Su Chen had originally planned to visit the medicine shop that morning to ask about the medicine, but when he got up early, he heard Li Mo knocking at his door.
"Master has something to discuss with us," Li Mo explained.
After asking, Su Chen learned that Hong Ming had summoned his disciples for an important matter that day.
Li Mo had already informed everyone else the day before, and had come to find Su Chen especially early that morning.
"Did Master say what it was about?"
After washing up, Su Chen left home with Li Mo. They grabbed breakfast on the way and then headed to the Martial Hall together.
"No, but it must be pretty serious." Li Mo shook his head.
Since joining the Martial Hall, he had almost never seen a situation like this, so he could tell that Hong Ming was deeply concerned.
Hearing this, Su Chen fell silent and didn't ask anything further.
"By the way, Junior Brother Su, did you hear? Guo Family Martial Hall has stopped accepting disciples."
Suddenly, Li Mo seemed to remember something and brought it up.
"Stopped accepting disciples?" Su Chen asked, taken aback.
Li Mo nodded. "Yeah. I heard they got taught a lesson by an expert. Yesterday, Guo Zhong, the master of Guo Family Martial Hall, was injured by a mysterious person and lost a hundred taels. After that, they stopped accepting disciples."
He paused, a smile on his face, and continued, "I wonder who they offended. They only just opened their Martial Hall, and now they've shut it down."
Looking at Li Mo's smile, Su Chen grinned. "Maybe Heaven has finally opened its eyes."
"Haha, could be!" Li Mo laughed along with him.
They walked and chatted, making their way through the streets until they soon arrived at the Martial Hall.
It wasn't particularly early. Qin Hao and Fang Rou had arrived a little before them. When they saw each other, both sides exchanged greetings.
After a while, Zhou Tao and the others arrived one after another.
Once everyone had gathered, Hong Ming gave a light cough. "I called you all here to announce two things."
The disciples rarely saw Hong Ming this serious. They straightened up and looked at him attentively.
Hong Ming continued, "You've probably heard the news. Yellow Stone City has recently been plagued by rebels, and many nearby cities have been affected. White Stone City is no exception."
Everyone nodded repeatedly. Zhou Tong and Fang Rou in particular had heard more about it, and their expressions grew even more solemn.
"White Stone City may be in considerable turmoil from now on. Though you're all martial artists, remember not to act rashly..."
Hong Ming said a great deal. In essence, he was warning them to be careful and avoid getting into trouble.
"Zhou Tao and Fang Rou, you have powerful backing, so as long as you watch what you say and do, you should be fine. But the three of you..."
At this, Hong Ming paused and looked at the three of them. "Li Mo is mild-tempered, so I'm not worried about him. Qin Hao's family is in business and has good connections, so he shouldn't have too much trouble either. But Su Chen... if you truly have no other option, you can move into the Martial Hall."
Su Chen, whose name had been called, nodded. "Thank you, Master. I'll keep that in mind."
"Mm." Hong Ming didn't press Su Chen about his polite refusal. Instead, he reminded Li Mo, "Later, tell Xiao Chen about the various forces in the city."
"Yes!"
Everyone watched as Hong Ming gave Li Mo those instructions. Their expressions varied, and they all noticed how much he valued Su Chen, but no one said anything.
Then Hong Ming announced the second matter. "The other thing concerns Qi Blood Powder. Starting today, each of you may only receive one portion of Qi Blood Powder per month."
At this, everyone except Zhou Tao and Fang Rou showed a slight change in expression.
Hong Ming took in their reactions, then turned his gaze to Su Chen and Qin Hao.
The others didn't really need much Qi Blood Powder.
Even Li Mo didn't actually need it much. Although Qi Blood Powder could boost one's blood and qi, its effects had their limits.
Li Mo had been at the Martial Hall for nearly two years, and his blood and qi had already reached their limit. Continuing to take Qi Blood Powder would do little more than maintain his current level.
Other medicinal ingredients could maintain it too; they were simply more expensive.
And with Zhou Tao and the others' means, they weren't short of medicine to maintain their blood and qi.
What they lacked was talent. Otherwise, with the time they'd spent practicing martial arts, they would have mastered Iron Wire Fist long ago.
For them, Qi Blood Powder was more or less dispensable.
Su Chen and Qin Hao were the exceptions. Su Chen had extraordinary talent, while Qin Hao was still young. If they continued taking Qi Blood Powder, it would certainly speed up their cultivation.
More than anything, Hong Ming hoped to find an outstanding disciple and raise him into someone great.
Both Su Chen and Qin Hao had that potential. Among all the disciples he had taken in, their talents were among the very best.
But there was no other way. If the ingredients needed to prepare Qi Blood Powder weren't in short supply, he would never have given up on helping the two of them improve.
What no one knew was that the Qi Blood Powder supplied over the past few times had all come from stockpiles.
Now, however, those stockpiles were nearly depleted, while the medicinal ingredients remained scarce.
He had made this decision only because he had no other choice.
If they managed to find the necessary ingredients later, they could resume supplying it. If not, they might not be able to provide Qi Blood Powder to everyone a month from now.
At that point, he planned to prioritize Su Chen and Qin Hao. The others would have to go without.
"All right, that's all for now."
Seeing that no one spoke, Hong Ming seemed somewhat tired. He waved his hand, signaling that they could leave.
"Yes, Master!"
Everyone nodded and headed toward the outer courtyard.
"Senior Brother Zhou, are you free tonight?" Qin Hao caught up with Zhou Tao and the others, smiling as he asked.
Zhou Tao paused, then smiled. "Of course."
"Then, Drunken Immortal Restaurant?"
"Haha, let's go!"
The group left together, chatting and laughing.
Elsewhere.
Fang Rou said goodbye to Su Chen. "Junior Brother Su, if you run into any trouble, you can come to me."
Su Chen was taken aback, then smiled and replied, "Thank you, then."
Fang Rou nodded and left.
Li Mo had been watching from the side. Once Fang Rou was gone, he grinned. Su Chen turned to look at him, and Li Mo immediately straightened his expression.
"Senior Brother Li Mo, what did Master mean just now?" Su Chen asked.
"He meant I should tell you about the various forces in White Stone City, so you don't accidentally offend them," Li Mo explained.
That piqued Su Chen's interest. He looked at Li Mo, who smiled and said, "You know, our Hong Family Martial Hall may not be one of the top forces, but it's no pushover either.
"There are three major Martial Halls in White Stone City: the Hong, Huang, and Jiang families. Their strengths are more or less equal, putting them in the second tier.
"As for the first tier, those are the forces with Practice Force Warriors. There are three great families and three great gangs.
"The Three Great Families are the Lin, Ning, and Han Families. The Three Great Gangs are White Jade Gang, Broken Saber Sect, and Long River Gang. There used to be only two great gangs; Long River Gang joined later.
"Oh, right, there's also Guo Family Martial Hall. It's in the first tier, too. Although Guo Zhong is injured now, they're still not to be trifled with. If you run into them, don't get into a conflict with them.
"What Master wanted me to tell you was to avoid provoking them as much as possible."
After committing it all to memory, Su Chen said, "Mm, I understand."
After chatting for a while, Su Chen said goodbye to Li Mo and turned toward the medicine shop.
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