Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 547 The Truth Behind the Changing Battle Situation

Seven days later!
Canglan Sect.

The sect's protective formation was fully manifested, and the formation's light shield enveloped the entire sect.

Approaching the edge of the formation, Lin Chen activated the Azure Wave Technique within his body, directly passing through the formation's light barrier and entering the sect's territory.

There are only two ways to enter the sect's protective formation: one is to activate the Canglan Technique, which will automatically identify the disciple as a member of the Canglan Sect and allow passage; the other is to possess a pass.

However, although Lin Chen entered the formation smoothly, he soon stopped because he sensed an aura approaching.

"Who are you?"

Zhao Yulin frowned as he looked at Lin Chen in front of him. The fourth level of the Innate Realm... Such strength was not unknown in the sect. He was among the strongest deacons, second only to the elders, and there were even many of his fellow disciples from the same year.

But the person in front of him was someone he had never seen before.

"Elder Zhao, it is your disciple, me."

Lin Chen spoke, slowly restoring his appearance. Now that they were inside the sect, there was no need to conceal it any longer.

"Lin Chen!"

Upon seeing Lin Chen's true appearance, Zhao Yulin was stunned, his pupils shrinking in disbelief, clearly due to Lin Chen's cultivation level.

"You have already entered the fourth realm of the Innate Realm."

"Hmm, I'd say he's at the peak of the fourth level of the Innate Realm."

Zhao Yulin: ...

After a full two breaths of silence, Zhao Yulin finally spoke: "Come with me to the main hall."

Two figures, one after the other, transformed into rainbow light and headed straight for the Canglan Hall.

……

……

"Sect Master, Lin Chen is back!"

Upon entering the main hall, Zhao Yulin immediately spoke. At this moment, in addition to Ji Cangtian, the sect leader of the Canglan Sect, there were two other elders in the hall.

In an instant, all three of them turned their gaze to Lin Chen, who followed closely behind into the main hall.

The more they looked, the brighter their eyes became.

"Good lad, he's actually reached the fourth level of the Innate Realm!"

Zhou Zhifeng couldn't help but step forward and slap Lin Chen. But as soon as he slapped him, he felt something was wrong. There was a weak but noticeable force coming from Lin Chen's shoulder.

You must know that he is a fifth-level Innate Realm expert. Even if Lin Chen is at the peak of the fourth level of Innate Realm, even if he did not go all out, he should not have felt the backlash.

This was not Lin Chen's deliberate resistance, but rather a reaction of his physical instincts.

"You brat... how exactly did you cultivate?"

Zhou Zhifeng asked the question, while Zhao Yulin, who was standing to the side, laughed and said, "It seems that Senior Brother Zhou is also shocked by Lin Chen's cultivation speed."

"It's not just about cultivation speed." Zhou Zhifeng shook his head: "Lin Chen, let me ask you a question honestly, what level has your strength reached now?"

Zhao Yulin, Ji Cangtian, and Elder Qiu, who were standing to the side, were all curious as to why Zhou Zhifeng would ask such a question. Lin Chen was at the fourth level of the Innate Realm, so his strength was naturally also at the fourth level of the Innate Realm.

"This disciple should be able to fight against someone at the fifth level of the Innate Realm," Lin Chen replied truthfully, rubbing his nose.

"To fight against someone at the fifth level of the Innate Realm?"

There was a moment of silence in the main hall.

Elder Qiu said in a deep voice, "Lin Chen, are you sure?"

"On my way back, I fought with a martial artist at the fifth level of the Innate Realm from the Eight Desolations Domain. Elder Qu said that the other party was Xi Zeliang, an elder of the Eight Desolations Sect."

Upon hearing Lin Chen's words, Ji Cangtian and the others exchanged glances. They certainly knew Xi Zeliang, who had been promoted to the position of elder of the Eight Desolations Sect ten years ago.

"So you were targeted by Xi Zeliang, and in the end, Junior Brother Qu saved you?"

Elder Qiu offered his guess: Lin Chen returned from the outer realms and encountered Xi Zeliang of the Eight Desolations Sect. He fought with Xi Zeliang and eventually delayed until Junior Brother Qu arrived.

"Elder Qu did arrive, but it wasn't Elder Qu who saved me. Before Elder Qu arrived, I managed to kill Xi Zeliang."

Lin Chen's word "lucky" made the entire hall even quieter than before.

On the high platform, Ji Cangtian's old eyes widened: "Lin Chen, are you telling the truth?"

"When Elder Qu arrived later, he confirmed the man's identity, and Elder Qu was also aware of this matter."

Upon hearing Lin Chen's confirmation, Elder Qiu and the other two elders in the main hall looked at Lin Chen as if he were a rare treasure, as if they wanted to see through him inside and out.

At the same time, footsteps could be heard outside the main hall. "Sect Master, Elder Qu has sent a message."

"Send it in."

An attendant entered the main hall. When he saw Lin Chen standing there, his eyes widened in surprise. He had never met Lin Chen before. He was in seclusion when Lin Chen was in the sect, but he had watched Lin Chen's battle with Sima Kong through the light screen of Martial Dao Mountain.

Junior Brother Lin is back?

Wait, what about Junior Brother Lin's cultivation level?

Ke Yan was somewhat bewildered; he couldn't see through his junior brother Lin.

"Go back."

Upon hearing the sect leader's voice, Ke Yan snapped out of his daze, bowed, and left the main hall.

Ji Cangtian looked at the message sent by Elder Qu in the jade slip, becoming more and more surprised. Finally, he left the jade slip with his divine sense, staring at Lin Chen but remaining silent.

The things Elder Qu mentioned in this jade slip were all related to Lin Chen, especially Lin Chen's defeat of Xi Zeliang.

He single-handedly killed Xi Zeliang and four Innate Realm Fourth Stage martial artists without sustaining any injuries.

This is not just someone who can fight against someone at the fifth level of the Innate Realm; this person already possesses the strength of someone at the mid-stage of the fifth level of the Innate Realm.

"Sect Master, has Elder Qu encountered some trouble?"

Seeing that the sect leader stared at the jade slip sent by Elder Qu without saying a word after reading it, Elder Qiu, who was standing to the side, was a little curious.

"See for yourselves."

Ji Cangtian felt that instead of repeating it himself, it would be better to let his junior brother Qiu and the others see it for themselves.

The jade slip passed between Elder Qiu and the other two. After they finished reading it, the three of them looked at Lin Chen with even stranger expressions.

This is what they mean by being able to fight against a martial artist at the fifth level of the Innate Realm.
They were already shocked when Lin Chen said he had killed Xi Zeliang. They thought that Lin Chen must have been seriously injured himself to kill Xi Zeliang, but the truth was completely the opposite of what they had imagined.

According to the conclusion drawn by Junior Brother Qu after observing the battlefield following Lin Chen's departure, Lin Chen defeated Xi Zeliang in a very short time and suffered no damage himself.

Although Xi Zeliang has only recently entered the fifth realm of the Innate Realm, he is still a powerful expert in the fifth realm of the Innate Realm. Even if it is not difficult for them to defeat Xi Zeliang, it is impossible to kill him without paying a certain price.

It's normal for experts at the fifth level of the Innate Realm to have some life-saving or deadly techniques.

"Lin Chen, where have you been for the past three years? Have you encountered any opportunities?"

Ji Cangtian slowly spoke, "No matter how high one's martial arts talent is, it is absolutely impossible to go from the first level of the Innate Realm to the fifth level of the Innate Realm in just three years."

"This disciple has indeed had a great opportunity. This disciple has been to the Thousand Layers Secret Realm of the Entropy Clan."

"The Entropy Clan, an ancient race?"

Ji Cangtian's eyes narrowed, and Elder Qiu and the other two also showed surprise. Lin Chen then understood that the sect leader and the elders also knew about the existence of the ancient race, and his master should also know about it.

The reason why the ancient races were not recorded in the introduction of the major forces of the Yan Dynasty in the jade slip that my master gave me was probably because my cultivation level was relatively low at the time.

"The time flow in the Thousand Layers Secret Realm that this disciple entered is slower than that in the outside world..."

Lin Chen briefly recounted his experiences in the Thousand Layers Secret Realm, omitting the part about helping Yin Yue reclaim the Moon Soul Clan's treasure and his killing of Yun Yi Clan's Yun Ye, only mentioning his cultivation progress.

Hearing Lin Chen's explanation, Elder Qiu and the others finally understood. It seemed that Lin Chen had actually cultivated for forty years, and in those forty years, he had gone from the second level of the Innate Realm to the peak of the fourth level. His actual combat strength was comparable to the mid-stage of the fifth level of the Innate Realm, which made sense.

In fact, to some extent, it's not particularly outstanding that a genius like Lin Chen took forty years to reach the peak of the fourth realm of the Innate Realm.

A genius of the highest caliber can usually reach the sixth level of the Innate Realm within thirty years. The difficult part is breaking through from the sixth level of the Innate Realm to the Myriad Manifestations Realm.

Once you reach that stage, there's no fixed answer. Some prodigies break through in just a few years, while others take decades...

However, they all knew that Lin Chen had chosen to hone his physical body in that secret realm, slowing down his cultivation progress. Furthermore, Lin Chen's martial arts resources were insufficient to support him for forty years, so in the end, he would have to rely entirely on time to improve.

For a prodigy like Lin Chen, the sect will provide him with the necessary resources at each stage. While these resources may not be enough for him to squander recklessly, they are certainly sufficient for his daily cultivation needs. If he needs more resources to accelerate his cultivation progress, he will have to find his own way.

"I never expected you to have such an opportunity. I know about the Entropy Clan, but I know nothing about the Thousand Layers Secret Realm."

Ji Cangtian had a look of relief on his face. When he saw the doubt in Lin Chen's eyes, he explained, "The ancient races are quite resistant to outsiders. They only recognize other races and rarely interact with the outside world. Therefore, I only know that the ancient races exist. I don't know much about the internal situation of these races. In order not to cause misunderstandings, the various sects will not specifically investigate these ancient races."

Lin Chen nodded; he understood what the sect leader meant.

The leaders of the major super sects are aware of the existence of the ancient races. Each of these races is quite powerful and does not have much contact with the outside world. Under these circumstances, in order to avoid misunderstandings, the major sects will not take the initiative to spy on these races.

Even the major sects have an unspoken rule that they will not reveal the existence of the ancient race to disciples who have not reached the level of elder.

"Sect Master, has any other force intervened in the battle between our sect and the Eight Desolations Sect?" After recounting his experiences over the past few years, Lin Chen asked the question that had been on his mind.

The elders exchanged glances. Lin Chen was not a sect elder, so in principle, the inside story should not be told. However, Lin Chen's strength had already reached the elder level. Whether or not to tell him should be left to the sect leader to decide.

All eyes turned to Ji Cangtian, who was seated at the head of the table. Ji Cangtian pondered for a long time before saying, "The Blood Moon Sect and the Eight Desolations Sect have secretly formed an alliance. More than a year ago, the Blood Moon Sect arranged for a thousand innate martial artists to join the battlefield."

(End of this chapter)