Still Water Martial Arts Academy's rear courtyard.
Zeng Qingyao rubbed the horizontal saber in her hand, remaining silent.
"Senior Sister Disciple, you should at least say something. Can this be done or not?"
Kong Yinglei could no longer hold back as she watched Senior Sister Disciple remain silent. She wanted Lin Chen to join the academy, so she had come to Senior Sister Disciple after leaving the Training Ground to explain her intentions.
"If you won't step in, Senior Sister Disciple, then I'll go find Clearwind Martial Arts Hall."
"How are you planning to explain it to Clearwind Martial Arts Hall?" Zeng Qingyao shifted her gaze from the horizontal saber in her hand and asked.
"I'll just say that Lin Chen chose to join our Still Water Martial Arts Academy. What else is there to say?" Kong Yinglei asked in confusion. Clearwind Martial Arts Hall clearly did not care about Lin Chen. Perhaps they were even eager for this to happen.
"That fellow Qi He isn't very strong in martial arts, but he's extremely shrewd. Believe me, if you go and say that, Qi He will refuse you outright. He might even tell you that Clearwind Martial Arts Hall thinks highly of Lin Chen, and that was why they accepted him into the academy despite having no quota available."
Kong Yinglei was stunned, somewhat unable to believe it. "Senior Sister, that can't be, can it?"
"Why not?" Zeng Qingyao gave a cold snort. "Qi He is naturally suspicious. He won't think you're cherishing a talent. He'll only think there must be another reason."
"Then explain everything clearly to Qi He."
Kong Yinglei was unwilling to accept this. If Lin Chen stayed at Clearwind Martial Arts Hall, they definitely would not value him. Forget about Lin Chen having trained Clear Wind Palm to the proficient stage—even if he reached mastery, it would be the same.
Martial arts academies placed greater importance on breakthroughs in realm.
The Aperture Opening Realm had twenty-four apertures. Opening the first ten required only thirty or forty taels each month, but after opening ten apertures, the difficulty increased, placing extremely high demands on a student's financial resources.
Clearwind Martial Arts Hall would not give Lin Chen special treatment. As the Deputy Hall Master of Still Water Martial Arts Academy, she could offer Lin Chen some assistance within the scope of her authority as long as he joined the academy.
Zeng Qingyao lightly flicked the blade with her finger, and the saber rang out with a crisp clang.
"Junior Sister, have you ever considered this? Can relying on diligent practice alone really allow someone to train Clear Wind Palm to the proficient stage in less than a month?"
Faced with her Senior Sister Disciple's question, Kong Yinglei froze. She truly had not thought deeply about it.
"Jiang Qing was able to train Water Cloud Palm to the proficient stage in such a short time because she was highly compatible with Water Cloud Palm. Otherwise, Jiang Qing wouldn't have joined our Still Water Martial Arts Academy in the end. Reasoning backward from that, could Lin Chen also be highly compatible with Clear Wind Palm?"
Seeing her junior sister freeze, Zeng Qingyao knew she had also understood the crucial point.
In just one short month, could someone really cross the distance from beginner to proficient through diligent practice alone?
"Senior Sister, you mean that Lin Chen has a very high compatibility with Clear Wind Palm, so he is better suited to staying at Clearwind Martial Arts Hall."
"It isn't what I mean. The question is whether this is actually the truth."
Kong Yinglei curled her lips. From her senior sister's analysis, she had to admit that this was probably the truth.
There was such a thing as Martial Arts Comprehension, but it was far too ethereal. It was not certain that a genius like that would appear even once in over a decade. She did not think Lin Chen was the so-called genius of Martial Arts Comprehension.
The reason some students could surpass others in their progress with a technique was mostly because they had a higher compatibility with that technique.
If Lin Chen practiced Water Cloud Palm, then even if he practiced for eight hours every day, he still would not reach the proficient stage.
"Set Lin Chen's matter aside for now. Since you cherish his talent, giving him Grade A Treatment is already enough. However, Clearwind Martial Arts Hall still has to pay the money. Our Still Water Martial Arts Academy can't possibly train Clearwind Martial Arts Hall's disciple for free."
"That goes without saying. Clearwind Martial Arts Hall won't contribute anything? Where in the world is there such a wonderful deal?" Kong Yinglei said fiercely.
Martial Arts Pavilion.
"Every Grade A Student receives a fifty-percent discount when purchasing any resources from the academy besides Nourishing Aperture Pills, but the amount must not exceed fifty taels each month."
After learning about the treatment enjoyed by Grade A Students from the Instructor Li before him, Lin Chen was shocked as well.
Grade A Students received a fifty-percent discount when purchasing resources from the academy!
If they bought fifty taels' worth of martial arts resources from the academy, they only needed to spend twenty-five taels in the end.
This benefit was exceedingly generous.
Unfortunately, he could not scrape together fifty taels even if he turned himself upside down.
The benefit was excellent, but he had no use for it.
He was saving his money to buy Nourishing Aperture Pills, and Nourishing Aperture Pills were not included in the discount.
"May I ask Instructor Li, are there any rules regarding the use of these fifty taels?"
After confirming that he could not spend all fifty taels himself, Lin Chen had the idea of purchasing goods on behalf of others. But first, he needed to confirm the academy's rules and whether students were allowed to do so.
Instructor Li looked somewhat puzzled. She did not understand what Lin Chen meant.
More accurately, she had not reacted yet. In every previous batch, the students who obtained Grade A Treatment had never asked such a question.
Grade A Students could not even spend their own fifty-tael monthly quota, so naturally, they would never purchase things for other students.
"There aren't any particular rules, but it has to be calculated from next month onward. You can't enjoy this benefit this month." Instructor Li thought for a moment before replying.
Today was already the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, and the academy's rules had always calculated such benefits starting from the following month.
"Thank you, Instructor. This disciple understands."
It seemed that purchasing goods on behalf of others was allowed. Lin Chen had made up his mind.
Seeing Lin Chen about to leave, Instructor Li called out, "Aren't you going to take the Water Cloud Palm manual?"
Li Shan knew a little about Lin Chen's circumstances as well. As the academy's first male student, Senior Sister Kong had already told all of her junior sisters what had happened at the Martial Arts Administration.
If Lin Chen were merely a nominal student, she naturally would not have mentioned the Water Cloud Palm manual. But since Senior Sister Kong had asked Lin Chen to receive the academy's disciple Identity Token, she probably wanted him to become an official disciple of the academy.
Since that was the case, Lin Chen could practice Water Cloud Palm.
"Can this disciple practice Water Cloud Palm?" Lin Chen asked, somewhat incredulous.
"Take it. You only need to return it within three months."
Li Shan smiled and took a manual from the cabinet below. Lin Chen glanced at it. The cabinet held a thick stack of them, probably all Water Cloud Palm manuals.
After taking the Water Cloud Palm manual, Lin Chen did not rush to use his fifty-tael quota. It would be better to make use of the quota at the end of the month.
The senior sisters who currently had Grade A Treatment probably had not used up fifty taels yet. Even if he were willing to purchase goods for them, they would likely try to drive down the price.
Only when the end of the month arrived, after those senior sisters had spent all fifty taels, would he be able to purchase goods for them in exchange for greater profits.
After eating lunch at the academy, Lin Chen returned to his dormitory.
He had wasted the entire morning, so he could not waste any more time now.
Lin Chen picked up the Water Cloud Palm manual and began flipping through it curiously.
Water Cloud Palm had few moves, only seven in total, but each move contained thirty-two variations.
"First move: Clouds Rise, Dragon Soars. Gather the spirit and calm the breath, like clouds rising for the first time. Move with light footwork, like a dragon swimming through the sky. The palm force flows endlessly, soft yet carrying hardness. When the enemy is strong and I am weak, attack by following the momentum..."
"Second move: Flowing Water Circles Stones. The body turns and flows like water circling stones. The fingers and palm curve slightly, force piercing through the center of the palm. Avoid the solid and strike the empty, changing with agility like water without a fixed form, leaving the enemy unable to predict your moves."
The annotations beside the illustrations left Lin Chen thoroughly shocked.
Was this a martial arts technique?
He still remembered that all the words in the Clear Wind Palm manual combined amounted to no more than the annotations for the first move of Water Cloud Palm.
No wonder Water Cloud Palm was known as the most dazzling of the eight great academies' techniques, as well as the most difficult to train to perfection. Even the wording alone was gorgeous, brimming with profound mystery.
However, Lin Chen did not rush to practice Water Cloud Palm. He was devoting all his energy to Clear Wind Palm at present, and he wanted to train Clear Wind Palm to mastery in the shortest time possible.
The manual of martial arts insights Instructor Yu had given him mentioned that training any technique to the mastery stage would also help with improving one's realm.
Once Clear Wind Palm reached mastery, it would accelerate the circulation of his qi and blood. With the same expenditure, he would open his apertures faster.
The other students did not take this path because training a technique to mastery was no easier than breaking through one's realm. It was better to focus their minds on breaking through their realms and improve their technique proficiency step by step.
"System Panel."
Name: Lin Chen Profession: Martial Artist Realm: Aperture Opening Realm (2/24) Technique: Clear Wind Palm (Proficient: 4/100) Destiny: [When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed]: Martial Arts First Realm, going against the current, advancing step by step, Break Through Like Bamboo, cutting through thorns and brambles. Title: Black Until the End
After taking a look at the System Panel, Lin Chen entered his hardcore training mode.
He practiced during the day and practiced at night.
He trained bitterly day and night!
Ten days later.
Lin Chen discovered many students gathered around the bulletin board outside the cafeteria. Only after approaching did he see that a new announcement had been posted on it.
Jiang Qing: Six Apertures
Fu Jingya: Five Apertures
Gu Qingqing: Five Apertures
The Academy Honor Roll!
The names on it were all new students' latest breakthroughs in Martial Arts Realm.
"Senior Sister Jiang is amazing! She had only opened five apertures when she entered the academy, and she opened another one in such a short time."
"Senior Sister Fu and the others opened another aperture too. They're all amazing."
"I've had Essence Energy for three full months, but I still haven't opened an aperture. I wonder when I'll finally be able to."
"Sigh, those senior sisters have different goals from ours."
Listening to the junior sisters' sighs, Lin Chen withdrew his gaze from the bulletin board and silently returned to his dormitory.
There was nothing to envy. His good fortune lay in the latter half!
Today, he would add another half hour of training.
Twenty-seven days later!
Technique: Clear Wind Palm (Proficient: 90/100)
When Lin Chen struck out with his palm, wisps of wind already stirred through the courtyard.
He withdrew his palm!
Standing in the middle of the courtyard, Lin Chen wore a satisfied expression.
"There is one Nourishing Aperture Pill left. I'll sell the fifty-tael quota first and gather enough money for next month's Nourishing Aperture Pills."
Lin Chen had already considered who to sell the fifty-tael quota to. The most suitable candidate was definitely Senior Sister Jiang.
Someone who had already opened five apertures upon entering the academy was certainly wealthy. Her own fifty-tael quota definitely would not be enough.
P.S. It's a new week! We're currently thirtieth on the New Book Rankings. Can we break into the top ten?
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