January 7th!
January 8th!
January 9th!
...
By the lake in Linhu Village, Lin Chen and the three others trained against each other daily, mutually identifying their weaknesses.
Since the fifth, the three have stayed directly in Linhu Village. Lin Chen's home was too small, so the village chief found a household with extra rooms, arranging accommodations for them.
Zhao Jingchuan even had his father deliver meals to Linhu Village daily, all of which were nourishing poultry to strengthen Qi and blood, though not as good as black deer meat, each meal cost two taels of silver.
Three meals a day amounted to six taels.
This money wasn't solely from Zhao Jingchuan; Lu Yongfeng and Cheng Ying also privately gave silver taels to Zhao Jingchuan.
Although the three did not say it outright, Lin Chen, being who he is, could more or less guess from the way Lu Yongfeng and Cheng Ying spoke and acted.
If the money was all from Zhao Jingchuan's family, the young lads would be too shy. With Lu Yongfeng and Cheng Ying's personalities, they would definitely express some embarrassment or agree to treat back another time.
But since Lu Yongfeng and Cheng Ying didn't act that way, there could only be one explanation: they also contributed to the cost of these meals.
Without informing him, the three probably considered Lin Chen's average financial situation and didn't want him to spend the money.
In a sense, this was Zhao Jingchuan and the other two providing assistance to him.
Lin Chen didn't expose this. Indeed, he had no money, and in recent days, under his influence, the proficiency of each of their cultivation techniques had significantly improved, which was his contribution, after all.
Supporting each other and improving together.
January 14th!
"Senior Brother Lin, we won't be coming tomorrow. The three of us plan to head to the city early to experience the Lantern Festival. Do you want to join us?"
By the lake, as the sunset fell, Zhao Jingchuan and the other two did not follow Lin Chen back to the village this time.
"Our village has an invocation ceremony tomorrow, and the village chief specifically instructed me to stay in the village."
January 15th is not only the Lantern Festival but also the Festival to Invite Lake God.
All villagers living by the lake invite the Lake God to the lake on the 15th to bless the coming year with good weather for crops.
Hearing that Lin Chen wasn't going, although Lu Yongfeng and the other two felt a bit disappointed, young people didn't have much sorrow over partings, especially since Lin Chen was only delayed by a day or two, and there would be plenty of time to meet again in the city.
After seeing off the three, Lin Chen squinted slightly and whispered, "Panel."
[Name: Lin Chen]
[Occupation: Martial Artist]
[Realm: Opening Acupoints Realm (1/24)]
[Clear Wind Palm: Beginner (180/200)]
[Life Chart: [Natural Progression]: Martial Arts First Realm, Perseverance, Gradual Progress, Unstoppable, No Bottleneck Problem.]
[Martial Title: All the Way Black]
[All the Way Black: Unsettled Heaven and Earth, you and I are dark horses, wearing this badge enhances martial comprehension and perception in the dark.]
Seeing the progress of Clear Wind Palm, Lin Chen's eyes showed an expectant light. At the current pace, he could reach proficiency in Clear Wind Palm before reporting to the martial hall.
In less than a month, he managed to reach beginner in Clear Wind Palm, partly due to the title [All the Way Black], but mostly due to his diligent practice.
The comprehension boost from [All the Way Black] was more significant in the later stages of a Martial Arts Technique.
The instructor's manual explained that while entering and reaching proficiency in a martial arts technique could vary in speed initially, even those with poor comprehension could achieve proficiency through hard work, narrowing the gap.
Only after reaching proficiency, when aspiring to mastery or higher stages, does determination alone fail, and comprehension becomes necessary.
"If I manage to practice Clear Wind Palm to proficiency within a month at the martial academy, even with just one opened acupoint, I won't be at a disadvantage against those with two acupoints."
In terms of martial realm, Lin Chen knew he couldn't compete with those from wealthy families, as the bonuses from his [Natural Progression] life chart apply to mid and late stages of each realm.
In the early stages, he had to find his own way.
...
...
January 15th.
The Invitation to the Lake God ceremony began.
The village strongmen carried the statue of the Lake God to the lakeside fishing pier, the entire village followed, holding incense, candles, and yellow paper.
"Chen, come forward."
The village chief hosting the ceremony gestured to Lin Chen among the crowd, and the villagers in front of him immediately made way.
"Last year, you invited the Lake God into the village, and this year you will see the Lake God off."
Faced with the village chief's invitation, Lin Chen didn't refuse. He stepped forward, lit the incense, and prayed, "Lin Chen, a child of Linhu Village, invites the Lake God to open eyes and enter the lake, granting our village a bountiful year ahead!"
After speaking, Lin Chen inserted the incense into the burner, then grasped a corner of the red cloth covering the statue, slowly lifting it.
The red cloth must be lifted, not pulled!
Lin Chen knew these rituals from the memories of his predecessor, ensuring he made no mistakes at this moment.
"Light the firecrackers and invite the Lake God into the lake!"
As the red cloth was lifted, Lin Chen shouted loudly, and the villagers responded in unison. Some had already ignited the laid-out firecrackers.
No matter last year's harvest, even if it wasn't good, every villager showed smiles at this moment.
The invocation was less about superstition, more about the villagers' hopes for the upcoming year.
Young boys not yet of age to learn martial arts looked at Lin Chen with intense admiration. They too wanted to be as heroic and dazzling as Brother Chen.
The village chief, standing aside, noticed the young boys' gazes and felt pleased.
It's a pity, if not for Lin Chaoyang's old age confusion, today's ceremony would be the pride of the entire Lin Family, not hiding at home feigning illness.
After the ceremony finished, Lin Chen returned home.
Despite the day being festive, he didn't neglect martial practice.
An hour later, the village chief opened the courtyard door.
Lin Chen curiously looked at the village chief, who revealed a money pouch and booklet, smiling, "Chen, tomorrow is your day to study at the county martial academy. Our village discussed and gathered this money for you, hoping you'll train hard at the academy and meet everyone's expectations."
"Village Chief..."
Lin Chen was surprised; he hadn't anticipated the villagers raising money for him, especially since his parents hadn't mentioned it.
"It's not much, totaling thirty taels, collected from 132 village households. Each contribution is noted here, with the first two names being martial artists from our village practicing Opening Acupoints, hearing about your academy enrollment and specifically sending this money to me."
Receiving the money pouch and account book from the village chief, Lin Chen flipped through the book filled with villagers' names.
Teng Xing's family: two taels.
Zheng Xuan's family: two taels.
Gu Hai's family: thirteen hundred cents.
Yang Fan's family: six hundred cents.
Li Sixi's family: three hundred sixty-six cents.
...
...
Seeing these figures and names, Lin Chen's eyes reddened slightly and he took a deep breath, carefully storing the account book.
"Lin Chen will not disappoint the elders' kindness from the village."
He was genuinely moved; while the harvests had been good, village families had extra money, but human nature is selfish. Not everyone would willingly part with money for others.
"Learn well and show those in the martial academy that good martial artists can come from villages. If Scholar Jiang could do it before, I believe you can too, Little Chen."
Lin Chen looked at the village chief in surprise, the chief's words carried implications.
The village chief patted Lin Chen's shoulder, recalling how on the third day of New Year, he overheard something from those gentlemen, prompting him to pester the town chief for academy admission information.
That's when he learned Lin Chen nearly wasn't accepted due to financial assumptions limiting his martial journey.
This angered him, and he publicly scolded those stereotypical instructors in front of the town chief. Once home, he visited each household persuading them to financially support Lin Chen, even reaching out to those now living in the city.
The academy looked down on Lin Chen's family's means, implying his unworthiness. So, our entire Linhu Village pooled money for Lin Chen.
This money had to be gathered, and it was worth doing so.
He observed Lin Chen in recent days — still diligent, not prideful or lax from being academy-bound, not dispirited from academy bias, training martial arts daily.
Even those young carousers from town now spoke admiringly of Lin Chen.
At this age, with this disposition, he could reach the Refining Viscera Realm in martial arts.
Scholar Jiang's rapid ascent, although outsider status meant less villager ties, still brought a decade of benefits to Linhu Village.
Now, with another promising martial candidate, aiding Lin Chen would ensure village goodwill.