Chapter 43: Tree Brother, I

One match, two matches...

In the next half hour, Lin Chen experienced five more matches.

Every opponent was very strong. Although they were only at the second acupoint, their proficiency in techniques was very high, but they weren't practicing ranked techniques, so the power was a bit lacking.

By the time Lin Chen fought the third match, he had to rest for a quarter of an hour after each match.

Perhaps because of Lin Chen's winning streak, the first arena, which few people paid attention to, now had many people's eyes on it.

Especially when the Jiang Jiang Shijie from Jing Shui Wuguan wearing a mask on the third arena also lost, more martial artists shifted their attention here.

When Lin Chen was resting, his peripheral vision also watched the battle on the third arena. This Jiang Jiang Shijie had just lost to a six-acupoint martial artist practicing the Iron Collapse Fist.

Listening to the discussion of the watching martial artists, this six-acupoint martial artist practicing the Iron Collapse Fist was already thirty years old and had won the Arena Master title of the third arena for two months.

Lin Chen had a count in his heart. Martial artists who hadn't learned ranked techniques couldn't win the end-of-month Arena Master title. The title of Arena Master still fell to martial artists who came out of the Martial Halls.

That Jiang Jiang Shijie from Jing Shui Wuguan was already good to be able to hold on for ten moves. The Iron Collapse Fist from the Iron Blood Martial Hall had already reached Great Perfection. Lin Chen estimated that if it were him, he was afraid he couldn't even hold on for one punch.

Looking at it this way, it really wasn't easy for him to get these ten taels of silver. It was a group of guys who had practiced their techniques to the extreme competing for the Arena Master title. His technique was at the Mastery stage, which really wasn't enough to look at.

The rules of the Wu Yuan: the 25th of every month is the Arena Master tournament.

Only those who have defeated ten opponents in the current month are eligible to participate in the tournament on that day to challenge the previous month's Arena Master.

After the Jiang Jiang Shijie from Jing Shui Wuguan failed, she didn't linger and left directly wearing her mask. Lin Chen also rested well and returned to the first arena.

At this moment, on the arena, the opponent had long been on the stage.

"This newcomer met Qiao Yi; this game is lost for sure!"

"Qiao Yi is known as the gatekeeper of the Arena Master. Those who can defeat him are qualified to challenge the Arena Master."

"I'm curious, Qiao Yi also practices the Qingfeng Palm and comes from the same school as this one. Why is he on the arena at this time?"

Lin Chen heard the discussion under the stage clearly, and his eyes also looked at the young man in front of him through the mask.

From the other party, he felt a trace of oppression. Was this person also a disciple who came out of the Qingfeng Martial Hall?

"Which batch of Junior Brothers are you from?"

On the arena, Qiao Yi looked at Lin Chen and asked faintly.

He had left the Martial Hall seven years ago. He only stayed in the Martial Hall for one year. The reason was simple: no money, couldn't stay.

When he left the Martial Hall, he hadn't opened any acupoints. The other Senior Brothers from the same batch had all given up, but he was unwilling. Finally, after spending a year, he opened an acupoint.

Since then, relying on escorting goods for others as a guard, he spent another year reaching the second acupoint, costing fifty taels of silver.

Reaching the second acupoint, Qiao Yi gave up on the Martial Way. He knew very well that with his financial resources, even if he persisted, he would at most open four acupoints in this life.

Rather than continuing to waste money on the Martial Way, it was better to save money to cultivate the next generation.

The Wu Yuan's arena tournament was one of his goals for saving money.

For five years, while escorting goods, he had been practicing the Qingfeng Palm and finally practiced the Qingfeng Palm to Small Success.

What was hateful was that Small Success still wasn't enough. Several of his competitors had already practiced to Great Perfection.

As for why he would be on the stage at this time, the reason was simple: he felt a certain arrogance from this Lin Lin Shidi wearing a mask.

A martial artist's pride needs no words; it can be felt in the moves.

What he didn't understand was that the realm was only at the second acupoint, and the Qingfeng Palm was only at the Mastery stage. What was there to be proud of here?

If it were a new student, doing this in such a short time would indeed be worth being proud of, but this Lin Lin Shidi in front of him absolutely couldn't be a new student.

It was extremely rare for a new student in a Martial Hall to practice a technique to Mastery in such a short time. Even if there were one, they would also be far ahead in realm. It was impossible to still be at the second acupoint at this time.

"Please enlighten me, Lin Lin Shixiong."

Lin Chen didn't answer directly. Qiao Yi gave a cold hum:

"There is a long way between Mastery and Small Success. Since you want me to enlighten you, I will point you out a bit."

Qiao Yi's figure flashed like a breeze, instantly approaching Lin Chen. He saw his hands slightly raised, and one palm struck out like a breeze brushing his face, very gentle. But it was such a seemingly gentle palm that made Lin Chen's clothes blow and rustle.

Lin Chen raised his hand to resist, but a gust of wind roared toward his face, making him narrow his eyes in an instant. And in this flash of lightning, he felt a heavy blow to his chest, and his whole person flew off the arena and fell to the ground.

Cough cough!

Lin Chen gave a light cough and stood up from the ground. This palm made his chest feel a bit dull and painful, and he couldn't help but rub it. At the same time, he also raised his eyes to look at Qiao Yi on the arena.

This was the first time he had failed in a duel since stepping onto the Martial Way.

When he was in the Martial Hall, everyone competed in strength, so there was no duel. Later, after practicing essence and Qi to open acupoints, he sparred with Lu Yongfeng and the others. Relying on the proficiency of the Qingfeng Palm, he had never lost.

Was this the power of the Small Success Qingfeng Palm?

Lin Chen didn't feel discouraged or disappointed. The Arena Masters of the first few arenas of the Wu Yuan had all given up on improving their martial realm and specifically practiced martial techniques.

He had only practiced the Qingfeng Palm for a few months; it was not embarrassing to lose to them.

But the failure of this match also made Lin Chen alert. During this period, especially with the smooth sailing after he opened his acupoints, a sense of pride had quietly grown in his heart.

Originally, he hadn't noticed it, but the defeat in this match just now woke him up. He was afraid that a sense of pride had quietly grown in his heart.

Even in the Martial Hall, watching Senior Sisters like Jiang Qing constantly opening acupoints, he didn't feel much disappointment in his heart. He had the confidence that as long as he survived the early stage, he could also take off.

He could wait for the realm until the later stage, and he was leading in techniques.

Using a famous saying from his previous life: although I am surrounded by a group of enemies, the advantage is with me.

The appearance of this kind of thinking just proved that a sense of pride had already grown in his heart, but he hadn't discovered it himself.

This defeat woke him up.

The path of martial arts is not limited to the Martial Hall. As Vice Hall Master Kong said, the outside world won't care how long you have practiced; everything depends on strength. If you encounter a life-and-death struggle, would the other party tie one hand behind their back just because you practiced for a few years less?

This failure came at the right time and woke him up.

Lin Chen looked at Qiao Yi on the arena, his eyes full of strong fighting spirit. The sense of pride was scattered, but it aroused his fighting spirit for martial arts.

He would come to this arena tournament again.

Lin Chen didn't stay under the arena but, like that Jiang Jiang Shijie from Jing Shui Wuguan, left the Wu Yuan directly and returned to the dormitory.

In the Martial Hall dormitory.

Lin Chen didn't delay for a moment and began to practice the Qingfeng Palm.

Although he had just lost miserably and didn't even take two moves, recalling Qiao Yi's palm, he had some understanding in his heart.

Although he couldn't describe exactly what he had realized now, after his comprehension improved at night, he would inevitably have some gains.

……

Nightfall.

Lin Chen stood in the courtyard, closing his eyes to recall the battle in the arena during the day.

"Ethereal as the wind, formless and imageless."

After a long time, Lin Chen whispered. Yu Yu Jiaoxi had recorded this sentence in the booklet, but before today, he only understood the literal meaning. Now, recalling that palm of Qiao Yi's, he felt moved in his heart.

Whoosh!

Lin Chen struck out with a palm, and there was a flow of palm wind.

"Wrong! That palm of Qiao Yi's not only drove the airflow but also had a sense of unconstrained freedom, while my palm strike now has tracks to follow."

The Qingfeng Palm is a ranked technique. Ranked techniques can stimulate powerful strength that exceeds one's own limits because after practicing to Mastery, one can borrow the power of the airflow in the air.

Yu Yu Jiaoxi called it the power of heaven and earth, but in Lin Chen's view, it was the power of airflow.

Lin Chen's eyes looked at a water vat in the courtyard, but his mind thought of a scene of a certain celebrity practicing Tai Chi that he had seen when he was a child in his previous life.

Walking to the water vat, Lin Chen inserted his hands into the water vat, and his hands began to stir in the water. Soon, the water flow changed direction with the movement of his hands.

"Comparing water flow to airflow, my palm moves along the direction of the water flow, and the resistance is not great. But if I reverse my palm to be opposite to the direction of the water flow, I will immediately encounter resistance. The water flow I drive, which was originally an aid, becomes resistance."

Under the night, looking at the water flow swimming in the water vat, Lin Chen had an epiphany in his heart.

The gap between Mastery and Small Success of the Qingfeng Palm lies in this. When he strikes, he drives the airflow, and the airflow becomes his aid, making his palm strike much more powerful. But the flaw is also very obvious: he cannot change moves instantly.

To be precise, he cannot go against the airflow he has struck. If he reverses, there will inevitably be a moment of lag. So in the eyes of someone whose proficiency in the Qingfeng Palm is higher than his own, the landing point of his palm technique can be easily captured.

"Wrong, Qiao Yi didn't reach the formless and imageless stage either. That palm seemed like unconstrained freedom, but I still captured it; it was just that the speed was faster, and I couldn't react."

Taking his palm out of the water vat, Lin Chen closed his eyes again. What exactly is ethereal as the wind?

Suddenly.

A night wind blew, and the few sparse leaves on the camphor tree in the courtyard began to rustle.

Lin Chen closed his eyes and focused, listening to the wind. In the next moment, his right hand lightly slapped the camphor tree, and a few leaves drifted down from under the tree.

Slap!

The fallen leaves drifted in front of him. After Lin Chen struck, the palm wind broke through the air, driving these three leaves to roll forward.

Before the momentum of the leaves drifting forward dissipated, Lin Chen followed with another palm, one foot away from the direction of the previous palm strike. But these three fallen leaves were not carried by the palm wind; instead, under the collision of the two palm winds, they fell toward the ground.

"The feeling is wrong, still a bit short."

Lin Chen opened his eyes, looked at the three leaves that had just fallen to the ground, and frowned. In the next moment, his gaze turned to the camphor tree in front of him.

"Tree Brother, I'm sorry. One day when I, Lin, have some achievements on the Martial Way, there will definitely be a credit for Tree Brother."

Slap!

Another palm struck down, the camphor tree trembled, and a few leaves fell.

……

……

Repeating this cycle, Lin Chen's understanding of the Qingfeng Palm deepened bit by bit.

【Qingfeng Palm: Mastery (2/10)】

……

PS: As of Monday's reading, the editor said that if I want to get on Sanjiang next week, there is a 30% possibility, depending on whether the same period is bad enough. Alas!

If it is confirmed in the afternoon that I can get on Sanjiang, I will add a chapter. If not, I will also add a chapter. Damn it, anyway, I will add a chapter!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 44 =====