[{"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-47":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},2265882,4424,"Chapter 47: The Wuzheng Office","rising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-chapter-47",47,"\u003Cp>Qingfeng Martial Arts Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Qihe’s courtyard, besides Chen Chunfeng, there was Zhao Ce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qihe was the deputy head of Qingfeng Martial Arts Hall, handling daily affairs; Zhao Ce was responsible for recruiting new students; Chen Chunfeng was the instructor for the new cohort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three had gathered here to discuss Lin Chen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior Brother Qi, Lin Chen has exceptional talent with Qingfeng Palm. Given his potential, he might achieve minor mastery within half a year, and full mastery within three years.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Chunfeng, watching the silent Deputy Head Qi, voiced his assessment of Lin Chen’s martial progress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior Brother Chen, you were the one who originally sought to revoke Lin Chen’s Class-A student status, and now you’re the one pushing to restore it—your flip-flopping…” Zhao Ce said, dissatisfied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Junior Brother Zhao, we didn’t know Lin Chen’s talent with Qingfeng Palm back then. Now that we do, we must reassess.” Chen Chunfeng frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about Lü Shuyu? The hall already promised him the slot—now we tell him it’s gone? How will he feel?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Faced with Zhao Ce’s question, Chen Chunfeng was troubled, smiling bitterly: “Precisely because it’s so hard to decide, I came to ask Senior Brother Qi to make the call.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lü Shuyu has already opened three qi orifices. Though slightly behind the four students who opened five or four orifices, it’s not that Lü Shuyu can’t open four—he simply refrained early on for the sake of long-term training at the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Martial cultivation isn’t something achieved overnight. Those students who opened five or four orifices come from extremely wealthy families; even after opening ten orifices, their households still have sufficient wealth to sustain their cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lü Shuyu’s family is somewhat poorer; he couldn’t afford to spend lavishly early on. But granting him Class-A student status would close that gap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saving twenty-five taels per month amounts to over two hundred taels annually. Add the hall’s later expenses, and a Class-A student’s benefits allow savings of nearly a thousand taels over three years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qihe rubbed his teacup with his fingers, saying nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior Brother Qi, perhaps we can grant Class-A status to both Lin Chen and Lü Shuyu.” Chen Chunfeng proposed his suggestion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior Brother Chen, are you planning to revoke one of Shao Hong’s four slots?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course not,” Chen Chunfeng shook his head. “I mean, whether we give the Class-A slot to Lin Chen or Lü Shuyu, we privately grant the other the same benefits.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Unacceptable. That’s forbidden by the Wuzheng Office. Don’t be foolish, Senior Brother Chen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qihe’s expression turned stern, his tone serious: “The Wuzheng Office’s strictest rule for our hall is prohibiting any private rewards to students. We must not repeat the Eight Halls Uprising twenty years ago.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Chunfeng’s face showed resignation—he had been a student at the hall back then and knew the devastating impact of that incident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Twenty years ago, the Wuzheng Office imposed few restrictions on hall admissions; aside from the fixed number of Qi-Opening Elixirs, halls decided everything else themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yunyin Martial Arts Hall had consistently ranked last in annual competitions. The newly appointed head, desperate to escape last place, secretly promised wealthy students lavish martial resources.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The result was obvious: that year, Yunyin recruited every top-tier student from the city. Faced with thousands of taels in martial support, even noble families couldn’t resist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that year’s competition, Yunyin swept the top three spots—glorious beyond measure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next recruitment season, other halls copied the tactic. To snatch promising students, some even offered to cover all three years’ expenses for free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each hall offered increasingly attractive conditions, causing massive expenditures. Some halls even ran at a deficit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The resources halls provided—meat, elixirs—cost money. They weren’t free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Halls earned income from student enrollment fees and a cut of student purchases within the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That income paid instructors’ salaries and bought slightly cheaper supplies from the Wuzheng Office. But under conditions of free tuition plus subsidies, Yunyin Hall was drained dry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To keep the hall running, Yunyin’s head raised prices for hall supplies. Though still cheaper than outside, students were furious. Several directly filed complaints at Rao Prefecture’s Wuzheng Office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Wuzheng Office director flew into a rage. After investigation, the Poyang County Wuzheng Office chief and Yunyin’s head were stripped of rank and exiled to the frontier. The heads of the other seven halls lost their positions too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since then, the Wuzheng Office imposed strict rules: each hall may admit only ten Qi-Opening Elixir slots and five Class-A student slots. No private resources may be given to students.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No additional aid of any kind is permitted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If an instructor privately gives money to a favored student, even if the hall covers the cost, discovery means severe punishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No hall dares cross this red line!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless, of course, the instructor pays out of his own pocket—but a Class-A slot costs nearly a thousand taels over three years. Not everyone can afford that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a Qi-Refining cultivator, one may have owned a thousand taels. But martial cultivation is a bottomless pit. By this stage, most have spent it all. Only those who abandoned cultivation after reaching Qi-Refining might save a thousand taels after years of frugality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No more alternatives. You two, just say outright: who gets the Class-A slot?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Chunfeng hesitated a moment: “I have no objection to giving it to either Lin Chen or Lü Shuyu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qihe nodded, turning to Zhao Ce: “Junior Brother Zhao, who do you think should get it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lü Shuyu!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Ce didn’t hesitate. “Senior Brother Qi, Senior Brother Chen, even if Lin Chen has extraordinary talent with Qingfeng Palm, what does it matter? Our priority now is the hall competition. Every three months, the students’ cultivation levels matter more than technique aptitude.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lin Chen has mastered Qingfeng Palm. Even if he can fight one orifice higher next month, what about the sixth-month match? Can he reach minor mastery in such a short time? Meanwhile, top students from other halls will all have reached mastery by then. The technique gap vanishes, Lin Chen’s advantage disappears, and the cultivation gap widens.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Chunfeng frowned. “Junior Brother Zhao, are you still holding a grudge because you rejected Lin Chen earlier, and then he joined our hall?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you mean, Senior Brother Chen? You weren’t the only one who rejected Lin Chen—Senior Brother Qi agreed too. I hold no grudge against Lin Chen. I choose Lü Shuyu because granting him Class-A status benefits the hall most.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Ce’s expression was open and honest. Chen Chunfeng sighed and said nothing more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Since Senior Brother Chen has no objection, and Junior Brother Zhao supports Lü Shuyu, the Class-A status goes to Lü Shuyu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qihe made the final call. Though deputy head, the head was focused on breaking into the elite ranks, so Qihe decided most hall matters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jingshui Martial Arts Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Qingfeng Martial Arts Hall revoked Lin Chen’s Class-A status?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Yinglei, listening to her senior sister, looked stunned. Could Lin Chen’s talent with Qingfeng Palm really not merit a Class-A slot?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In past years, the Class-A slot would’ve gone to Lin Chen. But this year is different. Qihe is overly ambitious, fixated on this year’s competition. From a competition standpoint, speed of cultivation advancement matters far more than technique aptitude.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ceng Qingyao knew exactly what puzzled her junior, and laid bare Qihe’s motives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you think Qihe is like you—denying Class-A status to everyone except Jiang Qing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As for Fu Jingya and the others, their attitude toward cultivation doesn’t deserve Class-A status. But their performance this month was decent—I may consider granting them Class-A status next month.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Yinglei sniffed. Ceng Qingyao smiled, saying nothing. This was the unique trait of Jingshui Martial Arts Hall: since all students were female, even finishing last in competition didn’t bring great shame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior Sister, couldn’t Qingfeng Martial Arts Hall just bend the rules a little—privately compensate one student?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Junior Sister Kong!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ceng Qingyao’s face turned stern. “Have you forgotten the Eight Halls Uprising twenty years ago—or the Wuzheng Office’s ironclad rules?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior Sister, the Eight Halls Uprising and this situation aren’t the same. Lin Chen truly deserves a Class-A slot—it’s not about luring students with reckless promises.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Yinglei saw no issue with this. Inspector Su had assigned Lin Chen to their hall and granted him a Qi-Opening Elixir slot—wasn’t that a legitimate workaround?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Wuzheng Office director’s fury back then wasn’t as simple as you think. This touches on the imperial court’s stance toward martial halls.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing her junior’s confusion, Ceng Qingyao decided to clarify the stakes—otherwise, her sister might cross this red line while she was in seclusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Talented students deserve preferential treatment—that’s natural. But how do we define a ‘talented’ student? Is Jiang Qing, who entered with five orifices open, a talented student?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course,” Kong Yinglei nodded without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we give Jiang Qing vast resources because she’s talented, what about the others? Hall resources are limited. If other halls learn we’re investing in Jiang Qing, won’t they do the same for their own talented students to win the competition?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then wouldn’t most hall resources be monopolized by one student?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Most critically—if noble families use this as an opportunity to spend heavily early on, making their sons meet the hall’s ‘talent’ criteria?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then these noble sons would flood into halls, draining resources. Would halls become bloodsucking ponds for noble families to raise their heirs?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ceng Qingyao watched her junior freeze, then spoke slowly: “Martial halls exist to select talent for the Liang Empire—not to become noble families’ private gardens.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You may seek martial resources and privileges—but the Wuzheng Office sets the standard: performance. Pass the test, earn the reward. This forces even nobles to spend heavily, because their sons compete against peers of equal standing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our Liang Empire’s martial arts flourish because halls exist everywhere. If halls relied solely on Wuzheng Force funding, they’d collapse. Only by enforcing tests can we force noble sons into the arena—winners earn rewards, losers’ spending offsets hall expenses.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Junior Sister, remember this: performance comes first, rewards come after. This is the rule set from top to bottom by the Wuzheng Force—no one may change it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Students first spend money in the training hall to cultivate their essence and energy—only then do they earn the Qi-Opening Elixir reward. That’s the clearest example: test first, reward after.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing her senior sister’s precise explanation, Kong Yinglei finally understood the importance of this red line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Wuzheng Office doesn’t care about potential—it cares only about performance!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: This is a 3,500-character chapter. Confirmed—we won’t make the Three Rivers recommendation next week. We may enter the PK next week. Without recommendations, new readers won’t increase—we need your daily reads. Please keep reading every day. We’re currently at #13 on the New Book Chart. If we reach the top five, we’ll get a surge of exposure. Please vote for monthly tickets!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1816,"2026-06-19T20:25:56.550Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","5bbe5205faa5c3b49e02b059ca816912925c3543601cb86c1e485532c8336de2","rising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-chapter-48","rising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-chapter-46",591,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-cover.jpg"]