Rise from a Low-class Family to Martial Artist-Chapter 92 - 6: I Understand, But I Hold Grudges

a.m.!

The already noisy crowd suddenly quieted down a bit.

Everyone’s gaze turned to the left, as a dozen officials led the way, with two men at the forefront wearing Ninth-Grade Official’s Uniform, surrounded by various dignitaries of Poyang County, arriving at the left side of the ring.

Several Master’s Chairs had already been arranged on the left side of the ring.

Su Lingchuan and He Ruyun took their seats in the middle, while several other elderly men with white hair sat beside them.

The first row, a total of eight people. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

All were Grade-Entering Martial Artists.

However, aside from Su Lingchuan and He Ruyun, the Qi Blood of the other six elderly men had already declined.

Yet, for the people of Poyang County present, those six elders were even more intimidating.

The County Magistrate and the Director, though of high status, were not from Poyang County. On the contrary, the families behind these six elders had intricate interests in Poyang County, closely linked to the livelihoods of many locals.

According to Liang’s law, the County Magistrate and Martial Affairs Office Director of a place could only be appointed from non-locals to prevent local clan forces from growing too powerful.

As for lacking a foundation and being ostracized by local forces, unable to make a difference, this issue did not exist in Liang.

In the world of martial arts, the County Magistrate and the Director represented the highest combat strength, and no local force dared to harbor thoughts of resistance against these two.

For these old-school Grade-Entering Martial Artists, coming here to watch the competition was more about showing support for the two officials.

Otherwise, a match below the Opening the Ten Acupoints stage would not have caught the attention of these former Grade-Entering Martial Artists.

After these eight were seated, in the second and third rows were the heads of the Government Office and Martial Affairs Office, along with some Viscera-Refining Martial Artists.

Altogether, there were over forty Viscera-Refining Martial Artists. Including those from various martial arts halls, the number of Viscera-Refining Martial Artists in Poyang County was close to a hundred.

A hundred Viscera-Refining Martial Artists might seem like a lot, but dispersed across the entire Poyang County, they were extremely rare, among several hundred thousand people, almost one in a thousand.

In a bygone era with developed transportation, an average person could only know a few hundred people in a lifetime.

In Liang, social circles were even smaller; many villagers might not have spoken a word with a Viscera-Refining Martial Artist in three generations.

With the prominent figures all present, the Martial Affairs Office had arranged for someone to host the competition. This person was a Deputy Director from the Martial Affairs Office, also a prominent figure at the level of Perfect Viscera Refining.

"Today, in the three-month martial arts competition of the new cohort from the Eight Great Martial Arts Halls, seventeen disciples have emerged victorious through several rounds and will now engage in the final ranking matches."

...

...

As the host introduced the situation on stage, Lin Chen and the other seventeen disciples were drawing lots behind the ring to choose their opponents.

Different from the rough selection rules of the group stage, this time the drawing was very particular. When athletes from each martial arts hall drew lots, their fellow hall members were excluded.

The eight seeded contestants drew lots first to ensure that they wouldn’t face each other in the first round, preventing strong competitors from knocking each other out and allowing weaker ones to advance through luck.

After the first round of drawing, the sole lucky one with a bye was Fu Jingya.

Lin Chen was also happy for Senior Sister Fu; a bye in this round meant Senior Sister Fu would be at least eighth.

Regarding his own opponent, Lin Chen glanced at the other party—it’s truly hard to predict fate.

His opponent turned out to be Shao Hong from the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall.

Is this the bond of fate?

When Shao Hong met Lin Chen’s gaze, he seemed to sense it too, and his lips curled slightly. Yesterday, Hall Master Qi was quite irritated.

Since Lin Chen’s appearance brought criticism to the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall, let this new cohort’s senior brother suppress that criticism.

The Martial Affairs Office official in charge of drawing lots spoke with a smile: "The drawing is concluded. All students, return and wait for the competition to begin."

Lin Chen, Jiang Qing, and Fu Jingya returned to their martial arts hall area and saw the interested gaze of Hall Master Kong. Fu Jingya couldn’t help but smile and said, "Hall Master, I got a bye this round."

"A bye?"

Kong Yinglei, Shen Lin, and the disciples from Jingshui Martial Arts Hall were all stunned.

Among seventeen people in the draw, the only bye went to their martial arts hall.

At this moment, Lin Chen settled down. Among the seventeen people, their Jingshui Martial Arts Hall had three, which meant the probability of drawing a bye was indeed higher than other halls.

Kong Yinglei and Shen Lin exchanged glances; it seemed like this time the martial arts hall would indeed have two people entering the top ten.

No need to mention Jiang Qing, Fu Jingya secured a place in the top eight. If Lin Chen could also get into the top ten...

With three students in the top ten, this had only happened thrice in Jingshui Martial Arts Hall’s history.

"Lin Chen, who is your opponent?"

"Shao Hong from Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall."

Upon hearing that Lin Chen’s opponent was Shao Hong, everyone from Jingshui Martial Arts Hall looked perplexed.

Is Junior Brother Lin butting heads with the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall?

If it weren’t certain that there was no under-the-table manipulation in the draw, they might have suspected the Martial Affairs Office of doing it on purpose.

"Do your best."

Kong Yinglei didn’t believe Lin Chen had no chance of winning. Despite a two-Acupoint gap, Lin Chen achieved Great Success in the Clear Wind Palm. Not only did it enhance the Clear Wind Palm’s power, he could also leverage his mastery of the cultivation technique to anticipate Shao Hong’s moves.

Thinking of this, there was anticipation in Kong Yinglei’s eyes. Though not as shrewd as Qi He, the better the results of their martial arts hall’s students, the more resources the Martial Affairs Office would allocate to them.