The proof of Emperor Wu began with daily rewards for diligence.

Chapter 97 Undercurrents

Shi Huojiao, Kaiyang New District Headquarters.

Fei Bin, who had not been seen for many days, was fighting with Wan Yi.

He was covered in thick black flames, half-beast and half-human, wielding a long sword like a fan, possessing immense strength.

Wan Yi, wielding a four-foot-long black stick, engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy, causing the newly built parish church to crack and its walls to collapse.

The soldiers of the Church of Fire who were watching the fight from the sidelines dared not step forward to mediate, fearing that the two high-ranking figures of the diocese would take their anger out on them, and remained silent.

"Fei Bin, what's wrong with you here?!"

"With the grand ceremony imminent, instead of sharing the burden with the high priest, you're here fighting amongst yourselves. Do you want to face judgment by the cult?"

Wan Yi discovered that Fei Bin's strength had actually improved after returning from seclusion.

Although he has not yet reached the level of ascension, his connection with the true energy of the Chamber Fire has become increasingly close, almost becoming a perfect vessel for his arrival.

"I'm insane?! Zhong Wei and the others are dead, how do you explain that?"

"Those three are promising talents whom I personally mentored. They will soon be able to break through to the Spirit Seed stage and become an asset to the diocese."

"But you assigned them to the sons of powerful families, leading to their mysterious and unjust deaths!"

"I see you're just in cahoots with the powerful clans and families; you've never considered strengthening the military power of our Fire Sect!"

Fei Bin grew angrier as he spoke, his black and red true fire energy surging and condensing into a fiery red armor, which he then charged and attacked fiercely at Wan Yi.

The new parish was immediately engulfed in smoke and dust, and people fled.

Half an hour later, Fei Bin and Wan Yi finally got tired of fighting and stood in a pile of ruins, wary of each other.

"I heard you issued a ban, ceasing all plans targeting the He family's fiery woman."

A faint flame flickered in Fei Bin's eyes.

"That's right, the plan has changed. That inspector named Chen Jue has a high-ranking member of the Pei family standing behind him."

Following his heart, Wan Yi was unwilling to tell Fei Bin these things.

However, considering the seriousness of the matter, he still told Fei Bin the whole story.

"I see----"

Upon hearing this, Fei Bin was not afraid at all. Instead, he suddenly realized and said, "No wonder my brothers all died mysteriously. It turns out this kid has someone hiding behind him—"

That day, he transformed into a pig demon and beat up Wu Yue. He then learned from Wu Yue that Ding Ze and Du Kui, who went to seek revenge on Chen Jue, were not killed by Wu Yue.

In addition, the second brother, who was staying at the Kaiyang Garrison, inexplicably exploded during the killing of Chen Jue.

Now that the clues have been pieced together, the truth has finally come to light.

"Fei Bin, I advise you not to go crazy!"

"If you cause trouble at this time, even if the high priest values ​​you highly, he will not show any mercy."

Wan Yi's face was grim as he warned.

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to act impulsively."

"I will remember this grudge. When the grand ceremony is over and my sect is able to stand on equal footing with the four great families, I will surely kill him!"

Fei Bin revealed a ferocious expression and unleashed another punch, this time carrying intense flames, at Wan Yi.

He's very angry right now; we have to hit him.

Inside the underground alchemy room.

Chen Jue first practiced with a batch of Body Tempering Pills before starting to prepare the spiritual materials for the "Soul Nourishing Pill".

"Frosty Bone Snow Lotus | is the main ingredient of the Soul Nourishing Pill."

It is said that the spirit bones, which grow on the snow-capped mountains for thousands of years, live by absorbing the residual soul power in the bone marrow.

Once the soul power within the spirit bone is completely drained, the Frost Bone Snow Lotus will fully mature.

If no one comes to harvest it in the short term, this spiritual material will consume its own spiritual power, and its medicinal properties will gradually deteriorate until it becomes a useless withered ice sculpture.

Therefore, the quality and medicinal efficacy of "Frosty Bone Snow Lotus" depend entirely on the amount of spiritual bone it contains and whether it is harvested in a timely manner.

The Frost Bone Snow Lotus that Jiao Fengchun gave to Chen Jue was of very poor quality, looking wilted and dull, clearly indicating that it was not of high quality and was not harvested in time.

Chen Jue took out the pill formula and reviewed it once more.

The preparation of "Frosty Bone Snow Lotus" must be kept away from metal and fire. The roots and the part that is connected to the spiritual bone must be cut off. Then, it should be placed in a cold jade vessel and soaked in "Taiyin Snow Dew".

After these two medicinal ingredients are combined, move them to a cool place and let them dry in the moonlight for three long nights through a window. This will completely cleanse the spiritual material of any resentment or evil influence, making it a suitable main ingredient for elixirs.

"Taiyin Snow Dew" is not a cheap product either.

It requires a martial artist at the Spirit Realm or above to reside permanently on the Great Snow Mountain and collect snowflakes falling from the sky at night using a specific container.

This snow contains a large amount of lunar energy, and after melting, it becomes "Lunar Snow Dew," a high-grade auxiliary medicine highly sought after by alchemists.

Chen Jue methodically finished processing the "Frosty Bone Snow Lotus" and placed it in the specially made cold storage in the alchemy room.

Chen Jue did not take the remaining auxiliary medicines, which were listed as "adjuvants," lightly soaking and grinding them into powder as needed, completing the task perfectly.

After everything was done, Chen Jue glanced at the time; there was still a long time before the moon rose that night.

He then returned to the courtyard and quiet room to practice his internal energy and martial arts.

Lesser Five Elements Technique, Heavenly Will Blade Technique, Six Harmonies Blade Technique, Dragon Diving into the Abyss Step—

Chen Jue was like a tireless machine, constantly repeating the cultivation process and frantically squeezing out his own potential.

Although he was temporarily removed from the inspection system, he was spared the predicament of being swept along by the tide during the great fire disaster.

But he knew in his heart that the powerful families had begun to recklessly disregard human life.

This means that chaos has arrived, and the Ming Dynasty has entered its twilight years, a period marked by a lack of control.

Since the Divine Dynasty has no power to restrain the local powerful clans, how far away is the collapse of social order and the chaos of the world?

If the divine dynasty collapses, and the sky falls and the earth caves in, then...

If his own strength is still not enough.

Pretending to be sick, or even pretending to be dead, would be completely useless.

Therefore, in chaotic times, one must either advance or retreat. He must work even harder to cultivate himself in order to live up to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to awaken to the principle that "heaven rewards diligence."

When Pei Lingyu arrived, it was already 10 p.m.

She landed on the roof and looked down to see Chen Jue practicing his swordplay in the courtyard. He was using the same sword technique she had given him a couple of days ago, "The Sword of Unfettered Heaven's Will." She involuntarily fell silent and hid, observing quietly for a while.

As Chen Jue smoothly swung his sword horizontally and vertically, bursts of energy occasionally shot out.

Pei Lingyu was increasingly alarmed as she looked at him, her eyes filled with shock and astonishment, even more so than when Chen Jue had looked at her last night.

"This guy only mastered the basics of the 'Heavenly Will Blade' in a mere two days, and yet he somehow managed to comprehend the Pei family's 'Qi Control and Power Transformation' technique—"

"As expected of a hidden gem who can transform 'humanity' into 'my way,' this level of understanding is absolutely no less than that of the Western Buddhist disciples, the Greater and Lesser Maitreya Heavens—"

At the same time, she saw a beam of lunar radiance being guided by some force and falling onto the open ground beside the Western-style building.

The open space was covered with gleaming tempered glass, through which slivers of moonlight shone and fell upon a perfectly prepared snow lotus.

"Soul-Nourishing Pill?!"

"Oh! I almost forgot, he's also a pretty good alchemist."

"However, Pei Qingying and he really were childhood sweethearts; she even told him about something as important as the Soul Nourishing Pill—"