Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 305 Ancestor Worship, Ancestor Worship is a Must (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
The Yan family of the Soul Separation Domain.

On the way back with Vice Dean Chen Shan, Lin Chen pondered the five characters displayed on the jade disc he had seen.

Clearly, the Soul Separation Domain is a place name.

The Yan family likely refers to the ancestors of the royal family of the Yan state.

So the ancestors of the Yan state did not have the surname Murong, but Yan?

Yan Yan?

The name is a bit of a mouthful.

But what caught Lin Chen's attention more than the surname of the Yan Kingdom's royal family was the three words "Separation of Souls Domain" in front of it.

He was particularly familiar with the word "domain".

The territories within the borders of the nine kingdoms are divided either by administrative divisions, prefectures, counties, etc., as in the case of Daliang, or by states, counties, cities, etc.

While countries are largely similar, none of them use territories to define their regions.

On the contrary, the Yan Dynasty, which he knew, preferred to distinguish itself by domain.

The Canglan Sect is located in the Canglan Domain, while the Qingtian Sect is located in the Qianji Domain...

Could it be that the Yan royal family is also connected with the Yan dynasty?

A thought flashed through Lin Chen's mind: perhaps the royal family of Yan Kingdom was a branch of the Yan family in the Soul Domain of the Yan Dynasty.

Chen Shan observed Lin Chen's thoughtful expression throughout the journey but did not inquire about any compensation the Yan royal family had given him.

As people age, they become shrewd. The fact that the Yan royal family went to such lengths to invite Lin Chen to the palace to offer him compensation suggests there must be some hidden story behind it, perhaps even a secret of the Yan royal family. If Lin Chen felt it was appropriate to tell them, he would naturally speak up. Since Lin Chen is not telling them, there must be a reason for it.

Back at the villa, Hou Zhantian came over, but he didn't ask Lin Chen what compensation the Yan royal family had given him. He just chatted briefly and then left.

Tomorrow marks the start of the martial arts academy ranking competition. He needs to consider the competition arrangements for the four martial arts academies in the entire Liang Kingdom and devise tactics for each academy.

……

……

The Korean warriors reside in a separate courtyard.

Lu Qiguang held a secret letter in his hand and said to the middle-aged man beside him, "Send this envelope back to the capital and deliver it to the Grand Preceptor as quickly as possible."

"Yes."

The middle-aged man took the letter and vanished from the spot like a ghost.

"My lord, what do you want?"

Another elderly man standing nearby had his own guesses.

"Lin Chen's strength is beyond my expectations; he is very likely no less than Bian Xinjie."

"My lord, aren't you overthinking this?"

Although he had some suspicions, the old man still found it hard to believe when he heard Lu Qiguang's words.

Bian Xinjie is ranked third on the Heavenly Ranking, while Lin Chen was only ranked eighth on the Earthly Ranking before the ranking competition.

"If Lin Chen truly possesses such strength, why does Hou Zhantian disagree with the agreement you proposed, sir?"

The old man raised a question: if Lin Chen had strength close to Bian Xinjie's, Hou Zhantian could have taken this opportunity to reach an agreement to decide the battle in the northern frontier based on the rankings in the tournament.

For the Liang Kingdom, this is entirely beneficial.

"Perhaps this is Hou Zhantian's strength. He deliberately made me underestimate him, but I didn't expect Lin Chen to be so young and reveal his strength in advance."

In Lu Qiguang's eyes, Lin Chen had concealed his strength, and Hou Zhantian must have known this, but Hou Zhantian did not agree to the agreement he proposed under any pretext, just to lull him into a false sense of security.

If we underestimate our opponents, and if Canglan Martial Academy truly wins first place, it will be a huge boost to the morale of Liang Kingdom, and may even influence the choices of other countries.

Of the nine states, only Zheng and Xiang were determined to follow Han; the others wavered between the two.

Whichever country is stronger, Han or Liang, these other countries will lean towards that country.

In the Nine Kingdoms Martial Arts Academy Ranking Tournament, Han Kingdom has always been number one. Now that the two countries are vying for the top spot, if Liang Kingdom were to take first place, the other countries would probably wonder if Liang Kingdom had been hiding its strength in the past, but now that it has completely broken with Han Kingdom, it is no longer concealing its true power.

Once the other countries have this idea, they will secretly comply with Han's demands to blockade and isolate Liang.

As for the war against the demon race in the northern frontier...

When the news reached back, the morale of the Liang Kingdom soared. With this shift in power, the various factions within the country might also have different intentions. Whether they will eventually go to war with the Liang Kingdom remains to be seen.

As a powerful figure in Han, Lu Qiguang was well aware of Han's weaknesses.

South Korea has been the dominant power among the nine kingdoms for many years, but it is home to several factions that are not entirely united.

"Hou Zhantian deliberately left me a way out, but it's always better to be safe than sorry. Notifying the Imperial Advisor to send Huo Ruohong is the safest course of action."

Upon hearing the name "Huo Ruohong," the old man understood Lu Qiguang's purpose.

Huo Ruohong is the number one expert on the Heavenly Ranking. Once Huo Ruohong arrives, no one can take away the number one spot in Han Kingdom.

It's important to know that Huo Ruohong didn't come this time for two reasons: firstly, he didn't care about the ranking competition, and secondly, he was in seclusion breaking through to a higher level. Once he succeeded, he would enter the seventh rank.

A seventh-rank martial artist under the age of twenty will shock the entire Nine Kingdoms.

"Besides securing first place, bringing Huo Ruohong here is also to show the Nine Kingdoms the strength of my Han Kingdom."

Being able to cultivate a seventh-grade martial arts genius who is not even twenty years old is not something that can be achieved solely through the disciple's own martial arts talent; it also requires a significant investment of resources.

Aside from South Korea, which of the other eight countries could do that?
……

……

beam.

Lingxiao City.

Teahouses, inns, brothels.

"Gentlemen, have you ever heard of the Martial Arts Academy Ranking Tournament?"

"Is the Martial Academy Ranking Tournament a competition between disciples of Lingxiao Martial Academy?" "No, this Martial Academy Ranking Tournament is a competition among all martial academies of the nine kingdoms to compete for rankings. This year's ranking tournament is being held in Yan Kingdom, and disciples from four martial academies of our Great Liang are going."

"This martial arts academy ranking competition should be the best in South Korea."

"Although I don't want to admit it, South Korea does have more martial arts geniuses than my Daliang. In previous ranking competitions, South Korea was always number one. In the most terrifying competition, South Korea directly swept the top four spots."

One of the martial artists who knew about the ranking tournament spoke with a hint of helplessness in his voice.

"What you all say is true, South Korea is indeed very strong, but this year is different. Our Great Liang has also emerged as a dark horse, especially one of our martial arts academies, which broke through the encirclement as a dark horse and won first place in the first round of the points competition."

"If you are interested, please listen to my explanation."

……

……

The capital city.

They were still in teahouses, inns, brothels, and martial arts exchange venues.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have some exciting news to share. In this martial arts academy ranking competition, our Great Liang triumphed, overwhelming three geniuses from the four major martial arts academies of South Korea and securing first place in the points competition. And all of this is thanks to a genius from our Great Liang. Can you guess who this genius is?"

"Dang Baixuan?"

"Dang Baixuan's martial arts skills are indeed impressive, but that's not all. As for this genius, everyone will be familiar with him as soon as I mention his name..."

Jiangnan Road.

"The might of Liang is triumphant, the might of Jiangnan is triumphant, and the might of Lin Chen is triumphant!"

"In the Martial Arts Academy Ranking Tournament, Lin Chen overpowered three top-ranked players—Bian Xinjie, Ling Tianhao, and Lu Chuanning—to take first place in the points competition."

……

Guixi Road.

Nishikawa Road.

……

……

The entire Daliang was buzzing with the same news: the results of the first round of the Martial Arts Academy Ranking Tournament.

The capital city.

Ministry of Military Affairs.

Kong Qifeng was playing chess with an old man when a middle-aged man quickly walked over, bowed to the two of them, and said, "It has been investigated and found that the Yan Kingdom is behind the spread of information about the ranking competition."

"The State of Yan?"

Kong Qifeng held the chess piece in his hand, a thoughtful expression on his face.

What is the meaning of Yan State spreading information about the points-based competition?

The old man opposite was also pondering. In just one day, news about the martial arts academy ranking competition had spread throughout the entire Liang Dynasty. This was something that no ordinary force could achieve.

As the ruler of Daliang, how could he not notice even this?

Neither of them expected that the mastermind behind it all was the State of Yan.

Kong Qifeng and his companion were already aware of what had happened during the ranking tournament. It turned out that Yan State had not shown any favoritism towards Han State, but rather sided slightly with Daliang.

Now the Yan Kingdom has started spreading information about this ranking competition in Daliang, praising Lin Chen extensively. In a sense, they are just doing what their court wants to do.

Kong Qifeng and the old man certainly knew that informing martial artists and the general public about the standings would greatly boost morale, especially as they faced the decisive battle in the northern frontier. However, the reason they gave the order was that they did not want to put too much pressure on Lin Chen.

The points-based tournament is only the first round. The real ranking will be determined by the subsequent elimination rounds. If Lin Chen performs poorly in the later elimination rounds, the more he is praised now, the more terrible the backlash will be later.

"Could this be Yan's purpose?"

Kong Qifeng shook his head: "Yan Kingdom has no need to do this, and according to the information that Junior Brother Hou sent back, the sixth princess of Yan Kingdom has a very close relationship with Lin Chen."

"My lord, a message has arrived."

Outside, a sound came, and another middle-aged man walked in, holding a secret letter in his hands. Kong Qifeng took it, read it, and handed it to the old man opposite him.

"Does the Yan royal family need something from Lin Chen?"

After reading it, the old man had a guess in his mind: "Is that why he used this method to show goodwill to Lin Chen?"

Kong Qifeng pondered for a long time, still unable to figure out why the Yan royal family would do such a thing.

If this is considered an attempt to curry favor with Lin Chen, it would be tantamount to flattering him to death unless the Yan Kingdom's royal family is confident that Lin Chen can also outperform the Han Kingdom in this ranking competition and lead the Canglan Martial Academy to excellent results.

Both men were resourceful and could see the whole picture from a single glimpse, but the reason they couldn't figure it out this time was because they had no idea that this was a propaganda campaign launched by Murong Yan with the help of Lin Chen, involving all of Yan's pawns in Daliang.

The mastermind behind it all was Lin Chen himself.

Linhu Village, Poyang County.

"Inform Xu Lao Er to clean the ancestral hall and prepare for the ancestral worship ceremony."

"But village chief, Lin Chen hasn't returned yet."

"It's alright that Lin Chen hasn't returned. Just invite the powerful and influential people in the county. Also, tell them that our village is going to expand the ancestral hall again."

……

……

The Royal Martial Academy of Yan Kingdom, a separate courtyard.

As the moonlight began to fall, Lin Chen, who was about to return to his room to rest, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

At this moment, the body's Qi and blood surged forth like a rushing river from every acupoint in the limbs and bones.

"Is the Great Liang Light starting to take effect?"

PS: Brothers, there's one more chapter for Lin Chen. It's the 28th, and there will be double monthly votes, so please vote!

(End of this chapter)