Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 307 You can bet on whether I dare to shoot this arrow

Canglan Martial Arts Academy is in first place in the points competition.

The Tianque Martial Academy is the strongest in terms of overall strength.

None of the martial arts academies in the square had expected that the first match would be such a highly anticipated battle.

When Bian Xinjie saw the fortune slip in Lin Chen's hand with the words "Tianque" written on it, a smile appeared on his lips. It seemed that even God was not giving Lin Chen a chance to continue to steal the spotlight.

"I was actually selected for Tianque Martial Academy in the first round."

Below the stage, the three families from Lingxiao Martial Academy also had worried expressions in their eyes.

Li Yuan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed and said, "Junior Brother Lin has good luck. The sooner the battle ends, the sooner it will be over."

The disciples of Canglan Martial Academy were not upset that Lin Chen had drawn Tianque Martial Academy. They knew this battle was inevitable, and they were just facing it earlier than expected.

At the very front, Hou Zhantian narrowed his old eyes slightly, looking at Murong Song beside him with some surprise.

“Brother Hou, the box used for drawing lots is so sensitive that even martial arts will cannot detect it.”

Murong Song knew what Hou Zhantian meant by that look, and offered an explanation.

It was pure luck; the royal family didn't pull any strings.

Lin Chen has a partnership with the royal family, so it's impossible for the royal family to secretly manipulate the Canglan Martial Academy and Tianque Martial Academy to meet so quickly. If they were to manipulate it, they would do so by having Lin Chen draw the weaker academy.

In the stands, after a burst of noise, everyone's faces showed excitement.

The opening was so intense; coming today was definitely the right decision.

It's important to know that the knockout stage has started now, and the top 15 teams are all very strong. It's uncertain whether these 15 teams can even finish their matches today. Logically, tomorrow's competition will be the most intense and exciting.

But who would have thought that Canglan Martial Academy would draw Tianque Martial Academy in the first round?

One team was recognized as the strongest among the nine martial arts academies before the competition even started, while the other team has been shining as a dark horse since yesterday's points competition.

"The martial arts community adjusted Lin Chen's ranking to seventh on the Heavenly Ranking early this morning. If we include Bian Xinjie and Ling Tianhao, this round will feature a battle between three Heavenly Ranking warriors."

"Besides these three, Li Yuan from Canglan Martial Academy is also formidable, as are several other disciples from Tianque Martial Academy. This match will be a true battle of dragons and tigers."

……

……

After drawing lots, Lin Chen's expression remained unchanged as he walked back to his original position, while the other martial arts academies also began to draw their opponents.

Within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, seven martial arts academies stepped forward to draw their opponents, while the Great Liang Lingxiao Martial Arts Academy received a bye in this round.

This also means that Daliang Lingxiao Martial Academy has at least made it into the top eight.

this is a good news.

After the draw, the disciples from the other martial arts academies stepped back, and all eyes on the scene fell on Canglan Martial Arts Academy and Tianque Martial Arts Academy.

"What format do you two families plan to use for the competition?"

Murong Song asked whether it was a group battle or a one-on-one fight, which was to be decided by the two martial arts academies themselves.

"In one-on-one combat, Canglan Martial Academy is at a disadvantage. Putting aside Lin Chen's strength for the time being, the other disciples are probably not as good as Tianque Martial Academy."

"The only variable lies with Lin Chen."

Those present were well aware of the strength of Canglan Martial Academy and Tianque Martial Academy. Although Canglan Martial Academy's performance yesterday was extremely impressive, it was largely due to Lin Chen alone.

It can be said that Lin Chen alone brought Canglan Martial Academy to the same level as Tianque Martial Academy.

If Lin Chen is excluded, Canglan Martial Academy should be ranked around the top ten martial academies, but there is still a considerable gap between it and Tianque Martial Academy.

"Senior Brother Li, which one should we choose?"

Lin Chen looked at Li Yuan. As the senior disciple of Canglan Martial Academy, Li Yuan had the authority to make decisions, and Lin Chen would not overstep his bounds.

"Junior Brother Lin, you shall decide."

Li Yuan smiled and shook his head. Although he was the senior brother, Junior Brother Lin was more suitable to be the decision-maker of the Martial Academy in terms of both performance and strength, and he would not be jealous of him because of this.

By having Junior Brother Lin represent the Martial Academy in drawing lots, it means that he has already relinquished the power of the senior brother.

The other senior students from Canglan Martial Academy also turned their attention to Lin Chen at this moment, clearly sharing the same thoughts as Li Yuan.

"Canglan Martial Arts Academy chooses the individual competition."

Lin Chen spoke slowly, and Bian Xinjie and Ling Tianhao on the other side smiled when they heard Lin Chen's words.

"It seems that Lin Chen is really confident that he can defeat one of us in a one-on-one fight."

In their view, Lin Chen didn't choose to fight in groups because he was afraid that if the two of them joined forces, he wouldn't have any chance. But Lin Chen overestimated him; they didn't need to join forces to deal with him.

"Senior brother, let me have Lin Chen."

Ling Tianhao looked at Bian Xinjie, who nodded: "Okay."

Tianque Martial Academy also agreed to the individual competition, and at this moment, referees began to walk towards the top of the arena.

"Both sides choose their disciples to fight. In the individual competition, if one side concedes, the other side cannot make a move."

The referee's voice echoed throughout the arena, and the underlying meaning was clear: if one side refused to concede, the other side could eliminate them within the rules.

On the Tianque Martial Academy's side, a disciple stepped onto the arena, his gaze sweeping over the Canglan Martial Academy's side: "Who among you will come up and fight?"

"Senior Brother Li, Junior Brother Lin, let me go."

On the Canglan Martial Academy side, a disciple also volunteered. Lin Chen hesitated for a moment, as he was thinking about something, but seeing the senior brother's eyes, he finally nodded: "Alright, then I'll trouble you to step up, senior brother, but please don't overdo it."

Fighting for their own martial arts academy's ranking is an honor for every senior brother. Even if he has a bold plan in his heart, it cannot stop the senior brothers from fighting for the martial arts academy.

"Zhao Zhiping from Canglan Martial Academy, please enlighten me!"

After Zhao Zhiping, a disciple of Canglan Martial Academy, stepped onto the arena, he followed the rules. However, the disciple of Tianque Martial Academy merely sneered, did not announce his name, and looked at the referee: "Senior, may we begin?"

In a ring fight, there's no rule that the two fighters must announce their identities to each other. The middle-aged referee nodded: "Begin."

Upon hearing the word "begin," the disciples of Tianque Martial Academy grinned maliciously and unleashed their nine-section whips. Sparks flew as the whip tips struck the ground, accompanied by the roar of a tiger.

"go to hell!"

As the long whip came, Zhao Zhiping dared not underestimate it. He twirled his long sword, but the moment the tip of the sword touched the whip, his expression changed slightly, and he felt a numbness in his tiger's mouth.

call out!
As his opponent's second whip lashed out, Zhao Zhiping quickly dodged, but unexpectedly, the whip suddenly turned like a python and headed straight for his neck.

"careful!"

Below the stage, the disciples of Canglan Martial Academy exclaimed in surprise. Zhao Zhiping leaned back in alarm, and his whip swept across the ground, leaving a trail of blood.

hiss!
Everyone who saw the bloody gash on Zhao Zhiping's neck was shocked; the whip wielded by this student from Tianque Martial Academy was far too powerful.

Just two lashes were enough to injure the opponent.

Zhao Zhiping was not weak. Although he had not reached the eighth rank, he was still one of the best among the ninth-rank martial artists. Yet he couldn't even withstand two lashes.

The disciples of Tianque Martial Academy had a sinister look in their eyes. They lashed out with their long whips again, which turned into a blood-red tornado that engulfed Zhao Zhiping. The bluestone floor of the arena was whipped so hard that stone chips flew everywhere.

Snapped!
A dozen or so breaths later, Zhao Zhiping, covered in blood, tumbled out of the whip's shadow, his right arm hanging limply at his side, clearly indicating that his right arm had suffered a serious injury.

"Junior Brother Zhao, I admit defeat!"

Li Yuan spoke anxiously, and Zhao Zhiping looked miserable. He understood the gap between himself and his opponent, and if he persisted, he might really lose his life.

He wasn't afraid of losing his life or being seriously injured, as long as he could also seriously injure his opponent. However, he couldn't even get close to his opponent's body. The power of his opponent's whip was so strong that he had no chance to fight back.

"I surrender."

In the end, Zhao Zhiping chose to concede defeat.

"It's so boring."

Upon hearing Zhao Zhiping concede defeat, the disciples of Tianque Martial Academy curled their lip, put away their whips, and stepped off the stage.

"Senior Brother Li, Junior Brother Lin, I..."

"Junior Brother Zhao, focus on healing your injuries and don't overthink it."

The disciples of Canglan Martial Academy helped Zhao Zhiping down, and Li Yuan took out a pill from his pocket and put it into Zhao Zhiping's mouth.

"Come on, who are you sending for this round?"

Another disciple from Tianque Martial Academy stepped onto the arena with a provocative look in his eyes. This time, the disciple from Canglan Martial Academy did not rush to volunteer. If they were not confident of victory, going on stage would only result in humiliation.

They are not afraid of being humiliated; what they fear is bringing shame upon the martial arts academy.

"Senior Brother Li, you go ahead."

Lin Chen squinted and spoke to Li Yuan.

Among the disciples of Tianque Martial Academy, only Senior Brother Li has an absolute confidence in victory.

"Me?"

Li Yuan was taken aback. If he was asked to go up now, what would happen to the later rounds?
There are ten disciples, and there are ten rounds in total. To win, you need to win at least six rounds.

But Li Yuan eventually agreed. From the moment he chose to hand over the decision-making power to his junior brother Lin, he would follow his junior brother Lin's arrangements.

"Li Yuan has gone up?"

"Canglan Martial Academy is sending Li Yuan out so quickly, does that mean they're skipping the later matches?" Upon seeing Li Yuan enter the arena, the disciples from Lingxiao Martial Academy, Qingyun Martial Academy, and Kyoto Martial Academy frowned, their eyes filled with doubt. Only Meng Xing whispered, "Actually, this arrangement is reasonable. Senior Brother Li Yuan and the others are still somewhat inferior to Bian Xinjie. If they were to be sent out later, they might not be able to win. It's better to secure a sure victory in this match."

Best of ten!

These are the rules for the individual competition.

There is no Tian Ji horse racing strategy in this world, otherwise Meng Xing would definitely have mentioned it.

On the arena, Li Yuan went all out, causing the disciples of Tianque Martial Academy to retreat step by step until they finally had to admit defeat.

Even among eighth-rank martial artists, there are differences.

The disciple from Tianque Martial Academy looked extremely grim. He hadn't expected that Canglan Martial Academy would send Li Yuan to the stage in just the second round.

"Trying to win by the number of rounds? That's wishful thinking."

Bian Xinjie and Ling Tianhao exchanged a glance. Like Meng Xing, they believed that Lin Chen was using a positional exchange to pit Li Yuan and the others, who were strong, against the weaker members of their Tianque Martial Academy.

"Apart from Li Yuan and Hu An, the other disciples of Canglan Martial Academy are all easily defeated. They can only win these two matches. Moreover, in the next round, it will be the turn of Canglan Martial Academy to send someone to the match first."

Ling Tianhao's eyes held a mocking look, while on the Canglan Martial Academy side, after Li Yuan left the stage, Lin Chen looked at another senior brother: "Senior Brother Chen, you will be going up this round. You don't need to fight your hardest. If you find that you are running out of strength, just admit defeat."

"it is good."

Chen Dong nodded. He didn't know why Junior Brother Lin had arranged for him to play in this match, but like Senior Brother Li, they now had absolute trust in Junior Brother Lin.

Even if Junior Brother Lin asked him to go on stage as cannon fodder, he wouldn't hesitate.

Upon seeing Chen Dong enter the arena, a disciple from Tianque Martial Academy also stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with cold light.

Neither side spoke, and after the referee confirmed the start, they simultaneously began to fight.

"Junior Brother Chen was not the one who attacked."

After a brief exchange, Li Yuan whispered something, and Lin Chen nodded in agreement. He sent Chen Dong into the arena not to win this match, but to prepare for the next one.

A dozen or so breaths later, Chen Dong's clothes were soaked with blood.

As the disciples of Tianque Martial Academy crossed their hooks, a flash of cold light erupted, the hook blades tearing through the air with a hissing sound like a venomous snake. Chen Dong staggered backward, a deep, bone-revealing wound appearing on his right shoulder, his right hand gripping the sword trembling uncontrollably.

He was only a ninth-rank official, while his opponent was an eighth-rank official.

"Junior Brother Chen, I admit defeat."

It wouldn't be appropriate for Junior Brother Lin to say something like "Li Yuan is asking Chen Dong to admit defeat," but since it was said by his senior brother, Junior Brother Chen was more likely to listen.

Chen Dong's face showed resentment, but he knew that Senior Brother Li was telling him to admit defeat for his own good. In the previous exchange, he had been suppressed by his opponent at every turn, especially by his opponent's pair of hooks, whose attack angles were extremely strange and impossible to defend against.

"I……"

Just as Chen Dong was about to speak, his opponent suddenly roared, and his double hooks conjured several hook shadows, instantly enveloping Chen Dong.

Bian Xinjie and Ling Tianhao wore cruel smiles upon seeing this scene.

"not good!"

Li Yuan's expression changed drastically in an instant. The other party was going to kill him, not giving Chen Dong a chance to admit defeat.

"stop!"

Li Yuan's eyes widened in fury, but then he saw the Tianque disciple's lips curl into a cruel smile, and his twin hooks suddenly crossed and slashed across like a venomous dragon's tail. Chen Dong's sword clattered to the ground, two spurts of blood gushed from his wrists, and he collapsed to his knees like a puppet with broken strings.

There was a clear bloodstain on his throat, and he was making a hoarse sound—his vocal cords had been injured by the shock and he could no longer speak.

The trail of bloodstains on the bluestone of the arena gleamed with an eerie purple light under the sunlight. The disciple of Tianque Martial Academy sneered, "If you want to admit defeat, and you can't say it aloud, you can write it on the ground with your hand."

Write it down on the ground!
The other martial arts academy disciples present frowned and wrote the word "surrender" on the ground in blood, which was a huge humiliation.

They would rather die than do that.

"Bastard!"

Li Yuan's neck veins bulged like dragons as he prepared to step into the arena. On the stage, a disciple from the Tianque Martial Academy sneered, "Outsiders are not allowed to interfere in arena battles. There are referees watching here."

"Senior Brother Li, calm down." Lin Chen stopped Li Yuan.

"But Junior Brother Chen..."

"I know."

Lin Chen looked at the disciples of Tianque Martial Academy. The disciples of Tianque Martial Academy had a smug look in their eyes. So what if Lin Chen was stronger than them? With the referee there, he couldn't interfere with the competition. Next, they were going to torture Chen Dong.

call out!
However, just as the disciples of Tianque Martial Academy were about to walk towards Chen Dong, a longbow suddenly appeared in Lin Chen's hand.

The moment the Dragon Shadow Bow was drawn, the Tianque Martial Academy disciples' expressions changed drastically: "Lin Chen, what are you trying to do? Are you trying to break the rules of the competition?"

Not only did the disciples of Tianque Martial Academy change their expressions drastically, but everyone present was in an uproar the moment they saw Lin Chen's bow and arrow.

What is Lin Chen going to do?
One moment you're telling Li Yuan to calm down, the next you're pulling out a bow and arrow?

"presumptuous!"

Lu Qiguang's expression turned cold, but he did not stop him. If Lin Chen broke the rules, it would only benefit Han Guo.

"referee!"

The disciples of Tianque Martial Academy looked at the referee on the arena. The referee first glanced at Murong Song, and then said to Lin Chen, "Outsiders are not allowed to interfere in the arena competition."

Lin Chen pulled the bowstring, and the bowstring trembled slightly, emitting a terrifying dragon's roar.

Bian Xinjie's cold laugh came from the other side: "Junior Brother Lin, you'd better follow the rules. Moving even half a step will result in the entire Canglan Martial Academy forfeiting."

"The rules of the arena?"

Lin Chen ignored Bian Xinjie's threat and simply stared coldly at the disciple from Tianque Martial Academy.

“I broke the rules. Canglan Martial Academy just doesn’t get a ranking, but you’ve lost your life. Or, if you’re willing to sacrifice your life for Tianque Martial Academy, then take another step forward.”

With the bowstring fully drawn, Lin Chen fell silent, his fierce killing intent undisguised.

The disciple of Tianque Martial Academy looked extremely ugly at this moment; naturally, he did not want to die.

As a martial arts prodigy, he has a bright future ahead of him; how could he possibly die here?

But Lin Chen's bow gave him a great sense of crisis. And just as Lin Chen said, Lin Chen broke the rules, and Canglan Martial Academy lost its ranking qualification, and Tianque Martial Academy lost a formidable opponent.

But what does that have to do with him? He was already dead at that time.

The atmosphere at the scene instantly became heavy.

"senior."

The disciples of Tianque Martial Academy looked to the referee for help, but the referee simply shook his head: "He did not make a move, nor did he step onto the arena, so he did not violate the rules."

As long as Lin Chen doesn't make a move, it doesn't count as a violation of the rules, and the referee won't intervene.

The disciples of Tianque Martial Academy were betting that Lin Chen's arrow would not kill him, or that the referee would intervene when the arrow was fired.

As for the claim that Lin Chen shot him and would have to pay with his life, that's another story.

He is not stupid!

Lin Chen is of great significance to Liang. It is likely that even if Liang were to go to war with Han on the spot, they would not let Lin Chen pay for their lives.

Lin Chen is absolutely capable of doing that.

As for Lord Lu...

The disciples of Tianque Martial Academy glanced at Lu Qiguang and immediately understood that Lord Lu probably wished Lin Chen would break the rules.

He doesn't want to die!

"Hmph, if I let your Canglan Martial Academy lose its qualification, it would only benefit you. I will not give you that chance."

The disciple from Tianque Martial Academy tried to justify himself, then looked at the referee and said, "Senior, I guess I won this battle."

The referee glanced at Chen Dong, who was lying on the ground, and then at Lin Chen, whose face was cold. He nodded and said, "Tianque Martial Academy wins this battle."

The moment the referee announced the result, the disciples of Tianque Martial Academy immediately stepped down from the stage, fearing that if they were too slow, Lin Chen's arrows would come flying at them.

Li Yuan also rushed onto the stage, lifted Chen Dong down, and gave him a pill.

“Junior Brother Chen is seriously injured. Even with medicine, he will probably need half a year to recover.”

Lin Chen nodded. For a martial artist, especially a genius of their level, half a year is a long time. If they stagnate for half a year, they will fall behind their peers.

"Has Lin Chen already gained such a fearsome reputation? He directly scared away an eighth-rank martial artist."

"This guy is a cowardly fool. Does Lin Chen really think he can kill you with one arrow?"

On the Zheng Guo Martial Arts Academy side, Ben Shanlang gritted his teeth. A dignified eighth-rank martial artist had actually been scared off by Lin Chen's words.

"In the third round, the disciples of Tianque Martial Academy will go first."

The referee continued to preside over the competition. Seeing the disciples from Tianque Martial Academy enter the arena, Hu An from Canglan Martial Academy said, "Junior Brother Lin, let me handle this match."

"Senior Brother Hu, I'll give this match to you."

Lin Chen shook his head, but what he said stunned everyone around him, including the disciples from the three families of Lingxiao Martial Academy.

Junior Brother Lin, are you going on stage so early?

(End of this chapter)