The Path of Martial Arts Has Never Been Fair

Early morning!

[Name: Lin Chen]

[Profession: Martial Artist]

[Qi and Blood: 4150/5000]

[Destiny: [When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed]: Martial Arts First Realm, perseverance, gradual progress, unstoppable momentum, no bottleneck troubles.]

Ever since he cultivated the Essence Energy, aside from the thousand points of Qi and Blood he gained that day, his daily increase had dropped back down to 50 points.

The two-day holiday Instructor Yu had given him was over. After saying goodbye to his family, Lin Chen headed towards the town.

On the way out of the village, every villager he met greeted him warmly. Lin Chen smiled and responded to each one until he was outside the boundary of Lakeside Village. Only then did he quicken his pace.

When he arrived at the Martial Arts Hall, the Training Ground was extremely deserted, with not a single student present. He didn't linger on the Training Ground 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 door, Lin Chen glanced around but didn't see Instructor Yu. However, the door to the main hall inside was open.

"Take a look at those papers on the table first," a voice came from inside the room.

"Yes."

Hearing Instructor Yu's instructions, Lin Chen walked over to the stone table, picked up the papers on it, and after a quick scan, he understood why the instructor had asked him to look at them first.

The papers contained information about the eight major Martial Arts Halls in the county town.

[Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy: Primarily trains Iron Collapse Fist, a fierce and powerful fist technique, ranking first in killing power among the eight major Martial Arts Halls. It emphasizes using pure force to overcome everything. In every county town Martial Arts Hall competition, Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy is guaranteed to have disciples in the top three.]

Seeing the description of Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy, Lin Chen's pupils contracted slightly. It seemed that the Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy was the strongest, and there should be many disciples signing up.

[The number of disciples who sign up for Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy each year doesn't rank in the top three, simply because cultivating Iron Collapse Fist requires the assistance of Secret Medicine, which is extremely expensive and not affordable for ordinary wealthy families.]

Hiss!

Lin Chen couldn't help but gasp. The content on this paper was written by Instructor Yu, so the "ordinary wealthy families" Instructor Yu mentioned should refer to people like Zhao Jingchuan, the rich people in town.

If even Zhao Jingchuan and the others couldn't afford it, then he was even less qualified.

His gaze moved downwards.

[Seven Stars Martial Arts Academy: Primarily trains Seven Stars Fist. Although Seven Stars Fist is not as fierce as Iron Collapse Fist, its advantage lies in its matching footwork...]

[Quaking Mountain Martial Arts Academy primarily focuses on Hard Qigong, Iron Bone Technique. Its advantage is its resistance to attacks, but its disadvantage is the same as Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy, requiring Secret Medicine for assistance.]

[Gale Martial Arts Hall primarily focuses on Gale Leg Technique...]

[Cloud Concealment Martial Arts Hall primarily focuses on movement techniques...]

[Mantis Martial Arts Hall: Primarily trains Mantis Fist. It is not as fierce as Iron Collapse Fist and not as flexible as Seven Stars Fist, but it has an advantage in strengthening tendons and softening bones. It doesn't require too much Secret Medicine, and its strength lies in steady improvement.]

Lin Chen made a note of Mantis Martial Arts Hall. The instructor's description of Mantis Martial Arts Hall was very suitable for him: spend more time and less money.

[Clearwind Martial Arts Hall: Primarily trains Clear Wind Palm. Its power is relatively weak at first, but it gets stronger the further you train. Its advantage is that the later expenses are not significantly different from the initial ones. Its disadvantage is that its initial power is lower than the techniques of other Martial Arts Halls.]

"Clearwind Martial Arts Hall can also be added to the list of potential candidates."

[Still Water Martial Arts Academy: Primarily trains Water Cloud Palm. It emphasizes using softness to overcome hardness, and its palm techniques are elegant and beautiful. Its disadvantage is that its power is at the bottom among the eight major Martial Arts Halls; its advantage is that it has a large number of 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 basically meant a girls' school.

By the time Lin Chen finished reading the introductions to the eight major Martial Arts Halls, Yu Yongnian walked out of the room at the right time.

"Finished reading?"

"Disciple has finished reading."

"What are your thoughts?"

Lin Chen pondered for a moment: "Disciple's family is average. According to the content on the paper, Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy and Quaking Mountain Martial Arts Academy are not suitable for disciple. Clearwind Martial Arts Hall and Mantis Martial Arts Hall are more suitable for disciple."

Yu Yongnian nodded slightly, a look of satisfaction on his face.

He was very pleased with Lin Chen's answer.

Not just because these were the two he had also chosen for Lin Chen.

But also because Lin Chen hadn't become arrogant and lost himself just because he was the first student in the Martial Arts Hall to cultivate Essence Energy.

Although Lin Chen was the first student in the Martial Arts Hall to cultivate Essence Energy, his dilemma in martial arts hadn't significantly improved.

The dilemma of lacking money!

"Although Mantis Fist of Mantis Martial Arts Hall is the least expensive to train, its power is also the weakest among the eight major Martial Arts Halls. It might be acceptable for internal sparring among Martial Arts Hall students, but it will be at a significant disadvantage when competing with students from other Martial Arts Halls."

"In contrast, although Clear Wind Palm of Clearwind Martial Arts Hall is not powerful in the early stages, if you train it well, it won't be inferior even when facing Iron Collapse Fist later on. Your personality is relatively steady and you can endure. Looking at it this way, Clearwind Martial Arts Hall is very suitable for you."

Hearing the instructor's analysis, Lin Chen also nodded in agreement. Instructor Yu had put thought into this, recommending the most suitable Martial Arts Hall for him based on his circumstances and performance in the Martial Arts Hall.

"Then disciple will sign up for Clearwind Martial Arts Hall."

"I already went to Clearwind Martial Arts Hall the day before yesterday. The Martial Arts Hall there also agreed to accept you. You'll come with me today."

Yu Yongnian smiled slightly. He didn't tell Lin Chen that he himself had come out of the Clearwind Martial Arts Hall back then, for fear of influencing Lin Chen's decision.

A quarter of an hour later, Lin Chen followed Yu Yongnian, riding horses out of Riverbend Town and heading towards Poyang County.

Lin Chen had never ridden a horse before, but his current agility was much greater than that of an ordinary person. Under Instructor Yu's guidance, he quickly learned how to ride. After riding for a while, he became completely proficient, and his speed began to increase.

It normally took five hours to travel from Riverbend Town to Poyang County on foot. To save time, many villagers in Riverbend Town often chose to take a boat to the county's pier.

However, with a horse for transportation, the speed was much faster than traveling by boat.

In just one hour, Lin Chen arrived at the city walls of Poyang County.

The majestic city walls were a full three zhang high.

Lin Chen stood on his horse, looking out. Above the city gate, the gate tower stood tall, with upturned eaves, carved beams, and painted pillars, looking extremely grand.

People and carriages streamed in and out of the city gate entrance in an endless flow. There were also several soldiers, holding spears and wearing sharp blades at their waists, checking the identity tags of every person entering the city.

These soldiers had full Qi and Blood and sharp eyes. Lin Chen knew that these few were likely Martial Artists in the Aperture Opening Realm.

With soldiers guarding the city gate all being in the Aperture Opening Realm, it was clear how prosperous martial arts were in Poyang County and even throughout the Great Liang Dynasty.

"Although the gate-guarding soldiers are in the Aperture Opening Realm, if there are no accidents, they will likely only open around three apertures in their lifetime, with a few reaching five."

Seeing Lin Chen's interest in these soldiers, Yu Yongnian explained to him, "Although you haven't opened any apertures yet, once you enter a Martial Arts Hall and obtain an Aperture Opening Pill, you will be able to enter the Aperture Opening Realm. After that, in the three years at the Martial Arts Hall, you will be able to open at least five apertures."

"The county government stipulates that those who open ten apertures can obtain a minor position in the yamen and receive a salary issued by the yamen, unlike these gate-guarding soldiers who don't have a salary and can only take a portion from the entrance fees."

Lin Chen understood what the instructor meant. Opening ten apertures and getting a job in the yamen meant having a stable position, while these gate-guarding soldiers were more like contract workers, without guaranteed income regardless of circumstances.

When Lin Chen and the other six passed through the city gate, the sharp look in the soldiers' eyes disappeared, and some even smiled. Lin Chen instinctively nodded slightly in response.

Next to the city gate, there was a large wooden box where entering citizens continuously dropped copper coins.

Poyang County regulations stated that residents of the county entering the city had to pay three copper coins, while those from other counties had to pay ten copper coins. Those transporting goods for business were calculated separately.

Next to the wooden box was a wooden table. A man placed his saber on the table and was cracking melon seeds. When he saw Yu Yongnian, he smiled, stood up, cupped his fist towards Yu Yongnian, and then glanced at Lin Chen: "It seems Instructor Yu is taking his beloved disciple into the city to a Martial Arts Hall. Riverbend Town is about to produce another martial arts genius."

"Brother Ge, you flatter me," Yu Yongnian responded humbly. The two chatted for a few moments, and then Yu Yongnian led Lin Chen away.

Lin Chen understood in his heart that this person was likely the only official civil servant, at least at the level of opening ten apertures, or possibly even more.

And as Lin Chen and Yu Yongnian's figures disappeared into the city streets, a soldier curiously asked, "Boss, doesn't the Martial Arts Hall only start recruiting new students next year?"

"You don't know anything," the other scoffed. "Those who sign up for the Martial Arts Hall in the spring won't achieve much in martial arts, and are pretty much like you guys. However, those Martial Arts Hall students who can cultivate Essence Energy within a year, the Eight Great Martial Arts Halls will recruit them early, grant them Aperture Opening Pills. After taking it, they immediately enter the Aperture Opening Realm. Opening ten apertures in three years is an easy feat. They can reach my level as soon as they leave the Martial Arts Hall."

"They can open ten apertures in three years?" The other soldiers looked shocked.

"Boss, isn't this unfair to other students?"

"What's unfair? Those who can cultivate Essence Energy within a year are from wealthy families. The least they spend is sixty or seventy taels or even more silver. If you have that money, you can too. They get Aperture Opening Pills, plus their families spend a lot of silver, so how can their progress not be rapid? In short, remember this young man's appearance, don't offend him, and cause me trouble."

Hearing this, the young soldier's expression became somewhat dejected. He had practiced martial arts at the county's Martial Arts Hall, but his family had experienced a misfortune, and they didn't have the extra money to support his continued training. He left the Martial Arts Hall after staying for a year and spent three years cultivating Essence Energy.

He couldn't even afford the twenty tael registration fee for the Martial Arts Hall. And even if he had that silver, he wouldn't use it to register at a Martial Arts Hall. Relying on the money he had saved over several years, it took him another few years to open an aperture.

At the beginning of the year, he managed to get a gate-guarding soldier position through a distant relative.

For him, the path of martial arts had already ended.

PS: Brothers, we are on PK tonight at midnight. Many readers should know that there will be 24 new books in the same round of PK, and only the top eight can advance to the next round. The reference standard for advancement is continued reading, which is the number of people reading the latest chapter within 24 hours. If we pass the PK, Jiudeng will add another chapter!