Chapter 344: Strength Soaring, Teacher's Injury (First Chapter)

Quzhou Prefecture.

Between the towering mountains.

"Cough cough!"

An old figure coughed a few times, took off the handkerchief, looked at the few strands of blood on it, and there was a look of regret in the bottom of his eyes.

"Time spares no one."

Jia Nanzhu whispered. Before that battle, he was a ranked martial artist key-cultivated by Jiangnan Dao. At thirty, he had cultivated to the Sixth Rank and became the Quzhou Prefecture Master.

And right in this mountain range where he was, the remaining demon race came out of the mountains. In order to guard the people of Quzhou and not let the demon race escape, he, who was Sixth Rank, fought with a Fifth Rank demon beast.

Although he finally succeeded in dragging it until the adults from above came to kill this Fifth Rank demon beast, he himself was also seriously injured.

Later, his body recovered, but he left an unhealable injury, and his stage could never break through again.

As one of the mid-grade martial artists most favored in Jiangnan Dao, he was not willing to accept his fate, not willing to become the Deputy Hall Master of the Martial Administration Hall relying on this achievement. Over the years, he had been trying to walk another martial arts path.

Integrating the strengths of hundreds of martial arts to allow his own martial arts will to break through.

He walked through this path.

This is also the reason why he personally went to teach Lin Chen when he learned of Lin Chen's situation.

To walk through this path, one needs extremely high martial arts comprehension, and Lin Chen just happened to satisfy this point.

Even Senior Brother Shao and the others didn't know that he had already entered the high-grade years ago.

But he had never displayed the strength of a high-grade martial artist. It wasn't that he was deliberately hiding his clumsiness, but because the injury from that year hadn't healed until now. When he displayed strength exceeding the Sixth Rank, his Qi and blood would decline sharply.

Just like him at this moment, in order to rush to the battlefield as soon as possible, he didn't retain his strength anymore, and his body couldn't bear it and started coughing blood.

The time left for him is not much.

Li Fire Path

Inside the formation.

Lin Chen, who had turned into a ten-zhang giant, looked at the fire dragon in front of him, and there was a look of helplessness in his eyes.

This fire dragon was transformed by the Li Fire Spirit. When he was continuously absorbing Li Fire energy in this sea of fire, he finally thoroughly awakened the Li Fire. Taking advantage of his lack of reaction, it directly turned into a fire dragon and swallowed him in one gulp.

Fortunately, the Wujin Divine Phase Art he cultivated had already tempered his body with Li Fire energy, so this Li Fire couldn't cause him any harm.

If it were someone else, even a First Rank martial artist would fear being seriously injured.

This is also the power of the Wujin Divine Phase Art. After each innate fire body tempering is completed, that innate fire will find it difficult to cause harm to oneself again.

But at the same time, he couldn't do anything to this Li Fire Spirit.

No matter how he activated the Wujin Divine Phase Art, he couldn't absorb the energy on this Li Fire Spirit.

Both sides had been in a stalemate in this sea of fire for ten days.

"I guess you should have intelligence, let's make a deal, the two of us."

Lin Chen looked at the fire dragon. The reason he fought with this Li Fire Spirit was not just to refine the other party, but more because he didn't want to let this Li Fire Spirit break free.

Once it breaks free, the entire Li Fire Path, and even the southern part of Daliang, will suffer disaster.

Hearing Lin Chen's words, the fire dragon didn't circle its body anymore, but just quietly hovered in the sea of fire, its dragon eyes staring tightly at Lin Chen.

Obviously, the fire dragon had intelligence and could understand Lin Chen's words.

"If you really want to break free, I can not stop you, but you must not step into Daliang territory."

Lin Chen stared at the fire dragon with burning eyes. The reason he put himself in danger this time was because of the conspiracy of the Han Kingdom and the Nansha San Dao. He didn't have any good feelings for the Nansha San Dao.

If it weren't for the fact that he had Mount Wudao, and Mount Wudao was also connected to the Yan Imperial Dynasty, if it weren't for him waiting on Mount Wudao for so many days and finally waiting for the Canglan Sect disciples, if it weren't for the Canglan Sect passing him the "Wujin Divine Phase Art", if it weren't for his own comprehension being enough to comprehend the "Wujin Divine Phase Art", if even one point hadn't been done, he would have turned into ashes by now.

Returning evil with kindness has never been Lin Chen's style of doing things.

He couldn't keep stalemating with this Li Fire Spirit here, so he might as well reach a deal with the other party.

The fire dragon shook its body, as if thinking about something. After a long while, the huge dragon head nodded a few times, which was agreeing to Lin Chen's deal.

The next moment, the fire dragon's body swayed, stirring the sea of fire to surge, and its figure turned and whistled toward the other side, disappearing into the depths of the sea of fire in the blink of an eye.

Watching the fire dragon's departing back, Lin Chen also sighed lightly. The Li Fire Spirit breaking free, the Nansha San Dao will inevitably suffer disaster.

But what does this have to do with himself?

It was the Nansha San Dao side that personally awakened the Li Fire Spirit. Even those ordinary commoners, if they want to blame, they can only blame the martial artists of their own island.

Let the fellow Daoist die, not the poor Daoist.

He is a descendant of Daliang, and what he wants to protect is the commoners of Daliang.

With the departure of the fire dragon, the sea of fire also began to surge toward the other side of the abyss. Rocks began to be revealed here. Lin Chen looked at the underground space that had expanded by a full double compared to when he first entered, and also intuitively felt the terror of the Li Fire.

"Panel."

Lin Chen whispered, and the panel appeared in front of him.

【Host: Lin Chen】

【Stage: Fourth Rank】

【Spirit Rank: 7.5】

【Innate Art: Heavenly Derivation Myriad Phenomena Destruction Palm】

【Wujin Divine Phase Body: First Layer (Giant Phase)】

【Title: Martial Way Long-Lasting (Showing prestige on Mount Wudao, every thousand-match winning streak, martial arts comprehension permanently increases by one time, soul increases by ten percent)】

【Achievement: Light of Daliang】

【Effect: The more Daliang martial artist worshippers, the faster the martial arts cultivation progress.】

【Fate: 【Water to Channel Completion】: Ninth Rank Martial Way path, persistent, step-by-step, like a broken bamboo, no bottleneck trouble.】

When he saw his stage and spirit rank values, Lin Chen gasped.

Although he had a premonition that his success in cultivating the first layer of the Wujin Divine Phase Body, Giant Phase, this time would lead to a huge increase in strength, he didn't expect it to increase to such a terrifying degree.

From Seventh Rank to Fourth Rank, leaping from the top of the lower grade to the top of the mid-grade in one go, crossing three stages.

As for the spirit rank, it also increased by three tiers, even one rank higher than the stage.

"Wujin Divine Phase Body is not just as simple as body tempering. After all, innate fire itself has the effect of tempering the soul, but ordinary martial artists cannot absorb and refine it."

There was a thoughtful look in Lin Chen's eyes. His rapid progress in strength this time, the Wujin Divine Phase Art and enough Li Fire energy should take the first credit, but the 【Martial Way Long-Lasting】 and 【Light of Daliang】 on the panel also played a role.

This time his ranking on Mount Wudao advanced by tens of thousands, which is equivalent to his soul increasing by dozens of percent. The soul increase of 【Martial Way Long-Lasting】 by ten percent is an increase based on his current soul strength.

This kind of increase is extremely terrifying because his base is constantly growing. It is no exaggeration to say that the ten percent increase in his soul now is worth the dozens of percent increase before.

"Lin...... Lin Chen?"

Just as Lin Chen was immersed in the rapid progress of his strength, a voice with surprise came from afar. Lin Chen looked in the direction of the sound, and when he saw the old man's figure, a smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Duke!" "Hahaha, it's good that you're okay, this old man really thought......"

Fang Funan saw the unscathed Lin Chen, stepped forward and grabbed Lin Chen's hand. Lin Chen could feel the old man's joy and excitement from the bottom of his heart.

"This junior made the Duke worry."

"It's not just me who worried, the Left Prime Minister and your Martial Administration Department's Lord Kong both came in person, and there is also Jia Nanzhu from Jiangnan Dao, your teacher...... if it weren't for the news of you in the formation not being revealed too much to the outside world, I'm afraid more people would have come."

Lin Chen was stunned. He had thought that he had stayed in here for so long, it would definitely attract the worry of people outside, but he didn't expect Lord Liang to come to the Li Fire Path in person.

"Let's go out first."

Fang Funan didn't let go of Lin Chen's hand, directly pulling Lin Chen toward the exit.

He didn't know what changes had occurred in the formation, but he wasn't in a hurry for this moment. He would take Lin Chen out of here first, and talk after he was completely safe.

Jade stele entrance, when they saw the Duke bringing Lin Chen out, the old men at the scene also had looks of shock on their faces.

The news that Lin Chen was missing and life or death unknown in the formation was hidden from the outside, but as high-level members of the Zhennan Army, these old men knew it, because they had to guard against the awakening of the Li Fire at any time, and Fang Funan didn't hide this matter from them.

Such a genius as Lin Chen, falling in the formation, they naturally felt regret in their hearts. Now seeing Lin Chen come out unscathed, everyone's face also showed a smile.

"You continue to guard here to prevent any emergencies."

After Fang Funan warned everyone, he pulled Lin Chen and went directly to the temporary camp set up in the valley.

"Tell this old man, what did you encounter in the formation?"

"Yes."

Lin Chen nodded, told about encountering the Nansha San Dao and Han Kingdom martial artists in the formation, and finally obtained a cultivation art for absorbing Li Fire from Mount Wudao, as well as the agreement reached with the Li Fire not long ago.

After listening to Lin Chen's account, Fang Funan's old face was full of killing intent.

"Nansha San Dao...... this old man long suspected that the Nansha San Dao were making trouble, but because there was no evidence, and our Daliang was at war with the Han Kingdom and the Zheng Kingdom, I could only endure it temporarily."

"The Han Kingdom and the Zheng Kingdom are at war with us?"

Lin Chen was surprised. He originally thought the Han Kingdom would be the same as before, inciting other countries to go to war with Daliang. He didn't expect the Han Kingdom to personally enter the field.

"The Han Kingdom is at war with our country. At present, both sides are still restrained. On the contrary, the Zheng Kingdom is determined to fight our Daliang with all its strength, almost exhausting the power of the whole country."

"What about the other countries?"

With the Han Kingdom's character, it is impossible to let other countries watch from the sidelines, and it will threaten these countries to join the siege of Daliang.

"On the day the Zheng Kingdom launched a sneak attack on Lingxiao City, Pei Qingming alone with one sword, killed the Sea Demon King, scaring away the Zheng Kingdom's tens of thousands of troops. The hearts of other countries that were originally restless have also been extinguished."

Fang Funan stroked his beard and smiled. Lin Chen's eyes lit up: "Brother Pei is amazing."

"Pei Qingming is naturally Daliang's genius, you don't have to belittle yourself. After another dozen years, you will also become Daliang's Dinghai Divine Needle (pillar of support), deterring other countries from acting rashly."

Fang Funan had high expectations for Lin Chen. To become a country's Dinghai Divine Needle, one must be at the high-grade stage, and also be a leader among high-grade martial artists. Generally, mid-grade martial artists with not-bad talent need more than a dozen years from mid-grade to high-grade, and another dozen years from high-grade to top-grade.

But Fang Funan was very optimistic about Lin Chen. With Lin Chen's talent, he didn't need thirty-plus years, he only needed another dozen years for Lin Chen to grow up.

This was the consensus of him and Kong Zhao Qifeng and others. Their generation of old guys would support Lin Chen and Pei Qingming for another dozen years of growth time.

"Duke, what about the Nansha San Dao side?"

"No need to pay attention, this is their own doing."

Fang Funan waved his hand: "I know what you are thinking. The Nansha San Dao have been separated from our Daliang for hundreds of years. Even those ordinary commoners have long lost their sense of belonging to our Daliang. The evil they created above falls on them, which is also their own doing."

As a leader of an army, Fang Funan is not the kind of person with womanly benevolence.

"If it weren't for your chance coincidence in cultivating that body-tempering method, making the Li Fire unable to do anything to you, or if you hadn't entered the formation back then, the conspiracy of the Han Kingdom and the Nansha San Dao would have succeeded, and at this moment, it would be the commoners of our Daliang who would be suffering."

"Lin Chen, you must remember one point, sometimes kindness to the enemy is cruelty to yourself."

Fang Funan's expression was serious, and he warned Lin Chen very earnestly. He was afraid that Lin Chen was still young, and when the Li Fire wreaked havoc on the Nansha San Dao, he would feel guilty.

"This junior has remembered it."

Seeing Lin Chen's expression unchanged, he indeed understood this truth. Fang Funan's face showed a smile again: "This time, finding life in death has also improved your strength. However, for now, you should rest for a while, and then write a letter to report your safety to the elders who care about you."

"Mm."

Lin Chen nodded. He came out alive, so he should inform the elders who care about him, especially his teacher, who gave up the position of Deputy Hall Master to cultivate him and lived in Linhu Village for a long time.

He was life or death unknown in the formation, I'm afraid his teacher felt extremely uncomfortable in his heart.

Just as Fang Funan was about to take Lin Chen out of the camp, a voice came from outside the camp: "Duke, there is a letter from the capital."

"Send it in."

A middle-aged man walked in with a letter. Fang Funan took the letter, scanned the folds on it, and smiled at Lin Chen: "A letter from Kong Zhao Qifeng, just right, when I reply, I will inform him of your news."

Opening the envelope, Fang Funan only scanned it a few times, his face suddenly turned cold. Lin Chen could feel the biting cold emanating from Fang Funan.

"Duke, has something big happened?"

Lin Chen couldn't help but ask curiously. It stands to reason that a martial artist of his stage, if it involves secret matters, might not be qualified to know. This kind of questioning was a bit rash.

But Lin Chen's situation is different. He has even seen the Emperor and knows some secrets of the imperial family. If something big happened in the country, the Duke wouldn't hide it from him.

Fang Funan looked at Lin Chen, his expression somewhat complex, not in a hurry to speak.

"It was this junior who overstepped."

"It's not overstepping, it's just that this old man doesn't know how to tell you. Forget it, see for yourself."

Lin Chen took the letter handed over by Fang Funan with a puzzled look, and after seeing the content of the letter clearly, there was endless killing intent in his eyes.

"Duke, this junior will take his leave first."

Putting down the letter, Lin Chen clasped his fists at Fang Funan, his expression determined.

"Lin Chen, it's good to go see your teacher, but don't be impulsive. The imperial court has already sent people to the army. This matter will definitely give you an explanation."

"Thank you, Duke, for the reminder. This junior will think twice before acting."

Clasping his fists and saluting, Lin Chen turned and left the camp, his figure turning into a stream of light and disappearing.

Watching Lin Chen's figure disappear, Fang Funan's eyes were also full of killing intent. Li Yuan's son, Li Zhe, plotted to assassinate Lin Chen's family. This matter was exposed. Jia Nanzhu went to Hongdu Prefecture, slaughtered the entire Li Family, and then went to the army to fight with Li Yuan, but suffered a loss. That Li Yuan had actually broken through to the peak of the Fourth Rank.

Kong Zhao Qifeng's letter mentioned one point: Li Zhe would take action against Lin Chen's family because he heard that Lin Chen entered the formation and his life or death was unknown.

Outside the Li Fire Path, besides the Left Prime Minister and Kong Zhao Qifeng of the imperial court, the only one who knew that Lin Chen entered the formation sealing the Li Fire was Jia Nanzhu.

On the contrary, in the Zhennan Army, there were several people who knew about this.

Someone, leaked the news.

If it was intentional, that is betrayal of Daliang.

If it was unintentional, that is not respecting military law.

The purpose of Kong Zhao Qifeng's letter was to have him investigate who leaked the news.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 345 =====