Chapter 23

"Although Governor Dong of Wuwei Divine Marquis could not completely eradicate the corrupt system, he did open a lineage for the poor and common people in the Taowei Sect, which is a great virtue."

Chen Hai thought that if he wanted to establish himself in this different world, he should build a foundation of fame and merit like Dong Liang, the Wuwei Divine Marquis, so that his journey would not be in vain. After a long sigh, he asked Ge Tong and Zhou Jingyuan,

"What is the current situation at Iron Stream Ridge? Since Master Zhao can serve as the supervisor, there must be someone supporting him. Why has he become so distressed now?"

"Master Zhao Ruhui's teacher, Master Zhao Zongchen, was one of the pillars of the poor and common people's lineage in the Taowei Sect. With Master Zhao Zongchen's support, Master Zhao Ruhui was able to come to Iron Stream Ridge thirty years ago and serve as the chief supervisor among the four executive elders. However, during the battle in Jinzhou over a dozen years ago, Master Zhao Zongchen was defeated and killed by the sneak attack of the Jinzhou Xuan cultivation experts. As a result, Master Zhao Ruhui lost his greatest support within the sect and was always suppressed by Zhang Huaiyu and others. After that, the children of poor families in Iron Stream Ridge and the Iron Stream Camp became worse day by day, and the internal division became severe. For example, Kong Tong, with such outstanding roots, is willing to become Chai Rong's lackey and henchman..." When talking about Kong Tong, Ge Tong could not help but feel regret.

Ge Tong was a man of emotion, and Chen Hai saw that Zhou Jingyuan felt a bit awkward after hearing this, so he did not continue the topic.

Zhou Jingyuan was willing to jump on his bandwagon and get close to him, ultimately because he valued the Chen clan and Chen Lie behind him.

Putting aside this heavy topic, Chen Hai asked about the current disciple competition.

During his recovery, the disciple competition had already ended. Apart from his battle with Kong Tong, which was quite exciting, the other matches were all unremarkable. The Dao Academy held a disciple competition every six months, and it was not possible for there to be a new talent who could attract the attention of the main peak every time.

Due to the tense situation in the border town, the camp needed to recruit a hundred Xuan Yi Dao soldiers from Iron Stream Ridge to join the army.

The most exciting part of this disciple competition was that the top hundred junior Dao soldiers, regardless of whether they had reached the Xuan realm or not, were promoted to Xuan Yi disciples.

This was rare in recent years. In the past, only those who had reached the Xuan realm or had extremely excellent talent could directly enter the Transmission Hall to receive guidance from the transmission elders and instructors.

Chen Hai was injured and unable to participate in the subsequent matches after his battle with Kong Tong. However, since the battle was conducted in public, Chai Rong could not do much, and he was finally rated as excellent, and his ranking among the junior Dao soldiers rose to the middle-upper level.

Because his ranking improved significantly, the Dao Academy rewarded him with 120 points of sect merit.

"Junior Brother Yao is truly a rising star. Other junior Dao soldiers might not even earn 200 points of sect merit in total for their ranking. Last month, when I went to the Transmission Hall to listen to the teachings of Supervisor Zhao, he specifically mentioned you. Everyone says you will soon enter the Transmission Hall to receive guidance from the transmission instructors..." Zhou Jingyuan said with a smile.

Among the many Dao soldiers at Iron Stream Ridge, only the Xuan Yi disciples were eligible to enter the Transmission Hall for cultivation.

Supervisor Zhao Ruhui mentioning him in front of many Xuan soldiers and his earning 120 points of sect merit in the first disciple competition, Chen Hai guessed, was mostly due to Zhao Ruhui's behind-the-scenes efforts. However, Zhao Ruhui could not simply admire him; there must be other intentions.

Understanding the situation at Iron Stream Ridge, Chen Hai could easily guess Zhao Ruhui's thoughts. He still wanted to use the subtle contradictions between the Chai and Chen clans to create more living space for the children of poor families.

Although Zhao Ruhui's intentions were not bad, Chen Hai was not pleased to be used.

At this moment, Chen Hai did not want to think about the complex contradictions between the poor and the noble disciples in the Dao Academy. He was now focused on how to improve his cultivation and strength.

After the disciple competition, although Chen Hai won by luck, he also realized that his cultivation foundation was very shallow and not worth being proud of.

Before he had enough strength, participating in such matters would ultimately result in him being cannon fodder. Besides, the matters entangled with him were already complex and headache-inducing.

Previously, Chen Hai was also worried about his subsequent cultivation. After all, the pills he obtained by exchanging the chi dragon paperweight had been exhausted. During his recovery, apart from the bone-renewing ointment sent by Zhou Jun, he also relied on the help of Ge Tong and Zhou Jingyuan.

The medicinal fields had not yet produced benefits, and he could not rely on Ge Tong and Zhou Jingyuan to support him indefinitely. After all, as poor disciples, they also needed resources for their subsequent cultivation and breakthroughs. Now, with 120 points of sect merit in hand, Chen Hai had more resources.

Thinking about this, Chen Hai sighed. Although he was not pleased with Zhao Ruhui and Zhou Yu's calculations, he did not want to enter the Transmission Hall to receive guidance from the so-called transmission instructors, but he owed them a favor.

"Junior Brother Yao's injuries are just recovering, and he still needs to rest for another one or two months to fully heal his bones. Since you now have ample sect merit, you can exchange for some bone-strengthening and tendon-nourishing pills. By the time of the year-end disciple ranking competition, you will have a stronger physique, and your ranking can improve even further!" Ge Tong knew that being entangled in sect disputes would interfere with cultivation, so he was not overly excited about Zhao Ruhui recommending him to serve as an attendant in the Medicine God Hall. He knew the chances were slim and hoped Chen Hai would not be distracted by these external matters from his recovery and cultivation.

"I remember when I first arrived at Iron Stream Ridge, I saw in the scripture hall that there is a spear technique called 'Ten-Kill Spear Technique' that requires 60 points of sect merit. Additionally, there is a boxing technique called 'Five Tigers Secret Fist' that requires only 40 points of sect merit. I would like to ask Senior Brother Zhou to go to the scripture hall on my behalf to exchange for these two techniques..."

Chen Hai did not want to waste more time on his recovery. His martial cultivation took an unconventional path, directly entering the cultivation threshold through martial secret forms, which could stimulate the essence and qi in his body, accelerating the healing of broken bones.

The Ten-Kill Spear Technique and Five Tigers Secret Fist were both low-level spear and boxing techniques that junior Dao soldiers of the Taowei Sect could access. Chen Hai had his eye on them when he arrived at Iron Stream Ridge, but he was previously constrained by his limited resources and could not go to the scripture hall to exchange for the two foundational martial techniques.

Now that he had the means, he wanted to quickly break down the martial secret forms involving the main qi channels of his arms.

Chen Hai's victory over Kong Tong was extremely lucky, mainly because Chai Rong was eager to humiliate him and expel him from the Dao Academy, and Kong Tong was overly confident. When he stepped onto the competition stage again, others would be wary of him, and he would not have such luck again.

At that time, if Chen Hai wanted to stand on the stage, defeat his opponents, and enjoy the thrill of victory, he needed to make up for his weaknesses in combat techniques and weapon fighting.

Chen Hai calculated that the 120 points of sect merit he earned this time seemed ample, but after deducting the costs of the Ten-Kill Spear Technique and Five Tigers Secret Fist, he could only get 40 Essence Yuan Pills, enough for one month of cultivation.

Chen Hai sighed inwardly. No wonder the children of poor families could not rise. Such a large amount of cultivation resources was beyond the means of poor families.

Even if the children of poor families had excellent talent, they could not match the cultivation speed of noble disciples due to the lack of sufficient pills. More often, they had to rely on mutual support within their group, which promoted unity among the children of poor families.

Since Chen Hai was still unable to walk, he asked Zhou Jingyuan to take his Green Sparrow Seal to the scripture hall on the mountain to exchange for the two techniques and the corresponding Essence Yuan Pills.

If it were someone else, Ge Tong and Zhou Jingyuan might have advised against being too hasty, as even the lowest-level cultivation techniques required a considerable amount of time to master. However, after living with Chen Hai for two months, they knew how astonishing his cultivation speed was.

They guessed that Chen Hai still had a solid foundation from his previous cultivation. Even if he opened his first main qi channel and cultivated true essence to reach the Xuan realm within half a year, they would not be surprised. However, they did not know that Chen Hai's cultivation had been thoroughly destroyed, and his re-cultivation was much more difficult than for ordinary people. He only managed to enter the martial foundation stage thanks to the golden fingers given by Cang Yu and Zuo Er.

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Things were convenient in the Dao Academy. Zhou Jingyuan quickly returned from the scripture hall with the Ten-Kill Spear Technique and Five Tigers Secret Fist, but the Essence Yuan Pills he obtained from the Medicine God Hall were not the 40 Chen Hai had planned, but 200.

"This..." Chen Hai's expression changed as he took the green jade bottle filled with Essence Yuan Pills.

Zhou Jingyuan laughed and said, "Although my wealth is not abundant, I can support Junior Brother Yao to reach the Xuan realm. I hope that when you achieve success in the sect, you will not forget us, your fellow disciples from poor families."

Zhou Jingyuan's cultivation was not deep, but he was skilled in business. Seeing an opportunity, he was willing to take a risk for a big reward.

Even so, Chen Hai was quite grateful. With these 200 Essence Yuan Pills, he would not have to worry about pills for a short time.

As for Zhou Jingyuan's grand statement of supporting him to reach the Xuan realm, Chen Hai was a bit awkward and did not want to clarify.

Ordinary disciples, after mastering the Ten-Kill Spear Technique, Five Tigers Secret Fist, and the first move of the Wind and Cloud Leg to a high level, would have their essence and qi cultivated to a full and powerful state, sufficient to open their first main qi channel.

However, Chen Hai knew his situation. Yao Xing's cultivation had been destroyed, and the spirit sea and spirit channels he had opened in his youth were forcibly destroyed by a powerful figure of the Yao clan.

The spirit channels, which are the qi channels formed after cultivating true essence and being refined by pure yang true essence, would leave many hidden injuries and illnesses when destroyed. Additionally, he had taken over Yao Xing's body after his fall, and the soul injuries from the soul transfer could flare up at any time, threatening his life.

That was why Zuo Er and Cang Yu said his soul was a damaged soul, and his body was a damaged body.

To reach the Xuan realm, his essence and qi might need to be cultivated to five to six times the density and power of a normal disciple to break through the blockage of the first qi channel and enter the two kidney spirit orifices to fuse with the heavenly essence and cultivate true essence.

The soul injuries would also long-term constrain his cultivation.

This was the reason for the initial disagreement between Zuo Er and Cang Yu, and why Zuo Er was extremely pessimistic about his prospects.

Chen Hai was also troubled. Zhou Jingyuan had given him over a hundred extra Essence Yuan Pills, probably hoping he would reach the Xuan realm within half a year. If he failed to do so, Zhou Jingyuan might be disappointed and make different choices.

Ge Tong was a man of emotion, so Chen Hai was not too worried. However, Zhou Jingyuan's attitude might change subtly.

However, Chen Hai would not be discouraged.

Since the snake bracelet and the puppet clone had opened a shortcut for cultivation that ordinary Dao soldiers could not match, why should he be discouraged?

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