yasinovel Chapter 44 Mutual Schemes
Chapter 44 Mutual Schemes
Several disciples in the nearby training ground had already noticed him.
Because the disciples of Licheng Martial Arts Academy are few and far between, they all know each other. When they see a stranger, they all look at him.
Chen Luo sensed these gazes and understood that retreating now would only arouse suspicion.
He composed himself and walked towards the north wing.
As they approached the entrance, a servant came forward to greet them. "Is this Young Master Chen Luo?"
Since attaining the fourth level of strength, he has often been called Young Master Chen, and Chen Luo has gotten used to it, nodding and saying, "I am."
"This way, please."
The servant led him to the door of a private room in the north wing and then withdrew.
He walked around the screen by the door and saw Principal Huang sitting cross-legged behind his desk. When he saw him come in, he smiled and said, "You've come. Please have a seat."
"Greetings, Headmaster Huang." Chen Luo bowed, then sat down and feigned curiosity, asking, "I saw a carriage outside just now; it looked like the Qingyun Martial Arts Academy's carriage?"
Huang Mingyuan was slightly taken aback. "You recognize the carriage from Qingyun Martial Arts School?"
"We've met once before," Chen Luo said politely. "If the headmaster has any distinguished guests, I will come back later."
"It's alright, a good friend of mine is here, he's not here right now." Huang Mingyuan waved his hand, his gaze falling on Chen Luo, a friendly smile on his face. "Gu Youcai showed you around, right? How was it, were you satisfied?"
"I am flattered by the headmaster's thoughtful arrangements." Chen Luo was even more puzzled by Huang Mingyuan's vague answer, but he still smiled slightly and added, "I will certainly live up to the headmaster's expectations."
"It's alright, you can continue your cultivation as usual." Huang Mingyuan waved his hand dismissively and said, "Let me tell you about your cultivation here."
Chen Luo listened attentively, knowing that the important part was about to begin.
Headmaster Huang's smile faded, and he became much more serious. "First, there are the rules of our Licheng Martial Arts Academy. Our academy has broad regulations, but there are only two rules you need to remember: one is to respect your teachers and never be disrespectful to your instructors; the other is for disciples to be friendly and absolutely forbid any private fights between disciples. Do you understand?"
"Disciple understands." Chen Luo nodded. In fact, the Zhengyang Martial Academy also followed these two rules.
"It's good that you understand." Principal Huang paused for a moment, then continued, "Our Licheng Martial Arts Academy has a total of five instructors at the seventh level of strength. They take turns every day, and three of them will be stationed at the training ground at any time. If you have any questions, you can ask them anytime. Of course, if there's anything inconvenient for you, you can also come to me. That's one point."
"Secondly, I will arrange a medicinal cultivation session for you at noon tomorrow. You can wait at your residence at that time."
"Medicine cultivation?" Chen Luo was puzzled.
Through martial arts practice, he also understood that the biggest difference between private schools and charity schools is that regardless of talent, there will be instructors providing one-on-one guidance.
But he had never actually heard of what medicinal cultivation was.
Huang Mingyuan smiled, "This was specially prepared for you. You'll find out tomorrow."
"Thank you, Headmaster Huang," Chen Luo said, a hint of anticipation in his heart.
Instructor Li once said that he didn't have the energy to provide him with more training, and it's likely that the "more training" he was referring to was this medicinal cultivation.
"Alright, I will come to find you again tomorrow. You may leave now."
After explaining the matter, Huang Mingyuan waved him away, and Chen Luo bowed and took his leave.
Once his figure was out of sight, Huang Mingyuan's smile faded, and he said in a low voice, "He's all gone, aren't you coming out?"
The curtain to the back room was lifted, and Pharmacist Xu strolled out, sat down opposite Huang Mingyuan, poured himself a cup of tea, and smiled without saying a word.
Huang Mingyuan glanced at him. "Are you satisfied now?"
Pharmacist Xu scoffed, "These are disciples accepted by your Licheng Martial Arts Academy. Why are you asking me if I'm satisfied?"
"Wasn't it you who came to me that day, saying you'd introduce me to some extraordinary talent?" Huang Mingyuan glared at him. "I trusted your judgment, and I even used Li Shen's favor to recruit him."
"Hey, I'm not lying to you."
Pharmacist Xu picked up his teacup, blew on it gently, and said slowly, "I told you long ago that this kid's physique is really bad, yet he was able to break through from the beginner level to the fourth level in such a short time. This shows that his comprehension is extremely high, so high that it can even make up for the lack of innate physique. Tell me, isn't this kind of person a genius?"
"High talent doesn't necessarily guarantee success." Master Huang shook his head. "Back then, Song Ruokui was also incredibly talented. The Jingyi Martial Arts Academy invested so many resources in her, but she still hasn't mastered the Nine Yang Strength."
"I don't know what happened to Song Ruokui, but this kid is not only highly perceptive, his martial arts temperament is also unique."
Pharmacist Xu smiled, "He dared to come to my Qingyun Martial Arts School alone to ask for medicine. He took my bone-tempering medicine without Qing Shuilan. If it were only for a day or two, it would be fine, but he actually managed to endure it for half a month. The pain and suffering he endured is something that even you and I could not bear."
"Where in the entire Qingshan County can you find another person with such a temperament and understanding?"
Huang Mingyuan glanced at him sideways. "Since you think so highly of him, why did you hide inside and only offer your help from the shadows?"
"What are you talking about?" Pharmacist Xu snorted. "I am from Qingyun Martial Arts School. If I am wrong, it will be the reputation of the martial arts school that will be damaged."
"Doesn't my reputation matter?" Huang Mingyuan was enraged by these words and retorted angrily, "And what do you mean by 'what if I misjudge him'? You dare to misjudge him? Do you know how much damage this kid would cause me if he turned out to be useless!"
"There is no such thing as a sure thing in this world. If you were really afraid of this risk, you wouldn't have gone to such lengths to recruit him, even at the cost of using Li Shen's favor. In the end, aren't you just after the rewards from the Martial Selection Division?"
Pharmacist Xu sneered, "You keep talking about losses, but you've even come here to practice medicine techniques. You old fox, you're really willing to spend money."
"Since we've already started betting, we should naturally place a big bet."
As Huang Shuzhang spoke, he suddenly changed the subject, "As for the cultivation of medicinal techniques, to be honest, the medicine storehouse of my Licheng Martial Academy has long since run out of Lion Bone Powder."
Pharmacist Xu was taken aback. "Without Lion Bone Powder, how can I cultivate the medicinal technique...?"
He was halfway through his sentence when he met Huang Mingyuan's gaze and saw a meaningful smile on Huang's old face.
Pharmacist Xu suddenly realized what was happening, his eyes widening. "You fucking tricked me!"
"It's not a scheme." Huang Mingyuan calmly poured him a cup of tea and smiled. "I don't have Lion Bone Powder in my medicine storehouse. If you don't believe me, go and search for it yourself. There's nothing I can do about it, so I can only trouble the esteemed Pharmacist Xu to make a batch for us. If I don't see the medicine by noon tomorrow, I'll have to tell Chen Luo the truth and regretfully tell him that Pharmacist Xu of Qingyun Martial Arts School refuses to make medicine for him."
"Without Lion Bone Powder, you still dare to let him prepare for his medicinal cultivation tomorrow? You've clearly dug a pit for me to fall into!" It was now Pharmacist Xu's turn to be furious. "Do you know how precious Lion Bone Powder is? It's not something you can just concoct on a whim!"
"Otherwise what? I'm the one who bears all the risks openly. Do you think I'll let you hide behind the scenes and reap the rewards from the Martial Selection Division without you paying a price? Do you really think I, Huang, am a fool?"
Huang Mingyuan sneered, "There are still twelve hours left until noon tomorrow. Hurry up and go refine your medicine."
Pharmacist Xu gritted his teeth and glared at him, while Huang Mingyuan glared back without backing down. The two inner realm experts, whose combined age was over a hundred, just stared at each other with wide eyes.
A moment later, Pharmacist Xu stood up, turned around and left without expression.
"That cunning fox has only grown more cunning over the decades."
He stormed out of the room and walked to the carriage. Just as he was about to tell the driver to leave, he realized something and suddenly turned his head to look at the small bamboo grove to the west.
The bamboo forest was silent, and there was no one in sight.
He frowned, but didn't think much of it, and got into the carriage and drove away.