Determined Youths, Walking the Martial Path Together

After the old village chief left, Lin Chen took Lu Yongfeng and the other two on a tour of Lakeside Village.

The only scenery in Lakeside Village was the lake itself.

Standing by the lakeside and gazing at Poyang Lake, shrouded in cold mist, all four wore troubled expressions.

"When I went to the martial arts academy, I once asked the instructor. Of the ten students at our academy who had an Aperture Opening Pill, the earliest one had already cultivated Essence Energy four months ago."

Lu Yongfeng suddenly spoke, his tone carrying a hint of dejection.

In the Martial Hall, he had been the undisputed number one. Although Lin Chen had overtaken him at the very end, he still possessed his own pride.

However, after this trip into the city, once he compared himself with the children of the county's powerful families, he realized that the martial progress he had been so proud of was something they did not even deign to care about.

"Our academy has two students who cultivated Essence Energy in just seven months," Cheng Ying said in the same muffled tone.

"They obtained Aperture Opening Pills long ago, and have already opened their second aperture, their third aperture, or even more. By the time we enter the martial arts academy, I'm afraid we'll be just like the ordinary students in the Martial Hall, able only to look up to them. It's hard to accept!"

The excitement and joy of cultivating Essence Energy within a year had been utterly shattered after they entered the city, joined a martial arts academy, and learned of the martial progress of the city's powerful youths.

Listening to Lu Yongfeng and the other two, Lin Chen frowned. This mindset won't do.

Their state of mind reminded him of some classmates he had encountered at school in his previous life. Those top students from the towns had entered the county's key high schools, only to lose their academic advantage when compared with the top students from the city. They had grown dispirited, some even giving up entirely, and their grades had plummeted.

"Why must you three junior brothers be so dejected? The fact that we were able to reach a martial arts academy already means we've surpassed many others our age who practice martial arts. To put it bluntly, you three junior brothers aren't satisfied—but have you ever considered whether the other students in the Martial Hall are satisfied?"

Lin Chen's expression turned solemn as he looked at the three of them. "I don't know what the situation is like in the prefectural city, but I imagine the young martial artists there are far stronger than those in the county. If you grow dispirited over something like this, you might as well become a wealthy old man. With your family backgrounds, you could become rich men with wives and concubines by the flock. Wouldn't that be delightful?"

"Senior Brother Lin is right!"

Cheng Ying shouted excitedly, and Lu Yongfeng's eyes gradually brightened as well.

If someone else had said those words, they would not have carried much weight. But the Senior Brother Lin before them was the best example.

"May I ask, Senior Brother Lin, how did you persevere back then in the Martial Hall?"

Lu Yongfeng cupped his fists. This was when he formally acknowledged Lin Chen as his senior brother. Before this, although Zhao Jingchuan and Cheng Ying had already addressed Lin Chen as their senior brother, he had never been convinced.

Only after going to the martial arts academy and realizing the gap between himself and those powerful youths from the county had he even begun to feel timid. Only then did he understand how formidable Lin Chen had been to overtake him and seize first place in the Martial Hall.

That was also why he had not objected when Zhao Jingchuan suggested coming to Lakeside Village to find Lin Chen.

"Don't compare yourself with those geniuses. Compare yourself only with yourself. Take one step each day, and after a hundred days, you'll have traveled several yards."

Lin Chen did not hold anything back. He shared with the three of them the motivation that had allowed him to persevere back then, moving Lu Yongfeng and the other two deeply.

Knowing was easy; doing was difficult!

The principle was simple, but truly persevering was anything but easy.

"Actually, you only need to look at things from the bright side." Lin Chen smiled faintly. Seeing the curiosity in their eyes, he continued, "The martial arts academies aren't filled entirely with students who cultivated Essence Energy within a year. Many students who cultivated Essence Energy within three years also enroll. Compare yourselves more with those students, and won't your confidence return?"

Look downward for comparison, and confidence would overflow!

Lu Yongfeng and the other two wore somewhat strange expressions. The words sounded a little off, but after pondering them carefully, the reasoning was indeed sound.

Watching the thoughtful expressions on their faces, Lin Chen secretly chuckled. Aside from having no other path available to him and being forced to fight to the death on the martial path, another reason he had been able to persevere was his fate mark.

His fate mark had given him hope.

But Lin Chen believed that even without the fate mark, he would not have given up.

No matter how difficult the road became, he would still walk the martial path to the end.

Lu Yongfeng and the others had no fate marks, but compared with the other students of the Martial Hall, their starting point was already very high. So what if they could not compare with the powerful youths in the city?

"Senior Brother Lin is right. Compared with the other students, we're already fortunate. Since we've set foot on the martial path, we should advance with courage." Fighting spirit radiated from Lu Yongfeng's eyes.

"The four of us come from different martial arts academies. Why don't we spar with one another while we still have time before school starts? That way, we can strive for decent rankings in the academy competitions held every three months."

Zhao Jingchuan's suggestion won the agreement of Lin Chen and the other two.

It was a good idea.

After entering a martial arts academy, the academy bouts would be actual combat. Lu Yongfeng was entering Seven Stars Martial Arts Academy, Zhao Jingchuan was going to Cloud Concealment Martial Arts Hall, and Cheng Ying was joining Gale Martial Arts Hall.

In future competitions, they would certainly encounter disciples from those three academies. They could treat this as practicing in advance.

"Senior Brother Lin, let me spar with you first."

Lu Yongfeng looked toward Lin Chen. Lin Chen nodded. "Very well."

Seeing that Lin Chen and Lu Yongfeng were about to fight, Cheng Ying and Zhao Jingchuan were no longer in a hurry. Both were curious about which of the two would come out on top.

Senior Brother Lu had been the number one in this year's Martial Hall for multiple months in a row—or, more accurately, he had been number one in every month except the last.

Senior Brother Lin, meanwhile, had languished at the bottom of the Martial Hall until he suddenly began exerting himself during the final two months, ultimately surging ahead and taking first place.

Moreover, the two had cultivated Essence Energy only a short time apart. This bout would certainly be worth watching.

"Senior Brother Zhao, who do you think will win?" Cheng Ying asked in a low voice.

"I think Senior Brother Lin will win."

"I think Senior Brother Lu can win." Cheng Ying explained, "I'm not looking down on Senior Brother Lin. In terms of cultivating energy, Senior Brother Lu and Senior Brother Lin aren't far apart. I heard that Senior Brother Lu spent thirty taels these past few days and has already touched his second aperture."

"I still think Senior Brother Lin can win." Zhao Jingchuan smiled faintly. "If you ask me why, I can't really say. It's just a feeling..."

Cheng Ying: ...

Lin Chen and Lu Yongfeng stood ten feet apart, fully focused on each other.

"Senior Brother Lin, please enlighten me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Yongfeng stepped forward with his right foot. His body shifted, and in the blink of an eye, he was before Lin Chen. His fist came crashing from the left at a tricky angle.

"Good!"

Lin Chen's eyes narrowed. He had been watching Lu Yongfeng's movements all along, and the instant Lu Yongfeng's fist came crashing in, he raised his right hand and met it head-on.

Bang!

Their fists collided. Lu Yongfeng remained rooted to the spot, while Lin Chen retreated half a step.

"I told you, Senior Brother Lin is still at a disadvantage in terms of vitality."

Cheng Ying muttered. At the beginning of everyone's cultivation of martial arts techniques, such head-on clashes depended on who possessed greater strength.

"It's only the beginning. Let's keep watching. I think Senior Brother Lin must have considered this point when he agreed to spar with Senior Brother Lu." Zhao Jingchuan still trusted his feelings.

In the arena, Lin Chen retreated half a step. He understood that his vitality was slightly inferior to Lu Yongfeng's, but this small difference in vitality meant nothing.

Having gained the advantage with one punch, Lu Yongfeng hesitated over whether to continue. But while he was hesitating, Lin Chen's palm had already struck out.

The palm moved incredibly fast. Lu Yongfeng instinctively chose to dodge, retreating one step. Yet Lin Chen's palm followed close behind, like a continuous breeze that blew without end.

Lu Yongfeng could only receive it head-on. But to his surprise, the moment he threw out his fist, Lin Chen seemed to have predicted it. The momentum of his palm instantly shifted, and his hand once again landed with pinpoint precision in the gap in Lu Yongfeng's defense. Lu Yongfeng had no choice but to change his move and block it.

Back and forth, Lu Yongfeng grew exhausted from defending and could no longer launch an attack. If his vitality had not been stronger, forcing him to throw out several punches with the intention of meeting force with force and making Lin Chen change his moves, he would have lost long ago.

Even so, Cheng Ying and Zhao Jingchuan could both see that Lu Yongfeng would undoubtedly lose if this continued. He was already completely trapped beneath the coverage of Lin Chen's palm technique.

As one side waned and the other waxed, there would eventually be a moment when he could no longer defend.

"Has Senior Brother Lin mastered Clear Wind Palm?"

Zhao Jingchuan murmured, his face filled with disbelief. How long had it been? He had already mastered it.

"Incredible. Senior Brother Lin really is... I now feel that even if our family circumstances are better than Senior Brother Lin's, we might still be surpassed by him on the martial path." Cheng Ying's eyes widened in shock.

"Junior Brother Cheng, watch your wording. It isn't 'surpassed'; it's 'left far behind.' The moment Senior Brother Lin cultivated Essence Energy in the Martial Hall, he had already surpassed us." Zhao Jingchuan corrected the flaw in Cheng Ying's words.

"I... Forget it. You're right anyway."

After a quarter of an hour, Lu Yongfeng had taken several palm strikes. When Lin Chen's next palm landed on his left shoulder, he finally could not endure it any longer. He grunted and staggered back several steps. When he raised his hand again, his arm was trembling, and in the end, he could only lower it helplessly.

"Thank you for showing mercy, Senior Brother Lin."

Lu Yongfeng knew very well that when Senior Brother Lin's palms struck his body, he had held back some of his strength. Otherwise, his arm would not merely be aching now—it would have been broken.

"Has Senior Brother Lin already mastered Clear Wind Palm?"

Cheng Ying, who had been watching the fight, could not help asking. Lin Chen nodded. There was nothing worth hiding about having mastered Clear Wind Palm.

"Hiss, Senior Brother Lin is truly formidable. He actually mastered Clear Wind Palm already."

"What's so difficult about that? I trained day and night. The three of you also know that my family background is inferior to yours, and I can't compare with those powerful youths in the city. On the martial path, diligent practice is the only road available to me."

Lin Chen's words were calm, but in Lu Yongfeng and the other two's ears, they were no less than thunderbolts.

None of the three was lazy. After obtaining their techniques from the martial arts academies, they spent no little time cultivating every day. Even so, they had yet to master them.

Mastering it in eight days—one could imagine how much weight the words "training day and night" carried. Lin Chen had likely used every moment aside from sleeping for cultivation.

"Let's continue. Since we're going to compete, everyone should take turns. Junior Brother Lu, rest for a while. I'll spar with Junior Brother Cheng next."

"Good!"

"Junior Brother Zhao, you're up!"

Fist techniques, leg techniques, palm techniques, movement techniques...

By the lakeside, four youths tirelessly sparred with one another, becoming a strikingly beautiful sight.

The youths were filled with ambition, carrying with them an endless pursuit of martial arts.