Chapter 299: Are They Ours?

After meeting the new apprentices, Hua Changxi returned to the bamboo house and then summoned Zhou Shou from the Task Hall and Jia Lu from the Enforcement Hall.

"Master."

Hua Changxi handed the two men the resumes of the nine people, including Ye Lingxuan: "Keep a close watch on these nine, see who they associate with."

Zhou Shou and Jia Lu took the resumes, and their faces showed surprise.

"A third-rank alchemist!"

"A third-rank medicine processor!"

"A third-rank spirit plant cultivator!"

"These people have such high talent!"

After pondering for a while, Hua Changxi said, "Assign all of these nine the tasks of picking and washing medicinal herbs and reclaiming the medicine fields."

She wanted to see what exactly these people were coming to Danyuan Peak for, and whether they could endure the first wave of hardship.

Zhou Shou and Jia Lu immediately replied, "Rest assured, Master. We will keep an eye on them."

Hua Changxi thought of Ye Lingxuan, Jiang Henian, and Dugu Lie's Nascent Soul cultivation levels; if she wasn't on Danyuan Peak, Yu Fu and the others were too low in cultivation to suppress them.

"In the evening, call Yu Fu and Zhao Xi, as well as my third brother..."

After some hesitation, Hua Changxi ultimately decided not to summon Physician Xu. For one, Physician Xu's embarking on the path of cultivation had nothing to do with her; for another, since Physician Xu and Wan Feng were both in the Personnel Department, it would be hard to avoid leaving traces in their actions.

"In the evening, all five of you come to the bamboo house. I have something to discuss."

After agreeing, Zhou Shou and Jia Lu went about their own business.

Hua Changxi then began preparing the medicinal herbs needed for the body-tempering bath and the ancestral bath. By nightfall, each of the row of rooms to the right of the bamboo house contained a wooden bucket, and the buckets were already filled with a verdant, dripping medicinal bath.

The higher one went on Danyuan Peak, the denser the spiritual energy, but apprentices could only open cave-dwellings at locations below the mid-mountain, strictly following a first-come-first-served principle.

Since Hua Sanlang was not among the first batch of people to enter the Danyuan Secret Realm, the cave-dwelling he opened was in a somewhat remote spot, and the soil quality of the spirit field outside the cave was also poor.

Every time he returned to his cave-dwelling, Hua Sanlang felt a tightness in his heart.

Simply because, whenever he passed the cave-dwellings of the first-batch apprentices, feeling the dense spiritual energy in the air and seeing the thriving medicinal herbs and spirit plants outside their caves, he felt both regret and irritation.

He regretted not being among the first batch to enter the Danyuan Secret Realm, and he was irritated that Hua Changxi, his sister, treated him, her own full-blooded third brother, the same as any other apprentice.

When Hua Sanlang reached his own cave-dwelling, he first checked the medicinal herbs he had planted. After confirming they were growing well, he prepared to enter the cave.

"Sanlang."

Yu Fu came looking for him: "The master is looking for you. Come with me to see her quickly."

Hua Sanlang looked somewhat surprised. Since coming to Danyuan Peak, this was the first time Ninth Sister had actively sought him out: "Manager Yu, what does Ninth Sister want me for?"

Yu Fu smiled: "You'll know when you get there."

Hua Sanlang said nothing more and followed Yu Fu toward the bamboo house on the peak.

After the two left, a graceful figure emerged from a nearby lush spirit rice field.

Zhu Qinghuan watched the disappearing figures of Hua Sanlang and Yu Fu, her gaze deep: "I almost really thought Hua Changxi didn't care about family bonds at all."

Although Yu Fu had only come to find Hua Sanlang after nightfall, far too many people were keeping an eye on Hua Sanlang. Not only Zhu Qinghuan, but also Chu Junhao, Hua Hongrui, Hua Shu ran, and others had seen the two heading toward the peak.

Although he went up to the Danyuan Peak summit every day to enter and exit the secret realm, this was Hua Sanlang's first time at Hua Changxi's bamboo house. Seeing how familiar Yu Fu was with the place, he felt a bit bitter.

"Sanlang and Old Yu are here!"

Jia Lu, Zhao Xi, and Zhou Shou had already arrived. When they saw Yu Fu and Hua Sanlang coming, they all smiled and greeted them.

After the five had exchanged greetings, Hua Changxi also walked out of the bamboo house.

"Master!"

Hearing the way Yu Fu and the other three addressed her, Hua Sanlang's heart stirred. Looking at his increasingly ethereal and refined sister, his expression was somewhat complicated: "Ninth Sister."

Hua Changxi walked to the stone table and sat down, then motioned for Hua Sanlang and the other five to sit as well. Only then did she say, "Recently, Danyuan Peak has recruited quite a few apprentices. What are your thoughts on this?"

Yu Fu and the other three exchanged looks, thinking that Hua Changxi had called them over to discuss how to manage the apprentices.

As for Hua Sanlang, his heart leaped with joy. He thought that since there were more people on Danyuan Peak and Yu Fu and the other three couldn't handle it alone, Hua Changxi was going to assign him a position.

Yu Fu was the first to speak: "With more and more apprentices coming in, each department will probably need to recruit a batch of stewards and menial laborers."

Hua Sanlang quickly declared his stance: "Jiu Niang, if there's anything Third Brother can help with, just say the word."

Hua Changxi: "...What about the rest of you? Nothing more to say?"

Jia Lu hesitated for a moment: "Master, with more apprentices, the Enforcement Hall's enforcement squad needs to be expanded—and greatly so—to ensure the safety of Danyuan Peak and the Secret Realm."

Hua Changxi nodded: "Finally hitting the key point." She paused.

"Among the apprentices recruited these past two months, some have profound cultivation. As managers, do you have the means to control them?"

At these words, Yu Fu and the other three instantly became grave and solemn, and even Hua Sanlang fell silent.

Hua Changxi continued: "In the future, Danyuan Peak will have more and more talents. Will you be able to hold your steward positions steadily?"

Yu Fu and the other three exchanged glances, then stood up together, bowed, and pledged: "Rest assured, Master, we will diligently advance our cultivation and earnestly study medicine and the alchemical Dao."

Hua Sanlang, a beat slower, also added: "I'll work hard too."

Hua Changxi looked at Yu Fu and the other three: "You have no spiritual roots, so you can only practice body cultivation. Below the Nascent Soul stage and its equivalents, body cultivators are not inferior to Dharma cultivators."

"But once you enter the Spiritual Platform stage, Dharma cultivators cultivate divine sense, and body cultivators begin to be suppressed by them. To stand a chance in battle, body cultivators must empower themselves through other means."

"Fortunately, the bloodlines in each of you have reverted to ancestral traits to some degree. If the reversion is strong enough, there is a chance you may gain ancestral divine abilities."

Hearing this, Yu Fu and the other three showed joy.

But Hua Changxi shook her head: "I can see that the four of you work hard at body cultivation, but your aptitudes are mediocre. That’s why you've only reached the second chapter of the *Nine Transformations Mystic Art*."

"Now that the apprentices on Danyuan Peak have just been recruited, they are still unfamiliar and obedient. You—whose strength is comparable to Qi Sea realm cultivators—can still suppress them. But in a few years, with your low strength, you will surely fail to command respect."

Hearing this, Yu Fu and the other three became anxious.

"Master, aptitude is determined by heaven—we are helpless!"

Hua Changxi: "Aptitude is not unchangeable. It just depends on whether you can endure it."

Yu Fu and the other three nodded vigorously: "We can endure!"

Hua Sanlang exclaimed in surprise: "Aptitude can be improved?"

Hua Changxi looked at him: "Once you attain mastery in medicine and alchemy, you will know that everything is possible." Then she turned to look at Yu Fu and the other three.

"From now on, every other day, come to the bamboo huts to soak in medicinal baths—alternating between body-tempering and bloodline-awakening baths. I will give you acupuncture to help clear your meridians and enhance absorption of the medicinal power."

"The medicinal baths in Bamboo Huts One through Four are already prepared. Go in and soak."

After thanking her profusely, Yu Fu and the other three walked solemnly into the bamboo huts.

Watching the four enter the huts, Hua Sanlang asked impatiently: "Jiu Niang, since there’s a way to improve aptitude, why not help your own family?"

Here we go again!

A trace of annoyance flashed in Hua Changxi's eyes as her face turned cold: "If I told the family how to improve aptitude, can you guarantee they wouldn't spread it?"

Hua Sanlang opened his mouth to say 'Yes,' but when the words reached his lips, he suddenly remembered how, not long after Jiu Niang had first taught them body-tempering techniques, Grandfather had handed them over to the clan.

Hua Changxi sneered and continued: "Improving aptitude is no easy task—it consumes vast resources. Are you going to supply those resources, or am I?"

Hua Sanlang opened and closed his mouth, not knowing how to respond. Finally, he stiffened his neck and said: "Yu Fu and the others are outsiders. In your heart, is family really less important than outsiders?"

Hua Changxi was too tired to keep arguing with Hua Sanlang and said bluntly: "Yes, in my heart, the Hua family is indeed inferior to the four of them."

Hua Sanlang stared at her in disbelief: "How can you be so..."

Hua Changxi: "What about me? I help Yu Fu and the others because I get equal returns—they can help me manage Danyuan Peak."

Hua Sanlang retorted: "Family members can help you too."

Hua Changxi let out a scornful laugh: "Help me? Your so-called 'help' is to make demands and take from me in the name of 'doing what's best for me,' ultimately fulfilling your own ambitions and goals."

"Before recruiting apprentices in the Danyuan Secret Realm, I said I wanted to give every cultivator who wished to learn medicine and alchemy a chance. What did you and the family do then?"

"First you scoffed at my idea, then you meddled and ordered me to look after Hua clan members."

"Is that your idea of helping me?"

"Is that truly helping me, or is it just serving your own ambitions and goals?"

Hua Changxi grew angrier as he spoke: "Danyuan Peak carried my ideals. I used Yu Fu and the others—they could follow my thoughts and requirements completely. The Danyuan Peak of today is exactly the image I wanted to build."

Hua Sanlang continued to retort: "We could have done it too. It was you—you were the first to give us the cold shoulder. If you had spoken nicely, how could we have..."

"You may leave."

Hua Changxi didn't want to continue the conversation and directly drove him away.

Hua Sanlang was stunned.

Hua Changxi looked at him: "When I first entered the Medical Department, seeing the higher-ups appoint people by favoritism, I was very indignant in my heart."

"But after I began managing Danyuan Peak, I discovered I wasn't any different from them. I couldn't help wanting to place my trusted confidants in core positions."

"You are my elder brother. I thought that no matter what, we were on the same side. But I found I was wrong—blood relations are not enough to determine whose side someone is truly on."

"Third Brother, from now on, how long you can stay at Danyuan Peak and what position you can rise to—I won't interfere. It's all up to you."

Having said that, Hua Changxi entered the bamboo house, leaving Hua Sanlang standing foolishly outside.