My Cultivation Techniques Upgrade Automatically

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: You Can’t Disappoint Me

Hearing it was time to work, the refugees began to clamor at the top of their lungs:

"Master Qian, just tell us what to do! After eating meat and good meals these past few days, we’re bursting with energy!"

"Master Qian, whatever it is, just say the word. We’ll all listen to you!"

"We will serve Master Qian to our last breath!"

...

Their clamor grew louder and louder, as if they were competing to show their loyalty.

"Shh!"

Qian Fugui was enjoying this, but the mission was more important. He raised a hand for silence.

Once it was quiet, Qian Fugui got down to business.

"As I’ve told you all before, my estate has an enterprise that is short-staffed, which is why I’ve invited you here."

"This enterprise is a mountain called Broken Blade Mountain, located twenty li west of the Zhuangzi."

"The mountain has ample moisture and lush vegetation, which means it’s also home to numerous venomous snakes and vicious beasts."

Qian Fugui spoke calmly. His voice wasn’t loud, yet it carried clearly to every person’s ears in the vast training grounds.

This showed that his Qi and Blood were extremely deep, and his strength was considerable.

"This mountain is a treasure trove. Lacking capable hands, we’ve had to leave it untended for many years. By now, I expect it’s teeming with rare medicinal herbs."

"So, this time, I’m asking you to go into the mountain to gather herbs. I imagine many of you were herb gatherers, so this should be right up your alley!"

Seeing the crowd nod in agreement, Qian Fugui continued,

"Because Broken Blade Mountain is very far from the Zhuangzi, traveling back and forth is impractical. Therefore, you’ll need to stay on the mountain for one full month."

"After one month, or after you have gathered ten rare medicinal herbs, you will be eligible to become a retainer of my house!"

"And as a retainer of my house, the monthly stipend is..."

"Ten taels of silver!"

Qian Fugui finished speaking.

HISS!

"Ten taels of silver!"

"Holy hell, we’re gonna be rich!"

...

After Qian Fugui finished, the expressions of the two hundred refugees became visibly fanatical.

Ten taels of silver a month!

In past years, they would have had to toil for an entire year to earn that much, and only if they were incredibly lucky.

And after paying for food and drink, they’d have next to nothing left over.

Now, just by staying on Broken Blade Mountain for a month and collecting ten herbs, they could become retainers in Master Qian’s house.

They could earn a monthly stipend of ten taels of silver. How could they not be tempted!

The refugees suspected nothing. It never even occurred to them to wonder why the Zhuangzi, which clearly had powerful Guards, would be short of capable people to send to Broken Blade Mountain for herbs.

Right now, they were blinded by the promise of "a monthly stipend of ten taels of silver." All they could think about were the good days that would follow once they became retainers.

Even the few refugees who had doubts simply assumed this herb-gathering trip was actually the Zhuangzi’s test for selecting retainers.

The eyes of many began to dart about, scanning the weaker refugees in the crowd.

They were already planning to kill others and steal their herbs once they were on the mountain.

Seeing the refugees’ excited, eager expressions, Qian Fugui knew the fools had lost their minds over ten taels of silver.

He sneered inwardly:

’Go into the mountains for herbs? You *are* the herbs!’

Seeing the eager crowd and knowing they couldn’t wait, Qian Fugui called to his side, "Hu!"

The Guard, Hu, stepped forward at the call. "Sir."

"Distribute the weapons and rations. Send them into the mountains to gather herbs."

"Yes!"

「An hour later.」

All two hundred refugees had received a standard-issue waist-saber and a bundle.

The bundle contained their rations for the mountain.

"This is only enough for two or three days!"

Someone opened their bundle to find fragrant, griddled flatbreads inside. But no matter how you looked at it, the amount wouldn’t last a month.

The refugees quickly caught on. ’If this is a test,’ they reasoned, ’then we must be expected to find our own food when this runs out.’

Whether that meant robbing others or foraging in the mountains to survive—that would be up to each individual’s own skills.

’These guys can’t really think this is a test, can they?’

Wu Chen, standing in the crowd, was rendered speechless.

Ever since the announcement about gathering herbs, he had felt several pairs of eyes sweep over him, their killing intent barely concealed.

They were clearly planning to steal his herbs.

And now, they were preparing to kill for food.

Despite this, Wu Chen, who everyone believed to be merely at the Fourth Layer of the Body Tempering Realm, felt no particular alarm.

Instead, he was filled with curiosity about what this Zhuangzi was planning next.

From his perspective, it made no sense to feed and house them so well for so many days just to have them collect a few herbs.

’Who runs a business at a loss?’

If the goal was to cultivate retainers and raise a private army, this "training" was far too weak.

It would never forge an effective fighting force.

’I’ll just take it one step at a time. The answer should reveal itself soon enough.’

Unflustered, Wu Chen followed the crowd out of the Zhuangzi and toward Broken Blade Mountain.

After half a day’s walk, escorted by more than twenty guards, the group arrived at the foot of a lush, green mountain covered in ancient trees.

"This is it."

The party halted. Hu took out a roster and began calling names. "Zhu Liang, Zhang He..."

He called out twenty names in a single breath.

Looking at the twenty people who stepped forward, Hu pointed at Broken Blade Mountain and said coldly,

"You twenty will enter the mountain from this point. Anyone who comes down without having gathered ten precious herbs will die!"

Knowing Hu absolutely wasn’t joking, the twenty of them surged up the mountain with all their might the moment he finished speaking.

Broken Blade Mountain stretched for countless li. Even if it was rich with herbs, there were two hundred people here!

That meant two thousand herbs were needed for everyone to complete the task.

Many of the refugees were former herb gatherers and Hunters. They knew that even if the mountain had been left wild for years, it was impossible for so many rare treasures to have grown.

An ordinary person would be lucky to find even a single stalk on a normal trip into the mountains, let alone ten. Even on a mountain of treasures, you had to be fast.

Anyone who was a step too slow would end up one herb short and lose their life.

Before long, the twenty figures vanished into the dense forest. Only the slight swaying of leaves betrayed their passage.

Hu left three Guards to stand watch before leading the rest onward.

After walking a short distance, he repeated the process, calling out another twenty people.

He did this several more times, until all two hundred people had been "deployed" into Broken Blade Mountain from different points.

The Guards, meanwhile, took up positions at the foot of the mountain to prevent any of the refugees from escaping.

...

The Herb-Planting Zhuangzi.

In the small building near the training grounds, on the third floor.

After returning from the training grounds, Qian Fugui ground an inkstone, picked up his brush, and wrote five words on a small slip of paper: ’The great medicine is ripe.’

He wrote this on three separate slips.

After blowing the ink dry, he carefully rolled up the slips of paper and inserted them into the message tubes attached to the legs of three gray crows.

He then walked to the window and released the crows one by one.

The gray crows spread their wings, FLUTTERING toward the sky, and disappeared into the clouds in a matter of moments.

With nothing left to do, Qian Fugui settled into his lounge chair, quietly awaiting the arrival of the sect disciples who would be participating in the trial.

After napping for several hours, he estimated the time was about right. He said to the serving girl beside him,

"Go and prepare some food and wine. They should be arriving soon."

The serving girl nodded. She had barely left the room when a commotion arose from outside the Zhuangzi. Moments later, the sound of THUMP THUMP THUMP came from the stairs.

"They’re quick."

Shaking his head, Qian Fugui rose from his lounge chair to receive his guest, just as a booming voice echoed from outside the door:

"Fatty Qian, oh, Fatty Qian! Long time no see! How’s the quality of this year’s batch of ’great medicine’?"

An old man with a white beard and hair, dressed in dark red robes, bounded excitedly onto the third floor, clearly familiar with the place.

He shoved the door open and threw an arm around Qian Fugui, who had been about to open it. The old man’s eyes were alight with excitement.

He let out a self-satisfied laugh.

"Hahaha! My prized disciple reached the First Layer of the Flesh Refining Realm just three short years after his initiation and was even rewarded with the Ghost Howl Saber Technique by the sect."

"He’s now just a hair’s breadth from reaching Great Success with his saber technique, and he needs a few skilled opponents to practice on!"

"This year’s batch of ’great medicine’ had better not disappoint me!"

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