[{"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-66":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},2265901,4424,"Chapter 66: Are Everyone All Sneaks?","rising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-chapter-66",66,"\u003Cp>“Director, since practicing palm techniques accelerates the opening of the eight upper orifices, what if I also train a leg technique?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen looked at Kong Yinglei: “The Great Qing Wind Palm enhances the eight upper orifices—if I train something like Wild Wind Leg and bring it to perfection, wouldn’t that also accelerate the breakthrough of the lower eight orifices?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t dream of such shortcuts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Yinglei knew what Lin Chen was thinking and said seriously: “In the Opening Orifices stage, there are only two paths: from top to bottom, or from bottom to top. You’ve trained Qing Wind Palm and Water Cloud Palm—your blood flow pattern is already fixed. If you switch to leg techniques now, your blood flow will become chaotic and only delay your orifice breakthroughs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“During the Opening Orifices stage, you must choose either hand techniques or leg techniques—never train both simultaneously. Remember this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Director, what about Tiegu Gong from Zhen Yue Martial Hall?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen had fought Zhen Yue Martial Hall’s disciples; their lower body was extremely stable, and their hand strength was no weak either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s precisely why Tiegu Gong is harder to train than other techniques—it requires special herbs to guide blood flow. But the advantage is that by the later stages of Opening Orifices, your speed will slightly surpass those from other halls.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Kong Yinglei’s explanation, Lin Chen finally understood the Opening Orifices stage completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hard-body techniques demand high initial costs and difficulty, but offer faster progression in later stages compared to palm or leg techniques—yet their total expenditure remains the highest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Director, if that’s the case, how does Zhen Yue Martial Hall still attract so many students?” Lin Chen asked curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Yinglei smiled faintly; she understood why he was puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For many students, their pursuit of martial arts ends at the Opening Orifices stage—even reaching ten orifices is enough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tiegu Gong is unmatched in its own realm. City escort agencies and powerful families all prefer guards trained in Tiegu Gong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhen Yue Martial Hall’s disciples are tough, durable, and recover quickly from injuries—they’re highly sought after.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the hall, whether serving as bodyguards for merchants, escorting caravans, or joining gangs, their salaries far exceed those of students from other halls, allowing them to fund their future martial cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How do you plan your current cultivation stage?” Kong Yinglei asked, concerned. “I heard from the Wudao Pavilion you bought three bottles of Zhi Qiao Pills this month.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen nodded: “I aim to break through to the fifth orifice. With Great Qing Wind Palm complete, I shouldn’t have trouble reaching it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Breaking five orifices is still uncertain. If you reach six, you’ll secure a place in the top ten. Don’t underestimate other students—you’re not the only one hiding your strength.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In past years, the year-end Eight Martial Halls new-student competition offered only slightly better rewards than this first round—so many students are fixated on securing a top-ten ranking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Every hall’s students want a top-ten spot, but none want to spend beyond their means. Pretending weakness and concealing strength are the best strategies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Yinglei gave Lin Chen a meaningful warning: the top-ten rewards are tempting, but if everyone fights at full strength, expenses will spiral uncontrollably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After decades of existence, the halls have established rough standards: how much expenditure raises how many orifices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within a month, if you’re willing to spend a thousand taels on pills and other Opening Orifices resources, you can open up to four orifices if below the eighth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the cost of doing so far exceeds the top-ten rewards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you make top ten, you at least break even—viewing it as accelerated cultivation. If you fail, the loss is enormous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The martial path is too long and too expensive—even powerful families in the city carefully plan their descendants’ cultivation step by step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What if you spend all your money upfront—how will you afford later training?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen understood Kong’s hint: the rankings he’d seen earlier would see a sudden surge in cultivation levels just days before the official competition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone’s a sneak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So five orifices really aren’t safe—he must reach six.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I understand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Yinglei smiled: “I told you this so you’d have clarity—but how you act is your choice. Your Qing Wind Palm is already perfected; even without competing, you’ll make the talent list. Your senior sister is already seeking a martial artist skilled in bringing Qing Wind Palm to perfection.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But advancing from Great to Perfect requires your own insight. Once you grasp it fully, you may reach perfection overnight. You’ve surely noticed: from Proficient to Minor Success to Great, it’s never just about hard practice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, I’ve sensed it—if I’d trained like before Proficient, I wouldn’t even have reached Minor Success yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen smiled. He could clearly see the progress bar shrink on his panel—but even without it, he could feel that after Proficient, cultivation relied entirely on insight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why are later martial techniques harder? Precisely because everyone’s insight differs—and it can’t be taught, only personally understood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Yinglei paused, then said: “I have nothing more to teach you about Qing Wind Palm. Since you came, watch me perform Water Cloud Palm a few times—but right now, focus on Qing Wind Palm. Don’t train Water Cloud Palm until you reach the eighth orifice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As vice-director of Jing Shui Martial Hall, she naturally hoped Lin Chen’s Water Cloud Palm would surpass his Qing Wind Palm—otherwise, even his brilliance would draw gossip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she wasn’t selfish. A Great-level technique has an extremely clear impact on Opening Orifices, especially the first eight. For Lin Chen, focusing solely on Qing Wind Palm was the correct path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen stepped aside. Kong Yinglei stood in the courtyard’s center, calm and composed, beginning with the first move of Water Cloud Palm: Cloud Rises, Dragon Soars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her posture floated like drifting clouds; her footwork danced lightly. As her palms turned, continuous force flowed with the sound of gentle water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, like a clear spring’s murmur; later, like a steady stream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next came “Water Winds Around Stones”—her form flowed like liquid, winding and graceful. Her fingers slightly curled, palms gathering power; each strike avoided the enemy’s strength and targeted their weakness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The unpredictable trajectory, like water flowing around rocks, left opponents unable to anticipate or defend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen watched intently—he knew Kong Yinglei was demonstrating from Proficient to higher levels deliberately, so he could understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, by the final moves, his eyes could no longer track the rapid changes of her palms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Water Cloud Palm was the most elegant and complex technique among the Eight Martial Halls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Lin Chen experienced it firsthand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, flowing water; then, surging waves; finally, mist-shrouded lakes, elusive and dreamlike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three times in succession!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Minor Success, to Great, to Perfect!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Yinglei finally stopped and looked at Lin Chen: “Just remember it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Director,” Lin Chen bowed, then departed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back at his courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen didn’t immediately recall Kong Yinglei’s Water Cloud Palm—he continued practicing Qing Wind Palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five orifices weren’t safe—he must break through to five as quickly as possible, then see if he could reach six.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Abandoning the goal was out of the question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He trained for several days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, he no longer needed to test Qing Wind Palm’s power—merely using its Great-level state to accelerate blood flow and absorption efficiency meant the camphor trees in his courtyard no longer shed leaves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Realm: Opening Orifices (4\u002F24): (65\u002F100)】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Realm: Opening Orifices (4\u002F24): (80\u002F100)】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Realm: Opening Orifices (4\u002F24): (95\u002F100)】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That morning!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Chen took a Zhi Qiao Pill. Moments later, he felt heat building in his Tan Zhong point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the location of the fifth orifice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without hesitation, he performed Qing Wind Palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each strike echoed with the shriek of wind tearing through air; his Tan Zhong point grew hotter with every blow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One palm, two palms, three palms…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>THUD!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As his Tan Zhong orifice vibrated sharply, all five of Lin Chen’s orifices trembled in unison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The five orifices activated in unison—suddenly, Lin Chen felt his strength undergo a qualitative leap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of the twenty-four Opening Orifices, the gaps between them aren’t equal. The leap from fourth to fifth is a threshold; so too is the leap from eighth to ninth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the fifth orifice successfully opened, Lin Chen practiced Qing Wind Palm several more times before stopping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Panel!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Host: Lin Chen】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Realm: Opening Orifices (5\u002F24): (1\u002F100)】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Qing Wind Palm: Great (0\u002F1)】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Water Cloud Palm: Proficient (2\u002F10)】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve reached the fifth orifice. With Great Qing Wind Palm, I can fight even sixth- or seventh-orifice opponents. At fourth orifice, I’d have little chance against fifth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after entering the fifth orifice could he truly grasp how vastly different it was from the fourth—even though it was only one orifice apart, it was nothing like the difference between third and fourth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I should visit the Wuyuan again. I’ll test myself against sixth-orifice martial artists—and learn the current cultivation levels of students from other halls.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With only thirteen days left until the competition, all the sneak students from the other halls will finally reveal themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1520,"2026-06-19T20:25:56.550Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","6e83d0662cb8d1aa1ea68eaa033328a3e0773d7ac3578ceb5966a03964691599","rising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-chapter-67","rising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-chapter-65",591,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frising-from-obscurity-my-martial-path-comeback-cover.jpg"]