In the Martial Arts Pavilion.
Lin Chen stood for a long time, looking somewhat awkward.
Ever since he entered the Martial Arts Pavilion and reported his identity, he had been taken to the backyard by the servants, and then these two women in front of him had been scrutinizing him up until now.
"Not bad, at least not a crooked melon or cracked date. Junior Sister Kong, I'll leave him to you."
The woman on the left, who appeared rather valiant, withdrew her gaze with satisfaction and left after saying these words, her hands behind her back as she swaggered away.
"Lin Chen, this person just now was the Hall Master of our Jingshui Martial Arts Hall."
Kong Yinglei noticed Lin Chen's puzzled expression and explained with a smile.
After returning from the Martial Affairs Office, she had told her senior sister about Lin Chen, and her senior sister, rarely intrigued, wanted to meet Lin Chen.
She understood Senior Sister Zeng best; the reason for her curiosity was to see what someone who could make Inspector Shu go through such lengths to get an Opening Acupoints Pill quota looked like.
Now that her curiosity was satisfied, she naturally left.
Hall Master!
Lin Chen really did not expect that person just now was the Hall Master of Jingshui Martial Arts Hall. According to Instructor Yu, the Hall Master of a martial arts hall would be a powerhouse with Great Success in Viscera Cultivation.
This Hall Master Wen was at most in her early thirties, a potential bigshot entering the grade indeed.
Wait, Inspector Shu mentioned before that he arranged with the Hall Master of Jingshui Martial Arts Hall…
What the heck!
Instructor, in danger!
...
...
"Lin Chen, although you are staying in Jingshui Martial Arts Hall, you are not a disciple of our hall, but a disciple of Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall, hence you cannot learn our hall's Water Cloud Palm, do you understand?"
"I understand, Instructor."
Kong Yinglei's words pulled Lin Chen's thoughts back, and he somewhat understood his situation.
He was a bit like those football club players from his previous life; if the martial arts hall was a club, then it was Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall that didn't have enough quotas and borrowed from Jingshui Martial Arts Hall, and he was rented to Jingshui Martial Arts Hall, but his allegiance was still with Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall.
"Besides Water Cloud Palm, other ordinary techniques, the Martial Arts Pavilion is still open to you, but the most important to you should be Clear Wind Palm, don't spend too much energy on others."
Kong Yinglei knew well that although Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall took in Lin Chen, it was more because they didn't need the Opening Acupoints Pill quota, plus the respect for Inspector Shu, so they probably wouldn't pay much attention to Lin Chen.
Because of this, she thought it was better to give some advice, lest Lin Chen squander his martial arts path.
"According to the regulations of the Military Affairs Department, the Opening Acupoints Pill can only be taken in the martial arts hall. Now, let me give you the Opening Acupoints Pill."
Upon finishing her words, a small jade box appeared in Kong Yinglei's hands, which she tossed directly to Lin Chen.
Seeing Lin Chen catch the jade box, Kong Yinglei instructed, "Don't rush to open it, check first if the seal has been tampered with, confirm there's no problem, then open the box."
Upon hearing this, Lin Chen carefully checked the seal on the jade box to see if there was any possibility of it having been ripped off and glued back on.
This action seemed to show distrust towards the instructor in front of him, but since it concerned his own interests, there was no harm in being cautious.
In his previous life, he had suffered such losses.
Back then, just entering society with some shyness, when signing a contract with a company, to express his trust in the company, he merely glanced over the contract before quickly signing his name.
Kong Yinglei had a look of appreciation in her eyes towards Lin Chen's careful inspection. During these years of recruiting for the martial arts hall, past students who received an Opening Acupoints Pill quota would display their trust by not checking the jade box before opening it.
She only found such students foolish.
The importance of the Opening Acupoints Pill is immense, not only enabling the opening of acupoints and entering the Opening Acupoints Realm, but its medicinal power will accompany the entire Opening Acupoints Realm.
Students who take the Opening Acupoints Pill, compared to those who don't, will break through to Viscera Refining half a year faster if their expenses in the Opening Acupoints Realm are the same.
Even if the possibility of an instructor swapping the pill is small, in this crucial moment concerning future prospects, it should be approached with caution, leaving no room for any mistake.
"Instructor, I confirm there are no issues."
After a thorough inspection, confirming the seal was intact, Lin Chen lifted his head to respond.
"Since you confirm there are no issues, open the box and take out the Opening Acupoints Pill."
Kong Yinglei nodded slightly, and after Lin Chen opened the box, she continued, "You can either swallow it directly or crush it and take it. When you feel a warm flow in your abdomen, perform the Warm Sun Fist where you are until the acupoints are opened and then stop."
"Understood."
Looking at the scarlet pill inside the box, Lin Chen didn't hesitate and swallowed it.
A few breaths after the pill reached his stomach, Lin Chen discovered that his abdomen was starting to heat up, and the essence Qi in his abdomen became active at this moment.
After about ten breaths, this essence Qi started to rush throughout his body, seemingly intending to break free from its shackles and unleash endless potential.
Lin Chen took a deep breath, hesitated no more, and began to punch, the movements of the Warm Sun Fist unfurling in his hands.
Under the impetus of the Opening Acupoints Pill, each punch was accompanied by the vibration of the acupoints within him, his entire body's Qi Blood continually reaching new pinnacles.
This feeling, described in one word: exhilarating!
Lin Chen swung his fists over and over, fully immersed in the wondrous sensation of his power continuously growing.
His fists whistled in the wind, his Qi Blood surged vigorously.
Nobody knew how many times Lin Chen performed the Warm Sun Fist; the next moment, he felt a sudden vibration in his left shoulder, with countless warm currents congealing there, along with a concentration of essence Qi similar to that in his abdomen.
Bam!
As he struck out, it was like a firecracker exploding.
Fist like a cannon blast, acupoints opened successfully.
Kong Yinglei glanced at the hourglass at her side, which registered half a hour, indicating that Lin Chen took almost half a hour to open his acupoints.
Taking half an hour to open the acupoints after consuming the Opening Acupoints Pill, this speed was not fast among previous students, even considered extremely poor, breaking the slowest record in the martial arts hall.
Kong Yinglei didn't feel disappointed; after all, Lin Chen was not a disciple of the hall.
But the next moment, she thought of something, her pupils contracted sharply.
Previously in the Martial Affairs Office, no one would believe that Lin Chen had merely spent twenty taels to cultivate essence Qi, including herself with this view.
In front of Inspector Shu, everyone tacitly chose not to probe further.
Even just now when she mentioned it to her senior sister, both thought the information reported by the Martial Hall had exaggerated elements.
But now a thought suddenly surfaced in her mind; perhaps Lin Chen truly had cultivated essence Qi with only twenty taels.
The speed at which students opened their acupoints after consuming the Opening Acupoints Pill depended on the residual medicinal power in their bodies.
The more money spent during the Qi Cultivation Stage, the more decoction and poultry meat consumed, the more residual medicinal power remained in the body, since not all medicinal power would be absorbed fully, leaving remnants.
Upon consuming the Opening Acupoints Pill, its medicinal power would enable the residual medicinal power to be absorbed by the body as well.
The quicker the opening of the acupoints, the more residual medicinal power in the body, indicating more silver coins spent during the essence Qi cultivation stage, a commonly recognized knowledge.
Lin Chen's slow acupoints opening suggested a lack of residual medicinal power, or it was negligible.
This precisely indicated that Lin Chen consumed less Qi Nourishing Soup and spent little money.
Spending twenty taels to cultivate essence Qi, it might indeed be true!
Kong Yinglei's bosom heaved somewhat, realizing Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall inadvertently secured a treasure.
At this moment, Lin Chen didn't have the mind to observe Kong Yinglei's expression change, as he felt his Qi Blood surging and his strength increasing, his first instinct was to summon the panel, entirely captivated by the changes on it.
[Name: Lin Chen]
[Occupation: Martial Artist]
[Realm: Opening Acupoints Realm (1/24)]
[Life Chart: [Natural Progress]: Martial Arts First Realm, Perseverance, Sequential, Unstoppable, No Bottleneck Problem.]
[Martial Arts Advancement Successful, Calculating Martial Arts Title Based on Previous Stage's Martial Arts Experience]
[Title Calculation In Progress...]
Seeing that the Qi Blood section was gone from the panel, Lin Chen was slightly stunned, as without a visual indicator of Qi Blood, he couldn't see his daily progress.
But the newly available Martial Arts Title filled him with anticipation.
So this panel of his was a Professional Advancement System, the reason for no changes after cultivating essence Qi was because this was not considered a realm breakthrough.