Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 472 Demon of the Abyss
"Please inform them!"

"Young Master Sheng, please return. My young lady has already made her point very clearly."

In front of the Li family mansion, Sheng Han adopted a very humble posture even when facing the Li family gatekeeper, but the Li family gatekeeper remained unmoved.

The gatekeeper had been with the Li family for thirty years and was extremely loyal to them. He had watched the eldest young lady grow up and thought she had found her ideal husband, but he never expected her to be such an ingrate.

When he first learned that Miss wanted to break off her engagement with Sheng Han, he was puzzled, but after listening to the analysis of others in the mansion, he realized that it was the Sheng family who forced him to do so.

After the Sheng family discovered that the Li family was on the verge of decline following the death of their patriarch, they wanted to annul the engagement.

Seeing that the gatekeeper was determined not to let him in, Sheng Han's expression was gloomy, but he did not leave and just stood in front of the Li residence.

He had to wait, until Li Qi came out.

As long as Li Qi comes out, he has prepared his speech all night and is sure it will move her and make her change her mind.

As for face...

He no longer cares about saving face.

Upon learning yesterday that Lin Chen from Linhu Village had come to pay his respects to Li Qi's grandfather, he rushed home in a panic and told his father and grandfather about it.

According to my grandfather's analysis, even if this Lord Lin doesn't actively target the Sheng family, other families will take the opportunity to kick them while they're down.

Although it was Li Qi who proposed annuling the engagement, anyone who wasn't stupid could deduce why the grandfather didn't go to offer condolences, and how could that Lord Lin not guess the trickery involved?
If they cannot gain Li Qi's forgiveness, the Sheng family may not be able to establish themselves in Quzhou, and all their businesses will be suppressed.

For Sheng Han, if his family declines and loses its resources, he will stagnate in martial arts. Compared to the survival of his family and his own interests, what does face matter?

He even planned that if words still couldn't move Li Qi, he would kneel down before her.

He simply couldn't believe that Li Qi would remain so heartless after seeing him kneel down!

……

Unfortunately, Sheng Han did not see Li Qi, but instead encountered officials from the government office.

"The Li family reported to the authorities that someone was acting suspiciously at their gate and asked them to come with us."

When Sheng Han saw the officials and the chief constable appear in front of him, he was stunned. What did he mean by "suspicious person"?

"Uncle Wang, nephew..."

"take away."

The chief constable didn't give Sheng Han a chance to speak and directly ordered his men to take Sheng Han away.

Even at a time like this, he still can't see things clearly. What kind of Uncle Wang is he?

How could I not recognize you? The guy who almost became Li's son-in-law.

But it was just a close call. The Li family reported it to the authorities because they wanted to get revenge, and he had also received a hint from the prefect to teach Sheng Han a lesson.

Sheng Han can't escape the crime of causing trouble and disturbing the peace, and according to the laws of Daliang, those who cause trouble and disturb the peace shall be detained for fifteen days.

……

……

Back in Linhu Village, Lin Chen's life returned to normal.

Two months later, Lin Chen received a letter from Wu Yuan.

"The Western Abyss?"

The letter contained only an address provided by the owner of Wu Garden.

Of all the areas on Canglan Island, only the western part of Daliang can be called the westernmost part.

In the western part of Daliang, there is a desolate land with no inhabitants and not a blade of grass growing. In the far west, there is a deep abyss, where it is said that a special and terrifying being called a demon exists.

"Perhaps this is one of the secrets of Canglan Island."

Lin Chen had a thoughtful look on his face. He had never heard of "demon" in the Yan Dynasty. It seemed to be something unique to Canglan Island.

He mentioned this matter when he talked to his second and third senior brothers, but they both believed that the so-called "demon" on Canglan Island was likely just a type of demon.

There are many kinds of demons, and some special races do not exist only in the form of beasts.

After listening to his second and third senior brothers' assessments, Lin Chen also went to the sect's library to hide the jade slip containing information about the demon race of the Yan Dynasty, but he couldn't find a demon race that matched the demons of Canglan Island.

However, Lin Chen didn't think too much about it. Just as his third senior brother said, the demon race is also constantly evolving, and some demons will change. The jade slip in the sect that introduces the demon race has not been updated for over a thousand years.

The address the martial arts garden owner gave him is in the west, which is very likely related to demons. His and his two senior brothers' deductions may be wrong.

……

next day!

Lin Chen bid farewell to his parents and left Linhu Village with Yin Yue.

Before leaving the village, Lin Xi cried her eyes out, holding onto Yin Yue's hand tightly, unwilling to let go.

Yin Yue said helplessly, "I'm not leaving. I'll be back."

"Really?"

"real."

"Then let's pinky swear. Mother said that once you pinky swear, you can't go back on your word."

Hearing Lin Xi's childish words, Yin Yue felt helpless, but she couldn't resist Lin Xi's words and had to make a pinky promise with her.

Lin Chen smiled slightly as he looked at Yin Yue's helpless expression. Yin Yue was extremely calm in front of him and in dealing with other matters, but she found it difficult to maintain her composure when it came to her cousin, Lin Xi.

"Xiao Xi, don't cry."

Lin Chen rubbed his cousin's head, comforted her for a few moments, and then set off with Yin Yue for the Western Wilderness.

……

……

The main beam hangs to the west.

The desolate landscape stretched as far as the eye could see, filled with yellow sand, with only a few scattered shrubs stubbornly growing.

Lin Chen, carrying Yin Yue, flew into the sky above the yellow sand area. Just a few breaths later, his brows furrowed.

"strangeness!"

Something's fishy here!

The former was said by Lin Chen, and the latter by Yin Yue. The two, one big and one small, looked at each other, and Lin Chen spoke first: "The innate power in my body is inexplicably flowing away."

Yin Yue touched her head slightly: "The power of my clan has also been sealed here."

"The power of your race?"

"Our ancient race is worthy of being called a race for a reason."

Yin Yue didn't explain to Lin Chen what the so-called "power of my clan" was. She just looked at the yellow sand under her feet and in the distance and said seriously, "Lin Chen, this place is definitely not ordinary. Your Canglan Island should not be just an ordinary island overseas. There are some secrets hidden on the island."

"If I told you that our Canglan Island also has a Myriad Manifestations Realm expert, would you be even more surprised?"

Since he brought Yin Yue with him to the Western Lands, Lin Chen had no intention of hiding the existence of the Martial Garden Master from her. Although Yin Yue's strength was not at the Innate level, she had extremely sharp eyesight and insight. Once she met the Martial Garden Master, she would be able to see many clues.

A Myriad Manifestations Realm expert?

Yin Yue's mouth opened slightly, showing genuine surprise, but she quickly regained her composure.

"You... were you secretly trained by this Myriad Manifestations Realm expert, which is why you were able to cultivate to this level at such a young age?"

Seeing the look of realization in Yin Yue's eyes, Lin Chen knew that the little girl had misunderstood and thought that he was able to have his current strength because he had a powerful expert at the Myriad Manifestations Realm standing behind him.

For Yin Yue, this was indeed what she was thinking at the moment: Lin Chen, as a young man from a deserted island with little martial arts, defeated the genius disciples of various super sects in the Yan Dynasty and climbed to the top of the Martial Dao Mountain, causing a sensation throughout the Yan Dynasty.

A large part of this shock stemmed from Lin Chen's background.

If Lin Chen, like Sima Kong or others, had been born in the Yan Dynasty since childhood, even if he became the number one in Martial Arts Mountain, he would only have some influence among martial artists of the same age, and would not be noticed by those powerful figures.

This was already proven before Lin Chen challenged Sima Kong. Sima Kong had been the number one in Martial Arts Mountain for a long time, but his fame was only spread within a small circle.

The clan's liaisons, which sent messages every few months, never mentioned the name of the top genius of Martial Arts Mountain. This was the case when Sima Kong was first, and it was the same in the previous years. Only after Lin Chen reached the top was the name mentioned a few times. This was not only because the Canglan Sect and the Eight Desolations Sect were at war and Lin Chen was a disciple of the Canglan Sect, but also because they were shocked by Lin Chen's background.

But if Lin Chen has a Myriad Manifestations Realm expert behind him, then it becomes understandable.

Although Lin Chen was born on a deserted island overseas, if a powerful expert at the Myriad Manifestations Realm is fully cultivated, then the location of the person is irrelevant. Lin Chen's current strength is no different from that of Sima Kong or other geniuses who have reached the top of Martial Dao Mountain in the past.

"It was only after returning this time that I learned there was another expert at the Myriad Manifestations Realm on Canglan Island," Lin Chen explained. "It was that expert at the Myriad Manifestations Realm who invited me here."

He would explain to Yin Yue that it wasn't because Lin Chen was concerned about saving face or being misunderstood, but because he wanted to use Yin Yue's knowledge to analyze the current situation.

Often, people's perspectives on a matter differ, leading to different outcomes.

If you are at the foot of the mountain or in the middle of the mountain, but have never been to the top, you cannot see the whole picture.

She herself was either at the foot of the mountain or in the mountain, but given Yin Yue's status, even if she had never climbed to the summit, she should have at least seen the entire mountain range from a distance.

"I can't give you an answer, I can only say that your Canglan Island is not simple."

Yin Yue understood Lin Chen's purpose in telling her all this, but she couldn't give Lin Chen an answer.

"Then let's continue on our way."

As his innate power continued to dissipate, Lin Chen chose to land back on the ground. Relying solely on his physical body to walk on the ground, his innate power ceased to dissipate.

One day later!

Lin Chen saw a military camp, and also a huge mausoleum standing on one side of the camp.

The Mausoleum of Emperor Taizu!

After Emperor Taizu's death, he was not buried in the imperial mausoleum. His remains were divided into four parts: his head was buried on the icy plains of the northern frontier, and his body was buried on the shores of the East China Sea and in the abyss of the western border.

Lin Chen uttered a sentence softly, which was what Lord Su, the magistrate of Poyang County, had said to him when he first learned of the existence of demonic beasts.

"Who is coming!"

Just as Lin Chen was leading Yin Yue toward the tomb of the founding emperor, a group of martial artists came rushing in.

The leader of the martial artists was a middle-aged man. When he saw Lin Chen and Yin Yue, his brows furrowed slightly, and there was a look of doubt in his eyes.

The western border is a desolate place, and very few martial artists come here.

"Lin Chen!"

Lin Chen gave his name, and upon hearing it, the middle-aged man's pupils constricted, and he asked, "Which Lin Chen?"

"Lin Chen from Linhu Village, Poyang County!"

Having received confirmation, the middle-aged man's face lit up with excitement: "Zhang Hai, commander of the Dingxi Army of the Great Liang, greets Lord Lin."

The Dingxi Army had few outside warriors, but the imperial court would send grain delivery teams every now and then, which would not only bring them supplies but also some news from the outside world.

The soldiers of Dingxi Army also knew the name Lin Chen.

Soon, the others in the military camp were also alerted. Marquis Dingxi and a group of generals personally welcomed Lin Chen. However, Lin Chen did not stay in the military camp for long. Accompanied by Marquis Dingxi and others, he paid homage to Emperor Taizu in front of the huge mausoleum of Emperor Taizu, and then continued westward.

"The founding emperor of the Great Liang Dynasty was quite a unique person."

After Lin Chen finished his prayers, Yin Yue spoke up. She hadn't participated in the prayers; she had been observing from the sidelines the whole time and could feel the soldiers' respect for the founding emperor.

The Great Liang Kingdom, in the context of the Yan Dynasty, could only be described as a tiny kingdom, and in the Canglan Domain, it wouldn't even rank among the top 100. In such dynasties, neither the ministers nor the common people had much respect for the royal family. Some dynasties might be overthrown in just a few years, while others would only last for a few decades to a few hundred years.

Why do these soldiers respect a founding emperor who died three hundred years ago?
"Emperor Taizu is the most respected person by all the people of Daliang. Even after three hundred years, this will not change. Is there any founding emperor in this world who would have his body divided into several parts and buried on the border of the territory after his death, just to arouse the hearts of the whole country to defend the land?"

Lin Chen smiled and explained that unless the various countries of Canglan Island were to unite one day, and several hundred years had passed, the prestige of the founding emperor would not diminish.

"Lord Lin, are you going to the abyss in the Western Regions this time?"

Marquis Dingxi, who had just finished presiding over the ceremony, walked over. Compared to Duke Zhennan, Marquis Dingxi was much younger, only in his early fifties.

"Ah."

Lin Chen nodded. By now, he was certain that the address the Martial Garden Master had given him was the mysterious abyss in the west.

"Lord Lin, since the arrival of some innate experts on the island, quite a few innate experts have come here, all heading towards the abyss. I know of seven, but only five of them returned in the end. The remaining two have never appeared on Canglan Island again."

Marquis Dingxi explained the reason to Lin Chen: if a Xiantian expert really flew through the air without warning, the Dingxi army would not be able to detect it. The seven Xiantian experts went to the military camp to inquire about the situation before proceeding. Five of them had returned to the military camp, but they remained tight-lipped about the situation on the other side of the abyss.

The other two did not return to the military camp. Marquis Dingxi even wrote a letter to the imperial court, and the court informed them that the two innate experts had not appeared on Canglan Island either.

"You mean those two were in danger?"

"There is a high probability that the abyss is extremely dangerous. Even the border guarded by our Dingxi Army is a hundred miles away from the abyss."

Lin Chen pondered for a moment: "My lord, what is the 'demon' that the Dingxi Army is stationed here to guard?"

Upon hearing Lin Chen's words, the Marquis of Dingxi's expression turned serious: "Lord Lin, we don't actually know what a demon is."

P.S.: I saw the childcare subsidy policy today, and many people online couldn't calculate it, so I did the math for everyone. If you were born before January 2025, you'll be a few months away from turning three in January 2025, so you can receive the subsidy for a few months, at 300 yuan per month. If you were born after January 2025, you can receive it for three years. For specific details on how to receive it, please follow the local government announcements. I, Jiudeng, will receive 15,000 yuan, which is equivalent to a month's worth of writing a book, so it's a pleasant surprise. There will be another chapter tonight.

(End of this chapter)