Four Gather, Martial Garden Struggle

"Sister Jiang!"

At the Martial Arts Hall cafeteria, for the first time after finishing his meal, Lin Chen didn't head straight back to his dorm. Instead, he waited for a while. When he saw Jiang Qing walk out of the cafeteria, he smiled and walked over.

"Brother Lin... is something wrong?"

Seeing Lin Chen, Jiang Qing wasn't the cold type, and she didn't hide the surprise on her face.

"Sister Jiang, I haven't used the Grade A Student quota the Martial Arts Hall gave me yet. I was wondering if Sister Jiang is interested. If so, I can use my quota to buy resources on your behalf."

Lin Chen didn't beat around the bush and directly stated his purpose. If this Sister Jiang wasn't interested, he would look for other senior sisters. Failing that, selling to the junior sisters would also work.

Her beautiful eyes blinked a few times, but Jiang Qing didn't reply.

"If Sister Jiang doesn't need it, then please excuse me for bothering you."

Seeing her indifferent, Lin Chen didn't waste time and prepared to find his next target.

"Alright."

Just as Lin Chen was about to turn around, Jiang Qing's clear voice came through. Lin Chen turned back, looking startled.

"Then please trouble Brother Lin to help me order ten catties of Gray-Winged Gull meat from the cafeteria."

Gray-Winged Gull?

Lin Chen remembered the book written by that wealthy senior sister he saw in the Martial Arts Pavilion. It mentioned the Gray-Winged Gull, which was a relatively rare poultry meat, priced at five taels per catty in the Martial Arts Hall.

However, according to that senior sister, the cost-effectiveness of Gray-Winged Gull was not as good as Abdomen Brocade Chicken. Before reaching the Ten Apertures, consuming Abdomen Brocade Chicken was much more cost-effective than Gray-Winged Gull.

"Sister, aren't you buying Abdomen Brocade Chicken? It seems Abdomen Brocade Chicken would be more cost-effective." Lin Chen kindly reminded her.

"After eating Abdomen Brocade Chicken, there will be extra fat on the abdomen, which I don't like."

Jiang Qing answered very straightforwardly. Lin Chen's mouth twitched. This reason was too powerful, so powerful that he couldn't refute it.

After all, Sister Jiang was a woman. If there was extra fat on her abdomen, it would indeed look bad.

What a rich woman! She didn't care about spending a little extra money.

"This junior understands, Sister Jiang, please wait a moment."

Lin Chen turned and entered the cafeteria, showing his Martial Arts Hall identity plaque. The upper left corner of a Grade A Student's identity plaque had the character '甲' (Jia - A grade) carved on it.

He paid twenty taels of silver notes and five taels of silver and got the meat ticket for ten catties of Gray-Winged Gull.

"Sister Jiang, here is the meat ticket for the Gray-Winged Gull."

Lin Chen handed over the meat ticket, and a silver note also appeared in Jiang Qing's hand.

A silver note with a denomination of fifty taels.

It was the first time Lin Chen had seen a green bill, a silver note with such a large denomination.

"Sister Jiang?"

After seeing the denomination clearly, Lin Chen didn't reach out to take it, but looked puzzled. If Sister Jiang gave him a fifty-tael silver note, wouldn't she save any money at all?

He had originally thought that twenty taels from Sister Jiang would be enough. Sister Jiang would save five taels, and he would earn twenty taels.

"A few taels of silver don't matter to me."

As if seeing Lin Chen's confusion, Jiang Qing explained directly.

Lin Chen understood. Sister Jiang wasn't showing off or looking down on him; she was just stating a fact.

He wasn't one to be easily offended. Since Sister Jiang was so wealthy, there was no need to be overly polite with a rich woman.

"Thank you, Sister."

Taking the silver note, Lin Chen expressed his thanks.

"Mm, you can come find me again next month."

Leaving that sentence, Jiang Qing left very gracefully.

"Sister Jiang is a good person, may good people have peace throughout their lives. This junior wishes Sister Jiang a smooth journey in the martial arts."

Lin Chen watched Jiang Qing's retreating figure and silently offered his blessings.

With Sister Jiang's words, he would essentially have an income of twenty-five taels of silver each month. A bottle of Nourishing Aperture Pills cost thirty taels. As long as he could find a way to earn five taels of silver each month, he could maintain his martial arts progress.

Although he was at the bottom of the pack, at least he wouldn't be completely left behind.

Putting away the silver note, Lin Chen didn't return to his dorm this time but walked towards the outside of the Martial Arts Hall.

In the first month of the year, he, Zhao Jingchuan, and the other two had agreed to meet once a month in the city after entering the Martial Arts Hall.

Yesterday, Zhao Jingchuan had left a message with the doorman, and they had agreed to meet today.

Cloud Concealment Martial Arts Hall!

Lin Chen hadn't even reached the main gate of the Martial Arts Hall when a voice came from his front left: "Brother Lin, over here!"

Following the sound, in front of the Cloud Concealment Martial Arts Hall, in a tea shop near the corner, Zhao Jingchuan and the other two were sitting there.

"Sorry, I'm a little late."

"Brother Lin is too polite, I just got here myself." Cheng Ying replied with a smile. The Seven Stars Martial Arts Academy he joined was the farthest from the Cloud Concealment Martial Arts Hall, almost across half the county.

"Since Brother Lin is here, let's go somewhere else to talk. I know a good place for us martial artists in the county."

"Could Brother Zhao be talking about the Martial Garden?" Lu Yongfeng guessed.

"Yes, the Martial Garden."

Zhao Jingchuan nodded. Although Lin Chen was a little confused, seeing the excitement in Lu Yongfeng and Cheng Ying's eyes piqued his curiosity about this Martial Garden.

"We're here, this is the Martial Garden."

In the northern part of Poyang County, after passing through a quiet path lined with lush trees, the four of them arrived at the entrance of a garden.

"Is this the Martial Garden?"

Looking at the entrance of the Martial Garden in front of him, Lin Chen was a little surprised. The gate of this Martial Garden was even more imposing than the gates of the major martial arts halls.

In front of the gate, a pair of stone lions carved with dragons and phoenixes stood majestically, their eyes sharp and piercing, making ordinary people feel intimidated.

Above the gate, a black plaque with gold trim hung high, with the words "Martial Garden" inscribed on it. The calligraphy was vigorous and powerful, conveying an unspoken sense of solemnity and dignity.

On the way here, Lin Chen had already learned from Zhao Jingchuan what the Martial Garden was.

It was a place for all martial artists in Poyang County to interact.

However, not just any martial arts practitioner could enter the Martial Garden. To enter, the minimum requirement was the Aperture Opening Realm.

In the Martial Garden, martial artists could exchange insights on martial arts and also conduct resource transactions.

There were no guards at the Martial Garden gate, because no one foolish enough would dare to enter casually.

Zhao Jingchuan led the way, taking Lin Chen and the other two into the Martial Garden. After walking through a small path paved with bluestone slabs, they finally arrived at a small courtyard.

Although the courtyard was small, it had rockeries and flowing water, as well as a small training ground with all sorts of weapons like swords, spears, axes, and hooks.

"Young Master Zhao."

In the courtyard, a young woman gracefully walked over, bowing deeply before them, her white gauze veil half-concealing the fullness of her chest.

"Miss Wan'er, I don't need anyone to serve me," Zhao Jingchuan said with a smile.

"Okay, then I'll inform the servants not to disturb you unless called," the woman said softly. After taking a few steps back, she turned and left.

"Brother Zhao, you're impressive! You even have a courtyard in the Martial Garden. I heard from a senior in the martial arts hall that only Organ Refining experts are qualified to have a courtyard in the Martial Garden."

After the woman's figure disappeared, Cheng Ying looked at Zhao Jingchuan with a shocked expression.

"How could I get a courtyard? To be honest, this belongs to an elder in my family. After signing up for the martial arts hall, my father took me to visit him, and this elder met me here at that time. That elder is leaving the county for a while and allowed me to use this courtyard."

Zhao Jingchuan briefly explained. Lin Chen and the others didn't press for details about who the elder was.

Who doesn't have a more capable relative in their family?

Everyone has their own secrets and connections, and this didn't conflict with the four of them sticking together to learn martial arts.

"Let's do the same as before, the four of us will spar first."

Lu Yongfeng looked at Lin Chen, his eyes burning with fervor. For him, defeating Lin Chen was an important motivation for advancing on his martial arts path.

It wasn't jealousy or hatred, but purely a belief in competition and not giving up.

"It seems Brother Lu is very confident, then let's go."

Lin Chen smiled. All four of them were in the Second Aperture realm, with little difference in strength.

To open an aperture within a month in the martial arts hall, they would need at least two bottles of Nourishing Aperture Pills. Although Lu Yongfeng and the other two came from good families in the town, spending over seventy taels each month was somewhat unrealistic.

One bottle of Nourishing Aperture Pills a month was the support their families could give them. If they wanted more resources, they would have to seek them out themselves.

"Brother Lin, be careful!"

Lu Yongfeng's eyes were filled with confidence. After a greeting, he moved his steps. With just one step, he was already in front of Lin Chen.

The flexibility of the Seven Stars Fist was not just in its moves, but also in its footwork coordination.

Lin Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. Lu Yongfeng was improving very quickly. His Seven Stars Fist must have reached the proficient stage. It seemed Lu Yongfeng had been practicing hard every day for the past twenty days.

However, he had encountered him.

He struck out with his right hand. With a defensive speed, Lin Chen's palm accurately struck the back of Lu Yongfeng's fist.

Slap!

The crisp sound of the palm strike stunned Lu Yongfeng. His right hand dropped, and he didn't strike again, just standing there in a daze.

"What's wrong with Brother Lu?"

Zhao Jingchuan and Cheng Ying were confused. Even if he was at a disadvantage in the first move, Brother Lu shouldn't just stop, should he?

On the scene, only Lu Yongfeng knew clearly why he stopped.

Lin Chen's palm strike on the back of his hand was not only extremely accurate in its position, but the force within his palm surged into his fist like water waves, forcing the power he had gathered on the surface of his fist to retreat slightly.

His strength was cut off. In a life-or-death fight, this meant he had lost the initiative and would have already been defeated.

"Brother Lin, has your Clear Wind Palm reached the 'Proficient' level?"

Three seconds later, Lu Yongfeng voiced a guess he found hard to believe.

Zhao Jingchuan and Cheng Ying, standing nearby, widened their eyes as well. What was going on?

What nonsense was Senior Brother Lu spouting?

Senior Brother Lin's Clear Wind Palm had reached the 'Proficient' level?

They would sooner believe Senior Brother Lin had already opened four apertures than believe that.

"Not yet," Lin Chen replied calmly.

"I concede."

Lu Yongfeng gave Lin Chen a deep look. He understood in his heart that while Senior Brother Lin said 'not yet', it was probably very close.

PS: Brothers, today the recommendation traffic didn't arrive. It's a bit risky competing for next week's Sanjiang. If you have monthly votes, could you please cast one for Jiudeng? Right now, we can only rely on getting on the new book list to gain exposure and attract more readers, increasing the number of continuous readers.

If we're still far off, Jiudeng won't bother anymore and will just wait. But the editor said we're only short by one or two hundred paying readers following along. Let's give it a shot, please!