Only after Si Huinan barely defeated Xu Andong did Zhang Xiaohua gain a deeper understanding of the martial strength of the Herb Division.

Si Huinan was ranked fourth among the Herb Division’s Arhats, yet he was only slightly stronger than Xu Andong, who was ranked ninth among the Pill Division’s Vajras. In other words, among the Ten Vajras, any one of the top five could easily fight the Herb Division’s opponents to a draw or even win with ease. This showed just how weak the Herb Division’s strength on Tianmu Peak was. It also explained Chen Fengxiao’s delight when he saw Zhang Xiaohua’s decent skills the day before, and made it clear why he had gone to such lengths to protect him in the dining hall, even at the cost of offending Wu Dalang of the Pill Division.

Very quickly, the third round of the wagered fights began amid Elder Lei’s booming voice. This round caused even more shock, leaving people’s jaws dropping—on the Pill Division’s side, they sent out Great Vajra Zou Shuming, while on the Herb Division’s side, it was still not Zhang Xiaohua who took the stage. Instead, to everyone’s surprise, it was Chen Fengxiao himself, the head of the Herb Division!

Upon hearing the names of the two fighters, Wu Dalang of the Pill Division almost foamed at the mouth. Weakly, he cried out, “Chief Chen, you… how can you be so shameless? You’re actually… actually trying to compete with us for profit??”

Having long anticipated Wu Zhouxu’s accusation, Chen Fengxiao shrugged helplessly and said innocently: “There’s nothing I can do about it, Dalang. You know the saying, ‘Even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice’. My Herb Division only has so few people—if I don’t step forward, should I send my brothers instead? At critical moments, they still need to see the power of example. Besides, Junior Brother Ren has just come to Tianmu Peak from afar and must be tired. We can’t have him go up right away—that would make me, as their chief, seem inconsiderate. So this round, I can only take the stage myself.”

Wu Zhouxu was rendered speechless. Although the Herb Division had always been suppressed by the Pill Division, one key reason this wagered contest still existed was precisely because Chen Fengxiao was the number one expert on Tianmu Peak. Even the Ten Vajras were no match for him, and even Wu Zhouxu himself was still half a step inferior. Therefore, Great Vajra Zou Shuming—who could intimidate all the Arhats of the Herb Division—was now destined for defeat.

This match’s outcome was already decided before it even began. The people on Tianmu Peak had little interest in watching, but Zhang Xiaohua alone released his divine sense and carefully observed the fist techniques and internal energy cultivation of these two renowned figures. By the time Chen Fengxiao defeated Zou Shuming, he had already gained a thorough understanding of both their martial abilities.

Mm, nothing much to speak of.

Of course, this was understandable. After all, these were all people who had failed to break into the outer sect—no matter how many years they had trained in martial arts, how could they possibly catch the eye of a Qi Refining cultivator of the Immortal Dao like Zhang Xiaohua?

The next two wagered fights were also dull and unremarkable. Under Chen Fengxiao’s careful arrangements, Wu Zicheng, ranked fifth in the Herb Division, lost to Zhou Peng, ranked third in the Pill Division, while in the other match, Great Arhat Lü Fengmeng defeated Wang Yanhai, ranked fourth in the Pill Division.

The disparity in strength in these two matches was quite large, and the outcomes were decided in no time. Then Elder Lei loudly announced, “This afternoon’s wagered fights end here. We will continue tomorrow. Chiefs, please come forward to seal the records.”

All the disciples of the Pill and Herb Divisions stood up. Chen Fengxiao, looking pleased with himself, and Wu Zhouxu, wearing a dispirited expression, stepped forward. Each took out a small, delicate lock from their robes and locked the box in front of Elder Lei.

The five Elders took all the records and left first. Only after they had gone did the disciples begin to disperse. However, the expressions of the disciples from the two divisions closely mirrored those of their chiefs—on one side, full of excitement, chatting and laughing as if they had just experienced a particularly meaningful afternoon; on the other side, listless and dejected, even their whispered conversations subdued, their spirit greatly diminished.

After the ordinary disciples had all left, Wu Zhouxu led the Ten Vajras over to Chen Fengxiao and said with a bitter smile, “Chief Chen, you’ve really played me badly. In these five matches this afternoon, you didn’t let Junior Brother Ren take the stage even once. You… I don’t even know what to say about you.”

Chen Fengxiao, accompanied by Qiu Weicheng, Zhang Xiaohua, and the Six Arhats, stepped forward and cupped his hands, saying: “You flatter me, you flatter me. Wu Dalang, hasn’t your Pill Division beaten our Herb Division plenty of times before? We finally managed to vent a bit of frustration, and you’re already this unhappy?”

Wu Zhouxu shook his head and said: “If our Pill Division’s martial skills were inferior to your Herb Division’s, that would be one thing. But it just so happens that, by sheer coincidence, all the advantages fell to your Herb Division…”

Before Wu Zhouxu could finish, Chen Fengxiao waved his hand and said: “Dalang, that’s not quite right. The highest form of warfare is to attack with strategy. As long as the plan is sound, even weaker troops can defeat stronger generals.”

“Give me a break. You never said anything like that before—only now that Junior Brother Ren has arrived do you start talking this way. Still, the stakes of these ten matches are enormous—you’ve really struck it rich this time.”

“For you, Dalang, it’s nothing more than a drop in the ocean, isn’t that so?”

“Hehe, it’s not over yet. Chief Chen, are you already so confident? There are still five matches tomorrow. Our Pill Division still has five brothers who haven’t taken the stage. As for victory or defeat, it’s still unknown.”

Wu Zhouxu retorted without courtesy.

Chen Fengxiao waved his hand indifferently. “The list of participants has already been submitted to Elder Lei. Neither you nor I can change it now. Let’s just see the real outcome on the stage tomorrow.”

“Fair enough. Come, junior brothers—on the stage we are opponents, but off the stage we are still fellow disciples. Shall we go have a few drinks?”

“Sounds good! Just what I had in mind. Junior Brother Ren has only just arrived and hasn’t met everyone yet—this is the perfect opportunity.”

“Drink???” The moment Zhang Xiaohua heard this, his head grew big. What was so good about that stuff? It was unbearably spicy and smelled awful—he truly had no interest in it.

Zhang Xiaohua tugged at Chen Fengxiao’s sleeve, then cupped his hands in a circle toward the others and said, “Senior brothers, by all rights, since I’ve just arrived, I should be toasting all of you. But I’m still young and have never drunk alcohol, so I really don’t like it. Besides, I believe the senior brothers of the Pill Division also know that Chief Chen and Dalang Wu have arranged three matches for me tomorrow, each with a stake of fifty taels of gold. How could I not feel pressure? So I won’t accompany you tonight. I’ll head back early to regulate my breathing and build up my strength, and tomorrow I’ll seek guidance from all of you. Besides, I’ll be living on Tianmu Peak from now on—we’ll see each other day and night, there will be plenty of chances to drink. When I grow older, I’ll properly toast all of you then, how about it?”

Hearing this, Chen Fengxiao slapped his forehead as if suddenly enlightened, and explained to Wu Zhouxu: “Dalang, things were rushed yesterday, so I didn’t explain clearly—Junior Brother Ren was selected from Spring Rebirth Valley as a medicine boy. Don’t be fooled by his build; he’s actually still young. If he doesn’t drink, there’s no need to force him. And tomorrow… hehe…”

With Zhang Xiaohua’s reasoning sound and Chen Fengxiao backing him up, the Pill Division could hardly insist. Thus, Qiu Weicheng was asked to escort Zhang Xiaohua back, while the others went off to enjoy themselves.

After returning to his small courtyard, Zhang Xiaohua wasted no time. He tossed his bundle onto the bed, took out a straw meditation cushion, sat down cross-legged, and pulled out the pills he had obtained from the Pill Division that afternoon, examining them carefully.

Opening the stoppers of the four bottles, a rich medicinal fragrance rushed out—one could tell immediately they were high-quality pills. Unfortunately, to Zhang Xiaohua, this scent had long since marked them as inferior. The Blood-Replenishing Pill was something he had refined before; with just a slight sniff, he set it aside. As for the Coagulating Blood Pill and the Small Bone-Strengthening Pill, he had never heard of them, but from the smell alone he could roughly tell what herbs they were made from. They were nothing more than ordinary pills, so he also put them aside.

Only the “Small Bone-Strengthening Pill,” being an imitation of the “Bone-Strengthening Pill”, made Zhang Xiaohua take a closer look. However, judging purely from the pill itself, it did not seem much different from the Small Bone-Strengthening Pill—both were merely medicines for treating bone injuries.

As for the failed “Jade Restoration Pill”, Zhang Xiaohua did not even have the interest to open the bottle. He still had a genuine Jade Restoration Pill in his money pouch—how could a failed product catch his eye? Moreover, since the pill had already been ruined, even if he wanted to refine it again, it would take considerable effort, not to mention that he did not possess the pill formula for the Jade Restoration Pill.

After sorting through today’s gains, Zhang Xiaohua took out his money pouch. The first thing he did was to put every single gold leaf from the bundle into his storage space without leaving a single piece behind. Needless to say, this was a token of Nie Qianyu’s goodwill—he could not treat it lightly!

Then he placed the five bottles of pills together with the clothes and pills Nie Qianyu had given him, wrapping them all back into the bundle. In any case, now that he had pills worth fifty taels of gold, those gold leaves would likely no longer need to see the light of day.

After tidying up the gold leaves, Zhang Xiaohua took out the pill formula that had been tossed into a corner of his pouch space and long forgotten.

The pill formula that Qu Zhigao had given him was very thin, recording several prescriptions. The first one was precisely the formula for the “Bone-Strengthening Pill”. It clearly listed the main herbs, the supplementary herbs, and the detailed refining steps. However, the names of the herbs were in ancient terminology, and the refining process was almost akin to Immortal Dao alchemy techniques—it was likely something passed down from predecessors of Qiulong Mountain who had learned it from a jade slip.

Looking at these familiar refining methods, Zhang Xiaohua immediately understood that the Qiulong Mountain lineage would never be able to refine a true Bone-Strengthening Pill. No wonder Qu Zhigao could not make sense of the formula and had no choice but to give it to him as a favor.

The formula described the effects of the Bone-Strengthening Pill in almost miraculous terms. But recalling the medicinal paste Qu Zhigao had improved based on this formula, and considering that the Incense Spreading Sect had managed to produce an imitation “Small Bone-Strengthening Pill”, it was clear the claims were not exaggerated. If one could truly refine a genuine Bone-Strengthening Pill, it might not be inferior to the Jade Restoration Pill at all.

However, Zhang Xiaohua did not yet know whether the herbs required for the Bone-Strengthening Pill could be found on Tianmu Peak. For now, he could only memorize the formula and wait until he encountered suitable herbs in the future.

After putting away the formula, Zhang Xiaohua closed his eyes and began cultivating.

When night had fallen, and the moon had already risen, Zhang Xiaohua suddenly felt a stir in his mind. Releasing his divine sense, he indeed saw two people whispering to each other outside the bamboo grove!