Chapter 58: Not a Genius, Because You

The courtyard of Zeng Qingyao, head of Jingshui Martial Arts Hall.

Kong Yinglei led Lin Chen inside and saw her senior sister standing in the courtyard, holding a horizontal saber; she immediately gave Lin Chen a silent gesture.

Lin Chen looked at this head of the hall, standing motionless with her saber in hand, his eyes filled with curiosity.

“Senior sister is contemplating the saber’s spirit—this is entering the rank…”

Bang!

Before Kong Yinglei could finish speaking, at that very moment.

Zeng Qingyao slashed horizontally, silver light sweeping and exploding, sinking into the courtyard’s pond.

Instantly!

The entire pond burst like a shattered silver vase, countless water droplets shooting like arrows in all directions across the courtyard.

Special effect!

Lin Chen’s pupils contracted—he had just seen a martial arts special effect.

What’s the difference between this and the Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms he’d seen in TV dramas back in his past life?

So, ranked martial artists can produce special effects?

…

…

What about stronger martial artists?

Those of the seventh rank, .

Upon closer thought, Lin Chen realized it might truly be possible.

His Qingfeng Palm produced howling winds when he struck, and the Shuiyun Palm emitted the sound of waves—yet he hadn’t even reached mastery or perfection yet…

The water droplets faded; Zeng Qingyao sheathed her saber.

“Junior sister, what is it?”

Zeng Qingyao looked at Lin Chen, who followed her junior sister, and raised an eyebrow—given her understanding of her junior sister, bringing Lin Chen here must have a special reason.

Today was the day of the new students’ internal competition, when the top-tier rankings and their privileges were announced; her junior sister wasn’t the type to drag things out, so the results must already be out.

But even if Lin Chen was granted a top-tier privilege, there was no need to bring him here—her junior sister could handle all matters of the hall on her own.

“Senior sister, Lin Chen has mastered Shuiyun Palm!”

“Mastered Shuiyun Palm?” Zeng Qingyao’s gaze sharpened with surprise; she recalled clearly that last time, her junior sister had said Lin Chen had also mastered Qingfeng Palm.

So, dual mastery of two ranked techniques?

Such high martial talent?

“Correct.”

Zeng Qingyao was quite satisfied with Lin Chen—even slightly surprised—but not enough to let her expression betray her.

“Senior sister, Lin Chen reached mastery of Shuiyun Palm in just seventeen days,” Kong Yinglei continued.

“Hmm… very good.”

Zeng Qingyao’s gaze toward her junior sister held a trace of suspicion—had her junior sister changed her nature?

Given her junior sister’s usual style, she would have blurted out Lin Chen’s entire situation at once; why was she speaking in fragments today?

Mastering Shuiyun Palm in seventeen days likely benefited from prior experience with Qingfeng Palm.

Qingfeng Palm and Shuiyun Palm share similar styles; one can draw insights from the other before reaching mastery.

“Besides Shuiyun Palm, Lin Chen has also trained the ‘Flying Swallow Art,’ and has already learned the first five moves.”

Zeng Qingyao’s eyes narrowed, her face showing a flash of shock—but she quickly regained composure.

“Cough… very good. Such martial talent ranks among the top ten in the past decade of all students in Poyang County.”

Hearing Zeng’s praise, Lin Chen’s expression turned strange—not because he was surprised by her compliment, but by Kong Yinglei’s peculiar way of speaking…

“Ah, pity—Lin Chen should have focused solely on the Flying Swallow Art. This boy even claimed he was still training Qingfeng Palm at the same time.”

Kong Yinglei spoke again, shaking her head with an expression of regret.

“Junior sister, you’re being too greedy. The Flying Swallow Art is an ordinary technique, but its difficulty ranks just below ranked techniques; mastering five moves in such a short time, while also reaching mastery in Shuiyun Palm, is already exceptional. Even if Lin Chen trains Qingfeng Palm, how much time could he possibly spare?”

Zeng Qingyao smiled faintly, her gaze fixed on Lin Chen: “Am I not right?”

Facing her head’s knowing smile, Lin Chen felt his scalp tingle—he’d be blind not to see what Kong Yinglei was up to; if he didn’t understand this after his past life, he’d wasted it.

He, a minor player, had no business getting caught in the crossfire between these masters.

So he chose silence and a dumb smile.

“Senior sister is right!”

Kong Yinglei immediately took over, smiling sweetly: “I also think that since Lin Chen has joined our Jingshui Martial Arts Hall and reached mastery in Shuiyun Palm, there’s no need to waste time on Qingfeng Palm anymore. The priority is to bring one technique to minor mastery.”

“Yes, that’s the logic,” Zeng Qingyao nodded solemnly to Lin Chen: “Lin Chen, your ability to master both Qingfeng Palm and Shuiyun Palm proves your martial talent is extraordinary. But the greater your talent, the more you must not waste it.”

“In Poyang County, there have been others like you—yet none ever trained two ranked techniques simultaneously. Why? Because training two ranked techniques at once is far too difficult. Better to focus on one, first bring it to minor mastery.”

Lin Chen kept his awkward smile.

“Senior sister, you said Lin Chen didn’t spare much time for Qingfeng Palm, so he should focus on bringing one technique to minor mastery—but Lin Chen’s Qingfeng Palm is already at minor mastery.”

The mask is off!

Kong Yinglei finally revealed her sharp fangs.

Zeng Qingyao froze, her expression stiffened—but as the saying goes, the old ginger is the spiciest.

The next moment, Zeng Qingyao fixed her gaze on Lin Chen, radiating a sharp aura: “Lin Chen, your Qingfeng Palm is at minor mastery?”

“Senior sister, I personally verified it—I made Lin Chen demonstrate Qingfeng Palm right before me. Could I possibly misjudge whether it’s minor mastery?”

Kong Yinglei was ecstatic—throughout the years, it was always her senior sister who held back information and teased her; today, for once, she had reclaimed the upper hand.

Seeing Zeng’s serious face and piercing gaze, Lin Chen dared not act like Kong Yinglei—he wouldn’t dare play games now, and replied: “Disciple’s Qingfeng Palm is indeed at minor mastery.”

“Good. It seems Heaven favors Jingshui Martial Arts Hall.”

Upon hearing Lin Chen’s confirmation, Zeng Qingyao suddenly cried out, gazing upward with solemn expression.

First Jiang Qing, now Lin Chen!

Heaven favors Jingshui Martial Arts Hall.

Zeng Qingyao’s earnest demeanor instantly silenced Kong Yinglei’s teasing.

Seeing her junior sister’s teasing vanish, Zeng Qingyao’s eyes flickered with a hint of mischief—her junior sister was still too green.

“Lin Chen, you’ve brought Qingfeng Palm to minor mastery and Shuiyun Palm to mastery—you may qualify for the Wuzheng Office’s gifted student criteria.”

Hearing her senior sister’s words, Kong Yinglei was jolted awake, her expression turning serious as she murmured: “Senior sister means the second criterion of the Wuzheng Office’s gifted student criteria?”

“On the martial path, one possesses extraordinary talent—understands one thing and infers ten, grasps its true essence!”

Kong Yinglei hadn’t thought of the Wuzheng Office’s gifted student criteria—not because she didn’t know it, but because she’d never considered it possible; in the past twenty years since its issuance, only one person had ever qualified.

Jiang the Provincial Graduate!

Back then, Jiang the Provincial Graduate met the first criterion of the Wuzheng Office’s gifted student criteria: “On the martial path, one leaps like a dragon through clouds, sings like a phoenix at dawn—progresses with divine speed.”

“Senior sister, do you think Lin Chen has a chance to meet the second gifted student criterion?”

Kong Yinglei was excited; Zeng Qingyao whispered: “The second criterion targets talent. If a student can reach perfection in one ranked technique within half a year, or reach mastery in two techniques, they may qualify as a gifted student.”

Beside them, Lin Chen listened to the two heads’ conversation and fell into thought.

From their words, the Wuzheng Office had specific criteria for gifted students: within six months, either perfect one ranked technique or reach mastery in two.

The conditions were indeed harsh.

But not impossible—he dared not claim perfection, but with his current progress in Qingfeng Palm and Shuiyun Palm, he still had a chance to push both to mastery in the remaining three months.

“May I ask, Head, what rewards come with being a gifted student?”

“The Wuzheng Office never publicly discloses the rewards—but the late Jiang Senior was selected as a gifted student, and afterward soared beyond measure.”

Zeng Qingyao shook her head; the Wuzheng Office had never clearly revealed the gifted student benefits, and in the past twenty years in Poyang County, only Jiang Senior had ever made the list.

“One thing is certain: once on the gifted list, entering the rank is imminent.”

In Zeng Qingyao’s view, Jiang the Provincial Graduate, though astonishingly gifted and breaking through more than ten acupoints in mere months, could not possibly have entered the rank within just two years.

The main reason Jiang advanced so quickly was precisely because he was selected into the Wuzheng Office’s gifted list and received special cultivation from the Wuzheng Office.

“I see!”

Lin Chen suddenly understood—he’d always thought a nation with a complete martial cultivation system couldn’t possibly neglect special treatment for geniuses.

It was simply that no one had ever met the standard.

Asking a primary school student to understand advanced programs like the Strong Foundation Initiative or IMO gold medals is too distant.

“You now know of the Wuzheng Office’s gifted student criteria. But compared to that, what matters more to you now is next month’s first round of the Eight Martial Arts Halls competition.”

Zeng Qingyao looked seriously at Lin Chen—if Lin Chen had merely reached mastery in Qingfeng Palm or Shuiyun Palm, or even both, she wouldn’t have mentioned next month’s internal competition.

By next month, every martial arts hall will have students who reach mastery; even those who haven’t will be close.

Lin Chen’s advantage in technique mastery will vanish entirely.

But Qingfeng Palm at minor mastery gave Zeng Qingyao hope.

“Senior Su has set the rule for this hall: only the top fifty matter. These rankings affect little your students’ interests—they matter more to our instructors’ benefits.”

“But the top ten will receive rewards from Senior Su: each will be granted a Tongqiao Pill, which opens one additional acupoint, plus one hundred taels of silver.”

“The first-place winner receives an extra Tongqiao Pill.”

Whoa!

Lin Chen’s eyes lit up—the rewards were extremely generous.

He might open one acupoint per month with his Zizhao Pill, but after ten acupoints, the difficulty and cost of opening new ones increase sharply.

“Don’t even think about first place—if you can open five acupoints in the remaining month, you might have a shot at the top ten.”

(End of chapter)