Chapter Thirty-Two: Collecting Tribute Grain

  ……

  Chen Mo and He Lian Huo Wu made an appointment to go to Na Gong Liang together.

  The journey was not far, and the two of them arrived quickly, with neither their faces red nor their breathing labored. According to the clan's rules, every mu of spiritual land had to pay a tax of thirty kilograms of low-grade spiritual rice. The ancient traditions and rules were considered very natural. Without the protection of the clan, who could engage in solid production?

  Arriving at the town center's Lingmi tax collection office, a roughly forty-year-old, slightly chubby middle-aged official was presiding over the tax collection. Due to the large number of people, seven or eight booths were opened for collection. Chen Mo brought He Lian Huo Wu and randomly chose a queue to pay taxes. Half an incense stick later, he had paid this year's Lingmi. After receiving the tax payment certificate, Chen Mo also handed over forty kilograms of low-grade Lingmi.

  Many Ling Mi, of course, is to obtain family contribution value. The slightly chubby steward smiled and said: "Chen Mo, right? You have a total of 40 points of contribution, take these cards well, with your name engraved on them, even if you lose them, others can't use them."

  After putting away the contribution plaque, Chen Mo and the two of them entered the family pharmacy. This was a pharmacy opened by the Chen clan in the town for both internal and external business. For the children of the clan, they could exchange contributions for various medicinal materials or finished pills.

  Of course, contributions are not enough, and can also be purchased with gold. However, within the family, in order to encourage internal members' loyalty and sense of belonging to the family, buying with contribution value is much more cost-effective.

  Moreover, some rare or high-end spiritual medicines are only limited to family members for contribution exchange.

  Contributions can not only be exchanged for spiritual elixirs and medicines, but also have many other uses. For example, learning a certain family-owned skill or mystic technique. Or inviting a master of a certain mystic technique to teach and guide one's own mystic technique. Even if the contribution value is large enough, it can even apply for the position of clan leader when the current clan leader is satisfied.

  As for the contribution of utility, Chen Mo and He Lian Huo Wu also discussed it. For the time being, neither of them lacks mysterious skills, as the saying goes, "greed is not enough to chew". Instead of spending contributions to exchange some ordinary skills and techniques, it's better to work hard on the original skills and techniques, refine them carefully, and practice them to a higher level.

  Only by solidifying the foundation can the high-level mysterious skills be used to achieve twice the result with half the effort and exert their power. On the contrary, both of them have recently advanced to the middle stage of Lingtu, and what is more urgent now is to break through to the higher stage of Lingtu as soon as possible, laying a solid foundation for finally breaking through to the Lingzhi stage.

  "Xiao Jui Ling Dan" is a very suitable non-entering dan medicine for spiritual practitioners, belonging to the auxiliary cultivation category. The external sales price is ten taels of gold, and three contribution points can be exchanged for one.

  As a descendant of the Chen family, Chen Mo can receive one 'Xiao Ju Ling Dan' pill, two taels of gold, some ordinary blood-activating and stasis-resolving pills, and three times of guidance from his teacher every month for free.

  Unfortunately, Chen Mo was unable to break through to the Spiritual Disciple middle stage for two whole years. He was evaluated as not meeting the requirements and had his family's support cancelled. This added insult to injury for his cultivation.

  He Lian Huo Wu was an adopted daughter who did not enter the temple, treated equally as an outsider's disciple, with reduced support. Even so, she would still squeeze out half of her meager resources to support Chen Mo. Although Chen Mo never mentioned it, he silently kept it in mind.

  The poor are literate and the rich are martial, cultivating is an extremely costly thing. Chen Mo didn't blame his family either, no family would waste so many resources on a person with no future. Now that he had enough contribution points, Chen Mo exchanged ten Small Gathering Spirit Pills in one breath, five for He Lian Huo Wu. Placed in a jade bottle, they felt heavy and delightful.

  "Two, Second Brother. I don't want that much, two pills are enough for me..." The two of them were dividing the spoils in a corner of the pharmacy when He Lian Huo Wu hastily waved his hand and refused: "I'm not too fond of using elixirs to cultivate."

  Chen Mo didn't know her intentions. He said seriously, "Wu Er, listen to me. In three months, it will be the annual intra-clan competition. My sister and I must shine in this competition. Your talent is good, if you work hard, you might reach the high rank of Lingtu. At that time, at the age of 13, entering the top ten in the clan competition, you will definitely be judged as a genius disciple by the clan, receive key training from the clan, and get many more resources every month."

  "But, Second Brother, you also..." He Lian Huo Wu hesitated and said.

  "Don't worry, in three months, Second Brother will definitely enter the top ten of the clan rankings." Chen Mo said confidently: "I want to regain the resources and honor I lost, and get back double what I had. Wu Er listened, and we two will both step into the top ten together." At his current age, if he can break into the top ten, he would be evaluated as an elite disciple. The resources he receives each month would be twice that of an ordinary bloodline disciple.

  His calm and composed demeanor, exuding confidence. Made He Lian Huo Wu's eyes flutter, she believed him without hesitation, and nodded obediently.

  "How arrogant!" A sarcastic and disdainful voice sounded from behind the two.

  Chen Mo turned his head, saw the person who came, and suddenly a fire rose in his heart. However, he still managed to calm down and looked at the newcomer. He saw that the speaker was wearing brocade clothes, with several lackeys following behind him, looking like he was sixteen or seventeen years old, with anger in his eyes.

  Before he even reached Chen Mo, he continued: "If a useless person like him can enter the top ten of the clan competition, wouldn't that be a joke to outsiders?" The words were clearly laced with sarcasm and sharp ridicule.

  The attendants beside him also burst into loud laughter, completely disregarding Chen's feelings.

  "Chen Huizhong, please be more careful, lest you spoil the harmony." He Lianhuo took two steps forward, raised her chin and stared at the newcomer.

  Chen Hui was originally Chen Ye's elder brother, and the two were quite close. However, since entering the Small Sky Cave, Chen Ye never returned. According to rumors, the two had a fierce fight at the entrance of the cave before it closed, but how Chen Ye died remains completely unknown.

  He would never have thought that Chen Mo would kill Chen Ye, but after all, it was because of the two men's struggle that they missed their chance to escape, and their hatred for Chen Mo also rose greatly, to the point where it could be said that they were enemies.

  "Fire Dance Sister, with your qualifications and strength, it's still reasonable to enter the top ten. But this waste, tsk, can you still be so blindly optimistic?" Chen Hui looked at Chen Mo with a face full of disdain, his tone revealing his true intentions.

  Chen Mo had originally been a man of two lifetimes, and after this time in the small sky, he had experienced several life-and-death struggles. His state of mind was now much more mature and calm. As for Chen Hui's provocation, which was like that of a clown, how could it stir up even half a ripple in his heart? He said calmly, "Wu Er, let's go to the market, no need to bother with this kind of person."

  With a flourish of her sleeves, she turned and walked out.

  Chen Hui was furious as soon as he saw such a waste daring to ignore him, and immediately took a step forward: "Where is the waste going?"

  He only saw his five fingers condensed into a pale green virtual claw shadow, and the momentum was majestic, grabbing Chen Mo's shoulder. It was a move of the Eagle Claw, looking at the condensation degree of the eagle claw, it was still quite a bit of effort, reaching the initial stage of the doorway.

  If he was given another chance to grab it, Chen Mo's shoulder would have had a few more bullet holes.

  "Second brother, be careful." He Lian Huo Wushang shouted softly, just as he was about to strike back, but was blocked by Chen Mo who pulled him behind his back.

  Only to see Chen Mo's sword eyebrows slightly raised, his front foot moved back, and the tip of his foot drew a semicircle on the ground, like willow catkins floating in the air, avoiding the powerful and overflowing claw. His eyes were cold and indifferent.

  Before Chen Hui could react, he took advantage of the momentum and kicked his right foot fiercely. The bluestone floor exploded with a loud noise, and an invisible wave shook the ground, causing Chen Hui's feet to shake continuously. The stake was broken, and his feet lost their footing.

  At the same time, Chen Mo's shoulders, like a mountain hammer, arrived as scheduled. Chen Hui only had time to block with both arms, but because his feet were unstable, he flew out like a broken sack.

  He slammed his back heavily on the counter, and in an instant, the counter burst open, splinters flying everywhere, and a mouthful of blood spurted out uncontrollably.

  Everyone was stunned, and no one expected that Chen Mo, who had always been known as a waste, would be so powerful and domineering. The Golden Fist shook with power, and it was actually so strong and overbearing? This must be an illusion. It must be that Chen Hui was caught off guard by Chen Mo's sneak attack.

  "I'm trash, what are you?" Chen Mo said calmly.

  "YOU!" Chen Hui leapt up, his face flushing bright red with rage and humiliation. He pounced at Chen Mo again, towering over him like a hawk swooping down on a rabbit. In an instant, seven or eight cyan-colored claw silhouettes flashed out, enveloping Chen Mo within.

  Chen Mo walked with his hands behind his back, a calm expression on his face, his body swaying gently like a willow leaf in the wind as he moved continuously within the narrow space. He allowed those claw-like shadows to narrowly brush past his green robe.

  Such a scene, shocking and thrilling. But it also made everyone understand that it wasn't Chen Hui being careless, but rather Chen Mo suddenly becoming formidable. Look at his movements, agile and elegant, clearly grasping the essence of the situation.

  Being made a monkey of, Chen Hui was even more unable to get down from the stage, his face twisted in anger, his ferocity fully exposed. He prepared to use his ultimate move to crush Chen Mo and salvage some dignity.

  "A low, stern voice emerged: 'Chen Hui, have you had enough?'"

  That voice seemed to contain a hint of magic, causing Chen Hui to stop in his tracks and turn around with a flattering smile: "Young Master Shao, how did you come?"

  Only to see the newcomer with his hands behind his back, a clean face, a head of black silk not disheveled, wearing brocade clothes and jade robes, on a face that can't tell what he's thinking, calm and clear-cut, definitely handsome. He looks about sixteen or seventeen years old, judging from his temperament and clothing, he must be the son of a rich family. But there is no arrogance on his body, instead, it reveals a lot of decent air, making people look at him with a good impression.

  The newcomer was Chen Xuan, the son of the head of the Chen family, who had already reached the peak of the Spiritual Disciple at the age of 16 or 17 and was only one step away from becoming a Spiritual Master.

  Chen Xuan ignored his flattery and turned to look at Chen Mo. He was of course aware that with Chen Mo's strength, if he were to exert himself fully, it would be more than enough to kill Chen Hui, who had insufficient battle experience.

  Then, his gaze fell on He Lian Huo Wu, and a hint of light appeared in his black pupils.

  With his hands behind his back, he turned around and scolded Chen Hui: "Chen Hui, you're not young anymore. Don't you know that making a move in the family business is taboo? With this strength, it's better to go home and cultivate well. If you want to fight, the clan comparison three months later will be enough for you to handle."

  ……