We're practicing all martial arts, so why did you switch to easy mode?

Chapter 63 Li Mo's Wedding, Recruitment from All Sides

"The first thing is Xiao Chen's breakthrough..."

Hong Ming briefly addressed the crowd, but since Li Mo and the others already knew that Su Chen had broken through, they did not show too much surprise.

However, Zhou Tao and the others were greatly surprised, clearly astonished by Su Chen's cultivation speed. How long had it been? Su Chen had already broken through again.
Zhou Tao glanced at Qin Hao, and seeing that Qin Hao was expressionless, he vaguely guessed something. Without saying anything, he and the others congratulated Su Chen, and Su Chen responded to each of them.

After offering his congratulations, Hong Ming began to announce the second matter. His gaze fell on Li Mo, and he said, "The second matter is Li Mo's marriage. Li Mo, you can tell everyone yourself."

Li Mo nodded, and under Su Chen's slightly surprised gaze, walked out and said to everyone, "Dear senior brothers and sisters, I will be getting married in half a month. You are all welcome to come..."

This was so sudden that it took everyone a while to come to their senses. After Li Mo finished speaking, everyone congratulated him, and Li Mo handed out the invitations to everyone.

With that, the two matters were pretty much announced. Hongming invited everyone to stay for lunch, which consisted of simple home-style dishes. The group ate, drank, and chatted casually.

After the meal, everyone said their goodbyes and left, but before Su Chen could speak, Hong Ming stopped him.

"Xiao Chen, with your strength, you are now considered a prominent figure among the younger generation in Baishi City. Today, I've kept you here to give you a few pieces of advice," Hong Ming said earnestly.

Upon hearing this, Su Chen's expression immediately turned serious: "Master, please speak."

"I believe it won't be long before some powerful forces know about your breakthrough. They will definitely invite you to join them. You don't need to worry about your master; choose according to your own needs..."

Afterwards, Hong Ming gave Su Chen a brief introduction to the forces in the inner and outer cities, so that Su Chen would not join any forces he should not due to his lack of experience.

“…Originally, I was thinking of sending you to Wei Ping’s Weiyuan Escort Agency for some training, but these are turbulent times, with bandits roaming the city. Escorting goods is too dangerous for you. You might as well choose one of the forces I’ve mentioned to join.”

Hong Ming gave a brief introduction to the three major families and three major gangs in the city. According to him, the three families might not value Su Chen very much, but they would still have their disciples recruit Su Chen or build good relationships with him.

However, the three major gangs might offer Su Chen a large sum of money to invite him. Hong Ming actually favors the Broken Blade Sect, after all, it has Fang Rou's connection, and the Broken Blade Sect has stood in White Stone City the longest. Even if White Stone City experiences turmoil in the future, it will be more secure than other forces.

"Yes, Master!" Su Chen replied after thinking for a while, without giving an immediate answer. With his current strength, whether or not he joined a gang was actually irrelevant. If he really wanted to join, he would choose the gang with the best cost-performance ratio.

Afterwards, Hong Ming briefly explained to Su Chen some forces he needed to be wary of. This conversation gave Su Chen a clear understanding of the various forces within White Stone City.

"Well then, Master, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now," Su Chen said.

"There's one more thing." At this moment, Hong Ming raised his eyebrows slightly and revealed a kind smile, "Let your teacher test your current strength."

After inspecting the area, Su Chen dusted off his sleeves and calmly walked out of the courtyard. From inside, Hong Ming's surprised and delighted laughter echoed: "Hahaha..."

As Hong Ming had predicted, in the following days, various forces in the city came to visit Su Chen.

First, disciples from the three major families came to visit Su Chen with gifts and invited him to a gathering, where they would treat him to food, drinks, and entertainment.

After visiting once, Su Chen didn't plan to go again. Compared to this decadent lifestyle, he preferred to practice martial arts and read books in peace.

Besides the three major families, some other smaller forces also visited Su Chen and offered prices, which Su Chen declined after weighing the pros and cons.

The White Jade Gang, one of the three major gangs, offered Su Chen a position, but he declined due to the numerous restrictions that would follow. For five consecutive days, Su Chen was disturbed by these forces, with visits coming almost daily, making it impossible for him to concentrate on his studies.

Finally, having no other choice, Su Chen chose the Changhe Gang from the three major gangs, which offered the highest salary and had the fewest restrictions. He joined the Changhe Gang with a monthly salary of fifty taels of silver and became an affiliated member.

To Su Chen's surprise, Fang Rou specifically sought him out to increase his salary from fifteen taels to thirty taels per month. Su Chen naturally had no objection and accepted it readily.

After the news of Su Chen joining the Changhe Gang spread, the number of forces coming to invite him decreased, and three days later, Su Chen's life returned to normal.

Therefore, he made a special trip to the martial arts school to tell Hong Ming about his joining the Changhe Gang. Hong Ming didn't say anything after hearing it, but just told Su Chen to be more tactful in his dealings.

Before leaving, Hong Ming gave Su Chen five packets of Qi and Blood Powder, which startled Su Chen.

Hong Ming noticed Su Chen's confusion and smiled, "These were recently prepared. Use them for now. As I always say, use them as needed. With your current level, the Qi and Blood Powder won't have a significant effect on you. You can use them one dose at a time."

"Thank you, Master!" Su Chen expressed his gratitude solemnly, then asked the question that had been bothering him, "Master, didn't you say we were short of medicinal herbs? How come...?"

"Haha, we were lacking before, but we don't lack it now, all thanks to your third senior sister," Hong Ming explained with a smile.

It turned out that the third senior sister had connections, so she brought back a batch of medicinal materials for Hongming to prepare the Qi and Blood Powder, which enabled Hongming to prepare the new Qi and Blood Powder.

"By the way, things have started to get chaotic in the outer city lately. Be careful, and let me know if anything happens," Hong Ming reminded him.

Su Chen replied, "Yes!"

Afterwards, Su Chen took five packets of Qi and Blood Powder back with him. He took two packets that day. In order to test his limits, Su Chen started taking the third packet. He felt a little uncomfortable at first, but recovered after a few hours.

"My current limit is three packs of Qi and Blood Powder!"

Su Chen came to the conclusion that he did not plan to take a fourth packet to avoid causing health problems.

Seeing that there were only two packets of Qi and Blood Powder left, Su Chen decided to use up all the remaining six portions of medicinal herbs.

The success rate of the preparation was very high. The six medicinal herbs were used to prepare four unnamed medicines, plus two Qi and Blood Powder, enough for Su Chen to continue cultivating for two more days.

"However, it's still far from meeting the needs of the panel. Master said that Third Senior Sister has connections, so I can ask her if she can help me get some Red Blood Grass."

"Sigh, things are getting more and more turbulent lately. I need to improve my strength as soon as possible."

During this period, news of bandits and villains causing trouble outside the city came every day, and a group of refugees and beggars emerged in the city, causing the prices of food and oil to rise several times over. The struggle between the major gangs also became increasingly fierce with the government's tacit approval.

This gave Su Chen a feeling that a storm was brewing, and he felt a sense of urgency, wanting to improve himself as soon as possible so that he would have the strength to deal with any changes in the future.

After making up his mind, Su Chen took advantage of his free time to go to his third senior sister's residence.

(End of this chapter)