Chapter 357: Guan Lan
The newcomer was a burly man over two meters tall.
His muscles grew with savage abandon, their proportions absurdly exaggerated. His shoulders were as wide as a door panel, and his palms were abnormally large. On the backs of his hands, veins coiled like earthworms, and his thick calluses shone with the faint luster of pig iron. A single glance was enough to tell he was a formidable man who had practiced Horizontal Body Training year-round.
A few men followed him, each with broad shoulders and a thick back, built like tigers and bears, though the exaggeration of their muscles was nowhere near his.
As they approached from afar, they were like a great mountain followed by several smaller ones. Their aura, an intangible, oppressive force, felt as if it could crush anything in its path.
“Quick, get up…”
Lu Shang quickly lowered his voice and reminded them,
“That’s Dong Chuo, ranked fourth among the nine Core Disciples of the Outer Sect. He’s only half a step from the Divine Storage Realm. More importantly, his family background is extraordinary. Ordinary disciples must greet him with a bow…”
Before he could finish, Ding Lu was the first to stand up.
She and Lu Shang were both from Yunlei Mansion and seemed well aware of Dong Chuo’s family background, so they naturally dared not show any disrespect.
Su Bing and Marsong also stood up. It was never a mistake to follow the lead.
Chen Cheng and Ning Chong had no intention of acting arrogant and were about to rise when Dong Chuo suddenly quickened his pace, arriving before them in the blink of an eye.
“Brothers, no need to be so formal. Please, stay seated.”
Dong Chuo said with a grin,
“You two are guaranteed to become Inner Sect Disciples. Technically, I should be calling you both Senior Brother.”
“However, I’m only half a step from the Divine Storage Realm myself. When that time comes, I’ll also be able to enter the Inner Sect. Who knows, I might end up being *your* senior brother.”
“So for now, let’s just call each other ‘brother.’ It’ll save us the trouble of changing it in a few days.”
“Brother Dong.”
Chen Cheng and Ning Chong greeted him one after another with a cupped fist salute.
“Su Bing, you sit too.”
Dong Chuo’s smile faded somewhat, but his tone remained polite.
“As a genius of the Five Extremes Upper Grade, you also have a great chance of entering the Inner Sect in the future. No need to be so formal.”
“Thank you, Senior Brother Dong!”
Su Bing cupped her fist and bowed, only then perching lightly on the edge of her seat.
‘She knew full well that her own standing was far beneath Ning Chong’s, let alone comparable to Chen Cheng. Naturally, she didn’t dare address him as “Brother Dong,” nor could she afford to lack in courtesy and humility.’
Seeing her act so sensibly, Dong Chuo gave a slight nod.
Without Dong Chuo having to say a word, someone had already moved a chair behind him, and he sat down directly.
Immediately after, someone else brought forward two wooden boxes.
A slightly larger one was placed in front of Chen Cheng, and a smaller one in front of Ning Chong.
“These are two boxes of Blood Jade Fruits, picked deep in the mountains. They’re extremely beneficial for improving cultivation efficiency. The key is, being natural treasures, they don’t contain a single trace of ‘medicinal poison.’ Please accept them as a gift, my brothers.”
Dong Chuo said with a smile,
“Brother Chen, this box has ten for you. My apologies, Ning Chong, yours has seven.”
“Not at all, not at all…”
Ning Chong chuckled, rubbing his hands together as he reached for the box. Then, suddenly feeling he had accepted too quickly and rashly, he hastily added,
“We’ve only just met. This gift is far too valuable. I appreciate the kind thought, Brother Dong, but please, take it back…”
“Enough of that. We’re all straightforward men here, no need for such empty formalities.”
Dong Chuo grinned. His tone was certainly hearty, yet his usual dominance seeped through his words, leaving no room for refusal.
“If all goes as expected, we’ll both be disciples of the Fist Pavilion in the future, part of the same class. We should look out for each other. If you don’t accept this, you’ll be disrespecting me, Dong Chuo!”
“…In that case, it would be disrespectful to refuse.”
Ning Chong chuckled, quickly cupping his fist in thanks.
Dong Chuo’s gaze then fell upon Chen Cheng.
The smile on his rugged face grew wider, and his oppressive, dominant aura clearly softened.
This wasn’t a deliberate attempt to curry favor with Chen Cheng, but rather the courtesy one reserves for an equal.
“Brother Dong, I accept your kind gesture. I will be sure to repay you in the future.”
Chen Cheng didn’t stand on ceremony. He gave a cupped fist salute, accepting the gesture of goodwill.
“By the way, Brother Dong,” Chen Cheng asked, “what is this ‘medicinal poison’ you mentioned?”
“Medicinal poison…”
Dong Chuo leaned back in his chair, his thick fingers tapping on the table as if considering how to explain the matter in simple, easy-to-understand terms.
“All medicine is partly poison. Those pills and Herbal Decoctions on the market, no matter how precious, inevitably produce some unwanted byproducts when they’re concocted—impurities, toxins, things like that.”
“The body can’t completely eliminate these things, so some residue will always remain… It’s not a problem for a day or two, and you can even manage for a year or two, but over a long period, it inevitably becomes a bottleneck.”
“When that happens, minor cases will result in a bottleneck, making it difficult to advance in your cultivation. In serious cases, it can cause hidden injuries, a decline in Blood Qi, or even damage to your foundation, causing your Realm to drop… It’s not unheard of for someone to just drop dead.”
Dong Chuo paused, his gaze sweeping intentionally-yet-unintentionally over the two wooden boxes before him, and continued,
“Although you two brothers are still young and don’t need to worry about the dangers of medicinal poison for now, well… if you can use Innate, natural treasures to aid your cultivation, you should avoid Acquired, man-made medicines as much as possible.”
“In short, medicinal poison will directly affect your future upper limit in Martial Arts. It might not seem like much now, but in ten or twenty years, the difference will become clear.”
“I see. Thank you for telling me.”
Chen Cheng nodded thoughtfully.
‘I have my Health-Preserving Traits, which nourish my body, heal my injuries, and nurture my Divine Marrow.’
‘In that case, any subtle damage caused by this medicinal poison should be completely healed on the very same day.’
‘Plus, I also have the Unyielding Attribute. My Tai Chi Qi is unceasing and perpetually renewing, promising a long life and constant self-renewal.’
‘Any cells contaminated by medicinal poison would be eliminated and replaced by new cells that are resistant to it.’