In the end, Chen Mo chose the movement technique "Body Like a Swimming Dragon" and the attack skill "Extreme Flame Skill," a spear technique that perfectly complemented the Nethergod Spear.
After bidding farewell to Liu Zilong and his sister, who had come to see him off, Chen Mo headed straight back to the palace where he resided.
However, as soon as he arrived at the palace, he saw Elder Gu He, Yun Yun, and Nalan Yanran, who had been waiting for him for quite some time.
"Testing for the wood attribute?"
"Yes, to become an alchemist, there are essential requirements. First, one must possess the fire attribute. Second, there must be a trace of wood energy. Additionally, one must have strong soul perception," Elder Gu He explained. "You already meet two of these conditions. If you also have a trace of wood energy, I am fully confident that I can help you become an alchemist."
Chen Mo knew this, but he didn't possess the wood attribute.
Even after consuming the Wood Source Pill he had obtained from a previous lottery, there had been no noticeable effect.
Chen Mo was deeply disappointed.
But he didn't lose heart. If all else failed, he could always wait until he had enough Luck Points and then plunder someone for the attribute.
However, with all three of them staring at him, Chen Mo couldn't refuse. He calmly said, "Let's give it a try."
Yun Yun didn't hold much hope, as she was quite familiar with Chen Mo's body and had never detected any wood attribute.
Of course, there was a slim chance that she might have missed it.
Nalan Yanran, on the other hand, gazed intently at Chen Mo, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
With dual attributes of thunder and fire, coupled with his exceptional combat talent, if Chen Mo also possessed the wood attribute and became an alchemist, his achievements would be unimaginable.
Elder Gu He took Chen Mo's hand and infused a strand of his own soul power to begin the examination.
As time passed, Elder Gu He frowned. He truly hadn't detected any wood attribute.
Perhaps his expectations had been too high.
Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, Elder Gu He's eyes lit up. An extremely faint trace of wood energy slowly rose from Chen Mo's Qi Vortex.
Seeing this, Yun Yun was startled and quickly asked, "Is it really there?"
Elder Gu He nodded, "It's not strong, but it's there, albeit very faint."
"Then can junior brother become an alchemist?" Nalan Yanran asked, even more anxious than Chen Mo himself.
Elder Gu He gave Nalan Yanran a peculiar look, then smiled knowingly, "Although it's very faint, as long as it's there, I have ways to help him become an alchemist."
In this regard, Elder Gu He was extremely confident.
"Then we'll trouble Elder Gu He," Yun Yun said, understanding his intentions. It was clear that he valued Chen Mo's talent and wanted to take him as a disciple. Yun Yun was open to this, as no one had ever said that a person could only have one teacher in their lifetime.
Chen Mo declined. At this moment, he needed to stand firm in his position but couldn't outright refuse. He wanted to gain Yun Yun's favor while also becoming an alchemist.
"Thank you for your kind offer, Elder Gu He. Since I have already taken the sect leader as my master, I will not switch to another."
Elder Gu He's expression changed, then he laughed heartily, "Who said anything about switching? I'm asking you to take me as a master, not to sever your relationship with the sect leader."
Elder Gu He thought Chen Mo had misunderstood.
Yun Yun felt quite relieved. Her efforts to save him over the past two nights hadn't been in vain.
Elder Gu He's words aligned perfectly with Chen Mo's intentions.
Chen Mo didn't agree too quickly, as that would have given him away. Instead, he hesitated and glanced at Yun Yun, only bowing after receiving her nod. "Disciple pays respects to Master."
"No need for formalities, no need for formalities." Gu He was delighted to have such a talented disciple and immediately pulled out a pile of bottles and jars from his Storage Ring, handing them to Chen Mo.
"This is a gift from your master. Hurry and take it."
To keep up the act, Chen Mo didn't accept it immediately but declined a few times before reluctantly storing it in his Storage Ring.
Seeing that his new disciple was not only exceptionally talented but also well-mannered, Gu He waved his hand generously. "In addition to the Fifth-Grade Pill you'll receive for winning the competition, I'll refine an extra Fifth-Grade Pill for you."
Both Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran were shocked. Two Fifth-Grade Pills at once? Even Nalan Yanran, who had grown up surrounded by resources, was quite envious.
Chen Mo swallowed his excitement. As expected of a Sixth-Grade Alchemist, his generosity was unmatched. He quickly said, "Thank you, Master."
"Since I'm your master, there's no need to keep saying thank you," Gu He said. "Have you decided which two Fifth-Grade Pills you want?"
"Dragon Strength Pill and Blood Lotus Pill."
The Dragon Strength Pill was something Chen Mo had already chosen. It would grant the user immense physical strength for a short period, unrelated to Dou Qi enhancement but purely internal power.
The additional Blood Lotus Pill was chosen to protect the body from fire damage, a precaution Chen Mo took in case he obtained a Strange Fire in the future and couldn't refine it.
Gu He nodded. "Starting tomorrow, come to the Alchemy Chamber at dawn every day. I'll teach you Alchemy."
After saying this, he nodded to Yun Yun and left.
After Gu He left, both Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran looked at Chen Mo with astonishment and exclaimed in unison, "You're practically a monster."
...
Time flew by.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Every day, aside from discussing Dou Skills with Yun Yun to deepen their relationship, Chen Mo shuttled between the palace, the Alchemy Chamber, and the back mountain.
It was during this time that a new faction, the Lofty Cloud Pavilion, was established within the Yunlan Sect.
Its leader was Chen Mo.
On the first day of its establishment, members included Nalan Yanran, Yun Hai, Liu Zilong, Liu Xuanyue, Yun Ya, and over fifty unnamed extras.
Thanks to Chen Mo's reputation and his new status as a disciple of Pill King Gu He, new members joined daily.
In just three days, the Lofty Cloud Pavilion's numbers swelled to one hundred and ten.
Inside the palace, Chen Mo looked at the system map, where a red dot, smaller than a sesame seed, represented an area roughly one-third the size of the Yunlan Sect's square.
Within this range, he was invincible. (Within the Yunlan Sect, in such a large area.)
As for how to expand this range, it depended on the number of members in the Lofty Cloud Pavilion, their cultivation levels, and their sense of belonging.
The first two were easy to understand.
Sense of belonging referred to the members' loyalty to the Lofty Cloud Pavilion.
For example, if you joined the Lofty Cloud Pavilion today and wanted to leave tomorrow, your sense of belonging was clearly lacking.
And how to increase this sense of belonging?
Not caring about money is just playing the fool.
Chen Mo glanced at the sense of belonging. Apart from Nalan Yanran and Yun Hai, whose scores were above 50, everyone else's sense of belonging was below 30.
...
Jia Ma Empire.
Qing Shan Town.
"Rumors say that on the day at the Yunlan Sect's square, Chen Mo, the Child of Thunder and Lightning, defeated Nalan Yanran, the Heaven's Proud Daughter. After that, the founder of Yunlan Sect appeared in Chen Mo's dream, allowing him to awaken the wood attribute the next day. He was then taken as a personal disciple by Pill King Gu He and taught Alchemy."
In a certain tavern, an elderly storyteller, clapping his bamboo clappers, animatedly recounted Chen Mo's deeds.
"Make it up, keep making it up. A person's soul can only possess one attribute. That Chen Mo guy has three. Why don't you make it even more exaggerated?"
"That's right. A two-star Dou Master defeating a seven-star Dou Master? That's blowing it out of proportion. Has anyone here ever seen someone succeed in such a leap in level?"
...
In the tavern, most of the audience was thoroughly entertained, but that didn't mean they believed it. After all, storytelling is supposed to be a bit exaggerated, right?
A small portion of the crowd directly called it out, saying that bragging without any basis in reality was unbelievable.
"I'm not spouting nonsense. My friend's friend's grandson is a registered disciple of Yunlan Sect, and he witnessed it with his own eyes."
The old
man slammed his clappers on the table and said, "Alright, that's the end of today's story. Here are some fan books just delivered by the bookstore, priced at only..."
"I'll take one."
"Me too."
"I'll take two."
...