Chapter 144

Raozhou Prefecture, Poyang Poyang Wuzhengsuo.

Su Su Lingchuan walked out of the main gate of the Poyang Poyang Wuzhengsuo and got into a carriage.

The smile on his face instantly receded. His confidant in the carriage observed his expression and asked in a low voice: "Has my lord encountered something?"

"The teacher will be leaving Raozhou Prefecture in a few days to head to the Jiangnan Dao Martial Administration Hall."

The confidant was stunned: "Lord Qiu is being promoted; shouldn't my lord be happy?"

"At first, I thought so too, but the teacher instructed me to manage the major martial halls in Poyang County well and not to let any mistakes happen. Looking at the teacher's expression, I fear there is more to this than meets the eye."

Su Su Lingchuan understood his teacher well; there must be some inside story to his teacher's transfer this time, otherwise, the teacher wouldn't have instructed him like this.

And according to his estimation, even if the teacher's cultivation realm had broken through, he should have served in the Raozhou Prefecture Poyang Poyang Wuzhengsuo for another year or two. There was no reason he would be transferred suddenly.

The confidant pondered for a moment, a sharp light flashing in his eyes: "Did Lord Qiu mention who would be serving as the new Chief of the Raozhou Prefecture Poyang Poyang Wuzhengsuo?"

"The teacher didn't mention it." Su Su Lingchuan shook his head. This was another reason for the vigilance in his heart.

The Chief of the Poyang Poyang Wuzhengsuo is related to the important task of educating students in a prefecture. If the Martial Administration Hall hadn't chosen the next Chief, there would be no reason to transfer his teacher.

There was a layer of gloom in the depths of Su Su Lingchuan's eyes. He could only follow what his teacher said and manage his own small plot of land well.

……

……

Special training ground.

Lin Chen came out of the dung pit for the eighth time. The sky had completely darkened, and the other students were all sprawled on the ground.

Lin Chen had suffered eight fainting spells in the iron house, and they hadn't had it easy either. None of them had lasted five breaths. Fortunately, they had the advantage of numbers and had to wait in line, so every time they crawled out of the dung pit, they could delay for half an hour.

By now, each person had only entered the dung pit three times.

"Lin Lin Shixiong, where are you going?" Seeing Lin Chen get up, Shen Ge asked curiously.

"Continue training."

Lin Chen smiled slightly, not mentioning that Senior Zhao had asked him to come over every night. Hearing Lin Chen's words, the gazes of Yu Fei and the other students toward Lin Chen carried a look of being moved.

It's already like this, and Lin Lin Shixiong still wants to train?

"As expected of Lin Lin Shixiong. If it were me, let alone wanting to cultivate now, even entering the iron house earlier would have been a drag—every time I could avoid it, I would."

A student sighed. They had clearly seen Lin Chen enter the iron house throughout the day.

Enter the iron house, faint and get thrown out, enter the dung pit, and then continue to the iron house.

Going back and forth like this, Lin Lin Shixiong hadn't delayed for even a moment.

It was true that the disgusting mucus in the dung pit could restore injuries, but the process was too disgusting, and every time the injuries were restored, the body had to endure the pain of being scorched by flames.

"Even if the body can withstand it, this... the mind can't. Anyway, now whenever I think of entering the dung pit, I have lingering fear. I really don't know how Lin Lin Shixiong persists?"

Injuries can be restored, but the pain endured won't be wiped away; it still remains in the memory. Many students didn't dare to recall it even now; just recalling it made them want to vomit.

"Lin Lin Shixiong can persist because he has always been like this. He is different from us."

Shen Ge spoke, looking at the crowd: "Fellow senior brothers are not from Raozhou Prefecture, so you don't know Lin Lin Shixiong's family background. Does Lin Lin Shixiong Yin know?"

Yin Yin Aosong shook his head: "Not very clear, just heard that Lin Lin Shixiong's family background is average?"

"Not average." Shen Ge shook his head: "It's extremely poor!"

Seeing everyone's gaze, Shen Ge had a look of recollection on his face: "Our Raozhou Prefecture arranged a county competition, and it just so happened that my Yanshan County and Lin Lin Shixiong's Poyang County were grouped together. For this reason, I specifically went to learn about Lin Lin Shixiong."

"Lin Lin Shixiong is just the son of an ordinary fisherman. His father is a fisherman on Poyang Lake, and he grew up in a village by the lake. Before entering the Wu Tang, he had never come into contact with martial arts."

"How is this possible?"

Yu Fei looked incredulous. A fisherman's son, able to reach this step?

"This is a fact, something the entire martial arts circle in Poyang County knows. Because I lost the county competition to Lin Lin Shixiong, I went to learn more details, only to discover that Lin Lin Shixiong's path of martial arts was even more difficult than I imagined."

As the strongest and most talented student in this batch in Yanshan County, having been swept aside by Lin Chen, Shen Ge also had resentment in his heart.

He wasn't a saint, and his mind wasn't broad enough to that extent.

But after he learned about Lin Chen's martial arts path, the resentment in his heart dissipated, replaced by admiration.

"Lin Lin Shixiong, back then in the Wu Tang, couldn't even afford beef. The Poyang County Wu Tang had an assessment: if a student's strength didn't reach two hundred pounds within half a year of entering the Wu Tang, they would be cleared out by the Wu Tang. Lin Lin Shixiong was just barely pressing the six-month timeline when his strength reached two hundred pounds."

Listening to Shen Ge's words, many students had a look of confusion on their faces. The confusion was because the Martial Halls in their prefectures didn't have such regulations.

"Are fellow senior brothers wondering why the Wu Tang would have such regulations and why everyone doesn't know?"

Shen Ge understood what everyone was confused about, because he was also somewhat confused when he investigated this information back then, and only found out the reason after asking the Wu Tang instructor.

"The Wu Tang does indeed have such rules, but given our backgrounds, let alone two hundred pounds of strength in six months, many senior brothers probably had strength exceeding two hundred pounds before even entering the Wu Tang. The Martial Halls we entered—the family backgrounds of other fellow disciples wouldn't be bad either. This rule is like a mere formality, so the instructors naturally wouldn't mention it."

Yu Fei and the others nodded in agreement; it was indeed like that.

In the Martial Halls they entered, for other fellow disciples, two hundred pounds in six months was an easy thing. It was estimated that only students in town Martial Halls would have such worries.

"Lin Lin Shidi Shen, what about Lin Lin Shixiong later?" A youth asked, clearly attracted. Lin Lin Shixiong's strength only reached two hundred pounds in six months; how did he counterattack?

"Later, Lin Lin Shixiong met a good instructor, Yu Yu Jiaoxi Yu Yongnian of the Wu Tang. Yu Yu Jiaoxi Yu gave Lin Chen an opportunity for work-study. Now, every Wu Tang and Wu Tang in Raozhou Prefecture has started promoting this work-study. Lin Lin Shixiong Yin should have heard of it, right?"

Yin Yin Aosong nodded: "Work-study has indeed been heard of. It's for students who don't have enough silver to do some odd jobs in the Wu Tang so they can enjoy the bird meat in the cafeteria."

"That's right, and this is because of Lin Lin Shixiong. Lin Lin Shixiong was the first to do work-study. It is said that back then in the Wu Tang, in order to be able to eat beef, he would serve dishes to other students in the cafeteria, just so he could get a share of the leftover beef that hadn't been sold."

Shen Ge looked at the crowd again: "May I ask fellow senior brothers, if it were you, would you do this?"

Yu Fei and the others were silent, and silence was an answer.

"But Lin Lin Shixiong did it, and it was precisely because he ate the beef that Lin Lin Shixiong soared in his subsequent cultivation—from the bottom at the very beginning to the top of the Wu Tang later, and finally to entering the Poyang County Wu Tang. This explains what? It explains that Lin Lin Shixiong's martial arts talent is very high. If Lin Lin Shixiong's family had enough silver..."

"If Lin Lin Shixiong's family had enough silver, perhaps now he wouldn't just have perfect techniques; he might not be inferior to those senior brothers who are ahead in cultivation realm."

A student took over the words. They were students with perfect techniques, while the other special training ground had those senior brothers who met the genius criteria for cultivation realm, and several even met both cultivation realm and technique criteria.

The last bit of dissatisfaction in the hearts of Yu Fei and his companions toward Lin Chen for beating them up vanished at this point.

"This senior brother is right. With Lin Lin Shixiong's martial arts talent, he could definitely do it. This can be judged from Lin Lin Shixiong's experiences in the Wu Tang and Wu Tang. Speaking of this, Lin Lin Shidi, I'll tell you another anecdote. When Lin Lin Shixiong entered the county Wu Tang, he first entered the Clear Wind Wu Tang..."

By the side of the deep pit, Shen Ge transformed into a fan of Lin Chen, recounting Lin Chen's experiences. The other students listened carefully, while not far away, Xue Yun and his two companions, who had originally intended to call these students back to their dorms, stopped their footsteps, because they were also curious about Lin Chen's experiences.

Being able to faint eight times in one day—no one in their batch had done it, and no one in the previous batch had either.

What kind of past could it be to allow Lin Chen to persist like this?

"Now everyone understands why Lin Lin Shixiong can persist, right? The path he has walked, the suffering he has endured... is not something we can imagine. Borrowing a paragraph written by Lin Lin Shixiong himself, which I learned from our Poyang Poyang Wuzhengsuo Chief..."

【My family was poor, I entered the Wu Tang, and began to learn martial arts.】

【All the students ate meat, only I had not eaten it.】

【Zhang Tao laughed at me and said: Stingy.】

【I smiled and forgot it.】

【Five months passed, fearing insufficient strength, I would be eliminated.】

【I gritted my teeth and bought it. The deliciousness of the taste, the bitterness in my heart, cannot be told to outsiders.】

……

……

In the bamboo forest, after Lin Chen passed through the dense bamboo forest, he saw at a glance a large vat placed in front of the bamboo house.

Under the large vat, firewood was burning vigorously, and a pungent medicinal smell wafted out from the mouth of the vat.

"How many times did you faint today?"

Zhao Zhao Canghu heard the movement and walked out of the house, holding a bowl of black liquid in his hand, asking while pouring the liquid into the vat.

"Eight times."

"Eight times?"

Zhao Zhao Canghu's hand shook. A look of surprise flashed across his old face, which was turned away from Lin Chen, but he quickly returned to normal: "Hmm, not bad."

It was more than just "not bad." Originally, in Zhao Zhao Canghu's heart, Lin Chen being able to persist five times would have been very good.

The bottom line he set for Lin Chen was three times. Exceeding three times meant he was a person of firm willpower.

Eight times...

Is this heart made of iron?

If Lin Chen were a martial artist who had already entered the ranked tier, or a martial artist who had experienced many life-and-death battles, he wouldn't feel surprised.

But as an Open-Acupuncture student who had only stepped onto the path of martial arts for two years, relying on the degree of protection the Great Liang provided for students, having not experienced hardships and life-and-death crises, his willpower was not indestructible, and it was very difficult to persist so many times.

Beyond surprise, Zhao Zhao Canghu was even more delighted. With Lin Chen's willpower being this firm, the possibility of succeeding on this path had increased by a few points.

At the very least, the chance of being able to withstand the first hurdle of tempering the body was now greater.

"I have boiled the medicinal liquid for you. There are many precious medicinal herbs in it, and even monster blood..."

Hearing the words "monster blood," Lin Chen's eyes lit up.

"Don't be happy too soon. If you want to absorb the energy of the medicinal liquid, you have to endure inhuman pain. I'll tell you the truth: many martial arts families can also provide this medicinal liquid to their family descendants, but those who can withstand it are less than one in ten." "This disciple is willing to try."

"Hmm, take off your clothes and step into the vat."

Lin Chen didn't hesitate at all, leaving only a pair of underpants. With a light tap of his foot, he flew onto the large vat. Looking at the scalding, boiling water surface, he frowned, but still let his body fall.

Hiss!

As his figure fell into the vat, Lin Chen instantly bared his teeth and grimaced.

In the scalding heat, there was needle-pricking, hammer-smashing...

The scalding liquid was like countless tiny steel needles, densely pricking into every inch of his skin, followed by countless heavy hammers, smashing fiercely onto his bones one after another.

The pain was bone-drilling. In comparison, the pain of bathing in snake monster blood back at the Poyang Poyang Wuzhengsuo was not worth mentioning.

"Persist, do not circulate the Qi and blood in your body, let go completely..."

Lin Chen's pupils shrank. Without circulating Qi and blood to resist, he feared he wouldn't be able to last even one breath.

Three breaths later, Lin Chen prepared himself mentally, gritted his teeth, and gave up circulating Qi and blood. In an instant, the scalding medicinal liquid caused fine blood beads to suddenly rise on the surface of his skin.

At this moment, Lin Chen only felt his bones shattering, his skin tearing, his blood vessels bursting...

His entire consciousness became blurred...

"Kid, persist, grit your teeth and hold on..."

Zhao Zhao Canghu, who was on the side, was also staring at Lin Chen with burning eyes, his expression changing constantly.

He had lied about one thing: those martial arts families could indeed get monster blood for their descendants to bathe in, but the pain was absolutely not as intense as this medicinal liquid.

Having stayed in the special training ground for eight years, eight students had tried it, but without exception, they all failed because they couldn't persist.

For the past two years, he had also been wondering if this path was truly impassable and if his old friend was wrong.

A youth in the Open-Acupuncture Stage simply couldn't withstand this pain.

"Kid, you are my last hope. Hold on, and the path of martial arts will have a vast world. Even if you don't walk this path, you will have the capital to truly compete with those descendants of martial arts families."

The moment his consciousness became blurred, Lin Chen whispered in his heart.

"Panel."

【Host: Lin Chen】

【Cultivation Realm: Extreme Open-Acupuncture Stage (14/24): (200/300)】

【Qi and Blood: 342,000】 (Expand to view past Qi and blood growth)

【Clear Wind Palm: Broken Limit】

【Iron Bone Art: Perfected】

【Water Cloud Palm: Broken Limit】

【Title: One Black to the End (The situation is not yet decided, we are both dark horses. Wearing this title, in the dark night, martial arts comprehension and perception are improved)】

【Fate: 【Water Flows and the Channel is Formed】: Extreme Martial Way Stage, persevere, progress step by step, unstoppable, no bottleneck troubles.】

His gaze was fixed on the Qi and blood column.

【Qi and Blood: 342,100】

【Qi and Blood: 342,200】

【Qi and Blood: 342,300】

……

The Qi and blood value was jumping and rising crazily, and this became his motivation to persist.

Progress can divert a person's pain, especially visible progress.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

After ten breaths passed, Zhao Zhao Canghu roared: "Kid, circulate your Qi and blood!"

As he spoke, Zhao Zhao Canghu looked at Lin Chen with trepidation, holding his breath and waiting. He didn't know if Lin Chen's consciousness was still clear and if he could hear his words.

Only when he saw Lin Chen's pupils move did a smile appear on Zhao Zhao Canghu's face.

"Haha, you kid are capable. Damn it, you finally succeeded."

Feeling Lin Chen's Qi and blood circulation, Zhao Zhao Canghu couldn't help but look up to the sky and laugh. Eight years of waiting and planning, today he finally saw a glimmer of dawn.

Inside the large vat, as Lin Chen circulated his Qi and blood, the blood bubbles on his body surface shattered inch by inch, revealing the fresh red muscle underneath.

These shattered skins repeatedly peeled off and regenerated under the medicinal liquid, and each regeneration appeared more crystal-clear like jade.

……

……

The next morning.

Lin Chen woke up in the large vat.

Last night, he was too exhausted. After all the medicinal liquid was absorbed, he fell asleep directly in the large vat.

"Panel."

The first thing he did upon waking up was to check his Qi and blood.

【Qi and Blood: 398,100】

Qi and blood had increased by fifty thousand.

Seeing this value, Lin Chen frowned. This Qi and blood growth was less than he had imagined. He had to know that just bathing in the snake monster's blood had increased his Qi and blood by thirty thousand.

This time, the pain endured was several times that of bathing in snake monster blood, yet it only increased Qi and blood by fifty thousand.

However, after circulating the Qi and blood in his body, Lin Chen's eyes gradually lit up.

The next moment, Lin Chen jumped out of the large vat and directly began practicing the Clear Wind Palm and Water Cloud Palm in the open space.

The gale howled, the water waves crashed against the shore...

A quarter of an hour later, Lin Chen stopped.

He could feel that the power of the Clear Wind Palm and Water Cloud Palm had increased again. It wasn't just because of the increase in Qi and blood, but because the speed at which his Qi and blood circulated in his body was much faster than before—so fast that he could clearly feel it.

"Kid, is this suffering worth it?"

Zhao Zhao Canghu walked out of the bamboo house, smiling.

"Worth it."

Lin Chen was categorical. He now... if he entered the iron house again, he should be able to see clearly what was attacking him inside.

"Senior Zhao, this disciple is prepared to go to the iron house and try again."

Zhao Zhao Canghu was stunned for a moment by Lin Chen's words, then waved his hand: "Go ahead, remember to come back tonight."

Watching Lin Chen's confident figure leave, a smile appeared on Zhao Zhao Canghu's old face. It was indeed the temperament of a youth.

……

……

Iron house.

When Lin Chen arrived here, there was no one around. He didn't care, pushed open the door of the iron house directly, and stepped inside.

Whoosh!

Almost the moment he stepped into the iron house, there was a sound of breaking wind by his ear. The moment the sound of the wind attacked, he struck out with a palm without any hesitation.

Slap!

Feeling the other party's impact, Lin Chen borrowed the momentum to retreat and struck out with another palm toward the left.

In just one short breath, Lin Chen had dodged, shifted, and changed positions several times, striking out with his palms twice during the process. This speed was something he hadn't been able to do yesterday.

After five sounds of breaking wind, the iron house finally became quiet, and Lin Chen finally saw clearly what had been attacking him.

Five bronze men!

"Mechanism arts?"

Before Lin Chen could see clearly, a gate appeared on the iron wall on the left, and another bronze man walked out from inside.

Six bronze men, striking simultaneously!

Lin Chen's eyes narrowed. He turned his body at the first opportunity, but in this narrow space of the iron house, the six bronze men blocked all his retreat paths.

……

……

Bang!

Ten breaths later, Lin Chen was thrown out of the iron house once again.

The iron house closed, and Min Min Huanbo's figure appeared inside, muttering: "It's a good thing I had a whim to come and take a look today. Otherwise, with just five bronze men, this kid Lin Chen might have really persisted for fifty breaths and directly met the one-month assessment standard."

"I can accept you increasing the difficulty for him, but if you dare to give even one point less, just wait for me to throw you into the dung pit."

Just as Min Min Huanbo, who was leaving from the back door of the iron house, heard the voice, his body stiffened in place, a bitter smile on his face. He had forgotten that Senior Zhao, this old thing, was standing behind Lin Chen.

(End of chapter)