At the dockside, Lin Chen waved to his elder brother. Only after watching his brother leave did he shoulder his bundle and head into the city.
The county town was far more prosperous today than when Lin Chen had last visited. The streets were packed with a constant stream of people.
The eaves of the shops still hung with the lanterns from yesterday's Lantern Festival, drawing many children to stop and admire them.
Lin Chen did not linger. He went straight to Clearwind Martial Arts Hall.
Clearwind Martial Arts Hall, Martial Arts Pavilion.
"Junior Brother, is something the matter?"
A youth inside the Martial Arts Pavilion saw Lin Chen enter and came over with a smile.
His qi and blood were restrained. He had already reached the Aperture Opening Realm.
He knew all the Aperture Opening students from the previous class at the martial arts hall. This unfamiliar face had to be a new student from this class—and new students entered at the Aperture Opening Realm.
There was no need to think about it. He must have come from a wealthy family and obtained an Aperture Opening Pill. Although he had also opened his apertures, he had not done so until three months after entering the martial arts hall. There was simply no comparison.
With empty pockets, all he could do was grit his teeth and endure when it came to breakthroughs in the Martial Arts Realm.
Fortunately, this year the Martial Arts Administration had issued a decree called the Work-Study Program. Martial arts hall students could help with various tasks at the hall to earn some silver. Although it was not much, it was still better than nothing.
He was grateful to the official who had proposed the "Work-Study Program" through the Martial Arts Administration. That person was practically the benefactor of ordinary students like them.
"I came to return the Clear Wind Palm manual."
"Please show me your Identity Token." Ma Hao's attitude was extremely courteous. He did not act superior in the slightest just because he had opened four apertures. He knew very well that this Junior Brother before him would surpass him; half a year would be enough.
These students were all future prominent figures of the martial arts hall. Even if he could not befriend them, he could not afford to offend them.
When he saw Lin Chen take out his Identity Token, Ma Hao was somewhat surprised. "Junior Brother Lin, everyone at the martial arts hall uses the hall's student Identity Token. That isn't the household-registration token issued by the government."
"I haven't obtained a student Identity Token yet."
Though puzzled by Lin Chen's words, Ma Hao still accepted the Identity Token and manual. "Please wait a moment."
Ma Hao went into the rear courtyard of the Martial Arts Pavilion and respectfully asked Zhao Ce, who was drinking tea, "Instructor Zhao, do we have a new Junior Brother named Lin Chen in this class?"
"Lin Chen?"
Zhao Ce set down his cup and nodded. "There is indeed a new student by that name. What is it?"
"Junior Brother Lin came to return the Clear Wind Palm manual."
"Mm." Zhao Ce answered indifferently. Seeing that the instructor had nothing else to say, Ma Hao turned and prepared to leave.
"Ask him how many apertures he has opened. If he has opened two, let him come in. If he hasn't even opened two, let him leave on his own."
Though puzzled by Instructor Zhao's words, Ma Hao agreed. He then left the rear courtyard and returned to the front hall.
"Junior Brother Lin, I have checked. There is no problem with the manual. Please sign here." Ma Hao took a ledger from beneath the counter and handed it to Lin Chen. While Lin Chen signed, he casually asked, "Junior Brother Lin, how many apertures have you opened?"
"I'm ashamed to say that I still have only one."
Lin Chen did not lie about this. The martial arts hall surely had a way to verify it.
"It's nothing. With Junior Brother Lin's strength, after entering the martial arts hall, it won't be long before you open your second aperture."
Ma Hao did not look down on Lin Chen just because he still had only one aperture open. As he had said, he and the other man were simply not from the same class.
"Does Junior Brother Lin need anything else?"
"No. Thank you, Senior Brother."
Lin Chen had originally wanted to ask about the Clear Wind Palm, but after thinking it over, he decided against it.
The Martial Arts Pavilion certainly had an instructor stationed there. That senior brother had clearly gone in to inform the instructor just now. Since the man did not want to see him, why deliberately seek rejection?
Most importantly, he had the booklet Instructor Yu had given him. It contained all of Instructor Yu's insights into cultivating the Clear Wind Palm, so having no one to guide him would not matter.
Still Water Martial Arts Academy, Lin Chen's second visit.
Compared with the quietness of the martial arts academy the year before, it was now much livelier. He saw quite a few female students right at the entrance, each one spirited and valiant. While he sized them up, those female students were sizing him up as well.
Compared with the female students, Lin Chen, the male student, attracted even more attention.
Under the gazes of those female students, Lin Chen strode through the academy gates.
"Oh? Our academy has a male student now? How rare."
"Did he walk into the wrong academy? Surely not. The four characters on the Still Water Martial Arts Academy's sign are so large. He shouldn't have mistaken it."
"Could he be a girl with a man's appearance?"
"His Adam's apple is so obvious. He's clearly a man."
"A male student is great. I don't even remember how long it's been since I last saw a man. If he's really a Junior Brother from this class, I really want to have a feel."
"Junior Sister Yu, what do you want to touch?"
"Everything. Even the part with a handle."
After entering the Aperture Opening Realm, Lin Chen's ears and eyes had become much sharper. Hearing these female senior sisters' outrageous remarks, he almost stumbled. Once women became lecherous, men no longer had anything to do with it.
Women in this world could practice martial arts as well, and customs were not so strict.
Back when he had helped his elder brother set fish traps in the village, he had often heard the women washing clothes by the river chatting. The dirty jokes they discussed had truly opened his eyes.
He headed toward the dormitories. Just as he was about to pass the corner of a corridor,
In the corridor, Lin Chen heard a conversation coming from around the corner and could not help stopping.
"Junior Sister, congratulations on becoming a student of the martial arts academy. Senior Sister is treating you today to celebrate."
"How could I let Senior Sister Chen spend money on me? I should be the one treating you."
This conversation sounded so familiar.
That warmhearted Senior Sister Chen.
Lin Chen sighed inwardly. If only he had money, he really would have invited Senior Sister Chen to a meal.
For now, he could only avoid them so neither side would feel awkward.
When he reached the dormitory, Lin Chen was very satisfied with the room the martial arts academy had arranged for him.
It was a private room with a small courtyard. This was the treatment the academy offered students like them who had taken Aperture Opening Pills.
Tuition was fully waived, meals were free, and lodging was free.
Bedding had already been laid out on the dormitory bed. Lin Chen reached out and touched it. It was a brand-new cotton quilt.
In the six months since his transmigration, this was his first time touching a cotton quilt. The bedding at home was all hemp cloth stuffed with bits of dried grass. According to the original host's memories, it did not keep anyone warm at all in winter.
With his current qi and blood, whether it was warm or not did not matter, but cotton's comfort was something dried grass and hemp cloth could never match.
Two sets of the martial arts academy's practice clothes were also placed on the dormitory table. Lin Chen did not hurry to change. He put the clothes from his bundle into the wardrobe, then took out all the money on him.
One Silver Note worth twenty taels from Instructor Yu, and another worth thirty taels that the village had pooled together. The thirteen taels of silver he had received as a reward from the Martial Hall had also been exchanged into notes, but only seven taels remained now.
Fifty-seven taels of silver. That was his entire fortune.
Instructor Yu had written in the booklet that the Aperture Opening Realm had twenty-four apertures. For the first ten apertures, a student spent thirty taels of silver each month at the martial arts academy to purchase Nourishing Aperture Pills, allowing them to open one aperture every month and a half.
If they wanted to speed up, they could only spend more money.
A bottle of Nourishing Aperture Pills cost thirty taels of silver and contained ten pills, with one taken every three days.
Wealthy students could buy two or even three bottles.
The martial arts academy gave students preferential treatment. The first bottle of Nourishing Aperture Pills cost only thirty taels, but the second returned to its original price of forty taels, while the third was priced at fifty taels.
Those children of the powerful did not care about this silver. In addition to taking three bottles of Nourishing Aperture Pills every month, they would even consume precious poultry meat.
The money he had was not enough to cover even one month of their expenses.
Having experienced the Qi Refining Realm, Lin Chen had gained some understanding of the When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed fate.
The Aperture Opening Realm had a total of twenty-four apertures. When it came to the first sixteen, his fate could not display its effect. In other words, when opening the first eight apertures, he had no advantage whatsoever over the other students.
In the early stages, he had to endure.
If he could not scrape together enough silver for the Aperture Opening Pills each month, his progress would be delayed even further.
The Martial Arts path was truly difficult!
It was no wonder these martial arts academies looked down on him. With his family background, where could he find so much silver?
After letting out a soft sigh, Lin Chen summoned the System Panel.
Name: Lin Chen
Profession: Martial Artist
Realm: Aperture Opening Realm (1/24)
Technique: Clear Wind Palm (Proficiency: 1/100)
Fate: [Water Flows, Channels Form]: The first realm of the martial path—going against the current, advancing step by step, gaining unstoppable momentum, and cutting through every obstacle.
Martial Title: Black to the End
The Clear Wind Palm had finally reached the proficient stage that morning after he had gone all out training it.
Instructor Yu had mentioned in the booklet that most students—even those from powerful families—needed a month to gain entry into a martial art technique of the ninth grade. It took three months to reach the proficient stage. After that, reaching mastery depended on one's comprehension. Anyone who could reach mastery within half a year could be considered to have exceptional comprehension.
In other words, from first coming into contact with a technique to reaching mastery, a student needed seven or eight months, or even longer. Reaching mastery within a year was considered passing.
In the early stages, his fate gave him no advantage. His Martial Arts Comprehension was his only advantage.
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