After two quarters of an hour.
The Wu Administration Office's council hall.
Seven men and one woman sat on the chairs in the hall, exchanging glances with one another, their eyes filled with confusion.
The eight of them were deputy hall masters from the eight major martial halls, and they were all well acquainted with one another.
Why had Inspector Shu summoned them at this time?
"Everyone's here, yes?"
After a moment, Shu Suwan emerged from behind the screen and sat directly in the main seat. Gone was the gentleness she had shown in the courtyard earlier; her entire presence now radiated cold authority.
Sensing Shu Suwan's aura, the eight grew even more puzzled. Who had offended Inspector Shu this time?
Although the inspector's rank was lower than that of the director and deputy director, she controlled inspections and disciplinary affairs. One could say she was the person all major martial halls least wished to offend.
"I've called you all here because of one matter. This year, the first student from Kaohe Town's martial hall to cultivate vital energy—this inspector has heard that your martial halls are unwilling to give him a Kaiqiao Pill slot?"
The moment Shu Suwan finished speaking, four people looked puzzled, while the other four suddenly understood.
The puzzled four did not know who Lin Chen was. The four deputy hall masters who were informed had already been told by their instructors.
However, recruitment matters were not under Inspector Shu's jurisdiction, so what was her intention in bringing this up?
"Inspector Shu, Lin Chen did come to our Qingfeng Martial Hall, but our hall's slots are already full," the deputy hall master of Qingfeng Martial Hall said after a brief pause, offering an explanation.
"Our Mantis Martial Hall is the same."
…
The deputy hall masters of Mantis Martial Hall, Gale Martial Hall, and Yunyin Martial Hall stood up one after another to explain their situations. At this moment, the other four halls also recalled all the student materials issued by the Wu Administration Office and remembered who Lin Chen was.
Any martial hall student who cultivated vital energy within one year would be reported to the Wu Administration Office, which would then distribute the information to all major martial halls.
They had skimmed past the name Lin Chen before, but without much impression. Only now, hearing the four deputy hall masters mention him, did they vaguely recall that such a student existed.
It seemed he was first in some martial hall, but his family background was average.
Once the other four deputy hall masters recalled Lin Chen's profile, they understood perfectly why the four halls had refused him.
The first student from a martial hall to cultivate vital energy—if this were in previous years, even with an average family background, he would still be given a slot. After all, he represented first place in a town, and appearances still mattered.
But this year was different. Not only had the number of students cultivating vital energy within a year exceeded eighty, but the director had also set rules for martial hall competitions. It was no longer just the top ten that mattered, but the rankings up to the top fifty, which determined how many resources each martial hall would receive.
Before reaching official rank, a student's financial means largely represented their potential.
With Lin Chen's family background, he likely wouldn't even make the top eighty, let alone the top fifty. No martial hall wanted to waste a slot on him.
Shu Suwan was not surprised by the explanations from the various martial halls. She said calmly, "The materials submitted by Kaohe Town's martial hall state that Lin Chen cultivated vital energy after spending less than twenty taels. His talent in martial arts is not weak. To deny such a student a Kaiqiao Pill slot seems unreasonable."
The deputy hall master of Mantis Martial Hall hesitated for a moment, but ultimately spoke:
"Inspector Shu, how much silver Lin Chen actually spent to cultivate vital energy is something only he himself knows. If he secretly spent money in private, there's no way to verify it. The rules at the various town martial halls are inherently loose."
Once those words were spoken, the others present all showed expressions of agreement.
Martial halls had never cared how much money students spent to cultivate vital energy precisely because it was impossible to verify.
If martial halls required proof of how much silver a student spent cultivating vital energy before accepting them, it would give students an opportunity to cheat.
A student intent on cheating could openly spend little money at the martial hall, while secretly taking medicinal decoctions or eating poultry meat to supplement qi and blood. The martial hall could hardly send people to monitor the student whenever they went out.
"A few months ago, I proposed to Lord Su that we give silver incentives to martial hall students. Lord Su approved greatly and has already reported it to the Raozhou Prefecture's Wu Administration Department. As of today, among the information compiled here at the Wu Administration Office, only one person has received silver—and that is Lin Chen."
Shu Suwan spoke lightly, but the eight people present all fell into contemplation. They somewhat understood why Inspector Shu cared so much about Lin Chen.
Inspector Shu and Lord Su had both taken office not long ago. The policy of rewarding martial hall students was, to some extent, a reflection of their political achievements.
If Lin Chen, the only one who had received silver, did not obtain a Kaiqiao Pill, wouldn't both Inspector Shu and Lord Su lose face?
So that was where the problem lay.
The hall fell silent.
"In that case, Lin Chen does indeed deserve a Kaiqiao Pill slot. It's just that our martial hall's ten slots are already full."
"Our Mantis Martial Hall is full as well. This matter really is difficult."
The deputy hall masters of the major martial halls changed their tone, but the problem now was that all their slots had already been allocated. They couldn't very well go back on their word and make a student who had already received a slot give it up.
Such a thing had never happened in all these years.
"Junior Sister Kong, if I remember correctly, your hall should still have slots available."
A man turned his gaze toward the only female deputy hall master present.
"Our Jingshui Martial Hall only accepts female disciples. Even though we have extra slots, we can't give one to Lin Chen."
Kong Yinglei spread her hands. Jingshui Martial Hall had not accepted male disciples for more than ten years.
"Inspector Shu, fellow colleagues, I do have an idea."
The man who had questioned Kong Yinglei looked at everyone. After receiving Shu Suwan's permission, he said, "This year, the number of students who cultivated vital energy exceeded eighty, but there are only eight female disciples. That leaves two slots vacant. Junior Sister Kong, am I correct?"
"As of today, only eight female disciples have cultivated vital energy and registered at the martial halls," Kong Yinglei nodded.
"Then the matter becomes easy. Jingshui Martial Hall can give a Kaiqiao Pill slot to Lin Chen."
"Senior Brother Zhang, our Jingshui Martial Hall does not accept male disciples," Kong Yinglei frowned. Jingshui Martial Hall had not taken in male disciples for over a decade.
Zhang Songfan smiled faintly. "Lin Chen wouldn't count as a Jingshui Martial Hall disciple. He would only be nominally registered under Jingshui Martial Hall, as long as another martial hall actually accepts him."
Once Zhang Songfan said this, several of the instructors present began to ponder. They were considering the feasibility of this approach.
"Senior Brother Zhang, although the Wu Administration Department doesn't explicitly forbid this, it's implicitly understood that students who receive a Kaiqiao Pill belong to that martial hall. This kind of operation could be seen as trading Kaiqiao Pill slots. The Wu Administration Department…"
Halfway through her sentence, Kong Yinglei suddenly stopped.
She glanced at Inspector Shu, who was seated at the head, and immediately understood.
If this were done privately between martial halls, it would indeed carry the suspicion of secretly trading Kaiqiao Pill slots.
But if Inspector Shu approved it, then it would become a flexible measure taken for the benefit of martial arts students in Poyang County.
Even if the Wu Administration Department knew, they wouldn't say anything.
"As long as there is a martial hall willing to take Lin Chen, he can be temporarily registered under our Jingshui Martial Hall."
Kong Yinglei didn't waste words. Inspector Shu had summoned them all here, and now that a solution had been found, this favor naturally had to be given.
This matter wasn't without benefit to the martial hall either. After all, two extra slots were freed up. One would go to Lin Chen, and there would still be one slot remaining.
Since Inspector Shu allowed such an arrangement, that remaining slot could also be transferred in this manner. If other martial halls wanted it, they would need to offer benefits in exchange.
This was the advantage Inspector Shu was granting to Jingshui Martial Hall, and everyone understood it tacitly.
"Inspector Shu, earlier we didn't accept Lin Chen because our martial hall had no Kaiqiao Pill slots left. As for Lin Chen himself, our Mantis Martial Hall still thinks highly of him. Now that there's a solution, our hall is willing to accept Lin Chen."
"Although Lin Chen hasn't visited Seven Star Martial Hall, our Seven Star Martial Hall can accept him as well."
"What's Seven Star Martial Hall joining the excitement for? Can Lin Chen even afford secret medicines?"
"If Seven Star Martial Hall can't, then your Zhenyue Martial Hall can? If Lin Chen goes to Zhenyue Martial Hall and has no money to buy medicine for injuries, he'll probably get beaten to death."
"Lin Chen is more suited to our Ironblood Martial Hall. Don't forget, Lin Chen comes from Linhu Village. Back then, Lord Jiang came out of Linhu Village."
"So what if he came from Linhu Village? You Ironblood Martial Hall value Linhu Village students so much, yet after Lord Jiang, I haven't seen you recruit a single Linhu Village student."
…
…
The deputy hall masters of the seven martial halls immediately began arguing. Since Lin Chen wouldn't consume any of their Kaiqiao Pill slots, he suddenly became highly sought after.
If Lin Chen made a name for himself, the martial hall would gain a powerful student for free. If he didn't, there would be no loss to the martial hall.
Listening to the instructors' arguments, Shu Suwan understood perfectly why they were behaving this way.
First, they wanted to take advantage of the situation, since they wouldn't have to provide a Kaiqiao Pill anyway. Second, they were also giving her face, keeping the atmosphere from becoming too awkward.
"Inspector Shu, the first martial hall Lin Chen visited was Qingfeng Martial Hall. Presumably, he favors our hall as well. Moreover, his instructor at the martial hall, Yu Yongnian, also came from Qingfeng Martial Hall. Qingfeng Martial Hall is willing to accept Lin Chen. During the time he is registered under Jingshui Martial Hall, Qingfeng Martial Hall will cover his expenses at the martial hall."
After pondering for a moment, Qi He, the deputy hall master of Qingfeng Martial Hall, put forward his conditions.
He saw things clearly. When the other martial halls spoke, Inspector Shu's expression barely changed, indicating that these were not the halls she believed Lin Chen should go to.
Considering that Lin Chen's first stop had been Qingfeng Martial Hall, and that his instructor Yu Yongnian also came from Qingfeng Martial Hall, it was obvious that Inspector Shu also felt Qingfeng Martial Hall was the most suitable choice for Lin Chen.
In that case, if he didn't speak up now, wouldn't that be failing to give Inspector Shu face?
After Qi He spoke, a smile appeared on Shu Suwan's face. "Good. Then this matter will be handled jointly by Qingfeng Martial Hall and Jingshui Martial Hall to discuss the specific method of operation."
With that, Shu Suwan made the final decision. Qingfeng Martial Hall was indeed the most suitable place for Lin Chen. As for whether Lin Chen would feel awkward returning to Qingfeng Martial Hall after having been rejected earlier, that was not within her consideration.
Those who practice martial arts need not necessarily be broad-minded, but people who are narrow-minded and obsessed with trivial grudges are destined not to go far.