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

Enter the house.

Gu Chen took out the copper bowl and put the formula for the Skin Tempering Pill into it.

[The recipe for a Grade 2 Innate Skin Tempering Pill can be obtained by exchanging 100 taels of silver for enlightenment.]

Gu Chen directly put a hundred-tael silver note into it.

Choose to redeem.

The silver note disappeared, and a piece of alchemy insight into refining the Skin Tempering Pill appeared in Gu Chen's mind.

The next five days.

Continue refining the elixir.

There are only ten documents available now.

He can make things a little easier by making two servings a day.

One serving in the morning and one serving in the afternoon.

Five days later.

The day agreed upon with Cheng Mengling arrived.

Cheng Mengling came alone this time.

The Cheng family manager did not come.

Gu Chen gave her the ninety Skin Tempering Pills and ten Qi and Blood Pills that he had refined over the past five days.

"This is the supply of pills for the next five days," Gu Chen said.

"They actually have Skin Tempering Pills!" Cheng Mengling exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, there will be Skin Tempering Pills in the future," Gu Chen said.

"Okay." Cheng Mengling counted the items and then paid Gu Chen.

One Skin Tempering Pill costs 100 taels, with an 85% discount, which is 85 taels per pill. Ninety pills would cost 7,650 taels, plus 425 taels for ten Qi and Blood Pills.

The total is eight thousand seventy-five taels.

Cheng Mengling was as generous as ever, giving Gu Chen 8,100 taels of silver.

"Brother Gu, the fistfight between my Cheng family and the Tang family, another second-rate family in Chiyang City, is taking place this afternoon at a martial arts arena in the north of the city. Let's go there now," Cheng Mengling said.

"Alright." Gu Chen packed up, took his mid-grade yellow-level treasured weapon longsword, and went with Cheng Mengling.

At this time.

At Cheng's home.

Cheng Sihai, the head of the Cheng family, went to invite Huo Huaqiu, another retainer of the Cheng family.

Although Cheng Mengling sought out Gu Chen.

But Gu Chen was still young, and he always felt that relying on Gu Chen alone was too risky.

The Cheng family cannot afford to lose this fight.

A few days ago, Huo Huaqiu, whom the Cheng family had been supporting, broke through to the late stage of the first realm of the Innate Realm.

He felt even more confident facing the Tang family's retainer, who was also at the late stage of the first realm of the Innate Realm.

If the Cheng family can win this fight, they will not only retain one-third of their own assets, but also absorb one-third of the Tang family's assets and gain exclusive sales rights on that trade route.

The benefits gained are immeasurable.

Of course.

When he first entered the villa that the Cheng family had provided for Huo Huaqiu to live in.

The maid who usually served Huo Huaqiu explained, "Master, Master Huo said that he has just broken through, and his realm is somewhat unstable. His blood and qi circulation is not smooth, so he probably won't be able to participate in the duel between the Cheng family and the Tang family."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Sihai was startled and hurriedly went into the house to check on Huo Huaqiu's condition.

If Huo Huaqiu really can't fight back, then the Cheng family will be in great danger.

Upon entering the room, they saw Huo Huaqiu meditating and regulating his breathing. His breathing was long and powerful, and his complexion was rosy, clearly indicating that his cultivation level was very stable and his blood and qi were flowing smoothly.

There's no way the maid described that kind of situation.

"Old Huo, what's wrong with you?" Cheng Sihai asked. "The maid just said that your realm is unstable after your breakthrough, and your blood circulation is not smooth, so you can't participate in this boxing match. What's going on?"

Upon hearing this...

Huo Huaqiu slowly opened his eyes, glanced at Cheng Sihai, and said, "Patriarch, it's not that I'm unwilling to help the Cheng family, it's just that I'm not happy about it."

"I have served the Cheng family diligently all these years, treating them as if they were my own," Huo Huaqiu said. "But how does the Cheng family treat me? They only give me a monthly allowance of one hundred taels of silver."

"And I heard that the young lady casually found a new retainer from outside, a young man surnamed Gu. It is said that not only does he not have to be stationed at the Gu family, but he also only has the cultivation of the first stage of the Innate Realm, and he can get a monthly salary of two hundred taels." Huo Huaqiu looked at Cheng Sihai.

"Could it be that the Cheng family thinks I'm too old, have no room for advancement, and am of lowly status, not worth this much money?" Huo Huaqiu said with a hint of anger on his face. "If that's the case, then from this day forward, I, Huo Huaqiu, will no longer serve as a retainer of the Cheng family."

"Patriarch, go find that young man surnamed Gu to represent the Cheng family in a duel." Huo Huaqiu stood up. "I will pack my things and leave the Cheng family."

Upon seeing this.

Cheng Sihai hurriedly stopped Huo Huaqiu and dissuaded him, saying, "Old Huo, what are you saying?"

"When have I, Cheng Sihai, ever looked down on you?" Cheng Sihai explained to Huo Huaqiu, "Gu Chen was someone Ling'er met from outside and invited privately to become a retainer of my Cheng family. I didn't know beforehand that she was paying Gu Chen a monthly salary of two hundred taels."

"The ancient offering is worth two hundred taels, and you, Old Huo, are certainly worth it too. I came here today to inform you of this. Your monthly allowance will no longer be one hundred taels, but two hundred taels," Cheng Sihai said.

"Furthermore, if you can win the fistfight for the Cheng family today, my Cheng family will give you an extra thousand taels to help you with your cultivation," Cheng Sihai promised, patting his chest.

"That's more like it." Huo Huaqiu smiled upon hearing this.

After learning about Gu Chen's situation, he felt a surge of resentment.

As fellow disciples at the first level of the Innate Realm, what right does Gu Chen have to receive a hundred taels more than him?

Two hundred taels a month—that's the price for hiring a second-stage Innate Realm expert.

He originally intended to use the fact that the Cheng family urgently needed his help during the boxing match to extort money from Cheng Sihai.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Sihai was so sensible that he immediately increased his monthly salary to two hundred taels of silver.

With such benefits, he naturally wouldn't leave the Cheng family again. Outside, no noble family would spend two hundred taels a month to support a master of the first level of the Innate Realm.

In the martial arts training ground of the northern city of Chiyang.

Cheng Sihai, the head of the Cheng family, Cheng Mengling, the eldest daughter of the Cheng family, along with Gu Chen, Huo Huaqiu, and a group of experts from the Cheng family, all arrived here.

On the other hand, there are members of the Tang family, another second-rate aristocratic family in Chiyang City.

On the Tang family's side, the two elders and a group of high-ranking members of the Tang family gathered together.

The two sides are locked in a standoff.

"The retainer next to the Tang family patriarch is Zhong Chenghu, our main opponent in this fight," Cheng Mengling explained to Gu Chen. "He only became a retainer of the Tang family in the last six months."

"In the past six months, through a fistfight, I defeated a late-stage Innate First Realm retainer from another second-rate family, winning the right to sell goods on their trade routes. This caused the second-rate family's business to plummet, and they were swallowed up by the Tang family within a few months!"

"Now the Tang family has set its sights on the Cheng family. If we lose this confrontation and the Cheng family has no power to resist the Tang family, we will not only have to hand over one-third of the trade route sales rights, but before long, we will also follow in the footsteps of that second-rate family that was swallowed up by the Tang family and be swallowed up by the Tang family in various ways."

"So this time, the fate of my Cheng family depends entirely on you, Brother Gu," Cheng Mengling said.

"No problem." Gu Chen looked at the burly man next to the Tang family head opposite him.

He is Zhong Chenghu, the most powerful retainer of the Tang family that Cheng Mengling mentioned.

However, his cultivation level was not at the late stage of the first innate realm, but at the perfect stage of the first innate realm.

With his current cultivation at the third level of the Innate Realm, he can easily see through Zhong Chenghu's true nature.

It seems that after helping the Tang family annex a second-rate family in the past six months, he has gained a lot of benefits and has already advanced to the perfect first stage of the Innate Realm.

"How arrogant!" Huo Huaqiu sneered upon hearing Gu Chen's words.

The main force of the Cheng family's fistfight this time should be him, who has already broken through to the late stage of the first level of the Innate Realm.

But Cheng Mengling didn't pay any attention to him at all; instead, she went to explain the information about the Tang family's offerings to Gu Chen.

What, are you looking down on him?

Or perhaps the Cheng family has placed all their hopes on Gu Chen.

Since that's the case, why bother having him come along to fight?

Just let Gu Chen come alone.

Sensing Huo Huaqiu's dissatisfaction, Cheng Sihai quickly smoothed things over, saying, "Ling'er, you don't know yet, our Cheng family's Elder Huo has already broken through to the late stage of the first realm of the Innate Realm, which is no weaker than Zhong Chenghu of the Tang family. This time, we will still have to rely on Elder Huo for our fistfight."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Mengling remained silent, as she was aware of Huo Huaqiu's breakthrough.

But deep down, she still preferred to place her hopes on Gu Chen.

The confidence that Gu Chen exuded was something Huo Huaqiu could not possess.

Although Huo Huaqiu had broken through to the late stage of the first realm of the Innate Realm, Tang family's retainer Zhong Chenghu was not without the ability to defeat a powerhouse at the late stage of the first realm of the Innate Realm.

Not to mention someone like Huo Huaqiu who has just broken through.