Chapter 49 - 50: 3 Families and 2 Gangs, Medicinal Herb Shortage

Chapter 49: Chapter 50: 3 Families and 2 Gangs, Medicinal Herb Shortage

Su Chen had originally planned to visit the clinic in the morning to ask about the medicine, but he woke up bright and early to the sound of Li Mo knocking on his door.

"Master has something to discuss with us," Li Mo explained to Su Chen.

Upon asking, Su Chen learned that Hong Ming had an important matter and was gathering his disciples today. Li Mo had already notified everyone else yesterday, making a special trip early this morning just for Su Chen.

"Did Master mention what it’s about?" Su Chen asked.

"No, but it should be quite serious," Li Mo shook his head. After freshening up, the two left the house, grabbing a quick breakfast on the way before heading to the Martial Arts Hall together. Today’s situation had almost never occurred since Li Mo first joined the sect, which allowed him to sense Hong Ming’s solemnity.

Hearing this, Su Chen fell silent and didn’t press further.

"By the way, Junior Brother Su, did you know? The Guo Martial Arts Hall has paused its disciple recruitment," Li Mo suddenly said, as if recalling something.

"Stopped recruiting disciples?" Su Chen was stunned by the news.

Li Mo nodded. "Yeah. I heard they were taught a harsh lesson by an expert. Yesterday, Guo Zhong, the master of the Guo Martial Arts Hall, was injured by a mysterious person and even lost one hundred taels. After that, they immediately stopped taking in disciples." He paused for a moment before continuing with a smile, "Who knows who they managed to offend. They’ve shut down right after opening."

Looking at the grin on Li Mo’s face, Su Chen laughed. "Maybe it’s divine retribution."

"Haha, that’s entirely possible!" Li Mo chuckled along.

The two chatted as they walked. Navigating through the streets, they soon arrived at the Martial Arts Hall. It wasn’t particularly early. Qin Hao and Fang Rou had beaten them to it, and the two sides exchanged greetings upon meeting. After some time, Zhou Tao and the rest arrived one after another.

Once everyone had gathered, Hong Ming cleared his throat. "I called you all here today to announce two things."

It was rare for the disciples to see Hong Ming so serious. They straightened their postures and gave him their undivided attention.

Hong Ming continued, "I believe you’ve already received the news. Yellow Stone City has been plagued by rebels recently, and many surrounding cities have been affected. Our White Stone City is no exception."

This caused everyone to nod in agreement. Zhou Tong and Fang Rou, in particular, had received more inside information, making their expressions grow even more solemn.

"White Stone City will likely become much more chaotic in the coming days. Although you are martial artists, you must remember not to act impulsively..." Hong Ming spoke at length, essentially warning everyone to be careful and avoid stirring up trouble.

"Zhou Tao and Fang Rou, you both have powerful factions backing you. As long as you speak and act cautiously, there shouldn’t be major problems. However, you three..." Hong Ming paused, his gaze shifting to Li Mo’s trio. "Li Mo has a gentle temperament, so I’m not worried. Qin Hao’s family is in business; they are well-informed, so he won’t face major issues either. It’s just Su Chen... If you truly have no other options, you can move into the Martial Arts Hall."

Being called out by name, Su Chen nodded. "Thank you, Master. I will keep that in mind!"

"Mm." Hong Ming didn’t mind Su Chen’s polite refusal. He turned to remind Li Mo, "Later, explain the distribution of power within the city to Chen."

"Yes!"

Everyone looked at Hong Ming instructing Li Mo with varying expressions. They all sensed the high regard Hong Ming had for Su Chen, though no one voiced their thoughts aloud.

Then, Hong Ming announced the second matter. "The other issue concerns the Qi and Blood Powder. Starting today, each of you will likely only be able to receive one portion of Qi and Blood Powder per month."

Upon hearing this, everyone’s expressions changed slightly, save for Zhou Tao and Fang Rou.

Hong Ming took in everyone’s reactions before shifting his gaze to Su Chen and Qin Hao. The others, in truth, didn’t have a high demand for the Qi and Blood Powder.

Even Li Mo didn’t actually need it all that much. Although the Qi and Blood Powder could increase Qi Blood, its effects weren’t limitless. He had been in the Martial Arts Hall for almost two years, and his increased Qi Blood had long reached its peak. Continuing to take the powder would merely serve to stabilize his Qi Blood. But other medicinal herbs could also stabilize it—they were just a bit more expensive.

Given the wealth of Zhou Tao and the others, they certainly didn’t lack the medicine to stabilize their Qi Blood. What they lacked more was talent. Otherwise, given the amount of time they had spent training, they would have perfected the Iron Wire Fist long ago. To them, the Qi and Blood Powder was largely dispensable.

Only Su Chen and Qin Hao truly needed it. The former possessed astonishing talent, while the latter was in the prime of his youth. If they continued taking the Qi and Blood Powder, their cultivation speed would undoubtedly accelerate.

In this life, Hong Ming’s greatest hope was to find an outstanding disciple and cultivate them into a true talent. Both Su Chen and Qin Hao held this potential; their talents ranked among the very best of all the disciples he had ever taken in. But his hands were tied. If it weren’t for the severe shortage of medicinal herbs required to concoct the Qi and Blood Powder, he would never give up on cultivating the two of them.

What the disciples didn’t know was that the Qi and Blood Powder supplied to them recently had all been drawn from his existing reserves. Now, those reserves were nearly depleted, yet the necessary herbs remained scarce in the market. He had made this decision out of a sheer lack of alternatives.

If he could find the relevant herbs in the future, he could restore the supply. If not, it was entirely possible that after a month, he wouldn’t even be able to provide the powder to anyone at all. When that time came, he planned to prioritize supplying Su Chen and Qin Hao. As for the others, their supply would simply have to be cut off.

"Alright, that’s all for now." Seeing that no one spoke, Hong Ming seemed a bit weary. He waved his hand, signaling them to leave.

"Yes, Master!"

The disciples nodded and walked toward the outer courtyard.

"Brother Zhou, do you have time tonight?" Qin Hao caught up with Zhou Tao’s trio and asked with a smile.

Zhou Tao paused for a moment before smiling back. "Naturally."

"Then, the Drunken Immortal Tower?"

"Haha, let’s go!"

The group departed, chatting and laughing among themselves.

Meanwhile.

Fang Rou bid farewell to Su Chen. "Junior Brother Su, if you run into any difficulties, you can come find me."

Su Chen was momentarily stunned but replied with a smile, "Then you have my thanks."

Seeing this, Fang Rou nodded and departed.

Li Mo stood to the side, watching the exchange. Once Fang Rou was gone, he let out a sly chuckle. Su Chen turned to look at him, and Li Mo immediately wiped the grin off his face, straightening his expression.

"Senior Brother Li Mo, what did Master mean by his words earlier?" Su Chen asked.

"He just wanted me to tell you about the distribution of power in White Stone City, lest you accidentally offend the wrong people," Li Mo explained.

Hearing this piqued Su Chen’s interest. He looked at Li Mo, who smiled and began explaining.

"As you know, our Hong Family Martial Arts Hall might not be a top-tier faction, but we aren’t weak either.

"Within White Stone City, there are three major Martial Arts Halls: the Hong Family, the Huang Family, and the Jiang Family. Their strength is roughly the same, placing them in the second tier.

"The first tier naturally consists of factions boasting Power Training Martial Artists. There are three major families and three major gangs in total.

"The three families are the Lin Family, the Ning Family, and the Han Family. The three gangs are the White Jade Gang, the Broken Blade Sect, and the Changhe Gang. Originally, there were only two major gangs, but the Changhe Gang joined their ranks later.

"Oh right, there’s also the Guo Martial Arts Hall, which also sits in the first tier. Even though Guo Zhong is injured right now, they aren’t to be trifled with. If you run into them, absolutely do not get into a conflict.

"What Master wanted me to tell you is to try your best not to provoke them."

Committing this information to memory, Su Chen nodded. "Mm, I understand."

After chatting for a while longer, Su Chen bid farewell to Li Mo, turned around, and headed toward the clinic.