Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 465 Mother-in-law's Guidance

Three hours later, Lin Chen left the Duke's mansion and headed north.

He did not stay overnight at the Duke's mansion. After having lunch with the old Duke, he took Yin Yue and continued north.

He also refused the horses offered by the old Duke. With his current level of skill, even the so-called "thousand-mile horse" could not match his speed on foot.

At the second level of the Innate Realm, traveling thousands of miles a day is still achievable.

Since Senior Brother Chu had already relayed his intention to return to the island from the southern seas, Lin Chen did not choose to head directly north, but instead opted for a southeasterly route towards Canglan Martial Academy.

Having returned, I definitely need to visit the Canglan Martial Academy, since I absorbed the Canglan energy there, which enabled me to join the Canglan Sect.

According to my past life, Canglan Martial Academy was my alma mater.

Canglan City.

When Lin Chen and Yin Yue landed in the square in front of the Canglan Martial Arts Academy, Dean Hua Qianwu, along with the vice deans and instructors, had been waiting for a long time.

Seeing this, Lin Chen stepped forward steadily and solemnly clasped his hands in greeting:
"Disciple Lin Chen greets Dean Hua and all the teachers."

Hua Qianwu's eyes lit up with satisfaction, and he laughed heartily:

"Lin Chen, you are now a renowned innate expert in the Yan Dynasty. It is we who should pay our respects to you!"

Lin Chen shook his head, his tone sincere:
"I will never forget the teachings of the Dean and all my teachers on martial arts."

"The dean told me about the differences in martial arts realms and guided me on my subsequent cultivation path..." Lin Chen's gaze then fell on Zhang Qifeng beside him: "Back then, Instructor Zhang specially gave me a body-refining training plan based on my situation, which benefited me immensely."

Lin Chen's gaze swept over the familiar faces of the vice deans and instructors of the Martial Academy, and he said gently, "Without the cultivation of the Martial Academy, where would I be today? No matter what level I reach in martial arts in the future, as long as I return to the Martial Academy, I will only be a disciple."

Hearing Lin Chen's sincere words, Hua Qianwu and the others present were deeply moved. In fact, with Lin Chen's current level and prestige on Canglan Island, he no longer needed to maintain a facade. Even if he returned as a Xiantian expert, no one would gossip.

It can only be said that Lin Chen truly appreciates the nurturing he received from the Martial Academy, while Yin Yue, standing to the side, listened to Lin Chen's words with a thoughtful expression on her face.

……

Accompanied by Hua Qianwu, Lin Chen also entered the Martial Academy. He chatted with the dean and others for a while, telling them some interesting stories about the Yan Dynasty, mainly about how the major forces in the Yan Dynasty trained their disciples, to provide the dean and others with reference.

"Dean, I'm going to take a look at Canglan Lake in the back mountain."

"Go to Canglan Lake? I was thinking that since you rarely come back, I was going to introduce you to the best of the two new students from our martial arts academy."

"I won't be at Canglan Lake for long. As for my junior brothers... there's no need to draw them. We'll chat at our martial arts academy's training ground."

Lin Chen understood what the dean meant; he wanted him to encourage the talented disciples of the martial arts academy. However, in Lin Chen's view, encouraging a few was one thing, but encouraging all the disciples of the martial arts academy was another.

The total number of disciples from the three sessions of Canglan Martial Academy is no more than five hundred, which is more than enough to fill the training ground.

"That's wonderful. I'll arrange this myself, once you return from Canglan Lake."

Hua Qianwu smiled broadly. He arranged for several promising disciples to meet Lin Chen, and Lin Chen would certainly be willing to give the Martial Academy this face. However, he dared not arrange for all the disciples of the Martial Academy to listen to Lin Chen's speech without Lin Chen's consent.

After Hua Qianwu left, Lin Chen looked at Yin Yue and said, "You rest here for a while. I'm going to Canglan Lake to make its energy more active so that the disciples of the Martial Academy can have more opportunities to absorb Canglan energy."

Yin Yue nodded, but after Lin Chen left, she did not stay in the courtyard. Instead, she slowly walked out of the courtyard.

"Teacher Zhang."

"Young lady, what is it?"

Zhang Qifeng, who had just passed by, smiled when he heard Yin Yue call his name. Lin Chen had already introduced the girl's background; she was a descendant of Senior Brother Lin Chen from the Canglan Sect. She was bored in the Canglan Sect, so she came back with Lin Chen.

"Lin Chen said that Instructor Zhang gave him guidance on body-refining training methods at the martial arts academy. Could you tell me the specifics?"

"No problem, here's what we'll do... little girl, come with me, I'll show you around and you'll see."

Zhang Qifeng did not refuse. Many disciples of the Martial Academy knew about the method he used to train Lin Chen, and he treated the new disciples of the Martial Academy in the same way for the past two years.

Henglian Hall.

Zhang Qifeng showed Yin Yue some body-forging tools and recounted Lin Chen's past experiences in detail.

"To be honest, I didn't think Lin Chen could stick with it at first, because this training method is too difficult. Tendon separation, bone forging... are all pains that ordinary people can hardly endure. Before this, no disciple of the Martial Academy had been able to do it."

"I saw Lin Chen faint several times because he couldn't bear the pain, and I advised him to give up..."

As Zhang Qifeng was speaking, many disciples who were cultivating looked over with curiosity.

They didn't know who this little girl was, but when they heard what Instructor Zhang said, their expressions all became strange. Instructor Zhang hadn't said that to them at all.

To them, Instructor Zhang often said:

"Lin Chen persevered with ease back then, so why can't you bunch of good-for-nothings do it?"

"A piece of trash is a piece of trash. He just fainted like that. We were both at the Refining Visceral Realm, but Lin Chen didn't even flinch back then."

……

Instructor Zhang's favorite thing to do was to use Senior Brother Lin to put them down, and they actually believed what Instructor Zhang said. Back then, Senior Brother Lin found body-refining training here very easy.

It seems they were all fooled by Instructor Zhang!

Even Senior Brother Lin suffered agonizing pain here, enduring unbearable inhuman suffering.

……

……

Canglan Lake.

Lin Chen's figure fell from the sky and disappeared in a flash before the eyes of many disciples by the lake.

"Someone just went into the lake, am I seeing things?"

"Where did this person come from? You must be seeing things."

"Bullshit, I'm seeing things. How do you explain those ripples in the water?"

Lin Chen was so fast that the disciples of Canglan Martial Academy couldn't even see him clearly. Just as the disciples were discussing, excited voices came from not far away.

"Quick! We've received news from the instructors that Senior Brother Lin has returned to our Canglan Martial Academy and will meet us at the training ground!"

"Senior Brother Lin, which Senior Brother Lin?"

Some were slow to react and stood there dumbfounded, asking questions, while others immediately headed down the mountain, thinking of getting there first and grabbing a good spot.

"Foolish. Besides Senior Brother Lin Chen, who else is worthy of such a notification from the instructor?"

"Holy crap, it's Senior Brother Lin Chen! I chose Canglan Martial Academy because of Senior Brother Lin Chen, so you have to save me a good spot no matter what."

"Who didn't choose Canglan Martial Academy because of Senior Brother Lin Chen?"

……

In the blink of an eye, all the figures on the shore of Canglan Lake disappeared, and at this moment Lin Chen had arrived at the bottom of Canglan Lake.

With his current level of cultivation, he could clearly sense the Azure Energy flowing out of the crack, but due to the formation, the Azure Energy did not overflow quickly.

With his hands forming hand seals, Lin Chen activated the Azure Wave Technique. The Azure Wave energy within the crack seemed to sense something and frantically attacked the crack.

A quarter of an hour, two quarters of an hour...

The crack, which was originally a shallow line, has become large enough for a person to pass through, and the entire lake surface has changed from light blue to dark blue at a visible speed.

This deep blue color of the lake water used to only appear when the Canglan Gorge was fully opened.

Lin Chen did not fully open the Canglan Stream. If the Canglan energy in that senior's cave were fully opened, it would completely dissipate within three years. However, at the current rate, it could be maintained for another hundred years.

……

Half an hour later, Lin Chen returned to the courtyard that the dean had arranged for him.

"I looked into it, and actually, the Canglan Martial Academy isn't of much help to you."

When Yin Yue saw Lin Chen return, she spoke calmly. As far as she knew, Canglan Martial Academy had only given Lin Chen some pointers on cultivation. As for resources, the resources available to someone at the Refining Viscera Realm were nothing special.

"These kinds of help may not seem like much to you or to me now, but to me back then, they were a lifeline, a great kindness."

Lin Chen looked at Yin Yue seriously. Yin Yue came from a noble family. The resources that the martial arts academy provided to its disciples were not only unappealing, but probably unheard of.

Yin Yue frowned. She could understand the meaning behind Lin Chen's words, but she still didn't get it.

The resources and guidance given are enough to repay this favor with a few Flame Coins; why waste time on this?

Lin Chen didn't care whether Yin Yue really understood or not. After sensing with his divine sense that all the martial arts academy disciples had gathered at the training ground, he flashed and disappeared from the courtyard.

……

One day later.

The Martial Arts Alliance published an article to all martial artists on Canglan Island.

The author of this article is Lin Chen, the number one martial artist on Canglan Island, a prodigy disciple of the Canglan Sect, and the number one martial artist of the Yanhuang Dynasty. The article, titled "Canglan Martial Academy Morning Admonitions," records Lin Chen's words to all the disciples at the Canglan Martial Academy's training grounds.

The text is divided into three parts. The first part is Lin Chen's recollection of his martial arts training at Canglan Martial Academy. The second part is Lin Chen's account of his journey from Canglan Island to Yanhuang Dynasty, from being the number one genius on Canglan Island to becoming an unknown ordinary martial artist in Yanhuang Dynasty, and the changes in his state of mind along the way.

The third section is Lin Chen's exhortation and expectations for the disciples of Canglan Martial Academy. Finally, at the invitation of the dean and teachers and students of Canglan Martial Academy, Lin Chen left a poem on the stone tablet in the martial arts arena.

A soldier's skill will grow sharp after a thousand repetitions; a martial arts technique will be mastered after a thousand repetitions.

Do not envy others who have climbed to the top; even a slow bird can transform into a great roc by flying early.

This article spread throughout Daliang in just one day and to every corner of Canglan Island within three days.

Poyang Lake, Linhu Village.

Lin Chen looked at the announcement his teacher had brought him and said helplessly, "Master Kong has elevated me too much."

This time, Lin Chen was truly ashamed. The poem he wrote at the end wasn't exactly plagiarism, but precisely because it wasn't plagiarism, it wasn't particularly well-written and was only on par with doggerel.

"The poem itself is not important; the person who writes the poem is what matters. What good is it if someone else writes an eloquent essay?"

Jia Nanzhu stroked his beard and smiled, then sighed: "Lord Kong and the others are also in a difficult situation. Canglan Island has now made contact with the outside world. Although, thanks to you, it is not bullied by other islands, the more contact it has with the outside world, the more it realizes the scarcity of martial arts resources on our island. Not to mention the East Sea Divine Palace and the sects on the East Sea mainland, there are quite a few martial artists on other islands who have reached the middle or even upper grade by the age of twenty, but on Canglan Island, they are few and far between."

Before Canglan Island came into contact with the outside world, anyone under the age of twenty, let alone reaching the Rank 1 level, was considered a genius even if they could only step into the late stage of the Refining Organs realm. And if someone reached the Rank 1 level by the age of twenty, they would be considered a top genius in any country.

In the outside world, someone who only reaches the rank of a master at the age of twenty wouldn't even be considered a genius.

"The Martial Arts Alliance announced your speech to the entire island in order to boost the morale of the young martial artists of Canglan Island. In particular, the word 'diligence' that you mentioned will surely be remembered by many young people."

"If it can inspire some young people, then let's raise the bar."

Hearing the teacher's explanation, Lin Chen didn't say anything more. After leaving Canglan Martial Arts Academy, he didn't continue north, but went straight back to Poyang County.

Poyang County is now far more prosperous than when he left, which can be seen from the strength of the county magistrate. The county magistrate is a third-rank martial artist, a level of strength that would qualify him to be the leader of any other sect.

On the day he returned, the magistrate of Poyang County personally came to visit him. After Lin Chen met with the magistrate, he relayed the message to his superiors through the magistrate that there was no need to send anyone else. That's why the Prefect of Raozhou did not come.

"Your old village chief has arrived; he must have come to bring you good news."

"Announcement?"

Lin Chen sensed the old village chief approaching with his divine sense, and a look of doubt appeared on his face.

"Many of the boys from Linhu Village have already joined martial arts schools, and Su Tong, whom you brought back back then, has lived up to expectations, winning first place in this year's martial arts school competition. The martial arts school competitions in Poyang County are much more difficult than they were back then."

"Su Tong won first place. That kid is pretty good."

Mentioning Su Tong, Lin Chen also recalled the scene at his own doorstep when the little guy was standing there wandering around, his whole body covered in mosquito bites.

"brat?"

Hearing Lin Chen address Su Tong, Jia Nanzhu's lips twitched. Su Tong was only a few years younger than Lin Chen, but in terms of cultivation level, it didn't seem wrong for a Xiantian expert to call a late-stage Refining Viscera martial artist "little guy".

"I reckon the old village chief will call you to pay respects to the ancestors again. Go ahead and do it."

Hearing his teacher's words, Lin Chen's lips twitched. The old village chief was really... extremely enthusiastic about ancestor worship!
"Village chief, you're not here to call me to perform the ancestral rites again, are you?"

Outside the teacher's courtyard, Lin Chen joked with the old village chief, who was being helped there by several villagers.

"Ancestor worship?"

Zhao Zanghu shook his head: "I won't perform ancestral rites."

"Really?"

Lin Chen was somewhat surprised this time. Had the old village chief changed his ways?

“Ancestral worship cannot be done so casually. Xu’s second son has traveled to many places and read many ancient books over the past year. Only then did he realize that there are rules to follow when worshipping ancestors. A date must be chosen. I asked Xu’s second son before I came. Today and tomorrow are not suitable for worshipping ancestors. We can only do it the day after tomorrow. There’s no rush.”

Lin Chen: ...

After strolling with the old village chief by the lake for half an hour and learning about the village chief's childhood from him, Lin Chen could feel the old village chief's excitement.

The old village chief had no selfish motives towards the village, and as the village gets better and better, he becomes increasingly happy.

Seeing that the old village chief was in high spirits, Lin Chen did not mention that he had returned this time to take his parents, elder brother and sister-in-law to the Canglan Domain of the Yan Emperor Dynasty.

Let's talk about it after the ancestral worship ceremony.

……

……

The next day.

Lin Chen quietly left Linhu Village alone and headed to Raozhou Prefecture, leaving Yin Yue behind in the village. Her cousin Xi'er was very enthusiastic towards Yin Yue, constantly pulling her around the village to play. Lin Chen could tell that Yin Yue didn't seem to enjoy it.
He's not only coming back to take his family with him, but also his future in-laws.

"The son-in-law is here!"

At the entrance of the Jiang residence, the steward was very excited to see Lin Chen, but he did not become restrained because Lin Chen was now a Xiantian martial artist, and his attitude remained the same as before.

"Master is not at home today, so I will take the young master to see Madam."

In the familiar back garden, Lin Chen met his future mother-in-law.

"Your nephew greets your aunt."

Zhuang Min looked at Lin Chen with a satisfied smile on her face. Her daughter had good taste and had chosen a good husband.

She didn't intend to interfere in her daughter's marriage, as long as her daughter was happy. However, after Lin Chen went to the Yan Dynasty, she changed her mind and sent her daughter back to her clan.

After the daughter returned to her hometown, the marriage was not so simple. Fortunately, with Lin Chen's current performance, he should be able to catch the eye of those old stubborn people, so they won't do anything to break up the couple.

"Why did you suddenly come back?"

“Aunt, I dare not hide it. The Canglan Sect is currently at war with the Bahuang Sect. I am worried that the Bahuang Sect will come to Canglan Island to harm my family or use this to threaten me. I came back this time to take my family to the Canglan Domain. I also want to ask Uncle Jiang and Aunt to leave with me.”

Lin Chen didn't hide anything and explained the purpose of his return. Zhuang Min's face showed no surprise. The news of the war between Canglan Sect and Bahuang Sect had also reached the East Sea Region, and the Liang region had also received the news. Not long ago, her husband had mentioned this matter.

"The Eight Desolations Sect wouldn't stoop to harming a junior like you, would it?"

“Aunt, you may not know this, but before the war with the Eight Desolations Sect, assassins from the Yama Palace ambushed me on the road. The Yama Palace is an assassin organization of the Yan Dynasty, but they would never assassinate a genius disciple of a super sect in the past. This time, it was only because the Eight Desolations Sect offered the Yama Palace a generous reward that the Yama Palace dared to break the rules and attack me.”

To help his mother-in-law understand, Lin Chen explained the situation of the Yama Palace, and how, as an assassin organization, the Yama Palace could still exist despite killing so many martial artists. The reason was that the Yama Palace would not cross the bottom line of a super sect.

Zhuang Min listened with a smile, but a cold glint flashed in her eyes. What a Yama, daring to assassinate her own son-in-law.

“I understand your concerns, but Canglan Island is not as simple as it seems. I suggest you go and see someone first.”

"Meeting someone?"

Hearing his mother-in-law's words, Lin Chen narrowed his eyes slightly; there was a lot of information hidden in her words.

Is Canglan Island hiding some great secret?
Or perhaps there are powerful figures on Canglan Island that they are unaware of?
If we're talking about secrets, the Liang royal family also has that Martial Arts Mountain...

wrong!

Lin Chen's eyes lit up, and a guess suddenly popped into his mind, a guess that he had previously ignored.

Elder Zhao Qianqiu of the Martial Garden once told him a secret: the Martial Garden Master and the Emperor Taizu were fellow disciples. The reason why the Martial Garden cultivated talented disciples without any national distinction was that the Martial Garden Master simply did not want Canglan Island to come into contact with the Yan Dynasty, because the martial arts of the entire island had not developed and all the martial artists had been conscripted.

But now it seems that it's not that simple.

Having lived in the Yan Dynasty for so long, he has gained some understanding of innate experts.

Even for a sixth-level Innate Realm expert, the longest lifespan is only 150 years. In the recorded history of the Yan Dynasty, the longest-lived expert in the sixth-level Innate Realm was 153 years old.

The Great Liang Dynasty has been established for three hundred years, and the founding emperor is now over three hundred and forty years old. Since the master of the martial arts garden and the founding emperor are fellow disciples, just like the disciples of one's own master, the eldest brother became a disciple twenty years earlier than him. But even if one of them was a disciple accepted early on and the other was accepted late in life, it would not exceed one hundred and fifty years.

The owner of Wuyuan Garden must be over two hundred years old. Only a martial artist at the Myriad Manifestations Realm could be alive over two hundred years old.

The fact that Canglan Island actually harbored a powerful expert at the Myriad Manifestations Realm sent shockwaves through Lin Chen's heart. This Martial Garden Master was truly hiding his true strength.

The fact that a martial artist at the Myriad Manifestations Realm was quietly hiding in the shadows of Canglan Island further suggests that Canglan Island is not as simple as it appears. Perhaps, as my aunt said, it truly harbors a great secret.

But how did the mother-in-law find out?
New doubts arose in Lin Chen's mind. He made these deductions based on the information given to him by Elder Zhao Qianqiu. His mother-in-law had been staying at the mansion, and as for his father-in-law, it was impossible for him to know these secrets without his current strength.

Yu Pei!

Lin Chen subconsciously reached out and touched the jade pendant at his waist. It was the jade pendant his mother-in-law had given him. When he was cultivating the Boundless Divine Image Technique, he suffered from the burning of the Blazing Fire, and his soul became confused. At the critical moment, the energy flowing from this jade pendant made him clear his mind, which allowed him to successfully refine it.

hiss!
My mother-in-law is probably not simple either.

What about his father-in-law?

No wonder... no wonder my mother-in-law wasn't worried at all when Senior Sister Jiang was taken away by the Innate Realm expert. Maybe that Innate Realm expert had some connection with my mother-in-law.

"You'll know some things in time. There's no need to think too much about it now. What you need to do right now is go and meet the owner of Wu Garden."

Seeing Lin Chen deep in thought, Zhuang Min suddenly laughed, then winked playfully: "As for me... I only have one identity, and that is your mother-in-law."

(End of this chapter)