Chapter 22: Small Xiao Yuan Dan

"Brother Wu, I am already very satisfied."

Li Rui said.

Wu Tu thought he was comforting him, but he was truly satisfied from the bottom of his heart.

Not having to work, still receiving a salary, and having plenty of time to practice martial arts—where in the world could one find such a good job!

He would wake up laughing in his dreams.

Others might think the position of Hun Tian Yi Hall Master is like chewing chicken ribs—tasteless to eat but a pity to discard—but to him, it was simply a top-tier position. Not only could he receive a salary, but there was almost no risk.

He had a Wu Gu and secret techniques; as long as he moved steadily, he could go very far, so there was no need to risk his life.

Wu Tu thought for a while, still feeling sorry for Li Rui, and explained patiently:

"Old brother, the Tiandi Alliance is newly built, and there will be many opportunities to make contributions in the future. Moreover, there is a major examination every year. As long as you can stand out in the major examination, your number will naturally rise. I believe that with your martial arts, old brother, you will definitely be able to win a good ranking."

The Tiandi Alliance's ability to develop so quickly is also largely related to its competitive mechanism.

Unlike the other two gangs and three families, the Tiandi Alliance has been established for less than ten years, so there is almost no seniority-based promotion. It focuses on cultivating ferocity; as long as you can fight, you can move up.

Of course, such fighting needs to be witnessed by people from the Discipline Hall.

Infighting within the alliance is strictly prohibited; anyone who commits such unrighteous acts will definitely be hunted down by the Tiandi Alliance.

The higher the ranking on the token, the more resources one can obtain.

The gap in treatment between the "1" token and the "28" token is more than tenfold, reflected in all aspects such as elixirs, techniques, and power.

However, the more resources one obtains, the more effort one needs to put in.

A lot of time needs to be wasted on handling alliance affairs, so there are gains and losses.

However, martial artists cannot practice martial arts all day and night, so overall, it is still profitable.

The major examination allows one to challenge those with higher rankings than oneself; as long as the challenge is successful, the two waist tokens can be swapped.

Wu Tu talked eloquently.

He told Li Rui everything he knew about the Tiandi Alliance in detail.

"Old brother, I messed up this matter, and I feel guilty. This Small Xiao Yuan Dan has the effect of nourishing longevity, so please accept it."

He stuffed a small wooden box into Li Rui's hand.

Then he turned and left without looking back, not giving Li Rui a chance to decline.

Li Rui looked at the silver note and the elixir in his hand.

He was truly reluctant to decline.

What if Wu Tu really took it back?

"One hundred taels, one hundred taels!"

Li Rui's heart was pounding.

He had never seen such a large amount of silver notes in his life. He had saved for a lifetime and only accumulated thirty taels of silver, and that was after fifty years of frugal living.

One hundred taels...

To put it this way, it was enough for a family of three to live for a lifetime!

Besides that, he also got an elixir.

Through the wooden box, he could smell the fragrance of the elixir.

This refined elixir was much more valuable than herbal medicine; didn't one see that the alchemists in the city were all fat and wealthy?

High-level alchemists can not only mix various herbs to improve medicinal power but also reduce medicinal toxicity.

It was unknown how much more advanced it was than Li Rui's medicinal baths... and the price was several times higher.

"Small Xiao Yuan Dan."

Li Rui had heard of the name of this elixir.

He remembered that thirty years ago, on a snowy night, he had taken an elixir for the old master of the Zhu household, and it was the Small Xiao Yuan Dan.

This elixir, as Wu Tu said, has the effect of strengthening the body and prolonging life.

If he remembered correctly... one piece was worth fifty silver!

Wu Tu is a person worth associating with!

Li Rui's heart was pounding wildly.

In less than a quarter of an hour, he had earned one hundred and fifty taels; he didn't even dare to dream of it.

That night.

He took the Small Xiao Yuan Dan; except for being bitter and hard to swallow, there was nothing special about it.

But soon—

A warm current surged from his dantian, filling his whole body, and the position of his spine was burning hot.

The Wu Gu started to exert its power again!

Li Rui knew that time waited for no one, so he immediately sat cross-legged on the bed, formed the Supreme Lord finger sign with both hands, held his breath, and began to operate the White Ape Saber breathing technique.

A cool breath circulated through his body for one cycle.

The burning sensation all over his body gradually dissipated.

The next morning.

Li Rui slowly opened his eyes, looking at a glimmer of light outside the window, as if it were a lifetime ago.

He had unknowingly meditated for a whole night.

And he didn't feel tired at all; instead, he felt refreshed.

Closing his eyes to feel carefully, he opened them abruptly, a look of surprise in his eyes.

He had broken through again!

In just one night, he had broken through from mid-stage to high-stage, a full half-year faster than he had expected!

"Is the effect of the Small Xiao Yuan Dan so fierce?"

Li Rui couldn't believe it.

But then he found the key to why the medicinal effect was so obvious—the Wu Gu and the breathing technique.

He had seen the old master of the Zhu household take this elixir, and the effect was nowhere near as obvious as his.

It is well known that elixirs have drug resistance.

Li Rui had lived for seventy years and had only taken seven or eight medicinal baths in the last few months, and had never taken a single elixir. The first time he took it, the effect was naturally the best, plus the help of the Wu Gu and the breathing technique, the effect was naturally surprisingly good.

It wouldn't be this good in the future.

He was already very content.

He washed his face and found his most decent set of clothes.

People rely on clothes, horses on saddles; he couldn't let people look down on him at first glance.

Dressed neatly, Li Rui went out to the Tiandi Alliance.

According to Wu Tu, the Tiandi Alliance spent a fortune in the west of the city to buy a large piece of land as the branch headquarters in Qinghe.

Half an hour later.

Li Rui arrived at the Tiandi Alliance headquarters in the west of the city.

In his impression, there were several martial arts halls in this area before, but they later declined and closed down, abandoned for several years, and were only bought by the Tiandi Alliance recently.

The gate, which was two zhang high, was magnificent, with the three characters "Tiandi Alliance" written in a dragon-flying and phoenix-dancing style!

A pair of Tiandi Alliance disciples stood in front of the gate, each sturdy and burly, their black clothes looking capable.

"Who comes there!"

The leading disciple saw Li Rui walking over and shouted.

Li Rui smiled and took out the token engraved with the number "28" from his bosom.

Seeing the number on the token, the leading disciple's expression changed, and his attitude instantly became much more respectful: "So it is Deacon!"

The number on his waist token was "198"; seeing Li Rui, shouldn't he call him "Lord"?

To become a leader of the gate guards of the Tiandi Alliance, martial arts are secondary; the key is to have a sharp eye.

Otherwise, if he offended a Lord one day, he would definitely be beaten to death.

Lord?

Li Rui's expression was a bit dazed.

For the first half of his life, he was called Little Li, and for the second half, he was Old Li; he really wasn't used to being called Lord.

But he would get used to it in the future.

His gaze became firm.

Just as he lifted his foot to step into the gate of the Tiandi Alliance, lines of small characters appeared before his eyes.

【Congratulations to the host for completing the achievement "Fame and Fortune" beginner plot—Joining a force.】

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 23 =====