Body Tempering Pill... Where to Eat It?

Since ancient times, birds of a feather flock together!

Although Guangming City cannot be considered an ancient city with deep foundations within Great Xia, it is still divided into all sorts of people.

The entire city is split into five districts: East, West, South, North, and Central.

The wealthy and the officials mostly reside in the central district, where song and dance never cease.

Those with modest means live in the prosperous East District; the city uses the east as a boundary, and the further west one goes, the more chaotic the law and order becomes.

The South District, where Ye Li lives, is considered a relatively stable residential area for commoners.

The far west is entirely controlled by gangs and impoverished people who struggle to put food on the table, where conflicts and chaos can erupt at any moment.

Of course, because the west is too chaotic, he has never been there and has only heard about it from his uncle and aunt.

But at this moment, in Ye Li's eyes, even this relatively stable South District has ragged refugees vaguely visible everywhere.

Clearly, due to the economic decline under the empire's rule and the onset of winter, refugees from the west are encroaching upon this area.

I must reach the Entry Realm as soon as possible.

Thinking of the grand promises made by Instructor Feng, Ye Li feels increasingly urgent.

The Entry Realm is nothing special, but if one can reach it within half a year, they can leap up to become a core backbone of the Azure Dragon Gang.

This core membership is not just an empty title, but genuine cultivation provided by the Azure Dragon Gang.

It comes with a monthly provision of two Body Tempering Pill for cultivation, as well as management fees from various shops and territories, and the authority to command over a dozen ordinary gang members.

These managed subordinates are the very peers within the gang who failed to reach the first realm within half a year.

This shift in status is like a poor peasant suddenly becoming a wealthy landlord.

A difference of only a few days in breakthrough speed creates a world of difference in status.

Carrying his anxiety about the future, Ye Li quickens his pace and keeps his head down.

Although there are many pedestrians along the way, including groups of refugees, he is wearing the Azure Dragon Gang's uniform, so no one is foolish enough to provoke him.

As he nears home, the neighbors become more frequent.

Some women gather to chat, and upon seeing Ye Li pass by, they hesitate to speak.

In just half a month, Ye Li has grown an inch taller, and his lean physique has become increasingly sturdy.

His skin has also changed from sallow to fair; this transformative change makes these neighbors afraid to recognize him.

Ye Li has no intention of chatting with these people, preferring to enjoy the peace and continue on his way.

Once he is far away, those neighbors look at their companions hesitantly and say, "Is that the Ye family boy? How has he changed so much after not seeing him for a month?"

One person beside them says, "Didn't Ning Qiu say he awakened a green-tier trait and was recruited into the Azure Dragon Gang? Why are you making such a fuss?"

"That's not what I meant. He used to be an orphan, and he had a conflict with my little Wang and got scolded. If he becomes rich in the future, what if he takes revenge on me..."

The speaker's expression is awkward, causing the faces of those around to stiffen as they recall the conflicts caused by their own previous teachings.

But there are also a few who curl their lips in disapproval and say:

"Afraid of what? He just entered the Azure Dragon Gang with a green-tier trait; does he really think he can reach the heavens?"

"Exactly, my boy also joined the gang four months ago and should be back today. Although that kid's trait is a bit worse, he has been willing to endure hardship since he was young; he's no worse than some green-tier trait!"

"That's right, when the time comes, we'll ask how that Jiang Family boy is doing in the gang; maybe he's not even as good as my son!"

The journey is silent, and in his haste, the small family courtyard is already before his eyes.

Ye Li does not pause his steps and raises his voice: "Aunt, I'm home!"

"Is that Li'er back...?" Hearing the call from inside the courtyard, a woman rushes out.

But Ning Qiu's joyful expression falters slightly when she sees Ye Li's face, clearly surprised by the changes in him over this month.

"Yes, I passed the gang's assessment at the end of the month and came back to rest for a day."

Ye Li says with a bright smile: "I performed very well in the gang this month. The instructor said I could become a core backbone in a few more months."

His words dissolve the estrangement of not seeing each other for a month, and Ning Qiu pats her nephew's shoulder with relief: "Good, you've grown sturdy! You have strength!"

"You are still growing; Aunt will stew a chicken for you at noon to nourish your body!"

Regarding his aunt's actions, Ye Li repeatedly agrees and skillfully walks into the courtyard.

Seeing that the water in the vat is at the bottom, Ye Li takes the initiative to help with the housework: "Aunt, the water at home is gone; I'll go to the well and fill it up for you."

Having said that, he doesn't wait for Ning Qiu to speak.

Ye Li grabs the water vat with one arm and, under Ning Qiu's stunned gaze, walks out of the courtyard carrying the vat that is two people wide.

At noon, Ye Cunmang returns from work.

Ye Li, Ye Cunmang, Ye Duo, and Ning Qiu gather around the Eight Immortals table.

On the table are five dishes and one soup, a sumptuous meal.

Ye Li gripped his rice bowl and said, "Chicken!"

Hearing the command, Ye Duo withdrew her gaze from the colorful pinwheel.

She snatched up her chopsticks and precisely plucked a chicken leg, placing it into Ye Li's bowl.

"Mmm, so good!"

Ye Li said, popping the chicken leg into his mouth. Before long, he spat out the bone and said, "Greens!"

The next moment, Ye Duo's hands moved with lightning speed, picking up a bunch of greens and offering them to him, earning another round of praise.

"So good!"

At the table, the aunt and uncle watched the interaction between the siblings with beaming smiles.

Poor families didn't have much leisure time, so this was a rare moment of relaxation in their day.

However, watching the food on the table dwindle under their nephew's constant eating, the two did some mental math and couldn't help but click their tongues in secret.

"At this rate, Li'er will eat through at least seven or eight taels of silver a month!"

Thinking of this, Ye Cunmang pulled a few pieces of broken silver from his pocket and pushed them forward. "You get three taels a month as an allowance; you don't need to help out at home. Take this money, don't go hungry in the gang."

Looking at Uncle Ye's honest, middle-aged face, Ye Li revealed a helpless smile. "Uncle, just take the money back. The gang provides meals! I won't go hungry now."

"If I'm truly short on cash, I'll let you know. There's nothing to buy in the gang anyway. I can't exactly use this money to gamble on tiles with the others, can I? How would I practice my martial arts then?"

Seeing his nephew put it this way, Uncle Ye could only sheepishly take back the silver.

Feeling powerless that he couldn't help the younger generation, he could only offer a few verbal words of encouragement to work hard before rising to return to his room with a melancholic sigh.

Once he had swept the table clean, Ye Li handed the pinwheel to the wide-eyed Ye Duo.

Watching the young girl skip away into the distance, Ye Li patted his satisfied stomach.

Now that he was full, it was the perfect time to take that Body Tempering Pill!

Mortal (416/864)
Azure Dragon Force (1424/100)

In an abandoned, empty wooden shack, Ye Li poured a thumb-sized, bright yellow pill from a porcelain bottle.

"I heard that one Body Tempering Pill is worth three days of hard training for an ordinary person. If a genius like me eats it, does it still only count for three days?"

Staring at the milky-white, fragrant pill in his hand, Ye Li recalled some medical trivia he had learned back when he was a streamer in his previous life.

Compared to oral ingestion, which only has a 25% absorption rate, direct absorption from the bottom up is actually much more effective, with a utilization rate of over 50%, and up to 95% in extreme cases!

In other words, from a medical perspective...

Feeding the top is not as good as feeding the bottom; one pill could be worth four!

If he swallowed it directly, it might only be worth three days, but if he took the back door, it might just be worth twelve!

So... which way should he take it?

Ye Li stared at the Body Tempering Pill in his hand and fell into silence.