Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 319 War begins

Jiefeng Gorge!
The waves surged, one after another, washing over the blood.

Of the 104 people from Han and Zheng, none survived.

The disciples of the Great Liang Martial Academy looked at the two figures standing on the deck with burning desire in their eyes.

Lin Chen was covered in blood, and his bare upper body revealed a skin with a bronze sheen. The lingering aura of blood swirled around him like a dark red mist, making him look like a war god who had just stepped out of a battlefield.

He fought Huo Ruohong, Bian Xinjie, and Ling Tianhao alone, piercing Ling Tianhao with a single finger, tearing Bian Xinjie apart, and chasing after Huo Ruohong.

The scene of drawing a bow and shooting arrows, where every arrow killed a warrior, is still vivid in their minds.

Needless to say, Senior Pei Qingming killed a second-rank martial artist with a single sword strike from afar. Afterwards, he faced four second-rank martial artists from Zheng Kingdom alone, walking leisurely as if cutting down weeds with ease.

Hou Zhantian and the others did not step forward to disturb them. Looking at the two figures, they stroked their beards and smiled. In Lin Chen and Pei Qingming, they saw hope and the inheritance of the Great Liang martial arts.

With Pei Qingming preceding him and Lin Chen following him, this is the passing down of the torch of martial arts in the Great Liang Dynasty, and the continuation of the hope for martial arts in the Great Liang Dynasty.

Lin Chen's performance in the ranking tournament far exceeded their expectations, which made them extremely satisfied.

Pei Qingming was no less impressive. He had remained at the fourth rank for seven years, but today he broke through in one move, and his strength was comparable to that of a first rank cultivator.

Pei Qingming represents the present of the Great Liang Dynasty, while Lin Chen represents the future of the Great Liang Dynasty for the next fifty years.

The setting sun, like blood, gilded the two figures with a layer of crimson gold.

"Brother Pei, your swordsmanship is too profound."

Lin Chen spoke not to flatter Pei Qingming, but because he had clearly witnessed the battle between Brother Pei and the four second-rank martial artists from Zheng.

Although Brother Pei's cultivation level had not reached the first rank, he still displayed an overwhelming advantage when facing four second-rank martial artists, all because of Brother Pei's swordsmanship.

Do you remember what I told you last time?

Pei Qingming smiled slightly. Upon hearing this, Lin Chen recalled what his elder brother Pei had said to him back then, and his eyes narrowed: "Is it the will of the sword?"

"Yes, it is the will of the sword."

Pei Qingming looked at the waves in front of him: "I told you before, when I first entered the martial arts world, I learned a variety of techniques just like you. I always felt that the more techniques I learned, the greater the improvement in my martial arts strength. Fist techniques, palm techniques, knife techniques, spear techniques... I could learn the basics of each technique in just a few days, and master them in a few months... Of course, I was still a bit inferior to you. I heard that you were able to master a technique to perfection in just three months."

Hearing Brother Pei's praise, Lin Chen felt a little guilty. His martial arts talent was nowhere near that of Brother Pei; he relied entirely on the help provided by the panel.

"Dozens of different techniques not only increase my strength, but also allow me to anticipate my opponent's moves and strike back when fighting. I imagine you are the same."

Lin Chen nodded. His teacher had found him thousands of martial arts techniques, including those provided by the martial arts academy. He had studied them all carefully so that he could predict the attack trajectories of opponents who practiced these techniques.

It seems I underestimated the geniuses of the nine kingdoms, thinking that only I would do this. Sharpening the axe won't delay the work of chopping wood, but I didn't expect that Brother Pei would do the same.

"It's still the same problem I mentioned to you last time. It's because I've studied too much and too many different things. Although my understanding of martial arts isn't bad, and I could break through to the third rank without any problem, this understanding isn't the ultimate. I can only say that I'm much stronger than the average martial artist. This kind of breakthrough isn't what I want."

"Over the years, I have only done one thing: forget all other cultivation techniques and focus on swordsmanship. In the first year, I forgot thirty cultivation techniques, in the second year I forgot sixty... until recently, I finally forgot all the cultivation techniques and only had one swordsmanship left."

"A singular martial will is pure, and its power is equivalent to the difference between you and an ordinary martial artist when you first embarked on the path of ultimate martial arts."

"Invincible within the same realm?"

Lin Chen chimed in, but then immediately dismissed the thought: the strength that Brother Pei had displayed was more than just being invincible within the same realm.

“When a single martial will is cultivated to its peak, it can fight across a whole realm. However, my understanding of swordsmanship has not yet reached its peak. I can only say that I have just barely entered the field.”

“Brother Pei, you are too modest. If your swordsmanship is only at the beginner level, what would all the swordsmen in the Nine Kingdoms think of that?”

Lin Chen smiled, thinking that Brother Pei was just being modest. However, Pei Qingming's expression turned serious: "Junior Brother Lin, I am not being modest. The will of the sword originates from the will of martial arts, but the two are not the same. Perhaps this should be called a unique will..."

"Exclusive will?"

Pei Qingming gave a wry smile: "This is just a name I gave myself. There may be other names for it. After all, the martial arts of our Nine Kingdoms are not complete."

With the Yan Dynasty's affairs exposed, Pei Qingming, as the number one genius of the Great Liang Dynasty, must have known about it.

Lin Chen understood what Brother Pei meant; the exclusive will was also placed in the Yan Dynasty, and had another name.

"Of course, what I gave you last time was just a suggestion. Perhaps in the Yan Dynasty, there are others who follow your path of martial arts cultivation."

Pei Qingming smiled as he looked at Lin Chen. He had initially offered Lin Chen some advice as someone who had been through similar experiences, but after learning about Lin Chen's outstanding performance in the ranking tournament, Pei Qingming felt that Lin Chen's path might not necessarily be unworkable.

Junior Brother Lin is an even more monstrous genius than himself.

Lin Chen nodded, then asked another question he was curious about: "Brother Pei, what brings you here?"

When Han Kingdom announced its withdrawal from the ranking competition, and Dean Hou led everyone away from the capital of Yan Kingdom, even though he had sent a message back to Daliang before leaving, there was not enough time.

Unless Brother Pei happens to be within the territory of Yan.

"If I don't understand you, Junior Brother Lin, how could I not understand the Koreans?"

Pei Qingming and Lin Chen exchanged a glance, and Lin Chen instantly understood what his elder brother Pei meant, and also laughed.

"The Korean Kingdom has always been the number one among the nine kingdoms. Over the years, its image to the outside world has been one of 'fairness and justice.' However, in reality, the Korean court, from top to bottom, has never been truly magnanimous. If the Korean court feels threatened, they will stop at nothing to nip that threat in the bud."

"This applies to people as well as to countries. If a country rises and threatens their position, they will immediately support other countries and suppress that country. I heard about your performance in the ranking competition and predicted that Han would have something to do with it, so I came all the way to Yan. The timing is just right."

"It was Qingming who saw through Han Guo's true nature."

Hou Zhantian's voice came from behind the two: "On the surface, Han Kingdom claims to be fair and even willing to cultivate martial arts geniuses from the nine countries. Han Kingdom will lure those martial arts geniuses who go to Han Kingdom to stay, and then use martial arts techniques or honey traps to make these geniuses feel attached to Han Kingdom. A large part of Han Kingdom's strength is because it has gathered talents from the nine countries."

Hou Zhantian was well aware of Han Guo's intention to cultivate the nine kingdoms.

Han Guo's cleverness lies in keeping many of the geniuses from the other eight countries within his own country. Even if these geniuses would not obey Han Guo's orders to attack their homeland, Han Guo could simply send warriors from Wu to deal with Ze, and warriors from Ze to deal with Zhao...

“Let’s go back together. Qingming, you can teach these little guys some martial arts cultivation tips.”

Hearing Hou Zhantian's words, Pei Qingming shook his head: "Dean, my cultivation path is not suitable for you junior brothers. I really have no insights to impart. On the contrary, the letter that Junior Brother Lin wrote back then, 'A Message to Junior Brothers of Jiangnan Road,' is something you junior brothers can read and study."

Hou Zhantian was taken aback, a helpless look on his old face. He understood what his disciple meant.

Being able to enter the Martial Academy and represent it in the ranking competition already shows that these disciples are geniuses among geniuses, but they are still far from being as good as Pei Qingming. If Pei Qingming were to impart his insights on martial arts cultivation to these disciples, it would only cause their martial arts aspirations to collapse.

"I didn't think it through; it's really not suitable."

Pei Qingming didn't continue the topic, so as not to upset his junior brothers too much. He changed the subject and said, "Dean, I don't plan to go back to Daliang."

"Not going back to Daliang? The Koreans will find out what happened here in less than a day. Staying abroad might be dangerous."

Hou Zhantian frowned, but Pei Qingming smiled and said, "Dean, even if the Koreans send martial artists to hunt me down, as long as I don't linger in the fight, the Korean martial artists won't be able to stop me if I want to leave."

Hou Zhantian was confident that he possessed the strength of a first-grade martial artist.

A first-rank martial artist is already the strongest in the nine kingdoms. If a martial artist of this level does not want to fight and only wants to escape, it is extremely difficult to keep them unless several first-rank martial artists join forces to attack them. "This disciple plans to stay in Yan Kingdom for a few days to visit one of my former senior brothers."

Upon hearing Pei Qingming's words, Hou Zhantian's eyes gleamed: "Qingming, what do you mean?"

“Junior Brother Lin’s strength is still a bit weak. We need to give him time. If the Han Kingdom finds out that Junior Brother Lin defeated Huo Ruohong and the other two by himself, they will probably do everything in their power to kill him. Even if Junior Brother Lin stays within the territory of Daliang, who can guarantee that the Han Kingdom will not send a few first-rank martial artists to secretly infiltrate Daliang and assassinate him?”

Pei Qingming's meaning was clear: this time he wanted to attract the attention of the Korean Kingdom.

"Senior Brother Pei, actually..."

“Junior Brother Lin, I am doing this not only for your safety, but also because my Great Liang and the Han Kingdom are about to go to war. At this moment, I am showing my strength to the other countries, so that even if they do not stand with my Great Liang, they will not side with the Han Kingdom and will remain neutral.”

Pei Qingming patted Lin Chen on the shoulder, and at the end of his sentence, a hint of embarrassment appeared on his face: "Of course, there is also the most important reason. After seven years of silence, you, Junior Brother Lin, have stolen my limelight. Don't I have any face? I'll take this opportunity to let the Nine Kingdoms know that I, Pei Qingming, am not just a name for myself as the number one genius of the Great Liang in the past three hundred years."

Lin Chen looked at Pei Qingming. He knew that Pei's last sentence was a joke. With Pei's strength, he no longer cared about such empty fame. If he cared about empty fame and other people's gossip, he would have broken through to the upper level long ago.

"Alright, Qingming, please be careful in Han Kingdom."

Hou Zhantian was not an indecisive person. Qingming's arrangement was correct. This time, all the troops from Han and Zheng countries perished here. Han would be furious, and a battle between the two sides would be inevitable in the near future. If Han knew Lin Chen's true strength, they would definitely spare no effort to assassinate him.

Although Lord Kong had already purged a number of families within the territory of Daliang who were colluding with other countries last time, we must be wary in case there are any that are even more deeply hidden.

"Dean, Junior Brother Lin, esteemed guests, I shall take my leave now."

Pei Qingming arrived suddenly and left just as casually, his figure moving through the air towards the capital of Yan, his robes fluttering, exuding an extremely carefree air.

Lin Chen watched Pei Qingming's departing figure, feeling a surge of emotion. Only by cultivating to the level of Brother Pei could one truly have the power to protect oneself in the Nine Kingdoms, without having to worry about being ambushed or assassinated by anyone.

"Junior brothers, you have all heard what Qingming said. Regarding the battle at Jiefeng Gorge, please give proper instructions to your respective disciples not to reveal the true details of the battle. Just say that Qingming appeared and killed the second-rank martial artist from Zheng, and then we all joined forces to kill all the troops from both countries."

Hou Zhantian looked at Chen Shan and the other vice deans, who nodded in agreement, understanding the importance of the matter.

Fortunately, the disciples selected to represent the Martial Academy in the ranking competition are not only among the top disciples in terms of strength, but also have no problems in terms of family background.

"The bodies of those deceased disciples... should be carefully collected."

In the end, Hou Zhantian's expression also showed a trace of sadness. This time, Daliang was not unscathed. Five disciples died in battle and four disciples were injured.

A quarter of an hour later.

Led by Hou Zhantian, everyone on the deck paid their respects to the bodies of the five disciples who had died in battle.

Looking at the group of young people with sorrowful expressions, Hou Zhantian sighed inwardly. For these chosen ones, today must have been the most dangerous day they had ever faced.

However, this will certainly not be the last time.

"These five disciples today will not be the first to sacrifice, nor the last. The Northern Frontier Demon Clan is still one strike away, and the Han Kingdom will inevitably fight against my Great Liang. I ask you, are you afraid?"

Hou Zhantian suddenly roared, his eyes sweeping over every disciple present.

However, none of the disciples showed any fear on their faces.

"Lord Hou, we are not afraid!"

"Dean, I am not afraid!"

"If South Korea dares to invade, then we will fight them!"

Hearing his disciples' words, Hou Zhantian smiled and said, "It's not time for you to fight against Han Kingdom yet. There are still us old guys, and Qingming and the other generation that have grown up. What you need to do is to cultivate even more diligently."

The river wind howled, and the deck was completely silent, but at this moment, all the disciples had only one thought in their minds: from this day forward, they would devote all their attention to cultivation.

For Daliang, for his family, and to avenge his fallen fellow disciples.

……

……

Daliang, the northern frontier!
Beyond the vast ice plains of northern Xinjiang lies the site of a military camp.

A red eagle swiftly flew into the foremost military camp.

Xiao Pingyao took the letter from his subordinate, and after reading its contents, his eyes flashed with a sharp light.

"The Koreans really do use any means necessary."

The next moment, Xiao Pingyao looked at his subordinates and said, "Order the three armies to beat the drums!"

"Master Hou?"

His subordinates were taken aback, but then the three armies beat their drums, indicating that something big was about to happen.

The beating of the drum at this time, does it mean that a decision has been made from above?

"Yes, I will pass on the order immediately."

His subordinates looked excited, and not long after they left the tent, Xiao Yaojin walked into the tent.

"Father, are you about to make your move?"

"Ah."

Xiao Pingyao nodded and handed the secret letter to his son: "Your senior brother is quite good."

"Senior brother?"

Xiao Yaojin was taken aback, then seemed to realize something, his eyes lighting up: "Is it Senior Brother Lin?"

"See for yourself."

After reading the contents of the secret letter, Xiao Yaojin was excited: "I knew that Senior Brother Lin would be able to lead Canglan Martial Academy to a good ranking this time."

"Have you ever considered that your Senior Brother Lin could surpass Huo Ruohong and Bian Xinjie and lead Canglan Martial Academy to first place?"

Xiao Ping smiled as he looked at his son. Although the Nine Kingdoms Ranking Tournament was disbanded midway due to Han Kingdom's withdrawal, anyone who knew what had happened knew that Canglan Martial Academy was the winner of this year's competition.

Xiao Yaojin shook his head honestly. Although he had confidence in Senior Brother Lin's strength, he only set Senior Brother Lin's position as one of the top four. He really hadn't thought about the first place.

As expected of Senior Brother Lin, after several months, he has once again brought me a huge shock.

"This cold country actually wants to kill Senior Brother Lin."

But when he thought of the contents mentioned later in the secret letter, Xiao Yaojin's expression turned cold, and his eyes were filled with killing intent.

"Exterminate the demon race of the Northern Frontier and secure the peace of the Northern Frontier of our Great Liang. If the Han Kingdom dares to interfere, they will be killed without mercy!"

(End of this chapter)