Finally, Chen Mo chose "Body Like a Soaring Dragon" as his movement technique and "Extreme Flame Art," a spear technique that perfectly complements the Spear of the Underworld, as his attack technique.
After bidding farewell to the Liu siblings, Chen Mo returned straight to his residence.
As he approached the palace, he noticed that Gu He, Yun Yun, and Nalan Yanran had been waiting for some time.
"Testing for wood attribute?"
"Yes, to become an alchemist, you must first have a fire attribute, and secondly, a trace of wood energy. Additionally, you need strong soul perception," Gu He explained. "You've already met two of these requirements. If you have even a trace of wood energy, I'm confident I can help you become an alchemist."
Chen Mo knew this, but he didn't have the wood attribute.
He had previously obtained a Wood Source Pill in a lottery, but after consuming it, there had been no effect.
Chen Mo was disappointed.
However, he didn't lose hope. If all else failed, he could always use luck points to find someone and seize the wood attribute from them.
But with the three of them watching him, Chen Mo couldn't refuse, so he calmly said, "Let's give it a try."
Yun Yun didn't have high expectations because she was familiar with Chen Mo's body and hadn't detected any wood attribute.
Of course, there was a slight possibility that she had missed it.
Nalan Yanran, however, was intently watching Chen Mo, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.
With lightning and fire dual attributes and extraordinary combat talent, if Chen Mo also had a wood attribute and became an alchemist, his achievements would be unimaginable.
Gu He held Chen Mo's hand and infused a wisp of his soul power to begin the test.
As time passed, Gu He frowned, unable to detect any wood attribute.
Perhaps he had placed too much hope in Chen Mo.
Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, Gu He's eyes lit up as a faint trace of wood energy slowly rose from Chen Mo's core.
Yun Yun was startled by this and quickly asked, "Is it true?"
Gu He nodded, "It's not very strong, but it's there, just very faint."
"Can he still become an alchemist?" Nalan Yanran, more anxious than Chen Mo, asked.
Gu He gave Nalan Yanran a peculiar look and then smiled, "Even if it's faint, as long as it's there, I have ways to make him an alchemist."
In this regard, Gu He was extremely confident.
"Then I'll leave it to Elder Gu He," Yun Yun said, understanding Gu He's intentions. He clearly valued Chen Mo's talent and wanted to take him as a disciple. Yun Yun was open-minded about this; after all, no one said a person could only have one teacher in their lifetime.
Chen Mo declined at first, wanting to maintain his stance without offending Yun Yun while still becoming an alchemist.
"Thank you for your kindness, Elder Gu He, but since I've already apprenticed under the Sect Leader, I won't change masters."
Gu He's expression changed slightly before he laughed, "Who said you need to change masters? I want you to apprentice under me, but that doesn't mean you have to sever ties with the Sect Leader."
Gu He thought Chen Mo had misunderstood.
Yun Yun was quite pleased, feeling her efforts over the past two nights to save him hadn't been in vain.
Gu He's words were exactly what Chen Mo had hoped for.
Chen Mo didn't agree too quickly, to avoid suspicion. Instead, he hesitated and looked at Yun Yun. After receiving her nod, he respectfully bowed and said, "Disciple greets Teacher."
"No need for formalities," Gu He said, delighted to have accepted such a talented disciple. He immediately took out a bunch of bottles and jars from his storage ring and handed them to Chen Mo.
"These are my gifts to you as your teacher. Hurry and accept them."
Chen Mo didn't accept them right away, but after some polite refusal, he reluctantly took them into his storage ring.
Seeing that his new disciple was not only extraordinarily talented but also so well-mannered, Gu He generously said, "In addition to the fifth-grade pill you'll receive for winning the competition, I will also personally refine another fifth-grade pill for you."
Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran were both shocked. Two fifth-grade pills as a gift were extraordinary, even for someone like Nalan Yanran, who had grown up with abundant resources.
Chen Mo swallowed nervously. As expected of a sixth-grade alchemist, his generosity was astounding. He immediately said, "Thank you, Teacher."
"Since I'm your teacher, there's no need to thank me in the future," Gu He said. "Have you decided which two fifth-grade pills you want?"
"Dragon Power Pill and Blood Lotus Pill."
Chen Mo had long decided on the Dragon Power Pill, which grants the user immense strength for a short time. This strength is purely physical, unrelated to Dou Qi.
The Blood Lotus Pill, on the other hand, was chosen to protect his body from fire damage, a precaution for the future in case he obtained a strange fire and needed to refine it.
Gu He nodded, "Starting tomorrow, come to the alchemy room at dawn every day, and I will teach you the art of alchemy."
After finishing, Gu He nodded to Yun Yun and left.
After Gu He left, Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran both looked at Chen Mo with shocked expressions and said in unison, "You're simply a monster."
...
Time flew by.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
During these days, Chen Mo spent his time either interacting with Yun Yun to deepen their bond over Dou Qi techniques or in the palace, the alchemy room, or the back mountain, following a strict routine.
It was during this time that a faction named Lingyan Pavilion was established within the Yunlan Sect.
Chen Mo was the leader of the pavilion.
On the first day of its establishment, members included Nalan Yanran, Yun Hai, Liu Zilong, Liu Xuanyue, Yun Ya, and over fifty nameless followers.
Thanks to Chen Mo's reputation and the added prestige of being the disciple of Alchemy King Gu He, new disciples joined every day.
In just three days, the number of members in Lingyan Pavilion grew to one hundred and ten.
Inside the palace.
Chen Mo looked at the system map, where the red dot representing his territory was no larger than a sesame seed, barely covering one-third of the Yunlan Sect's plaza.
Within this range, he was invincible. (Within the Yunlan Sect, in such a large area.)
As for how to expand this range, it was related to the number of Lingyan Pavilion members, their cultivation level, and their sense of belonging.
The first two are easy to understand.
A sense of belonging refers to the loyalty of the members to Lingyan Pavilion.
For example, if you joined Lingyan Pavilion today but wanted to leave tomorrow, then your sense of belonging is obviously weak.
How to increase this sense of belonging? After all, loyalty cannot be bought.
Chen Mo checked the sense of belonging levels. Except for Nalan Yanran and Yun Hai, who had scores above 50, everyone else had a sense of belonging below 30.
...
Jia Ma Empire.
Qingshan Town.
"There's a rumor that on that day in Yunlan Sect's plaza, the Son of Thunder, Chen Mo, defeated the prodigy Nalan Yanran. The sect's founder even appeared in a dream to Chen Mo, helping him awaken the wood attribute. The next day, he was taken as a personal disciple by Alchemy King Gu He to learn alchemy."
In a certain inn, an elderly storyteller, tapping his bamboo clappers, enthusiastically recounted Chen Mo's deeds.
"You're making this up. A person's soul can only have one attribute. How could this Chen Mo have three? Why don't you make it even more exaggerated?"
"Exactly! And a two-star Dou Fighter defeating a seven-star Dou Fighter? That's pure nonsense! Who's ever seen such a thing?"
...
Most of the people in the inn were entertained, though they didn't necessarily believe the story. After all, storytelling often involves exaggeration.
A smaller group of listeners, however, directly called out the storyteller for his exaggeration, refusing to believe such an outrageous tale.
"I'm not making this up! My friend's friend's grandson is a disciple of Yunlan Sect, and he saw it with his own eyes."