298th year of the Liang Calendar.
Lin Chen's first year after transmigrating to this world.
It was also another harvest year for Poyang County.
Poyang County had enjoyed eight consecutive years of favorable weather, allowing households to have surplus grain.
During the festival, it was very lively.
Every New Year, Linhu Village held the tradition of worshipping the Lake God, where all the villagers, young and old, gathered at the ancestral hall early in the morning, and every household laid out the prepared offerings and three sacrifices on the ground.
Inside the ancestral hall, incense smoke curled upwards.
In past years, young ones like Lin Chen would always stand at the end of the line, but today, the village chief brought Lin Chen to the front, standing only behind the village chief and a few village elders.
"Lin Chen, offer incense to the Lake God and the ancestors of our Linhu Village, and may your journey in the Martial Path go further."
The village chief handed Lin Chen the incense, already lit.
Lin Chen did not refuse, as the village chief had already mentioned it at his home last night, that today, he would represent the younger generation in the village to pay homage to the Lake God.
"Today, we, Lin Chen of the Lin family in the village, learn martial arts at the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall. We pray for the Lake God and the ancestors of Linhu Village to bless Lin Chen with smooth progression on the Martial Path."
An elder in the village recited the rites, and every villager held a solemn expression, including Lin Chen.
Worship!
It is an extremely solemn affair.
Lin Chen, having lived two lifetimes, realized the commonality between his past world and this one—the great importance placed on worship.
Worship is not just a ritual, but a means to gather the hearts of people.
Clan worship unites the hearts of the clan.
Village worship unites the hearts of the villagers.
...
National worship unites the hearts of the citizens.
A distinguished youth of the village leading the worship can further inspire other youths to strive harder.
Listening to the village elder reciting the rites and observing the villagers' solemn expressions, Lin Chen felt moved—no wonder in his past life, so many wealthy individuals were willing to spend any amount just to secure an incense position in the ancestral hall.
It's not just about face but also a reflection of glorifying the ancestors now that they have returned home in glory.
"Lin Chen, offer the incense!"
The elder concluded the rites and gazed at Lin Chen with an encouraging smile. Lin Chen nodded, bowed three times while holding the incense, and then placed it in the incense burner.
Feeling the gaze of the villagers behind him, even as a transmigrator, influenced by this moment's atmosphere, his blood was stirred, silently resolving that if he accomplished anything on the Martial Path in the future, he would give back to the village within his means.
Among the crowd, no one was happier than Father Lin and Mrs. Lin, while the most complex feelings belonged to Grandfather Lin Chaoyang.
Since the people from the money shop last came, Grandfather Lin Chaoyang seldom left the old house, but he naturally wouldn't miss the major event of New Year's ancestor worship.
At this moment, seeing Lin Chen standing at the front, the old man's face showed a fleeting excitement, quickly replaced by regret and remorse.
If he had supported Lin Chen's martial arts endeavor back then, as a grandfather, he would now have the right to stand at the forefront, enjoying the praise of others.
But now, feeling the gazes from the other villagers, his old face felt a burning shame.
"Is Ming'Er not coming back?"
After the ancestor worship ended, Lin Chaoyang asked his eldest son.
"Father, after Ming'Er developed some Essence Qi, he found a job in the city, planning to save money to afford next year's tuition for the martial hall. He won't be coming back this year."
Uncle Lin Hai explained, "Ming'Er sent one tael of silver back through someone."
"It's fine if he doesn't come back."
Lin Chaoyang waved his hand, "I don't need the silver; I won't starve. Tell him to be frugal in the city, and not to hold a grudge against his uncle. Over these years, it's your family that owes the third child."
Lin Hai quickly said, "Father, Ming'Er wouldn't do that. No matter what, the third child is his uncle."
"Daughter-in-law, did you hear what I said?"
Lin Chaoyang didn't doubt his eldest son's words, but as for his daughter-in-law, he was afraid her thoughts might differ.
"Father, how could I bear any grudge against uncle?"
The eldest daughter-in-law's expression was a bit embarrassed. Lin Chaoyang stared at her for a while, "From beginning to end, it's only your family that's indebted to the second and third family, the second and third family never wronged you. Regardless, two logs can't make a forest alone; Ming'Er and Chen'Er are cousins, that truth you must understand."
Seeing his daughter-in-law remain silent, Lin Chaoyang didn't care whether she took his words to heart, turning to his eldest son and said, "I'm tired, help me home."
Lin Chaoyang left, unnoticed by the villagers; even if they did notice, they would only sneer, saying he brought it upon himself.
Naturally, Lin Chen wouldn't notice his grandfather leaving either, as the incense-bearer, he still had many rituals to handle.
He was also the one to cover the eyes of the Lake God's statue with red cloth.
Covering the eyes of the Lake God's statue symbolized allowing the Lake God, who had protected the villagers for a year, to rest. During this time, he could partake of offerings from every household in the village.
Then, after the Lantern Festival passed the following year, he would lift the red cloth, inviting the Lake God back into the lake to bless the villagers with smooth fishing in the new year.
After completing the ritual, when he returned home, it was already noon.
After hastily eating lunch, Lin Chen called for Gu Fei, and the two went to the back mountain in the village to practice martial arts.
Gu Fei practiced the Warm Sun Fist, while he practiced the Clear Wind Palm.
He brought Gu Fei along to supervise him, preventing him from slacking off at home during the New Year. The Martial Path could not tolerate laziness. If Gu Fei wanted to cultivate Essence Qi within two years, he needed to practice diligently and hard.
[Clear Wind Palm: Not yet mastered (60/100)]
[Clear Wind Palm: Not yet mastered (61/100)]
...
...
After the New Year, on the third day of the first lunar month.
Lin Chen did not accompany his parents to visit relatives but stayed home to focus on martial arts training.
For other students who joined the Martial Hall, visiting relatives during the New Year would inevitably bring lots of praise from relatives, satisfying a young person's vanity.
Lin Chen understood in his heart that he would receive the same treatment if he visited relatives, but he wanted to seize the time during the New Year to achieve a breakthrough in the Clear Wind Palm.
The instructor was right; if he couldn't compete with others in terms of realm, he could only rely on the Clear Wind Palm to make up for his weaknesses.
Seeing the progress of the Clear Wind Palm on the display panel, Lin Chen showed a smile on his face.
After eight days of hard training, his Clear Wind Palm had finally reached the entry level today.
[Clear Wind Palm: Entry level (1/200)]
With the Clear Wind Palm entering the entry level, Lin Chen could clearly feel the sharpness and accuracy of his palm strike had improved significantly compared to before.
Now, one slap from him could send Gu Fei flying.
Without the Qi Blood panel, the progress of martial arts techniques became his daily motivation.
As for the Martial Arts Realm, he was still at the Opening Acupoints Realm.
Just as Lin Chen was about to continue his training as usual, a voice came from outside the courtyard door.
"Chen, your fellow classmates from the Martial Hall are here to see you."
Lin Chen opened the door and saw the village chief leading a few figures approaching his home from not far away.
"Junior Brother Lu, Junior Brother Zhao, Junior Brother Cheng... why are you all here?"
Seeing Lu Yongfeng and his two companions, Lin Chen was quite surprised. It was unexpected for the three of them to come to Linhu Village.
"Senior Brother Lin, we are about to go to the Martial Hall in the county. Once there, we'll be busy with martial arts training and won't have much time to gather. Since we all came from the Kaohe Town Martial Hall, we thought to gather before heading to the Martial Hall."
Zhao Jingchuan said with a smile. It was his suggestion, and Lu Yongfeng and Cheng Ying readily agreed.
It was easy for the three of them to connect in the town, but since Lin Chen lived in the village, they ended up deciding to come for a visit to Linhu Village.
Lin Chen understood that with their common Martial Hall background, maintaining connections would strengthen their bond, making it easier to support each other in the future at the county Martial Hall. Such regional camaraderie was quite common.
But why only Zhao Jingchuan and the other two? Where are Xu Botao and Yan Dexing?
As if seeing Lin Chen's confusion, Zhao Jingchuan said with a wry smile, "Junior Brother Xu and Junior Brother Yan couldn't secure spots for the Opening Acupoints Pill at the Martial Hall, so they might not be in the best mood. We decided not to invite them after thinking it over."
"Junior Brother Xu and Junior Brother Yan didn't get the Opening Acupoints Pill spots?"
Lin Chen was surprised. Were there really that many students who cultivated Essence Qi this year? The competition was unexpectedly fierce.
"Junior Brother Xu was found to have borrowed silver from the money shop while at the Martial Hall, and Junior Brother Yan was just a day late. All the spots at the major Martial Halls were already filled."
The village chief leading the way asked curiously, "The Martial Hall doesn't allow students to borrow money?"
"Village Chief Wang, normally, the Martial Hall wouldn't mind since they usually have plenty of spots, but this time, the spots were scarce. From the Martial Hall's perspective, if a student needed to borrow money even at the Martial Hall stage, it suggested they might not sustain the costs of pursuing the Martial Path." Zhao Jingchuan patiently explained.
"It's really fortunate that Senior Brother Lin cultivated Essence Qi early. Otherwise, I'm afraid..."
Cheng Ying added a comment from behind, but didn't finish the last part of his sentence. It was clear he meant that if Lin Chen had been any later in cultivating Essence Qi, he also might not have secured a spot.
Lin Chen chuckled softly, choosing not to argue.
The experience of obtaining his Opening Acupoints Pill had its twists and turns; there was no need to make it public.
Next to them, the elderly village chief appeared deep in thought after hearing this.