The Four Great Families

During alchemy class, Chen Rong took out several spirit herbs.

"I believe some of you had already studied the principles of medicine before this, right?"

Only six people remained in Chen Rong's alchemy class, three of whom had joined midway. In other words, six of the original nine had already given up.

At Chen Rong's words, two of the six nodded. Li Mo was one of them.

Chen Rong smiled. "However, the alchemy practiced by us cultivators and the medicine practiced by ordinary physicians belong to entirely different systems. From now on, you must never confuse the two."

The two looked a little awkward and nodded.

The material in Chen Rong's alchemy class had gradually grown more advanced.

"The principles of medicine practiced by ordinary physicians lie in balancing yin and yang. They believe that each person is a world unto himself, and that every illness and malady is caused by an imbalance between yin and yang. They then use decoctions to restore that balance, allowing the body to recover little by little and heal itself."

As she spoke, she took out various medical texts and read aloud their theories and prescriptions. Much of the material was familiar to Li Mo.

Li Mo listened intently.

All the prescriptions in those medical texts shared one characteristic: various herbs were boiled in water.

Chen Rong placed particular emphasis on the difference between ordinary herbs and spirit herbs.

"By contrast, the alchemy pursued by us cultivators uses various external forces to forcibly replenish deficiencies or help us reach a higher realm. Ultimately, we seek an ideal state in which we live as long as the heavens—or even become immortal and indestructible."

Chen Rong taught with great seriousness and patience.

"That's why we seek spirit herbs with potent medicinal properties, or even the legendary immortal roots that have already gone extinct. The older they are, the better. We must draw out the spiritual power of each spirit herb to the greatest possible extent. Thus, no matter what kind of spirit pill it is, it must ultimately take the perfect shape of a solid sphere. It takes effect immediately after being consumed, but if its medicinal power is too strong, it could also cause the body to explode..."

As Chen Rong explained things at length, Li Mo gradually understood the difference between alchemy and medicine.

Medicine was meant to treat the sick and save lives, but its ultimate purpose was to follow the natural order and help people live out their allotted years.

Alchemy, on the other hand, was meant to defy fate. Whatever its purpose, an alchemical pill would inevitably alter some aspect of the body permanently.

That was precisely why.

The herbs used by physicians and the spirit herbs used by cultivators for alchemy belonged to two entirely different systems. The century-old Blood Red Flower he had picked back then was practically worthless in a cultivator's eyes.

Still, the two fields had many areas where they could complement each other.

For instance, wound powder and Blood Replenishing Pills.

Both treated external injuries, but their fundamental medicinal principles differed. Wound powder stopped the bleeding and helped the wound heal, while Blood Replenishing Pills produced blood and sustained life. Together, they could complement each other.

The same was true of some detoxifying medicines and detoxification pills.

Medicine worked by neutralizing and expelling poison, while pills repaired the areas damaged by it. The two could complement each other as well.

Li Mo nodded repeatedly, gaining a great deal from the lesson.

According to Chen Rong, the theoretical knowledge behind alchemy was more complicated than that of medicine.

Li Mo had originally considered finding time to study the basic theories of artifact crafting. After all, he still had a copy of the Spirit Reflection Sword Manual, which described how to forge all sorts of strange flying swords. But now he had to make time to cultivate lightning-attributed spells, study alchemy and Puppet Technique, and carry out his rotating assignments. He simply had no energy to spare.

So he could only put the matter of the Spirit Reflection Sword Manual aside for now.

Spring passed and autumn came, and the days went by one after another.

Li Mo had entered Lingmu Sect on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the Dragon Boat Festival. In the blink of an eye, it was now the tenth day of the second month of the following year. He had already spent more than half a year at Lingmu Sect.

Over the past few months,

whether in Enlightenment Hall or Advanced Study Hall, Li Mo felt that every day had been incredibly full. He had made many new friends here, and his horizons had broadened tremendously.

This was the life he wanted!

Not life in the filthy Eighteen Mountains, among a band of thieves, where bad company led him down the path of corruption.

In a few days, it would be Evening Moon again.

Even Lingmu Sect seemed touched by the approaching festival, taking on a somewhat desolate air. While carrying out his rotating assignment of painting and repairing the walls, Li Mo noticed a notice posted in front of Advanced Study Hall.

He went over to look with Ma Ling, Niu Li, and Yang Guang.

"After Evening Moon, from the first day of the third month to the seventh, Advanced Study Hall will hold its year-end examinations for all students. They will be divided into two groups. First- and second-year disciples will be placed in one group and receive different sect rewards according to their results. Third-year disciples will form another group. Based on their examination results, they will receive graduation examination rewards and be assigned to various halls for service."

Ma Ling looked excited.

"The top two hundred get Spirit Stones and sect contribution points!"

There were only about two hundred and fifty first-year disciples in Advanced Study Hall. The numbers in the second and third years were probably about the same.

Though it was extremely unfair to first-year disciples to group them with second-year disciples for the examination, from the sect's perspective, this was the most effective way to motivate lower-level disciples. It also helped curb the many ugly behaviors of first-year disciples.

"If you make the top ten, you get not only Spirit Stones, but also Mid-grade Magic Tools, Qi Gathering Pills, and secret techniques!"

Niu Li's eyes gleamed with envy.

Yang Guang licked his lips.

"Don't get your hopes up. I'll be happy if I can get one hundred and ninth place. Ten Spirit Stones and twenty sect contribution points. Heh."

Li Mo shook his head at that.

"I think you'd better not get your hopes up. Most second-year disciples have already reached at least the fourth layer of Qi Refining. Some outstanding ones have even reached the sixth layer. Some have also cultivated their family secret techniques and have Magic Tools for protection. We simply can't stand against them."

He analyzed the situation for the three of them with a cool head.

"The sect probably arranged the groups this way just to broaden our horizons. I doubt more than a handful of first-year disciples will make it into the top two hundred."

After hearing Li Mo's assessment, Ma Ling, Niu Li, and Yang Guang all looked dejected.

Li Mo was right.

For first-year disciples to break into the top two hundred and earn rewards, they needed not only personal strength but also enough luck.

As the four of them discussed things quietly, a commotion suddenly broke out nearby.

Li Mo, Ma Ling, Niu Li, and Yang Guang looked over.

More than a dozen disciples from Aristocratic Clans were facing off against a large group of unaffiliated disciples led by Zhou Zheng and Tao Ran. Neither side looked willing to back down.

Li Mo knew Zhou Zheng and Tao Ran well.

One had the Wind-Clearing Physique and, so the story went, had been accepted as a nominal disciple by Vice Hall Master Han of Advanced Study Hall three months earlier.

The other had the Divine Wood Physique and had been accepted as a nominal disciple by Vice Hall Master Wang of Alchemy Hall not long after arriving at Advanced Study Hall.

As a result,

their status and strength had risen accordingly. They had already become something like senior brothers in the eyes of many first-year unaffiliated disciples.

As for the dozen or so disciples from Aristocratic Clans, Li Mo had also grown somewhat familiar with them after seeing them around so often.

He pondered the situation.

"Chen Yu of the Chen Family, Lu Shun of the Lü Family, Ye Xunhuan and Ye Fuhu of the Ye Family, and so many disciples from smaller clans—what are they up to?"

At that, Yang Guang looked at Li Mo in surprise.

"No way. You really don't know?"

Li Mo was taken aback.

"I've been busy every day lately. You know that. Did something happen?"

Seeing the genuine confusion on Li Mo's face, Yang Guang exchanged a glance with Ma Ling and Niu Li, then explained with a laugh.

"Ye Xunhuan of the Ye Family has taken a liking to Zhao Huaxue. He's been pursuing her obsessively and warning everyone to stay away. A while ago, he even beat up that scholar Yang... Uh, Yang Zhiman. People from Law Enforcement Hall came, but in the end, nothing happened to those guys. They were only symbolically fined a few Spirit Stones. They don't care about that at all. Zhou Zheng and Tao Ran refuse to give up on Zhao Huaxue, so that's how the two sides came into conflict."

"Ah?"

Li Mo sighed inwardly. What a calamity beauty was.

He looked around, but Zhao Huaxue, who should have been the central figure, was nowhere to be seen.

There was no doubt that Zhao Huaxue was beautiful, and it was only natural for young disciples to admire her. But for so many people to pursue her together—and even get into an open confrontation over her—seemed rather over the top.

At the same time,

two people stepped out from each side of the standoff between the clan disciples and unaffiliated disciples.

The unaffiliated disciples were, of course, Zhou Zheng and Tao Ran. From the clan disciples' side came Ye Xunhuan and Ye Fuhu.

Li Mo couldn't help but take another look at Ye Fuhu, standing behind Ye Xunhuan.

He was unusually burly. Though he was about the same height as Li Mo, he weighed at least twice as much. His features were sharply defined, and even from a distance of more than ten zhang, he exerted such immense pressure on Li Mo that his expression shifted slightly.

"Ye Fuhu's martial arts are probably even better than mine!"

Li Mo had learned from Lü Cuicui that many disciples from Aristocratic Clans practiced martial arts before coming of age. The Three-Way Swordplay he cultivated was essentially only a third-rate martial art, while Ye Fuhu's skills were probably no worse than those of Greenface Tiger Gao Zhen, the leader of the Pingshan Society.

Ye Fuhu was undoubtedly a martial arts prodigy, one in ten thousand. And he had certainly mastered spells as well.

Ma Ling, Niu Li, and Yang Guang were all shocked when they heard this.

They knew just how formidable Li Mo's martial arts were. Yet Ye Fuhu was even better?

But for now, Ye Fuhu was only playing a supporting role, apparently there to intimidate the other side. He stood behind Ye Xunhuan with his arms folded, looking down at the two men across from them.

Zhou Zheng looked at Ye Xunhuan with a mocking smile.

"You're nothing but a spoiled brat from the Ye Family. What makes you think you can compete with me for Huaxue?"

Ye Xunhuan rolled his eyes and gave a disdainful snort.

"That's because you're like a frog in a well. You have no idea how powerful the Ye Family is. Don't think that having Martial Uncle-Grandfather Han look after you means you can stand on equal footing with the Ye Family. You're only a nominal disciple right now. Even if you become a formal disciple someday, you still won't have the right to comment on our Ye Family."

"Heh, heh."

Tao Ran also sneered at his words.

"As far as I'm concerned, among you clan disciples, only Jiang Sheng deserves my respect. You're all just people who encountered the Daoist tradition a few years earlier than us and enjoyed the shelter of your families. Three years from now, you won't even be qualified to stand before me!"

At Tao Ran's words, Ye Xunhuan couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"You think you're worthy of talking about Big Brother Jiang Sheng?"

Jiang Sheng, whom Tao Ran had mentioned, seemed to hold an extraordinary position among these clan disciples. He was the sole disciple from the Jiang Family among this year's cohort, one of the Four Great Families.

However, his reputation was quite upright, so he clearly wouldn't take part in this kind of pointless rivalry over a woman.

"His Three Yang Physique is the perfect physique for cultivating the Jiang Family's True Yang Secret Technique. Don't think that having a special physique of your own puts you on equal footing with Big Brother Jiang Sheng. You're nothing but mayflies trying to shake a tree. Laughable."

Neither side was willing to yield.

Li Mo could tell that, though both sides were putting on a brave front, they were wary of each other. Besides, people from Law Enforcement Hall were watching like tigers on the prowl.

He paid particular attention to the clan disciples' side.

Only four disciples from the Four Great Families had come this time.

As far as Li Mo knew,

among the others from the Four Great Families, aside from Chen Yu, the Chen Family had another female cultivator named Chen Lan, who was infatuated with Jiang Sheng of the Jiang Family.

As for Jiang Sheng of the Jiang Family, the clan disciples of this generation had already made him into a legend.

There was no need to mention Lü Cuicui of the Lü Family.

Lü Cuicui also had a female cousin named Lü Tong, who was said to be a prodigy in the study of Runes and Restrictions. Meanwhile, the Lu Shun in the crowd, who was as round as a pear, was Lü Cuicui's older brother.

Besides Ye Xunhuan and Ye Fuhu, the Ye Family also had Ye Yimeng, the woman who had ensnared Lu Tianyou so completely that he couldn't pull himself away.

As one of the first-year unaffiliated disciples, Li Mo had learned enough from the various things Lü Cuicui had let slip to know how formidable these clan disciples were.

It was indeed unrealistic for these first-year unaffiliated disciples to challenge them now. Probably only Zhou Zheng and Tao Ran could put up some resistance, or someone like Wang Feng.

"Wait, that's not right."

Li Mo suddenly thought of something and wore a helpless expression.

"Strictly speaking, that guy Wang Feng is also one of the clan disciples. Not only because of his background, but because he came here to form a marriage alliance with the Ye Family. And looking at how lazy he is every day, he clearly isn't interested in this. He's just here to go through the motions."

Li Mo sighed and decided not to waste any more time.

"Shall we go?"

"Sure."

The four of them squeezed through the crowd and left. They were somewhat well-known among the first-year disciples, so people generally didn't bother them.

Li Mo wasn't discouraged. He had advantages of his own.

For one thing, he had formidable martial arts and plenty of experience. For another, his cultivation had already reached the peak of the third layer of Qi Refining. He was only one final step away from the fourth layer.

Once he reached the fourth layer of Qi Refining, his spiritual power would not only become much deeper, but would also take on an elemental attribute.

This would greatly benefit the cultivation of spells of the corresponding element and the control of Magic Tools of the same element, among other things, while also increasing their power considerably.