The Old Village Chief's Wisdom

The seventh day of the first lunar month!

The eighth day of the first lunar month!

The ninth day of the first lunar month!

By the lakeside of Lakeside Village, Lin Chen and the other three practiced against one another every day, mutually making up for each other's shortcomings.

Starting from the fifth day, the three had stayed directly in Lakeside Village. There wasn't enough room at Lin Chen's house, so the Village Chief found a household with several spare rooms and arranged lodging for them.

Zhao Jingchuan even had his father send meals to Lakeside Village every day. They were all poultry meat that nourished the qi and blood. Though it couldn't compare with Black Muntjac Meat, each meal still cost two taels of silver.

Three meals a day made six taels.

This money wasn't paid by Zhao Jingchuan alone. Lu Yongfeng and Cheng Ying had also privately given Zhao Jingchuan some silver.

Although the three hadn't said so outright, Lin Chen was no ordinary person. He could make a rough guess just from Lu Yongfeng and Cheng Ying's words and attitude.

If Zhao Jingchuan's family had paid for everything, the two youngsters would have been thin-skinned. Given Lu Yongfeng and Cheng Ying's personalities, they would certainly have seemed embarrassed, and might even have arranged a time to return the favor.

But Lu Yongfeng and Cheng Ying hadn't done so. That left only one possibility: the two of them had also paid for these three meals.

They hadn't told him because the three had thought his family's circumstances were average and didn't want him to pay this expense.

In a sense, this was also a form of help from Zhao Jingchuan and the other two.

Lin Chen didn't expose them. He truly had no money, and over these days, under his influence, the proficiency of each of their cultivation arts had risen considerably. That could also count as his contribution.

They supported one another and improved together.

The fourteenth day of the first lunar month!

"Senior Brother Lin, we won't be coming tomorrow. The three of us plan to enter the city early and take the chance to see the bustle of the Lantern Festival in town. Do you want to come with us?"

By the lakeside, as the setting sun sank, Zhao Jingchuan and the other two didn't follow Lin Chen back to the village this time.

"Tomorrow, our village will be holding the deity-inviting ceremony. The Village Chief specifically instructed me to stay in the village."

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month was not only the Lantern Festival, but also the day for inviting the Lake God.

All the villagers living beside the lake would invite the Lake God into the lake on the fifteenth, praying for favorable weather and abundant harvests in the coming year.

Lu Yongfeng and the other two were somewhat regretful when they heard that Lin Chen wasn't going, but young people didn't carry that many parting sorrows. Besides, Lin Chen would only be entering the city a day or two later. There would be plenty of time to meet again in town.

After seeing Lu Yongfeng and the other two off, Lin Chen narrowed his eyes slightly and murmured, "System Panel."

Name: Lin Chen

Occupation: Martial Artist

Realm: Aperture Opening Realm (1/24)

Clear Wind Palm: Beginner (180/200)

Destiny: [When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed]: Martial Arts First Realm. Persevere, advance step by step, Break Through Like Bamboo, with no bottleneck to hinder you.

Martial Arts Title: Black to the End

Black to the End: The outcome is undecided; you and I are both dark horses. While wearing this medal, your Martial Arts Comprehension and perception will be enhanced in the darkness.

Seeing the progress of Clear Wind Palm, anticipation also appeared in Lin Chen's eyes. At his current rate, Clear Wind Palm would reach the proficient stage before he reported to the martial arts academy.

He had mastered Clear Wind Palm in less than a month. The Black to the End title had played a part, but more than anything, it was because he had practiced diligently.

The comprehension bonus provided by Black to the End would have a greater effect in the later stages of martial arts cultivation arts.

Instructor Yu's booklet had described this before. When students cultivated martial arts cultivation arts, there were differences in speed during the initial beginner and proficient stages, but even someone with the worst comprehension could reach proficiency through diligent practice. Diligence could make up for clumsiness, and the gap wouldn't be very large.

Only after reaching proficiency, when one wanted to break through to mastery and even higher stages, was diligent practice no longer enough. At that point, comprehension was required.

"If I can cultivate Clear Wind Palm to proficiency within a month of entering the martial arts academy, then even if I've only opened one acupoint, I still won't be at a disadvantage against someone who has opened two."

As for Martial Arts Realm, Lin Chen knew that he couldn't compare with those from wealthy families. The boost provided by the When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed destiny appeared during the middle and later stages of each realm.

During the early stage, he had to find a way himself.

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

The ceremony to invite the Lake God began.

Several strong men from the village carried the Lake God's statue toward the fishing-boat wharf by the lakeside. The entire village followed in a mighty procession, carrying incense, candles, and yellow paper.

"Little Chen, come forward."

The Village Chief, who was presiding over the ceremony, beckoned to Lin Chen in the crowd. The villagers standing in front of Lin Chen immediately made way.

"Last year, you were the one who invited the Lake God into the village. This year, you'll be the one to send the Lake God off as well."

Faced with the Village Chief's invitation, Lin Chen didn't refuse. He walked before the Lake God's statue, lit incense, and bowed in worship.

"Disciple Lin Chen of Lakeside Village respectfully invites the Lake God to open his eyes and enter the lake today. May you bless the people of Lakeside Village with a year of abundant harvests!"

After speaking, Lin Chen placed the incense in the burner. Then he gripped one corner of the red cloth covering the statue and slowly lifted it upward.

The red cloth could only be lifted, never yanked!

Lin Chen had learned these rituals from the original body's memories, so he naturally wouldn't make a mistake at a time like this.

"Set off the firecrackers! Invite the Lake God into the lake!"

Once the red cloth was lifted, Lin Chen let out a loud shout. The villagers at the scene cheered in unison, and villagers who had prepared the firecrackers promptly lit them.

Regardless of how their families' harvests had been the previous year—even those whose harvests had been poor wore smiles at this moment.

Rather than superstition, inviting the deity was more an expression of the villagers' hopes for the new year.

The boys in the village who had not yet reached the age to study martial arts gazed at Lin Chen with blazing eyes. They too wanted to be as imposing and dazzling as Brother Lin Chen.

Standing to the side, the Village Chief took in all the boys' gazes, and satisfaction also surfaced in his eyes.

What a pity. If Lin Chaoyang hadn't grown senile and muddleheaded, presiding over today's ceremony would have been an honor for the entire Lin Family, instead of his feigning illness and hiding at home, afraid to show his face.

Once the ceremony was complete, Lin Chen returned home.

Even though today was a festive day, he still wouldn't delay his martial arts practice.

An hour later, the Village Chief pushed open the courtyard gate.

Lin Chen looked at the Village Chief in confusion. The Village Chief took out a money pouch and an account book, smiling broadly.

"Little Chen, tomorrow is the day you'll go to the county-town martial arts academy to study. Everyone in the village discussed it and scraped together some money for you. We hope you'll practice diligently at the academy and live up to everyone's expectations."

"Village Chief..."

Lin Chen was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected the villagers to pool money for him, and he hadn't heard his parents mention this at all.

"It isn't much. Altogether, it's thirty taels. It was gathered jointly by the one hundred and thirty-two households in our village. The amount each household gave is recorded above. The first two names on the list are martial artists who came from our village. They've opened their acupoints by now as well. When they heard you had entered the academy, they specially entrusted someone to send the silver to me."

After accepting the money pouch and account book from the Village Chief, Lin Chen flipped through the account book. It was filled with the names of every villager.

Teng Xing's family: two taels.

Zheng Xuan's family: two taels.

Gu Hai's family: one thousand three hundred wen.

Yang Fan's family: six hundred wen.

Li Sixi's family: three hundred and sixty-six wen.

Looking at those figures and every family's name, Lin Chen's eyes reddened slightly. He took a deep breath and solemnly put the account book away.

"Lin Chen will definitely not fail the love and kindness of the village elders."

He was genuinely moved. Although the weather had been favorable in recent years and every household in the village had some spare money, human nature was selfish. Who would willingly take out their money to give to another family?

"Study hard. Let those martial arts academies see that a martial arts expert can come from a village too. Scholar Jiang managed it back then, and I believe you can do it as well, Little Chen."

Lin Chen looked at the Village Chief in surprise. The Village Chief's words clearly had a deeper meaning.

The Village Chief patted Lin Chen on the shoulder. On the third day of the first lunar month, he had detected something unusual from the words of those young masters. He had then gone to the Town Chief's house and refused to leave, pestering the Town Chief until he investigated this year's martial arts academy admissions.

Only then had he learned that Lin Chen had nearly failed to be selected by the martial arts academy, simply because those martial arts academies felt that Lin Chen's family background was ordinary and that he wouldn't be able to go far on the path of martial arts.

This had enraged him. At the Town Chief's house, he had cursed those academy instructors for looking down on people with their dog eyes. After returning, he had gone door to door, persuading everyone in the village to pool money for Lin Chen. He had even written personally to inform the two villagers already living in the city.

Your martial arts academies don't want Lin Chen because his family is poor? Fine. Then our entire Lakeside Village will pool money for him.

This money had to be gathered—and it was worth gathering.

Over these days, he had deliberately observed Lin Chen. Lin Chen hadn't become proud and lax because he had joined the martial arts academy, nor had he lost heart because the academy had discriminated against him. He still practiced martial arts diligently every day.

Even those few young masters from town were convinced by Lin Chen from the bottom of their hearts.

With such a temperament at his age, he could at least reach the Organ Refining Realm on the path of martial arts.

Back then, Scholar Jiang had risen too quickly, and the Jiang Family had been outsiders with no deep feelings for the village. Yet even so, he had still won ten years of benefits for Lakeside Village.

Now that the village had finally produced a second person with hope on the martial path, everyone would lend Lin Chen a hand. Lin Chen would remember the village's kindness.