Refusal! The Temptation of Pills, Cultivation Technique Initiation

"Fan Family..." Chen Mo murmured.

He had no dealings with them whatsoever.

The Guo Family and Yu Family had only just sent people to offer compensation, and now the Fan Family had come. There was no need to think about what they wanted.

What had they been doing earlier?

They had waited until he joined the True Martial Arts School before swarming over.

Bustling and jostling, all for profit.

In the eyes of those great lineages, Chen Mo alone was probably not worth much attention.

But True Martial Arts School's Chen Mo carried an entirely different weight.

"Not seeing them." Chen Mo refused decisively.

As a man of principles, he could not do something so greedy as accepting gifts from both sides.

The Martial Arts School disciple who had delivered the message wore a troubled expression.

Seeing this, Chen Mo asked directly, "What is it?"

"N-Nothing, Instructor Chen. Then I'll go tell the Fan Family members," the Martial Arts School disciple replied.

Chen Mo nodded, signaling that the other person could leave.

The disciple hesitated, but seeing Chen Mo's calm yet resolute expression, he said nothing more and turned to leave.

"That kid probably accepted benefits from the Fan Family."

Without giving it much thought, Chen Mo continued cultivating.

He knew that if he met with the Fan Family members today, they certainly would not offer him little.

But he could not accept it.

Whether because he had already accepted compensation from the Guo Family and Yu Family, and the grudges between them had been put to rest, or because he was now a member of the True Martial Arts School and ought to remain neutral rather than involve himself in the county's power struggles, neither allowed Chen Mo to meet the Fan Family members.

Not to mention that merely thinking about such power struggles made them seem terribly troublesome. He had no interest in joining them.

News of Chen Mo's refusal quickly reached the Fan Family members outside the Martial Arts School. Every one of them looked grim, but they did not persist. They simply turned and left.

Or rather, they had long guessed that Chen Mo would most likely refuse. Yet considering that the Guo Family and Yu Family had both acted against Chen Mo before, they had still come to try their luck. What if it worked?

Then they would not merely gain a Divine Strength Realm Martial Artist, but also the aid of the True Martial Arts School.

Unfortunately, Chen Mo did not give them that opportunity.

As one of Hequ County's Three Great Families, when had the Fan Family ever been so publicly slighted? Yet they did not dare to vent their anger, leaving them deeply stifled.

Of course, they would not do anything to Chen Mo.

Whether it was Chen Mo's outstanding strength or his identity as an Instructor Martial Master of the True Martial Arts School, neither was something they would lightly provoke.

Meanwhile, as the School Master of the Martial Arts School, Yan Cheng learned of the Fan Family's visit to Chen Mo at once. Yet he did not stop it, allowing Chen Mo to make his own decision. Clearly, Chen Mo had not disappointed him.

"What is the situation with that disciple who contacted the Fan Family?" Yan Cheng asked.

The person reporting below replied, "He accepted fifty taels of silver from the Fan Family. We cannot rule out the possibility that he is their spy within the school."

"What about the one who previously reported on the Guo Family and Yu Family?" Yan Cheng asked again.

"He did not accept money... but he is similarly suspicious."

"Mm."

Tapping the tabletop several times with his fingers, Yan Cheng instructed, "Have people watch both of them for a while. If they have any secret contact with the Three Great Families, expel them from the Martial Arts School immediately."

"Yes, School Master."

"..."

Likewise, the Guo Family and Yu Family, who had been keeping watch on the Fan Family and True Martial Arts School, both learned of this news. They let out sighs of relief and felt immensely fortunate that they had visited Chen Mo first and delivered their compensation.

If the Fan Family had reached his door first, Chen Mo might have sided with them.

A common failing of commoner martial artists was their lack of resistance to cultivation resources, because they were simply too desperately short of them.

In their view, Chen Mo was in the same situation.

Chen Mo, who had once again become an object of contention among the Three Great Families, had no time to dwell on any of this. Today, he finally could not resist swallowing a Body Tempering Pill to experience the difference between it and Exotic Beast Jerky.

The moment the Body Tempering Pill went down his throat, it dissolved immediately. It melted in his mouth and down his throat without needing digestion, directly transforming into pure energy. A gentle warm current flowed from his stomach to every corner of his body, making him feel warm all over.

Without hesitation, Chen Mo immediately began cultivating.

About five minutes later, the warm sensation within his body finally faded.

"The effect is far better than Exotic Beast Jerky. It doesn't need digestion and can be absorbed as soon as it enters the mouth. The energy absorption efficiency is extremely high. Unfortunately, there are only ten per month, and my realm seems too high, so the improvement isn't particularly obvious."

After eating one, Chen Mo still had nineteen Body Tempering Pills in hand. He planned to save them for when he broke through his realm. They were worth nineteen pounds of Exotic Beast Jerky, yet were convenient and quick to consume, without requiring time to chew.

His cheeks would no longer ache.

"Ten a month is still too few. Unfortunately, there are no Alchemists in the Martial Arts School. These pills are resources sent down by the sect each year according to contribution and performance. Otherwise, no matter what, I'd learn the art of alchemy."

Feeling somewhat regretful, Chen Mo recalled what Yan Cheng had explained to him not long ago and thought:

"Just as I guessed, Body Tempering Pills aren't truly medicinal pills. The genuine corresponding pill is called the Body Tempering Pill, and its effect is more than five times greater. Unfortunately, the Martial Arts School hasn't sent sufficiently outstanding disciples to the sect for many years, so it cannot apply for the true Body Tempering Pills."

Thinking of this, Chen Mo became even more determined to learn alchemy.

The higher a martial artist's realm, the greater their demand for cultivation resources.

If one wished to maintain cultivation efficiency at an extremely high level, medicinal pills were indispensable.

Clearly, this could not be achieved in Hequ County. He could only hope to gain something after entering the sect.

Putting away the Body Tempering Pills, Chen Mo gnawed through a pound of Exotic Beast Jerky, then leaped directly into the Medicine Bath Wooden Bucket beside him and began cultivating.

A week passed, and everything remained as usual. The Three Great Families did not come looking for Chen Mo again. Instead, the local government summoned School Master Yan Cheng to attend a gathering. It was said that the leaders of the Three Great Families and the Fierce Tiger Martial Arts School had all been invited.

This was undoubtedly a gathering of Hequ County's top powers.

Though the local government's military strength was not the strongest in the county, this was still territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The local government naturally held the leading position. Everyone gave it face and would not act against it, so Yan Cheng naturally attended.

Before leaving, he even specifically told Chen Mo about the situation, though Chen Mo did not know what he meant by it.

Too lazy to speculate, after half a month of diligent cultivation, Chen Mo had finally raised all three Body Hardening Cultivation Techniques to at least the Initiation stage...

[Chen Mo]

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 15/230

Talent: Dragon Among Men

Skills: Archery (Perfect Accomplishment), Tracking (Initiation), Cooking (Initiation), Digging (Proficient), Herb Identification (Proficient)

Cultivation Techniques: Evergreen Turtle Breath Technique (Perfect Accomplishment), Fierce Tiger Fist (Perfect Accomplishment), Flying Swallow Steps (Perfect Accomplishment), Wind Slaying Blade (Perfect Accomplishment), Silver Armor Technique (Perfect Accomplishment), Qi Concealing Art (Perfect Accomplishment), Golden Bell Shield (Initiation), Iron Shirt (Proficient), Bone Tempering Technique (Initiation)

Realm: Body Tempering (Divine Valor Realm)

Enlightenment Count: 14

All three Body Hardening Cultivation Techniques had reached Initiation. Because its cultivation method was similar to the Silver Armor Technique, the Iron Shirt progressed especially quickly, directly reaching the Proficient stage, one level higher than the other two techniques.

Besides these three cultivation techniques, Chen Mo spent time every day reading the Pharmacopoeia and studying in the pharmacy. His Herb Identification skill had also risen to the Proficient level. He had memorized the appearances and properties of more than a thousand medicinal ingredients seven or eight parts out of ten.

Presumably, it would not be long before he fully mastered them.

His gaze settled on the Enlightenment Count as Chen Mo guessed:

"I've already accumulated fourteen Epiphanies, yet I still can't use an Epiphany to advance the Silver Armor Technique. It seems that raising the Golden Bell Shield and Bone Tempering Technique to Initiation isn't enough. They need to reach at least the Proficient stage."

With the example of the Evergreen Turtle Breath Technique right before him, Chen Mo had ample reason to believe this guess.

To cultivate the Golden Bell Shield and Bone Tempering Technique from Initiation to Proficient would likely take more than ten days. He could not wait that long; the efficiency was too low.

When resources were sufficient, one ought to improve with all one's strength. Dragging things out was meaningless.

Thus, Chen Mo immediately used an Epiphany on each of the two cultivation techniques.

Several breaths later, both the Golden Bell Shield and Bone Tempering Technique had risen to Minor Accomplishment.

Whenever there was something he could not do, he simply used an Epiphany. With ease and comfort, his realm rose.

This sensation of rapid improvement was deeply intoxicating.

"This should solve the problem. There are twelve Epiphanies left, but I still can't use one to advance the Silver Armor Technique. My talent has clearly improved, so it seems likely related to the rank of the cultivation technique being fused."

At that thought, Chen Mo became increasingly eager for the cultivation technique that the Silver Armor Technique would become after advancing. He felt certain it would not disappoint him.

After waiting another three days, until he had accumulated fifteen Epiphanies, the Silver Armor Technique finally displayed that it could undergo Epiphany...