Fantasy: Starting with a bowl, you can exchange it for endless cultivation.

Jiuxianglou.

One of the largest restaurants in Chiyang City.

Several retainers from Dezhou and Baoyaoge, along with Su Ming, hosted a banquet at Jiuxianglou.

Congratulations to Gu Chen on becoming a newly appointed retainer of the Precious Medicine Pavilion.

Previously, the Treasure Medicine Pavilion had four people at the first level of the Innate Realm. Now, with the addition of Gu Chen, there are five people.

Among them, Zhou Hong's elder brother, Zhou Guang, who was in the middle stage of the first realm of innate talent, also came.

Doesn't he know that he has already crippled his younger brother, Zhou Hong?

He even threw himself a promotion banquet.

Could it be that Zhou Guang, having learned that he has now broken through to the first level of the Innate Realm, is wary of him and has therefore chosen not to avenge his brother, but instead to target him?

Gu Chen pondered to himself.

"Brother Gu, you are young and promising. At such a young age, you have already reached the first level of the Innate Realm. Your future achievements will surely far surpass ours. Come, let's have a drink." One of the retainers raised his cup to Gu Chen.

He was the strongest of the four elders of the Treasure Medicine Pavilion, possessing the cultivation of the first level of the Innate Realm, and his name was He Gong.

"Brother, you flatter me." Gu Chen humbly raised his glass: "Cheers."

When everyone came to celebrate his promotion, he naturally had to give them face.

"Gu Chen, you are nineteen years old now, still within the age range for the Divine Examination. Have you considered participating in this year's Divine Examination?" Xiang Dezhou asked.

"Brother Gu should participate, right?" Su Ming chimed in. He had returned to Chiyang City from the Pill Sect specifically to participate in the Divine Examination.

The benefits of taking the exam are numerous.

As long as one's name is on the list, regardless of whether one chooses to serve as an official in the Divine Dynasty, one's reputation will be enhanced.

Those with exceptional talent are easily sought after by many top powers within the divine dynasty.

It is beneficial to join some major powers, or to serve as a respected guest in some minor powers and families.

"I do have that plan," Gu Chen replied.

He came to Chiyang City to develop his career, originally intending to participate in the divine examination.

Participating in the divine examination is ideal; it would be best to enter the divine court as an official.

Officials are fond of accumulating wealth, so he needs a lot of money to cultivate his spiritual practice.

It would be best to join a special department such as the Night Watch or the Divine Garment Division.

So that he would have a way to acquire higher-level techniques.

Currently, he only possesses cultivation techniques at the fifth level of the Innate Realm.

He did not possess any cultivation techniques beyond the Innate Realm, nor the four realms of the Traveler.

The fourth realm of the Traveler is a terrifying existence that has given birth to true essence and can fly through the air, which is incomparable to the powerhouses of the Innate Realm.

He has a copper bowl, which means he will definitely reach a higher level in the future, so he needs to prepare in advance.

"The divine examination this year is in three months. With your cultivation speed, you will definitely be able to make further progress by then. Achieving a 'Category C' divine qualification in the Fire Cloud Palace should be no problem," Xiang Dezhou said.

The examination was conducted in units of prefectures.

The Divine Dynasty has a total of 144 prefectures.

Each prefecture is ranked separately.

Those who pass the highest level are called "divinely successful," and are divided into four grades: A, B, C, and D.

The others disagreed with what Dezhou had said.

To pass the "Category C Divine Examination," one must have at least the cultivation level of the mid-stage of the first realm of the Innate Realm and master at least one first-grade Innate martial art, which is quite difficult.

They did not believe that Gu Chen could pass the C-level Divine Examination.

Once you reach the Innate Realm, your progress will be very slow.

Tempering flesh and blood in the Flesh Refining Realm is much more difficult than simply improving qi and blood in the Blood Refining Realm.

Many of these people broke through to the first stage of the Innate Realm before the age of twenty-five.

Now, two or three decades have passed.

They are still at the first level of the Innate Realm, which shows how difficult it is to advance in one's cultivation level.

Although Gu Chen was able to reach the first level of the Innate Realm within half a year, his improvement speed would inevitably drop sharply after reaching the first level of the Innate Realm.

They conservatively estimate that this rate has decreased by at least five times.

In their view, it would take Gu Chen at least a year to break through to the mid-stage of the first level of the Innate Realm.

There are now only three months left until this year's divine examination.

If Gu Chen participates, he can probably only get a "D-level Divine Examination", and he probably won't get a C-level.

Of course, this was Gu Chen's promotion banquet, so they naturally wouldn't say such discouraging things.

Everyone praised Gu Chen, saying he had a good chance of getting a C grade.

Even Zhou Guang was the same.

Gu Chen had the illusion that he hadn't offended him at all; his brother had been crippled by him, and he seemed completely indifferent.

He engaged in normal interactions and flattered Gu Chen.

"I hope so, I take your kind words to heart." Gu Chen didn't bother to think about it and raised his glass to the crowd.

It's best if he doesn't target me.

It can save you a lot of trouble.

The banquet ended that evening.

On his way back to his villa, Gu Chen asked Su Ming about something.

"Brother Su, do you know where in Chiyang City I can get innate martial arts techniques?" Gu Chen asked.

The Lightning Five-Strike Blade technique he has mastered is now so advanced that even after he has cultivated it to a level of perfection, it is still comparable to a martial art at the first level of the Innate Realm.

I can no longer keep up with his pace.

He has only encountered weaker opponents so far, allowing him to easily crush them.

But if he encounters a stronger opponent in the future, he will likely suffer if he doesn't have a powerful martial art.

It's better to acquire a martial art for self-defense in advance.

"Innate martial arts, huh?" Su Ming pondered for a moment and said, "Innate martial arts are all unique skills, secrets that are not passed on. They are tightly controlled by powerful families and sects, and very few people sell them. Even if an innate expert is willing to share them..."

"Very few transactions are conducted directly with silver; most are done through barter, because martial arts techniques are difficult to price."

"Ten days from now, there will be a trade fair in the underground black market of Chiyang City. If Brother Gu wants to find innate martial arts, he can try his luck there," Su Ming said.

"An underground black market trade fair, huh? Thanks." Gu Chen nodded.

"polite."

After returning to the Treasure Medicine Pavilion, the two went back to their respective villas.

The next day.

Cheng Mengling went to find Gu Chen.

She had come to see Gu Chen last night, but upon learning that Gu Chen was having a gathering with the treasure medicine pavilion's retainers and Xiang Dezhou at Jiuxianglou, she decided not to disturb them.

The Cheng family was only a second-rate family in Chiyang City, and the entire Cheng family only had two experts at the first level of the Innate Realm.

Of the six people who met with Gu Chen, five were at the first level of the Innate Realm, while Xiang Dezhou, the manager of the Treasure Medicine Pavilion, was an even stronger expert at the second level of the Innate Realm.

None of them are people she should bother.

"Brother Gu, here is two thousand four hundred taels of silver." Cheng Mengling paid Gu Chen the annual salary that she had promised him.

"I urge Brother Gu to lend my Cheng family his assistance in the fistfight a month from now," Cheng Mengling said.

"No problem." Gu Chen looked at the 2,400 taels of silver notes and smiled.

More than two thousand taels of silver were in hand.

Let alone just exchanging blows with an opponent at the first level of the Innate Realm, even killing him wouldn't be out of the question.

Of course, if you really want to kill him, you'll have to pay extra.

That night.

Cheng Mengling and the head of the Cheng family, her father Cheng Sihai, held another banquet at a restaurant in the city.

Gu Chen was invited to a banquet.

To introduce Gu Chen, the new retainer of the Cheng family, to some of the important high-ranking members of the family.

No one underestimated Gu Chen just because he looked young.

As the Cheng family's high-ranking members knew, Gu Chen was at least at the first level of the Innate Realm to have become a retainer of the Cheng family.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be qualified to be worshipped at all.

Furthermore, Gu Chen's status as a retainer of the Treasure Medicine Pavilion made them even more wary of him.

From another perspective, it is the Cheng family's good fortune to be able to recruit a young, first-level Innate Realm retainer like Gu Chen.

As Gu Chen grows up in the future, the Cheng family's status will also rise accordingly.

They don't need Gu Chen to do anything for the Cheng family normally; they just need him to have the status of being a retainer of the Cheng family.

The Cheng family can solve some of their business problems.

The Cheng family has been operating in Chiyang City for many years. It's not that they lack the ability to expand their business, but rather that they dare not.

Without a powerful expert at the second level of the Innate Realm to oversee things, anyone with assets exceeding that level is easily eliminated.

"Let us all offer a toast to the ancients," Cheng Sihai said to the group of Cheng family executives.

Everyone stood up and toasted Gu Chen.

Gu Chen also raised his glass and responded with a smile.

He was just a figurehead; he didn't have to do any work, yet he could earn 2,400 taels of silver a year. He found the Cheng family members quite agreeable.

Today, he received 2,400 taels of silver from the Cheng family, bringing him one step closer to his short-term goal of purchasing the Bone Forging Pill to break through to the third stage of the Innate Realm.

Meanwhile, Gu Chen was having a gathering with a group of high-ranking members of the Cheng family.

Chiyang City.

In a secluded teahouse.

Zhou Hong's elder brother, Zhou Guang, slowly stepped in.

This is one of Lou Wai Lou's bases.

Lou Wai Lou, the number one assassin organization in the Divine Dynasty.

"Sir, would you like hot tea or cold tea?" the waiter asked.

"Herbal tea!" Zhou Guang replied.

This is a code word used when hiring an assassin from Lou Wai Lou.

"Please come upstairs to a private room for some herbal tea," the waiter replied with a smile.

Zhou Guang went to the private room on the second floor.

The private room is divided into two parts by a screen partition.

There was a small table on the outside with a pot of cold tea on it.

Zhou Guang sat down at the table.

"I'm going to kill someone." He poured himself a glass of iced tea and said, "Gu Chen, the newly appointed retainer of the Precious Medicine Pavilion!"

"He has the cultivation of the early stage of the first realm of the Innate Realm. What would it cost to kill him!"

Behind the screen.

"What level of assassin do you want?" a voice replied.

"Let's go for the second stage of the Innate Realm, that would be safer," Zhou Guang said after some thought.

"A powerhouse at the second level of the Innate Realm, the asking price is two thousand five hundred taels."

"So many!" Zhou Guang was a little annoyed.

He doesn't have that much money.

No one answered from behind the screen.

If you don't have money, why are you hiring a hitman?

"I can only offer a maximum of two thousand!" Zhou Guangdao said.

Gu Chen crippled his younger brother.

He was determined to avenge his brother.

Even if Gu Chen reaches the early stage of the first realm of the Innate Realm, and goes directly to seek revenge, he might not be able to kill Gu Chen.

Therefore, he chose not to openly clash with Gu Chen, but instead secretly hired an assassin to take action.

That way, even if Baoyaoge investigates later, they won't be able to trace it back to him.

"I'll hang it up for you and see if any assassins in the building are willing to take it," a voice came from behind the screen.

"Alright!" Zhou Guang put down the thousand taels of silver notes and turned to leave.

This is Lou Wai Lou's rule.

Half the fee must be paid before the assassin is dispatched, and the other half must be paid after the objective is achieved.