Chapter 30: Wasting Talent, Martial Arts Hall Exchange Event

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Wasting Talent, Martial Arts Hall Exchange Event

"Hmm?" The moment Su Chen said that, he felt as if Hong Ming’s beard was about to stand on end. The smile on his face vanished in an instant.

His small eyes then radiated a piercing gleam, staring fixedly at Su Chen for a long time.

A faint, somber voice sounded. "Chen, you have excellent aptitude. Sooner or later, you will surpass me. Blindly relying on medicinal drugs may speed up your cultivation, but it is truly putting the cart before the horse."

"Master Hong, I..." Su Chen opened his mouth, wanting to explain. He knew Hong Ming meant well and appreciated his concern, but he genuinely needed the Qi and Blood Powder.

Thoughts raced through his mind. Just as Su Chen came up with an excuse to tell him, Hong Ming sighed. "Never mind, never mind. I can give you the medicine, but..."

"Thank you, Master Hong!" Su Chen expressed his gratitude before he could finish.

This caused Hong Ming’s tight expression to suddenly relax. He shook his head and chuckled, "Don’t celebrate too early. Giving you the medicine comes with conditions."

"What conditions?"

Seeing Su Chen’s urgency, Hong Ming deliberately kept him in suspense for a moment before unhurriedly holding up two fingers. "There are two conditions."

Su Chen remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

Hong Ming continued, "First, there will be a Martial Arts Hall exchange tournament in the city a month from now. I want you to participate and win some face for me."

A Martial Arts Hall exchange tournament? Su Chen was momentarily taken aback, but he still didn’t speak, quietly listening.

"As for the second, I want you to move into the Martial Arts Hall. Starting today, I will personally supervise your martial arts training." Hong Ming looked at Su Chen, waiting for his reply.

Of these two conditions, the one that truly mattered to Hong Ming was the latter. The so-called Martial Arts Hall exchange tournament was merely a group of martial arts disciples sparring and flattering their respective halls. This held little appeal to him; it couldn’t compare to the joy of taking in a talented disciple.

Su Chen’s aptitude was a notch higher than Qin Hao’s, which moved the half-centenarian to properly nurture him. Therefore, he wanted Su Chen to move into the Martial Arts Hall so he could easily guide his cultivation. He thought about how fast Su Chen had progressed without even training hard. If he were to study diligently and train bitterly, wouldn’t his progress be even faster? Whenever he thought about Su Chen’s previously lax attitude toward cultivation, his heart ached. It was simply a reckless waste of natural talent!

Su Chen fell into deep thought. The first condition was easy enough; it would likely just involve some sparring, which would be a piece of cake for him. The one that truly troubled him was the second. Moving into the Martial Arts Hall and being supervised by Hong Ming meant sacrificing a massive amount of free time, yet the results he would achieve would be minimal.

"Oh, right, I should also tell you," Hong Ming said calmly. "I can only give you three doses of Qi and Blood Powder this time. If you want more, you will probably have to wait a while."

"Only three doses?" Su Chen frowned slightly.

Seeing this, Hong Ming explained in exasperation, "Do you think Qi and Blood Powder is that easy to concoct? I barely managed to squeeze out these three doses for you!"

Su Chen smiled sheepishly. Three doses were still three doses. It was better than nothing.

His expression then turned serious. "Master, since you compromised on the medicine, how about we compromise on the conditions too? I agree to the first condition, but the second one..."

In the end, after some bargaining, Hong Ming agreed to give him the three doses of Qi and Blood Powder. In exchange, apart from participating in the Martial Arts Hall exchange tournament, Su Chen would have to visit the Martial Arts Hall every seven days so Hong Ming could inspect his cultivation progress.

With the deal struck, Hong Ming brought out three packets of medicine and handed them to Su Chen. "Medicinal herbs are external aids after all," he warned. "Use them with discretion."

"Yes, Master!" A warm current flowed through Su Chen’s heart as he expressed his gratitude.

A short while later, Su Chen left the Martial Arts Hall. Carrying the three packets of medicine, he returned home and impatiently began to brew it. With the experience of his previous attempts, a bowl of freshly brewed medicinal decoction was soon ready. Su Chen picked up the bowl and downed it in one gulp.

As he drank more and more Qi and Blood Powder, his body seemed to adapt to the surging state of his Qi Blood. In less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he had completely recovered.

Fortunately, the changes on the panel were real. After drinking the bowl of medicine, the panel’s progress increased by exactly one dose—no more, no less.

He pondered, "I have two doses left. Even if I drink both, I’ll still be short by two. If things go as Master Hong said, I’ll probably have to wait a month before getting a new batch.

"Should I see if the blood-nourishing medicine from the clinic is of any use? They both replenish Qi Blood anyway, so maybe it’ll work!"

Being stuck lacking just two doses was quite frustrating. He wanted to quickly finish the progress of ten doses to see the changes in his Iron Cloth Shirt once it reached the entry level.

After thinking it over, he could only come up with two solutions. One was to go to the clinic and get some blood-nourishing medicine, and the other was to wait a while, reveal some of his progress to Hong Ming, and ask for more Qi and Blood Powder. The former required money, while the latter required time.

He decided, "I’ll go to the clinic tomorrow to buy a dose of blood-nourishing medicine and test it out."

Because he had consumed the Qi and Blood Powder, Su Chen didn’t feel very hungry. After a simple meal of leftovers from lunch, he read up on medical skills for a while, studied the Disguise Technique, and then went to sleep.

Early the next morning, Su Chen brewed the blood-nourishing medicine he had bought from the clinic, which yielded a similar bowl of decoction. After drinking it, he checked his panel, and his expression instantly stiffened.

There was no change whatsoever on the panel. This left Su Chen feeling quite helpless. He didn’t know if the blood-nourishing medicine was insufficient in potency or if it simply didn’t meet the panel’s requirements.

To verify his theory, Su Chen used up the remaining two doses of blood-nourishing medicine. This time, the panel did show a change.

[...Iron Cloth Shirt·Incomplete 0 times (8.1/10 portions of Qi Blood Medicine/time)]

"Three doses of blood-nourishing medicine only increased the progress by 0.1. The difference is too huge," Su Chen grumbled powerlessly. He had initially intended to buy blood-nourishing medicine to replace the Qi Blood Medicine, but looking at it now, he would be better off just waiting a while.

He calculated, "Moreover, three doses of blood-nourishing medicine cost me one tael of silver. That means, to max out the progress, I’d have to spend at least four hundred taels!

"Although the clinic has better blood-nourishing medicine, the price will definitely be even higher. With my current financial strength, I’m afraid I can’t afford it."

Shaking his head, Su Chen sighed and quickly came to a decision. "I’ll earn money while buying medicine. Pushing forward on both fronts at the same time will probably be faster."

In the afternoon, Su Chen changed his clothes and returned to his old trade.

Passing by the Government Office, he checked the wanted posters. Seeing that the most recent Government Office bounty was from a month ago, he had no choice but to give up. Without the Mist Rain Tower serving as an intelligence network, he didn’t know how much time it would take to track down his targets.

After leaving the city, Su Chen headed straight for the Lin Family Castle. Two hours later, he turned back. After such a long time, the Mist Rain Tower was still closed. It seemed it wouldn’t be opening for a long time to come.

By the time he returned to the city, the sky had already darkened, so Su Chen had no choice but to head home.

"Huh?" On his way back, however, Su Chen inadvertently spotted an acquaintance.

"Senior Brother Li Mo!"

At the end of his line of sight, Li Mo was strolling down the street with a young woman. The two of them seemed to be talking and laughing merrily.

After watching them for a few moments, Su Chen shook his head, turned around, and left, his silhouette disappearing into the night.