Clearwind Martial Arts Hall.
In Qi He's courtyard, besides Chen Chunfeng, Zhao Ce was there as well.
Qi He was the Deputy Hall Master of Clearwind Martial Arts Hall, responsible for handling the hall's daily affairs. Zhao Ce was in charge of recruiting new students, while Chen Chunfeng was an instructor for the new class.
The three had gathered there to discuss Lin Chen's situation.
"Senior Brother Qi, Lin Chen has an extremely high level of comprehension with Clear Wind Palm. Given his talent, he may achieve minor mastery within half a year, and he is highly likely to achieve complete mastery within three years."
Looking at the silent Deputy Hall Master Qi, Chen Chunfeng also voiced his estimate of Lin Chen's progress in martial arts.
"Senior Brother Chen, you were the one who wanted to revoke Lin Chen's Grade A Treatment back then, and now you're also the one who wants to give it to him. You're being so inconsistent..." Zhao Ce said with some displeasure.
"Junior Brother Zhao, back then, we didn't know about Lin Chen's talent with Clear Wind Palm. Now that we do, naturally we have to reassess him." Chen Chunfeng frowned.
"What about Lu Shuyu, then? The martial arts hall has already promised him a spot. If we now tell him that the spot is gone, what will he think?"
Faced with Zhao Ce's question, Chen Chunfeng was also troubled. He gave a bitter smile. "It's precisely because the choice is so difficult that I came to ask Senior Brother Qi to make the decision."
Lu Shuyu had already opened three apertures. Although he was slightly inferior to the four students who had opened five and four apertures, that did not mean Lu Shuyu couldn't open a fourth aperture. It was simply a matter of long-term considerations for his studies at the martial arts hall.
Progress in martial arts was not achieved overnight. Those students who had opened five and four apertures came from excellent families. Even after reaching ten opened apertures, their families would still have enough wealth to support their continued cultivation.
Lu Shuyu's family was somewhat less well-off. They did not dare spend money so lavishly in the early stages, but granting him Grade A Treatment could make up for that difference.
Saving twenty-five taels of silver a month meant more than two hundred taels a year. Adding in the later expenses at the martial arts hall, the treatment of a Grade A Student could save nearly a thousand taels of silver over three years.
Qi He rubbed his fingers over the teacup in his hand without speaking.
"Senior Brother Qi, perhaps we can give both Lin Chen and Lu Shuyu Grade A Treatment." Chen Chunfeng offered his suggestion.
"Senior Brother Chen, are you planning to revoke one of the spots belonging to Shao Hong and the other three?"
"Of course not." Chen Chunfeng shook his head. "What I mean is, whether the Grade A spot goes to Lin Chen or Lu Shuyu, we can privately give the other one equivalent treatment."
"That won't do. This is a ban issued by the Martial Affairs Department. Junior Brother Chen, don't lose your head."
Qi He's expression turned solemn, and he spoke with utmost seriousness. "The strictest rule the Martial Affairs Department imposes on our martial arts halls is that halls are forbidden from rewarding students in any form privately. The Eight Halls Rebellion twenty years ago must never happen again."
An helpless expression appeared on Chen Chunfeng's face. Twenty years ago, during the Eight Halls Rebellion, he had happened to be a student at the martial arts hall. He knew how severe the consequences of that incident had been.
Twenty years ago, the Martial Affairs Department had not imposed very strict restrictions on martial arts halls recruiting students. Aside from the number of Aperture Opening Pills, which remained unchanged, the halls could decide the rest of their recruitment matters themselves.
At that time, Cloud Concealment Martial Arts Hall had come in last in the competition year after year. In order to escape its bottom-ranked position, the newly appointed hall master of Cloud Concealment Martial Arts Hall had privately made promises to students from extremely wealthy families, offering them various forms of martial arts resource support.
The result was obvious. All the students from the wealthiest families in that class were recruited by Cloud Concealment Martial Arts Hall. Faced with more than a thousand taels' worth of martial arts resources, even the children of powerful figures in the city could not resist the temptation.
In that year's competition, Cloud Concealment Martial Arts Hall swept the top three spots and basked in boundless glory.
When the next year's recruitment began, the other martial arts halls learned this trick as well. In order to compete for promising disciples, they even offered conditions such as making all expenses free for three years at the hall.
Every martial arts hall made all kinds of highly attractive promises. The result was that their expenses became enormous, and some halls even spent more than they earned.
The resources provided to students by the martial arts halls, such as various kinds of poultry meat and pills, all had costs. They were not goods that came without expense.
The martial arts halls' income came from students' enrollment fees, as well as a cut of the money students spent purchasing supplies at the halls.
Part of this income had to pay the instructors' salaries. The halls also had to obtain supplies from the Martial Arts Administration at slightly reduced prices. Once they began offering conditions of completely free expenses, or even subsidies, to compete for students, Cloud Concealment Martial Arts Hall was drained dry.
To keep the hall running, the hall master of Cloud Concealment Martial Arts Hall actually raised the prices of supplies in the Martial Hall. Although they were still cheaper than outside, the move nevertheless provoked the students' resentment. Several students went directly to the Martial Affairs Department in Rao Prefecture to lodge complaints.
The Director of the Martial Affairs Department was furious. After a thorough investigation, the head of the Poyang County Martial Arts Administration and the hall master of Cloud Concealment Martial Arts Hall were demoted, stripped of their positions, and sent to the frontier. The hall masters of the other seven martial arts halls also lost their positions.
From then on, the Martial Affairs Department established a rule: when the major martial arts halls recruited students, they had only ten Aperture Opening Pill spots and five Grade A Treatment spots. They were forbidden from privately giving students any further resources.
They were not permitted to provide students with additional subsidies in any form.
If an instructor privately provided financial assistance in the name of taking a fancy to a certain student, when the money was actually advanced by the martial arts hall, then once it was discovered, it would be a serious crime.
This red line was one that not a single martial arts hall dared touch!
Unless the money truly came from the instructor's own pocket. But a single Grade A spot cost nearly a thousand taels of silver over three years—not something everyone could afford.
As Organ Refining Martial Artists, they had once possessed a thousand taels of silver, but martial arts was a bottomless pit for money. By the time they reached this stage, most of their wealth had already been spent. Only martial artists who abandoned the rest of the martial path upon reaching the Organ Refining Realm might be able to save a thousand taels of silver after several years.
"Don't bring up any other methods. The two of you can simply say directly who should receive the Grade A Treatment spot."
Chen Chunfeng hesitated for a moment. "Junior Brother has no objection whether it goes to Lin Chen or Lu Shuyu."
Qi He nodded, then looked toward Zhao Ce. "Junior Brother Zhao, who do you think it should go to?"
"Lu Shuyu!"
Zhao Ce answered immediately without hesitation, then explained, "Senior Brother Qi, Senior Brother Chen, no matter how high Lin Chen's talent with Clear Wind Palm is, what difference does that make? What matters more urgently to us now is the martial arts hall competition. The competition takes place once every three months, and the students' martial arts realms are more important."
"Lin Chen has cultivated Clear Wind Palm to proficiency. Even if he can fight across one aperture and has a chance of winning next month's match, what about the match in the sixth month? Can Lin Chen cultivate Clear Wind Palm to minor mastery in such a short time? By then, the top students of the various martial arts halls will certainly have reached proficiency in their martial arts techniques as well. Once the gap in techniques disappears, Lin Chen's advantage will be gone. Instead, the gap in realms will widen."
Chen Chunfeng frowned slightly and asked, "Junior Brother Zhao, could it be that you bear a grudge because you rejected Lin Chen back then, and Lin Chen later joined our martial arts hall?"
"What do you mean by that, Senior Brother Chen? I wasn't the only one who rejected Lin Chen back then. Senior Brother Qi agreed as well. I have no grudge against Lin Chen. I chose Lu Shuyu because giving Lu Shuyu Grade A Treatment would bring the greatest benefit to the martial arts hall."
Zhao Ce wore an open and forthright expression. Chen Chunfeng sighed and said nothing more.
"Since Junior Brother Chen has no objection and Junior Brother Zhao supports Lu Shuyu, then the Grade A Treatment will go to Lu Shuyu."
Qi He made the final decision. Although he was the Deputy Hall Master, the hall master was wholly focused on breaking through into the ranks of the In-Ranks. Thus, he made the decisions on many matters at the martial arts hall.
Still Water Martial Arts Academy.
"Clearwind Martial Arts Hall revoked Lin Chen's Grade A Treatment?"
Kong Yinglei listened to what her senior sister said, shock appearing on her face. Given Lin Chen's talent with Clear Wind Palm, he was actually not worth a Grade A Treatment spot?
"In previous years, a Grade A spot would naturally have gone to Lin Chen. But this year is different. Qi He is too concerned with personal gain, keeping his eyes fixed on this year's martial arts hall competition. From the perspective of the competition, the speed at which a student's realm improves is far more worthy of cultivation than their comprehension of martial arts techniques."
Zeng Qingyao knew what her junior sister was puzzled about and directly exposed Qi He's motives.
"Did you think Qi He was like you, Junior Sister? Aside from Jiang Qing, you haven't given any other disciples Grade A Treatment."
"Given Fu Jingya and the others' attitudes toward martial arts, they shouldn't have been given Grade A Treatment. Still, their performance this month has been rather good. Next month, I can consider giving them Grade A Treatment."
Kong Yinglei gave a soft snort. Zeng Qingyao merely smiled without speaking. This was precisely what made Still Water Martial Arts Academy special. Since all its disciples were women, even if they came last in the competition, it would not be particularly humiliating.
"Senior Sister, can't Clearwind Martial Arts Hall be flexible and privately compensate a certain student a little?"
"Junior Sister Kong!"
Zeng Qingyao's expression turned stern. "Have you forgotten the Eight Halls Rebellion twenty years ago, as well as the ironclad rules of the Martial Affairs Department?"
"Senior Sister, the Eight Halls Rebellion and the current situation can't be lumped together. Lin Chen truly deserves Grade A Treatment. It's not as if we're making reckless promises to snatch students."
Kong Yinglei did not think there was anything wrong with doing so. Inspector Shu had arranged for Lin Chen to come to Still Water Martial Arts Academy. Giving him an Aperture Opening Pill spot was itself an excellent way to be flexible.
"The Director of the Martial Affairs Department was furious back then, but the matter was nowhere near as simple as you think, Junior Sister. It involved the imperial court's position on martial arts halls."
Seeing the confusion in her junior sister's eyes, Zeng Qingyao felt it necessary to explain the implications clearly. Otherwise, once she entered seclusion, her junior sister might accidentally touch this red line.
"Talented students should naturally receive preferential treatment. That is only right and proper. But how do we determine whether a student is a genius? Does someone like Jiang Qing, who had already opened five apertures upon entering the martial arts hall, count as a genius student?"
"Of course she does." Kong Yinglei nodded without hesitation.
"Jiang Qing counts as a genius. If Still Water Martial Arts Academy gives her a great deal of resources because she is a genius, what about the other students? The martial arts hall's resources are ultimately limited. If the other martial arts halls learn that we're cultivating Jiang Qing, will they also follow suit for the sake of the competition and cultivate their talented students?"
"If that happens, won't most of the martial arts hall's resources be monopolized by one person?"
"More importantly, what if those powerful aristocratic clans use this as an opportunity to spend more money at the beginning, making their family disciples meet the martial arts hall's so-called qualifications for genius?"
"Afterward, if those children of the powerful and influential families enter the martial arts halls and occupy their many resources, won't the martial arts halls become blood pools for the various powerful clans to raise their descendants in?"
Seeing her junior sister's stunned expression, Zeng Qingyao said slowly, word by word, "The martial arts halls exist to select martial arts talents for Great Liang, not to become private gardens where the powerful cultivate their descendants."
"If you want martial arts resources and treatment, that's fine. The Martial Affairs Department has provided a goal: assessment. As long as you pass the assessment, you can receive rewards. This forces even those powerful clans to spend large sums of money, because their children face opponents of comparable background."
"Martial arts flourish throughout Great Liang, and there are martial arts halls everywhere. If the halls relied only on the resources provided by the Martial Affairs Department, they simply couldn't keep operating. Only by establishing assessments and forcing the children of the powerful clans to enter the competition could the winners receive rewards, while the expenses those who lost had invested in the martial arts halls happened to make up for the halls' costs."
"Junior Sister, you only need to remember one thing: assessment results come first, and reward resources come afterward. This is a rule established from top to bottom by the Martial Arts Administration Department, and no one may change it."
"Students first spend money in the Martial Hall to refine their Essence Energy, and only afterward receive the reward of an Aperture Opening Pill. This is the best example of assessment coming first and rewards coming later."
Listening to her senior sister's word-by-word explanation, Kong Yinglei now understood the importance of this red line as well.
The Martial Affairs Department did not look at a student's potential. It only looked at a student's results!
P.S.: This chapter is 3,500 words long. It's confirmed that I won't be able to get onto the Sanjiang recommendation list next week. We may have to compete the week after next. Without recommendations, new readers won't increase, so I'll need everyone's continued readership. Everyone, make sure to keep reading every day! Also, the new-book ranking is now thirteenth. If we break into the top five, there will be another wave of exposure and traffic. Please vote for me with your monthly tickets!
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