Chapter 17

With over a month until the next disciple competition, Chen Hai thought he could seize every moment to practice the Wind and Cloud Leg technique, and his strength should improve even further...

Chen Lie had returned to the Wuwei Army's Weijiang Camp due to an emergency and probably didn't know that Chen Qing had already expelled him from the Jianyun Cliff. He had to endure until Chen Lie returned to the Jianyun Cliff and found out his whereabouts.

Pill, or rather, pills. Chen Hai wanted to practice day and night, and what he lacked most at this moment were pills to replenish his essence and energy.

Chen Hai learned from Zhou Jingyuan and Ge Tong that the basic essence pills needed for disciples to lay the foundation of martial arts could be exchanged for five pills with one point of sect merit. This meant that after selling the chi dragon paperweight to Zhou Jingyuan, he could exchange for a maximum of one hundred essence pills.

"Then I'll trouble Senior Brother Zhou to exchange fifty essence pills for me first, which should be enough for a month."

Chen Hai planned to also exchange some seeds of spiritual herbs and a kind of foot guard to enhance his leg techniques, so he could only use half of his coins to exchange for essence-replenishing spiritual herbs.

However, Ge Tong and Zhou Jingyuan were greatly surprised when they heard this. They exchanged glances, and Zhou Jingyuan couldn't help but advise Chen Hai:

"Junior Brother Yao, you don't need to be so desperate for the disciple ranking. After all, there are two more opportunities. If you overexert yourself, your body might collapse, and you'll still fall into the schemes of people like Chai Rong."

"Ah..." Chen Hai was slightly stunned, then realized what was going on.

Ordinary disciples practicing martial arts couldn't possibly be like him, able to stimulate the circulation of essence and energy in their bodies after practicing basic footwork and steps fifty to sixty times.

For ordinary low-level dao soldiers, one essence pill might be enough to cover ten to fifteen days of cultivation. He needed to take at least one essence pill every day to maintain his cultivation speed.

Ordinary disciples, without the assistance of the snake bracelet and puppet body, might struggle for years and still not reach the proficient stage of the lowest-level mystical techniques. How could they be like him, who had already entered the threshold of martial arts cultivation by starting from the most basic martial arts secrets?

Chen Hai hadn't realized that he had inadvertently revealed some of his secrets.

However, Chen Hai wasn't panicked and didn't try to cover it up. Once he engaged in combat, some things would inevitably be revealed, and hiding them would be futile.

And since he was from the Yao family and Chen Lie's nephew, wasn't it natural for him to cultivate ten to twenty times faster than ordinary disciples?

Chen Hai smiled mysteriously at Zhou Jingyuan and Ge Tong, "I'm not saying I'm going to fight desperately for the disciple competition. My daily cultivation does consume a lot, and I hope the two senior brothers can keep it a secret. Let those people think I'm a waste for now..."

Zhou Jingyuan and Ge Tong were both shocked. Looking at Chen Hai, they couldn't detect any sign of faking. They wondered if there was some unknown secret behind the rumors about Young Master Xing.

Could Ge Tong, who had cultivated to the late stage of the Mystic Realm, need to take one essence pill every day to replenish his essence and energy?

Ge Tong could only laugh bitterly, "If you really become a servant in the academy or join the army, you might accumulate forty to fifty essence pills in two years. But for low-level dao soldiers from humble backgrounds, that would be enough for martial arts cultivation. If Junior Brother Yao can learn some basic alchemy techniques, the lingzhi and qingzhi herbs growing in your courtyard, planted by Senior Brother Chen Qiang years ago, could be used to refine four to five hundred essence pills if you add a few auxiliary herbs..."

Seeing Ge Tong's expression, Chen Hai sensed his envy over his private medicinal field. He thought he didn't have the extra time to manage the field, so he asked Ge Tong, "If Senior Brother Ge doesn't mind, I'll entrust the management of my medicinal field to you. I'll also learn from you how to manage it..."

Ge Tong, unlike Zhou Jingyuan, wasn't as calculating or deep. By this point, after drinking and chatting, his guard was already very low. He smiled and said, "There are many medicinal fields in Tieliu Ridge, but only a few on the main peak of the eastern slope can be irrigated with spiritual spring water. Among the private fields opened by fellow disciples, no more than twenty can be irrigated with spiritual spring water. If Junior Brother Yao really wants to manage that field, starting from sowing and seedling cultivation will be time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the results might not be the best. But if you can buy nearly matured spiritual herbs from other fellow disciples and transplant them into the field, irrigating them with spiritual spring water for three to five months could increase their quality by one or two levels, yielding better results."

Hearing Ge Tong's words, Chen Hai's thoughts became more active. He realized that Ge Tong, perhaps from a humble background, was very meticulous, but this was precisely what allowed him to maximize the potential of the spiritual spring medicinal field. He hadn't expected Ge Tong to be both a person of character and a good businessman.

Chen Hai thought that besides being Chen Lie's nephew, his greatest advantage in Tieliu Ridge was his business acumen, which he should have more of than the arrogant aristocratic children.

Thinking of this, Chen Hai decisively said to Ge Tong, "My reputation is bad, so it might not be easy to get along with other fellow disciples. If Senior Brother Ge can help smooth things out, I'll split the profits from the medicinal field with you fifty-fifty. Would you feel too wronged?"

Hearing Chen Hai's words, Ge Tong was moved.

Ge Tong wasn't after anything else. He had planted dozens of Nine Yang Grass in his courtyard, a key herb for refining the Meridian-Opening Pill. He had planted them for seven to eight years but had to beg his fellow disciples for a few buckets of spiritual spring water each time to irrigate them.

Due to the scarcity of spiritual spring water, the dozen or so Nine Yang Grass plants were not fully grown and far from being usable in medicine.

He thought that if these dozens of Nine Yang Grass plants were transplanted to Chen Hai's courtyard and irrigated with sufficient spiritual spring water every day, they might be ready for harvesting and refining the Meridian-Opening Pill in one or two years. This way, he might be able to break through to the Spirit Realm before the age of forty!

Whether he could break through to the Spirit Realm before the age of forty was crucial for Ge Tong to continue his cultivation in Tieliu Ridge and for his future advancement. It was the biggest hurdle in his life, and he couldn't afford to ignore it.

Chen Hai didn't care about the future gains from a small medicinal field. His biggest weakness was his lack of support in Tieliu Ridge, and Zhou Jun and Zhao Ruhui had ulterior motives. It was rare to meet someone like Ge Tong, who was warm-hearted and sincere, so he had to pull him into his boat.

Seeing that Ge Tong still had some reservations, Chen Hai turned to Zhou Jingyuan and said, "Senior Brother Zhou, if Senior Brother Ge helps me manage the medicinal field, please be a witness and sign a contract. Let's put everything in writing to avoid any future disputes over the profits."

Zhou Jingyuan thought that if Ge Tong managed the medicinal field, Qingyun could assist him, which would be appropriate for her to stay by Ge Tong's side as a medicine child.

Ge Tong's cultivation was high, and his character was widely recognized in Tieliu Ridge. If not for his years of helping fellow disciples from humble backgrounds, he wouldn't have offended so many aristocratic children and wouldn't have to worry about being expelled from the academy in a few years.

Zhou Jingyuan was more eager for Ge Tong to break through to the Spirit Realm. When that happened, Qingyun serving him would be a natural progression for her to enter the academy for cultivation.

Thinking of this, Zhou Jingyuan was enthusiastic about facilitating the deal and urged Ge Tong not to be too shy and to sign the contract.

Ge Tong himself felt confused. He had decided to distance himself from the notorious Young Master Xing, but how did he end up in this situation?

However, he couldn't resist the sincere persuasion of Chen Hai and Zhou Jingyuan, and since this was related to his last chance to break through to the Spirit Realm, he reluctantly signed the contract with Chen Hai at the table, both of them using their disciple seals to sign it.

Ge Tong put the contract in his chest, then realized that Chai Rong mainly wanted to seize the medicinal field to take over Yao Xing's courtyard. By doing this, wasn't he tying himself to Yao Xing and having to deal with Chai Rong's covetousness of the medicinal field?

Was he being pulled into the boat?

Thinking of this, Ge Tong couldn't help but shake his head and laugh bitterly. Although protecting the medicinal field was beneficial to him, he couldn't understand why he had so easily agreed to this today.

Zhou Jingyuan had observed all this and was willing to facilitate the deal. He was also amazed by Yao Xing's skill in manipulating people. He thought, "How could Yao Xing be so experienced and still have such a bad reputation?"

Was someone deliberately ruining his reputation?

Zhou Jingyuan, from a humble background, knew that the power struggles within the aristocracy were more vicious than he imagined. He was confident in his ability to judge people and was more inclined to believe this theory. He felt that this Yao Xing might have lost a power struggle within the aristocracy and ended up in Tieliu Ridge.

Finally, Chen Hai asked about foot protection equipment, saying, "I heard that the army has copper boots and iron chain shoes to protect against blades and arrows. Can we get them in Tieliu Ridge?"

"Iron chain shoes?" Zhou Jingyuan and Ge Tong were puzzled and asked, "What leg technique is Junior Brother Yao practicing?"

"Since I arrived at the academy, I found a partial scroll of the Wind and Cloud Leg technique in the scripture hall and have been practicing it. I've made some progress in the past two to three months," Chen Hai said.

Zhou Jingyuan and Ge Tong were both shocked. They didn't expect Chen Hai to have made such progress in just two to three months of practicing the partial Wind and Cloud Leg technique. Given his consumption of essence pills, he must have already reached a proficient stage.

They only knew that this Yao Xing was originally a collateral descendant of the Yao clan, who had committed a major offense, had his cultivation revoked, and was expelled from the Yao clan, severing all ties with the thirty-six royal clans. His parents were also dead, so he had no choice but to seek refuge with his uncle Chen Lie. They didn't expect him to recover his cultivation so quickly after being stripped of his powers, thinking perhaps his spiritual body and bones were still intact.

Zhou Jingyuan was more calculating than Ge Tong. He sensed that the matters involving this Yao Xing might not be simple. If he and Ge Tong helped him wholeheartedly, they might be drawn into a dangerous vortex, but it could also be their greatest opportunity in the future.

Chen Hai's inquiry about foot protection equipment made Zhou Jingyuan think he was preparing for the disciple competition in a month.

Equipment was a reflection of overall strength. The academy never prohibited disciples from bringing equipment to the competition and even required them to wear armor to avoid unnecessary injuries.

Some aristocratic disciples, with their wealth, had not only higher-level protective spiritual armor but also mystical talismans with simple spells, giving them the strength to take down several Mystic Realm disciples at the Foundation Stage.

Zhou Jingyuan thought for a moment and said, "The army does have iron chain shoes and other foot protection equipment, but there are few disciples in the sect who specialize in leg techniques, and I haven't seen any special armor for this. Higher-level spiritual boots are beyond my reach. What kind of armor does Junior Brother Yao need? I might be able to make a pair of Wind and Cloud Boots in a month."

At the outer academy level, the refinement of magical artifacts and treasures was rare, as it required a high level of expertise in array formations, which only a few in the Taowei Sect possessed. The ordinary academy's artifact-making department mainly produced items for daily life and the casting of weapons, armor, and bows.

Seeing Zhou Jingyuan's confidence, Chen Hai guessed that this was why he was able to stay in the academy. The two fake old copper artifacts were likely made by him. He might have a chance to exchange techniques with him in the future.