chsdbacks Chapter 88 Final Opponent! Murong Chong
Chapter 88 Final Opponent! Murong Chong
The Second Prince's Mansion.
Li Zhengming sat in his study, with a list of martial arts matchups sent by the Ministry of War spread out in front of him.
He picked up a pen, wrote his name in the finals section, and then crossed it out.
Write it again, then cross it out again.
Zhou Moushi stood to the side, watching his pen tip poke around on the paper, and just stood there without saying a word.
"Tell me, is Lin Yan's injury real or fake?"
Li Zhengming suddenly spoke up and asked.
"Whether the injury is real or fake doesn't matter."
Zhou, the strategist, said, "The important thing is that he can't fight anymore. In ten days, his bones won't heal, and his tendons won't heal either. When Lin Yan goes on the field, he'll only have 30% of his strength at most."
Li Zhengming put down his pen and leaned back in his chair.
"Can Lin Yan, at only 30% of his strength, defeat his opponent in the finals?"
"We can't win."
Strategist Zhou said, "Regardless of who the opponent in the final is, they will all be at the second-grade level. A True Qi Realm cultivator at 30% strength will not last more than ten moves against any second-grade Realm cultivator at full strength."
Li Zhengming nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Then let him go. Let him lose in the finals, lose to everyone. A commoner is a commoner. Even if he achieves some merit and gets an official position, he's still just a lowly commoner. He only won a few matches by luck. Does he really think he can turn the world upside down?"
Zhou Moushi didn't speak to Li Zhengming because he was thinking about something else.
After Zhao Wenhan fell from power, he took over Shen San's position and had only been by the Second Prince's side for half a month. During this half month, he had been observing Lin Yan.
From Zhenbeiguan to the capital, from Heifengling to the Golden Palace, every step this man took was on the edge of a cliff, yet he never fell.
Is it just good luck?
He didn't think so.
On the contrary, he felt that Lin Yan seemed to have planned every step of the competition perfectly.
Can someone who is good at calculations lose in the finals?
Zhou Moushi did not voice this question.
The next day, Steward Feng came again.
This time, he went into the courtyard and the house, and saw Lin Yan's injuries with his own eyes.
Lin Yan lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), his left shoulder wrapped in thick bandages, his chest also wrapped in bandages, his face pale, and his lips bloodless.
Old Meng was changing his dressing when Manager Feng saw the purplish-blue bruises as the bandages were removed, which spread from his collarbone down to his ribs, turning his entire chest black.
Manager Feng frowned slightly.
He wasn't a doctor, but he had served in the Eastern Palace's secret guards for over a decade and had seen more injuries than Old Meng had seen patients. This level of bruising indicated a truly serious injury.
"General Lin, His Highness sent me to see you." Steward Feng stood by the kang (a heated brick bed), his tone much more respectful than usual.
Lin Yan opened her eyes, glanced at him, and said in a very soft voice, as if squeezed out from her throat, "Thank Your Highness for me."
"His Highness said the finals have been postponed for ten days. Please take good care of your injury."
Lin Yan nodded and then closed his eyes again.
After standing there for a while, Manager Feng turned and left.
After he left, Lin Yan sat up from the kang (a heated brick bed).
Old Meng was packing his medicine kit when he saw him sit up. He paused for a moment, but didn't say anything.
Lin Yan removed the bandage from her left shoulder, revealing the wound underneath.
The wound had scabbed over, and the surrounding redness and swelling had subsided considerably. He removed the bandage from his chest; the purplish-blue bruise was still there, but the color was lighter than yesterday, having changed from dark purple to deep blue.
He closed his eyes and began to observe the aura.
There is still a small amount of blood clots in the chest cavity, distributed in the intercostal spaces and along the edges of the lung lobes. The two dislocations of the broken bones have been reset, and there is a thin layer of callus at the fracture site. All of this has been healing on its own over the past few days.
The self-healing speed brought about by [Basic Body Tempering] was much faster than he had expected.
At this rate, in ten days, the broken bone will be at least 70-80% healed, the wound on the left shoulder will be completely healed, the tendons will be almost fully recovered, and more than 90% of the bruising will dissipate.
By then, his strength will probably have recovered to about 70-80%.
He didn't know if he could beat his opponent in the final, but he knew one thing: he couldn't let anyone know that he had recovered so quickly.
The crown prince cannot know.
The second prince must not know.
No one can know.
Lin Yan rewrapped the bandage, making it two layers thicker than the one Lao Meng had wrapped, making it look even more serious.
Then he lay down and continued pretending.
For the next ten days, Lin Yan locked herself in her room and hardly ever went out.
Every morning, Lao Meng would come to change his dressing and bring him news from outside.
"Manager Feng came again yesterday. He stood at the gate for a while but didn't come in."
"The Ministry of War has decided on their opponent for the finals: Murong Chong, the commander of the Valiant Cavalry. He is at the mid-stage of the Transformation Realm."
"The Second Prince's men spread rumors in the teahouse that you will definitely lose the final."
Lin Yan didn't react much after hearing this.
He just practiced his skills quietly.
My proficiency in [Observing Qi] increased rapidly during the ten days of healing.
Each time Lin Yan used his true energy to clear away the blood stasis, his proficiency in observing qi would increase.
By the ninth day, Lin Yan's proficiency in Qi Observation had exceeded half. With a little more effort, he would be able to successfully advance to the next level.
The little girl has no internal energy, but her blood and qi are much stronger than those of children her age.
Since arriving in the capital, the little girl has been eating much better. In addition, she has been learning the breathing method of [Basic Body Strengthening] for several months. Although she hasn't mastered it, it has had some effect.
That evening, Mrs. Chen brought in a bowl of chicken soup.
The chicken soup was made from an old hen, simmered for a whole afternoon until it was thick and white, with a layer of golden oil floating on top.
Lin Yan took the bowl, drank a sip, and then asked Chen Shi:
"Mother, Xiu'er has been learning to write recently. How many characters does she recognize?"
"More than three hundred."
Sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), watching him drink soup, Chen said with satisfaction, "The teacher said she is the fastest learner in the school, knowing more characters than those who have studied for two or three years."
Lin Yan smiled.
"When she gets older, I will hire a famous tutor to teach her to read."
Chen looked at him, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself.
"What does Mother want to say?"
"Yan'er, Mother knows you've been worried about that girl surnamed Ye..." Madam Chen paused, "Do you still have any news about her?"
Lin Yan paused for a moment while holding the bowl.
"no."
"Mother heard from Xiong Kuo that Miss Ye went to Taiqing Palace, but Mother has been asking around the neighborhood these past few days and still hasn't been able to find out where Taiqing Palace is."
"I don't know either, but someone will eventually find out."
For example... General Zhenbei, Jiang Bufan.
……
tenth day.
The day before the final.
Steward Feng arrived early in the morning, this time bringing a message from the Crown Prince.
"His Highness said that you should just do your best in tomorrow's final. It would be best if you won, but it doesn't matter if you lose. His Highness is very satisfied with your performance and has already prepared the Transformation Realm cultivation technique. He will send it to you regardless of whether you win or lose."
Lin Yan lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), looking at the roof beams.
"Please thank Your Highness for me."
After Manager Feng left, Lin Yan sat up.
He moved his left arm and found that the pain was gone. The wound on his shoulder blade had completely healed, and the tendons had returned to normal.
The broken bone in my chest has grown to about 80% and no longer affects my ability to exert force.
Ninety-five percent of the blood stasis had dissipated, and the remaining little bit was distributed deep between the ribs, which posed no problem for Lin Yan.