Chapter 169: Second visit to Mount Wudao; cannot let Jiangnan Circuit take all the glory

In the bamboo forest.

Jia Nanzhu handed Lin Chen a medicinal herb.

"This is an Ice Blue Flower, a medicinal material from the Northern Frontier. Consuming it will slow the circulation of Qi and blood in your body, which is the only way to ensure that when you consume the Flood Dragon blood, your meridians and Qi and blood won't cause your body to explode."

Lin Chen took the blue herb, and as soon as it touched his hand, he felt an icy chill.

Without hesitation, he put the herb directly into his mouth and began to chew.

A stream of cool medicinal juice flowed down his throat into his stomach, and Lin Chen quickly noticed that the Qi and blood in his body were not as active as before.

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Jia Nanzhu reached out and gripped Lin Chen's arm at the web of his thumb: "It's ready."

After saying this, Jia Nanzhu took the bottle containing the Flood Dragon blood from his bosom and said, "Swallow it directly."

"Yes."

After the bottle was opened, Lin Chen saw the blood in the jade bottle churning like a living thing. His eyes narrowed slightly; it was worthy of being called Flood Dragon blood.

He didn't know how long this drop of Flood Dragon blood had been preserved in this bottle, yet it still possessed such vitality; one could imagine how terrifying the Qi, blood, and life force contained within it were.

He raised his eyes to look at Jia Nanzhu. When he saw Jia Nanzhu's encouraging gaze, Lin Chen nodded slightly, placed the mouth of the bottle to his lips, and the Flood Dragon blood slid into his mouth along the side of the bottle.

The moment the Flood Dragon blood entered his mouth, it felt as if Lin Chen had swallowed molten lava; the meridians throughout his body bulged, threatening to tear.

If he hadn't consumed the Ice Blue Grass, which had already reduced the activity of his Qi and blood to the minimum—even causing his body temperature to drop—he feared that the moment the Flood Dragon blood entered his mouth, it would have been enough to detonate all the Qi and blood in his body.

The Flood Dragon blood entered his stomach but did not stay quietly in his abdomen; instead, it rampaged through every part of his meridians. Wherever it passed, even his bones emitted unbearable "click" sounds, and his skin began to ooze fine beads of blood.

"Hold on!"

Jia Nanzhu held a silver needle in his right hand, and whenever a bulge appeared on Lin Chen's body, he would strike with the needle.

One, two...

In a short moment, Lin Chen's entire body was covered in silver needles.

With the silver needles fully inserted, the Flood Dragon blood was blocked from moving and could only stay in Lin Chen's dantian. Yet, even so, it remained unwilling to submit, churning constantly in the dantian. Every time it churned, a terrifying wave of heat would ripple out, flowing through his entire body.

Lin Chen understood in his heart that this Flood Dragon blood was unwilling to be refined by him just like that!

"Circulate your Qi and blood to the dantian and assimilate with this Flood Dragon blood."

Jia Nanzhu's voice came to his ears. Lin Chen gritted his teeth, and at this moment, the Qi and blood throughout his body began to circulate crazily. The medicinal effect of the Ice Blue Flower had long since vanished under the first wave of the Flood Dragon blood's impact. At this moment, the surging Qi and blood in his body poured continuously into his dantian, attempting to devour the Flood Dragon blood.

If the Qi and blood in Lin Chen's body were like a vast ocean, whipping up wave after wave of raging billows, then this drop of Flood Dragon blood was like a sailboat breaking through the waves; no matter how the raging billows crashed against it, it remained unmoved.

Every time his Qi and blood surged toward the dantian, Lin Chen could feel that a significant amount of the Qi and blood in his body had evaporated; this was the scorching heat of the Flood Dragon blood burning away his Qi and blood.

But this drop of Flood Dragon blood was the same; every time it was struck by his Qi and blood, its scorching temperature would also drop by a fraction.

This was a game of chess!

It depended on whether Lin Chen had enough Qi and blood, or whether the Flood Dragon's energy could hold out.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

A blood mist permeated Lin Chen's skin, like steam rising, his entire skin cracked like parched earth, and blood seeped out from his five orifices.

Jia Nanzhu, standing to the side, also had tension in his eyes. If this had been an ordinary youth, he feared the Qi and blood in his body would have long since been tyrannically burned and evaporated by this drop of Flood Dragon blood.

That Lin Chen could hold on until now was already extremely difficult.

Glancing out of the corner of his eye at the bathing barrel to the side, Jia Nanzhu felt a bit hesitant. According to his original plan, at this time Lin Chen should have entered the bathing barrel, using the power of the medicinal liquid to engage in the final struggle with the Flood Dragon blood, and finally completely refine it.

But the medicinal liquid in the bathing barrel, while having the effect of replenishing Lin Chen's Qi and blood and recovering his injuries, was more about dissolving the energy of the Flood Dragon blood within Lin Chen's body.

This meant that the earlier he went in, the less Flood Dragon blood Lin Chen would be able to refine.

Hold on!

The longer he holds on, the greater the benefits will be.

Jia Nanzhu whispered in his heart, and at this moment, Lin Chen summoned the panel again; he saw the changes in the Qi and blood panel.

With every collision, the upper limit of his Qi and blood would increase.

Ten thousand each time!

This meant that as long as he held on for one more breath, the upper limit of his Qi and blood would increase by another ten thousand.

No matter how painful, he had to grit his teeth and hold on.

He was different from those disciples of martial arts families who did not lack cultivation resources. For someone of his background, he had to seize every opportunity to maximize the use of resources.

Lord Su had said that the Great Liang had only established three tiers of cultivation systems for young martial artists, and the "Path-Walking" level geniuses were already the last tier; after that, there was only participating in the Martial Examination.

If he left his name on Mount Wudao, the Martial Administration Hall would certainly have rewards, and perhaps there would be even higher-tier genius cultivation. Lord Su didn't know because very few martial artists had ever reached this tier, but he couldn't gamble on that.

Seize every opportunity and desperately increase his potential and strength.

There was a saying in his past life: the rich rely on technology, the poor rely on mutation.

Mutation—how could it not be painful!

In the end, the blood mist evaporating from Lin Chen's skin had already formed a thick layer of blood scabs on his skin.

Jia Nanzhu, standing to the side, looked at Lin Chen, who had become a blood-man, and his old eyes also held a look of shock. He hadn't expected Lin Chen to be able to hold on to this extent.

He had actually held on for half an hour!

Originally, in his estimation, it would have been extremely good if Lin Chen could hold on for a quarter of an hour; now, it was a full four times longer, far exceeding his expectations.

"Enough, get into the bathing barrel."

Jia Nanzhu picked up Lin Chen and threw him into the bathing barrel.

As his body entered the bathing barrel, the blood scabs on Lin Chen's skin instantly fell off, revealing the bloody, ulcerated wounds underneath.

The medicinal liquid in the bathing barrel began to soak into Lin Chen's skin, and the amber-colored medicinal liquid poured continuously into Lin Chen's entire body. Like repairing a broken pottery jar, the ulcerations on Lin Chen's skin were repaired visibly to the naked eye.

This medicinal power not only repaired Lin Chen's skin but also poured continuously into Lin Chen's body, beginning to repair Lin Chen's damaged meridians. And the drop of Flood Dragon blood in Lin Chen's dantian also stopped churning; every time a wave of blood surged over, it was absorbed by a few fractions.

The Flood Dragon blood was no longer destroying, and Lin Chen could no longer hold on. He had been able to hold on until now by relying on a single breath.

*Plop! *

Lin Chen's head tilted, his body leaned directly against the side of the bathing barrel, while the Qi and blood in his body still circulated autonomously, continuously absorbing the medicinal liquid in the bathing barrel.

Jia Nanzhu looked at Lin Chen, who had fainted, and continued to add medicinal liquid to the bathing barrel, while also adding firewood under the barrel.

The next day, dawn!

Lin Chen opened his eyes and found himself lying on the bed in the bamboo house, with a thin quilt draped over his body.

"I fainted again?"

Lin Chen recalled the process of refining the Flood Dragon blood yesterday, and whispered in his heart for the first time: "Panel."

【Host: Lin Chen】

【Stage: Perfected Open-Acupuncture Stage (19/24)】

【Qi and Blood: 2,400,000/4,700,000】

【True Blood: 1,900,000】

【Wind and Cloud Palm: Perfected】

【Mountain-Shaking Score: Second Layer】

【Wild Wind Leg: Mastery (80/100)】

【Title: Perfect to the Extreme (Only after breaking the limit is it perfect; wearing this title allows the fusion of similar limit-breaking stage techniques into the Perfected level)】

【Title: Black Horse to the End (The situation is not yet settled; you and I are both black horses. Wearing this title increases martial arts comprehension and perception in the dark)】

【Fate: 【Success Comes Naturally】: Limit Martial Way Stage; persevere, proceed step by step, advance like a bamboo being split, no bottleneck troubles.】

Seeing his Qi and blood value, Lin Chen's pupils constricted sharply, and he couldn't help but gasp in his heart.

An upper limit of nearly five million Qi and blood, two million four hundred thousand Qi and blood value, one million nine hundred thousand True Blood.

Calling himself a "blood bag" didn't seem excessive.

Getting off the bed, Lin Chen walked out of the bamboo house and began to perform the Wind and Cloud Palm directly in this bamboo forest.

The sound of wind and thunder rolled; the few remaining bamboo stalks in the forest, now a zhang away, shattered when grazed by the palm wind. A quarter of an hour later, Lin Chen stopped his hands and stood outside the bamboo house, his eyes shining brightly.

The increase in Qi and blood, especially the increase in True Blood, not only made his own Qi and blood circulation speed faster, but more importantly, he felt a special power existing within his Qi and blood.

This power was extremely tyrannical, actually urging his Qi and blood to accelerate by a few fractions beyond its original circulation.

"Flood Dragon energy?"

It seemed that absorbing the Flood Dragon blood not only increased his Qi and blood value but also brought about some kind of mutation to his Qi and blood.

Lin Chen didn't know how much his strength had increased, but looking at the panel, he had opened one more acupoint in his stage, already stepping into nineteen places. He entered the bamboo house, put on his clothes, and walked toward the outside of the bamboo forest.

To know how much his strength had increased, there was no place more suitable than Mount Wudao.

Great Liang Capital, Martial Administration Department.

"A fisherman's son, actually having such talent, being able to reach this step, is truly rare?"

Several old men sat cross-legged, listening to their subordinates report the information about Lin Chen submitted by the Jiangnan Circuit Martial Administration Hall.

This information was extremely detailed, even recording the grievances between Lin Chen and his grandfather back then. If Lin Chen were here, he would inevitably suspect whether the people in the Martial Administration Hall had installed surveillance on him.

From the time he was three years old until now, everything, big or small, was recorded in detail on the paper.

"Ordinary, this little guy is quite interesting. Before entering the Wu Tang, he was no different from ordinary village children."

"I have the same feeling. It feels like after this little guy entered the Wu Tang, he seemed to have become a different person, actually being so persistent about the Martial Way, even doing odd jobs to learn martial arts. However, his brain is quite useful; he could even think of scraping fish scales to make money."

Several old men discussed Lin Chen's experiences. The purple-robed old man sitting on the far right said faintly: "Have you all seen that, according to Lin Chen's family background, he had no chance of entering the Wu Tang at all."

The others looked at the purple-robed old man. The purple-robed old man said slowly: "The rules of the Poyang County Wu Tang are to collect ten taels of silver from every student, but because Linhu Village produced a Ju Ren, they fought for the opportunity for Linhu Village to enter the Wu Tang tuition-free. If not for this opportunity, I fear this Lin Chen would now be following his father fishing in the lake."

"Poyang County produced a Lin Chen, then in the entire Raozhou Prefecture, the entire Jiangnan Circuit, and even the entire Great Liang, how many geniuses like Lin Chen have been buried just because they couldn't take out ten taels of silver."

The purple-robed old man sighed, and the other old men also fell silent.

"Old Zhuang, I know what you mean; you want the Wu Tang to recruit Great Liang youths for free. But the martial arts path, especially the early Body Forging Stage, relies more on Qi and blood, based on food supplements and medicinal supplements. Even if they enter the Wu Tang, these youths from poor families have no money to carry out food and medicinal supplementation. This money cannot be paid by the imperial court; even if the imperial court had the heart, it wouldn't have the strength."

"Martial arts resources should naturally be fought for by oneself. I just have some feelings from Lin Chen's deeds. If Great Liang youths were allowed to enter the Wu Tang for free, would it be possible for a few more geniuses like Lin Chen to emerge?"

"Old Zhuang, I don't agree with what you said. Those disciples of martial arts families still cannot leave their names on Mount Wudao. Lin Chen being able to leave his name must mean he has great fortune himself; this has nothing to do with his humble background."

Another old man spoke: "We have been in the Martial Administration Department for so many years; those genius youths almost all have strange encounters. It is highly likely that Lin Chen has them too, just that they are unknown."

"I agree with this."

The white-haired old man sitting in the chief seat had been listening to the others' discussions with a smile from the beginning. Seeing that everyone had discussed enough, he then said: "Lin Chen's deeds do have their bright spots. Working while studying is worth our Martial Administration Department researching. Junior Brother Zhuang, you will be responsible for this matter; research a set of effective work-study policies and promote them to all provinces."

The purple-robed old man's expression became serious upon hearing this: "Yes!"

"Our Great Liang Martial Way has not had a young genius leave their name on Mount Wudao for a long time. Regarding this Lin Chen, do you all have any good reward suggestions?"

Several old men looked at each other. The Martial Administration Department naturally had a set of reward methods for young geniuses who left their names on Mount Wudao, which had been in use for over a hundred years. But since Lin Lin Shixiong Kong had asked, he must not intend to continue using the original reward method.

So, was he going to increase the reward for Lin Chen?

Seeing the smile on Lin Lin Shixiong Kong's face, and then thinking of Lin Chen's family background, the old men present understood Lin Lin Shixiong Kong's meaning.

The rules of the Martial Administration Department could not be broken. For all Path-Walking students, the genius system was already the highest reward. After that, there were only rewards for the year-end County Competition and Prefecture Competition; apart from that, there were no other rewards.

As for leaving a name on Mount Wudao, this was a special situation to be treated specially.

It was impossible for Lin Chen to leave his name on Mount Wudao again, right?

This thought only appeared in their minds for a moment before they dismissed it.

Since Lin Lin Shixiong Kong wanted to increase the reward for Lin Chen, several people had some thoughts. After a long while, one of the old men said with a smile: "Indeed, Great Liang has not had a genius leave their name on Mount Wudao for a long time. To encourage other Path-Walking youths, this time we might as well make Lin Chen's reward higher."

"Lin Lin Shixiong Kong, I suggest..."

*Dong! *

Before the old man finished speaking, a bell sound rang out, and all the old men present showed looks of surprise.

This was another young genius appearing?

In an instant, the corner of the old man's mouth who was speaking twitched. It was a good thing for Great Liang to have a young genius leave their name on Mount Wudao, but why did they have to leave their name at this time? Wasn't this slapping his own face?

A moment ago, he had just said that Great Liang hadn't had a young genius leave their name on Mount Wudao for many years, and before he finished speaking, someone had left their name on Mount Wudao.

If it were those little guys he knew, he would have to discipline them well first.

"Let's go, let's go see together. It seems our Great Liang's martial fortune is flourishing recently!"

The leading old man stood up with a smile, and the other four also stood up, walking toward the door together.

In the large courtyard outside the door, new handwriting appeared on that huge stone wall.

"I want to see who it is. Jiangnan Circuit... why is it Jiangnan Circuit again? Raozhou Prefecture... Hmm?...?..."

An incredible thought flashed through the minds of the several old men. Everyone stared fixedly at the stone wall, waiting for the final handwriting to be revealed.

"Lin Chen!"

When they saw these two characters appear, even the five people who were used to seeing geniuses had their expressions become strange.

It really was this little guy!

"How did this little guy do it?"

"In just a few days, he left his name on Mount Wudao again. This... has already broken the shortest time for our Great Liang to leave a name on Mount Wudao twice in a row."

Mount Wudao had existed for over two hundred years, and there were geniuses who had left their names on Mount Wudao multiple times, but the shortest one had an interval of two months. Like Lin Chen, with an interval of a few days, it had never happened before.

The reason was that everyone who left their name on each step of Mount Wudao was the strongest in that stage, and the challengers had all cultivated to the extreme at that acupoint, only a step away from breaking through, before they would go to challenge.

After the challenge was successful, they would then break through to the next acupoint, and after that, spend another month or two cultivating to the limit of that stage before heading to Mount Wudao to continue the challenge.

Three breaths later, Kong Qifeng had a sharp light in his old eyes: "I have decided to postpone Lin Chen's reward. If he can leave his name three times, I will personally go to Jiangnan Circuit to see him."

Guixi Circuit Martial Administration Hall.

A youth with a confident expression entered a courtyard and saluted an old man in the courtyard, saying respectfully: "Teacher, the disciple is now confident that I can defeat Senior Liang Bo."

The youth had opened nineteen acupoints. In order to leave his name on Mount Wudao, he could have opened another acupoint, but he forcibly suppressed it for a month, just because a month ago, he had fought Senior Liang Bo on Mount Wudao and had been able to hold on for over a thousand breaths.

This month, he had enough growth, and the teacher had also given him the cultivation technique that Senior Liang Bo had practiced back then.

With increased strength and understanding of Senior Liang Bo's cultivation technique, Ye Feng was confident that this time he would definitely be able to defeat Senior Liang Bo and leave his name on Mount Wudao.

"If you can successfully challenge, that will be double happiness. Plus the one from Jiangnan Circuit a few days ago, our Great Liang Martial Way can be considered triple happiness."

"Teacher, are you saying that someone left their name on Mount Wudao these past few days?"

"Just a quarter of an hour ago, a new one appeared on the Martial Way Name List, and it was from Jiangnan Circuit. This was personally told to me by the Hall Master. It seems Jiangnan Circuit's martial fortune is flourishing recently."

The old man and the Guixi Circuit Martial Administration Hall never thought that these two geniuses who left their names in Jiangnan Circuit would be the same person, because the time was too short.

If it were two months or one month apart, they would suspect it, but with such a short time, it must be two people.

"Two people emerged in Jiangnan Circuit?"

Ye Feng was surprised, but then there was fighting spirit in his eyes. Since Jiangnan Circuit already had two people who had successfully left their names before him, he would not give up this time.

"Go, Teacher is waiting for your good news."

The old man stroked his beard and looked at his disciple. After a month of settling, his disciple had a great possibility of leaving his name this time.

Cannot let Jiangnan Circuit take all the glory.

PS: Came back from a meeting at five o'clock, started working immediately. Five thousand words sent first, still have five thousand words to continue writing, begging for monthly tickets!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 170 =====