Shi Heshuo stood up and decided not to let Su Mo down.
Shi Heshuo had previously decided to stay because of the rich cultivation environment in the village. But his priorities changed, and now he's choosing to stay in the Crimson Heart Village because of his Clan Master, Su Mo.
'Clan Master Su seems to be an omnipotent being, and everything he does is undoubtedly profound. This makes me want to follow Clan Master Su for the rest of my life. The Cerulean Ocean Blade Clan pales in comparison to Clan Master Su,' Shi Heshuo thought to himself.
…
Su Mo was unaware of Shi Heshuo's thoughts. Right now, he was thinking of how to use the rewards he had just obtained. It was just a matter of how he would distribute the rewards.
'Forget it. I'll use two of the rewards for now. Use Intermediate Alchemy Skill and Intermediate Formation Skill,' Su Mo said in his subconscious.
Following Su Mo's orders, his mind began to fill with many insights regarding alchemy and formations.
'I don't think it's a good idea for me to use the Expert Alchemy Skill on Lin Ping. He's a combat expert, so I don't want to delay his progress with alchemy. Shi Yunshan had obtained the God of Thieves Manual of the Thief Clan, so he's probably not in the mood to study alchemy.'
'I should still be able to obtain all sorts of skills from the system in the future. My alchemy skills will undoubtedly increase again, so it would be a waste to use the Expert Alchemy Skill on myself.'
'Should I use it on a future disciple that I will inevitably take in? No, I don't know how long it'll be before finding another disciple, and this skill might not even be suitable for that disciple either.'
'Looks like I can only give it to him…' Su Mo thought in his heart.
Su Mo finally decided to give the Expert Alchemy Skill to Zhou Ping because his loyalty was now at level eighty-five, and he was also the most familiar with spirit herbs.
After making the decision, Su Mo set off to the herb garden once again.
'Wouldn't it have been better if the rewards were given to me earlier? Now I have to make a second trip to the herb garden!" Su Mo was annoyed.
"Zhou Ping, come with me."
After Su Mo arrived at the herb garden, he wasted no time and immediately called for Zhou Ping.
"What's the matter, Clan Master Su?" Zhou Ping came before Su Mo and asked.
"Don't ask me so many questions. I'm in a hurry."
After Su Mo received the new reward, an idea appeared in his mind, but he still needed to conduct an experiment.
"Yes, Clan Master Su." Zhou Ping had no choice but to follow obediently.
The two of them then walked to the grand library.
"All right, I'm going to give you the skills of an alchemist now. You will now focus on becoming an alchemist and study here. Come and look for me when you're done, and I'll help you extract the essence from the herbs," So Mo instructed
"Y-You want me to become an alchemist?" Zhou Ping was extremely shocked.
'Is this really my clan master?'
In the eyes of commoners, self-cultivators were magnificent existences, and among the self-cultivators, a few unique professions were considered honorable.
They were Alchemists, Blacksmiths, and Formation Masters.
Every cultivator depends on pills and weapons, and every clan needs powerful clan-protecting formation. Any high-leveled self-cultivator could refine pills and weapons. They could also learn protective formations.
However, those who lacked the skill could not go far in these paths. For example, an ordinary Mahayana Realm cultivator could refine pills. But they couldn't produce pills that corresponded with their realm.
The pills would always be at least two realms lower than their cultivation level. Therefore, alchemists had always been a popular profession in any clan.
The same goes for blacksmiths and formation masters. But it was hard to come across people who possessed these skills.
So when Su Mo bestowed this honor unto Zhou Ping, he could not help but be shocked.
"Yes, your alchemy skills are currently average, but I am allowing you to change your fate. So can you do me a favor and not disappoint me?" Su Mo asked.
"I will definitely take this opportunity and work hard for you. I will not disappoint you, Clan Master Su!" Zhou Ping immediately knelt on the ground.
"Mm, get up. Go and study hard. Come look for me once you're done studying."
Su Mo gave the Expert Alchemy Skill to Zhou Ping and left.
"Yes, Clan Master Su."
After Zhou Ping got up, his face was full of determination.
'I don't feel any wiser, and Clan Master Su has left. He must've already given me the Expert Alchemy Skill.'
Ding!
"Congratulations, Master! You have obtained the third subordinate with a loyalty level of 100. Master will now be rewarded."
Obtained [Group Formation]
Obtained [Nine Serenities]
Obtained [Soul Ferrying Formation]
When Su Mo saw that he had received some rewards, he immediately left the grand library and did not return. Instead, he went to the village's entrance.
Su Mo stared at the jade stone steps and fell into deep thought. He planned to build some formations here. He wanted to use these as a small test to recruit new disciples.
Su Mo already had this idea when the system stuffed his head with thousands of formations. He wanted to set up a stair-like gravity formation to test the future disciple's willpower.
Then he would set up a small illusion-based formation at the top floor to test the disciple's minds and psyche. Finally, he would use the Seven-colored Stone Tablet to scan the disciple's talents.
Su Mo thought that this plan was flawless.
After Su Mo made up his mind, he took out the needed materials from the system's dimension. Then, he began to set up the formations in an orderly manner.
Although it was Su Mo's first attempt at setting up formations, his fluency would make others sigh and admit that he was an experienced formation master.
This was also the power of the Invincible Demon Clan System.
In a short while, Su Mo completed the two arrays. He then looked at the formation patterns before him and nodded in satisfaction.
"Not bad. I will rely on these three stages when recruiting disciples in the future. The disciples would have to walk up to six hundred to one thousand steps in the first stage."
"In the second stage, one would have to last at least one incense stick's time before getting through the illusions, and finally, one would need to possess the talent of a Golden Core Realm cultivator," Su Mo muttered in a low voice.
"I'll go and ask Lin Ping to come over. I'll use him as a guinea pig for these formations."
Su Mo went to the disciple's cultivation room, called Lin Ping, and brought him to the foot of the mountain.
"Go up the mountain and test these formations for yourself," Su Mo said.
Lin Ping immediately began to go up the mountain.
At first, Lin Ping didn't feel anything, but when he walked to the middle of the jade steps, he began to feel an enormous weight on his shoulders. The weight would then increase with each step he took.
'Is he testing me? I will make sure to exceed my master's expectations!' Lin Ping thought to himself.
If Su Mo had known what Lin Ping was thinking, he would have said, "You are overthinking. You're just a guinea pig, my silly disciple."
In the end, Lin Ping managed to climb to the top of the mountain in more than an hour.
Then Lin Ping fell into the illusion-based formation.
Su Mo had expected Lin Ping to take more than an hour to reach the top, but he hadn't expected Lin Ping to break through the illusion-based formation so quickly.
Lin Ping managed to snap out of it in an instant.
'Is Lin Ping that determined, or is the illusion-based formation too low-leveled?' Su Mo could not help but be surprised.
"What did you see in the illusion-based formation?" Su Mo asked as he looked at the panting Lin Ping.