Chapter 156: Li Zhe's Plot, Lin Chen's Strategy

In the manure pit.

Lin Chen looked at the changes in the panel, with a look of anticipation in his eyes.

Every change in the panel would bring convenience to his martial arts cultivation.

He got up and climbed out of the manure pit, and Lin Chen walked toward the bamboo forest.

According to the rules of previous sessions, the panel update takes time. The longer the time, the greater the range of the update.

He hoped that the panel could update for a day and a night.

Returning to the bamboo forest, Lin Chen didn't rush to sleep but began to feel the flow of Qi and blood in his acupoints.

The fifteenth acupoint, Longji, is located on the back. When he runs the technique, he can clearly feel that when Qi and blood pass through the Longji acupoint, the whole muscle trembles.

True blood refining acupoints can not only convert more virtual blood into true blood, but these true blood will also be stored in the four small acupoints associated with the acupoint.

Looking at the bamboo forest in front of him, Lin Chen's eyes lit up. The next moment, his right foot kicked forward, but his body arched, like a bow, and he crashed toward the bamboo behind him.

With the force of a hot knife through butter, a piece of bamboo broke at the waist.

"They all say that a sister's waist is not a waist, it's a life-taking knife. My back now is not a back, it's as sharp as a blade."

He was very satisfied with this power!

The next day, early morning.

Lin Chen opened his eyes and called the panel for the first time. What he didn't expect was that the panel hadn't finished updating yet.

Not updated yet?

It seems that this time the panel will have a huge change.

This is a good thing!

Although the panel didn't show up, Lin Chen decided to go to Mount Wudao to challenge those seniors.

Stepping into the fifteenth acupoint, his strength had improved, so he should be able to challenge the senior at the ninth acupoint.

But just as he walked to the iron gate in the depths of the valley, Lin Chen was stopped by Xue Yun.

"Lin Lin Shidi, the instructors want to see you."

"Okay."

What Lin Chen didn't expect was that it wasn't the instructors who wanted to see him, but that Lord Xuetai.

Just when Lin Chen was puzzled, Bu Wenbin said: "The Wuzheng Hall sent a letter yesterday. This matter is related to you, so I decided to inform you."

Lin Chen waited for the following, and he had a guess in his heart.

"According to the decision of the Jiangnan Dao Wuzheng Hall, Xing Xing Huai Feng, the Director of the Raozhou Prefecture Wuzheng Office, is not worthy of his position and has violated the teaching duty of the Director, so he is dismissed from his position as Director of the Wuzheng Office."

Xue Yun, who led Lin Chen here, was surprised to hear this. If he remembered correctly, this Lin Lin Shidi was from Raozhou Prefecture, so did this Director Xing have a relationship with Lin Lin Shidi?

No.

Even if this Director Xing was wrong, it shouldn't involve Lin Lin Shidi. Lin Lin Shidi's martial arts talent was not fake.

Why did Lord Xuetai want to inform Lin Lin Shidi of this matter?

"This disciple understands."

Lin Chen was not too surprised. Kong Kong Guanzhu Tai said that in order to deal with his matter, Lord Li personally went to the Wuzheng Hall and smashed a cup.

Plus Yan Qianbei's reminder, this matter ended with Xing Xing Huai Feng being dismissed from his position as Director of the Raozhou Prefecture Wuzheng Office.

As for where Xing Xing Huai Feng went after being dismissed, the Wuzheng Hall wouldn't inform him.

Bu Wenbin saw that Lin Chen had no surprised expression, and he knew in his heart that someone must have tipped Lin Chen off.

As the Xuetai of the special training ground, after Jiang Kui returned, he reported Lin Chen's home trip to him and informed him of the hidden story of Lin Chen's grandfather's death.

"Xue Yun, you leave first."

"Yes."

Xue Yun heard Lord Xuetai's words and knew that Lord Xuetai must have private matters to talk to Lin Chen about.

"Follow me."

After Xue Yun left, Bu Wenbin looked at Lin Chen, but turned and walked toward the backyard of the deliberation hall.

In the backyard, an old man was standing in the courtyard, with his back to the courtyard gate.

"Director?"

Although it was only a back view, Lin Chen recognized at a glance that it was Lord Qiu.

"Lin Chen, are you surprised to see me here?" Qiu Ruofeng turned around and looked at Lin Chen, asking with a smile.

"This disciple is indeed a bit surprised."

Lin Chen nodded and admitted. According to what Lord Su said, Lord Qiu had already gone to the Wuzheng Hall. He didn't expect to appear in the special training ground.

Was it specifically for him?

"I suppose you should have guessed that I came to the special training ground this time specifically for you. There are some things I decided to inform you personally."

Qiu Ruofeng seemed to know what Lin Chen was thinking and said in a deep voice: "Just yesterday, the Wuzheng Hall determined the evaluation method for the model student of Jiangnan Dao. The Wuzheng Hall will select a suitable opponent for each of the five of you. The loser is eliminated. If there is only one winner, then they are the model student of Jiangnan Dao. If there are two or more winners, it will be arranged by the Wuzheng Hall for the martial arts hall masters of various places to vote to decide."

The so-called voting to decide was voting.

The officials of the Wuzheng Hall, including the martial arts hall masters of various places, each had one vote, and the one with the most votes would be elected as the model student of Jiangnan Dao.

This evaluation method was quite fair.

Defeating the opponent only proved one's strength. As for whether someone would play tricks in the subsequent voting, Lin Chen didn't care.

There was never absolute fairness in this world. The Wuzheng Hall could do this, which was already considering it very comprehensively.

He thought that in the eyes of the Wuzheng Hall, the simplest way was for each student to fight a match, and whoever won would become the model student of Jiangnan Dao.

But his stage was the most backward, so this arrangement was a kind of care for him.

"Do you have any thoughts?"

Seeing Lin Chen's calm expression, Qiu Ruofeng was a bit surprised and couldn't help but ask. Didn't Lin Chen worry that the Li family would play tricks on the opponent?

Or, relying on the Li family's relationship, influence the final voting?

"The Wuzheng Hall's evaluation method has already considered a lot for this disciple. This disciple has no problem."

Qiu Ruofeng looked at Lin Chen deeply. Lin Chen's answer was beyond his expectation. He actually accepted the evaluation method set by the Wuzheng Hall.

If it were said that Lin Chen had already given up on the model student of Jiangnan Dao, it didn't look like it. If he had given up, his tone wouldn't be so steady.

"After the Wuzheng Hall decided on this matter yesterday, Li Zhe of Hongdu Prefecture personally suggested to the Director of Hongdu Prefecture that if there are multiple students who win, the students will suppress their stage to fight, so that it is fair and just."

Hearing Lord Qiu's words, Lin Chen had a glimmer in his eyes, and the next moment a mocking look curled at the corner of his mouth.

This Li Zhe's suggestion was not really for fairness.

Voting was indeed beneficial to Li Zhe, but the Li family must also pay some human cost. And choosing to fight at the same stage was just Li Zhe's sufficient confidence in his own strength, believing that in a fight at the same stage, they would not be his opponents.

The Huo family targeted him, and this Li Zhe must know. The Wuzheng Hall's handling of Xing Xing Huai Feng this time was also a warning to the Li family.

And Li Zhe doing this, not to mention saving the Li family, at least restored his image in the eyes of those big figures in the Wuzheng Hall.

He was walking the extreme Martial Way path and had a huge advantage at the same stage. Li Zhe requested a fight at the same stage, which not only represented confidence but also represented being open and aboveboard.

If he were one of those big figures in the Wuzheng Hall, he would also have a very good impression of Li Zhe.

Not needing to waste the Li family's human cost, and also being able to shape his own image—it was truly a wonderful move.

"After Li Zhe made the suggestion, the Wuzheng Hall discussed it. Now there are two ways: one is the same as before, with the final voting result as the standard; the other is to accept Li Zhe's suggestion and decide the result with a fight at the same stage."

Qiu Ruofeng looked at Lin Chen. In his view, Lin Chen should choose the second one.

Li Zhe's suggestion, although it had its purpose, was indeed the most suitable for Lin Chen.

Relying on the advantage of an extreme martial artist, it was still possible to defeat Li Zhe.

"Lord Qiu, since Li Zhe can make a suggestion to the Wuzheng Hall, can this disciple also make a suggestion?"

If it were just set by the Wuzheng Hall, Lin Chen wouldn't change it. But since Li Zhe could play his own little abacus, why couldn't he?

"What suggestion do you have?" Qiu Ruofeng asked. "If there are multiple students who win, the winners don't need to suppress their stage, let us fight with all our might."

Fighting with suppressed stages was indeed beneficial to him, but Lin Chen understood in his heart that this Li Zhe didn't know he was walking the extreme Martial Way path, but he still dared to make such a suggestion, so he must have confidence.

Qiu Ruofeng's pupils contracted, and even Bu Wenbin on the side narrowed his old eyes, staring at Lin Chen, as if wanting to see through Lin Chen's inner real thoughts.

"Fight with all your might?" Qiu Ruofeng frowned: "Do you know that among the five of you, besides you and Li Zhe, the other three entered the martial arts hall a year earlier and have long since entered the Organ Cultivation Stage? Even Li Zhe, who is now at twenty-four acupoints, will step into the Organ Cultivation Stage in at most three months."

"Don't let yourself be in an unfavorable position because of anger."

In Qiu Ruofeng's heart, Lin Chen would make such a suggestion because he was purely wanting to target Li Zhe. In order to target Li Zhe, he didn't care about anything.

The evaluation method that the Wuzheng Hall had brewed for a long time was itself considering Lin Chen's lower stage, which could be said to be a kind of care for Lin Chen.

If he brought Lin Chen's suggestion back to the Wuzheng Hall, those big figures in the Wuzheng Hall would only have a very poor impression of Lin Chen, and would inevitably think that Lin Chen didn't intend to compete for the model student at all, but was just to retaliate against Li Zhe, which was why he made the suggestion.

"This disciple has thought it through carefully and is not acting on impulse. However, this disciple has a request: put the final fight at the end of the year."

Lin Chen was naturally not acting on impulse. Li Zhe's stage was ahead of him, which was true, but his fate started to exert force. Li Zhe had the possibility of breaking through to Organ Cultivation within three months, and he was not without possibility.

Even if three months wouldn't work, he would definitely be able to step into the Organ Cultivation Stage within half a year. He could catch up with the gap in stage.

By comparison, the true blood refining acupoints he was walking now needed time to ponder. As for the students pushed by the other three prefectures, although they had already stepped into the Organ Cultivation Stage, these three were just running along, and it was not certain whether they could defeat the opponents arranged by the Wuzheng Hall.

Qiu Ruofeng stared at Lin Chen like a torch. After a long while, he said: "This is your proposal. I will report it to the Wuzheng Hall, but whether the Wuzheng Hall will accept it, I dare not guarantee."

In fact, Qiu Ruofeng knew very well in his heart that as long as he informed the Wuzheng Hall of Lin Chen's proposal, the Wuzheng Hall would inevitably agree.

Fighting with all one's might was always the fairest.

If it weren't for Lin Chen's lower stage, the Wuzheng Hall wouldn't have spent so much effort thinking about the evaluation method. Now that Lin Chen himself took the initiative to propose it, there was no reason for the Wuzheng Hall not to adopt it.

"Old Qiu?"

Bu Wenbin on the side couldn't help but speak. Lin Chen's proposal was clearly the most unfavorable to himself. In his view, Old Qiu should persuade Lin Chen. Young people were angry now. If he persuaded him well, he would change his mind when his anger dissipated.

Qiu Ruofeng shook his head slightly. He knew what Bu Wenbin wanted to say.

Originally, he also wanted to persuade him again, but seeing Lin Chen's firm eyes, he knew that persuasion was useless. But the real reason he accepted Lin Chen's proposal was that he associated it with the cultivation records of Lin Chen that his disciple brought over when he first entered the martial arts hall.

Wu Tang of Caohe Town, Lin Chen came from behind and won the first place in the Wu Tang.

He had read the description in the document. Lin Chen increased his strength from three hundred jin to six hundred in just one month, and until he finally practiced essence and Qi, it could be called a miracle.

The reason why it didn't cause too much shock was just because the stage was too low.

There were too many ways in the martial arts world to allow a teenager to practice essence and Qi in a few months. If one was willing to pay some price, even within a month was not a difficult thing.

Lin Chen likely had his own secrets.

This was Qiu Ruofeng's judgment, but he didn't intend to inform Bu Wenbin of this matter, even if he and Bu Wenbin were old friends for many years.

"The matter of the Jiangnan Dao model student is put aside for now. I have also heard from Director Bu about your performance in the special training ground, which is quite good."

"Director Bu?"

Lin Chen was a bit stunned. Wasn't this Lord Xuetai?

"Xing Xing Huai Feng is gone, but the Raozhou Prefecture Wuzheng Office cannot be without a Director. The Wuzheng Hall has decided to let Lord Bu serve as the Director of the Raozhou Wuzheng Office."

Qiu Ruofeng saw Lin Chen's surprised expression and explained with a smile.

Bu Wenbin could serve as the Director of the Raozhou Prefecture Wuzheng Office. He contributed behind the scenes, not only because Bu Wenbin himself was a seventh-rank martial artist, but also because after the Xing Xing Huai Feng incident, the Wuzheng Hall was afraid of further trouble, so they also let Bu Wenbin serve as the Director of the Raozhou Prefecture Wuzheng Office.

The relationship between himself and Bu Wenbin was known to those big figures in the Wuzheng Hall, just as those big figures knew the relationship between Xing Xing Huai Feng and Li Yuan.

Lin Chen was now in the special training ground for training. Bu Wenbin, as the Xuetai of the special training ground, had a relationship with Lin Chen that was equivalent to the relationship between the martial arts hall master and the students in the hall.

With these two layers of relationship, Bu Wenbin serving as the Director of the Raozhou Prefecture Wuzheng Office would only protect Lin Chen well.

If the Huo family still dared to reach out, what would be waiting for the Huo family would be the sharp long knife of the Wuzheng Office!

From this point of view, the Wuzheng Hall could be said to attach great importance to Lin Chen.

"Lin Chen, you must understand that the Wuzheng Hall is the Wuzheng Hall of Jiangnan Dao and must consider the entire Jiangnan Dao. You are a Jiangnan Dao student, and that Li Zhe is also one. Do not feel that the Wuzheng Hall favors anyone."

Qiu Ruofeng reminded Lin Chen again. He was afraid that Lin Chen would have hatred for the Wuzheng Hall after knowing the truth.

"This disciple can understand. This disciple has never resented the Wuzheng Hall."

Lin Chen immediately guaranteed, his words sincere. He really had never resented the adults in the Wuzheng Hall.

Yan Qianbei had already analyzed it for him. He had lived two lives and was not a simple teenager like a blank sheet of paper.

"Hmm, it's good that you can think it through."

Qiu Ruofeng stroked his beard, and a booklet appeared in his hand.

"I didn't find the origin of the bow you got from the treasury, but someone in the Wuzheng Hall learned about it and asked me to pass this arrow technique secret manual to you."

"Thank you, my lord."

Lin Chen took it with both hands and didn't rush to flip through it.

"Is there anything else?"

"This disciple wants to know, Lord Bu goes to Raozhou Prefecture, then the special training ground here?"

"The Xuetai of the special training ground is still concurrently held by me until the next session is rearranged. Is there anything?"

Bu Wenbin looked at Lin Chen with a smile. Although Xuetai and Director had the same rank, the former was easier to obtain achievements, and with achievements, one could exchange for resources needed for cultivation.

When he and Qiu Ruofeng entered the seventh rank at the same time, Qiu Ruofeng was able to step into the sixth rank before him, wasn't it because the achievements obtained in the position of Director of the Raozhou Prefecture Wuzheng Office were more than his?

He understood the purpose of the authorities arranging for him to go to Raozhou Prefecture. To put it bluntly, it was to escort Lin Chen.

A dignified seventh-rank martial artist escorting a kid at the Acupuncture Stage—if this were said, I'm afraid no one would believe it.

Old Qiu felt that he had contributed a lot, but he didn't know that as early as the day Lin Chen left the special training ground to return home, the Wuzheng Hall had sent a letter asking him to report Lin Chen's performance in the special training ground one by one.

I think those big figures were also thinking about how to choose between Lin Chen and Li Zhe at that time. The document of Lin Chen's performance in the special training ground that he sent over should have played a big role in the decisive handling of Xing Xing Huai Feng and demoting him to the border, including letting him go to Raozhou Prefecture.

"This disciple's cultivation resources in the special training ground?" Lin Chen asked embarrassedly.

Even with the fate of "Water Flows into a Channel," if he wanted to break through quickly, the consumption of resources must keep up.

"I will tell Chen Ping and the others. As long as you can absorb it, I will supply as much as you want."

Bu Wenbin laughed. He thought Lin Chen was going to make any request.

The special training ground was not short of resources. Lin Chen was only at the Acupuncture Stage, so how many resources could he use?

On the contrary, Qiu Ruofeng looked at Lin Chen meaningfully.

"I have to return to the Wuzheng Hall, so I won't stay long. It's an eventful time recently, and there are many official duties in the Wuzheng Hall."

"This disciple will see you off, my lord," Lin Chen said hurriedly.

"No need. You go and cultivate yourself."

Qiu Ruofeng refused. Finally, Bu Wenbin saw Qiu Ruofeng off. Lin Chen also returned to the bamboo forest and began to flip through the arrow technique secret manual in his hand.

Just opening the first page of the secret manual, Lin Chen couldn't help it, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

The first page wrote a few big words: Those who are afraid of death, do not learn this method.

The martial arts seniors of the Liang Dynasty all like to add some private things in the secret manuals.

Lin Chen thought of the "Essence of True Blood Refining Acupoints" he saw, and that "Extreme Yuan Acupoint True Explanation," all had similar words.

So except for the techniques provided by the martial arts hall that had no nonsense, other techniques had this kind of words.

When he flipped to the second page, Lin Chen understood why this senior would say that those who are afraid of death should not learn this method.

When he flipped to the second page, Lin Chen understood that the "afraid of death" in this senior's mouth was different from what he imagined.

【Because of fear of death, one arrow shot out must take the enemy's life, absolutely no second arrow.】

"This senior is also a clickbaiter," Lin Chen couldn't help but mutter.

PS: Sorry, I was stuck for a long time before writing it out, because I sorted out some opinions raised by readers in the comments, integrated the outline and made some adjustments. To express my apology, I owe everyone one update, plus the monthly ticket update, which is two updates owed. I will return two updates within a week.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 157 =====