Mu Nanqing instinctively grabbed ahold of Lu Chuan's sleeve upon hearing the middle-aged man's words.
Lu Chuan snorted coldly, "Who spares whom is still up in the air!"
The middle-aged man sneered, "I tried to be polite, and you really think you're something, huh?"
"I heard you're a good-for-nothing, but I didn't expect you to talk so big. Well, I'll cripple you first, and then play with her right in front of you. Just thinking about it excites me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the middle-aged man rushed towards Lu Chuan.
Lu Chuan quickly shielded Mu Nanqing behind him and engaged the middle-aged man in combat.
After dozens of exchanges, the middle-aged man's expression turned solemn, "Aren't you supposed to be a good-for-nothing? How can you be so strong!"
Lu Chuan sneered, "You believe the nonsense of fools; it seems your brain isn't that great, either!"
Despite his words, he was somewhat nervous inside. Initially, he thought he could easily deal with this Inner Strength master with a cultivator's power, but now the fight was evenly matched, which made him realize he had underestimated the Inner Strength master.
"Certainly, the power of a cultivator can crush everything, but my current realm is too low, and Inner Strength masters are not to be underestimated. I must not be blindly arrogant in the future, or I'll definitely suffer a great loss."
Grinding his teeth, the middle-aged man glared at Lu Chuan and muttered, "This kid's strength is as good as mine, if not better. Probably only the boss can kill him. Those two idiots provided faulty information; I want to strangle them!"
He took a deep breath, gathered all his Inner Strength into his palm, and shouted, "Take my palm strike!"
If this strike didn't succeed, he would have no choice but to retreat.
Lu Chuan, sensing the incoming danger, unleashed his Spiritual Power and struck out with his palm as well.
Heart-Shattering Palm!
This was a basic move from the Immortal Cultivation Method, but for Lu Chuan at the moment, it was immensely powerful.
When the palms collided, an explosive force burst forth.
The middle-aged man flew backward, slamming into a tree, and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Lu Chuan quietly sighed in relief, "It seems my Immortal Cultivation Method is a cut above after all."
He planned to pursue his advantage and dashed toward the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and shot an intense look at Lu Chuan before throwing a round bead.
Lu Chuan inwardly cursed, immediately stopped, and retreated.
The bead hit the ground and exploded with a bang, producing thick smoke that obscured Lu Chuan's vision.
By the time Lu Chuan skirted around the smoke and looked back, the middle-aged man had already disappeared.
He didn't think about giving chase; the fight had exhausted his Spiritual Power completely, and pursuing would only put him in danger.
He quickly approached Mu Nanqing and said, "Sister-in-law, it's not safe to stay here. Let's go back."
Back at home, Mu Nanqing still hadn't recovered from the shocking combat she'd witnessed, something she had only seen on TV before.
"Xiaochuan, what was that all about?" Mu Nanqing asked.
Lu Chuan gave a wry smile and replied, "It must have been Qin Lan and Liu Kun seeking revenge on me."
Mu Nanqing's face showed surprise, "Aren't they a bit too cruel? That man was clearly trying to kill you."
Lu Chuan sighed, "I didn't expect them to be so ruthless."
Mu Nanqing looked guilty, "It's all my fault; if you hadn't stood up for me, you wouldn't have been targetted for revenge."
Lu Chuan responded with a smile, "Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? Qin Lan and Liu Kun are clearly to blame. Besides, as you can see, I'm fine. Don't worry, I'm quite powerful now, they can't do anything to me."
Mu Nanqing thought about it and felt he was right. Lu Chuan's display of martial prowess had inspired a touch of admiration in her for this younger brother.
She glanced shyly at Lu Chuan and said, "Xiaochuan, it's really good to have you around."
Lu Chuan shivered under Mu Nanqing's gaze, then quickly said, "Sister-in-law, I used up a lot of energy in the fight and need to recover quickly. You should also get some rest."
He then hurriedly returned to his room.
Mu Nanqing didn't dwell on it and turned to take her bath.
Lu Chuan sat cross-legged on the bed, began to circulate his cultivation technique, and started to breathe in and out. Soon, his mind settled down.
Early the next morning.
After concluding his cultivation, Lu Chuan got up, stretched lazily, and once again felt his condition peak.
But dissatisfaction flickered in his eyes.
"Nowadays, it's the End of Sects and Magic Era, where the Spiritual Energy in the air is exceptionally thin. Cultivating step by step like this is just too slow."
Yester night's battle had made Lu Chuan realize that although he possessed a cultivation heritage, before he could transform that heritage into his own strength, there were still plenty of people who could easily crush him.
Experts in Inner Strength, though far from matching cultivators, represented a complete path in their own right. He speculated that at the deeper levels of Inner Strength, one could also enter the path. Even if he could easily overpower Inner Strength experts of the same level or even two to three levels higher, there would always be much more powerful opponents out there.
The Inner Strength experts that Qin Lan could hire with money had already given Lu Chuan a hard time, not to mention the far-reaching fame of Long Tianya.
Therefore, he urgently wanted to increase his own power so that he could properly make amends to Chu Mengyao and protect Mu Nanqing.
"If I continue to cultivate step by step, it will still take a week before I can reach Qi Cultivation Level 2. It seems I need to find a way to refine some elixir pills to speed up my cultivation," Lu Chuan thought.
At that thought, he started to miss the night he had spent with Chu Mengyao, after all, enjoying tremendous pleasure while rapidly improving his cultivation was a dream come true for any cultivator.
After a simple wash, he had breakfast with Mu Nanqing. After giving a few instructions, he hurried to the medicinal materials market.
To refine good-quality elixir pills, the required herbs had to be old. Lu Chuan, with his heritage, could distinguish the quality of herbs at a glance. However, after spending a whole round in the market, he found few aged herbs as most dealers in this wholesale venue sold in bulk, and the truly old materials were hidden away in the antique streets.
But those places were out of reach for someone like Lu Chuan who only had tens of thousands in wealth.
Nevertheless, after some searching, Lu Chuan found several decent herbs, including two that were ten years old, spending fifty thousand yuan in total, which nearly broke his heart.
"Ten-year-old herbs are already so expensive. Hundred-year-old herbs must surely cost a fortune. In this day and age, even cultivating to immortality is hard without money," Lu Chuan couldn't help but complain.
He went to a traditional Chinese medicine shop, gave the apprentice fifty yuan, and borrowed the shop's tools to refine the medicine.
After a lot of hard work, he used the herbs he had bought to refine three Profound Origin Pills—a type of elixir pill that could enhance one's cultivation, greatly beneficial to cultivators in the Qi Refinement Realm. However, a mere three pills were too few and would at most enable him to reach the peak of Qi Cultivation Level 1, making a breakthrough still difficult.
Looking at the leftover scraps from refining the Profound Origin Pills, he decided not to waste them, so he added a few other herbs and concocted a pot of black ointment.
At that moment, the apprentice came over, saw the ointment Lu Chuan had made, and scornfully said, "You can't possibly be good at making medicine, right? Look at what you've made here—it looks like tar. Is this even medicine?"
Lu Chuan replied with a smile, "This concoction is called Wound Healing Ointment, and has the effects of stopping bleeding, reducing swelling, and eliminating scars. It can be used for all kinds of external injuries and takes effect in just a few seconds. It also has another use..."
The apprentice asked, "What other use?"
Lu Chuan laughed, "You're too young, I'll keep it a secret."
The apprentice scoffed, "Psh, I think you're just bluffing. Your dark and sticky concoction—far from healing wounds, it might even poison someone."
With a slight smile, Lu Chuan said nothing in response; his Wound Healing Ointment might look unattractive, but its effects were top-notch, as it was a basic healing medicine used by cultivators.
This was something he planned to sell, since buying the herbs today had cost him dearly, and he needed to find a way to earn it back. Additionally, the further he progressed in cultivation, the more and increasingly expensive herbs he would need, so he had to find a stable way to make money.
He put the Wound Healing Ointment into small bottles, filling a total of thirteen.
Just as he was about to leave with the ointment, a group of people carrying several others who were covered in knife wounds and bleeding profusely entered the Chinese medicine shop on stretchers.
Following them was a middle-aged man with a goatee and gold chain, who didn't look like a good person, accompanied by a group of underlings.
Seeing this, the old Chinese doctor hurriedly stood up from his reclining chair.
The middle-aged man spoke indifferently, "My brothers got injured grabbing territory for me. Please treat them, doctor. Money is not an issue."
After assessing the middle-aged man for a moment, the old Chinese doctor exclaimed, "Mo Laowu, Fifth Master?"
The middle-aged man nodded slightly, "Please, doctor."
"Don't worry, I'll treat them right away," replied the old Chinese doctor, not daring to be neglectful as he quickly went to examine the wounded.
Lu Chuan, somewhat surprised, glanced at the middle-aged man. He had also heard of Mo Laowu, a well-known gang leader in the East Bridge District. He had a group of underlings and made a name for himself through violent antics in his early years. Nowadays, he owned several bars and KTVs, considered quite wealthy.
After examining the wounded, the old Chinese doctor's brow furrowed deeply, and he looked at Mo Laowu with trepidation, saying, "Five... Fifth Master, I'm afraid my humble abilities are lacking. Your brothers' injuries are too severe; with wounds several centimeters deep and countless bruises, my small pharmacy is ill-equipped for proper treatment. You need to take them to a hospital."
Mo Laowu frowned and swore irritably, "The hospital is so crowded; the queue reaches all the way to my grandma's house. I'm a civilized man and don't want to cut in line, otherwise, I wouldn't have brought them here. Please, think of something, doctor."
The old Chinese doctor shook his head helplessly, "Fifth Master, I truly do not possess the power."
Seeing this, Lu Chuan's eyes lit up, and he quickly stepped forward, "Fifth Master, I have a medicine here that can treat your brothers' wounds. Would you be interested?"