Longzang

Chapter 50 Troubled Times
There are some embellishments on the path of cultivation. For example, Bao Yun was unwilling to accept her previous defeat and challenged the Zhi Gu Sect to another battle. This time, Wei Yuan had also begun to forge his body, so they were finally able to fight back and forth.

None of the students were willing to submit to anyone else, so the only command Bao Yun and Cui Yu could give was basically "Charge!" Even though the Dingxin faction was actually a disorganized bunch, it quickly turned into a chaotic melee once the fighting started.

Wei Yuan found that the chaotic battle was completely different from the martial arts test, and he fought in an extremely awkward way. When he wanted to throw a punch, there was always someone on his side blocking his path. When he wanted to dodge, someone would step on his foot. In short, everything went wrong, and he was constantly being sabotaged by his own people.

As the saying goes, when one place is in trouble, trouble comes from all sides.

As a result, Wei Yuan was surrounded and beaten black and blue.

However, Hou Weiyuan, having undergone body tempering, was much stronger than before. He was beaten by more than a dozen people for a long time without sustaining any serious injuries, barely even suffering minor cuts or bruises. It was the men who were beating him who were exhausted. However, Hou Weiyuan ended up with many bruises, making him look rather unsightly.

After two fights, the students who participated in the intensive training were labeled as the "Innovation Faction," becoming bitter enemies with the disciples of the "Ancient Knowledge Faction." A few months later, Bao Yun and Cui Yu launched another revenge campaign. Given Wei Yuan's impressive performance in restraining over a dozen people last time, he was unanimously chosen to lead the charge.

At this point, most students had completed their muscle forging and entered the blood refining stage, while a few had begun bone refining. As a result, everyone's physical strength had greatly increased, making leaps of several meters and punches that could shatter rocks commonplace. The disciples of the Taichu Palace were a gathering of geniuses, each possessing various supernatural abilities. When they exerted their power, their bodies were enveloped in colorful ribbons and rainbow lights. Regardless of their combat strength, their aura was always at its peak.

So the fighting was so intense that everyone flew through the air and disappeared into the ground, with dazzling lights and all sorts of mythical beasts, immortals and demons appearing in the sky. It wasn't even this extravagant when the Three Immortals settled Yunzhou.

But no matter how ethereal and dazzling it was at the beginning, it eventually turned into a melee, all-out brawl where everyone was intertwined, and Wei Yuan even found teammates by his side.

Then Wei Yuan was bruised and swollen.

Fortunately, with three Qi-Nourishing Pills every day, Wei Yuan's skin and flesh were much thicker than before, and he didn't feel too bad when punches and kicks landed on him. This kind of duel was considered a friendly spar, so both sides were unarmed and couldn't use each other's magic weapons. Otherwise, if someone pulled out a magic sword and stabbed Wei Yuan, he wouldn't be able to withstand it. Wei Yuan also discovered that as long as no weapons were used, even blows from those who had refined bones didn't hurt much.

Of course, Wei Yuan knew his limits and understood that this was reality, not an illusion like the Martial Arts Test, so he didn't dare use the Heaven and Earth Madman.

After the fight, Bao Yun almost cried when she saw Wei Yuan's condition. However, Wei Yuan had single-handedly held off more than twenty opponents, allowing Cui Yu and Bao Yun to sweep aside their enemies elsewhere and ultimately win the battle. This was the first victory for the Dingxin faction, and everyone was overjoyed, except for Wei Yuan.

Afterwards, Bao Yun felt guilty and went to find Wei Yuan, comforting him softly for a long time. She even privately tried to give him ten thousand taels of silver. Wei Yuan initially refused, but Bao Yun insisted it was a loan, not a gift, and spoke of their shared sect and hometown ties. Finally, she even mentioned Zhang Sheng, which finally convinced Wei Yuan to reluctantly accept. In terms of cultivation level, Wei Yuan was indeed dragging the whole class down.

At this time, the 100,000 taels of silver in the class's public account had been almost used up, and the effect was very obvious. With enough resources and pills, most of the students of the Dingxin Sect made far greater progress in their cultivation than expected, and their average progress had already left the Zhigu Sect far behind.

After spending more than a year together, Wei Yuan now has a more intuitive understanding of the strength of powerful clans and no longer has the strange idea that Bao Yun's spending of tens of thousands of taels of silver would affect his life.

Having received 10,000 taels from Bao Yun, Wei Yuan's personal debts now exceed 30,000 taels. Of this, 6,000 taels are for academic expenses, and 15,000 taels were borrowed from the public account. Since owing more than 1,000 taels of silver, Wei Yuan's mindset has undergone a subtle change. The money he owes now seems like just a number, and he no longer suffers from sleepless nights due to anxiety. He is also more open and composed when borrowing money.

This victory greatly boosted the morale of the Dingxin faction students. A few days later, Cui Yu announced that he would personally contribute another 50,000 taels to the public account, followed by Bao Yun and Xiao Yu. As a result, the morale of all the students soared to unprecedented heights, except for Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan inhaled and exhaled the moonlight. Days always pass, and before he knew it, the third year had arrived.

According to the teacher of the Heaven and Earth Theory, this year an unseen large star will move between several other unseen large stars, signifying misfortune and chaos. As for how he knew how an unseen large star would move, the teacher lectured on this for three whole classes, listing a whole bunch of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, and drawing countless circles that didn't look like circles. Wei Yuan didn't understand a word of it, and neither did anyone else in the class.

The teacher of the theory of Qi and Luck said that the great cycles of Heaven and Earth are slightly fluctuating, that fortunes reach their peak and then decline, that nations are in turmoil, and that people's fortunes rise and fall dramatically. He also listed a whole bunch of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, but no one understood him.

The senior disciple, Daoji Lunli, said that those who successfully cultivate Daoji this year will receive an extra boost in combat power. The students were thrilled and took the initiative to practice extra after class.

Finally, the teacher changed. Instead of discussing alchemy and artifacts, he talked at length about shamanism, divination, incantations, and poison techniques. Suddenly, there were far fewer students meditating and practicing during class, and everyone listened with extra care.

Wei Yuan used the divination skills he had just learned to calculate his fortune, and the result was: financial loss.

Wei Yuan felt that he had not fully understood the theory of tactics.

However, just to be on the safe side, he decided to visit Yan Ming in Donghai when he had time to catch up and become friends. After all, they were from the same hometown.

In conclusion, the twelfth year of the Longwu reign of the Tang Dynasty was destined to be a turbulent time.

Not long after the start of spring, Wei Yuan noticed that the atmosphere within the sect was somewhat strange.

On this day, it was time to refine one's foundation again. Wei Yuan came to the council hall as usual. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw his senior sister sitting in the room, playing with an orchid in her hand.

The orchid was exceptionally beautiful, radiating a spiritual and ethereal quality. Wei Yuan subconsciously glanced at it several times, increasingly convinced that it was no ordinary plant. However, he then noticed a detail: the orchid had no roots. The tip of its stem continuously dispersed into countless glittering stardust particles before disappearing, a beauty beyond compare.

How could there be such an orchid in the world?

Before Wei Yuan could even exclaim in surprise, Ji Liuli said, "Hurry up, what are you dawdling about!"

Ji Liuli wasn't saying this to Wei Yuan. Only then did Wei Yuan realize that there was another person in the room, busily working in front of the medicine cabinet, packing packets of processed medicinal herbs into the corresponding compartments.

This man, as radiant as water, was simply too dazzling. Even though he had only seen a glimpse of his profile before, Wei Yuan still recognized him: Xu Henshui.

He held a few herbs in his hand, hesitating to put them in the medicine cabinet. Ji Liuli sneered, running his hand up the orchid stem until he finally grasped the flower.

(End of this chapter)