True Strength Comes from Strengthening Yourself

Curious as he was, Chen Mo had no intention of seeking out a Qi and Blood Realm Martial Artist for a "spar."

Wasn't suppressing others with a higher major realm far more satisfying?

Fighting above one's level was the most boring thing of all. Only brainless brutes would do something like that.

As a transmigrator, he should crush all dissent with absolute strength.

Unlike the so-called upper-class figures in the county, whose attention was fixed on the three Qi and Blood Realm Martial Artists outside the city who could erupt into a life-or-death battle at any moment, Chen Mo remained focused only on the present.

Only personal strength was true strength.

As he accumulated Enlightenment Count, he prepared to advance the Silver Armor Technique.

Yet after several days, he helplessly discovered that after his strength had broken through once more thanks to the Perfection Level Evergreen Turtle Breath Technique, ordinary food was truly far too inefficient at replenishing his energy after cultivation.

He could not even get full without two tables' worth of dishes.

That was under the condition that he had not expended much energy. Once his consumption became excessive, he would need even more food.

Energy was conserved.

Eating jerky alone worked a little better, but it made his teeth ache from chewing.

Moreover, there was not actually much beef jerky available. After all, cattle were mainly used for plowing fields. Only a small portion that occasionally suffered "accidents" would be put up for sale.

Simply eating meals and ordinary jerky could no longer meet his needs efficiently, so Chen Mo had now turned into a medicine jar. He needed to drink Great Tonic Soup with all three meals every day.

There was no need to say much about the taste of Chinese medicine. It was simply awful and nauseating.

The key was that it was expensive.

Recently, because of the conflict among the Three Great Families, prices throughout the city had risen considerably. A bowl of Great Tonic Soup that had originally cost three taels now required five taels of silver. If the Three Great Families' conflict did not end, the price would likely continue to rise.

If he had not recently made another autumn harvest at the Black Market and gained more than seven hundred taels of silver, he might already have been running a deficit.

Things clearly could not go on like this.

Great Tonic Soup alone was enough to drive someone mad from drinking it.

Thus, Chen Mo made a decision he had been hesitating over for some time.

That day, he appeared in the Inner City as usual, only to unexpectedly spot two familiar figures at the entrance of an inn.

"Chen Ying and Chen Yuqi... It seems the Guo Family didn't make things difficult for them."

Seeing the two of them serving as the inn's "security guards," both in high spirits, Chen Mo felt considerably more at ease.

He then left the area.

For Chen Ying and Chen Yuqi's safety, and to avoid trouble, it was better not to contact them for the time being.

After walking eight streets through the Inner City, ignoring the watchful gazes around him, Chen Mo arrived before the Fierce Tiger Martial Arts School.

Finding its gates tightly shut and no Martial Arts School personnel guarding the entrance, he did not hesitate. He stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Before long, the gate opened a crack, revealing a large bald head. The bald man stared straight at Chen Mo.

"Something you need?" His tone was rather cold.

"My name is Chen Mo. I wish to study at your school." Chen Mo cupped his fists.

He truly did not want to keep drinking Great Tonic Soup. He certainly could not join either the Three Great Families currently confronting each other or the government's side.

The neutral Martial Arts Schools had therefore become his only choice.

He would pay to learn; neither side would owe the other anything.

He just did not know whether the Two Great Martial Arts Schools would be willing to accept him. After all, Chen Mo had some entanglements with both the Guo Family and the Yu Family, and these were unusual times. The Guo Family and Yu Family were likely both highly sensitive about the matter.

Taking him in would require them to withstand a certain amount of pressure.

If Chen Mo successfully joined, it would, to some extent, show that the Martial Arts School intended to protect him.

The Guo Family and Yu Family would most likely stop making things difficult for him.

Chen Mo had long considered this point. The reason he had not immediately chosen to join a Martial Arts School was that he wanted to see whether they truly intended to remain neutral. If they did, he would join; if not, he would have to see which side they joined before making his choice.

Fortunately, both Martial Arts Schools were neutral, giving him more options.

"Chen Mo..."

The name sounded somewhat familiar, yet he could not recall it no matter how hard he tried. The bald man frowned.

"Sorry, we're currently closed and not accepting anyone for the time being."

"Then when will you reopen?" Chen Mo asked.

"No idea. Just wait."

With that, the bald man gave Chen Mo no chance to speak further and directly shut the gate.

If one place would not keep me, another place would.

Unbothered, Chen Mo headed briskly toward the True Martial Martial Arts School.

People from the various forces who had followed him here continued trailing behind him, deeply curious. The Fierce Tiger Martial Arts School actually refused Chen Mo; it truly made no sense.

A fifteen-year-old Divine Strength Realm Martial Artist—the undisputed number one genius of Hequ County. His talent utterly crushed every so-called genius in the county.

That was right, utterly crushed them!

The Fierce Tiger and True Martial Martial Arts Schools, both backed by sects, were responsible for cultivating and delivering talent to those sects in Hequ County. Yet the Fierce Tiger Martial Arts School had refused such a peerless genius as Chen Mo. It was impossible to understand.

The higher-ups of the Lineages had long guessed that Chen Mo would most likely choose to join either the True Martial or Fierce Tiger Martial Arts School. Thus, after discovering his whereabouts, they had only kept him under surveillance and had not truly acted against him.

The Lineages' intentions were extremely clear. During this exceptional period, if Chen Mo chose to join either of the two top Martial Arts Schools, they would stop targeting him and even offer compensation.

In their view, the Two Great Martial Arts Schools would definitely not refuse Chen Mo. Who would have thought that the Fierce Tiger Martial Arts School would reject him?

Meanwhile, the bald man had already returned to the Martial Arts School. Passing through two gates, he entered the Training Hall.

Because the city's situation was tense and they wished to avoid being drawn into unnecessary disputes, the Fierce Tiger Martial Arts School was closed to visitors. The disciples had been ordered not to leave, and with no time for anything else, they could only devote themselves wholeheartedly to martial arts.

As such, the Training Hall was packed with people.

When they saw the bald man return, someone immediately asked curiously.

"A Li, who was knocking at the gate just now?"

"A brat named Chen Mo. He knew we were closed, yet he still said he wanted to enter and study. He didn't even bother asking around beforehand." The bald man named A Li answered carelessly.

He walked over to a wooden dummy, preparing to resume his training.

Who would have thought that a cry of alarm immediately rang out beside him?

"Who did you say was knocking?!"

Following the voice and seeing the person who had entered his sight, A Li did not dare act presumptuously. He answered respectfully.

"Senior Brother Qi, it was just a brat named Chen Mo."

"You didn't invite him inside?" The man called Senior Brother Qi wore an expression of fury.

A Li was utterly bewildered. "No..."

Before he could finish, Senior Brother Qi cut him off. "Quick, take me to find him. Chen Mo shouldn't have gone far yet."

As he spoke, he grabbed A Li and raced toward the gate at astonishing speed.

The Martial Arts School Disciples were left standing there in a daze, completely at a loss.

As one of the Ten Great True Disciples of the Martial Arts School, when had Senior Brother Qi ever lost his composure like this?

Very quickly, someone came to their senses.

"Chen Mo! It's Chen Mo! That genius Martial Artist who reached the Divine Strength Realm at fifteen—he actually came to our Martial Arts School."

"It's over. A Li has caused trouble!"

"Let's hope Senior Brother Qi can bring him back. Otherwise, A Li..."

"..."

The True Martial Martial Arts School was not far from the Fierce Tiger Martial Arts School. With Chen Mo's pace, he reached its gates without spending much time.

Just like the Fierce Tiger Martial Arts School he had visited earlier, the gates of the True Martial Martial Arts School were also tightly shut. Chen Mo stepped forward and knocked a few times.

Within seconds, the gate opened. A handsome Youth appeared in his sight. Upon seeing Chen Mo, he asked quietly.

"What do you need?"

"My name is Chen Mo. I wish to study at your school."

Chen Mo repeated the same words for the second time, wondering whether he should reveal his cultivation. He could not let himself be refused again.

Yet the moment the other party heard his words, the Youth's expression changed drastically.

"You're Chen Mo?!"

"I am. What's wrong?"

The answer did not come from the handsome Youth before him, but from a shout behind him.

"Chen Mo! Senior Brother Qi, that person is Chen Mo!"