After chatting with Zhang Lan during the day, Mo Hua spent the entire day flipping through the book "Collection of Thousand Formations" that Mr. Zhuang had given him. He found several formations that could be useful and planned to learn them in the coming days. After mastering them, he intended to draw a few to keep with him for unexpected situations.
One should not harbor malicious intentions towards others, but neither should one be without defenses against them.
Mo Hua currently had too few means of self-defense. Relying solely on formations was clearly insufficient.
Qian Xing's incident served as a reminder for Mo Hua. Despite the laws of the Dao Court, not all cultivators would necessarily abide by them. The Heavenly Dao bestowed strength upon cultivators, and violence and power had always been closely intertwined.
After all, Mo Hua was currently a cultivator. In the realm of physical cultivation, one fought with martial arts; in spiritual cultivation, one sought life with spells. If he didn't excel in either, in the perilous cultivation world, he wouldn't live to see the day he could care for his parents in their old age...
Mo Hua could certainly dedicate himself to becoming a specialist in formations, finding a safe place where he wouldn't fight beasts or clash with other cultivators, solely focusing on researching formations and living a stable life.
However, entrusting his life solely to the goodwill of others was ultimately not a good choice.
After all, Mo Hua couldn't predict whether, at some time and place in the future, a cultivator he encountered would harbor murderous intent towards him. Once a cultivator bore such intent against him and he lacked the ability to defend himself, there would be no choice but to face imminent danger without any recourse.
So, how could he protect himself?
Mo Hua pondered deeply.
Physical cultivation was impossible for Mo Hua in this lifetime.
With his physique, practicing physical cultivation, learning martial arts, and engaging in hand-to-hand combat would be no different from courting death.
Thus, spiritual cultivation was his only option.
But even as a spiritual cultivator, Mo Hua's talents were not particularly outstanding.
His spiritual roots could only be considered average at best, and the amount of spiritual energy his Qi Sea could contain wasn't much. The cultivation technique he practiced, "Celestial Expansion Technique," didn't provide any special enhancement to spiritual energy, which meant his spiritual power was somewhat weaker compared to cultivators of the same realm.
When compared to cultivators with similar qualifications, Mo Hua's spiritual power could even be described as "meager" when compared to prodigies like Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi.
The quantity of spiritual energy directly affected the potency of spells.
"Forget it, let's wait until I reach the fifth level of Qi Refining before thinking about it. I can't learn spells right now anyway." Mo Hua sighed.
At the fifth level of Qi Refining, practitioners of physical cultivation could learn martial arts, while spiritual cultivators could learn spells because their spiritual energy would already be sufficient, providing a foundation for utilizing Daoist techniques.
By the time one reached the sixth level of Qi Refining, many cultivators had to rely on themselves to make a living. Learning at that stage would be considered late.
After thinking it over, Mo Hua realized he could only rely on formations for now.
Mo Hua sighed again and earnestly entered his Sea of Knowledge, practicing several new formations on the Dao Stele.
Mo Shan, who had been busy outside all day, returned home at this moment.
"I've inquired about it. Hua'er didn't do anything wrong. It was Qian Xing from the Qian family who deliberately caused trouble and wanted to take action against Hua'er. Fortunately, Big Zhuo and the others intervened, so it was alarming but not dangerous."
Liu Ruhua breathed a sigh of relief, then worried, "Will the Qian family trouble Hua'er?"
Mo Shan snorted, "They dare? The Qian family has power, but we hunters who risk our lives fighting beasts and lick our blades are not to be trifled with. Unless it's a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, they shouldn't dare to come. If they do, they shouldn't expect to leave intact!"
Mo Shan said this with a touch of hostility, a demeanor formed from years of confronting beasts.
Liu Ruhua rarely saw her husband show such a expression. Normally at home, Mo Shan was gentle and considerate. She held her husband's hand and asked softly, "But what if the Qian family sends a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator?"
Mo Shan shook his head. "They won't. The Qian family has an elder at the Foundation Establishment stage, and we hunters also have ours. Once Foundation Establishment cultivators get involved, it'll escalate, and neither side will have an easy time."
"Did you tell the elder about this?"
"I did. I originally wanted to make trouble for the Qian family. It's not easy to speak in Tong Xian City, but in our mountains, we hunters have the final say. It would have been easy to make them suffer a bit, but the elder didn't agree..." Mo Shan sounded somewhat displeased.
"Did the elder want you to consider the bigger picture?"
"No." Mo Shan hesitated for a moment and said, "The elder said there's no excuse for provocation right now."
"No reason?" Liu Ruhua looked puzzled.
Mo Shan whispered, "The elder said that Qian Xing bullied Mo Hua, but Mo Hua ended up unscathed, while Qian Xing suffered serious injuries and looked pitiful... In such a situation, causing trouble wouldn't be justified."
It was the first time Liu Ruhua had seen such an elder and couldn't help asking, "But what if there was a reason?"
"If there's a reason, we'd be in the right. We'd cause trouble first and then make them compensate with spirit stones. The Demon Hunters have been strapped for resources lately, unable to produce enough spirit stones, and the elder is desperate. If there was a reason, he'd have already taken action," Mo Shan explained.
Liu Ruhua nodded thoughtfully.
"Don't worry. Although Mo Hua is physically weak and can't become a full-fledged Demon Hunter, he's still a member. If something like this happens, the elder won't stand idly by. Otherwise, if these families are allowed to bully us impoverished Demon Hunters, we won't survive," Mo Shan reassured his wife.
Only then did Liu Ruhua relax, but curiosity got the better of her. "You said Qian Xing was seriously injured? He has followers and guards from his family. How could he get hurt?"
Mo Shan's expression turned complex. "Guess."
Liu Ruhua glared at her husband with her soft eyes, thought for a moment, and said, "Did Big Zhuo and the others beat him up?"
Mo Shan shook his head.
"Was it nearby Demon Hunters who came to help?"
"That's not it either."
...
Liu Ruhua guessed several more times but was wrong each time. She shook her head. "Then I can't guess anymore. It couldn't possibly have been Mo Hua who injured him, could it?"
Mo Shan raised an eyebrow. "You guessed right. It was Mo Hua."
Liu Ruhua's mouth fell open. "That's impossible. Mo Hua is so young and has low cultivation. How could he seriously injure Qian Xing?"
Mo Shan's expression became complicated. "I don't believe it either. Logically, it shouldn't be possible. But someone did witness it. That day, when Qian Xing was holding Mo Hua hostage, Mo Hua managed to break free. He splashed spirit ink into Qian Xing's eyes, causing injury, then seized the opportunity to slip a paper with a formation into Qian Xing's pocket. At the same time, he crushed a spirit stone. When he kicked Qian Xing and was knocked to the ground himself, the formation exploded, sending Qian Xing flying..."
Liu Ruhua listened in astonishment, then covered her mouth and laughed. "So Mo Hua didn't really suffer a loss."
Mo Shan chuckled too. "He suffered a bit of flesh wound, like scraping himself when falling down. Master Feng treated it with some medicine, and it healed. Compared to Qian Xing, who's like burnt charcoal, Mo Hua really didn't suffer a loss."
"Does anyone else know about this?"
"Very few people know, and even if it were said, no one would believe it. After all, Mo Hua is young and only at the fourth level of Qi Refining. Even we as his parents find it hard to believe, let alone others."
Liu Ruhua nodded. "That's good. The Qian family shouldn't trouble Mo Hua anymore. But we really have to thank Big Zhuo and the others for this. Otherwise, Mo Hua would have suffered."
Liu Ruhua shuddered at the thought.
"Yeah, tomorrow we should prepare something to give to Master Chen and the others."
"Okay."
"But don't worry," Mo Shan added with a smile, "our son has good relations. Without Big Zhuo, other cultivators would help him too. I heard even Officer Zhang from the Dao Court knows Mo Hua quite well..."
Thinking of what she saw during the day, Liu Ruhua couldn't help but laugh. "He even invited Officer Zhang for a drink. He really is wise beyond his years."
Mo Shan pulled Liu Ruhua into his arms. "Don't worry, I've already talked to the brothers from the Demon Hunter Team. If they have time, they'll keep an eye out. Anyone who tries to trouble Mo Hua again won't get away with it."
(End of the Chapter)