A Method of Adaptability

Two quarters of an hour later.

Martial Arts Administration Council Hall.

Seven men and one woman sat in chairs in the hall, exchanging glances, their eyes filled with confusion.

These eight people were the deputy heads of the eight major Martial Arts Halls and were familiar with each other.

Why had Inspector Shu called them here at this time? What was going on?

"Everyone's here, are they?"

After a while, Shu Suwan emerged from behind a screen and sat directly in the main seat. She lacked the gentleness she had shown earlier in the courtyard, and radiated coldness.

Feeling Shu Suwan's aura, the eight people became even more confused. Who had angered Inspector Shu now?

Although the Inspector's status was lower than the Director and Deputy Director, they held the power to investigate and rectify, making them the ones the major Martial Arts Halls were least willing to offend.

"I called you all here because of something. I heard that for the first student from the Kaohe Town Martial Arts Academy this year who cultivated Essence Energy, your Martial Arts Halls are unwilling to give them an Aperture Opening Pill slot?"

As soon as Shu Suwan said this, four people in the room were confused, while the other four suddenly understood.

The four who were confused didn't know who Lin Chen was. The four well-informed deputy heads had already been informed by their Instructors.

However, student recruitment wasn't Inspector Shu's responsibility, so what was the meaning of her bringing this up?

"Lord Shu, Lin Chen did come to our Clearwind Martial Arts Hall, but our hall's slots are full," the deputy head of the Clearwind Martial Arts Hall said after a moment of thought.

"The same goes for our Mantis Martial Arts Hall."

The deputy heads of the Mantis Martial Arts Hall, Gale Martial Arts Hall, and Cloud Concealment Martial Arts Hall successively stood up to explain the situation. The other four families also recalled all the student information provided by the Martial Arts Administration at this moment and remembered who Lin Chen was.

Any Martial Arts Hall student who cultivated Essence Energy within a year would be reported to the Martial Arts Administration, which would then distribute the information to the major Martial Arts Halls.

They had scanned Lin Chen's name but didn't have a deep impression. It was only when they heard the four deputy heads, including the one from Clearwind Martial Arts Hall, mention him that they vaguely recalled such a student existed.

He seemed to be the top student of a certain Martial Arts Hall, but his family background was ordinary.

The deputy heads of the other four families, after recalling Lin Chen's information, understood clearly why these four Martial Arts Halls wouldn't accept him.

If a student was the first in a Martial Arts Hall to cultivate Essence Energy, in the past, even if their family background was ordinary, they would be given a slot. After all, it represented the top student of a town, and they needed to maintain appearances.

But the situation was different this year. Not only did the number of students who cultivated Essence Energy within a year exceed eighty, but the Director had also set the rules for the Martial Arts Hall competition. It wasn't just about the top ten anymore; resources were allocated to the major Martial Arts Halls based on the top fifty rankings.

Before reaching the ranked stage, a student's financial resources largely represented their potential.

With Lin Chen's family background, he probably couldn't even make it into the top eighty, let alone the top fifty. No Martial Arts Hall wanted to waste this slot.

Shu Suwan was not surprised by the Martial Arts Halls' explanations. She said calmly, "The information submitted by the Kaohe Town Martial Arts Academy indicates that Lin Chen cultivated Essence Energy having spent less than twenty Silver Coins. His talent in martial arts is not weak. It's a bit unreasonable not to give such a student an Aperture Opening Pill slot."

The deputy head of the Mantis Martial Arts Hall hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke:

"Lord Shu, only Lin Chen himself knows exactly how much Silver Coins he spent to cultivate Essence Energy. If he secretly spent money privately, there's no way to verify it. The rules of the various town Martial Arts Halls are inherently lenient."

As the deputy head of the Mantis Martial Arts Hall finished speaking, everyone else present showed expressions of agreement.

Martial Arts Halls never looked at how much money students spent to cultivate Essence Energy because it was impossible to verify.

If Martial Arts Halls had to consider how much Silver Coins a student spent to cultivate Essence Energy when recruiting, it would give students an opportunity to cheat.

Students who wanted to cheat could publicly spend less money at the Martial Arts Hall, while secretly taking medicinal soups or consuming poultry and meat that supplemented Qi and Blood. The Martial Arts Hall couldn't possibly send people to monitor students when they went out.

"A few months ago, I proposed to Lord Su to provide financial incentives to Martial Arts Hall disciples. Lord Su strongly approved and has already reported it to the Raozhou Prefecture Martial Affairs Department. As of today, the information compiled here at the Martial Arts Administration shows that Lin Chen is the only one who received Silver Coins."

Shu Suwan spoke lightly, but the eight people present showed thoughtful expressions. They somewhat understood why Inspector Shu cared about Lin Chen.

Inspector Shu and Lord Su had both only recently taken office. The policy of rewarding Martial Arts Hall students, to some extent, represented their political achievements.

Lin Chen was currently the only one who had received Silver Coins. If Lin Chen didn't get an Aperture Opening Pill, wouldn't both Inspector Shu and Lord Su lose face?

That's where the problem was!

The people in the hall suddenly fell silent.

"In that case, Lin Chen should indeed get an Aperture Opening Pill slot, but our Martial Arts Hall's ten slots are already full."

"Our Mantis Martial Arts Hall is also full. This matter is really difficult to handle."

The deputy heads of the major Martial Arts Halls changed their tune, but the problem now was that their slots had indeed all been given out. They couldn't possibly go back on their word and ask the students who received the slots to give them up.

This kind of situation had never occurred in so many years.

"Junior Sister Kong, if I remember correctly, your hall should still have slots."

A man looked at the only female deputy head present.

"Our Still Water Martial Arts Academy only recruits female disciples. Although we have more slots, we can't give one to Lin Chen."

Kong Yinglei spread her hands. Still Water Martial Arts Academy had no rule about recruiting male disciples.

"Inspector Shu, fellow colleagues, I do have an idea."

The man who had asked Kong Yinglei looked at everyone and, after getting permission from Shu Suwan, said, "More than eighty students cultivated Essence Energy in this batch, but there are only eight female disciples, leaving two vacant slots. Junior Sister Kong, is what I said correct?"

"As of today, only eight female disciples have cultivated Essence Energy and registered at the Martial Arts Halls," Kong Yinglei nodded.

"Then the matter is easy to handle. Still Water Martial Arts Academy can give Lin Chen an Aperture Opening Pill slot."

"Senior Brother Zhang, our Still Water Martial Arts Academy doesn't accept male disciples," Kong Yinglei frowned. The Still Water Martial Arts Academy hadn't accepted any male disciples for over ten years.

Zhang Songfan smiled slightly, "Lin Chen won't be a disciple of the Still Water Martial Arts Academy. He'll just be nominally registered there. As long as another Martial Arts Hall is willing to take Lin Chen, that's fine."

As soon as Zhang Songfan spoke, several Instructors present began to ponder, considering the feasibility of this arrangement.

"Senior Brother Zhang, although the Martial Affairs Department doesn't explicitly forbid this, the default understanding is that students who receive an Aperture Opening Pill belong to that Martial Arts Hall. This kind of operation could be seen as trading Aperture Opening Pill spots, and the Martial Affairs Department..."

Mid-sentence, Kong Yinglei suddenly stopped.

She glanced at Inspector Shu, who was sitting at the head of the table, and suddenly understood.

If this operation were carried out among their own Martial Arts Halls, it would be suspected of secretly trading Aperture Opening Pill spots.

But if Inspector Shu agreed, it would become a flexible method adopted for the benefit of the Poyang County martial arts students.

Even if the Martial Affairs Department found out, they wouldn't say anything.

"As long as a Martial Arts Hall is willing to accept Lin Chen, he can be temporarily registered under our Still Water Martial Arts Academy."

Kong Yinglei stopped wasting words. Inspector Shu had called them all together, and now that a solution was available, they naturally had to give her face.

This matter wasn't without benefits for their Martial Arts Hall either. After all, their Martial Arts Hall would have two extra spots. One was given to Lin Chen, leaving one remaining spot.

Since Inspector Shu allowed this operation, the remaining spot could also be transferred in the same way, but if other Martial Arts Halls wanted this spot, they would need to offer something in exchange.

This was also a benefit Inspector Shu was giving to their Still Water Martial Arts Academy. Everyone understood each other without needing to say it.

"Inspector Shu, the reason we didn't accept Lin Chen before was that our Martial Arts Hall had no more Aperture Opening Pill spots. We at Mantis Martial Arts Hall were very optimistic about Lin Chen. Now that there's a solution, our Martial Arts Hall is willing to accept Lin Chen."

"Although Lin Chen has never been to the Seven Stars Martial Arts Academy, our Seven Stars Martial Arts Academy can also accept Lin Chen."

"What are you Seven Stars Martial Arts Academy guys getting excited about? Can Lin Chen afford Secret Medicine?"

"If our Seven Stars Martial Arts Academy can't, then can your Quaking Mountain Martial Arts Academy? If Lin Chen goes to your Quaking Mountain Martial Arts Academy and can't afford medicine to treat his injuries, he'll probably be beaten to death."

"Lin Chen is still more suitable for our Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy. Don't forget Lin Chen is from Lakeside Village. Back then, Lord Jiang also came from Lakeside Village."

"What's wrong with being from Lakeside Village? You Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy value students from Lakeside Village so much, but after Lord Jiang, we haven't seen your Martial Arts Hall recruit another student from Lakeside Village."

The Deputy Directors of the seven Martial Arts Halls instantly began to argue. Without needing to occupy their Martial Arts Hall's Aperture Opening Pill spots, Lin Chen suddenly became highly sought after.

If Lin Chen could achieve something in martial arts, the Martial Arts Hall would have gained a talented student for free. If he couldn't, there would be no loss for the Martial Arts Hall.

Shu Suwan listened to the Instructors arguing, clearly understanding why they were behaving this way.

These people were, firstly, looking for a bargain since they didn't have to provide an Aperture Opening Pill, and secondly, giving her face to prevent the situation from being too awkward.

"Inspector Shu, the first Martial Arts Hall Lin Chen visited was Clearwind Martial Arts Hall, so he must have favored our Martial Arts Hall. Furthermore, his Instructor at the Martial Arts Hall, Yu Yongnian, also came from our Clearwind Martial Arts Hall. Clearwind Martial Arts Hall is willing to accept Lin Chen, and during the time he is registered under Still Water Martial Arts Academy, Clearwind Martial Arts Hall will be responsible for his expenses at the Martial Arts Hall."

After a moment of contemplation, Qi He, the Deputy Director of Clearwind Martial Arts Hall, offered his conditions.

He saw clearly that when the other Martial Arts Halls spoke, Inspector Shu's expression didn't change, indicating that these Martial Arts Halls were not the ones Inspector Shu believed Lin Chen should go to.

Considering that Lin Chen's first visit was to Clearwind Martial Arts Hall and that his Instructor Yu Yongnian also came from Clearwind Martial Arts Hall, it was clear that Inspector Shu also thought Lin Chen was suitable for Clearwind Martial Arts Hall.

Given this, if he didn't speak up, wouldn't he be disrespecting Inspector Shu?

After Qi He spoke, Shu Suwan's face showed a smile. "Good, then let Clearwind Martial Arts Hall and Still Water Martial Arts Academy discuss the specific operating method for this matter."

Shu Suwan made the final decision. Clearwind Martial Arts Hall was indeed the most suitable for Lin Chen. As for whether Lin Chen would feel awkward about returning to Clearwind Martial Arts Hall after being rejected by them originally, that was not her concern.

Those who practice martial arts don't necessarily need to be broad-minded, but those who are narrow-minded and stubborn will definitely not go far.