Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 3: Difficult Passage
My family was poor, so I entered a martial arts hall and began to learn martial arts.

All the students ate the meat, but I did not eat it.

Zhang Tao laughed at me and said: "Stingy."

I just laughed it off.

There are still five months left, and I am afraid that I will not have enough energy and be eliminated.

I gritted my teeth and bought it. The delicious taste and the bitterness inside are indescribable to outsiders.

……

……

After taking his first bite of beef in the martial arts hall, Lin Chen couldn’t describe the taste. At this moment, his emotions overshadowed his taste buds.

Even though I have lived two lives and have become indifferent to vanity and dignity, how can I let go of them completely?

In the future, he must write an article about studying. Hundreds of years later, Chinese teachers in future generations will give a reading comprehension question: In the article, the author said that he had forgotten being laughed at by his classmates, but why was the name Zhang Tao written in the front?
What kind of mood does the appearance of the name Zhang Tao reflect?
……

……

The first day of eating beef, early in the morning.

Lin Chen checked the panel the first thing he did when he woke up.

[Name: Lin Chen]

[Occupation: Warrior]

[Qi and blood: 812/3000]

[Fate: [Successful outcome]: In the realm of martial arts, perseverance, gradual progress, unstoppable momentum, no bottlenecks.]

10 points!
Seeing that his energy and blood increased by 10 points in one day, Lin Chen's heart skipped a beat.

The value of the increase in qi and blood was much higher than he had expected.

"Is it because I took it on the first day, so the absorption effect is better, and will it weaken later?"

Lin Chen took out the booklet with Arabic numerals and wrote down today's values. He would know in a few days whether this was the case.

The booklet was filled with Arabic numerals, which were the data he recorded on the strength gains of students like Gu Fei after eating meat.

The characters in this world are similar to the traditional Chinese characters in the previous life, but there are no Arabic numerals. Therefore, this booklet, which Gu Fei calls "the Book of Heaven", can only be understood by himself.

In the next few days, Lin Chen bought a pound of beef every day, but there was no such sensation as on the first day.

Originally, buying a pound of beef was nothing for the martial arts hall students. It was only because of the contrast caused by Lin Chen's original stingy image that it caused such a sensation.

Now that the contrast is gone, naturally no one is paying attention to it anymore.

For five consecutive days, his Qi and blood increased by 10 points every day. Lin Chen is now sure that it is not because of the beef he had just eaten.

Therefore, my strategy is correct. The longer you delay, the less it costs.

……

……

A month goes by in a blink of an eye.

end of the month.

A martial arts arena.

The three instructors stood together with a two-hundred-pound stone block in front of them.

The martial arts hall’s six-monthly assessment is set by the Military Affairs Department.

Cruel?
In Yu Yongnian's view, this was actually a form of protection provided by the Military Administration Department to the people.

In the initial stage of learning martial arts, what is being competed is financial resources. If one cannot even meet the requirement of gaining 200 kilograms of strength in half a year, there is really no need for one to continue learning with such a family background.

"Students whose names are called, please come forward."

Instructor Liu opened his mouth and began to call out the students' names. Those whose names were called stepped forward and lifted the stone pillars.

In fact, most of the students in the martial arts hall had already passed this hurdle last month. Among the three classes combined, only about ten students did not reach it last month. These ten students are the focus of attention.

"Cheng Ying!"

Instructor Liu called out a name and a tall young man walked forward, looked at the stone pillar on the ground with contempt on his face, and lifted it up to his abdomen with one hand.

"good."

Instructor Liu smiled. Cheng Ying was a student he taught. Although he was not as good as Lu Yongfeng, he was closely behind him and would also be able to achieve breakthrough in his energy within a year.

"To lift a 200-jin stone pillar easily with one hand, both hands must have more than 400-jin of strength."

Gu Fei had an envious expression on his face: "No, absolutely no, he is worthy of being the young master of Cheng's Cloth Shop."

Cheng's Cloth Shop was the only shop in town that sold ready-made clothes and cloth. The clothes Lin Chen was wearing were made from linen that his mother bought from Cheng's Cloth Shop and then cut out by herself at home.

“Birth is a science.”

Lin Chen was also moved, and as Cheng Ying lifted the stone pillar with one hand, the rest of the students also began to show their strength.

Although the stone pier still weighed 200 kilograms, some people lifted it directly to the chest, and some lifted it above the head. But what caused a sensation in the end was Lu Yongfeng lifting the stone pier above his head with one hand.

The atmosphere at the scene exploded instantly.

"Next one, Qiu Yuan."

Instructor Liu announced the name of the next student, and Lin Chen stared at him carefully.

Qiu Yuan weighed 180 kilograms last month. Qiu Yuan started eating beef in the third month and bought it every few days. But for some reason he didn't buy it in the last month.

"Teaching, I give up."

Qiu Yuan walked out of the crowd, but did not lift the stone pillar. In an instant, everyone's eyes fell on him. "My sister got sick last month, and all the money in the family was used for her medical treatment. There is no money left at home."

Qiu Yuan's face turned red. It took great courage to say the word "no money" in front of so many teenagers of the same age.

The expressions of Yu Yongnian and the other two instructors did not change. This kind of situation happened too often in the martial arts hall. Every year, several students would give up due to family reasons.

And the further you go, the more you give up.

"Go to the cafeteria later. If there is any uneaten food, ask the cafeteria to return it to you."

"Thank you for your instruction."

Qiu Yuan did not stay in the training ground, but turned and walked towards the dormitory. The moment he turned around, he wiped the corner of his eyes with his right hand.

Another young man whose dream of learning martial arts was shattered.

"The next one is Lin Ze."

Seeing Lin Ze go up, Lin Chen knew that it would be his turn soon.

From the way the students around him went up one by one, he could tell that the instructor had put them, the bottom-ranked ones, at the very end.

Lin Ze was tested at the end of last month and was able to lift a 180-pound stone block.

Although he failed once, Lin Ze still lifted the stone pillar the second time.

After putting down the stone pillar, Lin Ze looked at Instructor Liu with a nervous expression.

"Passed. Next one, Lin Chen."

Hearing the word "passed", Lin Ze breathed a sigh of relief and walked back to his seat with brisk steps.

"Chenzi, don't be nervous, you'll be fine!" Gu Fei encouraged in a low voice without any worry in his eyes.

There were many stone pillars placed in the training ground, and students could test them privately. He knew yesterday that Lin Chen could lift a 200-jin stone pillar.

Lin Chen nodded and looked at his panel one last time.

[Name: Lin Chen]

[Occupation: Warrior]

[Qi and blood: 1102/3000]

[Fate: [Successful outcome]: In the realm of martial arts, perseverance, gradual progress, unstoppable momentum, no bottlenecks.]

Ten days ago, his Qi and blood reached 1,000 points and he was able to lift a 200-jin stone block. Now, his strength has reached 220 kilograms.

As Lin Chen came on stage, the crowd started discussing again.

"Here he comes, the most stingy guy in the history of Wu Tang. I wonder if he can pass."

"That was last month. I've been eating beef every day this month, so I'm not the most stingy."

"So what? It's too late to start spending money in the last month. I don't think Lin Chen will pass."

"I think it should be possible. Lin Chen is so stingy that he probably wouldn't be willing to spend the money if he wasn't sure."

Instructor Liu naturally noticed the other students' pointing and talking, and looked at Lin Chen and said, "Begin."

Two hundred kilograms of strength has always been the minimum requirement and is not something that students pay much attention to, except for the student in front of him.

After getting permission, Lin Chen grabbed the handle of the stone pier with both hands. Slowly, the stone pier began to leave the ground, and everyone's eyes were focused on Lin Chen's hands at this moment.

"I'm impressed. Lin Chen lifting a 200-jin stone block is more eye-catching than us lifting a 400-jin stone block."

Cheng Ying felt the atmosphere at the scene and was speechless.

A 200-jin stone pillar, what's there to worry about?

"I think it's normal. Compared to us lifting a 400-jin stone pier, it was expected. On the contrary, Lin Chen was able to lift a 200-jin stone pier, which is considered a counterattack and naturally attracted attention." Zhao Jingchuan watched with interest. He was also curious whether Lin Chen could pass it.

"Lifting a 200-jin stone pillar, how is that a counterattack?" Xu Botao sneered.

After the assessment, the students did not have to stand still, and Cheng Ying and the other strongest students stood together. The other students knew their own limitations and would not come over.

Lin Chen did not keep the person in suspense, nor did he slow down. Lifting a 200-jin stone block in six months was not an honorable thing.

But what Lin Chen didn't expect was that when he lifted the stone pier, cheers broke out at the scene.

"Boring." Lu Yongfeng retracted his gaze and whispered.

"If you don't know, you would think I lifted a 500-pound stone block." Xu Botao also looked unhappy.

"Passed. Next one, Wang Hao."

Instructor Liu called out the next student, and Lin Chen hurried down as well.

"Chenzi, I knew you could do it, haha!"

Gu Fei hugged Lin Chen excitedly. Lin Chen rolled his eyes and said, "I remember half a month ago, someone comforted me that I could do other things even if I didn't learn martial arts. There would still be a way out."

"Hey, I'm not... I'm just taking precautions."

Gu Fei let go of his hand. He was really happy for Lin Chen. The two of them had a lot of fun together in the village, the kind that would grab each other's crotches and play with each other's balls.

"Now that you have passed the test, your grandfather should give you money."

"Well, I'll go home today and tell my family the good news."

Lin Chen also had a happy look on his face. He had finally overcome the first hurdle in his martial arts learning journey.

Although, the goal he achieved with all his efforts was easily achievable for those students from well-off families.

After a cup of tea, the assessment ended and three students were finally eliminated. Except for Qiu Yuan, the other two spent no less money than Lin Chen, but they spent the money too early and could not keep up, which led to stagnation of qi and blood.

I spent 450 coins this month and don't have much money left. I need to eat at least one pound of beef for each meal, so I need to go home.

(End of this chapter)