Noble Son from a Humble Family, Rare Treasure of the World

That day!

Lin Chen practiced until late at night, then woke up again before dawn to cultivate.

[Clear Wind Palm, Not Yet Initiated +1]

[Clear Wind Palm, Not Yet Initiated +1]

He didn't stop until dawn.

[Clear Wind Palm: Not Yet Initiated (16/100)]

Of this, 10 points were gained between dark and dawn, and 6 points were gained during the day.

This was the comprehension boost effect brought by the title [Black to the End].

"Mom, I'm going to the Martial Arts Hall."

After finishing breakfast, Lin Chen didn't continue practicing martial arts. He said goodbye to his mother and headed to the town's Martial Arts Hall.

The Martial Arts Hall was so deserted that not a single person could be seen. Even the servants and laborers had left. Lin Chen went straight to Instructor Yu's courtyard.

The courtyard gate was open. When Lin Chen entered, Yu Yongnian was packing his luggage. Seeing Lin Chen come in, he put down the items in his hand, scanned Lin Chen up and down, and nodded, saying, "Not bad, you've entered the Aperture Opening Realm. Your Qi and Blood have already begun to become internalized."

The current Lin Chen felt full of youthful vitality, but he no longer had the ruddy complexion he had before.

After opening his Apertures, his Qi and Blood were internalized and no longer floated on the surface of his body.

Lin Chen looked at his Instructor and also noticed that the Instructor was a bit different from before. The Instructor used to be overly steady, but today he saw vitality in the Instructor.

There were only two reasons for a thirty-year-old man's significant change in mental state and appearance: promotion and wealth, or a second spring.

In this world, it was either an improvement in the Martial Path realm or a second spring.

In such a short time, the Instructor's realm should not have improved, so it must be a second spring.

So the Instructor and Inspector Shu...

Lin Chen's heart was filled with curiosity. He asked, "Instructor, are you going back?"

"After the New Year, I will no longer teach at the Martial Arts Hall. I have already resigned from the position of Instructor at the Martial Arts Administration."

Yu Yongnian didn't hide this news from Lin Chen. His decision not to continue teaching was made yesterday.

The reason he came to teach at the Martial Arts Hall in the first place was simply because he had lost his ambition in the Martial Path and was looking for a quiet place to spend the rest of his life.

His parents had passed away five years ago. Although he had a sister, his parents had married her off early to raise money for him to study martial arts.

Because of this, his sister was not close to him. He had visited his brother-in-law's house a few times, but his sister and brother-in-law treated him with more reverence than sibling affection. Later, he simply stopped going and would have the postman send some silver every year.

He was giving up the position of Martial Arts Hall Instructor now because of Senior Sister Shu.

During this trip to the city with Lin Chen, he was intoxicated by Senior Sister Shu. The two of them had been honest with each other, and the window paper had been broken through.

Over the years, he hadn't been completely unaware of his Senior Sister's feelings for him, but thinking of the difference in their family backgrounds, he felt inferior and pretended not to know.

Now that he had expressed his feelings to his Senior Sister, he would embark on the Martial Path again and strive to participate in the Martial Examination two years from now.

When Lin Chen heard that the Instructor would no longer be teaching at the Martial Arts Hall, his first reaction was that the Instructor had figured things out.

The Instructor had figured out that eating soft rice was much better than eating hard rice.

Following Inspector Shu, he no longer looked down on the salary of an Instructor.

"Disciple congratulates the Instructor," Lin Chen blinked and congratulated him.

Yu Yongnian didn't react when he heard Lin Chen's words. What was there to be happy about?

"Tell me about your situation at the Clearwind Martial Arts Hall and the Still Water Martial Arts Academy."

Feeling that Lin Chen's gaze towards him was a little strange, Yu Yongnian felt an uncharacteristic awkwardness in his heart and very stiffly changed the subject.

"Disciple first went to the Clearwind Martial Arts Hall and received the Clear Wind Palm manual, then went to the Still Water Martial Arts Academy..."

Lin Chen recounted the entire process at the Martial Arts Halls in detail, including how it took him half an hour to open his Apertures.

"Deputy Hall Master Kong told you not to make a fuss?"

This time, it was Yu Yongnian's turn to have a slightly strange expression. He could vaguely guess the thoughts of this Deputy Hall Master Kong.

After Lin Chen left that day, his Senior Sister had told him that he felt indignant towards the major Martial Arts Halls and felt that Lin Chen had been discriminated against, but from the perspective of the Martial Arts Halls, their choice was not wrong.

Because no one could prove that Lin Chen had only used twenty taels of silver to cultivate Essence Energy.

Based solely on the Martial Arts Hall's records and the Instructor's words, many students would exploit this loophole in the future. Afterwards, he also realized this, but he had overlooked it due to his anger at the time.

"Since Deputy Hall Master Kong said so, you should not reveal it to the outside world."

That Deputy Hall Master Kong, based on the time it took Lin Chen to open his Apertures, must have confirmed that Lin Chen truly only used twenty taels of silver to cultivate Essence Energy. Not allowing Lin Chen to speak out about it likely had other intentions.

Regardless of Deputy Hall Master Kong's intentions, it was not a bad thing for Lin Chen.

"Disciple will listen to the Instructor."

Lin Chen hadn't noticed the strange expression that flashed across Yu Yongnian's face just now. He was surprised by the Instructor's mention of Deputy Hall Master Kong.

That Instructor Kong was actually a Deputy Hall Master. He had thought he was just an ordinary Instructor.

Since that Deputy Hall Master Kong and the Instructor both told him not to make a fuss, it meant that if this matter spread, it would indeed have an impact on him.

Yu Yongnian nodded slightly, then walked into the room and took out a booklet.

"This contains some of my cultivation insights from the Aperture Opening Realm. You can take it home and look through it."

"Thank you, Instructor."

Lin Chen took the booklet but didn't rush to open it. He was filled with gratitude towards the Instructor.

He was just an ordinary student in the Martial Arts Hall, but Instructor Yu was truly incredibly good to him.

If it weren't for the enduring meme of "betraying one's adoptive father" in his mind from his previous life, he would have really wanted to say to Instructor Yu: A teacher for a day is a father for life.

"Once you reach the Aperture Opening Realm and come into contact with true Martial Path techniques, future competitions won't just be about who has the higher realm. The monthly student duels in the major Martial Arts Halls are all focused on actual combat."

"The only shortcut to opening your Apertures is to spend money. You are at a disadvantage in this regard, so in the early stages, you should focus more energy on cultivating your techniques to make up for the realm gap with proficiency in your techniques."

Lin Chen listened attentively. He knew that Instructor Yu was planning a path on the Martial Path for him.

"While realm is the main factor in Martial Path combat, techniques are also extremely important. The eight major Martial Arts Halls have dozens of Martial Path techniques, but each Martial Arts Hall is only famous for one. Do you know why?"

Lin Chen shook his head. When it came to information about the Martial Path, he was at the bottom.

"Martial Path techniques are divided into Ranked and Unranked. Unranked techniques can only allow you to exert your full strength, while Ranked techniques can allow you to exert several times the strength of your current realm. The signature techniques of the eight major Martial Arts Halls are all Ranked techniques."

With that said!

Yu Yongnian brought his right hand together into a palm and gently struck the stone table.

Crack!

The stone table shattered in response, sending gravel flying.

"This is the Clear Wind Palm. Cultivating the Clear Wind Palm to the perfect stage can achieve ten times your current strength."

Seeing Lin Chen's somewhat shocked expression, Yu Yongnian smiled faintly: "If you cultivate the Clear Wind Palm to the minor completion stage, you can also achieve this in the early stage of the Aperture Opening Realm."

"Instructor, how many stages are there for Ranked techniques?" Lin Chen asked in a deep voice.

"Proficient, Mastered, Minor Completion, Great Completion, Perfect."

Lin Chen thought for a moment. So, his current "not yet initiated" didn't even count as the first stage.

"Instructor, how does a student know which stage they have cultivated to?"

This was a question that had just popped into Lin Chen's mind. He had the System Panel and could determine which stage his technique proficiency was at. How did other Martial Artists know what stage they had reached without a System Panel?

"For techniques that have entered the ranks, different stages are marked by different manifestations. Taking Clear Wind Palm as an example, if you reach the Mastered stage, the palm wind will roar when you strike; if you reach Minor Completion, the palm wind can already blow sand and roll leaves; at Great Completion, the palm wind tears like a storm, making people fearful. As for the Perfect stage, it is returning to simplicity, appearing ordinary, but containing infinite power."

Yu Yongnian was extremely familiar with the Clear Wind Palm: "The techniques of the other seven schools also have different manifestations when they reach the Mastered stage. I have written all of this in the booklet, and you can take some time to look it over."

"After reaching the Proficient stage, it depends on your comprehension of the technique. Some students can reach Mastered in half a year, while others need a year or even longer. You mentioned the concept of a genius in the Martial Arts Hall back then, and there is indeed a saying about geniuses in terms of Martial Path comprehension."

Yu Yongnian recalled the scene where Lin Chen boasted about being a genius back then, and said with a smile: "If you can practice the Clear Wind Palm to the Mastered stage within half a year after becoming proficient, you can indeed be called a Martial Path genius."

"The reason I didn't tell you about this before was firstly, I was afraid you would be overly ambitious and think too much, and secondly, the concept of comprehension is more abstract."

"People choose techniques, and techniques choose people; some people make rapid progress learning the Clear Wind Palm, but their progress in learning the Mantis Boxing is no different from ordinary people. The reason for this is also closely related to the Martial Artist's own disposition."

"Unless someone can make rapid progress in any technique, but I have not seen such a genius in Poyang County."

Although these words were somewhat harsh, Yu Yongnian had to point this out. Students from ordinary families should not harbor any unrealistic fantasies or hopes.

"From initiation to proficiency in the Clear Wind Palm depends on diligent practice. Your financial resources are limited, so you need to compensate for it with your technique. My requirement for you is that before you enter the Martial Arts Hall, your Clear Wind Palm must at least be initiated."

Diligent practice, more practice.

This was the Martial Path that Yu Yongnian planned for Lin Chen.

For the poor to learn martial arts, this was the only feasible path.

"Disciple understands what the Instructor means and will definitely practice the Clear Wind Palm diligently every day."

Lin Chen nodded heavily. He understood the principle the Instructor spoke of.

"Okay, the Martial Arts Hall will be closed after today, so you should leave early as well."

Having finished his instructions, Yu Yongnian didn't delay any longer and reached out to pick up the bundle on the table. Seeing this, Lin Chen stepped forward and picked up the bundle first: "Instructor, I'll see you to the stable."

Seeing Lin Chen's actions, Yu Yongnian smiled faintly and did not refuse Lin Chen's attentiveness.

At the stable.

Yu Yongnian retrieved a large reddish-brown horse. After getting on the horse, he waved to Lin Chen: "Go back. If you encounter anything, you can go to the Shu residence to find Inspector Shu."

"Disciple remembers."

Hearing Lin Chen's words, Yu Yongnian smiled slightly, no longer trying to persuade him, and spurred his horse, leaving gracefully.

Only when Instructor Yu's figure was no longer visible did Lin Chen withdraw his gaze and look at the booklet in his hand, beginning to read it.

Upon reading it, he was stunned.

On the last page of the booklet, a banknote was tucked in.

A banknote with a face value of twenty taels of silver.

Seeing your poverty yet firm will, diligently practicing without weariness, you are truly a noble son from a humble family, a rare treasure of the world.

You should use this gold as a boat, breaking through the waves and advancing on the sea of the Martial Path, seeking the pearl from the abyss and achieving extraordinary things.

He didn't know if dust kicked up by the horse's hooves had gotten into his eyes, or what, but Lin Chen only felt his eyes stinging.