[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-rising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback":3,"chapter-rising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-rising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-chapter-31":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Rising from Obscurity: My Martial Path Comeback",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2265866,4424,"Chapter 31: The Village Chief","rising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-chapter-31",31,"\u003Cp>The seventh day of the first lunar month!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eighth day of the first lunar month!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ninth day of the first lunar month!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the lake of Linhu Village, Lin Chen and Lu Yongfeng’s group trained daily, testing and correcting each other’s shortcomings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Starting from the fifth, the three had stayed directly in Linhu Village; Lin Chen’s home was too small, so the village chief found a household with extra rooms to accommodate them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jingchuan even had his father deliver meals to Linhu Village every day—poultry and meat to nourish qi and blood; though inferior to black muntjac meat, each meal cost two taels of silver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three meals a day amounted to six taels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This money was not paid by Zhao Jingchuan alone; Lu Yongfeng and Cheng Ying had secretly given Zhao Jingchuan silver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the three never said it outright, Lin Chen knew well enough—he could guess the truth from Lu Yongfeng and Cheng Ying’s words and attitudes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If all the meals were paid by Zhao’s family, a boy with a thin face like Zhao would feel embarrassed, and with Lu and Cheng’s temperaments, they’d surely show discomfort or even promise to repay him later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lu Yongfeng and Cheng Ying showed no such reaction—there was only one possibility: they had contributed to the meal costs too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They didn’t tell him because they knew his family was poor and didn’t want him to bear this expense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a sense, this was also a form of help from Zhao Jingchuan and the other two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen said nothing; he truly had no money, and over these days, Zhao Jingchuan and the others had greatly improved their technique proficiency under his influence—this was his own contribution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mutual aid, mutual progress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fourteenth day of the first lunar month!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior Lin, tomorrow we won’t come. We plan to enter the city early to experience the Lantern Festival’s bustle—will you join us?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the lake, as the sun set, Zhao Jingchuan and the others did not follow Lin Chen back to the village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tomorrow our village holds the Spirit Invocation ceremony; the chief specifically told me to stay.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is not only the Lantern Festival but also the day to invoke the Lake Spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every villager by the lake invites the Lake Spirit into the waters on this day, praying for a year of favorable winds and abundant rains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Lin Chen wouldn’t go, Lu Yongfeng and the others felt disappointed, but young people don’t dwell on farewells—besides, Lin Chen would enter the city only one or two days later, and they’d have plenty of time to reunite in the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After seeing off Lu Yongfeng and the others, Lin Chen squinted slightly and murmured: “Panel.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Name: Lin Chen】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Profession: Martial Artist】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Realm: Opening Meridian (1\u002F24)】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Clear Wind Palm: Beginner (180\u002F200)】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Destiny: [Water Finds Its Channel]: In the first martial realm, perseverance, steady progress, and momentum break through all obstacles without encountering bottlenecks.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Martial Title: Black to the End】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Black to the End: Before heaven and earth are decided, you and I are both dark horses. Wearing this badge enhances martial insight and perception in darkness.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Clear Wind Palm’s progress, Lin Chen’s eyes gleamed with anticipation—according to this pace, before reporting to the martial academy, he would reach the Proficient stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had reached Beginner in Clear Wind Palm in less than a month; the 【Black to the End】 title helped, but mostly it was his diligent practice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The insight bonus from 【Black to the End】 mattered more in the later stages of martial techniques.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The training manual described that students’ progress in martial techniques was faster or slower in the early Beginner and Proficient stages, but even those with the worst insight could reach Proficient through diligence—hard work compensated for lack of talent, and the gap remained small.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after reaching Proficient did insight become essential to break through to Expert and beyond—diligence alone no longer sufficed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I can reach Proficient in Clear Wind Palm within a month of entering the academy, even if I’ve only opened one meridian, I won’t fall behind those who’ve opened two.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In martial realm, Lin Chen knew he couldn’t match those from wealthy families; the 【Water Finds Its Channel】 destiny’s boost came in the middle and later phases of each realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the early phase, he had to find his own way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fifteenth day of the first lunar month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lake Spirit Invocation ceremony began.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several strong men from the village carried the Lake Spirit statue to the lakeside fishing dock, followed by the entire village holding incense, candles, and yellow paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xiao Chen, come forward.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chief, presiding over the ceremony, waved to Lin Chen among the crowd; the villagers in front of him immediately parted to make a path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Last year you invited the Lake Spirit into the village; this year, you will send it off.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen accepted the chief’s invitation, stepped before the statue, lit incense, and bowed: “Lin Chen, son of Linhu Village, today I invite the Lake Spirit to open its eyes and enter the waters, blessing our villagers with a bountiful year!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he finished, he placed the incense in the censer, then grasped one corner of the red cloth covering the statue and slowly lifted it upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The red cloth must be lifted—not torn!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen remembered these rituals from the original body’s memories; he wouldn’t make a mistake now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Light the firecrackers! Invite the Lake Spirit into the lake!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the red cloth was lifted, Lin Chen shouted loudly; the villagers cheered in unison, and others had already ignited the laid-out firecrackers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how poor the harvest had been last year, even villagers with bad yields now wore smiles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Invoking the spirit was less superstition than the villagers’ hope for the coming year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The village youths too young to begin martial training gazed at Lin Chen with burning admiration—they too wanted to be as glorious and radiant as Brother Lin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Standing nearby, the chief observed the boys’ gazes and smiled with satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too bad—if Lin Chaoyang hadn’t grown senile, today’s ceremony would have been the Lin family’s honor, not something he hid away, feigning illness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the ceremony, Lin Chen returned home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even on this festive day, he wouldn’t neglect his training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An hour later, the chief pushed open the courtyard gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen looked at him in surprise; the chief pulled out a money pouch and a ledger, smiling: “Xiao Chen, tomorrow you leave for the county martial academy. We villagers discussed it and pooled together some silver for you—study hard, don’t let our hopes go to waste.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chief...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen was startled—he hadn’t expected the villagers to raise money for him, and his parents hadn’t mentioned it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not much—thirty taels total, raised by our 132 households. Here’s the ledger recording each family’s contribution. The first two names are former villagers who became martial artists and have now opened meridians; they heard you entered the academy and specially sent silver through someone to me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking the pouch and ledger, Lin Chen flipped through it—each villager’s name was written down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teng Xing’s family: two taels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Xuan’s family: two taels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Hai’s family: thirteen hundred cash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Fan’s family: six hundred cash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Sixi’s family: three hundred and sixty-six cash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at these figures and each family’s name, Lin Chen’s eyes grew red; he took a deep breath and carefully tucked the ledger away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen will never betray the elders' kindness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was truly moved. Though the village had prospered in recent years and each household had some savings, human nature was selfish—who would willingly give money to another?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Study hard. Show those academy instructors that village boys can become martial masters too. Jiang the Provincial Graduate did it—I believe you can too, Xiao Chen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen looked at the chief in surprise—those words carried deeper meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chief had patted Lin Chen’s shoulder. On the third day of the first month, he’d overheard hints from those young lords, gone straight to the town magistrate’s house, and refused to leave until the magistrate inquired about this year’s academy admissions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He learned Lin Chen had nearly been rejected—the academy thought his poor family meant he wouldn’t go far on the martial path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That enraged him—he cursed the academy instructors as blind fools in the magistrate’s house, then went door-to-door persuading villagers to contribute, even writing letters himself to the two former villagers now living in the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You academy rejects Lin Chen for his poor family? Fine—we, all of Linhu Village, will raise the money for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This money must be raised—and it’s worth raising.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These past days, he’d carefully observed Lin Chen: no arrogance after joining the academy, no despair after being discriminated against—he trained diligently every day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even those town lords had come to respect him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this age, such character could reach at least the Organ Refining stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang the Provincial Graduate rose too quickly, and his family was an outsider with little attachment to the village—but even so, he secured ten years of benefits for Linhu Village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, after so long, the village had another youth with martial potential. Helping Lin Chen now meant he’d remember the village’s kindness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1553,"2026-06-19T20:25:56.550Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","5497e2fcd0a496a3d421654a088723981271ff62a9b79415b0c966f42170e038","rising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-chapter-32","rising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-chapter-30",591,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-cover.jpg"]