Rise from a Low-class Family to Martial Artist-Chapter 167 - 43: Su Lingchuan: You Just Take Action, I Will Argue for You_3
Qu Jingcheng was momentarily taken aback. He naturally couldn’t accept it; the elders in his family were quite advanced in age, and if they were to hear news of his misfortune, they might fall seriously ill and never recover.
"This... this is not what Lian Yu said at all. Lin Chen’s parents are still young, and Lian Yu merely mentioned that Lin Chen was injured. Junior Brother Su, your comparison is not appropriate."
"Inappropriate?"
Su Lingchuan, with a serious expression, first saluted Qiu Rufeng before saying, "Lin Chen’s father is just an ordinary fisherman, and his mother a village woman. It is rare for a low-class family to produce a person of importance. For Lin Chen to have come this far, the Lin Family had to sell their pots and kettles to support him into the Martial Hall, bearing the expectations of the entire Lin Family on his shoulders."
"Lin Chen achieved first place in the Martial Hall, just before the Lunar New Year when he was set to enter the Martial Arts Hall, the villagers of Linhu Village spontaneously donated silver coins, some households giving half a string of copper coins, others a whole string..."
"Lin Chen once said to me a sentence that truly reflects his steadfast heart in pursuing the Martial Path. By practicing diligently, he sought to live up to the kindness of the villagers’ donations and the family’s hopes for him to learn martial arts."
"If false news were to return to Linhu Village, can you imagine the blow it would be to Lin Chen’s parents? The blow it would be to the entire village?"
"The hardships Lin Chen faced to reach this point cannot simply be summed up as a ’noble child from a low-class family.’ "
Su Lingchuan’s eyes gleamed as he slowly recited:
[I, from a poor family, entered the Martial Hall, and began studying martial arts.]
[All students ate meat heartily, but I had none.]
[Zhang Tao laughed at me, calling me stingy.]
[I laughed it off.]
[After five months, fearing lack of strength, I narrowly avoided elimination.]
[I bit the bullet and bought it, the deliciousness was matched only by an internal bitterness, indescribable to outsiders.]
"This paragraph, which Junior Brother recited, is a piece Lin Chen wrote half a year into his time at the Martial Hall, when he just barely passed his exam. A pound of beef... when our Senior Brothers began their martial arts training, you probably ate so much of it that you grew sick and tired of it, cringed at the thought of beef. But for Lin Chen, it was something he had to clench his teeth to afford, a precious commodity."
"Of the reports submitted to me from the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall and Mountain Suppressing Martial Arts Hall about Lin Chen’s performance at the Martial Hall, two lines stand out to me."
"Often, in the dead of night, the sounds of martial practice could still be heard coming from Lin Chen’s dormitory."
"While the Martial Arts Hall’s canteen offered precious beast blood and flesh, and Opening Acupoints Pills to students, Lin Chen never purchased them."
Su Lingchuan’s voice grew intense, and the other directors from the Martial Affairs Offices present were visibly moved.
The hardships faced by martial artists from low-class families in learning martial arts often seem light when spoken of, but Su Lingchuan’s words today offered a more concrete understanding.
Even Qiu Rufeng’s old eyes sparkled, as if he were contemplating something.
"Senior Brother Qu, permit me to ask, what gives Lian Yu the right to make such a jest?"
"This is not a joke. It’s disdain for a young martial artist who rose from poverty, the scorn of an aristocrat’s offspring for a low-class child!"
"In the narrow sense, Lin Chen, at a critical juncture, elevated the martial prestige of our Poyang County. Lian Yu’s actions are an insult to the entire martial arts community of Poyang County."
Zhang Wangshan, director of the Martial Affairs Office in Yanshan County, smirked slightly.
"In a broader sense, it is an insult to our Military Affairs Department’s martial arts education, a desecration of the Grand Ancestor Emperor’s principle of reviving the nation through martial arts!"
Qu Jingcheng’s mouth fell slightly open as he listened to Su Lingchuan recount Lin Chen’s story; his anger subsided, accepting the fact that he had received a slap from Lian Yu for no good reason, deciding to let the matter rest.
Still, Su Lingchuan pulled in references to the Military Affairs Department, even the Grand Ancestor Emperor; wasn’t he overstating it?
"Director, I request that Lian Yu be removed from the Martial Affairs Office, to uphold the rectitude of our department’s education, lest it chills the hearts of low-class students nationwide."
At these words from Su Lingchuan, Qu Jingcheng’s expression changed; Junior Brother Su may be making a mountain out of a molehill.
Lin Chen wasn’t at a loss here, the news hadn’t spread back, and anyway, it was Lian Yu who got hurt.
"Director, Lian Yu meant no true harm. I ask the director for clear discernment."
Now, Qu Jingcheng wasn’t planning to pursue blame on Lin Chen anymore; with Su Lingchuan’s arguments, it was already quite good to keep Lian Yu safe.
"Temporarily suspend all of Lian Yu’s Martial Arts Hall privileges. If he violates the Martial Affairs Department’s rules again, expel him to set a harsh example for others."
Qiu Rufeng spoke slowly, and his words left the other directors of the Martial Affairs Offices with a look of shock in their eyes. The punishment was indeed severe.
It seems the Director holds Lin Chen in very high regard.
Everyone present was shrewd enough to understand; if the Director did not value Lin Chen highly, just on Su Lingchuan’s words alone, this matter might have ended with a compromise on both sides.
"Both Lian Cheng and Lin Chen are to be confined for one day."
"The Director is wise."
Su Lingchuan readily agreed with a smile. A day of confinement is insignificant to a martial artist; at any rate, the bouts in Poyang County had concluded and wouldn’t impact Lin Chen.
"Everyone, disperse."
Qiu Rufeng waved a hand to signal everyone to leave. Soon, only the deputy director, Xu Luncai, remained in the hall.
"Luncai, I noticed you seemed to be pondering something earlier. Is there an issue with Lian Cheng?"
Qiu Rufeng asked. Xu Luncai was something of a disciple to him, and knowing Xu Luncai’s disposition, he would not have defended Lin Chen without reason, unless there was dissatisfaction with the Lian Family.
"Lian Cheng is highly likely to have bathed in the blood of a Grade-Entering Demon Beast," Xu Luncai replied.
"Grade-Entering Demon Beast blood?" Qiu Rufeng squinted his old eyes. "Where did the Lian Family get the blood of a Grade-Entering Demon Beast?"
Before Xu Luncai could respond, Qiu Rufeng continued, "I see; you suspect the Lian Family may have colluded with the Demon Race, which is why you hinted this to me."
"Sir, the Demon Beasts within our dynasty’s borders are now extremely scarce. During the decades-long demon-slaying period in Liang, most of the Demon Race of note were exterminated, and the few that survived were those adept at hiding. The Lian Family lacks the means to locate such Demon Beasts."
