This Martial Saint is Too Cautious

Chapter 94: Chapter 1: A Master’s Grace

’To have accepted him before would have shown a discerning eye, a sign of a fated bond between master and disciple. To mention it again now, after witnessing Lin Yan’s potential, would just be opportunistic.’

’In the end, we just weren’t fated to be master and disciple.’

"I’ll take the fall for you on this matter with Chen Hai, kid. But it definitely wasn’t the Chen Brothers’ idea to attack you. Someone must have been pulling the strings. As for who that is, I haven’t found out yet."

Zhang Xiuyuan had originally planned to go to the Chen Family in person, warn Chen Hai, and force him to reveal the person behind the scenes. But now that Chen Hai was dead, that lead was completely cold.

"Tomorrow, I will publicly announce my relationship with your master. I’ll also say that I was the one who killed Chen Hai. Even the person pulling the strings will have to be wary of me and won’t dare to touch you again."

The only people who could order the Chen Brothers around were the few prominent figures in the city. Now that he had made his stance clear, those figures wouldn’t choose to make an enemy of him, as long as they didn’t stand to lose too much themselves.

The Chen Brothers hadn’t been afraid of Lin Yan’s master because they were acting under the pretext of seizing the Tang Family’s territory.

Territorial disputes were fundamentally about the strong preying on the weak. Whoever had the most power took the prize.

Second, Brother Yang was not a Martial Artist from this county. Since Lin Yan was injured by the Chen Brothers over a territorial dispute, it would have been difficult for Brother Yang to intervene. If he had rashly involved himself, the other powerful families in the county wouldn’t have just sat back and watched.

The Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists of every county abided by an unwritten rule: they were not to meddle in the affairs of other counties, or else they would face the combined suppression of all the local Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists.

"Thank you, Senior Zhang."

Lin Yan was visibly moved. This Senior Zhang’s relationship with his master was so strong that he was even willing to take the fall for him.

However, Lin Yan hesitated for a moment. There was still the matter of the Qian father and son...

’From a purely selfish standpoint, it would be best not to say anything. The Qian father and son plotted against me in secret; even this Senior Zhang doesn’t know the Qian Family was the one who instigated the Chen Brothers.’

’With the strength I’ve shown publicly, no one would believe I could have killed the Qian father and son. On top of that, with Senior Zhang taking the fall for Chen Hai’s death, suspicion would be even less likely to fall on me.’

’But a person... shouldn’t be like that.’

’It’s one thing to be selfish, but you have to choose your moments—and your people.’

"Senior Zhang... I did something else tonight."

Lin Yan scratched his head. Zhang Xiuyuan laughed and said, "Whatever you did, I’ll handle it for you."

Zhang Xiuyuan was completely unconcerned. As a Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist in his prime, he had that kind of confidence.

"After I killed Chen Hai, I paid a visit to the Qian Mansion. I killed the Qian father and son, and several other Qian Family Martial Artists."

"The Qian Mansion, you say? Right, no—wait... which Qian Mansion are you talking about?"

Zhang Xiuyuan’s eyes widened. There were quite a few people with the surname Qian in Sanshan County, and even a few Martial Arts Clans. But seeing Lin Yan’s sheepish expression, the image of a certain old codger surfaced in his mind.

"It’s the one you’re thinking of, Senior Zhang."

Lin Yan looked a little embarrassed. Zhang Xiuyuan’s expression became peculiar—a mixture of shock, speechlessness, and scrutiny.

"How did you do it?"

Zhang Xiuyuan’s gaze was fixed on Lin Yan, sizing him up from head to toe.

He was already quite shocked that Lin Yan had been able to kill Chen Hai, but since he hadn’t seen the fight himself, he assumed Lin Yan must have succeeded with a sneak attack.

A sneak attack might have worked on Chen Hai, but it was absolutely out of the question against that old fox, Qian Zhengchu.

Even if Qian Zhengchu’s Qi Blood was in decline, he was still a Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist. His powerful Perception hadn’t faded. It would have been impossible for Lin Yan to get close without being discovered.

For Lin Yan to kill Qian Zhengchu, he must have possessed the strength to defeat him in a direct confrontation.

"Not long ago, I went into the mountains and was lucky enough to find the Treasure Medicine Purple Lingzhi. After consuming it, my Qi Blood increased significantly. On top of that, I also developed Fist Momentum. Qian Zhengchu underestimated me, and that’s how I found my chance."

"Foolish!"

Zhang Xiuyuan’s expression suddenly grew stern. "I may not be your master, but I am a very close friend of his. As your elder, I have the right to reprimand you. You’ve made two major mistakes."

"I am listening to your teachings, Senior Zhang."

"First: The most difficult part for a Martial Artist is not increasing their Qi Blood, but breaking through the bottleneck at each new stage. From the Single-Time of Skin Smoothing to the Fourth-Time, the required Martial Arts Resources for Qi Blood enhancement are not the issue. Even the clans of established Third-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists can afford them, to say nothing of a clan overseen by a Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist."

"So why is it that in any given county in Deng State Prefecture, the number of Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists can be counted on two hands? It’s because they get stopped by those bottlenecks. If you fail to break through once, the resources required for the next attempt will double. In order to save enough resources and silver coins for that, everyone is extremely careful with their spending beforehand."

"Any Treasure Medicine that can increase the chance of a successful breakthrough is an exceedingly precious item. For you to use one just to increase your Qi Blood is an outrageous waste!"

The more Zhang Xiuyuan thought about it, the angrier he became. What was the difference between this and eating Ginseng like a common carrot just to fill one’s stomach?

Now he was somewhat glad he hadn’t accepted Lin Yan as a disciple. Otherwise, he was afraid he might have died of sheer anger.

"Second, I learned of your family’s circumstances from your master’s letter. For you to reach the Third-Time of Skin Smoothing this quickly through Cultivation, I’m afraid you must have taken your fair share of risks."

Lin Yan didn’t deny it. There was no point.

"But you must remember, you are not some nameless nobody anymore. You are a Third-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist. In any county, people would address you with respect. At your age, the path ahead of you needs to be one of stability, not risk."

"At your age, what does it matter if your family background is ordinary? Your strength and talent are plain for all to see. If you were willing, there would certainly be families eager to sponsor you."

"Of ten Third-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists, often only one will successfully break through to the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing. Aside from the difficulty of the bottleneck, there is another reason: some Third-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists reach this stage and grow impatient. They become eager to reach the next level, start acting recklessly, and even resort to unorthodox methods, ultimately losing their lives."

"Even if you knew the Qian Family was the one pulling the Chen Brothers’ strings, you shouldn’t have rashly charged the Qian Mansion. If something had gone wrong, what would have become of your family? When someone from a Humble Family tries to climb too high, too fast, a single fall will only get them trampled to death by others."

Zhang Xiuyuan sighed. He had seen many talented Martial Artists from ordinary backgrounds who, by relying on their talent, had reached the Single-Time or Second-Time of Skin Smoothing. Their families had shared in their glory.

But that was only while those Martial Artists were still alive. The moment one of them met with an accident, their family would immediately face suppression, and their lives would become even worse than before.

Because that is human nature!

When someone who was once at the bottom of society rises up, the most jealous are those who remain at the bottom. And when that family’s pillar of support is gone, those people will turn their jealousy into action.

Lin Yan nodded, listening intently. He knew that Senior Zhang truly saw him as a junior and that his words came from the heart.

In Senior Zhang’s eyes, his decision to go to the Qian Mansion had been far too rash.

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Zhang. I will take it to heart."

Lin Yan bowed. Zhang Xiuyuan waved his hand. "Even if I hadn’t said all this, your master would have given you the same warning when you return to Guangping County."

"A master’s teaching is his grace, but a senior’s guidance is a sign of great kindness."

"Enough with the flattery."

Zhang Xiuyuan waved his hand dismissively and was about to say a few more things when, in the next moment, a voice came from outside the courtyard gate:

"You’re wrong about that, Brother Zhang. My disciple speaks from the heart. It’s not flattery."

Hearing the voice, both Lin Yan and Zhang Xiuyuan turned to look toward the courtyard gate.

"Master?"

"Brother Yang?"

The courtyard gate was pushed open, and beneath the moonlight, Yang Qingfeng strode in, dressed in flowing green robes.

"I have made you worry, Master."

After a moment of stunned silence, Lin Yan spoke, a warm feeling spreading through his chest.

’My master must have traveled through the night to get here. It must be because he received Senior Zhang’s letter and was worried something would happen to me in Sanshan County.’

"You are my disciple. If I don’t worry about you, who should I worry about?"

Yang Qingfeng smiled and waved his hand. After receiving Brother Zhang’s letter, he had indeed rushed to Sanshan County at the earliest opportunity.

He was afraid that Lin Yan, not understanding the wickedness of these Martial Arts Clans, would suffer a terrible loss in Sanshan County.

In terms of Martial Arts Resources, he already felt he had failed Lin Yan as a master. If he were to just stand by and watch his disciple be bullied, what right would he have to call himself a master?

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