Chapter 154: Chapter 151: Cheating
At these words, everyone’s expression changed.
They knew full well what a Divine Tempering Pill was. It was just an ordinary Elixir used to assist with Cultivation, and it was impossible for it to help a Cultivator break through from the Refining Divine Being realm to the Purity Realm.
This was even more true for Cultivators with special bloodlines, for whom breakthroughs were even more difficult.
"Are you certain it was the Divine Tempering Pill?" Li Shimu asked after a long, thoughtful silence.
"Reporting to His Holiness, Mo Qi did indeed use the Spirit Medicines for refining the Divine Tempering Pill, but he added his own modifications. Your subject cannot say what they were exactly, but according to Mo Qi himself, he learned it from the *Medicinal Cuisine Record*."
Now, no one could remain seated. Even Li Shimu’s face showed a look of shock that did not fade for a long time.
As the ruler of the Mountain and Sea Empire, he knew better than anyone what the *Medicinal Cuisine Record* was.
Because the author of the *Medicinal Cuisine Record* was an ancestor of his, of the Li Family.
That ancestor was a peerless talent. At just twenty, he became a Fourth Grade Alchemy Grandmaster. At thirty, he reached Fifth Grade. And at fifty, he stepped out of the Mountain and Sea Empire and went to the wider world beyond.
Several hundred years later, when this ancestor returned, he went into seclusion for ten years and wrote the *Medicinal Cuisine Record*.
It was the culmination of his life’s work, proposing a completely new, idealistic concept.
If successfully implemented, it would have become a legend in the Elixir Realm.
Unfortunately, neither that ancestor nor the countless descendants who followed were ever able to turn the concepts in the *Medicinal Cuisine Record* into reality.
It even became something of a joke, and that ancestor eventually died, full of regret.
But now, a young man named Mo Qi seemed to have grasped something incredible from the *Medicinal Cuisine Record*.
Whether out of respect for his ancestor or trust in his legacy, Li Shimu had to investigate this matter thoroughly.
"What is his Cultivation?" Li Shimu asked. "Based on your assessment, if he doesn’t rely on external help, what are his chances of passing the annual selection?"
The three old men exchanged a glance.
"Reporting to His Holiness, Mo Qi only has a Qi Refining Cultivation. His chance of passing the annual selection is less than ten percent."
Although they admired Mo Qi, they would not break the Empire’s rules for him.
Even knowing Mo Qi had less than a ten percent chance of passing, he still had to participate.
"Qi Refining... Ten percent..." Li Shimu murmured, his fingers tapping gently on the dragon throne, making a soft, rhythmic sound.
No one knew what he was thinking.
After a long while, Li Shimu’s gaze fell upon a burly man slouched in a chair below.
"King of Kaosan."
The burly man shot to his feet, his previous laziness gone. He was like a drawn sword, his sharp edge revealed.
"Your subject is here!"
His voice was deep and magnetic.
"Activate the Dark Horse Level Token on Mo Qi. We can’t let such a promising seedling die in the annual selection."
"As you command."
All the ministers were shocked.
Li Shimu had actually ordered the activation of Mo Qi’s Token!
Once the Token was activated, as long as Mo Qi didn’t venture beyond a five-hundred-li range, he would be in a state of absolute safety Within the Pass. Nothing and no one would be able to harm him.
If word of this got out, the Mountain and Sea Empire’s annual selection would lose all pretense of fairness.
Of course, there was no true fairness in the world. Every trade had its unwritten rules, because the right of final interpretation always lay in the hands of the strong.
Among all the ministers, the most surprised was Qian Juduo, Patriarch of the Qian Family and one of the three grand councilors.
He still remembered that the young man who had robbed Qian Duoduo, causing his son to proactively request to join the annual selection, was named Mo Qi.
He didn’t think the name was a coincidence; it had to be the same person.
He knew better than anyone that the only reason Qian Duoduo had joined the annual selection was to get his revenge.
But now, with Mo Qi protected by a Dark Horse Level Token, if Qian Duoduo went looking for trouble, he would only get himself beaten.
All Qian Juduo could do now was pray for his son and hope that Mo Qi would be gentle.
Li Shimu could not have known that this seemingly casual decision would completely alter the fate and future of the Mountain and Sea Empire.
...
Within the Pass, the weather was gloomy and a thin mist hung in the air, painting the entire landscape in shades of gray.
Amidst a field of jumbled rocks, Mo Qi lay on a large boulder with a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, gazing up at the sky.
When everyone entered the pass, they were separated and randomly scattered by a Teleportation Array.
Thus, he had been separated from Liu Hui and Jin Sanpang.
He had no intention of looking for them, as he wasn’t worried about their safety.
Liu Hui and Jin Sanpang had a special way of contacting each other and would be able to meet up soon.
With Jin Sanpang’s Vajra Realm Cultivation, he could do as he pleased within this five-hundred-li area.
At the very least, he could escape, so there was no danger of him losing his life.
His current problem was how to ring the so-called Dragon Vein Imperial Bell.
Meanwhile, not far from Mo Qi, two thin, slovenly men were furtively drawing near.
CLINK!
One of the men dislodged a loose stone, which made a faint sound as it fell.
"Oh no, run!"
The two men’s expressions changed drastically. They cried out in alarm, turned, and fled.
Mo Qi merely glanced at them before looking away.
’Heh, two Refining God Realm experts disguised as Refining Essence Cultivators. Could you be a little more professional? Shouting before you run... are you afraid I wouldn’t notice you?’
Clearly, these two men were prisoners, intentionally feigning weakness to attract Mo Qi’s attention and lure him into a chase.
Too bad their concealment techniques were no match for Mo Qi’s eyes.
Several li away from Mo Qi, the two men regrouped.
"That Qi Refining brat isn’t falling for it."
"Then let’s try another way!"
...
He was a young man in his early twenties, dressed in green robes, with a longsword strapped to his back.
Before him, an old man in tattered clothes knelt on the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his face filled with unwilling resentment.
The young man’s expression was as calm as still water, without the slightest ripple of emotion.
"I won’t kill you," the young man said suddenly.
A sharp light flashed in the old man’s eyes. As a prisoner kept captive by the Mountain and Sea Empire, he had thought his death was certain, but now he saw a sliver of hope for survival.
He wasn’t stupid. He immediately guessed the young man’s intentions and asked, "What do you need me to do for you?"
The young man remained expressionless. He pointed a finger into the empty air before him, and Spiritual Energy gathered, eventually forming an image of Mo Qi, complete with his aura.
"Find him or kill him, and I will give you your freedom."
The old man was taken aback for a moment. ’Give me freedom? Is he serious?’
"Why should I believe you?"
The young man said coolly, "Die or accept."
"Fine!" The old man gritted his teeth and agreed. "Aren’t you afraid I’ll just leave and not do what you want?"
The young man gave the old man a deep look. "You ask too many questions."
As he spoke, he slapped his palm against the old man’s head, driving a half-foot-long silver needle into his Skull.
"This is a God-Locking Needle. Only I can remove it. If you fail in your task, you will die."
The old man’s face paled in terror. Only now did he understand how vicious this young man before him was.
"You’re so cruel!"
The young man paid the old man no further mind and turned to leave.
Before he left, he tossed out one last sentence: "Oh, and you only have three days."
After leaving, the young man began to search for his next target.
’Master wants me to enter the pass and kill Mo Qi. It’s impossible to search a five-hundred-li area within three days, so I’ll have to let these pieces of trash help me.’
He was Su Yu, the disciple of Zhang Shao’s former disciple!
