Martial Arts Academy's Cruelty Outdid Even the Martial Hall's

The next day, at the first glimmer of dawn!

In the courtyard, Lin Chen began practicing.

He practiced for a full half-hour before finally stopping, and by then the sky had only just begun to lighten.

For Lin Chen, sleeping three shichen a day was enough to leave him brimming with energy the next day.

As for why he did not train by day and sleep by night, it was because the human body needed the harmony of yin and yang and needed exposure to sunlight. It was fine for a short time, but over a long period, it would inevitably affect his qi and blood.

He took off his training clothes, tossed them into a bucket, gave them a couple of quick scrubs, and hung them on the bamboo pole in the courtyard before walking out of the dormitory.

The academy's students were to gather at the Training Ground today.

The First Dew Training Ground was used by new students.

Still Water Martial Arts Academy had three Training Grounds in total: First Dew, Butterfly Dance, and Phoenix Cry.

The First Dew Training Ground was for new students, Butterfly Dance was for veteran students, and Phoenix Cry was the largest Training Ground. Battles between all the academy's disciples and some large-scale events would be held at the Phoenix Cry Training Ground.

The Training Grounds had very literary names!

That was the difference between Still Water Martial Arts Academy and the other academies. Lin Chen had learned from Lu Yongfeng, Zhao Jingchuan, and the others that the other academies named their Training Grounds very casually.

They either called them by serial numbers like A, B, and C, or named them after their locations, such as the eastern and western districts...

In the words of those academy students, what did a Training Ground need a name for? Only those women from Still Water Martial Arts Academy would come up with such flashy names.

When Lin Chen arrived at the First Dew Training Ground, quite a few female students had already gathered there. A single glance revealed more than thirty of them. Judging from their peach-blossom-red cheeks, most had yet to enter the Aperture Opening Realm.

After giving the group a rough look, his attention was drawn to several female students at the very front of the Training Ground. It was not because they were especially beautiful, but because their faces lacked any flush. That meant their qi and blood had already withdrawn inward and that they had reached the Aperture Opening Realm.

After thinking it over, Lin Chen ultimately stood at the very front as well.

It was not that he did not want to keep a low profile. He simply had no way to. Even if he stood at the very back, he would still be the most eye-catching person there. Who could blame him when he was the only male student present?

Lin Chen's move to the front also aroused the curiosity of the three female students beside him. They all turned to look at him.

"Junior Brother Lin Chen pays his respects to the three Senior Sisters." Lin Chen took the initiative to speak, revealing his most sincere smile.

"So you're the legendary male student of our academy." The tallest of the three female students sized Lin Chen up without the slightest restraint. "Not bad. You're much better-looking than those roughnecks from the Iron Blood Martial Arts Academy next door."

"Junior Brother Lin, you're a little dark, but that's nothing. I have rouge here—top-grade Golden Swallow Powder from the Golden Swallow Shop. I can lend it to you. I guarantee it'll make your skin fair and tender."

Lin Chen: ...

Were all the female students this familiar with people right from the start?

Wasn't it normal for a man to be a little dark and rough?

And how had he suddenly become the academy's legendary male student?

The word "legendary" was usually reserved for the protagonists of gossip. It seemed he had no gossip surrounding him.

"Thank you, Senior Sister, but Junior Brother thinks I'm fine as I am. There's no need to change." Lin Chen tactfully refused.

"Stop teasing Junior Brother Lin. Junior Brother Lin, my name is Li Xue. I've opened three apertures. This is Junior Sister Fang, who has also opened three, and although Junior Sister Xiao has only opened two, she'll have no trouble reaching three this month. What realm are you currently in, Junior Brother Lin?"

At the academy, strength determined seniority. Li Xue was clearly the strongest of the three. Once she said this, the other two stopped teasing Lin Chen.

"Junior Brother was lucky enough to break through to two apertures yesterday. I can't compare with the Senior Sisters."

Lin Chen felt rather helpless. He suddenly understood something: the new female disciples of Still Water Martial Arts Academy, especially those in the Aperture Opening Realm, might have a higher overall quality than those of the other academies.

He had just figured out why!

No matter how enlightened the customs of this world were, after spending more than a year interacting with the villagers, Lin Chen knew that the preference for boys over girls still existed.

That was true in the villages, and the county town would not be much different.

Under such circumstances, any family that could still raise a girl to study martial arts was absolutely no ordinary household.

Before raising a girl, they had certainly already raised the boys in the family—and still had money left over...

Take his own family, for example. If he had not fallen out with his grandfather, then besides supporting Lin Ming in martial arts, if it came down to his younger cousin Xi Xi and himself, his grandfather would definitely have supported him in studying martial arts. For Xi Xi to study martial arts as well, there would have been only one possibility: the family had enough money to support every grandson in learning martial arts with some left over.

These were not Senior Sisters. They were all rich, beautiful young ladies!

Of course, it was also possible that their parents truly doted on their daughters, or that the family really had no sons. But in Lin Chen's view, those possibilities were more likely among the Junior Sisters behind them who had yet to enter the Aperture Opening Realm.

When they heard that Lin Chen had only just opened two apertures, surprise appeared in the beautiful eyes of Li Xue and the other two. Opening only two was normal enough, but the fact that he had opened them only yesterday was rather unexpected.

They had originally assumed that the academy had made an exception to accept Junior Brother Lin because his potential was exceptionally high. Now, however, it seemed there was more to the matter.

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

Lin Chen was not embarrassed. His family background and realm could not be hidden. Anyone who made an effort to ask around would not consider them secrets, let alone in a place like Still Water Martial Arts Academy, where female disciples were everywhere.

Just as the few of them fell silent, several figures appeared at the entrance of the Training Ground—five figures in all. When they saw the five newcomers, five female students came over together, heading straight for the front of the Training Ground.

"The one at the very front should be Senior Sister Jiang Qing, right? She had already opened five apertures when she entered the academy yesterday. Her realm on the day of enrollment is the highest the academy has seen in nearly twenty years."

Li Xue spoke softly, her voice filled with envy. Upon hearing this, Lin Chen also turned his gaze toward the woman leading the group.

She wore a simple training outfit, and her jet-black hair was casually tied behind her head. A few loose strands swayed lightly in the breeze, giving her a neat, capable air without taking away from her innocent playfulness.

Jiang Qing did not care about the students' reactions. She had long since grown used to them. Her beautiful eyes swept across the entire field, but when her gaze passed over Lin Chen, it paused for an instant before she continued straight toward the front.

Lin Chen did not flatter himself by thinking that the brief pause in her gaze meant she had taken a liking to him. It was purely because he was a man, which had surprised Senior Sister Jiang.

Not long after Jiang Qing and the others arrived, Kong Yinglei and another female instructor appeared in the corridor on the opposite side of the Training Ground.

The students present also quieted down and looked toward the two women.

The students who had yet to enter the Aperture Opening Realm knew only Instructor Shen, the instructor who had examined them when they enrolled. As for Kong Yinglei, these female students did not know her.

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

Five apertures!

Still Water Martial Arts Academy had struck gold. She wondered where Senior Sister Disciple had dug up such a treasure.

She had originally thought that Senior Sister Disciple had gone to the prefectural city to seek a method of breaking through into the Grade Realm. She had never expected Senior Sister Disciple to return and give her such a tremendous surprise.

A new student with five opened apertures would be joining the academy.

Although this meant that the academy's final slot for an Aperture Opening Pill would go to waste, compared with a student who had opened five apertures, the resources gained by trading away an Aperture Opening Pill were not worth a fart.

As Deputy Hall Master, she had appeared specifically for Jiang Qing. She had also volunteered to Senior Sister Disciple that she would personally lead this new batch of students in the Aperture Opening Realm.

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

Kong Yinglei's gaze swept over the Aperture Opening Realm students at the front one by one. The smile on her face was almost impossible to conceal—until her gaze reached the last one...

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

"Two." Lin Chen answered calmly as well.

"Not bad. That's a little faster than I expected."

When Jiang Qing and the others heard the exchange between Kong Yinglei and Lin Chen, they once again turned their gazes toward him.

Two apertures was clearly the worst result. So why did Deputy Hall Master Kong seem satisfied?

Kong Yinglei also saw the confusion on Jiang Qing and the others' faces, but she did not explain. After personally witnessing Lin Chen open an aperture in only half an hour, she was certain that he had truly refined Essence Energy for just twenty taels of silver.

His family circumstances were genuine, and so were his expenses.

Given Lin Chen's family background, being able to open a second aperture by now was already quite good.

Fu Jingya and Gu Qingqing, who had opened four apertures, had refined Essence Energy early on and had also come to the academy early to take the Aperture Opening Pill. Of the students who had come from the town during the final month, most had currently opened two apertures.

The fact that Lin Chen had not fallen behind had already surprised her.

After sweeping her gaze over the ten students, Kong Yinglei withdrew it.

The female disciples in the back row saw that Kong Yinglei's gaze had not landed on them even once from beginning to end. Disappointment appeared on their faces.

Were they really so unimportant?

"In martial arts, strength comes first. The academy is no different!"

At that moment, Kong Yinglei suddenly let out a thunderous shout. Her sharp gaze swept across the field, and not a single person present dared meet her eyes.

"I know many of you feel that the academy looks down too much on students who have merely refined Essence Energy. What I, the Deputy Hall Master, am telling you is that this isn't something you merely feel. It's the truth!"

Lin Chen's mouth fell slightly open. He could not imagine how such a gentle, goose-egg-shaped face had managed to utter such icy words.

That was vicious!

"I'm not your mother, and the academy isn't your home. If you want the academy's support and resources, there's only one way to get them: strength."

"I'll give you three months. If you can't open an aperture within three months, then that's as far as you'll go in martial arts. I advise you to give up now, leave the academy early, find someone to marry, and go home to manage the household and raise children."

Every one of Kong Yinglei's words landed like a heavy hammer in the ears of these students who had only refined Essence Energy. Lin Chen could already see the faces of several female students turning pale.

"You ten, come with me." Kong Yinglei's gaze returned to the ten students around Lin Chen, and her smile reappeared.

The stark change in her expression made Lin Chen sigh inwardly. Among those Qi Refining students, Hall Master Kong was probably the great villain in their hearts.

"Junior Sister Shen, I'll leave these students to you."

"Understood, Senior Sister. Rest assured."

Hearing the exchange between Deputy Hall Master Kong and the instructor, then looking at the female students with their grim expressions, Lin Chen immediately understood.

So this was a two-person act!

Deputy Hall Master Kong was playing the villain, laying the academy's cruelty bare. In a moment, Instructor Shen would surely play the hero, encouraging and cheering these students on, stirring up their competitive spirit.

As for those who were truly crushed by Deputy Hall Master Kong and never recovered, then all he could say was that Deputy Hall Master Kong had been right. They truly were unsuited to continue down the martial path. They would be better off returning home to manage the household and raise children.