Chapter 26: It Seems Qingfeng Martial Arts Pavilion Has Truly Struck Gold

Inside the Wudao Pavilion.

Lin Chen stood for a long while, his expression awkward.

Since entering the Wudao Pavilion and stating his identity, he had been brought by a servant to the back courtyard, where these two women had been staring at him ever since.

“Not bad—at least not a misshapen lump. Kong shimei, I leave him to you.”

The more martial-looking woman on the left withdrew her gaze, satisfied, spoke those words, then turned, hands clasped behind her back, and strolled away leisurely.

“Lin Chen, that woman just now is our Director Wen.”

Seeing Lin Chen’s puzzled expression, Kong Yinglei smiled and explained.

After returning from the Wuzheng Office, she had told her senior sister about Lin Chen, and her senior sister, unusually curious, had wanted to meet him.

She knew Director Wen best—her curiosity stemmed from wanting to see what kind of person could have drawn such elaborate effort from Inspector Shu to secure an opening-meridian pill slot.

Now that she’d seen him, her curiosity was satisfied, so she naturally left.

Director!

Lin Chen had never imagined that the woman just now was the Director of Jingshui Martial Arts Pavilion; according to Instructor Yu, the pavilion’s Director was always a fully cultivated Inner Organ expert.

This Director Wen was barely over thirty—this was a potential rank-entry powerhouse he could lean on.

Wait, no—Inspector Shu had previously said he’d arranged a meeting with the Jingshui Pavilion’s Director…

Damn it!

Instructor, you’re in trouble!

…

…

“Lin Chen, although you’re stationed at Jingshui Martial Arts Pavilion, you are not one of our disciples—you are a disciple of Qingfeng Martial Arts Pavilion. You cannot learn our Water Cloud Palm. Do you understand?”

“Disciple understands.”

Kong Yinglei’s words pulled Lin Chen back to reality; he understood his own situation well.

He was like a football player from a club in his past life—if the pavilion were a club, then Qingfeng Martial Arts Pavilion had insufficient slots, so they borrowed Jingshui’s, and he had been loaned to Jingshui, but his ownership still belonged to Qingfeng.

“Aside from Water Cloud Palm, other basic techniques are still open to you at the Wudao Pavilion, but for you, the most important is Qingfeng Palm. Don’t waste too much energy on other things.”

Kong Yinglei knew clearly that although Qingfeng Martial Arts Pavilion had accepted Lin Chen, it was mostly because they didn’t need an opening-meridian pill slot and out of respect for Inspector Shu—they likely wouldn’t care much about him.

Precisely because of this, she felt it wise to offer a few words of advice, to prevent Lin Chen from wasting his martial path.

“According to Wuzheng Office regulations, the opening-meridian pill must be consumed within the pavilion. I will give you the pill now.”

As she spoke, Kong Yinglei produced a small jade box from her hand and tossed it directly to Lin Chen.

Seeing Lin Chen catch the jade box, she instructed: “Don’t open it immediately. First check whether the seal has been torn. Confirm it’s intact before opening.”

Lin Chen carefully examined the seal on the jade box, checking for any signs of it having been torn and reattached.

His behavior might seem like distrust toward the instructor, but given it concerned his own interests, caution was never excessive.

In his past life, he had suffered this kind of loss before.

When he first entered society, shy and naive, he had signed a company contract without thorough review, merely glancing at it to show trust in the company, and quickly signed his name.

Kong Yinglei watched Lin Chen’s careful inspection with appreciation; over the years managing pavilion admissions, previous students who received opening-meridian pill slots, eager to show trust, would open the jade box without checking at all.

She considered such students foolish.

The opening-meridian pill was of immense importance—not only could it open meridians and enter the Opening Meridian realm, but its medicinal power would accompany the disciple throughout the entire Opening Meridian stage.

A student who took the opening-meridian pill and one who didn’t, if both spent the same amount on cultivation, the former would break through to Inner Organ cultivation half a year faster.

Even if the chance of an instructor swapping pills was minimal, at such a critical juncture affecting one’s future, extreme caution was mandatory—no slightest error could be allowed.

“Instructor, disciple confirms no issues.”

After carefully inspecting the seal and confirming its integrity, Lin Chen looked up to answer.

“Since you’ve confirmed it’s intact, open the box and take out the opening-meridian pill.”

Kong Yinglei nodded slightly. After Lin Chen opened the box, she continued: “Swallow it whole or chew it—when you feel warmth in your abdomen, begin practicing Warm Sun Fist, and stop only once your meridian opens.”

“Yes.”

Looking at the crimson pill inside the box, Lin Chen didn’t hesitate—he swallowed it.

A few breaths after the pill entered his stomach, Lin Chen felt heat rising in his abdomen, and the essence within his dantian became suddenly active.

After about ten breaths, this essence surged through his entire body, as if striving to burst free and unleash boundless potential.

Lin Chen took a deep breath and, without further delay, began punching—each movement of Warm Sun Fist unfolding in his hands.

Under the pill’s stimulation, each punch resonated with vibrations in his meridians, his blood and qi climbing to new peaks.

This sensation? One word: exhilarating!

Lin Chen punched again and again, completely immersed in the wondrous feeling of ever-growing power.

Fistwind howled, blood and qi surged.

After countless repetitions of Warm Sun Fist, Lin Chen suddenly felt a violent tremor in his left shoulder—countless waves of warmth surged toward it, and a dense essence, as rich as the one in his abdomen, began gathering at his left shoulder.

Crack!

As he threw this punch, it exploded like a firecracker.

Fist like cannon fire—meridian opened successfully.

Kong Yinglei glanced at the hourglass beside her—it was set for half an hour, and now the sand had run out, meaning Lin Chen had taken nearly half an hour to open his meridian.

Opening a meridian in half an hour after taking the pill was slow by past students’ standards—even the slowest in the pavilion’s history.

Kong Yinglei wasn’t disappointed, though—after all, Lin Chen wasn’t her pavilion’s disciple.

But the next moment, she remembered something, her pupils contracting sharply.

Earlier at the Wuzheng Office, no one believed Lin Chen had truly cultivated essence by spending only twenty taels—not even her.

But in front of Inspector Shu, everyone had quietly avoided pressing further.

Even when she mentioned this to her senior sister just now, both had assumed the Wutang’s records were falsified.

But now, a sudden thought struck her: perhaps Lin Chen really had cultivated essence with only twenty taels.

The speed at which a student opens a meridian after taking the pill depends on the residual medicinal power left in their body.

The more money spent during Qi Refining—on herbal decoctions, poultry, and meat—the more residual medicinal power remains, since not all of it is absorbed.

When the opening-meridian pill is taken, its medicinal power causes the body to absorb the residual medicinal power already present.

The faster the meridian opens, the more residual medicinal power there was, meaning more silver was spent during the Qi Refining stage—this was a universally accepted truth.

Lin Chen’s slow opening meant he had almost no residual medicinal power—or so little it was negligible.

This precisely indicated he had consumed very little Qi-nourishing decoction and spent very little money.

Spending only twenty taels to cultivate essence? It was very likely true!

Kong Yinglei’s chest rose and fell with suppressed excitement—Qingfeng Martial Arts Pavilion had truly stumbled upon a treasure by accident.

At this moment, Lin Chen had no attention for Kong Yinglei’s expression—he felt the surging blood and qi and rising power within him, and immediately summoned his panel, drawn in by its changes.

【Name: Lin Chen】

【Profession: Martial Artist】

【Realm: Opening Meridian (1/24)】

【Destiny: [Water Finds Its Channel]: In the first martial realm, perseverance, gradual progress, unstoppable momentum—no bottlenecks.】

【Martial advancement successful. Based on host’s previous martial experience, awarding martial title.】

【Title calculation in progress…】

Seeing the blood gauge gone from the panel, Lin Chen paused—without visible blood, he could no longer track daily progress.

But the new martial title filled him with anticipation.

His panel was a profession advancement system—the reason it hadn’t changed when he cultivated essence was because cultivating essence wasn’t a realm breakthrough.

(End of Chapter)