Chapter 88: Great Expansion? Damn, That

Lin Chen struck out, and the air tore with the sound of a storm ripping apart!

Great Expansion Qingfeng Palm!

The instructors from every martial arts academy present, along with the internal-organ cultivators watching, recognized it instantly.

The hallmark of Great Expansion Qingfeng Palm was too unmistakable.

Precisely because they recognized it, they were now stunned and incredulous.

This cohort of academy students had only been in the academy for barely three months, and even including the prior half-month, it was only four months total.

Four months to reach Great Expansion in a ranked technique—such martial talent appears in Poyang County only once every few years.

“Could this man have cultivated essence earlier and trained Qingfeng Palm for half a year already?”

In the left zone, some non-academy strongers spoke up speculatively—they knew nothing of Lin Chen’s background and were merely guessing based on common sense.

Four months to Great Expansion Qingfeng Palm was hard to accept, but if he had begun training it months earlier, reaching Great Expansion in half a year, while still astonishing, was at least plausible.

“Just now, Master Su said Lin Chen comes from an ordinary fisher’s family—how could he have cultivated essence so early? This boy has astonishing talent in Qingfeng Palm.”

In all of Poyang County, only two or three individuals had cultivated essence three months early—around eight months after entering the Wutang—and all came from extremely prominent families; Lin Chen’s background clearly didn’t fit.

“Wait, I recall this Lin Chen is a student of Jingshui Academy—Great Expansion Qingfeng Palm shouldn’t be achieved by a Qingfeng Academy student.”

Someone spotted the key point!

At this moment, Zhao Ce’s forehead was slick with beads of sweat.

Lin Chen’s Qingfeng Palm had reached Great Expansion.

He no longer needed to watch the outcome of the match—whether Lin Chen won or lost, he and Qi Shixiong would become the laughingstock of Poyang County’s martial community.

How could it be Great Expansion?

Though martial aptitude varies by individual, over the years all major academies had compiled certain patterns.

The more a student came from a martial family, the higher their martial talent.

This was because, though they hadn’t studied ranked techniques, they had watched their elders cultivate since childhood, absorbing martial understanding far more deeply than other students.

Students from ordinary families could have high martial aptitude, but such cases were exceedingly rare, and even then, their aptitude was only above-average within the academy.

He couldn’t understand—how could Lin Chen achieve Great Expansion in Qingfeng Palm?

No, he’d also achieved Minor Completion in Shuiyun Palm.

Thinking of this, Zhao Ce’s forehead grew even damper.

Beside him, Qi He’s face turned as black as charcoal again—he hadn’t wanted to come today, but thought that as vice-head of the academy, his absence from the Top Ten contest would look disgraceful.

More importantly, today’s attention would focus on the seed talents of each academy; Lin Chen’s dazzling display yesterday wouldn’t repeat, so fewer people would keep talking about his blindness.

I shouldn’t be here—I should be back at the academy!

If he could, Qi He wished he’d never shown up—but he couldn’t, so after a brief grimace, he forced a smile.

As vice-head of Qingfeng Academy, he had to maintain composure, especially since Lin Chen was using Qingfeng Palm.

Zhao Ce, die!

Qi He had already decided—if the head of the academy or the Wuzhengsuo demanded accountability, he’d sacrifice Zhao Ce as the scapegoat.

“Sister Kong, did you already know Lin Chen’s Qingfeng Palm had reached Great Expansion?”

Shen Lin, shaken from her astonishment, turned to her senior sister with a reproachful look—no wonder her sister hadn’t worried at all; she must have known all along.

Kong Yinglei smiled faintly: “I wasn’t hiding it from you, I just figured Lin Chen would reveal it soon, so there was no need to tell you any earlier.”

“Sister, you’re becoming more and more like Big Sister.”

……

……

Lu Yongfeng, Zhao Jingchuan, and Cheng Ying had initially not known Lin Chen’s Qingfeng Palm had reached Great Expansion—but when they saw him dominating Shao Hong on the arena and overheard their own instructors’ conversation, they realized it.

The three exchanged glances across the distance—Zhao Jingchuan and Cheng Ying were stunned, while Lu Yongfeng, though stunned, also felt a flicker of relief.

He was glad he’d made the right choice—abandoning Lin Shixiong as his martial benchmark.

All other academy students now had their mouths slightly open, staring at the battle on the arena.

Even the seed talents of each academy had lost their earlier ease—Great Expansion Qingfeng Palm, even if Lin Chen was two realms below them, was enough to command serious attention.

Shao Hong’s current state on the arena said it all.

On the arena.

Shao Hong was in unbearable agony—he had opened two more meridians than Lin Chen, but Great Expansion ranked techniques could amplify one’s power fivefold.

Ranked techniques were harder to master than ordinary ones precisely because, at advanced stages, they allowed cultivators to unleash strength far beyond their normal capacity.

Proficiency brought only slight enhancement; Minor Completion doubled one’s power; Great Expansion quintupled it; and Perfection multiplied it tenfold.

This leap in power was terrifying, yet the difficulty from Minor Completion to Great Expansion was several times greater than from Proficiency to Minor Completion.

After entering the Meridian Opening realm, strength could no longer be judged by lifting stone weights, because lifting weights measured brute force, while combat relied on cultivated power.

Brute force and cultivated power differed by only one character, yet were entirely different.

Lifting a thousand-jin stone meant one had a thousand-jin brute force—but it didn’t mean one’s punches or palms could deliver a thousand-jin impact.

Because cultivated power couldn’t be measured, academies no longer tested brute force after Meridian Opening, but over the years, through accumulated student data, a fairly accurate benchmark had emerged.

A technique at Great Expansion in the Meridian Opening realm allowed a cultivator to fight across two meridian levels—provided it wasn’t crossing between the fourth and fifth, or eighth and ninth meridians, which were minor thresholds within the realm.

This was why the Wuyuan arena assigned one platform for every two meridian levels.

“Even with Great Expansion Qingfeng Palm, he shouldn’t be this dominant.”

Shao Hong’s agony wasn’t just because Lin Chen’s Qingfeng Palm power matched his own and he gained no advantage in palm clashes—it was also because every move he made seemed predicted by Lin Chen, leaving him constrained, his palms barely launched before Lin Chen’s wind struck.

He could only defend passively; though he blocked most of Lin Chen’s palm force, each gust felt like a blade, and within mere breaths, his sleeves split, his arms crisscrossed with bleeding cuts.

Lin Chen’s palm winds howled, yet against Shao Hong, he fought with ease—even without unleashing Perfection-level Qingfeng Palm, he needed only his sixth meridian to suppress his opponent.

The reason? Every one of Shao Hong’s moves was anticipated by Lin Chen.

“Shao Hong is going to lose.”

From Qingfeng Academy, Chen Chunfeng murmured softly, his expression somber—even if he admired Lin Chen, this battle represented Jingshui Academy.

If Shao Hong lost, Qingfeng Academy would be completely shut out of the Top Ten for the first time.

This had never happened in Qingfeng Academy’s ten-year history.

The last time it occurred, the Wuzhengsuo slashed the academy’s resources to the minimum; the head resigned; and the instructors responsible for recruitment were branded academy traitors.

Thinking of this, Chen Chunfeng glanced at Qi He and Zhao Ce, seeing their faces betray their true emotions as they fixated on the match—his sigh was silent.

Since Big Brother entered seclusion, Qi Shixiong had taken charge of the academy—and for the past two or three years, the academy had steadily declined.

Each year’s new student contest showed decent rankings, but looking back, this cohort’s strength had sunk to the bottom among the Eight Academies.

Qingfeng Academy needed change.

Crack!

When they saw Shao Hong’s sleeves shred, revealing arms crisscrossed with bloody cuts, many academy students felt a chill.

This was Shao Hong—eight meridians opened, Qingfeng Palm at Proficiency—and yet he was being crushed.

“Master Gu, could you handle Lin Chen?”

Fu Ang’s mouth hung open—he now thought Lin Chen was impressive; back at Wuyuan, Lin Chen had held back against him. Had he unleashed Great Expansion Qingfeng Palm then, Fu Ang would’ve been beaten like a dead dog.

“Shao Hong has no counter because Lin Chen’s Qingfeng Palm has reached Great Expansion—he understands it far better than Shao Hong, and anticipates every move.”

Gu Shan kept his eyes locked on the arena, frowning: “If I faced Lin Chen, he wouldn’t gain any advantage from technique—let’s see whether his Qingfeng Palm cuts deeper than my Iron Bone Art.”

The seed students of other academies were also pondering—if they faced Lin Chen, could they win?

As for Shao Hong, their eyes could see his defeat was inevitable—unless he still had some hidden trump card.

Given Shao Hong’s nature, if he had one, he’d have used it already—why wait until now?

“Lin Chen, lose!”

On the arena, Shao Hong gritted his teeth, his face twisted in fury—he’d lost all dignity as academy senior, and now ignored Lin Chen’s incoming palm, swinging out “Whirlwind Scatters Clouds.”

He chose a mutually destructive tactic.

Better to fight desperately than be worn down and defeated.

“Wanting mutual destruction? You need the chance first.”

Lin Chen saw through Shao Hong’s intent—and as the palm fell, the howling wind vanished.

At this point, there was no need to hold back.

Lin Chen’s palm gave the impression that one moment, a tornado raged, and the next, all was silent.

The calm at the eye of the storm!

Oppressive. Desperate.

Lin Chen’s palm descended, light as a feather.

Swish!

In the left zone, many seated internal-organ cultivators leapt to their feet.

Some didn’t even notice their chairs toppling behind them from the sudden motion.

“That palm…”

An old man in the front row, beard and hair bristling, eyes blazing, stared toward Qingfeng Academy.

He was a product of Qingfeng Academy—he naturally wished it would thrive.

But what had he just seen?

A teenage genius with Perfection-level Qingfeng Palm had been abandoned by Qingfeng Academy and sent to Jingshui Academy!

Su Lingchuan and He Ruyun exchanged glances—both saw surprise in the other’s eyes, and in that instant, an unspoken agreement passed between them.

From Jingshui Academy’s side.

Shen Lin’s lips parted slightly; behind her, Fu Jingya and the others had yet to grasp the significance of Lin Chen’s seemingly ordinary palm strike, but she had begun to suspect.

“Senior sister, did you already know this too?”

After asking, Shen Lin realized it was a foolish question—she had already seen Kong’s mouth wide enough to swallow an goose egg.

So, Senior Sister Kong didn’t know Lin Chen’s Clear Wind Palm had reached perfection.

Few warriors could guess at once that Lin Chen’s Clear Wind Palm had reached perfection; many were confused, wondering why his palm strike seemed so light, feeble, and powerless.

Was Lin Chen holding back?

As these young warriors puzzled, Lin Chen’s palm landed on Shao Hong’s left shoulder.

Shao Hong suddenly looked as if he had witnessed something horrific—his face turned instantly pale, and half his body collapsed inward.

The crisp sound of shattering bones echoed across half the arena.

The next instant, the pressure from his left shoulder crushed Shao Hong flat onto the fighting platform.

For a brief moment, the crowd fell silent—then erupted into deafening cheers.

“He won! Chen’er won!”

From Linhu Village, Lin Mu was overwhelmed with excitement; beside her, Lin Liang quickly pulled his mother back, his own heart pounding with equal fervor.

They didn’t understand what “great achievement” or “perfection” meant—they only knew Lin Chen had won.

Younger brother Chen truly made us proud!

…

…

“Senior Brother Lin won!”

“Teacher Liu, Senior Brother Lin won!”

At the Keriver Martial Hall, Teachers Liu and Chen, listening to the students’ cheers, felt their own hearts surge with emotion.

They had thought Lin Chen stepping onto the platform was already a victory.

Yet this was only the beginning of Lin Chen’s rise.

At this moment, both felt immense envy toward Yu Yongnian; though Yu Yongnian had resigned as instructor, Lin Chen’s deeds at the martial hall would inevitably be uncovered as his fame spread.

From bottom of the class upon entry, barely passing the exam, to Yu Yongnian giving him a work-study opportunity, then rising to become the martial hall’s top student.

Though they were not master and disciple, once this story spread, who would dare say Yu Yongnian wasn’t a great teacher?

If Yu Yongnian were willing to resume teaching, every martial hall would fight to recruit him!

The cheers came from common folk; the internal organ cultivators—including deputy directors and instructors from major martial halls—remained utterly silent.

The moment Lin Chen struck, Shao Hong’s fate was sealed; compared to Lin Chen’s victory, they were far more focused on whether his Clear Wind Palm had truly reached perfection.

After all, not all warriors trained the Clear Wind Palm; Lin Chen’s strike bore the hallmark of a perfected technique—but it wasn’t yet certain.

“Great achievement Clear Wind Palm… its power is terrifying.”

Fu Ang stared at Shao Hong, who couldn’t rise, his heart still trembling; beside him, Deputy Director Hong Qianhai of Zhenyue Martial Hall snorted: “Great achievement? That damn—”

Fu Ang froze—what did Director Hong mean? Had he been right?

Hong Qianhai turned to Qi He: “Deputy Director Qi, give us an answer—has Lin Chen’s Clear Wind Palm reached perfection?”

PS: Brothers, you’ve been amazing—first subscription exceeded three thousand. I originally planned to add an extra chapter this morning, but I refined the chapter first. This update is over four thousand characters—still asking for first subscriptions and monthly votes, please! (These words were counted by Jiudeng and are not included in the paid count.)

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