Chapter 63 - 64: Li Mo Gets Married, Recruitment from All Sides

Chapter 63: Chapter 64: Li Mo Gets Married, Recruitment from All Sides

"The first matter is Chen’s breakthrough..."

Hong Ming spoke briefly to the crowd. Since Li Mo and the others already knew that Su Chen had broken through, they didn’t show much surprise.

However, Zhou Tao and a few others were astonished, clearly shocked by Su Chen’s cultivation speed. It had not been long at all since his last breakthrough, yet he had succeeded again?

Zhou Tao glanced at Qin Hao. Seeing Qin Hao’s expressionless face, Zhou Tao vaguely guessed something. He said nothing more and joined the others in congratulating Su Chen, who politely replied to each of them.

After the congratulations subsided, Hong Ming began to announce the second matter. His gaze landed on Li Mo. "The second matter is Li Mo’s marriage. Li Mo, you can tell everyone yourself."

Li Mo nodded and stepped forward under Su Chen’s slightly surprised gaze. He addressed the crowd, "Fellow disciples, I will be getting married in half a month. Everyone is welcome to attend..."

This news was so sudden that it took the crowd a moment to process. Once Li Mo finished speaking, everyone rushed to congratulate him, and he happily handed out the wedding invitations.

With both matters announced, Hong Ming had everyone stay for lunch. They enjoyed simple, home-cooked dishes while chatting idly.

After the meal, everyone said their goodbyes and left. Before Su Chen could even speak, Hong Ming asked him to stay behind.

"Chen, with your strength, you can now be considered a notable figure among the younger generation in White Stone City," Hong Ming said earnestly. "I kept you here today to give you some advice."

Hearing this, Su Chen’s expression immediately turned serious. "Please speak, Master."

"I believe it won’t be long before some major factions learn of your breakthrough. When that happens, they will definitely invite you to join them. You don’t need to worry about my feelings; just choose according to your own needs."

Hong Ming then briefly introduced the factions of the Inner City and Outer City to Su Chen, hoping to prevent him from blindly joining the wrong group due to a lack of experience.

"I originally intended to send you to Wei Ping’s Weiyuan Escort Agency to gain some experience," Hong Ming continued. "But these are troubled times. Bandits run rampant outside the city, making escort missions far too dangerous for you. You might as well pick one of the factions I mentioned and join them."

Hong Ming gave a brief overview of the three major families and three major gangs in the city. According to him, the three major families might not value Su Chen highly, but they would still send their disciples to recruit him or at least build a good relationship.

On the other hand, the three major gangs might offer a hefty sum to recruit him. Hong Ming actually favored the Broken Blade Sect. After all, Su Chen had a connection through Fang Rou. Moreover, the Broken Blade Sect was the oldest faction in White Stone City. Even if turmoil were to erupt in the city, they would offer more security compared to the other factions.

"Yes, Master!" Su Chen replied after a moment of thought. He didn’t make an immediate decision. With his current strength, it didn’t really matter whether he joined a gang or not. If he really had to join one, he would choose the one that offered the best benefits.

Following that, Hong Ming briefly mentioned a few other factions that required caution. This conversation gave Su Chen a clear understanding of the various powers within White Stone City.

"Well then, Master, if there is nothing else, this disciple will take his leave," Su Chen said.

"There is one more thing." Hong Ming raised an eyebrow, revealing a kindly smile. "Let me test your current strength."

After the test, Su Chen brushed off his sleeves and calmly walked out of the courtyard. From within the courtyard came Hong Ming’s surprised and delighted laughter: "HAHAHA..."

Over the next few days, just as Hong Ming had predicted, various factions from the city came to visit Su Chen.

First were the disciples of the three major families, who arrived bearing congratulatory gifts. They invited him to gatherings, wanting to take him out for food, drinks, and entertainment. After attending once, Su Chen had no intention of going again. Compared to a life of drunken revelry, he preferred to quietly practice martial arts and read.

Aside from the three major families, several smaller factions also visited and made him offers, but Su Chen politely declined them after weighing the pros and cons. The White Jade Gang, one of the three major gangs, also sent someone with an offer to recruit him. However, the restrictions upon joining were too strict, so Su Chen politely turned them down as well.

For five consecutive days, Su Chen was pestered by these factions. They visited almost every day, making it impossible for him to focus on his studies.

Left with no choice, Su Chen selected the Changhe Gang from among the three major gangs, as they offered the highest price and the fewest restrictions. He joined the Changhe Gang as an affiliated member with a monthly salary of fifty taels.

To Su Chen’s surprise, Fang Rou specifically sought him out to improve his compensation, raising it from fifteen taels a month to thirty taels a month. Naturally, Su Chen had no objections and calmly accepted.

Once news of his affiliation with the Changhe Gang spread, the number of factions coming to recruit him finally decreased. Three days later, Su Chen’s life returned to peace.

He made a special trip to the Martial Arts Hall to inform Hong Ming about joining the Changhe Gang. Hong Ming didn’t say much after hearing the news, only advising Su Chen to be tactful in his actions.

Before he left, Hong Ming handed him five packets of Qi and Blood Powder all at once, giving Su Chen quite a scare.

Seeing Su Chen’s confusion, Hong Ming smiled. "These were formulated recently. Go ahead and use them. My advice remains the same: use them at your discretion. With your current realm, the effects of the Qi and Blood Powder won’t be as obvious, so you can use them one dose at a time."

"Thank you, Master!" Su Chen expressed his gratitude earnestly, then voiced his doubt. "Master, didn’t you say there was a shortage of medicinal herbs? How...?"

"Haha, there was a shortage before, but not anymore. This is all thanks to your third senior sister," Hong Ming explained with a smile.

It turned out that his third senior sister, Fang Rou, had some connections and had brought back a batch of medicinal herbs for formulating Qi and Blood Powder, allowing Hong Ming to produce more.

"By the way, the Outer City has started to become chaotic recently as well. Be careful out there, and let me know if you run into any trouble," Hong Ming reminded him.

"Understood!" Su Chen replied.

Afterward, Su Chen returned home carrying the five packets of Qi and Blood Powder. He consumed two packets that very day. Wanting to test his limits, he proceeded to take a third packet. His body felt slightly uncomfortable at first, but he recovered after a few hours.

"Currently, my limit is three packets of Qi and Blood Powder!" he thought.

Having drawn this conclusion, Su Chen decided against taking a fourth packet to avoid causing any harm to his body. Looking at his two remaining packets of Qi and Blood Powder, Su Chen decided he might as well process the last six batches of medicinal ingredients he had left.

The success rate of the formulation was very high. From the six batches of herbs, he produced four doses of Nameless Medicine and two doses of Qi and Blood Powder. This was enough to sustain Su Chen’s cultivation for another two days.

He pondered, "However, compared to what the status panel requires, this is still far from enough. Master said my third senior sister has connections. I should probably ask her and see if she can get me some Red Blood Grass as well.

"Sigh, things have been getting increasingly restless lately. I need to improve my strength as quickly as possible."

During this period, news of bandits and thugs causing havoc outside the city arrived daily. A wave of refugees and beggars had already flooded into the city, driving the prices of grain and oil up several times over. Fights between the major gangs had also grown increasingly fierce under the Government Office’s blind eye.

This gave Su Chen the constant feeling that a storm was brewing. A sliver of urgency arose in his heart; he wanted to elevate his strength as soon as possible so that he would have the power to protect himself if any unforeseen events occurred in the future.

Having made up his mind, Su Chen took advantage of his free time to head to Fang Rou’s residence.