Third-Class Guard

With the help of the map page on the System Panel, Mo Tang easily led the Iron Fist Mercenary Squad to the Little Ironback Bear, then quickly left Cloud Peak Mountain.

He had originally remained on guard, wondering whether they might go back on their word and attack him after finding their target... But it turned out he had overthought it.

Mo Tang guessed that his identity had played a major role in this.

After all, mercenaries trying to make a living within Salt City would rather not clash with the Mo Clan unless they had no other choice.

Even if he seemed to be doing rather poorly in the Mo Clan...

After returning to his small courtyard, Mo Tang, whose entire body felt as if it were about to fall apart, was finally able to relax.

He flung himself straight onto the bed, but the excitement in his heart was unaffected by his exhaustion.

One trip into the mountains had not only raised his strength to the Sixth Stage of Dou Qi, but had also earned him six thousand Gold Coins...

That was so much money!

It was enough for him to buy quite a few Spirit Herbs and absorb their Energy Points.

It was as though he could already see a bright future beckoning to him. Mo Tang was so excited that he could not fall asleep...

He muddled through the night, and early the next morning, Mo Tang could no longer stay in bed. He got up and rushed to Commercial Street to buy Spirit Herbs.

Now that he had money, he planned to see whether he could buy some rare Spirit Medicines with more Energy Points.

Unfortunately, after comparing several options, he could still only buy Dark Wind Grass, because it offered the best value...

He spent 4,800 Gold Coins to buy twelve stalks of Dark Wind Grass. Under the shop assistant's strange gaze, Mo Tang swept Huang He's shop clean of every stalk of Dark Wind Grass.

Although this stuff could speed up the body's accumulation of Dou Qi, the effect was not very good. Moreover, a single stalk of Dark Wind Grass could last for at least half a month when used in a medicinal bath.

So few people would buy so much Dark Wind Grass at once... It was not like they ate the stuff!

Mo Tang had no time to care what a shop assistant might think. Once he had the herbs he needed, he hurried home.

The twelve stalks of Dark Wind Grass directly provided Mo Tang with 48 Energy Points.

His panel attributes were now:

Name: Mo Tang
Level: Sixth Stage of Dou Qi ↑

Cultivation Method: None Dou Skill: Triple Blade Qi (Grand Completion) ↑

Available Energy Points: 51 (Low-grade)

Fifty-one Energy Points were enough to raise his strength dramatically once more.

"14 Low-grade Energy Points are required to advance to the Seventh Stage of Dou Qi. Advance?"

"Yes/No"

"Yes!"

"16 Low-grade Energy Points are required to advance to the Eighth Stage of Dou Qi. Advance?"

"Yes/No"

"Yes!"

"18 Low-grade Energy Points are required to advance to the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi. Advance?"

Name: Mo Tang
Level: Ninth Stage of Dou Qi ↑

Cultivation Method: None Dou Skill: Triple Blade Qi (Grand Completion) ↑

Available Energy Points: 3 (Low-grade)

In just a few days, Mo Tang had gone from the utterly worthless Dou Disciple 3rd stage to a minor genius at the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi.

If advancing from the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi to Dou Zhe had not required so many Energy Points, he would have spent every last bit of his savings to raise his cultivation to Dou Zhe.

Only by truly reaching the level of Dou Zhe could he gain a foothold in the Mo Clan...

Even if it was only as a guard!

The reason he had crossed so many levels so easily this time could only be attributed to luck.

If he had not encountered the Jade Wind Ganoderma, whose energy rivaled that of a second-grade Spirit Medicine, he could not have reached the Sixth Stage of Dou Qi so quickly.

Without the Sixth Stage of Dou Qi, he would not have had the courage to pick a fight with a bear-type Demonic Beast, nor would he have been able to earn his first pot of gold from the Iron Fist Mercenary Squad.

It had all been luck, but he could not expect his luck to be this good every day.

Therefore, in many cases, a stable source of income was extremely important in any world!

After buying the Dark Wind Grass, Mo Tang still had around 1,200 Gold Coins left for emergencies. He also wanted to improve his current living conditions.

For example, he was currently heading to the Slave Merchants Guild in the city to buy one or two female slaves...

Of course, do not get the wrong idea.

Mo Tang merely intended to buy a cook and a maid who could help tidy his rooms. He had no other intentions.

Although the Slave Merchants Guild had many special female slaves who had been trained to be gentle and pleasing, and who could entertain their masters... Their prices were simply too high!

They were not something Mo Tang could afford right now...

So in the end, he only spent a little over a hundred Gold Coins to buy a cook in her thirties and a young maid who was quick with her hands and pleasant enough to look at.

After taking the two women home, Mo Tang made another trip to the butcher's shop and hauled back the meat from the wild boar and Green Wolf that he had left with them for processing. As for the valuable fur, fangs, and other materials, he sold them directly to the butchers.

No matter how small the mosquito, it was still meat...

Mo Tang was still not at the point where he could ignore such small sums.

And so, another month passed.

Although Mo Tang made quite a few more trips to Cloud Peak Mountain, he gained very little, collecting only 15 Energy Points...

Name: Mo Tang
Level: Ninth Stage of Dou Qi ↑

Cultivation Method: None Dou Skill: Triple Blade Qi (Grand Completion) ↑

Available Energy Points: 18 (Low-grade)

Mo Tang had originally considered cultivating another Dou Skill...

But then he thought about how, with his current cultivation, a Yellow Rank High Dou Skill was already sufficient for him. Even if he cultivated more, it would only waste Energy Points, so he abandoned the idea.

He was already at the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi. In the future, he would not only need to advance to Dou Zhe, but also set aside some Energy Points to improve his cultivation method. His Energy Points would become even more insufficient, so for now, he needed to stop thinking about anything else and prepare for his next advancement.

And during this month, the thing Mo Tang had been waiting for finally arrived...

In three days, the Mo Clan would hold its annual recruitment for guards.

This opportunity was available only to the Mo Clan's outer branch members, and only those at or above the Seventh Stage of Dou Qi could participate.

As for age, there were no restrictions.

As long as one was a member of the Mo Clan and met the strength requirement, then so long as one was not too old to crawl, one had a chance to become a family guard.

Mo Clan Guards were divided into three ranks. Everyone below Dou Zhe could only become the lowest-ranked Third-Class Guards, responsible solely for guarding Mo Clan Markets in the various small and medium-sized cities under Salt City's jurisdiction.

Those who had reached Dou Zhe but were below Five-Star Dou Practitioner could become Second-Class Guards, usually responsible for escorting Trade Caravans along the various trade routes.

Those above Five-Star Dou Practitioner but below Dou Shi could become First-Class Guards. They were usually only responsible for guarding the Mo Family Fortress, making the job exceptionally safe while also offering the best benefits...

As for the Mo Clan Inner Guards, where the Original Body's Father had previously served, they required not only strength but absolute loyalty. Thus, they were extremely rare even within the entire Mo Clan.

With Mo Tang's current strength at the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi, he could only become the lowest-ranked family guard. He would receive 50 Gold Coins per month, along with one unranked healing medicine, Blood Stopping Powder, for treating injuries, and one Bone Strengthening Vine to assist his cultivation.