Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 344 The morning mushroom knows not the dawn and dusk, the cicada knows not the spring and autumn.

Lin Chen went home and chatted with his mother.

Lin's mother was very happy to see her son return and was about to prepare a good meal.

"Mom, don't go to so much trouble. I don't like anything else, I only like the fish in fermented rice wine that you make."

In Lin Chen's and the original owner's memories, fermented fish was always a delicious food. If there was any extra fish at home, it would be soaked in rice wine and then preserved by pickling. Many martial artists from Poyang County who went out to work or merchants who traveled around all year round would bring a jar of fermented fish with them.

"Fish marinated in wine lees, we have some at home that we can make. I'll go get it."

"Ah."

……

While Lin Chen was having dinner and chatting with his parents, his second uncle, and other relatives, at the lakeside villa, Jia Nanzhu held an envelope, his eyes filled with gloom.

What he worried about most happened.

Warriors from the Yan Dynasty have appeared in the Nine Kingdoms.

The arrival of the warriors from the Yan Dynasty will inevitably change the landscape of the nine kingdoms, and for the Great Liang, whether this is good or bad, they can only passively accept it.

"Never mind, I'll tell Lin Chen tomorrow. Let him relax and spend time with his family today."

In the end, Jia Nanzhu decided not to disturb Lin Chen's reunion with his family and told Lin Chen about the matter the next day.

……

……

Early next morning.

Lin Chen arrived at the lakeside villa to meet his teacher.

"coming."

Jia Nanzhu lay on the rattan chair, leisurely basking in the first rays of the morning sun.

"Teacher, your health..."

"I am in good health, it's just that I'm getting old and my blood and energy are declining. Take a look at this letter first, it was sent from Lord Kong in Kyoto."

The teacher changed the subject, so Lin Chen could only take the letter. But after reading the contents, his expression became serious.

"The warriors of the Yan Dynasty have arrived. Could it be that the Annihilation Storm has disappeared?"

"Annihilation Storm?"

Jia Nanzhu was curious, and Lin Chen, seeing his teacher's puzzled look, repeated the information he had heard from the sect leader of the Qingtian Sect.

"No wonder the Yan Dynasty has been slow to arrive; it turns out it was due to the Annihilation Storm. It seems the storm has dissipated. With the appearance of the Yan Dynasty warriors, the war between our Great Liang and the Han Kingdom has temporarily ceased, and the Zheng Kingdom has also withdrawn its troops."

"It seems that what all countries are more concerned about now is the arrival of the Yan Dynasty warriors and what kind of changes it will bring to the nine kingdoms. Their minds are no longer on the battlefield."

Lin Chen understood why the battle had stopped. According to what Lord Kong wrote in his letter, the martial artists from the Yan Dynasty were extremely powerful, far above the first rank. Such strong individuals were capable of changing the course of the battle.

Without interference from external forces, the balance of power among the nine kingdoms is determined by the outcome of battles. However, with the presence of powerful external forces, even if one wins on the battlefield, the balance of power can be altered by these forces.

"It is highly likely that the people who came from the Yan Dynasty are several innate martial artists."

The fact that even a first-grade martial artist could feel threatened made Lin Chen immediately think of the innate expert that His Majesty had mentioned.

A master of the Innate Realm who surpasses even the first rank.

"Innate warrior?"

This was the first time Jia Nanzhu had ever heard of a Xiantian martial artist: "What's the difference between a Xiantian martial artist and a first-rank martial artist?"

"Teacher, this disciple is not very clear about this either. This disciple only knows that martial artists who surpass the first rank are called innate martial artists. Innate martial artists are divided into six realms, and above that there are Myriad Manifestations Realm experts."

"The Six Realms of the Primordial Chaos, and then there are all things in the universe?"

Jia Nanzhu opened his mouth slightly, and the next moment a bitter smile appeared on his face: "Fortunately, I am already old and my blood and energy are declining. If I were still young, and I heard that there are many realms above the first rank, I am afraid my martial arts heart would collapse."

"Teacher, you're exaggerating."

Lin Chen believed that his teacher's martial arts spirit wouldn't collapse, but he would definitely be depressed for a long time.

For the martial artists of the nine kingdoms, especially the geniuses, reaching the middle grade by the age of thirty is already quite satisfactory, and entering the upper grade by the age of fifty-six is ​​considered an incredible stroke of luck.

But if you tell them now that there are many realms above the first rank, it's like a group of mountaineers looking at this insurmountable mountain in front of them. They go through all sorts of hardships among the many climbers, finally breaking through the encirclement and climbing to the mountainside or even close to the summit. But now they suddenly realize that the mountain they climbed is only the shortest one, and there are several higher mountains behind them. They would really feel discouraged.

"You fought against those geniuses from the Yan Dynasty at Martial Arts Mountain. How strong were those geniuses from the Yan Dynasty?"

Jia Nanzhu had never inquired about Lin Chen's battle on Martial Arts Mountain before; this was the first time he couldn't help but ask because of his shock.

"I am currently ranked 40,000th. In my opinion, to enter the top 10,000, I need to be at least a high-grade martial artist. As for the top 100... I need to be at least a peak first-grade martial artist."

"The top 100 must be at the peak of the first rank. Does the Martial Arts Mountain of the Yan Dynasty have an age limit?"

"Under twenty years old".

Jia Nanzhu: ...

A long silence!
"Even you are only ranked 40,000th. Teacher, I am a frog in a well, looking at the sky from the bottom of the well."

Looking at his teacher's expression, Lin Chen could understand his teacher's feelings. The gap between the martial arts of the Nine Kingdoms and the Yan Dynasty was too great, like an insurmountable chasm standing in front of the martial artists of the Nine Kingdoms.

This feeling was similar to that in his previous life, when his country was invaded by the West at the end of the feudal era, many people stepped out of their own country and saw the Western skyscrapers and machinery, and felt a sense of shock and deep despair.

The ephemeral mushroom knows not the dawn and dusk, the cicada knows not the spring and autumn.

"Teacher, the reason why martial artists in the Yan Dynasty can reach the upper-level realm before the age of twenty is firstly because the territory is vast and the population is large. The Yan Dynasty's territory and population are hundreds of times larger than those of the Nine Kingdoms, so there are naturally more geniuses."

"Secondly, the martial arts techniques of the Yan Dynasty are more complete than those of the Nine Kingdoms, and the progress of cultivation will be faster than that of martial artists in the Nine Kingdoms. Moreover, the resources of pills must far surpass those of the Yan Dynasty. For the Nine Kingdoms, being able to take a pill that can improve one grade in the lower grade realm is already an extremely precious thing. In the Yan Dynasty, it is probably nothing."

"If the warriors of my Great Liang could also have such resources, their strength would surely increase significantly."

Hearing Lin Chen's words, Jia Nanzhu nodded: "You're right. The teacher has fallen into a misconception. There is a huge gap between the Nine Kingdoms and the Yan Dynasty, but that doesn't mean that you young people have such a huge gap. If you were given the same cultivation resources as those geniuses in the Yan Dynasty, you could compete with those super geniuses even in the Yan Dynasty."

"Your teacher showed you this letter simply to let you know that warriors from the Yan Dynasty have arrived. Lord Kong and the others will handle this matter well, so you don't need to worry too much."

Seeing Lin Chen deep in thought, Jia Nanzhu, fearing that Lin Chen might overthink things, offered a word of comfort.

"The disciple understands."

Lin Chen didn't tell his teacher that he was just thinking about which sect from the Yan Dynasty had come to the Nine Kingdoms this time.
If I knew the name of the sect, perhaps I could go to Martial Dao Mountain and ask the senior brothers of the Canglan Sect, so that I could know its background.

"Master, I need to go to Raozhou Prefecture today."

"To the Shu and Jiang residences?"

"Ah."

"Go ahead, there are teachers in the village to keep an eye on you, nothing will happen."

"Excuse me, teacher."

After bidding farewell to his teacher, Lin Chen left the village for Raozhou Prefecture. Besides meeting his instructor, he was even more eager to see his future mother-in-law.

The jade pendant his mother-in-law gave him back then provided tremendous help in absorbing and refining the energy of the Blazing Fire. If it weren't for the cool energy that the jade pendant released into his body, he would have been burned to ashes by the Blazing Fire long ago.

This jade pendant is probably more than just something that can sense exotic flowers and rare herbs, and the identity of my future mother-in-law is probably not as simple as I imagined.

Yesterday, while talking with his parents, he subtly inquired with his father about his father-in-law's behavior in the village, which was not much different from that of other teenagers.

It was only after he entered the Martial Arts Hall that he soared to great heights.

Before this, he had little advantage over other boys in the village in terms of height and build.

However, out of respect for his future father-in-law and mother-in-law, Lin Chen did not inquire too much.

……

Raozhou Prefecture.

This time, Lin Chen chose to go directly to the Jiang residence.

He didn't know if Instructor Yu was at the Shu residence, but his mother-in-law certainly did.

Because whenever his wife was at the Shu residence, she would definitely come to her mother-in-law's courtyard to admire the flowers. If she needed to go out of the courtyard, she would also let her mother-in-law know.

"Young Master Lin has arrived."

The steward of the Jiang family was delighted to see Lin Chen arrive and warmly led him into the mansion.

Now everyone in the manor knows that their young lady and Young Master Lin are in love, and Young Master Lin is their betrothed son-in-law.

The fact that a son-in-law ranked first on the Hidden Dragon List was a source of pride for the servants of the Jiang family.

"Young Master Lin, it just so happens that Master has returned today. I'll go and inform him."

Hearing that his father-in-law was also home, Lin Chen's lips twitched. He and his father-in-law didn't get along, and if he went to see his father-in-law, he would probably just end up staring at each other.

The front courtyard of the Jiang residence.

A servant had already rushed off to announce the news. The moment Lin Chen followed the steward into the front courtyard, he heard his father-in-law's voice.

"My son-in-law has arrived!"

The word "son-in-law" sent shivers down Lin Chen's spine. A thought flashed through his mind: three hundred axemen were lying in ambush in the front yard, just waiting for his "response" so they could rush out and chop him into eight pieces.

However, when Lin Chen saw his father-in-law sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, looking at him with the loving eyes of an old father, and then saw the other two middle-aged men and the few young men and women standing to the side, he understood what was going on.

Thankfully, it wasn't a trap; we can relax now.

At that moment, several people quickly stepped forward and respectfully said, "Your son-in-law greets Your Majesty."

"Oh dear, I was too excited just now and forgot that you are not engaged to Qing'er yet. I called you son-in-law too early. You should call me uncle instead."

Lin Chen: ...

Others present: ...

Faced with his father-in-law's attempt to show off while refusing to acknowledge his status as his son-in-law, Lin Chen inwardly scoffed. There was nothing he could do; after all, the man was his father-in-law. For the sake of his senior sister Jiang and mother-in-law, he had no choice but to accept it.

"This nephew greets Uncle Chu."

Lin Chen recognized one of the other two middle-aged men on the stone table. He had met him at the Jiang family's house before, when his future father-in-law had used him to put down Uncle Chu's boastful arrogance.

At the same time, Lin Chen nodded to Jiang Cheng and Chu Xi who were standing to the side. When Lin Chen looked at him, Jiang Cheng smiled back, while Chu Xi, who was standing to the side, seemed a little dazed.

The last time she brought Cheng Ge to the Jiang residence, she intended to show off in front of Jiang Qing. Unexpectedly, the person Jiang Qing found was no less capable than Cheng Ge in terms of potential and other aspects, and was even stronger. But she did not admit defeat.

Cheng Ge comes from the Jiang family of Jizhou Prefecture. He is a master of martial arts and has a father who is at the fifth level of martial arts. With the help of his family's martial arts resources, he will definitely not be much worse than Lin Chen in the future.

Unexpectedly, the gap widened in just over a year.

Cheng Ge hasn't even made it onto the Hidden Dragon List yet, while Lin Chen is already number one on the Hidden Dragon List's Heavenly Ranking, a super genius shining across the Nine Kingdoms, and the undisputed number one young genius of the Nine Kingdoms.

Even the warriors from Han, Zheng, and Xiang, who were hostile to Daliang, did not refute this point.

Now, she has completely given up on comparing herself to Jiang Qing.

"This is your Uncle Zheng, and those two are your Uncle Zheng's son-in-law and daughter."

Jiang Duanchao introduced Lin Chen to the identity of another middle-aged man, and Lin Chen finally understood why his father-in-law had called him "son-in-law".

A man!
When you're young, you compete on your own strength; but when you're middle-aged, you compete on the next generation.

Uncle Chu and Uncle Zheng both brought their daughters and sons-in-law to visit, and how could their father-in-law miss such an opportunity to show off?

"We've heard so much about Senior Brother Lin."

Zheng Xiyin smiled and began to speak, then introduced Lin Chen: "This is my husband, Yang Qiu."

In martial arts, seniority is determined by strength.

Upon hearing the word "Senior Brother," Lin Chen knew that the woman in front of him was older than him, but because she was not as strong as him, she couldn't call him "Brother" or "Elder Brother," so she simply called him "Senior Brother."

This is also an unspoken rule among martial artists of the nine kingdoms: when facing someone younger than oneself but stronger, one should address them as "senior brother".

……

……

backyard.

The old woman reported to Zhuang Min: "Madam, the son-in-law has entered the mansion."

"Oh, why are you returning to Poyang County at this time? Has something happened?"

"This old servant does not know." The old woman shook her head: "However, I observe that the young master has faint signs of innate talent, and he is probably not far from reaching the top level."

"So fast?"

Zhuang Min's beautiful eyes showed surprise. A high-grade martial artist is nothing special, but for Lin Chen to be close to the high-grade level in such a short time at his age, he could be called a genius even in the Yan Dynasty.

"It seems that Lin Chen must have had some fortuitous encounters recently."

"I think the son-in-law's abilities are about to surpass those of the master."

Upon hearing the old woman's words, Zhuang Min seemed to recall an amusing scene and couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.

"Madam, what are you laughing at?"

"If the master were to fight Lin Chen and be defeated by him, where would he, as the father-in-law, put his face?"

Old woman:……

Based on her understanding of the master, she feared he might run away from home.

(End of this chapter)