Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 381 Clan War Order (First Update)
Lin Chen's refusal elicited various reactions from the disciples in the square.

Did Senior Brother Lin refuse Senior Brother Qiao's challenge because he felt he was no match for Senior Brother Qiao?
"I think it's understandable that Senior Brother Lin doesn't accept the challenge. Whether it's the personal disciple assessment or the changes that occurred in the Canglan Treasure Book a few days ago, it only shows that Senior Brother Lin has great potential. But after all, Senior Brother Lin hasn't been in the sect for very long."

"I heard that Senior Brother Lin comes from a remote corner of the Yan Dynasty and did not learn any powerful martial arts techniques before joining the sect. He will definitely suffer a loss if he fights Senior Brother Qiao at this time."

"Really? Senior Brother Lin comes from a remote place?"

"Yes, I heard this from a senior brother who was my disciple. He got the information from the elder, so it must be true."

Many inner and outer disciples had no idea about Lin Chen's background, but many direct disciples asked their masters, and the sect elders knew about Lin Chen's origins.

However, when questioned by their disciples, the elders did not reveal that Lin Chen came from a desolate island in the East China Sea, but only that Lin Chen came from a remote place where martial arts were not very good.

Even so, it was enough to shock some of the direct disciples.

The Canglan Sect has a strict hierarchy among its disciples, but that doesn't mean they don't have contact with each other. On the contrary, many direct disciples have their own small groups, which may include inner disciples as well as outer disciples.

Many of the direct disciples of the Canglan Sect come from a certain dynasty or family in the Canglan Domain. These disciples from the same region will spontaneously band together around the disciple with the highest status.

Now that they know Lin Chen's background, many disciples who initially thought Lin Chen's rejection of Qiao Yuan was due to a lack of confidence in his own abilities now feel that it is normal for Senior Brother Lin to refuse.

Qiao Yuan entered the sect not long after embarking on the path of martial arts, and everyone knows that the reason why Qiao Yuan is not a personal disciple is not because he has not been favored by the elders, but because he wants to participate in the inner disciple competition.

In the eyes of many disciples, the status of a direct disciple is even more prestigious than that of the top student in the inner sect competition. They cannot understand why Qiao Yuan insisted on choosing to become an elder's disciple only after the sect competition ended. They can only mutter to themselves: "Talented but willful."

Qiao Yuan, who challenged Lin Chen to a duel, naturally heard the disciples' discussion. He frowned slightly. Although he paid attention to Lin Chen, he did not inquire about Lin Chen's background.

Arrogant as he was, he would not take the initiative to inquire about the situation of a disciple who was not as good as himself.

If Lin Chen can defeat him, he will inquire about Lin Chen's background; but if Lin Chen loses to him, then it's not worth spending too much time on Lin Chen.

"I can postpone this battle; I'll fight you again in three months."

Qiao Yuan spoke again, saying that he would not take advantage of Lin Chen. Since Lin Chen came from a remote place and had never been exposed to the martial arts techniques of a sect, he would give Lin Chen three months.

For most inner disciples of the Canglan Sect, three months might just be the beginning of mastering a powerful martial arts technique, but for geniuses of their caliber, three months is more than enough to become proficient in a martial arts technique.

"it is good."

Lin Chen agreed this time. The reason he refused Qiao Yuan before was not because he was afraid of fighting, but because it wouldn't be very meaningful.

Defeating Qiao Yuan brought him no benefit whatsoever. As for the shock and empty fame of the sect disciples, from the moment he comprehended the Heart of Canglan, he had already taken the lead over the other disciples and stood on a different starting point.

As for Qiao Yuan's proposal to postpone the battle to three months later, the reason Lin Chen agreed was because his goal was to start a frantic push for the rankings of Martial Arts Mountain during those three months.

Martial arts prodigies under the age of twenty don't necessarily need to fight in real life to prove who is better; the rankings of Martial Arts Mountain are enough to explain everything.

A higher ranking indicates greater strength.

Within the top 1,000 of Wudao Mountain, every improvement is a genuine testament to strength.

If I can rank higher than Qiao Yuan on Martial Arts Mountain, Qiao Yuan will probably back down.

Upon hearing Lin Chen accept Qiao Yuan's challenge three months later, many disciples present showed expressions of anticipation. Although they couldn't witness the battle between the two now, the postponement of three months only made them more eager to see it.

Since these two have agreed to a duel, they will definitely work hard to improve their strength over the next three months, making the battles over those three months even more exciting.

"If there is nothing else, I shall take my leave."

Lin Chen said this to Qiao Yuan, but also to the other disciples present.

Qiao Yuan pursed his lips and didn't say anything more, as did the other disciples. Everyone watched Lin Chen's figure disappear into the square.

As soon as Lin Chen left, Qiao Yuan also departed, but the other disciples began to discuss the scene that had just unfolded, debating who would have a higher chance of winning in this three-month-long battle.

"I never expected that Junior Brother Lin would accept Junior Brother Qiao's challenge in March. It really is beyond my expectations."

Zhuang Zhong spoke solemnly, and Shen Ao, who was standing beside him, smiled and said, "Senior Brother Zhuang, do you feel that something is amiss?"

"His reputation is different from that of Junior Brother Lin."

As soon as Zhuang Zhong said this, Shen Ao, who was standing next to him, also smiled. He understood what Senior Brother Zhuang meant.

Although Lin Chen had only been in the sect for a short time, a saying had already spread among the disciples: "I don't know how to queue up with Senior Brother Lin."

Everyone knows that Lin Chen likes to show off and be famous. Someone with such a personality shouldn't accept Qiao Yuan's challenge to a duel in three months so easily and decisively.

There has to be some build-up, or at least some harsh words.

"Perhaps everyone has misunderstood Junior Brother Lin?"

……

……

Lin Chen was unaware of the significant impact his acceptance of Qiao Yuan's challenge in the three months would have on the sect's disciples. At this moment, he was already in his master's courtyard. "You're back. This time, the harvest should have been quite good."

Du Xiaofeng watched his disciple enter the courtyard with a smile. He was unaware that Lin Chen had agreed to fight Qiao Yuan, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. As a fifth-level innate realm expert, such a fight between sect disciples was nothing more than a minor squabble in the eyes of the elders.

"Yes, this time I was fortunate enough to comprehend the Heart of the Azure Waves, and also the Azure Waves Force..."

Lin Chen did not hide his experience in the Transmission Hall from his master, and this was with the consent of his grandmaster.

"Yes, your ability to comprehend the Heart of Azure is a stroke of luck. Did your grand-uncle tell you what the Heart of Azure means?"

"No."

Upon hearing Lin Chen's reply, Du Xiaofeng knew that his grand-uncle was probably waiting for him to tell Lin Chen about the Heart of Canglan, as well as some other things related to the sect.

"In the history of the Canglan Sect, a total of sixty-four predecessors have condensed the Canglan Heart, and among these sixty-four predecessors, twenty of them eventually stepped into the Myriad Manifestations Realm."

Lin Chen's pupils shrank suddenly. Sixty-four disciples had condensed the Heart of Azure Waves, and then twenty of them had entered the Myriad Manifestations Realm. Didn't this mean that the ratio of disciples who condensed the Heart of Azure Waves to those who entered the Myriad Manifestations Realm was three to one?

"Aren't you excited?"

Du Xiaofeng looked at Lin Chen with a smile; he could guess what his disciple was thinking.

"Indeed, there are some."

Lin Chen rubbed his nose, thinking that a martial artist who had stepped into the Myriad Manifestations Realm was not a good martial artist.

"Don't reveal anything about the Heart of the Azure Ocean to anyone."

Du Xiaofeng waited until Lin Chen's excitement subsided before continuing to speak. When he saw the look of doubt in Lin Chen's eyes, he explained, "Although the Canglan Sect is the overlord of the Canglan Domain, the entire Yan Dynasty is not limited to the Canglan Domain. There is also competition among the major super sects."

Lin Chen was not surprised that there was competition between super sects; without competition, sects would not have established strict disciple assessment systems.

"The boundaries of the various domains are constantly changing, and so is our Canglan Domain. If the strength of a super sect in a domain weakens, super sects in the surrounding domains will immediately send troops to invade and annex the territory where that sect is located. When my Canglan Sect was in the most danger, it lost half of the current territory of the Canglan Domain."

"A copy of Nine Kingdoms?"

Lin Chen thought of the situation in Daliang and other countries, and it was the same. If a country was weak, the other countries would immediately swarm in and invade its territory.

"In a sense, a super sect is the ruler of a region. You can also think of it as an expanded version of your dynasty. The territory of a dynasty is constantly changing."

"Master, if that's the case, then why haven't the super sects changed hands?"

According to what Lin Chen learned from Senior Brother Gao, the Yan Dynasty has a total of twenty-six domains and twenty-four super sects, and these super sects have never changed.

"Because the Yan Dynasty is located above it."

Du Xiaofeng narrowed his old eyes slightly: "Above the twenty-four super sects is the Yan Dynasty. The Yan Dynasty will not interfere in the territorial encroachment between super sects, but if you want to destroy a sect, you need to apply for a sect war order from the Yan Dynasty."

"Without the sect war order, even if you are strong enough to overwhelm other sects, you can only occupy half of their territory at most, and you cannot occupy the other half."

"There's also this rule."

Lin Chen was speechless. This regulation of the Yan Dynasty was practically a talisman for all the super sects. Even if a sect was in decline, it would still have at least half of its territory.

"Do you think the Yan Dynasty is protecting the major sects?"

Du Xiaofeng knew what Lin Chen was thinking, and his eyes were cold: "Without the sect war order, no sect can be destroyed. In this way, the sect whose territory has been invaded and the sect that invaded the territory will become mortal enemies. Every sect has its own foundation. If we give them time to rise again, the grudges between the two sides will only deepen."

"Throughout the Yan Dynasty, all the neighboring sects are sworn enemies."

Upon hearing his master's words, a glint flashed in Lin Chen's eyes; he understood what his master meant.

The Yan Dynasty used this method to counterbalance the major sects.

For a sect to rise and grow stronger, it will inevitably first target other neighboring sects. However, without a sect war order, a sect cannot be destroyed. Once the other side is given time to rise again, the two sides will inevitably continue to fight.

One or two battles might be manageable, but after tens of thousands of years, the grudges between the various sects would likely be irreconcilable.

After all, both sides have lost countless senior disciples in the struggle for territory, and this enmity will only deepen. As a result, the Yan Dynasty can rest easy.

"Master, so the major sects have agreed to the Yan Dynasty's arrangement?"

"Although all sects know the purpose of the Yan Dynasty, which sect can guarantee that its sect will continue to prosper? In any case, the Yan Dynasty has left a protective talisman for each sect."

Lin Chen nodded; the Yan Dynasty's rule was indeed a calculated move.

"These grudges between sects are too far removed from your current situation. What you need to do now is to step into the Innate Realm. I ask you, are you ready?"

"Yes, disciple is ready."

"Very good. Rest well today. Tomorrow I will give you the innate five elements energy so that you can break through to the innate level in one fell swoop."

(End of this chapter)