Chapter 9 - 7: Betrayed Again_1
Chapter 9: Chapter 7: Betrayed Again_1
Having free access to Elder Yang's Pill Refining Room and receiving guidance from him was not just a great advantage, but also an honor - an honor that signified Elder Yang's approval. If Yang Chen received Elder Yang's approval in just three months for the Coming of Age Ceremony, even if he didn't enter the First Layer of Body Refining Realm, his family registration would not be revoked.
A person who was valued by Elder Yang was an alchemy genius. Could the Yang family dare to expel a genius alchemist from the family registry?
Everyone thought Yang Chen was incredibly lucky.
Without a doubt, the most indignant person was Yang Heng
.
Yang Heng had an absolute sense of superiority over Yang Chen in both alchemy and martial arts cultivation. However, Gu Mingyue wasn't willing to submit to him, which always bothered him. But that didn't matter since he still had his sense of superiority over Yang Chen.
But now...
This sense of superiority was gone.
He felt that he was the most qualified person to gain Elder Yang's favor, but today, that qualification was snatched away by Yang Chen!
"Hmph, alchemy is just alchemy. Even if Elder Yang is in the Yang family, his existence is still dispensable. He might be good at alchemy, and Yang Chen might have gained his favor because Elder Yang sees his past self in him. But being unable to set foot in martial arts means he's still a waste, Yang Chen is still a useless person." Yang Heng thought to himself, this kind of self-consolation somehow eased his mind a bit.
Yang Chen didn't know what Yang Heng was thinking, as he had no time to deal with him right now. Hearing Elder Yang's words, he quickly said, "Thank you, Grandpa Second."
"Haha, no need to thank me. Although you have grasped my techniques and details, you still lack some experience to refine the Clear Flame Pill. In the future, come to your Grandpa Second more often, and under my guidance, with your talent, you may soon be able to refine the Clear Flame Pill on your own. At that time, you will be a Grade 1 high-rank Alchemist," Elder Yang said with satisfaction.
"Thank you for your support, Elder Yang," Yang Chen was also overjoyed.
Elder Yang waved his hand: "Alright, the class is over for today. You all go back. Yang Chen, you stay."
Seeing this scene, Yang Heng and many others gritted their teeth with hatred, but they had no choice but to leave, not daring to go against Elder Yang's wishes.
In the blink of an eye, only Yang Chen and Elder Yang were left in the Pill Refining Room.
The more Elder Yang looked at Yang Chen, the more pleasing he found him, especially after hearing Yang Chen's words about not judging a hero by temporary success or failure. He could empathize with that feeling. Elder Yang said with his hands behind his back, "Just now, I promised to give you a reward and grant you a request as long as you could comprehend my Clear Flame Pill refining technique. Yang Chen, what is your request? Let me hear it!"
Yang Chen had been waiting for Elder Yang to say this, so he immediately said with respect, "Grandpa Second, I want to ask for some materials to practice at home. I still lack experience in some elixirs."
"Hahaha, your eagerness to practice is indeed commendable," said Elder Yang, who was not stingy at all. He was not surprised by Yang Chen's request either.
An alchemist needs a lot of materials to practice in order to become successful.
Without materials to practice with, becoming an Alchemy Master would be extremely difficult.
With Yang Chen's astonishing talent, Elder Yang wouldn't be stingy. He spoke kindly, "Yang Chen, follow me."
"Yes, Elder Yang." Yang Chen followed Elder Yang.
As the Yang family's top Alchemy Master, Elder Yang possessed heavenly materials and earthly treasures, as well as Wild Spiritual Herbs, personally granted to him by the Yang family. Because a great alchemist like Elder Yang was undoubtedly a treasure for the Yang family.
Therefore, very few people in the Yang family possessed wealth comparable to Elder Yang's.
With Elder Yang's permission, Yang Chen quickly chose a few spiritual herbs and was very satisfied with his choices.
He selected these spiritual herbs not for alchemy, but for other purposes.
When he returned to the courtyard, Yang Chen had completely prepared himself.
What he was going to do was a cultivation method known only to some powerful forces in the outside world - the Medicinal Bath!
"Using a medicinal bath to nurture the body before reaching the Body Refining Realm is a necessary method for the major sects' forces. It's absolutely impossible to have it in the Vast Wilderness. However, my specially researched medicinal bath is even more advanced than those major sects. It's just a pity that although Elder Yang has quite a fortune, the spiritual herbs he possesses are still not sufficient to support the medicinal bath I need," Yang Chen sighed in his heart.
The medicinal bath he required didn't have high material demands, but the Vast Wilderness was an extremely remote place, and heavenly materials and earthly treasures were extremely scarce. It was indeed difficult to meet his requirements.
"However, having these spiritual herbs to make a medicinal bath to irrigate my body is enough. I can think about the future medicinal baths later," murmured Yang Chen.
The Body Refining Realm, as the name suggests, is about refining the body.
It is the foundation for martial artists and is divided into nine levels.
This realm is about tempering the bones and every part of the body. The advantage of a medicinal bath is that it can help with the fundamental transformation of one's bones and physique, which cannot be achieved through cultivation alone. This is because the transformation caused by the medicinal bath is qualitative in nature.
Once the medicinal bath is successfully used, Yang Chen would have a solid foundation. In the subsequent promotion process, he would achieve results much more quickly than others, giving him an extra edge.
This is the most critical point.
"I can't lose to others at the starting line," Yang Chen thought as he prepared the medicinal bath.
He dumped all the spiritual herbs he had obtained from Elder Yang into the medicinal bath, and without taking off his clothes, he eagerly jumped into the bath.Once he entered the medicinal bath, in an instant, Yang Chen immediately felt the power of the spirit medicine sweeping up and down his body. The astonishing medicinal power seemed to want to penetrate his body through his pores, making him feel both joyful and painful at the same time.
This feeling was something Yang Chen had anticipated. The medicinal power in the bath was, to some extent, remodeling his body.
Yang Chen had never exercised since he was a child, and he was weak and sickly. The refining effect of the medicinal bath might take a very long time for him.
The pain felt as if it could tear his body apart, but Yang Chen's will would not succumb to such pain. He gritted his teeth and persevered. Gradually, the pain disappeared, and the cool and refreshing feeling spread all over his body, making him open his eyebrows and take a deep breath.
In addition, his body felt like a fish in water, seemingly gaining layers of strength in an instant under the nourishment of the medicinal bath.
Such power was something Yang Chen had never felt in his previous life or this life.
"First Layer of Body Refining Realm," Yang Chen said with a smile.
Indeed, it was the first layer of Body Refining Realm.
Haha, this is just too good.
Yang Chen never dared to dream that he could actually set foot in martial arts.
Reaching the first layer of Body Refining Realm might not be difficult for others, but it seemed an impossible feat for Yang Chen in his previous life. He was born without the talent to practice martial arts and was destined not to step into martial arts. He tried hard and looked for ways but ultimately failed.
Who could understand the hardships along the way?
And now, he has finally stepped into such a realm. Although it is just the first layer of Body Refining Realm, an entry-level phase, it is enough for him. At the very least, it symbolizes that he has indeed stepped into the world of martial arts. In the future, he can enter Dao through martial arts and stand at the peak of the vault of heaven!
"Refreshing." Now that the effect of the medicinal bath had gradually faded, Yang Chen could also feel the stark difference in his body.
After the medicinal bath ended, Yang Chen got up, changed into a new set of clothes, and went out to plan his next steps.
As it stands, just reaching the first layer of body refining was not enough to satisfy him. The medicinal bath effect created by the resources from Elder Yang was too thin; he needed more resources to make a medicinal bath to nourish his body.
Body Refining Realm is a foundational realm, and it is crucial to establish an excellent foundation at this stage. Otherwise, one would always lag behind others at the starting line.
As soon as he finished dressing and opened the door, he suddenly heard a commotion outside the courtyard.
"What's going on?" Yang Chen wondered, opening the door to look out.
He saw Gu Mingyue's face flushed with anger, saying furiously, "Zhou Huaiyi, you actually betrayed the Young Master! Young... Young Master, when did you come out?"
Yang Chen replied with a smile, "With the commotion outside, how could I not hear it in the room?"
Gu Mingyue bit her lip, staring at Zhou Huaiyi and whispered, "Young Master, this... this Zhou Huaiyi."
Yang Chen stared straight ahead, seeing that Yang Heng had somehow entered his courtyard, and Zhou Huaiyi was unexpectedly standing together with Yang Heng, his face full of a humble and submissive manner. He did not know when Zhou Huaiyi had decided to defect to Yang Heng's side.
At this moment, upon hearing Gu Mingyue's angry words, Zhou Huaiyi scoffed, "Gu Mingyue, do you think everyone is as stubborn as you? Young Master Heng is the genius of our Yang family. I, as a servant of the Yang family, am not just a servant to Yang Chen. Following Young Master Heng is the path to a bright future; I have long abandoned the darkness to embrace the light."
"Young Master, he... he!" Gu Mingyue gritted her teeth with anger but didn't know how to refute. "Our Young Master is not like what you said."
Yang Heng sneered, "Gu Mingyue, what's the point in being so stubborn? Yang Chen is a waste who cannot practice martial arts. It's a well-known fact. Am I wrong in calling him a waste?"
In alchemy, Yang Heng had repeatedly failed, and now he naturally sought a sense of superiority in martial arts over Yang Chen.
Yang Chen, on the other hand, stood with his hands behind him, looking at Zhou Huaiyi and Yang Heng with great interest.
Far from being angry, he even laughed happily.
He had long seen through Zhou Huaiyi's treacherous intentions. Most importantly, he wondered how Yang Heng found out about his attempted suicide so quickly, and how the news of his attempted suicide spread throughout the Yang family so quickly.
This matter was initially strange in every way; now that he thought about it, he understood.
Most likely, Zhou Huaiyi had been in touch with Yang Heng for a long time; hence when Yang Heng heard about his suicide attempt, he came looking for his corpse with dog-like sensitivity.
Zhou Huaiyi's betrayal was not at all surprising.
Yang Chen remained calm and unmoved by this incident.
Indeed, what he hated most was betrayal.
However, Zhou Huaiyi was just a servant after all. His betrayal? One more wouldn't make a difference, and one less wouldn't be missed. Instead, sooner or later, he would let Zhou Huaiyi know how foolish it is to betray him.
...
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