Chapter 24

Two quarters of an hour later.

The main hall of the Poyang Poyang Wuzhengsuo.

Seven men and one woman sat on chairs in the hall, exchanging glances with confusion in their eyes.

The eight of them were deputy masters from the eight major martial halls, and they were well-acquainted with each other.

Why did Inspector Shu summon them at this time?

"Everyone is here, right?"

After a long while, Shu Suwan appeared from behind a screen and sat directly in the main seat. She no longer had the gentleness she showed in the courtyard, and her whole person radiated a chill.

Feeling Shu Suwan's aura, the eight people were even more confused. Who had offended Inspector Shu again?

Although an Inspector's status is not as high as that of a Director or Deputy Director, they hold the power of inspection and discipline, and can be said to be the people the major martial halls are least willing to offend.

"I summoned you all here because of one matter. I heard that this year, the first student from the Caohe Town Wu Tang to refine Qi was denied an Opening-Acupoint Pill quota by your martial halls?"

As soon as Shu Suwan said this, four people on the scene were confused, while the other four suddenly realized.

The confused ones were those who didn't know who Lin Chen was, while the four informed deputy masters had already been notified by their instructors.

But admissions were not the responsibility of Inspector Shu. What did she mean by bringing this up?

"Lord Shu, Lin Chen came to our Qingfeng Wu Tang, but our hall's quota was already full." The deputy master of the Qingfeng Wu Tang pondered for a moment before explaining.

"Our Mantis Wu Tang is the same."

The deputy masters of the Mantis Wu Tang, the Gale Wu Tang, and the Cloud-Hidden Wu Tang stood up one after another to explain the situation. The other four families also recalled all the student data provided by the Poyang Poyang Wuzhengsuo and remembered who Lin Chen was.

Whenever a Wu Tang student refines Qi within a year, the Wu Tang reports it to the Poyang Poyang Wuzhengsuo, which then distributes it to the major martial halls.

They had scanned the name Lin Chen, but had no deep impression of him. It was only now, hearing the four deputy masters from Qingfeng Wu Tang mention him, that they vaguely recalled such a student.

He seemed to be the top student of some Wu Tang, but his family background was ordinary.

The deputy masters of the other four families recalled Lin Chen's data, and their hearts were as clear as a mirror; they knew why the four halls like Qingfeng Wu Tang wouldn't accept him.

In the past, if the first student from a Wu Tang refined Qi, even with an ordinary background, they would be given a quota, as it represented the top of a town and had to be acknowledged.

But the situation this year was different. Not only did the number of students who refined Qi within a year exceed eighty, but the Director also set a rule for martial hall competitions. It was no longer just about the top ten; resources would be given to the major martial halls based on the top fifty rankings.

Before entering the Ranked Tier, a student's financial resources largely represented their potential.

With Lin Chen's background, he probably wouldn't even make the top eighty, let alone the top fifty. No martial hall wanted to waste this quota.

Shu Suwan was not surprised by the excuses of the major martial halls and said indifferently: "The data submitted by the Caohe Town Wu Tang records that Lin Chen spent less than twenty taels to refine Qi, showing no weak talent in the Martial Way. It is somewhat unreasonable not to give such a student an Opening-Acupoint Pill quota."

The deputy master of the Mantis Wu Tang hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke:

"Lord Shu, only he himself knows how much silver Lin Chen actually spent to refine Qi. If he spent money secretly in private, there is no way to verify it. The rules of each town's Wu Tang are inherently loose."

As the deputy master of the Mantis Wu Tang spoke, the others present showed agreement on their faces.

Martial halls never look at how much money students spend to refine Qi, precisely because it cannot be proven.

If a martial hall had to check how much silver a student spent to refine Qi when recruiting, it would give students a chance to cheat.

Students who want to cheat can spend less money at the Wu Tang on the surface, while secretly taking decoctions or eating poultry meat that supplements Qi and blood. The Wu Tang cannot send people to watch them when they go out.

"Several months ago, I proposed to Lord Su to give financial incentives to Wu Tang disciples. Lord Su approved and reported it to the Raozhou Prefecture Poyang Poyang Wuzhengsuo. According to the information summarized by the Poyang Poyang Wuzhengsuo today, Lin Chen is the only one who has received the money."

Shu Suwan spoke lightly, but the eight people present showed thoughtful expressions. They somewhat understood why Inspector Shu cared about Lin Chen.

Inspector Shu and Lord Su had only recently taken office. The policy of rewarding Wu Tang students represented, to a certain extent, the political achievements of these two.

Lin Chen is the only one who has received the silver so far. If Lin Chen doesn't get the Opening-Acupoint Pill, wouldn't both Inspector Shu and Lord Su lose face?

That's where the problem lies!

The people in the hall fell silent all at once.

"In that case, Lin Chen indeed deserves an Opening-Acupoint Pill quota, but our martial hall's ten quotas are already full."

"Our Mantis Wu Tang is also full. This matter is truly difficult to handle."

The deputy masters of the major martial halls changed their tune, but the problem now was that their quotas had indeed been given out. They couldn't go back on their word and make the students who had already received the quotas give them up.

For so many years, such a situation had never occurred.

"Xiao Xiao Shimei Kong, if I remember correctly, your hall should still have quotas."

A man looked at the only female deputy master present.

"Our Jingshui Wu Tang only recruits female disciples. Although we have extra quotas, we cannot give them to Lin Chen."

Kong Yinglei spread her hands. The Jingshui Wu Tang had no rule for recruiting male disciples.

"Inspector Shu, fellow colleagues, I do have an idea."

The man who asked Kong Yinglei looked at everyone, and after receiving Shu Suwan's permission, said: "The number of students who refined Qi this year exceeded eighty, but there are only eight female disciples. There are two vacant quotas. Xiao Xiao Shimei Kong, am I right?"

"As of today, only eight female disciples have refined Qi and signed up at the martial hall." Kong Yinglei nodded.

"Then the matter is easy to handle. The Jingshui Wu Tang can give an Opening-Acupoint Pill quota to Lin Chen."

"Lin Lin Shixiong Zhang, our Jingshui Wu Tang does not recruit male disciples." Kong Yinglei frowned. The Jingshui Wu Tang hadn't recruited male disciples for over a decade.

Zhang Songfan smiled slightly: "Lin Chen won't be a disciple of the Jingshui Wu Tang; he will just be registered there. As long as another martial hall accepts Lin Chen, it will suffice."

As soon as Zhang Songfan's words were out, the instructors present began to ponder. They were thinking about the feasibility of this.

"Lin Lin Shixiong Zhang, although the Poyang Poyang Wuzhengsuo doesn't have such a rule, it is tacitly understood that students who take the Opening-Acupoint Pill belong to that martial hall. This kind of operation would have the suspicion of buying and selling quotas, and the Poyang Poyang Wuzhengsuo..."

Halfway through her sentence, Kong Yinglei suddenly stopped.

Glancing at Inspector Shu sitting at the head, she suddenly realized.

If they operated this between martial halls, there would be suspicion of secretly buying and selling quotas.

But if Inspector Shu agreed, it would become an expedient measure for the benefit of the martial students of Poyang County.

Even if the Poyang Poyang Wuzhengsuo knew, they wouldn't say anything.

"As long as there is a martial hall that accepts Lin Chen, he can be temporarily registered under our Jingshui Wu Tang."

Kong Yinglei stopped wasting words. Inspector Shu had summoned them all, and now that there was a solution, she naturally had to give this face.

This matter wasn't without benefits for the martial hall. After all, the martial hall had two extra quotas; giving one to Lin Chen still left one.

Since Inspector Shu allowed the martial hall to operate this way, the remaining quota could also be let out in this manner. If other martial halls wanted this quota, they would need to bring out benefits to exchange.

This was also a benefit Inspector Shu gave to their Jingshui Wu Tang; everyone understood it without saying it.

"Inspector Shu, the reason we didn't accept Lin Chen earlier was because the martial hall had no Opening-Acupoint Pill quotas left. We at the Mantis Wu Tang still think highly of Lin Chen. Now that there is a solution, our martial hall is willing to recruit Lin Chen."

"Although Lin Chen hasn't been to the Qixing Wu Tang, we at the Qixing Wu Tang can also recruit him."

"Why are you at the Qixing Wu Tang joining the fun? Can Lin Chen afford secret medicines?"

"If our Qixing Wu Tang won't do, then your Zhenyue Wu Tang will. If Lin Chen goes to your Zhenyue Wu Tang and has no money to buy medicine for healing, he'll probably be beaten to death."

"Lin Chen is still suitable for our Iron-Blood Wu Tang. Don't forget that Lin Chen comes from Linhu Village. Back then, Lord Jiang walked out of Linhu Village."

"So what if he walked out of Linhu Village? You at the Iron-Blood Wu Tang value students from Linhu Village so much, but after Lord Jiang, we haven't seen your martial hall recruit another student from Linhu Village."

The deputy masters of the seven martial halls instantly began to argue. Since they didn't need to use their own martial hall's Opening-Acupoint Pill quotas, Lin Chen became a hot commodity.

If Lin Chen could make a name for himself, the martial hall would have picked up a powerful student for free. If he couldn't, it would be no loss to the martial hall.

Shu Suwan listened to the arguments of these instructors, knowing very well why they were acting this way.

These people wanted to pick up a bargain, as they didn't have to pay for the Opening-Acupoint Pill, and secondly, they wanted to give her face so the scene wouldn't be too cold.

"Inspector Shu, the first martial hall Lin Chen went to was the Qingfeng Wu Tang. I think he is fond of our hall. Moreover, his instructor at the Wu Tang, Yu Yongnian, also walked out of our Qingfeng Wu Tang. The Qingfeng Wu Tang is willing to accept Lin Chen. As for the time he is registered at the Jingshui Wu Tang, the Qingfeng Wu Tang will be responsible for his expenses at the Wu Tang."

Qihe, the deputy master of the Qingfeng Wu Tang, gave his conditions after pondering for a moment.

He saw clearly that when the other martial halls spoke, Shu Suwan's expression didn't change. Clearly, these were not the martial halls she thought Lin Chen should go to.

Thinking that the first martial hall Lin Chen came to was the Qingfeng Wu Tang, and that his instructor Yu Yongnian also walked out of there, it was clear that Inspector Shu also believed Lin Chen was suitable for the Qingfeng Wu Tang.

Since that was the case, if he didn't speak up, wouldn't he be failing to give Inspector Shu face?

After Qihe spoke, a smile appeared on Shu Suwan's face: "Good, then let the Qingfeng Wu Tang and the Jingshui Wu Tang discuss the specific method of operation."

Shu Suwan made the final decision. The Qingfeng Wu Tang was indeed the most suitable for Lin Chen. As for whether Lin Chen would feel awkward returning to the Qingfeng Wu Tang after being rejected, that was not in her consideration.

People who learn martial arts don't necessarily need to be broad-minded, but those who are narrow-minded and drill into dead ends will certainly not go far.

(End of this chapter)