The Cruelty of the Martial Arts Hall Exceeds That of the Martial Academy

The next day, in the faint morning light!

In the courtyard, Lin Chen began his training.

He trained for a full half hour before stopping, and at that moment, the sky had only just begun to lighten.

For Lin Chen, three hours of sleep each day was enough to feel refreshed and full of energy the next day.

As for why he didn't train at night and rest during the day, it was because the human body needed a balance of Yin and Yang and needed to see the sun. It was fine for a short period, but prolonged periods would definitely affect his Qi and Blood.

He took off his training clothes, tossed them into a bucket for a quick rinse, and hung them on the bamboo pole in the courtyard. Lin Chen then walked out of the dorm.

Today, the Martial Arts Hall students were to gather at the Training Ground.

The First Dew Training Ground was the one used by new students.

The entire Still Water Martial Arts Academy had three training grounds, named First Dew, Butterfly Dance, and Phoenix Cry respectively.

The First Dew Training Ground was for new students, Butterfly Dance was for older students, and Phoenix Cry was the largest training ground, used for things like full-hall student competitions and other large events.

The names of the training grounds were quite artistic!

This was the difference between the Still Water Martial Arts Academy and other martial arts halls. Lin Chen learned from Lu Yongfeng and Zhao Jingchuan that the naming of training grounds in other martial arts halls was very casual.

They were either called by numbers like A, B, C, or by their location like East District or West District...

In the words of those martial arts hall students, why would a training ground need a name? Only those women at the Still Water Martial Arts Academy would come up with such fancy names.

When Lin Chen arrived at the First Dew Training Ground, there were already quite a few female students there. At a glance, there were over thirty, and judging by their rosy cheeks, most of these female students had not yet achieved Aperture Opening.

After a quick scan, his attention was drawn to the few female students at the very front of the training ground. It wasn't because these female students were particularly beautiful, but because their faces weren't flushed, indicating that their Qi and Blood had become internalized, reaching the Aperture Opening Realm.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Chen finally stood in the front row as well.

It wasn't that he didn't want to keep a low profile, but that he couldn't. Even if he stood at the very back, he would still be the most noticeable person there. Who told him to be the only male student present?

Lin Chen standing in the front row also piqued the curiosity of the three female students next to him, who all turned their heads to look.

"Junior Brother Lin Chen greets the three Senior Sisters," Lin Chen said proactively, revealing his most sincere smile.

"So you're the legendary male student in our Martial Arts Hall?" The tallest of the three female students sized up Lin Chen brazenly. "Not bad, much better looking than those rough guys at the Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy next door."

"Junior Brother Lin is a bit dark, but it's okay. Senior Sister here has rouge, top-quality Golden Swallow powder from Jin Yan Store. I can lend it to you, guaranteed to make you fair and tender."

Lin Chen: ...

Are female students all this friendly?

Isn't it normal for guys to be a bit dark and rough?

Also... how did he become the legendary male student?

The word "legendary" was usually used for people involved in gossip. He didn't seem to have any gossip surrounding him.

"Thank you, Senior Sister. Junior Brother thinks I'm fine as I am and don't need to change," Lin Chen politely refused.

"Don't tease Junior Brother Lin anymore. Junior Brother Lin, my name is Li Xue. I've currently opened three Apertures. This is Junior Sister Fang, also three Apertures. Although Junior Sister Xiao only has two Apertures, she'll have no problem reaching three Apertures this month. What realm is Junior Brother Lin currently in?"

In a martial arts hall, status was determined by strength. Li Xue was clearly the strongest of the three. Once she spoke, the other two stopped teasing Lin Chen.

"Junior Brother here fortunately broke through to two Apertures yesterday. I can't compare to a few Senior Sisters."

Lin Chen was a little helpless. He suddenly understood something: the new batch of female disciples at the Still Water Martial Arts Academy, especially those in the Aperture Opening Realm, might be of higher overall quality than those in other martial arts halls.

He had just figured out the reason!

No matter how open-minded the society was in this world, having spent over a year interacting with the villagers, Lin Chen knew that the phenomenon of favoring boys over girls still existed.

If this was the case in the village, it wouldn't be much different in the county town.

In such a situation, families who could still afford to train their daughters in martial arts were definitely not ordinary families.

Because before training their daughters, they must have already trained the boys in the family and still had money left over...

Taking his own family situation as an example, if he hadn't fallen out with his grandfather, his family would have supported Lin Ming's martial arts training. Between his younger cousin Xi Xi and himself, his grandfather would definitely have supported his martial arts training. The only way his younger cousin Xi Xi could also learn martial arts was if the family had enough money to support all the grandchildren in martial arts training and still had some left over.

These weren't just Senior Sisters; they were all rich and beautiful young women!

Of course, it wasn't impossible for parents to truly dote on their daughters or have no male heirs, but in Lin Chen's opinion, this situation was more likely for the Junior Sisters behind him who hadn't achieved Aperture Opening.

Hearing that Lin Chen had just opened two Apertures, a look of surprise appeared in the beautiful eyes of Li Xue and the other two. Opening two Apertures was normal, but opening two Apertures just yesterday was a bit surprising to them.

They had originally thought the Martial Arts Hall made an exception to accept this Junior Brother Lin because his potential was extremely high. Now it seemed there was something else going on.

The atmosphere suddenly became a bit quiet.

Lin Chen wasn't embarrassed. His family background and realm couldn't be hidden. It wasn't a secret if someone wanted to inquire, especially in a place like the Still Water Martial Arts Academy, which was full of female disciples.

Just as the few of them were silent, several figures, five of them, appeared at the entrance of the training ground. Seeing these five figures, five female students came together and headed straight for the front row of the training ground.

"The one in the very front should be Senior Sister Jiang Qing. She had already opened five Apertures when she entered the Martial Arts Hall yesterday. She's the one with the highest realm on the day of enrollment in our Martial Arts Hall in the past twenty years."

Li Xue whispered softly, her voice tinged with envy. Hearing this, Lin Chen's gaze also fell on the person walking at the very front.

She was wearing a simple training outfit, her dark hair casually tied back, with a few strands of hair gently swaying in the wind. She looked both capable and neat, yet also innocent and playful.

Jiang Qing didn't pay attention to the reactions of the students on the Training Ground; she was long used to it. Her beautiful eyes swept across the entire area, but when her gaze landed on Lin Chen, it paused for a moment before she walked straight ahead.

Lin Chen didn't flatter himself into thinking that the brief pause of her gaze meant she had any good feelings for him. He simply figured it was because he was a man, which surprised this Senior Sister Jiang.

Not long after Jiang Qing and the others arrived, the figures of Kong Yinglei and another female Instructor also appeared from the corridor on the other side of the Training Ground.

The students present also quieted down, looking at the two of them.

For the students who hadn't yet reached the Aperture Opening Realm, they only recognized Instructor Shen, who had been their examiner when they registered. As for Kong Yinglei, these female students didn't know her.

Kong Yinglei's gaze swept across the entire area, and when she looked at Jiang Qing, a smile appeared on her face.

Five Apertures Opened!

Still Water Martial Arts Academy really found a treasure. She wondered where the Senior Master Sister dug her up from.

Originally, she thought the Senior Master Sister went to the provincial city to seek a method for breaking through to the Ranked realm. She didn't expect the Senior Master Sister to tell her such a great surprise after returning.

A new student with five Apertures Opened would be joining the Martial Arts Hall.

Although this meant the Martial Arts Hall's last spot for an Aperture Opening Pill would be forfeited, compared to a student with five Apertures Opened, the resources gained from trading an Aperture Opening Pill were nothing.

As the Deputy Hall Master, she appeared for Jiang Qing and had already volunteered to the Senior Master Sister to lead the new batch of Aperture Opening students this time.

"Jiang Qing, five Apertures. Fu Jingya, four Apertures. Kong Lingyun, four Apertures. Gu Qingqing, four Apertures. Li Xue, three Apertures..."

Kong Yinglei's gaze swept past the few Aperture Opening students in the front row one by one, the smile on her face almost impossible to hide, until she reached the end...

"Lin Chen, how many Apertures have you opened now?" Kong Yinglei asked directly.

"Two Apertures," Lin Chen replied calmly.

"Not bad, a little faster than I expected."

Hearing the conversation between Kong Yinglei and Lin Chen, Jiang Qing and the others once again looked sideways at Lin Chen.

Two Apertures Opened, clearly the worst result, so why did Deputy Hall Master Kong seem satisfied?

Kong Yinglei also saw the confusion of Jiang Qing and the others, but she didn't explain. Having personally witnessed Lin Chen take half an hour to open an Aperture, she was already convinced that Lin Chen had indeed cultivated Essence Energy with only twenty taels of silver.

His family background was real, and his expenses were real.

And given Lin Chen's family background, being able to open the second Aperture by now was already quite good.

Fu Jingya and Gu Qingqing, who had opened four Apertures, had cultivated Essence Energy early on and had come to the Martial Arts Hall early to take the Aperture Opening Pill. Most of the students who came from the town in the last month were now mostly at two Apertures Opened.

Lin Chen not falling behind already surprised her a little.

After sweeping her gaze over the ten of them, Kong Yinglei withdrew her sight.

The female disciples in the back row, seeing that Kong Yinglei's gaze hadn't fallen on them from beginning to end, showed expressions of disappointment.

Were they really that unimportant?

"In the Martial Path, strength is supreme, and the Martial Arts Hall is the same!"

And at this moment, Kong Yinglei suddenly let out a powerful shout, her gaze sweeping across the entire area, her sharp eyes making it so that no one present dared to meet her gaze.

"I know many of you feel that the Martial Arts Hall looks down on you students who have only cultivated Essence Energy. What I, this Deputy Hall Master, want to tell you is: it's not that you 'feel' that way, it is the truth!"

Lin Chen's mouth slightly opened. He couldn't imagine how Deputy Hall Master Kong, with such a gentle oval face, could say such cold words.

It was too harsh!

"I am not your parents, and the Martial Arts Hall is not your home. If you want to receive the Martial Arts Hall's support and resources, there is only one way: strength."

"I will give you three months. If you cannot open an Aperture within three months, you will go no further in the Martial Path. I advise you to give up now, leave the Martial Arts Hall early, find someone to marry, and become a good wife and mother."

Every word Kong Yinglei spoke, falling into the ears of these students who had only cultivated Essence Energy, was a heavy blow. Lin Chen had already seen several female students' faces turn pale.

"You ten, follow me." Kong Yinglei's gaze returned to the ten of them, and her smile returned.

Seeing the stark contrast in her attitude, Lin Chen sighed inwardly. He was afraid that among those Qi Refining students, Deputy Hall Master Kong was the big villain in their hearts.

"Junior Sister Shen, these students are in your care."

"Yes, Senior Sister, rest assured."

Hearing the conversation between Deputy Hall Master Kong and the Instructor, and seeing the glum faces of those female students, Lin Chen instantly understood.

This was a double act!

Deputy Hall Master Kong was playing the 'white face' role, laying bare the harsh reality of the Martial Arts Hall. Soon, Instructor Shen would surely play the 'red face' role, encouraging and cheering on these students, stimulating their competitive spirit.

As for those students who were truly discouraged and disheartened by Deputy Hall Master Kong, well, it could only be said that Deputy Hall Master Kong was right; they were indeed not suited to continue on the Martial Path, and going home to be a wife and mother was more appropriate.