Jingshui Martial Arts Hall!
After Lin Chen finished eating in the cafeteria, he returned to the dormitory, and as he entered the dormitory area, he saw a servant pacing outside his dormitory door.
"Young Master Lin, Hall Master Kong has asked me to invite you over."
Seeing Lin Chen appear, the servant hurriedly ran over.
"Hall Master Kong wants to see me? Please lead the way, brother."
Following behind the servant, Lin Chen was curious as to why Hall Master Kong wanted to see him at this particular time.
Lin Chen couldn't help but overthink, as the timing was too coincidental.
Hall Master Kong hadn't summoned him for so many days, and just as he returned from the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall, Hall Master Kong wanted to see him.
Could it be that Instructor Chen informed Hall Master Kong about his situation and wanted him to return to the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall, and Hall Master Kong had been contacted?
With this doubt in mind, Lin Chen was led by the servant to Hall Master Kong's courtyard.
The courtyard gate was open, and Lin Chen stepped inside, seeing Hall Master Kong standing in the courtyard.
"Disciple Lin Chen greets Hall Master Kong."
Kong Yinglei looked at Lin Chen who came in, thought of what her senior sister instructed, and a trace of complexity flashed in her eyes as she said in a deep voice, "Lin Chen, calling you here this time is to inform you that the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall has revoked your top-tier student status."
Lin Chen's pupils shrank, and his face showed a look of shock.
His top-tier student status was revoked?
The warmth and favor Instructor Chen showed him was something he could clearly feel.
"Hall Master Kong, is there any misunderstanding in this matter? Today as a disciple I went to the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall and explained the situation to Instructor Chen."
Lin Chen thought of a possibility, a time gap misunderstanding between the two sides.
It is highly likely that before seeing Instructor Chen, the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall had already decided to revoke his top-tier student status and had notified the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall, and after seeing Instructor Chen, Instructor Chen's change in attitude towards him was still unknown to the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall.
"How do you explain this?" Kong Yinglei curiously asked.
"Today, as a disciple, I went to the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall because I had mastered the Clear Wind Palm and also met Instructor Chen..."
Lin Chen briefly recounted his experience of going to the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall, focusing on Instructor Chen's change in attitude towards him.
"You have mastered the Clear Wind Palm?"
Kong Yinglei's focus was on Lin Chen's first sentence, her eyes continuously observed Lin Chen, while also feeling admiration for her senior sister.
As expected of the senior sister, she really guessed Qi He's thoughts accurately.
Qi He, even with a student like Lin Chen who had such high comprehension in the Clear Wind Palm, wanted to revoke his top-tier status, which was short-sighted, focusing on a few martial arts hall competitions this year.
"What a pity."
Kong Yinglei let out a light sigh, "There is no misunderstanding as you said, the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall sent over the news a quarter of an hour ago, by which time you had already met that Instructor Chen."
A quarter of an hour ago?
Lin Chen frowned, considering the distance between the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall and the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall, it would probably take about two quarters of an hour, and since he also delayed a bit in the cafeteria, calculating this way, it was true that the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall sent the message after he left.
Yet, he still couldn't quite believe it. If his status was still to be revoked, why was Instructor Chen so attentive, personally demonstrating the "Flying Swallow Technique" for him?
"This year's martial arts halls are different from previous years. In previous years, if you had such comprehension in the Clear Wind Palm, the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall would definitely give you a top-tier student status, but this year the Eight Great Martial Arts Halls have a competition every three months related to the halls' rankings, and comprehension does not seem as important."
Kong Yinglei directly revealed the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall's intentions to Lin Chen, whose eyes subtly shifted as he understood the meaning of Hall Master Kong's words.
Comprehension lost to silver coins!
Unless he could demonstrate heaven-defying comprehension, but with his current comprehension, it wasn't enough!
"According to what you said, that Chen Chunfeng values you, but couldn't give you a top-tier status, he must feel remorse for you, and will likely meticulously guide you in mastering the Clear Wind Palm as compensation."
Lin Chen's brow remained furrowed, the mastery of the Clear Wind Palm relied more on his own understanding, and the booklet Instructor Yu left him contained detailed descriptions of the subsequent stages.
In comparison, what he needed more was this top-tier disciple status.
"Hall Master Kong, may I boldly ask if there are any top-tier status slots available in the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall?"
After a moment of silence, Lin Chen's sudden question made Kong Yinglei startled, her eyes sparkling with keen insight, "Currently, only Jiang Qing holds a top-tier status in the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall, but you are not a formal disciple of our hall."
"I am willing to join the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall!"
This left Kong Yinglei hesitant. Although she admired Lin Chen's diligence and dedication to the Martial Path, she, as the Vice Hall Master of the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall, also had to consider the benefits and drawbacks from the hall's perspective.
Even for someone with Fu Jingya's family background, the top-tier status is still highly coveted, saving twenty-five silver taels a month, nearly one thousand taels over the course of three years.
If the pursuit of the Martial Path is only to the Opening Acupoints Realm, it wouldn't matter as much, but there's more afterwards, such as Refining the Viscera, which costs more. Although reaching the Late Period of Opening Acupoints one can figure out ways to earn silver taels, most martial artists earn less than what they spend on the Martial Path.
Take herself for example, although she is a strong practitioner of Refining the Viscera, she only has a little over two hundred silver taels on her, staying at the Martial Arts Hall as Vice Hall Master is partly due to a sense of belonging, and partly for the Martial Path resources provided by the Martial Affairs Office.
"You should know, while you have comprehension in the Clear Wind Palm, it might not be the same in the Water Cloud Palm. Although I cherish talent, decisions I make as Vice Hall Master must be convincing to others!"
Kong Yinglei gazed intently at Lin Chen and continued, "If you said these words out of a moment of anger, then let's drop the subject."
Hearing these words, hope rose in Lin Chen's heart, Hall Master Kong hadn't closed the door on possibilities, so he still had a chance.
"Hall Master Kong, I am not speaking lightly, as a disciple I am not well-regarded at the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall, I believe you are aware of this internal matter."
Kong Yinglei was well aware that Lin Chen was not well-regarded at the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall. Lin Chen was originally rejected, and only later joined because Qi He was doing Inspector Shu a favor.
Such a student would naturally not be of much concern to the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall.
"Even if you join the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall, I cannot guarantee you'll get top-tier status, but I can give you an opportunity. Early next month, you will have an internal competition with your current batch of students, and the top five can obtain top-tier status."
"Are you still willing to join the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall under these conditions?"
"I am willing!"
Almost without a second thought, Lin Chen agreed.
What he wanted was this opportunity; at least the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall didn't deny him a chance like the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall, which directly stripped him of his top-tier status.
"Good, then I will communicate with the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall tomorrow to make you an official disciple of our Jingshui Martial Arts Hall."
Kong Yinglei was quite satisfied with Lin Chen's response, then her eyes shifted with a slight playfulness, "If it were someone else, switching halls would be difficult, requiring approval from the Martial Affairs Office, but you don't need to."
"Is it because of Inspector Shu?"
Lin Chen instinctively guessed, even though Inspector Shu had left, there might still be favors within the Martial Affairs Office.
"Because the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall has not reported your disciple status to the Martial Affairs Office, you likely don't even have an identification card from the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall."
Lin Chen: ...