Early morning!
Name: Lin Chen Occupation: Martial Artist Qi and Blood: 4150/5000 Destiny: [When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed]: Martial Arts First Realm, perseverance, gradual progress, Break Through Like Bamboo, no bottleneck troubles.
After he cultivated Essence Energy, his qi and blood had increased by a thousand points that day, but afterward, the daily increase had dropped back to fifty points.
The two-day leave Instructor Yu had given him was over. After informing his family, Lin Chen headed for town.
On the road out of the village, every villager he met greeted him warmly. Lin Chen answered each of them with a smile, and only after leaving the boundaries of Lakeside Village did he quicken his pace.
When he arrived at the Martial Hall, the Training Ground was extremely deserted. There was not a single student there. He did not linger and went straight to Instructor Yu's small courtyard.
Lin Chen knocked on the door, and Instructor Yu's voice came from inside. "Come in."
Pushing open the courtyard gate, Lin Chen glanced around but did not see Instructor Yu. However, the door to the main room inside was open.
"Take a look at the papers on the table first." The voice came from inside.
"Yes."
Having heard Instructor Yu's instructions, Lin Chen walked to the stone table and picked up the papers. After giving them a cursory glance, he understood why Instructor Yu had asked him to look them over first.
The papers contained information about the eight great martial arts academies in the county seat.
Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy: Primarily practices Iron Collapse Fist. Its fist technique was fierce and powerful, and its killing power ranked first among the eight great martial arts academies. It emphasized overwhelming ten techniques with a single force. In every county martial arts academy competition, Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy always had a disciple place in the top three.
Seeing the description of Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy, Lin Chen's pupils contracted slightly. It seemed that Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy was the strongest, so there should be many disciples signing up.
The only reason Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy did not rank among the top three in annual enrollment was that practicing Iron Collapse Fist required Secret Medicine to supplement it, making the expense enormous—beyond what ordinary wealthy families could afford.
"Hiss!"
Lin Chen's face twitched as he read. These contents had been written by Instructor Yu, so the "ordinary wealthy families" Instructor Yu referred to probably meant wealthy people from town like Zhao Jingchuan and the others.
Even Zhao Jingchuan and the others could not afford it, so he was even less qualified.
His gaze moved downward.
Seven Stars Martial Arts Academy: Primarily practices Seven Stars Fist. Although Seven Stars Fist was not as fierce as Iron Collapse Fist, it made up for that with an accompanying footwork technique...
Quaking Mountain Martial Arts Academy primarily practiced Iron Bone Technique, a Hard Qigong technique. Its advantage was resistance to blows, while its drawback was the same as Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy's: it required Secret Medicine as an aid.
Gale Martial Arts Hall primarily practiced Gale Leg Technique...
Cloud Concealment Martial Arts Hall primarily focused on movement techniques...
Mantis Martial Arts Hall: Primarily practices Mantis Fist. It was not as fierce as Iron Collapse Fist or as agile as Seven Stars Fist, but it had an advantage in unblocking the sinews and softening the bones. It did not require much Secret Medicine and excelled at steady improvement.
Lin Chen marked Mantis Martial Arts Hall. Instructor Yu's description suited him very well: spend more time, spend less money.
Clearwind Martial Arts Hall: Primarily practices Clear Wind Palm. Its power was relatively weak at first but grew stronger the farther one advanced. Its advantage was that its later expenses were not much different from its early expenses, while its disadvantage was that its initial power was lower than that of the other academies' techniques.
"Clearwind Martial Arts Hall can also be included among the candidates."
Still Water Martial Arts Academy: Primarily practices Water Cloud Palm, emphasizing overcoming hardness with softness. Its palm technique was graceful and beautiful, but its disadvantage was that its power ranked last among the eight great martial arts academies. Its advantage was that it had extremely many female disciples.
Seeing Instructor Yu's description of Still Water Martial Arts Academy, the corner of Lin Chen's mouth twitched. So Still Water Martial Arts Academy was basically a girls' school.
After Lin Chen finished reading the introductions to the eight great martial arts academies, Yu Yongnian emerged from the room at just the right moment.
"Finished reading?"
"This disciple has finished."
"What do you think?"
Lin Chen pondered for a moment. "This disciple's family is merely average. Based on what was written on the papers, Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy and Quaking Mountain Martial Arts Academy aren't suitable for me. Clearwind Martial Arts Hall and Mantis Martial Arts Hall are more suitable."
Yu Yongnian nodded slightly, a satisfied look on his face.
He was very pleased with Lin Chen's answer.
Not only because these were the two academies he had chosen for Lin Chen as well.
More importantly, Lin Chen had not become arrogant or lost himself simply because he was the first student in the Martial Hall to cultivate Essence Energy.
Although Lin Chen was the first student in the Martial Hall to cultivate Essence Energy, his difficulties on the martial path had not improved much.
The difficulty of lacking money!
"Although Mantis Fist costs the least to practice, its power is also the worst among the eight great martial arts academies. It's acceptable if you're only sparring with students within the academy, but once you fight students from other academies, you'll suffer quite a disadvantage."
"By comparison, although Clear Wind Palm isn't powerful in its early stages, once you master it further, it won't be inferior even when facing Iron Collapse Fist. Your temperament is relatively steady, and you can endure patiently. From that perspective, Clearwind Martial Arts Hall suits you very well."
Hearing Instructor Yu's analysis, Lin Chen nodded in agreement. Instructor Yu had clearly put thought into this. Based on his circumstances and his performance in the Martial Hall, he had recommended the most suitable academy for him.
"Then this disciple will go sign up for Clearwind Martial Arts Hall."
"I already went to Clearwind Martial Arts Hall the day before yesterday. The academy has agreed to accept you as well. Today, you'll come with me."
Yu Yongnian smiled faintly. He did not tell Lin Chen that he himself had come out of Clearwind Martial Arts Hall back then, precisely because he feared it might influence Lin Chen's decision.
A quarter of an hour later, Lin Chen followed Yu Yongnian on horseback out of Riverbend Town, heading toward Poyang County.
Lin Chen had never ridden a horse before, but his skills were now far more agile than an ordinary person's. Under Yu Yongnian's guidance, he quickly learned how to ride. After traveling for a while, he became completely familiar with it, and his speed began to increase as well.
The journey from Riverbend Town to Poyang County normally took five hours on foot. To save time, the villagers of Riverbend Town often chose to take a boat to the county-seat wharf.
However, traveling by horse was far faster than taking a boat.
In only an hour, Lin Chen reached the walls of Poyang County.
The towering walls stood a full three zhang high.
Standing on horseback and looking into the distance, Lin Chen saw the lofty gate tower above the city gate, with flying eaves and upturned corners, carved beams and painted rafters. It was extremely imposing.
Pedestrians and carriages streamed endlessly in and out of the city gate. Several soldiers stood nearby, holding long spears and wearing blades at their waists, checking the identity plaques of everyone entering the city.
These soldiers had vigorous qi and blood and sharp gazes. Lin Chen immediately understood that they were probably Aperture Opening Realm martial artists.
The soldiers guarding the city gate were all in the Aperture Opening Realm. It was easy to imagine how prosperous the martial path was in Poyang County—and even throughout Great Liang.
"Although the gate guards are in the Aperture Opening Realm, barring any accidents, they'll probably only open around three apertures in their lifetimes. Only a few will reach five."
Seeing Lin Chen's interest in the soldiers, Yu Yongnian explained, "Although you haven't opened any apertures yet, once you enter an academy and obtain an Aperture Opening Pill, you'll be able to enter the Aperture Opening Realm. After that, during your three years in the academy, you'll be able to open at least five apertures."
"The county government stipulates that anyone who opens ten apertures can seek a minor post in the government office and receive an official salary. These gate guards, on the other hand, don't receive salaries and can only take a portion of the entrance fees."
Lin Chen understood Instructor Yu's words. Opening ten apertures and obtaining a position at the government office meant becoming part of the official establishment. These gate guards were more like contract workers, without a guaranteed income regardless of good or bad times.
When Lin Chen and the others passed through the city gate, the sharp gazes in the soldiers' eyes vanished. They even revealed smiles, and Lin Chen instinctively gave them a slight nod in response.
Beside the city gate stood a large wooden box. Citizens entering the city constantly tossed copper coins into it.
Poyang County stipulated that locals entering the city had to pay three copper coins, while outsiders had to pay ten. Merchants transporting goods were charged separately.
A wooden table stood beside the box. A man had placed his saber on the table and was cracking melon seeds. When he saw Yu Yongnian, he rose with a smile and clasped his fists toward him, then glanced at Lin Chen. "Looks like Instructor Yu is bringing his beloved disciple into the city to join a martial arts academy. Riverbend Town is about to produce another martial arts prodigy."
"Brother Ge, you flatter me."
Yu Yongnian responded modestly. After chatting with him for a few moments, he took Lin Chen away.
Lin Chen understood that this man was probably the only official government employee here. At the very least, he had opened ten apertures, and he might even have opened more.
After Lin Chen and Yu Yongnian disappeared into the streets within the city, a soldier asked curiously, "Chief, don't the martial arts academies only start recruiting new students next year?"
"You don't know shit. Those who go to the martial arts academies to register in early spring won't amount to much on the martial path. They'll only be about the same as you lot. But those Martial Hall students who can cultivate Essence Energy within a year will be recruited early by the eight great martial arts academies and granted an Aperture Opening Pill. Once they take it, they'll immediately enter the Aperture Opening Realm. After three years, opening ten apertures will be as easy as turning over a hand. By the time they leave the academy, they'll already have reached my level."
"They can open ten apertures in three years?" The other soldiers wore shocked expressions.
"Chief, isn't that too unfair to the other students?"
"What do you mean, unfair? Those who can cultivate Essence Energy within a year are all people from well-off families. Even the least of them have to spend sixty or seventy taels of silver, or even more. If you had that kind of money, you could do it too. They get an Aperture Opening Pill, and their families spend a huge amount of money on them. How could their progress not be lightning-fast? In any case, memorize what this youth looks like. Don't offend him and bring trouble down on me."
Hearing this, the young soldier's expression turned somewhat dejected. He had once practiced martial arts at the county's Martial Hall, but his family had suffered a disaster and had no spare money to support his continued training. After staying at the Martial Hall for a year, he had left and spent three years cultivating Essence Energy.
He could not even produce the twenty taels required for the academy's enrollment fee. Besides, even if he had possessed that much silver, he would not have used it to enroll in a martial arts academy. Relying on the money he had accumulated over several years, he had spent several more years before finally opening an aperture.
At the beginning of the year, he had relied on the connection of a distant relative to obtain this job as a gate guard.
The martial path had already ended for him.
P.S. Brothers, the PK competition starts at midnight today. Many book friends should know that twenty-four new books from the same period will compete, and only the top eight can advance to the next round. The standard for advancement is continued reading—that is, the number of readers who read the latest chapter within twenty-four hours. If I pass the PK, Jiudeng will add another chapter!
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