Chapter Thirty-Five: Where Lies the Strength

  "Alright, Lu Fan, let bygones be bygones."

  The sound drifted in with the wind, and behind him Lu Hao Ran and others jumped down from the teahouse and walked quickly over.

  Xiao Hei jumped onto Lu Fan's shoulder again, baring his teeth at Nalan Ruo. Lu Hao Ran had a smile on his face as he waved his hand at Nalan Ruo and said: "Nalan teacher, three moves have passed, and Lu Fan has proven himself to be not some side-door cultivator. As for apologizing or not, it's just a matter of losing face. Don't mind it. Today we'll stop here, in the future when Lu Fan arrives at the academy, I'm afraid Nalan teacher will still need to take care of him."

  Nalan You took a deep breath, and in front of everyone, apologized to a young boy. This kind of thing really had to be done, and his face was already lost. Since the Lu family people were so sensible, he also borrowed the momentum to slide down, saying: "This is what should be done, Lu Fan's talent is astonishing, and in the future at the Martial Arts Academy, I'm sure you will make great progress. I happen to have a bottle of elixir on hand, and I'll give it to you as an apology gift."

  Nalan Ruo said, throwing the elixir in his arms to Lu Fan. Anyway, he couldn't get this elixir, and he couldn't stop Lu Fan. The Mo family would definitely take it back. It's better to bring it out now and give it as a favor. By the way, do it for the Mo family to see, tell them that I have nothing to do with you anymore.

  Lu Fan took over the elixir and was slightly taken aback. He didn't expect to get another bottle of elixir, this gain was indeed not bad.

  Lu Hao Ran smiled and nodded slightly, gently tugging on Lu Fan's clothes, saying: "Let's go, Lu Fan, we're going home to set up a banquet."

  Lu Fan smiled, holding the recruitment jade card of the Martial Arts Academy in his hand. His goal had been achieved. He also got a bottle of elixir, which was not a small gain, and he could return home now.

  Under the cheers of the onlookers, the Lu family walked back slowly.

  The young master of the Lu family stood tall and proud in the crowd, his eyebrows raised and his chest out, reclaiming all that Lu Fan had lost in the academy's tests over the years.

  On the tea house floor, Mo Tian watched as Nalan Master threw the elixir to Lu Fan, his face instantly turning iron-green.

  Mo Yunfei said: "How can Nalan Rong do this? That is the elixir that Zhao Xu brother sold to me. It belongs to our Mo family."

  Mo Tian said, "Enough, he has already given the elixir to Lu Fan, what can we do? It seems that Nalan Ruo is going to cut ties with our Mo family. Even if you go find him now, he will definitely pretend to have nothing to do with you and won't admit to the elixir matter. How despicable, letting that little brat Lu Fan get a bottle of Rejuvenation Elixir for free."

  Zhao Xu quietly watched from the side. At this moment, he saw that everyone in the Mo family had an angry face, and his good friend Mo Yunfei was also filled with anger. Zhao Xu spoke up: "Isn't it just a bottle of Rebound Dan? It's a small matter. Why is Brother Mo so angry? Just because Lu Fan has already cultivated his aura doesn't mean that Brother Mo can't catch up to him. How about this, I'll help Brother Mo refine a furnace of dan medicine. I guarantee that Brother Mo will quickly break through the bottleneck."

  Mo Yunfei's face suddenly cleared up upon hearing this, and he looked at Zhao Xu and asked: "Brother Zhao, are you really willing to help me?"

  Mo Yunfei smiled and said, "It's just a small matter. If there were more of these elixirs, Brother Mo could use them to improve the family brothers' cultivation. However, the rules of the Refining Qi Sect must still be followed: one furnace of elixir, one spiritual herb, one treasure."

  Mo Yunfei turned his head to look at Mo Tian, this matter can only be decided by Mo Tian.

  Alchemists are indeed formidable, to hire a first-rate alchemist to refine medicine, one must not only provide the medicinal materials themselves but also offer another spiritual herb as tribute, and finally hand over a precious treasure.

  "No problem, I'll bring back the medicine, spiritual herbs and treasures. Please ask Brother Zhao to take good care of it."

  Zhao Xu smiled and said: "This is natural, I guarantee that the elixir will be absolutely fine."

  Mo Tian nodded heavily, this was an opportunity for the Mo family to increase their strength. Other families couldn't even get a Qi Refiner to make a move even if they offered them spiritual medicine and treasures. After all, Qi Refiners were much rarer than warriors.

  Mo Tian secretly thought to himself, "This time, with the help of a Qi Refining Master, I will definitely leave the Lu family far behind!"

  。。。。。。

  At night, the Lu family's house was filled with music and dance.

  This is the second time the Lu family has set up a grand banquet since Lu Fan won the Western Mountain Hunting Meeting.

  Unlike last time, this time it's not just the Lu family who are present, people from other families in Jiang City have also come to celebrate.

  Lu Haoran sat in the host's seat, listening to the continuous congratulatory voices, looking at the piled-up gifts, and felt a sense of pride. He was also surrounded by other families, constantly being toasted with wine.

  Originally a large quantity of liquor was drunk, and everyone's face turned bright red. However, they were very happy, loudly shouting "we won't leave until we're drunk".

  Having such a son, what more could one ask for?

  Come on, have three more cups!

  The Lu family members all arrived, except for the protagonist Lu Fan who was not present. Except for a brief appearance at the beginning of the banquet, Lu Fan disappeared in the blink of an eye and couldn't be found anywhere.

  However, everyone else didn't mind and just thought that Lu Fan didn't like the banquet.

  For over a decade, Lu Fan rarely attended banquets and it was normal for him to leave early, staying behind was rare.

  In the western mountain, by the riverbank.

  Lu Fan was having a great time drinking with his master Wu Chen, surrounded by delicious food and fine wine.

  Wu Chen drank until his eyes were blurry, and the little black dog beside him was already asleep on the ground, snoring loudly.

  It just fell asleep and wouldn't let go of the wine jug. Lu Fan laughed at Xiao Hei's appearance, saying: "It's actually a little wine devil."

  Wu Chen also laughed and then said: "Lu Fan, after the New Year's ceremony, you will go to the Martial Arts Academy. Do you still remember what I told you?"

  Lu Fan nodded and said: "Remember, Martial Arts Academy, First Branch, First Yuan Dao Decision."

  Wu Chen said, "That's right, don't ever forget. It's very important to you. Try every means possible to enter the One Yuan Division. If not, then the Martial Arts Academy will be of little significance to you."

  Lu Fan was slightly puzzled and said: "Isn't Wudao Academy a sacred place for cultivating martial arts? Why is it not very significant?"

  Wu Chen said: "It's just a school, after all. How much significance can it have? Do you know where your cultivation of the aura is stronger than that of other warriors and Qi refining masters?"

  Lu Fangdao said: "I can use the methods of both sides, advancing to attack and retreating to defend. The power of the strike itself is also stronger than the original energy of the strike."

  Wu Chen shook his head and said, "This is just a small part of it. I'll tell you, the greatest benefit of cultivating both internal energy and martial arts is that you can take all sorts of medicinal pills."

  Lu Fan looked at Wu Chen with a puzzled expression, he didn't understand what kind of strength this was.

  Wu Chen slowly explained: "Ordinary Qi-refining cultivators, if they want to refine and upgrade their own strength-enhancing elixirs, it's extremely difficult. Because the elixirs that can enhance a Qi-refiner's primordial energy are all top-grade. From the medicinal materials to the alchemy formula, everything is extremely precious. A first-rate Qi-refining cultivator may spend several years gathering the materials needed to refine just one Five Elements Elixir, and it's common for them to not obtain three or five elixirs that enhance their primordial energy in their lifetime. However, the elixirs that Qi-refiners provide to warriors are much simpler. Because originally, these elixirs were invented just to allow warriors to serve them, so they don't need to put too much thought into it."

  Lu Fan slightly understood, his eyes lit up. Wu Chen continued: "So, these alchemy formulas are very common among Qi Refiners. There's almost no secret to speak of, a formula that can enhance the strength of a Terran Warrior can also be bought with money. To Qi Refiners, they're just tools to curry favor with Warriors or even exploit them. But for you, it's the foundation of enhancing your strength. Qi Refiners can't use it, but you can. Ordinary Warriors would have to pay a hundredfold or even a thousandfold price for such an alchemy pill, but you only need to gather the materials and refine it yourself."

  Lu Fan's eyes sparkled with excitement as he said, "So that's how it is. My increased strength allows me to cultivate both martial arts and internal energy. I can take either type of pill, whether it's for enhancing my spiritual energy or my physical strength; in the end, they'll all be converted into my own aura."

  Wu Chen said, "That's right, it's like that. So I say, the existence of the Martial Arts Academy is not very meaningful to you. What you need to do is go to the gathering places of Qi Refiners more often, interact with them more, and buy Dan formulas from their hands. With a large number of Dan formulas, your strength will increase rapidly, and once your Qi refines, you can refine even better Dan medicines. This is a virtuous cycle that can make you rise rapidly. You don't need to go to any Martial Arts Academy, just participate in some Dan-refining conferences."

  Lu Fan nodded heavily, and suddenly he thought of a question: "In that case, wouldn't it be easy for Qi Refiners to create powerful warriors?"

  Wu Chen said: "That's right. But only below the Earthly Realm. From the Earthly Realm onwards, wanting to break through to the Heavenly Realm requires enlightenment. This is not something that ordinary elixirs can enhance. Elixirs that can enhance enlightenment abilities are extremely precious, because Refiners also need to enlighten themselves. So, from now on, when you encounter a Refiner, be careful. There will always be stronger warriors by his side. A first-rate Refiner having a strong warrior following him is normal."

  Lu Fan slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid air and said, "In that case, the Martial Arts Academy is indeed not very meaningful. Before I reach the Earthly Realm, I don't need to worry about researching any martial techniques or skills. As long as I accumulate enough elixir formulas and gather the necessary medicinal materials, I'm afraid that just eating the elixirs I've cultivated myself will be enough to make a breakthrough."

  Wu Chen said, "That's right. But I don't entirely agree with the method of constantly taking elixirs to boost one's power. It can lead to a weak foundation and lack of endurance. Elixirs should be taken in moderation, and only the best ones should be consumed. Now, I will pass on some precious elixir formulas that I have on hand to you. These are all very valuable formulas, so don't casually show them to others. When you go to Wudao Academy for training, try not to come back within three years. Every year during the annual festival is also a time when Qi Refining Masters gather. If I'm not mistaken, there's a gathering place for Qi Refining Masters in the northern part of Donghua State, which isn't far from your Wudao Academy. You should go take a look around."

  Wu Chen said, placing a finger on Lu Fan's brow, and instantly one after another danfang appeared in his mind, deeply etched into his memory.

  "Wu Chen said slowly: 'The world is vast and boundless. Just in the small Wu An country, there are 18,000 states, let alone the tiny Dong Hua state, it's not worth wasting too much time on it. The master hopes to see you standing at the peak of the mainland soon.'"