After Shu Suwan left, Yu Yongnian silently brewed tea, while Lin Chen stood respectfully to the side, showing a curious expression.
Yu Yongnian noticed this, coughed, and explained, "When I was learning martial arts, I had the fortune of staying at the Raozhou Prefecture's Martial Arts Academy for three months. At that time, Inspector Shu was also learning martial arts there and she is my senior sister."
"This matter was indeed those martial halls breaking the rules first. Inspector Shu does not tolerate injustice, and she will definitely take action, which is why I brought you to her."
Yu Yongnian explained the reason, and Lin Chen suddenly understood, showing an expression of realization.
As for whether he truly believed Instructor Yu, only he himself knew.
Putting on an expression of sudden understanding was to avoid embarrassing the instructor, as the tea was brewed over ten times already, turning the tea soup into mere water.
"What are you and your teacher up to?"
Just as Yu Yongnian was brewing the thirteenth pot of tea, Shu Suwan appeared at the courtyard door.
"Senior Sister!"
"Inspector Shu."
Shu Suwan's gaze fell on Lin Chen and she said directly, "Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall is willing to take you as a disciple, but the Opening Acupoints Pill slots are insufficient, so we would borrow the slot from Jingshui Martial Arts Hall. For this, you would need to stay at Jingshui Martial Arts Hall for half a year. Are you willing?"
"I am willing, Disciple."
"That's inappropriate!"
Lin Chen and Instructor Yu reacted differently. Lin Chen accepted it gladly, not minding which martial hall he was a disciple of.
Yu Yongnian, however, frowned slightly: "Jingshui Martial Arts Hall has more female disciples, I'm afraid..."
"What, do you have prejudice against women practicing martial arts?"
Shu Suwan's words came down like a hammer, making Yu Yongnian immediately change his tone: "Senior Sister misunderstood, Junior Brother didn't mean that, it's just a young man's temperament..."
In Yu Yongnian's view, Jingshui Martial Arts Hall was not an ideal place to go.
A gentle abode, a hero's grave.
Being the only male disciple among a group of female students, Lin Chen's every move would surely be scrutinized.
What's more, there was a lot of gossip among Jingshui Martial Arts Hall students... always quarrelsome. When he was at the martial hall, he'd heard of many conflicts among the female students there, not conducive to Lin Chen focusing on his martial training.
"Instructor Yu, Disciple can go to Jingshui Martial Arts Hall too, it's only half a year anyway."
Lin Chen didn't resist much. Jingshui Martial Arts Hall was fine.
He understood what Instructor Yu was worried about, mainly fearing he would be distracted by women and lose the drive in martial path advancement.
But he had witnessed all kinds of beauty.
In the past life, so many women winked at him in videos, with all sorts of suggestive temptations, but he only viewed them critically and never watched the same video twice.
While this world's customs were not as rigorous on women as in ancient times, it wasn't as open as in the past life, nothing that could sway his will to study martial arts.
Shu Suwan was satisfied, "Since so, go report to Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall first, then to Jingshui Martial Arts Hall."
"Yes."
Lin Chen agreed and was about to bid farewell to his instructor, but his instructor also rose.
"Senior Sister, my Junior Brother..."
"Junior Brother, don't leave yet. This time, borrowing the Opening Acupoints Pill slot from Jingshui Martial Arts Hall is about owing a favor. I arranged to meet with their Hall Master, and it would be good if Junior Brother accompanies me."
As Yu Yongnian stood up, Shu Suwan immediately interjected, stopping him from leaving.
With such an active approach, she wasn't about to let him leave easily.
Lin Chen glanced at his instructor, then at Inspector Shu, noticing some undercurrents.
Inspector Shu wanted to keep the instructor here intentionally.
From his perspective, Shu Suwan is beautiful and also an inspector; this... this is a blessing for the instructor.
"Instructor, Inspector Shu, I will go report at Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall first."
"Go on, if there's anything you can come to Shu Mansion at Ruilin Lane."
Shu Suwan spoke with a smile, satisfied with Lin Chen's sensibility.
...
...
Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall.
Lin Chen arrived at the martial hall again and was led by the gatekeeper to the guest hall he'd been to before.
He didn't show any sign of resentment.
Being underestimated by the martial hall was partly his own fault, and they were just following procedure. After all, having a special Life Chart was extraordinary. If he didn't take the initiative to reveal it, nobody could have guessed.
Upon seeing Zhao Ce again, Lin Chen respectfully saluted.
"Disciple greets Instructor Zhao." Very respectful.
"Mm."
Seeing Lin Chen's respectful demeanor, Zhao Ce's expression softened slightly. He wasn't targeting Lin Chen; he just felt awkward having rejected Lin Chen earlier, only to now have to accept him.
"Your situation has already been informed to me by Hall Master Qi. Go collect your martial arts secret manual at the Martial Arts Pavilion later."
Zhao Ce nodded slightly, leaving just those words before turning to leave. Yet he paused at the door and said, "Earlier refusal wasn't intentional or targeted; the hall's slots were indeed full. You should know well how difficult it was to get this slot, don't hold any grudges, and focus on learning martial arts diligently."
"Disciple dares not."
Though he held no grudge, he wouldn't have a deep sense of belonging to the martial hall either.
Lin Chen lowered his eyes, and when he looked up again, Zhao Ce had already left. His face showed no change in expression as he followed the attendant to the Martial Arts Pavilion.
In the Martial Arts Pavilion, an instructor verified Lin Chen's identity token and curiously asked, "Didn't Senior Brother Zhao give you a student identity card?"
Every student of Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall got an identity plaque when joining the martial hall, symbolizing their status as a student, meant to be worn daily.
"No, Instructor Zhao told me to come to fetch the Clear Wind Palm secret manual." Lin Chen answered truthfully.
The speaking instructor glanced at Lin Chen, with a ponderous look on his face, finally saying, "Then please wait here for a moment."
A short moment later, the instructor brought out a manual.
"This is the Clear Wind Palm secret manual, to be returned in a month, do not lose it, and definitely don't leak it."
The instructor's tone wasn't severe, but Lin Chen didn't dare take it lightly.
Leaking martial arts secrets wasn't something he even considered.
Over the years, many students had been recruited by the Eight Great Martial Arts Halls. With so many people at the Poyang County Association, yet none of these martial arts techniques had been leaked, because students dared not do so.
The martial arts hall has a list of students. If anyone who is not a student of the martial arts hall uses its martial arts techniques, the Martial Affairs Office will investigate thoroughly. No one can withstand the punishments of the Martial Affairs Office without confessing.
After saying goodbye to the instructor, Lin Chen left the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall directly and headed to the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall.
...
...
Jingshui Martial Arts Hall Gate.
Lin Chen reported his name, and while waiting at the entrance, a woman came from the gate and stopped when she saw Lin Chen, curiosity glinting in her eyes.
"Who are you?"
"Senior Sister, I am here to register at the martial arts hall."
Lin Chen didn't know who this woman was, but judging by her appearance, she should be a senior sister.
The woman's hair was like a waterfall, with a few strands gently falling on her forehead. Upon hearing Lin Chen's words, her curious eyes blinked a few times, adding a touch of inadvertent charm.
"Our martial arts hall actually has a male student this time, how unusual. My name is Chen Yan, how should I address Junior Brother?"
"Lin Chen greets Senior Sister Chen."
"Why is Junior Brother Lin standing here?"
"I just told the gatekeeper about the situation, and he went to notify the instructor, so I'm waiting here." Lin Chen answered honestly.
"Why wait, I'll take you to the instructor, follow me."
Chen Yan was very enthusiastic, even reaching out to take Lin Chen's hand, which he subtly avoided: "Then I'll trouble Senior Sister."
The two entered through the gate, and as Chen Yan led the way, she introduced the martial arts hall to Lin Chen.
"See the corridor over there? Going that way will take you directly to the dormitory area. Also, that training ground up ahead is the A Area Training Ground, mainly used by students in their third year. You new students will be going to the C-Grade Training Ground."
Chen Yan was very enthusiastic and talked non-stop along the way.
Lin Chen was quite moved, thinking how much better the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall is. Look at how enthusiastic Senior Sister Chen is, unlike the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall, which is cold from top to bottom.
It's a pity, though, that he's not really a disciple of the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall.
"I will first take Junior Brother Lin to register and get the identity tag of a martial arts student."
"No... there's no need to get the student identity tag."
Lin Chen quickly stopped her, as he was merely an affiliate to the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall and not an official disciple.
"Senior Sister Chen, my situation is a bit complicated. Just take me straight to the instructor in charge of enrolling students."
Chen Yan's curious eyes lingered on Lin Chen for a moment, then she smiled brightly: "Alright, I'll take you to the Martial Arts Pavilion then."
Every martial arts hall has a Martial Arts Pavilion, and Jingshui Martial Arts Hall is no exception.
"Up ahead is the Martial Arts Pavilion. I suppose Junior Brother is here to receive the Opening Acupoints Pill, right?" Chen Yan asked confidently.
"Yes."
"Congratulations, Junior Brother Lin, in celebration of you soon stepping into the Opening Acupoints Realm, I'll be the host today and treat you to a meal."
Lin Chen's eyes narrowed slightly; this Senior Sister Chen was being overly enthusiastic.
She wants to treat him to a meal?
A fortuitous Senior Sister?
After contemplating for a moment, Lin Chen decided to decline, "How could I let Senior Sister treat..."
Before he could finish that half-sentence, he noticed that Senior Sister Chen's eyes sparkled a bit more, sparking a sudden hypothesis in his mind.
Could this Senior Sister Chen be waiting here for him?
Thinking of this, Lin Chen changed his tone: "Ideally, I should treat Senior Sister to a meal, but this time I came to the martial arts hall in a hurry and didn't bring any silver taels. I'll shamelessly accept Senior Sister's meal today and treat you another day."
Chen Yan's smile froze instantly, shamelessly sponging off a meal?
Truly shameless indeed.
Don't have money? Treat me another day, that would be fine. How could you shamelessly say you'll sponge off me?
How do you even say something like that?
These past few days she had been waiting inside the martial arts hall, trying to persuade these new junior sisters to go have a meal at the Four Great Martial Arts Towers.
The signature dishes there are poultry highly beneficial to Qi and blood, but they are extremely expensive, not something ordinary students can afford. However, those who train Essence Qi within a year can manage a few meals at least.
She had successfully sponged off meals three times without fail in recent days.
Except for with this Junior Brother, she failed.
"Junior Brother, you're joking, there's no such thing as sponging. Who cares who treats." Chen Yan maintained her smile: "I'll take Junior Brother to the Martial Arts Pavilion first, we'll talk about food later."
"Thank you, Senior Sister."
This time, Chen Yan was silent on the way.
Say too much, lose saliva, and you won't even earn enough for a cup of tea.
"Junior Brother Lin, this is the Martial Arts Pavilion. I won't go in, I'll wait for you outside."
Lin Chen knew fully well that as soon as he entered the Martial Arts Pavilion, Senior Sister Chen would turn around and leave. He didn't expose her, as she did indeed lead the way for him and introduced some aspects of the martial hall.
In his past life, this was called service, and it was normal to pay for service.
Unfortunately, he had no money, so he had to sponge off Senior Sister Chen.
Pah!
Wrong, I mean sponge off Senior Sister Chen's service.
Stepping over the threshold of the Martial Arts Pavilion, Lin Chen subconsciously turned back, and Senior Sister Chen's figure was already gone.
Lin Chen: ...
Leaving in such a hurry?
Not even finishing the performance?
Despite his sigh, Lin Chen understood more deeply the difficulties of the martial path.
This Senior Sister Chen was evidently in the Opening Acupoints Realm yet was willing to lower herself for a meal; she almost resorted to seduction.
If not for the lack of money from studying martial arts, why would she do so?
PS: Brothers, keeping up with the chapters is crucial, especially today's, as it relates to next week's recommendation. Don't let it pile up, there are quite a few words in these chapters, so please follow along and vote for me this month.