Rise from a Low-class Family to Martial Artist

Sheng Han stormed off in anger, and the atmosphere in the Li Family’s front hall turned strange; yet just at this moment, the gatekeeper suddenly announced in a loud voice: ”Director Yue Zhiyuan of the Qingzhou Prefecture Military Affairs Department has come to pay his respects.”

Hearing the gatekeeper’s announcement, the guests in the front hall were all taken aback. Qingzhou Prefecture wasn’t part of Jiangnan Dao—what relationship could this Director of the Qingzhou Prefecture Military Affairs Department have with the Li Family?

However, the guests’ shock was far from over.

”Prefect Jiang Zheng of Jizhou Prefecture has come to pay his respects.”

”Prefect Zhang Liang of Anqing Prefecture has come to pay his respects.”

”Deputy Hall Chief Qiu Rufeng of the Jiannan Path Military Affairs Hall has come to pay his respects.”

...

The string of announcements left the guests in the front hall unable to stay seated.

”Th-this... these lords all seem to have once been Directors of our Jiangnan Dao Military Affairs Department.”

One of the guests suddenly recalled the identities of these lords: they were all former Directors of the Military Affairs Departments of the seven prefectures under Jiangnan Dao; it was just that they had since been promoted and transferred to other paths.

”That’s not right. When Elder Lord Li was serving as Director of the Military Affairs Department, these lords hadn’t held the post of Director yet, had they?”

The camaraderie of colleagues who had served together was clearly unlikely.

The guests present were still filled with doubt. When Elder Lord Li had been serving as Director, these Directors had probably only just begun practicing the Martial Path not long before; they’d had practically no dealings with one another.

In front of the mourning hall, Li An, who had likewise heard the gatekeeper’s loud announcements, was also full of confusion. After his father’s passing, he hadn’t informed these lords; his father had never mentioned having any ties with them either.

To make these lords travel thousands of li to come here—this was not something an ordinary friendship could accomplish.

Among those present, only Li Qi had a heart as clear as a mirror. Her grandfather had told her something while on his deathbed.

Back then, when Lin Chen and Li Zhe were competing for the title of exemplary trainee of Jiangnan Dao, her grandfather had gone to the Military Affairs Hall; while the Hall was convening a meeting of the Directors, he’d slapped the table right there on the spot to fight for Lin Chen to be named exemplary trainee.

This matter had also circulated outside as rumor, but because her grandfather had already retired from office at the time, and yet had gone to the Military Affairs Hall to slap the table in front of several Second Grade and Third Grade lords, the whole affair sounded too outrageous; many people took it as mere gossip and never believed it.

The outside world could afford not to believe it, but those Directors had been there in person; their coming today to pay their respects was precisely because of her grandfather’s relationship with Lin Chen.

As these several lords entered, the guests in the main hall exchanged glances, while the two deputies from Quzhou Prefecture and the Military Affairs Department could no longer remain seated. So many lords coming here clearly had to be for some special reason; they had to report this to their own superiors as quickly as possible.

...

Outside the Li Mansion gates, Sheng Han, who had only just walked out not long ago, also heard the gatekeeper’s loud announcements; his legs instantly went stiff.

Wh-what... what was going on?

And while he was standing there in a daze, he saw two figures walking toward the Li Mansion from the other end of the street.

A young man and a middle-aged man. Seeing the young man’s face, he felt a strange sense of familiarity in his heart, as if he had seen this face somewhere before, but at this moment he was so shaken and stunned that he couldn’t recall it for the time being.

Very soon, he noticed something odd about the Li Family’s gatekeeper.

He didn’t know what that middle-aged man had said, but the gatekeeper’s entire body was trembling; even separated by more than ten zhang, that trembling was plain to see.

The next moment, the gatekeeper’s stammering voice echoed through the entire street.

”Lin... Linhu Village’s Lin... Lin Chen has come to pay his respects.”

Smack!

Sheng Han’s knees gave way, and he fell to the ground on his backside just like that.

He remembered—he remembered why this face felt so familiar.

Back when Lin Chen began his streak of consecutive challenge victories on Martial Arts Mountain, Sheng Han had been in Hongdu Prefecture. By chance, at a distance of several dozen zhang, he had watched the scene of Lin Chen defeating his opponents on Martial Arts Mountain, projected on a light screen manifested from the Martial Arts Seal of a Martial Artist from the Flame Dynasty.

Th-the Li Family actually had a connection with this man as well... Some of those outrageous rumors circulating in the streets had actually turned out to be true.