood starting to decline, and their current strength can no longer reach the Ninth Rank."

"Martial Artist strength can also decline?"

"Don't tell me you think a Martial Artist who has reached the age of eighty or ninety can still compare with a young and strong Martial Artist?"

Yu Yongnian smiled faintly: "Unranked Martial Artists begin to decline after forty, and it's difficult for their subsequent realms to improve. Even entering the Ninth Rank only extends it by ten years, unless they can break through to the next rank. With your current strength, you could kill a hundred-year-old Seventh Rank Martial Artist with one punch."

Lin Chen's mouth twitched. Killing a hundred-year-old Seventh Rank Martial Artist with one punch wasn't something glorious.

However, according to this situation, a saying from his previous life fit perfectly here.

For a Martial Artist to take revenge, ten years is not too late.

If ten years isn't enough, then twenty years, until the opponent's Qi and Blood decline.

"This is the cruelty of martial arts. It's better to bully the old than to bully the young."

Yu Yongnian pondered for a moment, thinking that Lin Chen came from a village, and the situation in the county town's Martial Arts Halls was much more complex than the town's Martial Arts Halls. He then asked, "No large family wants to offend a young and strong Martial Artist, but if they have already offended one and cannot resolve it, what do you think these families will do?"

"Try every possible means to prevent this young Martial Artist from growing."

Lin Chen's answer was tactful. He understood the meaning behind his Instructor's words. Those large families wouldn't easily offend young Martial Artists, but once they did, they would definitely nip them in the bud.

Unless the family believed their own younger generation of Martial Artists had a promising future, they wouldn't care about this. Otherwise, they would have to guard against being sought out for revenge when they were old.

Yu Yongnian nodded slightly and didn't elaborate on this. As long as Lin Chen stayed in the Martial Arts Hall, he wouldn't have any conflicts with the large families in the city. He was just giving him a heads-up.

"Precisely because unranked Martial Artists' Qi and Blood will decline after forty, there's a saying in the martial arts circle: Five years to open acupoints, ten years to refine organs. Any slower than that, and it will be difficult to enter the ranks."

"Once you're at the Martial Arts Hall, if you can't break through Aperture Opening and enter Organ Refining within five years, it will be very difficult to enter the ranks thereafter."

"If you find that the path of martial arts cannot be achieved quickly, you can find a job in the yamen, earn Silver Coins while practicing martial arts, and leave yourself a way out, lest you fail to enter the ranks and become impoverished after your Qi and Blood decline."

Martial Artists were glamorous, but also very cruel.

The glamour was built with Silver Coins and effort. Once past forty, as their Qi and Blood began to decline, their avenues for earning money would decrease. If they didn't have enough Silver Coins, they could only do jobs that lowered their status.

There was once a Martial Artist who had achieved great success in Organ Refining, but because he was solely focused on practicing martial arts and had no money, he borrowed money from a Money House, accumulating a debt of a thousand liang. After forty, his Qi and Blood began to decline, his avenues for earning money decreased, and his income was worse each year. He was hounded by the Money House for debt, and coupled with the malicious actions of enemies he had offended in the past, he was forced to become a pimp in a brothel.

It's certainly true that one needs a determined heart on the path of martial arts, but you can't burn all your bridges and leave no room to maneuver, especially when you have family and descendants. You need to leave yourself a way out.

"Given your family background, no matter what the future holds, you've already brought great honor to your family. You should strive hard on the martial arts path, but also act within your means."

Yu Yongnian wasn't exaggerating. Lin Chen cultivating Essence Energy within a year, according to the old rules for recruiting disciples at the Martial Arts Hall, meant the first-place student in the Martial Arts Hall would receive an Aperture Opening Pill. Even if subsequent progress was slow, as long as he could open ten apertures, he would have a chance to secure a minor official position in the yamen.

A yamen runner was a significant figure in the village, and that indeed counted as bringing great honor to the family.

As for entering the ranks of Martial Artists, that was not something ordinary Martial Artists with average family backgrounds pursued.

Every ranked Martial Artist had the backing of vast family resources.

"Come back to the Martial Arts Hall in two days. I will take you to the county Martial Arts Hall. You can go home today and share this joy with your elders."

"Then this disciple will take his leave."

Lin Chen nodded. He knew that telling his parents about cultivating Essence Energy would make them extremely happy.

After Lin Chen left, Yu Yongnian murmured, "To cultivate Essence Energy within a year, he should indeed be proud. If there is suppressed frustration in his heart, his thoughts won't be clear. I'll help him dispel this frustration."

Just as Lin Chen left the Martial Arts Hall and was on his way back to the village,

In the backyard,

Lu Yongfeng roared, his entire body turning red, like a roaring tiger.

This action startled Zhao Jingchuan and the other four.

"I've broken through! I've cultivated Essence Energy!"

Lu Yongfeng's expression was fierce, but then he saw the bewildered looks of Zhao Jingchuan and the other four, and he suddenly deflated.

The person who should have been there wasn't, and the excitement and joy in his heart instantly diminished by more than half.