"It's good to see that you are all so determined!" Su Mo said lightly.
"I will personally guide you in your cultivation. I will come here every morning to have a one-hour sparring session with you all. Then I will spend the rest of the morning teaching you what you need to focus on when cultivating. You will be free to do as you please in the afternoon and at night."
"Also, I will be casting a level eight gravity formation on you as a training method," Su Mo told the subordinates of his plans.
"If you want to beat us up, you should've just said it, Clan Master Su. It's not a sparring session. You're at the Golden Core Realm, so how are we going to fight against you?" Shi Xingde said dispiritedly.
The other subordinates could not help but break out in cold sweat. They knew that the Crimson Heart Clan walked the Demonic Path, which meant their master was a fickle-minded devil. They always made sure to watch their words in fear of angering Su Mo, so they were shocked when Shi Xingde dared to speak such words.
Su Mo could not help but become speechless. He wondered if he really was that evil and manipulative.
Su Mo could not help but pat Shi Xingde on the head and say, "I have a lot of free time before I arrive at the herb garden, so I'll have time to suppress my strength."
"T-That's good to know," Shi Xingde said embarrassedly.
The other subordinates also felt relieved. Moreover, they simultaneously thought in their hearts, 'Is Clan Master Su really from a demonic clan? His temperament is so different from what the rumors say.'
'Clan Master Su has such a kind temperament,' Shi Xingde thought.
Shi Xingde would undoubtedly be punished if he said these words aloud in the Cerulean Ocean Blade Village. However, if Shi Xingde said this to Su Mo, he would be lightly slapped and asked to explain himself. The living conditions in a demonic clan are pretty decent, after all.
"You are all currently in the Meridian Formation Realm, right? Then I will suppress my abilities into the Foundation Establishment realm before sparring with you. I want to test your strength," Su Mo said with a smile.
"Well, Clan Master Su, I think you should suppress your strength into the Meridian Formation Realm instead," Yu Yuanjia said.
"I agree, Clan Master Su. Although our talents are limited and our foundations are weak, we are average cultivators," Guo Zhemao added.
"Yes, Clan Master Su. What if he hurt you?" Shi Xingde echoed.
"Don't worry. It will be tough for you to defeat me. I might even lower my realm even more." Su Mo said as he stroked his chin.
"R-Right!" The subordinates agreed awkwardly.
"Shi Xingde, you're up first!" Su Mi called out by name.
"Yes, sir!" Shi Xingde immediately stepped forward.
"Don't hold back, or I might accidentally kill you!" Su Mo said coldly.
At this moment, Su Mo looked like a true leader of a demonic clan who made the Myriad Flower Blades tremble in fear.
Hearing this, Shi Xingde gathered all his mana, drew his long sword, and rushed over. Shi Xingde stabbed, hacked, and slashed toward his master, but Su Mo easily evaded his attacks.
"You're too slow, Shi Xingde. I wasn't as weak as you when I was in the Meridian Formation Realm."
"Vast Ocean Long Sword!"
When Shi Xingde saw Su Mo easily dodging his attacks, he decided to use this blade technique.
Su Mo shook his head when he saw the sky filled with blades and said, "That's a flashy technique, but it's not practical. The force is scattered. Your long sword is dull."
After saying that, Su Mo swung his fist forward and sent Shi Xingde flying.
"Clan Master Su, are you really only using the strength of the Foundation Establishment Realm?" Yu Yuanjia asked in disbelief.
"Of course. Why would I lie to You?" Su Mo said lightly.
"N-No, sir!" Yu Yuanjia quickly shook his head.
"You two, join in!" Su Mo said.
Not long after, Yu Yuanjia and Guo Zhemao were also defeated.
"Your foundation is weak, and you need to use pills to ascend into a higher realm. It seems that the Cerulean Ocean Blades have been deceiving their disciples."
"You're also lacking in combat experience. Your moves are old-fashioned, your attacks are slow, and your swordsmanship is flashy but not practical. These are major problems we need to work on. There are also some minor issues we could iron out."
After sparring with the subordinates, Su Mo commented on their combat skills. The subordinates lowered their heads in shame when they heard this.
"Even though your strength is relatively low, you guys still have a chance to work on it. You will all practice your combat skills in the gravity formation and condense your magical abilities soon," Su Mo instructed.
The subordinates nodded their heads as they listened to Su Mo. They were neither geniuses nor core members of the Cerulean Ocean Blade Clan. Without proper resources, the subordinates could only rely on themselves to ascend into the Meridian Formation Realm.
During their cultivation, they were forced to buy their own pills from others so that they could ascend into the Meridian Formation Realm, which was why their combat strength did not match their cultivation realms.
"You guys should continue cultivating for now."
After Su Mo finished speaking, he set up a gravity formation and headed to the demonic beast pen.
After arriving at the demonic beast pen, Su Mo used the same method to train these subordinates. However, it was as Su Mo expected. The foundations of these subordinates were also weak.
Then, Su Mo set up a gravity formation and left the demonic beast pen.
"Shi Yunshan, I'll be depending on you to keep an eye on the other two who are cultivating in the grand library!" Su Mo transmitted his voice from afar.
"Yes, sir!" Shi Yunshan immediately replied.
"It seems that Shi Yunshan is also able to transmit his voice from such a distance. He should be close to ascending into the Golden Core Realm," Su Mo muttered joyfully.
Su Mo did not expect to catch a genius instead of a thief.
Su Mo did not return to his cultivation room. Instead, he thought of building an alchemy lab.
Right now, the foundations of Su Mo's subordinates were weak, and they were older men. So they would need special pills to assist them in their cultivation.
"I need to grab Spirit Flower Pills so they can improve their aptitude. I also need some Sky Snake Ointment to heal their injuries…"
Just like that, Su Mo busied himself all night.
The next day, the six subordinates from the herb garden and demon beast pen began their hellish training. Both sides went through the same method of training. First, they would be beaten up by Su Mo, and then they would apply some Sky Snake Ointment to heal their injuries. After that, they cultivated with the help of Spirit Flower Pills.
Su Mo carefully selected these pills, which were meant to assist in cultivation, and not improve it. Therefore, the side effects would not be reflected in the final results of their cultivations.
Su Mo was a strict and ruthless instructor, and he began training his six subordinates rigorously. This method of training went on for a month.
Although Su Mo would always beat the subordinates to a bloody pulp, none would complain. They would even practice and spar amongst each other during the night to improve their cultivation.
These six subordinates improved drastically in the span of a month. Not only did they solidify their magic powers, but they also improved their strength.
Lin Ping's improvements were also note-worthy. He managed to ascend into level ten of the Foundation Establishment Realm smoothly. He was currently one step away from ascending into the Meridian Formation Realm.
This was all due to Lin Ping's hard work, apart from his high-leveled talent. He had ascended into the Qi Refinement Realm on the second day of the six subordinate's training.
However, Su Mo was not going to let Lin Ping rest just yet. He brought Lin Ping to the training grounds and organized an even more demanding training method for Lin Ping.
Even though Lin Ping was young, he persevered through his training. Furthermore, Lin Ping's comprehension level was extremely high, and he immediately corrected the mistakes that Su Mo had pointed out.
Lin Ping had also integrated some martial arts into his battle patterns, forming a unique fighting style.
Su Mo was sure that Lin Ping's current strength in battle matched his own.
"Clan Master Su, we have a situation! One of our brethren has gotten kidnapped!"