Building a Faction, Lingyan Pavilion

In the end, Chen Mo chose Body Like a Swimming Dragon for his movement Dou Technique, and Extreme Flame Art for his offensive Dou Technique. It was a spear technique, perfect for use with the Underworld God's Spear.

After bidding farewell to Liu Zilong and his sister, Chen Mo headed straight back to the palace where he was staying.

But as soon as he arrived before the palace, he saw Elder Gu He, Yun Yun, and Nalan Yanran waiting for him.

"Testing for the wood attribute?"

"Yes. Becoming an alchemist requires several conditions. First, one's natural attribute must be fire. Second, it must contain a trace of wood qi. And lastly, one must possess strong Soul Power." Gu He said, "You already meet two of those conditions. If you also possess a trace of wood qi, I am completely confident that I can make you an alchemist."

Chen Mo knew that, but he did not have the wood attribute.

The Wood Origin Pill he had obtained from the lottery had shown no effect even after he consumed it.

Chen Mo was greatly disappointed.

Still, he did not lose heart. If all else failed, once he had enough Fortune Points, he could just Plunder it from someone.

However, with all three of them staring at him, Chen Mo could hardly refuse. He could only say calmly, "Let's give it a try."

Yun Yun did not hold much hope, because she knew Chen Mo's body quite thoroughly and had never detected any wood attribute in him.

Of course, there was also a very slight possibility that she had simply failed to notice it.

Nalan Yanran, on the other hand, stared intently at Chen Mo with her beautiful eyes, a gleam flickering within them.

Dual thunder and fire attributes, exceptional combat talent—if he also had the wood attribute and could become an alchemist, Chen Mo's future achievements would become unimaginable.

Gu He held Chen Mo's hand and injected a wisp of his Soul Power into him, beginning the examination.

As time passed, Gu He frowned. He truly could not detect any wood attribute.

Perhaps his expectations for Chen Mo had been too high.

Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, Gu He's eyes suddenly lit up. An exceedingly faint trace of wood qi slowly rose from Chen Mo's Qi Cyclone.

Yun Yun was startled at the sight and hurriedly asked, "He really has it?"

Gu He nodded. "It isn't strong. On the contrary, it is especially weak."

"Then can Junior Brother become an alchemist?" Nalan Yanran was even more anxious than Chen Mo as she asked.

Gu He gave Nalan Yanran an odd look, then smiled knowingly. "Though it is faint, as long as it exists, I have plenty of ways to make him an alchemist."

Gu He was extremely confident in this regard.

"Then I'll have to trouble Elder Gu He." Yun Yun understood what Gu He meant. He had clearly taken a liking to Chen Mo's talent and wanted to accept him as a disciple. Yun Yun was quite open-minded about that; no one had ever said a person could only have one teacher in their lifetime.

Chen Mo refused. At a time like this, he had to stand firm, but he could not reject him too directly. He needed to gain Yun Yun's favor while also becoming an alchemist.

"Thank you for your kind intentions, Elder Gu He. Since I have already taken the Sect Master as my master, I will not switch to another."

Gu He's expression changed, but he immediately burst into laughter. "Who said anything about making you switch masters? I want you to take me as your master, but I never said you had to sever your master-disciple relationship with the Sect Master."

Gu He thought Chen Mo had misunderstood.

Yun Yun was rather gratified. My effort in saving you over those two nights was not wasted.

Gu He's words were exactly what Chen Mo wanted.

Chen Mo did not agree too quickly, or his act would have been exposed. Instead, he hesitantly glanced at Yun Yun. Only after receiving her nod did he bow and say, "This disciple greets Master."

"No need for formalities, no need for formalities." Gu He was delighted to receive such an extraordinarily gifted disciple. He immediately took out a pile of bottles and jars from his Storage Ring and handed them to Chen Mo.

"These are your gifts from your master. Hurry and accept them."

If he was acting, he had to see it through. Chen Mo did not accept them right away, instead declining a few times before reluctantly putting them away in his Storage Ring.

Seeing that his newly accepted disciple was not only extraordinarily talented but also so well-mannered, Gu He simply waved his hand. "Besides the Fifth-Grade Pill you earned for taking first place in the competition, I will personally refine an additional Fifth-Grade Pill for you."

Both Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran were startled. He had offered two Fifth-Grade Pills just like that. Even Nalan Yanran, who had grown up surrounded by resources, could not help feeling envious.

Chen Mo swallowed excitedly. As expected of a sixth-grade alchemist—he was truly generous. Then he said, "Thank you, Master."

"Since I am your master, there is no need to keep saying thanks in the future." Gu He asked, "Have you decided which two Fifth-Grade Pills you want?"

"Dragon Strength Pill and Blood Lotus Pill."

Chen Mo had chosen the Dragon Strength Pill long ago. It could grant its user tremendous strength for a short period. That strength had nothing to do with Dou Qi amplification; it was an exceedingly pure enhancement of physical power.

As for the additional Blood Lotus Pill, it could protect the body from harm caused by flames. Chen Mo chose it as a precaution in case he obtained Heavenly Flames in the future but could not refine them.

Gu He nodded. "Starting tomorrow, come find me at the Alchemy Room every day at the hour of the dragon. I will teach you alchemy."

After saying that, he nodded to Yun Yun and left.

Once Gu He had departed, Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran both looked at Chen Mo in shock. Then they spoke in unison, "You really are a monster."

Time passed swiftly.

In the blink of an eye, three days went by.

Every day, aside from using questions about Dou Techniques as an excuse to cultivate his relationship with Yun Yun, Chen Mo traveled back and forth between the palace, the Alchemy Room, and the Back Mountain.

During that time, a faction called Lingyan Pavilion was established within the Misty Cloud Sect.

Its Pavilion Master was Chen Mo.

On its very first day, its members already included Nalan Yanran, Yun Hai, Liu Zilong, Liu Xuanyue, Yun Ya, and over fifty nameless extras.

Thanks to Chen Mo's reputation and his newly acquired status as Pill King Gu He's disciple, new disciples joined every day.

In just three days, Lingyan Pavilion's numbers had reached one hundred and ten.

Inside the palace, Chen Mo looked at the red dot on the system map, which was even smaller than a sesame seed. In the outside world, it only covered about a third of Misty Cloud Sect's plaza.

Within this area, he was invincible. (Within Misty Cloud Sect, that was the extent of the area.)

As for how to expand this range, it was related to Lingyan Pavilion's number of members, their cultivation, and their sense of belonging.

The first two were easy enough to understand.

Sense of belonging referred to the members' loyalty to Lingyan Pavilion.

For example, if someone joined Lingyan Pavilion today but wanted to leave tomorrow, then their sense of belonging was clearly lacking.

But how could one increase their sense of belonging?

Anyone who did not offer money was just playing hooligan.

Chen Mo checked their sense of belonging. Aside from Nalan Yanran and Yun Hai, whose values had surpassed fifty, everyone else's was below thirty.

Jia Ma Empire.

Qingshan Town.

"It is said that after Son of Thunder and Lightning Chen Mo defeated Heaven's Proud Daughter Nalan Yanran on Misty Cloud Sect's plaza that day, the Misty Cloud Sect's Founding Ancestor appeared to him in a dream. This allowed Chen Mo to awaken his wood attribute the day after tomorrow, and the next day, he was accepted by Pill King Gu He as a Direct Disciple and taught alchemy."

Inside a certain tavern, an elderly storyteller clacked his wooden beaters together and vividly recounted Chen Mo's exploits.

"Keep making things up, go on. A person's soul can only ever possess one attribute. That Chen Mo of yours has three attributes—why not make it even more outrageous?"

"Exactly. A Two-star Dou Master defeating a Seven-star Dou Master? That bragging has gone straight to the heavens. Everyone here, who has ever seen someone cross that many levels and still win?"

Most of the people in the tavern listened with great interest, but that did not mean they believed it. Stories always had to be exaggerated a little, after all.

A smaller group directly called him out instead. His boasting did not even follow common sense—who would believe it?

"This old man is not talking nonsense. The grandson of a friend of this old man's friend is a registered disciple of Misty Cloud Sect. He saw it with his own eyes."

The old man slapped his wooden beaters onto the table and said, "All right, that concludes today's story. These are fanfiction books that the bookstore just delivered. The price is only..."

"I'll take one."

"I'll take one too."

"I'll take two."