By the lake!
The spring breeze blows gently, willow branches sway.
At the border between Linhu Village and Liu Village, dozens of people were gathered.
On the Liu Village side, in the midst of the crowd, stood a tall and sturdy young man, his clothes half-open, arms crossed, appearing very relaxed.
"If you're afraid to get into the water, then admit defeat, stop wasting time here."
The young man shook his head with some boredom, while on the Linhu Village side, a middle-aged man complained unhappily, "The fishing area dispute between the villages has never allowed martial artists to participate. You from Liu Village broke the rules first, so why should we get into the water for this unfair competition?"
Zhou Fei heard this and his gaze fell on the middle-aged man, a trace of viciousness flashing in his eyes. He had heard about this person from his grandfather.
Gu Hai, the best fisherman in Linhu Village.
This time, as a martial artist interfering in the fishing dispute between the two villages, if Linhu Village made a fuss in town afterward, the worst result would be a re-competition hosted by the town head.
But as long as a few of Linhu Village's best fishermen were knocked out, Liu Village would still win.
"Stubborn fool!"
Zhou Fei burst forward like a wild beast off its leash, charging at Gu Hai, and several villagers in front of Gu Hai were knocked to the ground in an instant.
Seeing the panic-stricken expression on Gu Hai's face, Zhou Fei showed a ruthless smile, throwing a punch without hesitation.
"Stop!"
Just as Zhou Fei's fist was about to land, a loud shout came from behind the Linhu Village villagers, and everyone saw a figure leap over their heads, heading towards Zhou Fei.
"Opening Acupoints Martial Artist?"
Zhou Fei looked up to see the figure in the air, his pupils narrowing slightly. He had heard from his grandfather that Linhu Village had produced a martial artist this year, who was the top student at the Martial Hall last session.
But so what?
He had been at the martial arts hall for two more years than this person, his realm far surpassing theirs.
"Good timing!"
Zhou Fei turned his fist to meet the oncoming palm.
Bang!
Fist and palm collided, Zhou Fei stumbled backward a few steps before stabilizing, an incredulous look on his face as he looked down at his right hand, which was swelling red.
"Who are you?"
"Lin Chen of Linhu Village!"
Lin Chen looked coldly at Zhou Fei, his eyes icy. He had sensed something was off when he saw Zhou Fei's punch from a few yards away—this punch definitely used the power of the Opening Acupoints Realm, which ordinary people could not withstand.
This was no longer just about fighting for a bit more water area!
"You're Lin Chen?"
Zhou Fei was shocked. A disciple who had only been in martial arts training for a little over two months, even with the Opening Acupoints Pill, couldn't possibly catch up to him this quickly.
Lin Chen wasn't one of the celebrated senior brothers at the martial hall, having enough silver coins to quickly improve his realm.
At the martial hall, without money, you're nothing.
"Lin Chen is here!"
The villagers of Linhu Village, seeing Lin Chen's arrival, replaced their panic and fear with uplifted spirits.
Liu Village had martial artists, and their Linhu Village had martial artists too.
"Chen."
Behind Lin Chen, Gu Hai looked pale, a grateful expression on his face as he gazed at Lin Chen.
"Uncle Hai, it's okay, help everyone up first."
With Lin Chen present, the villagers of Linhu Village helped the ones knocked down by Zhou Fei to the back.
"Chen, why are you here?"
Village chief Zhao Canghe, seeing Lin Chen appear, had a look of puzzlement in his old eyes. Hadn't he asked Mrs. Lin to inform Lin Chen to leave the village?
"Village chief, our village is in trouble. How could I not come?"
Lin Chen smiled slightly. Just from the exchange earlier, he realized that the Liu Village person was only at the fourth stage of the Opening Acupoints Realm, and their proficiency in cultivation techniques was low.
Earlier, they couldn't even handle the simplest deflection.
Such a person, when entering the martial hall, ranked at the bottom but acted arrogant, unwilling to spar with other trainees, afraid of losing face if defeated.
After spending some time at Jingshui Martial Arts Hall, Lin Chen had come to understand its operations quite well.
For those who took over a year to refine Essence Qi and enter the martial hall, the hall effectively left them to their own devices, and these trainees spent more time focusing on leveling up than on perfecting techniques or combat practice.
The harsh reality was, they exhausted all their effort and time on advancing their realm, leaving no extra energy for combat sparring with others.
"Chen, are you confident?"
Zhao Canghe lowered his voice. Though Lin Chen had the upper hand in the recent exchange, he worried it might have been due to Zhou Fei underestimating his opponent.
"Yes." Lin Chen nodded.
Hearing Lin Chen's "yes," Zhao Canghe felt reassured.
Knowing Lin Chen, if he wasn't confident, he wouldn't have said so.
"Zhou Quan, you need to give our village an explanation for this incident."
Now with confidence, Zhao Canghe directly addressed an elder on the Liu Village side, the village chief Zhou Quan.
"Explain what? My grandson was just joking with you all. Everyone knows the fishing area dispute traditionally competes on which village fishes better. Why would my grandson actually participate?"
As Zhou Quan said this, his gaze flickered slightly. He hadn't planned to conclude things this way, but seeing Fei silent made him inexplicably uneasy.
Wasn't Lin Chen the one who joined the martial hall this year?
Fei had been in the martial hall for a year now, already at the fourth stage of the Opening Acupoints.
Could it be that Linhu Village was about to produce another martial arts prodigy?
"Fei, let's go!"
Zhou Fei gave Lin Chen a deep look. He had heard of Lin Chen, but before today, never took him seriously. One year of advantage was an eternal lead, plus the Lin Family was just ordinary fishermen in Linhu Village, while his grandfather was the head of Liu Village, able to spend much more on martial arts than Lin Chen.