[{"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-51":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},2265886,4424,"Chapter 51: Former Clerk, Today","rising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-chapter-51",51,"\u003Cp>Inside the tavern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brother Lin Liang told Lin Chen about family matters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though called family matters, most of it was about the village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In less than two months, the Lin family had no major changes; Lin Liang was not a talkative man, and he finished speaking in a few sentences, ending with stories from the village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two brothers talked as they ate, and Zhao Dongyang came over for a few drinks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as the brothers finished eating and put down their chopsticks, Zhao Dongyang walked over again with a smiling face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master Lin, how’s your family’s fishing harvest? Are you too busy to deliver fish to our tavern?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Liang hurried to assure him: “Master Zhao, we’re always available, always available.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just a trip to town to deliver fish, but the tavern pays much more than the fish markets and stalls—each trip nets dozens of extra copper coins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Lin Liang’s eagerness, Zhao Dongyang smiled gently: “Young Master Lin, don’t be flustered. My in-law runs a fish stall in town. My tavern’s daily fish consumption is limited. If your family catches more than you can sell, you can deliver the surplus to my in-law—he’s often complained to me about not having enough fish to sell. This might ease his urgent need.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Zhao Dongyang’s words, Lin Chen instantly understood: Uncle Zhao was giving his family another source of income.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could a fish stall ever lack fish?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liang’s laws strictly regulate what trades commoners may pursue; the Lin family are fisherfolk, so they may only fish, not sell fish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, imperial law doesn’t reach the countryside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If village fishermen secretly sold fish, it was tolerated—but there were too many fishermen in Linhu Village; even if the Lin family caught more, no one would buy it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Delivering fish to the tavern was already illegal, but since no one reported it, the county officials far away never intervened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen had once worried that delivering fish to Uncle Zhao’s tavern might steal business from the town’s fish stalls and provoke complaints—but now he saw his fears were unnecessary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uncle Zhao must have already arranged this with the fish stall owner, and now he was saying this to give his family another income stream—and to do him a favor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Brother Zhao is a good man.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen understood: Uncle Zhao wouldn’t say this just because he was present, to show favor in front of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he needed to show favor in front of him, Uncle Zhao could have told the village before Lin Chen left for the city—he didn’t need to wait until after he was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Brother Zhao must have written something in his letter, and Uncle Zhao made this decision on the spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Liang said nothing but looked toward his younger brother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t stupid; he’d dealt with several fish stalls in town—they never lacked fish, and often tried to crush the prices offered to fishermen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Faced with price suppression, fishermen had no choice unless they took fish to the county fish market—but the journey was long, docking fees at the docks were high, and the market’s prices weren’t much higher than the stalls’, plus they’d pick and choose, leaving little profit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I thank you, Uncle Zhao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen didn’t refuse insincerely; his family needed money, and so did he for his martial cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Liang strictly controlled commoners’ occupations, earning money was hard—lucrative trades were already monopolized by the city’s powerful families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the martial world, strength ultimately ruled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His only path was to rapidly increase his strength; only when he could stand firm in the county could he lift his family up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, it was still too early.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Yu had also told him in his notes to focus entirely on cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With rising strength, earning opportunities would come naturally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without strength, even the best business sense would be crushed by the city’s nobility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Yu had given him everything without reservation; Lin Chen trusted him utterly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the notes, Master Yu had also mentioned one thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a young martial cultivator with potential, major factions and noble families would first seek to befriend him, not antagonize him—but if he tried to enter any trade in the county, their attitude would turn ambiguous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen understood his master’s meaning: if he only showed martial talent without threatening these factions’ interests, they would only befriend him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Internal Cultivation Realm!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when he entered the Internal Cultivation Realm would he have the right to carve out his share in Poyang County’s tangled interests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before then, all his focus must be on martial cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen felt his thoughts aligned with his master’s: since his arrival in this world, he hadn’t experienced its darkness or cruelty, mainly because he hadn’t touched the interests of the powerful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Dongyang took the Lin brothers straight to the fish stall. After reading his son’s letter, he’d decided that if he could help Lin Chen, he would—and he’d already written a note, sending it ahead via his shop’s clerk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several fish stalls in town were clustered in one area. When Zhao’s father entered one of them, Lin Chen felt a moment of daze, then a strange twist of recognition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What brings you here today, my dear in-law?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the stall, a stout, silk-clad middle-aged man stepped out with a smile, quickly glancing at Zhao Dongyang’s back—Lin Chen and Lin Liang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My dear in-law, I’ve come to relieve your urgent need. Isn’t your stall short on fish? I’ve brought you some.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To bestow a favor, one must be clever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a merchant, Zhao Dongyang understood this perfectly. The note he’d sent ahead had already arranged the scene—he was merely acting out a play, and he trusted Lin Chen understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That truly eases my urgent need! Where’s the fish you mentioned?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the fish stall owner’s acting was poor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen watched the man’s eyes fixed on him, almost laughing inwardly—his acting wasn’t as natural as Uncle Zhao’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Far away? No—it’s right before you. Young Master Lin’s family fishes; they can supply you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Dongyang, too, thought his in-law’s acting was clumsy, but forced himself to continue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master Lin? He’s not…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the stall owner came two others—an old man and a young man. When they saw Lin Chen, their expressions turned wildly surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Manager Yang, Brother Li.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen hadn’t expected it: Uncle Zhao’s in-law ran the very fish stall where he’d once worked odd jobs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world really was small.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You… you’re the Lin Young Master the boss mentioned?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Manager Yang, too shocked to remember his instructions, blurted out the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just moments ago, the boss had told them to cooperate in a performance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boss had clearly said: the visitor included a Qi-Opening martial cultivator—the genius who ranked first in last year’s Martial Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Liang wore coarse hemp—impossible to be a cultivator. So it must be Lin Chen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the poor boy who once did odd jobs here had truly succeeded in martial cultivation?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stall owner, Zhao Dongyang, and Lin Liang all looked puzzled, unaware of what was happening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uncle Zhao, when I studied at the Martial Hall, I took odd jobs at this fish stall to earn extra money for my cultivation expenses.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen spoke calmly, briefly recounting his past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking, he bowed to Manager Yang: “Thank you, Manager Yang, for giving me that chance back then.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“N-no, I don’t deserve it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Manager Yang stepped back, waving his hands frantically—he’d hired Lin Chen only because he brought extra income to the stall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen internally sneered: he was becoming increasingly insincere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You… you’re that young Lin from before…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stall owner suddenly remembered—he vaguely recalled Manager Yang once telling him about a boy studying at the Martial Hall, praising his cleverness, saying if he stayed, the stall’s business would flourish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hah! What a coincidence! Who’d have thought my in-law and Young Master Lin had such a connection?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Dongyang’s eyes darted—he now understood the situation, laughed loudly, and what followed was simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the stall owner willingly offering better terms, they agreed: whenever the Lin family caught more fish than the tavern needed, the surplus would be delivered to the stall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The purchase price was one copper coin above market rate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Done!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two Lin brothers took their leave. Zhao Dongyang followed his in-law out of the stall—clearly, they had matters to discuss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Manager, how did Lin Chen become a Qi-Opening cultivator? He was just…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shut up!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Manager Yang glared fiercely at the clerk: “You will address him as Young Master Lin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master Lin… how did he manage it? Manager, you said martial cultivation costs a fortune—Lin… Lin Young Master’s family could never afford it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I knew how Lin Chen—Young Master Lin—did it, I wouldn’t be stuck as a manager.” Manager Yang still couldn’t adjust his tongue; his emotions hadn’t settled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If not a manager, then what?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’d be a teacher at the Martial Hall.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The clerk: …\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Remember this: don’t tell anyone Lin Young Master once worked odd jobs here. Don’t be fooled by his bows and thanks—who knows what he really thinks? Don’t bring trouble on yourself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1537,"2026-06-19T20:25:56.550Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","9570df5c93d1f5056a360ccc7c5020239d4ffa36d52e02525efee3e40e49ccce","rising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-chapter-52","rising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-chapter-50",591,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-cover.jpg"]