Chapter 11: Small Opening Isn

In the back courtyard, at Yu Jiaoxi’s residence.

After Lin Chen entered, he found Yu Jiaoxi staring at him, making him feel uneasy.

Do I have flowers on my face?

After a long silence, Yu Yongnian finally spoke: “Have you privately taken any herbs to replenish blood and qi?”

“Disciple has never taken any.” Lin Chen answered immediately.

Before lifting the four-hundred-jin stone platform, he had already considered whether showing such strength would raise suspicion.

After all, no one—not even Lu Yongfeng and the others—could increase their strength to four hundred jin in such a short time.

The best explanation would be that he had consumed some rare medicinal herbs.

But this thought lasted only an instant before he rejected it outright.

Rapidly increasing strength to four hundred jin might shock people, but in the end, it was still only four hundred jin—ranked tenth in the martial hall, let alone that Lu Yongfeng and the others had already surpassed five hundred jin and were pushing toward six hundred jin to cultivate essence.

He couldn’t even match Lu Yongfeng and the others, let alone the noble youths of the county.

It was like a child who’d never attended kindergarten suddenly ranking top in first-grade exams—surprising, yes, but upper-grade students wouldn’t care at all.

Small opening isn’t opening; this little boost of mine doesn’t even count as a cheat!

Rather than hiding his talent, he should showcase it.

From this official notice issued by the Wuzhengsuo, it’s clear the government still takes young martial cultivators seriously—the higher the talent, the more resources one can obtain.

To go far on the martial path, merely having the [Water Flows Naturally] destiny pattern isn’t enough—he needs martial resources.

He couldn’t possibly keep leaping forward by eating a few jin of beef every day.

That’s unrealistic!

Yu Yongnian stared at Lin Chen for a moment, then looked away—he believed Lin Chen wasn’t lying, and such rapid blood-qi replenishing herbs weren’t easily obtained.

Lin Chen’s family had neither the connections nor the silver to acquire them.

“Master Yu, could I possibly be a martial genius?”

Seeing the instructor remain silent, Lin Chen timidly boasted.

“Martial genius?” Yu Yongnian scoffed: “You’ve got bold dreams. Where do so many martial geniuses come from? Those so-called geniuses are all forged at enormous cost.”

Those martial geniuses bathed in medicinal herbs from childhood, ate only poultry rich in blood-qi nourishment—their expenses were so high that even a few noble families in Poyang County couldn’t afford them.

“But what about Jiang Ju Ren from our village? Isn’t he a martial genius?”

Lin Chen recalled the memories of the original body—he’d thought upon first hearing of Jiang Ju Ren’s deeds that he might also be a reincarnator, wielding the genius protagonist template.

He cultivated essence in three months after entering the martial hall, later joined a martial academy; villagers knew little of his time there, but he won first place in the county competition a year later, then first in the prefectural exam, and finally fourth in the Jiangnan Circuit martial examination, becoming a Ju Ren.

“Before Jiang Da Ren took up martial arts, he had a great stroke of fortune—he cannot be judged by ordinary standards.”

Regarding Jiang Da Ren, the entire Poyang County only knew his legendary martial feats; because of his wife, Yu Yongnian knew some behind-the-scenes details.

“Even if a few students absorb blood-qi slightly better than others, the gap remains limited—enough silver can close it; there’s no cliff-like disparity. In such cases, wealth naturally matters more.”

Lin Chen’s expression darkened: “Master, does that mean those of humble origins can’t rise in martial cultivation?”

“Mm.”

That single “mm” from Yu Yongnian made Lin Chen’s face turn grim.

Seeing Lin Chen’s gloomy expression, Yu Yongnian said sternly: “For students of ordinary means, to go far on the martial path, you must seize every opportunity—and this notice from the Wuzhengsuo is one such opportunity for you.”

“The Taizu Emperor held martial arts in the highest regard; upon founding the state, he established the policy of strengthening the nation through martial arts, creating the Wuzhengtai and its subordinate Wudao Ting, Wudao Si, and Wudao Suo, all dedicated to cultivating martial students across the land.”

“The Qi-Nourishing Soup in the martial hall costs one hundred wen per dose—seems expensive, but outside, the same effect costs two hundred wen. The grain you bring is unhusked rice; after husking and polishing, you lose thirty percent, yet the martial hall still exchanges it for white rice at full weight.”

“These are benefits only students in the martial hall receive—once you leave, you’ll never get them again.”

Hearing this, Lin Chen’s pupils contracted—he knew about the grain-to-rice exchange rate, but he hadn’t realized the Qi-Nourishing Soup cost more outside.

“Many students fail to cultivate essence within the martial hall; afterward, it becomes nearly impossible to do so—even if they eventually cultivate essence, they struggle to reach the next realm, because outside the hall, martial training expenses become unbearable.”

Lin Chen understood the instructor’s meaning.

Training expenses in the martial hall are the lowest—if even that’s unaffordable for one’s family, leaving the hall would be far worse.

“Do you know why Lu Yongfeng and the others are desperately striving to cultivate essence within a year?”

Yu Yongnian changed the subject; Lin Chen asked curiously: “Master, is there more to it than just tuition exemption?”

“You’ve guessed correctly.” Yu Yongnian nodded: “Students who cultivate essence within a year have a chance to receive the Opening Meridian Pill.”

Seeing Lin Chen’s puzzled expression, Yu Yongnian realized his student knew little about martial cultivation.

“In the early martial stages, body refinement is divided into two and a half realms: Qi Refining, Opening Meridians, and Organ Cultivation. Qi Refining counts as half a realm because once you cultivate essence, you can take the Opening Meridian Pill to directly open your meridians and enter the Opening Meridians realm.”

“The Opening Meridian Pill is a unique elixir of the Wuzheng Office—extremely precious. Normally, after cultivating essence, it takes at least half a year to open your meridians; you save not just silver, but also half a year of time—time that’s extremely valuable.”

The last sentence carried deep meaning: in a decades-long martial career, half a year meant little—but in a martial academy, those extra six months often determined how far one could go on the martial path!

Lin Chen’s eyes lit up—he’d always thought Lu Yongfeng and the others were just trying to avoid tuition and gain the vanity of getting ahead, spending too much silver for too little reason.

Now, after hearing Master Yu, it all made sense—they were all after the Opening Meridian Pill.

“Master, you said there’s a chance to get the Opening Meridian Pill—how likely is it?”

“The Wuzheng Office allocates ten Opening Meridian Pill slots per year to each of the eight martial academies, rewarding students who cultivate essence within a year. Normally, around seventy students in Poyang County achieve this annually; as long as you don’t stubbornly join a martial academy that’s already full, you’ll get the pill.”

“But occasionally, student numbers exceed eighty—this happens once every seven or eight years.”

Lin Chen now understood: under normal circumstances, cultivating essence within a year guaranteed the Opening Meridian Pill; only in the rare case of over eighty students would a few unlucky ones miss out.

“For you, right now, don’t think about the Opening Meridian Pill—focus on seizing this opportunity. Use the Wuzhengsuo’s reward to accelerate your strength growth. Even if you can’t cultivate essence within a year, later at a martial academy you can still pursue other rewards—martial academies offer far more student incentives than the martial hall.”

Seeing Lin Chen lost in thought, Yu Yongnian feared he was reaching too high—the Opening Meridian Pill wasn’t something Lin Chen should be thinking about yet.

“Disciple understands the priority is securing the reward.”

Lin Chen nodded firmly—he understood the instructor’s meaning: stay grounded, focus first on the Wuzhengsuo’s reward.

He was confident he could earn the three-silver-tael reward for gaining fifty jin of strength in a month.

He’d previously hesitated whether to aim for one hundred jin.

After all, he could save silver and stretch it out—but now that he knew the benefits of cultivating essence within a year, he’d made his decision: he must earn the one-hundred-jin reward.

With the [Water Flows Naturally] destiny pattern, he wasn’t without a chance to strive for cultivating essence within a year.

“To pursue the Wuzhengsuo’s reward, you must quit your job at the mess hall right away.” Yu Yongnian suddenly spoke.

Lin Chen paused for only an instant, then nodded slightly: “Disciple will go to Master Zhang and resign from his duties.”

“Do you understand why I told you to quit your mess hall job?”

“Disciple understands. If I continue working at the mess hall while taking Qi-Nourishing Soup, enjoying free meals while buying medicine, other students will gossip.”

He’d realized this the moment the instructor told him to quit.

Buying Qi-Nourishing Soup while still working at the mess hall was like driving a luxury carriage while collecting welfare—it invited hatred.

Lin Chen thought he was buying Qi-Nourishing Soup to push for a hundred-jin strength gain; Yu Yongnian assumed Lin Chen was aiming for fifty jin and needed the soup, making it unsuitable for him to remain at the mess hall.

“Go.”

“Disciple takes leave.”

Watching Lin Chen walk away with renewed confidence, Yu Yongnian recalled how, three months ago, the boy had timidly asked him for a work-study opportunity.

Strong youth, mighty spirit!

“When the great roc rises with the wind, it soars nine thousand miles—let me see how far you’ll go with this tailwind.”

(End of Chapter)