Chapter 123 - 90: Daoist School Selection, No Initiative, No Explanation, No Refusal!

Chapter 123: Chapter 90: Daoist School Selection, No Initiative, No Explanation, No Refusal!

What Li Youquan and Chen Fugui didn’t know was that from the very beginning, Lu Chen had never considered going to Qinghe Daoist School. Qinghe Daoist School indeed majored in Sword Skill, but Lu Chen simply had no need to learn it at the Daoist School. After all, no matter how formidable the school was, it couldn’t possibly surpass the Cyan Cloud Sect in the game.

Not to mention that as long as he gained Experience Points, he could raise his Sword Dao Level. Even if he wanted to genuinely cultivate his Sword Skill, wouldn’t seeking out the Elders of Cyan Cloud Sect’s Sword Concealment Peak be far more convenient than finding a Teacher at Qinghe Daoist School? One had to know that ten days in the game equated to only a single day in reality. Therefore, in terms of Cultivation efficiency, learning Sword Skill in the game was vastly faster than in the real world.

Thus, among the Four Great Dao Schools, Qinghe Daoist School was the first one Lu Chen eliminated. For no other reason than its advantage being completely eclipsed by the game. As a result, Lu Chen’s remaining choices were Barbaric Daoist School, Profound Water Daoist School, and finally, Li Huo Daoist School.

Barbaric Daoist School focused on the path of a Body Cultivator. Although Lu Chen planned to appropriately dabble in this aspect of Cultivation, his main focus would undoubtedly remain on the Sword Dao. Hence, Barbaric Daoist School could also be ruled out.

Profound Water Daoist School specialized in Talismans, Divination, and other Qimen Dunjia skills. While Lu Chen knew a certain degree of Talisman Skill, he similarly had no intention of delving too deeply into this field. After pondering it over, the most suitable place for him... was surprisingly Li Huo Daoist School!

Li Huo Daoist School majored in Alchemy Skill, and Lu Chen was also earnestly researching Alchemy Skill within the Cyan Cloud Sect. Not to mention, he desperately needed a legitimate reason to openly use his Alchemy methods in reality. In this regard, Li Huo Daoist School perfectly aligned with Lu Chen’s goals.

Moreover, if he chose to join Li Huo Daoist School, he could later merge his Alchemy experience from both worlds, feeding it back to his in-game self. It would also further elevate his status within the Cyan Cloud Sect in the game. With a higher status, he would be able to reap even more benefits. Therefore, no matter how one looked at it, Li Huo Daoist School was his absolute best choice, bar none.

With this in mind, Lu Chen announced his decision to Chen Fugui and Li Youquan. "Teachers, I... want to go to Li Huo Daoist School."

"Huh?!" Three exclamations immediately rang out in the office. Chen Fugui, Li Youquan, and Mu Xiaoye looked at Lu Chen, their gazes incomparably complex. Chen Fugui was shocked, seemingly unable to comprehend why Lu Chen would make such a choice. Li Youquan was full of admiration, as if he felt Lu Chen was making a considerable sacrifice. As for Mu Xiaoye... she was purely delighted.

Although Lu Chen’s choice of Li Huo Daoist School made for a happy ending for some, Chen Fugui still couldn’t help but ask, "Lu, Li Huo Daoist School’s Sword Cultivation Department is the weakest among the Four Great Dao Schools. Are you truly going there?"

Lu Chen nodded and said earnestly, "Yes, Teacher Chen, I’m certain about going to Li Huo Daoist School."

Chen Fugui fell silent for a moment before asking, "Why?"

An Unparalleled Sword Cultivator who had comprehended Sword Intent during the Qi Cultivation Stage wasn’t going to Qinghe Daoist School, which produced abundant Great Sword Cultivators, but instead chose Li Huo Daoist School, which produced abundant Alchemy Masters. No matter how one thought about it, it was incredibly jarring! One couldn’t possibly claim that not only did Lu Chen possess outstanding talent in Sword Skill, but he also had astonishing talent in Alchemy, right? What a joke! Sword Cultivator and Alchemy Master were two completely different paths!

Moreover, he had never seen or heard of Lu Chen possessing any unique talent in Alchemy. Therefore, as for why Lu Chen chose Li Huo Daoist School, Chen Fugui couldn’t think of any reason other than love. As for Alchemy? What did Lu Chen know about Alchemy! He would sooner believe that Lu Chen was a Reincarnated Immortal than believe the boy knew Alchemy! At least the former was slightly more plausible.

Looking at the shocked Chen Fugui, Lu Chen said with a serious expression, "Teacher Chen, I feel my talent in Alchemy... might not necessarily be much weaker than my talent in the Sword Dao."

"Huh?!"

As if guessing that the three wouldn’t believe his words, Lu Chen immediately took out a set of medicinal herbs from his Storage Pouch used to concoct Qi Gathering Pills. These herbs were exactly what Lu Chen had bought privately recently. As for the money... he naturally traded the Cultivation resources Chen Fugui had given him earlier for it.

"I have privately attempted to concoct Elixirs myself before, and I found that refining Elixirs... isn’t actually that difficult."

With that said, Lu Chen began to refine Qi Gathering Pills bare-handed right in front of the three of them. With his current proficiency in Alchemy Skill, combined with his understanding of Qi Gathering Pills, he could easily refine them even without a Pill Furnace.

Watching Lu Chen’s proficient movements and his relaxed, effortless expression, the three quickly realized this wasn’t his first time doing this. Under their astonished gazes, Lu Chen took less than two hours to genuinely refine ten Qi Gathering Pills.

Lu Chen took out a medicine bottle, packed the ten Qi Gathering Pills inside, and placed it in front of Chen Fugui and Li Youquan. He said calmly, "Teachers, you should understand why I want to go to Li Huo Daoist School now, right?

"For me, Alchemy... is indeed a viable direction for Cultivation."

"..."

Chen Fugui and Li Youquan exchanged a glance and nodded one after another, seemingly reaching some sort of tacit understanding. Then, looking at Lu Chen, Chen Fugui said earnestly, "Lu, I hope that after you leave here, you’ll find a suitable opportunity to spread the news that you know Alchemy."

Hearing this, Lu Chen was momentarily stunned before realizing the reason behind Chen Fugui’s request. With a strange expression, he said, "Teacher Chen, wouldn’t doing that be... inappropriate?"

"Inappropriate?" Chen Fugui stood straight up, excitedly pushing up his glasses. "What’s inappropriate about it! Business is business. You’d be a fool not to take advantage of this!

"Right now, Qinghe Daoist School surely assumes they are your first choice, so even to recruit you, they most likely won’t offer overly generous conditions.

"But once they find out you know Alchemy, it will be a completely different story. If you factor in your relationship with Yezi, Qinghe Daoist School will definitely feel a massive sense of crisis.

"After all, Li Huo Daoist School having a Phoenix Tribulation Cultivator like Yezi this year is already enough to give the other Daoist Schools a headache.

"If an Unparalleled Sword Cultivator on par with a Daoist like you also appeared there, then in the upcoming Daoist School Grand Tournament, the perpetual fourth-place Li Huo Daoist School would genuinely sweep away its past slump and forcefully rise up!

"Therefore, to prevent this from happening, Qinghe Daoist School will absolutely bring out incredibly generous conditions to try and recruit you. Naturally, the exact same thing will happen with Li Huo Daoist School.

"Once that time comes, as long as you aren’t in a hurry to state your stance and keep both Daoist Schools in suspense, they will desperately show you favor to win you over.

"And what you need to do is very simple: don’t initiate, don’t explain, don’t refuse. Take all the gifts, and give... absolutely zero promises!

"Don’t worry, when the time comes, I’ll collect the gifts, I’ll take the blame, and you’ll reap the benefits. Don’t have any misgivings!

"Lu, you absolutely must not have any psychological burden over this. After all, both of these Daoist Schools are filthy rich and won’t miss these little things!

"Besides, there are many things in this world that no one else but them could truly offer.

"With such a fantastic opportunity presenting itself, if we don’t fleece them hard, it would be a total waste of my, Chen Fugui’s, upbringing in the wealthiest family!

"Alchemy Skill, hahaha! Who would have thought that a genius who cultivated Sword Intent during the Qi Cultivation Stage is secretly also an Alchemy genius!

"A rare commodity worth hoarding! This is truly a rare commodity worth hoarding!"

Looking at the thoroughly excited Chen Fugui, Lu Chen didn’t know what to say for a moment. If he really followed Chen Fugui’s plan, wouldn’t he just be stringing along the two great Daoist Schools—Qinghe and Li Huo—like gullible marks? However, just as Chen Fugui had said, there were many things in this world that money simply couldn’t buy. And exactly as Chen Fugui had stated, as long as he didn’t initiate, explain, or refuse, then the two great Daoist Schools would be offering gifts voluntarily. No one ever decreed that accepting gifts meant he had to make a promise.

It had to be said that although Lu Chen’s bait-and-switch behavior was a bit immoral, fortunately, having a flexible moral bottom line had always been one of his many strengths. With this, the little psychological burden left in Lu Chen’s heart... vanished completely!

...

PS: Sloth is indeed one of the Seven Deadly Sins. I, Pang Hu, ultimately failed to accomplish the feat of updating before 10 o’clock. Damn it! This Chapter is a bit of setup. There will be another update after 12 o’clock. As usual, asking for monthly tickets, favorites, and recommendations!