Chapter 63

A certain courtyard deep within the Martial Academy.

A young woman lay lazily on a chaise longue, holding a piece of paper in her hand.

"Lin Chen, a disciple of the Jing Shui Martial Hall, has reached the Minor Mastery stage of the Breeze Palm. This is quite interesting."

"Elder, do you need me to go and inquire why this Lin Chen, who practices the Breeze Palm, became a disciple of the Jing Shui Martial Hall?"

The referee who had spoken with Lin Chen earlier stood before the woman and asked respectfully.

"No need."

The woman raised her lotus-white arm: "It is nothing more than that little matter. Keep an eye on him for now. You can find more martial artists for him to face—hmm, preferably those from the Qing Feng Martial Hall."

Seeming to have thought of some amusement, the corners of the woman's mouth curled up: "Let those martial artists from the Qing Feng Martial Hall who have reached the Minor Mastery stage of the Breeze Palm spar with him, but do not reveal Lin Chen's identity as a disciple of the Jing Shui Martial Hall."

Hearing his Elder's words, Yan He'an knew exactly what she was thinking.

By having martial artists from the Qing Feng Martial Hall spar with Lin Chen, these martial artists would only assume Lin Chen was a student of the Qing Feng Martial Hall, never knowing they were cultivating a disciple for the Jing Shui Martial Hall.

The Elder was looking to stir up some trouble.

As her subordinate, he could only do his best to satisfy the Elder's wishes and ensure Lin Chen's identity remained hidden.

……

……

Lin Chen did not expect the Martial Academy to act so quickly.

When he arrived at the Martial Academy the next day, the referee told him that three martial artists had already accepted the challenge.

A wager battle!

Martial artists could choose whether to make it public or private.

So-called private battles were not held on the arena stage, but in other parts of the Martial Academy.

Lin Chen thought for a moment and ultimately decided to keep it private.

With the martial hall competition approaching, he did not want to reveal too much of himself and risk being targeted by students from other martial halls; this was one of the reasons he wore a mask.

In the courtyard.

Lin Chen met his first opponent.

A thirty-year-old man, seeing Lin Chen wearing a mask, frowned slightly and asked, "Are you a new student from this year's martial hall intake?"

Aside from the new intake of students, there seemed to be no reason to wear a mask.

"Yes," Lin Chen replied.

"You..."

Yan He'an, standing to the side, coughed: "Ahem, according to the rules, you may only spar on the stage and are not to discuss other matters."

Hearing this, the man did not ask further, though he felt puzzled inside: a new student from the Qing Feng Martial Hall who could reach the Minor Mastery stage of the Breeze Palm would surely be valued by the martial hall; there was no need to come to the Martial Academy to challenge others.

Even if one wanted to improve their understanding of the Breeze Palm through sparring, they could spar with the instructors at the martial hall, or have the martial hall arrange for a senior student to spar with them.

There were plenty of students and instructors at the martial hall who had reached the Minor Mastery stage of the Breeze Palm.

Although the man was suspicious, he wouldn't turn down the five silver taels that were within his reach.

The two stepped onto the arena, and Lin Chen cupped his fists, ready for battle. The Martial Academy would cover his first wager, but if he lost the first match, he would have to pay for the next one himself.

He had no money, so he could not lose.

"Although you are a junior, I will not hold back, Lin Lin Shidi. Be careful!"

As the man's voice fell, his figure flickered, closing in on Lin Chen like a ghost. His right hand formed a palm and pushed gently; a soft yet powerful force surged from his palm, transforming into an invisible wind blade aimed directly at Lin Chen's chest.

Facing the opponent's offensive, Lin Chen did not panic. Instead, a faint smile curled at the corners of his mouth. His figure turned lightly, as if merging into the wind, skillfully evading the attack.

At the same time, he raised his left hand and also unleashed a Breeze Palm, but his technique was completely different from his opponent's, with a subtle, imperceptible rotation in the palm wind.

"It really is the Minor Mastery stage of the Breeze Palm!"

Li Muyun's move missed, but a smile appeared on his face. His first move had just been a probe; now it seemed this junior brother, who was ten intakes behind him, was no less proficient in the Breeze Palm than he was.

The Qing Feng Martial Hall had produced a good talent this year.

Since that was the case, he could guide him a bit more.

The two traded blows, their palm winds intertwining; the entire courtyard could hear the whistling of the wind. Lin Chen could feel that the man was not using lethal force, so was he feeding him moves?

Regardless of what the opponent was thinking, Lin Chen had to seize this opportunity.

Waving the Breeze Palm alone in private and using it while sparring with someone were two completely different situations. In battle, there was more emphasis on the flexible adaptation of the palm technique.

He benefited greatly from the opponent's palm strikes.

Especially now that night had fallen, the 【Black to the End】 title took effect, allowing him to immerse himself in this battle and capture some of the patterns in his opponent's palm strikes.

Improve, and improve again!

Li Muyun watched as his junior brother became smoother and smoother with every strike, a look of gratification on his face. However, after a few dozen moves, his smile began to falter.

He had fallen into the rhythm of his junior brother's palm wind. Several times he tried to force an interruption but failed. If this continued, with one waxing and the other waning, he would be defeated by this junior brother.

For Li Muyun, this was unacceptable.

He could offer some pointers to his junior brother, but he could not lose to him.

Five silver taels—for a martial artist like him who had only opened four acupoints and would never see much improvement in his life, getting it wouldn't be a huge surprise, but losing it would be painful.

Lin Chen naturally did not know what Li Muyun was thinking. At this moment, he only felt that he was getting smoother with every move, and some of his doubts regarding the Breeze Palm were being resolved bit by bit.

Thirty breaths later!

When three consecutive palm strikes landed on his opponent, and he watched the man fall off the arena, Lin Chen finally emerged from his focused state.

He had won!

Lin Chen whispered in his heart: "Panel."

【Breeze Palm: Minor Mastery (4/10)】

The progress of the Breeze Palm had actually increased by another 2 points.

Li Muyun looked at Lin Chen, who was standing silently on the stage, a look of annoyance on his face. This junior brother was far too lacking in etiquette.

"Farewell!"

Li Muyun left with a dark face. By the time Lin Chen reacted, he didn't know what to say.

"Young Master, would you like to continue challenging the next person?"

Yan He'an asked with a chuckle. He had never practiced the Breeze Palm, but he had seen the sparring process clearly. He could clearly feel that Lin Chen's Breeze Palm had improved further during the battle.

"Continue," Lin Chen nodded.

Yan He'an walked out of the courtyard with a smile, and after the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, he brought in another martial artist.

This time, the opponent didn't ask a single question and walked straight onto the arena. Seeing this, Lin Chen cupped his fists in salute before striking first.

After they exchanged moves, Lin Chen discovered that this was another martial artist who practiced the Breeze Palm.

Is it such a coincidence?

What Lin Chen found slightly regrettable was that although this person's Breeze Palm was also at the Minor Mastery stage, he was likely inferior to the previous one. However, the "Wind Sweeping Away the Clouds" move the opponent used made his eyes light up slightly.

"Wind Sweeping Away the Clouds" was a lethal move of the Breeze Palm, but it had a noticeable pause while gathering momentum. This person, however, cleverly integrated a punch into it, which actually offset the flaw of the move.

After a hundred breaths, he defeated his opponent.

This time, Lin Chen did not choose to continue the challenge, but chose to rest instead.

After two consecutive battles, he was not unscathed; he had taken several palm strikes to his body, and his internal Qi and blood were surging.

While regulating his breathing, he recalled the battle just now.

A quarter of an hour later, Lin Chen looked at Yan He'an: "Senior, let's stop here for today."

He had gained some insights and needed to contemplate them properly rather than continuing to fight.

"Very well, then I will go and notify the other martial artists to come back at this time tomorrow."

Yan He'an's expression didn't change, but he looked at the sky and said: "If Young Master Lin does not wish to return to the martial hall, you can rest here at the Martial Academy. The Martial Academy will provide Young Master Lin with a courtyard."

Only martial artists at the Organ Cultivation stage were qualified to have a courtyard in the Martial Academy, but Yan He'an was willing to open such a door of convenience for Lin Chen.

In other factions, a thirty-year-old Organ Cultivation martial artist was far more important than a sixteen-year-old who had opened four acupoints, but here at the Martial Academy, a thirty-year-old Organ Cultivation martial artist was far less valuable than a sixteen-year-old who had reached Minor Mastery in a technique.

Lin Chen pondered for a moment and finally agreed: "Many thanks, Senior."

Martial halls generally did not allow students to stay overnight outside, but he had already taken leave from the martial hall for a while to practice the "Flying Swallow Art" last time; staying outside to practice the Breeze Palm should be fine.

Rules were always meant for ordinary students; Lin Chen understood this very well.

Just like Jiang Jiang Shijie, the martial hall had regulations that students must wear training uniforms, but whenever Jiang Jiang Shijie appeared in public, she never wore one.

Soon, a maid from the Martial Academy led Lin Chen into a courtyard. It was smaller than the one Lin Lin Shidi Zhao had taken him to before, but Lin Chen was already very satisfied; this courtyard was much larger than the small dormitory courtyard provided by the martial hall.

Under the cover of night!

Lin Chen stood in the courtyard and began to recall the two battles just now, soon falling into a state of epiphany where he forgot both himself and the world.

The night was silent, and the palm wind told of the youth's efforts.

As well as the leaves that kept falling.

【Breeze Palm: Minor Mastery (5/10)】

【Breeze Palm: Minor Mastery (6/10)】

……

……

PS: Brothers, the new book phase is about to end, and I'll have to go "naked" for the next week. The editor said that if I can hold steady next week, I'll be arranged a recommendation. Next week is crucial. Please give me some monthly tickets so I know you're all still here, okay? Love you, mwah.

(End of chapter)