Chapter 100: Marrow cleansing elixir
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Taoist-robed elder stood outside the yard, his eyes looked at Li Guang's corpse with cold doubt before he left silently.
Su Yu's eyes flashed as he followed the elder.
"You are the master of the Li family?" Su Yu asked as he chased after him.
Whoop—
Su Yu whipped out the letter Li Guang had passed to him before he died. The envelope was white as snow, laced with the red from blood-soaked fingerprints.
The Taoist-robed elder opened the envelope to read the letter, slightly nodding his head, "Alright, I got it."
After saying this, he silently left.
Much later, deep into nightfall, Su Yu sat in his room. A servant from the Li family came forward to deliver a message, "Mister Su, the master wants to see you. Please follow me."
Su Yu was brought to the meeting hall of the Li family, where the juniors of the family had already gathered. The youngest there was fifteen years old, the oldest not above twenty. But, their cultivation levels were shocking.
The weakest person, a fifteen-year-old youth, was at Level NIne Upper Tier of the Martial Path!
The strongest person was a twenty-year-old youth. Spirit energy surrounded him. His cultivation level had nearly broken through into the realm of the Holy King!
The ten youths could easily exterminate every single talent from Shenyue Island in the past hundred years!
"Five days from now is the disciple recruiting contest held by the Liuxian faction every five years. All of you have to bring glory for the family! You must fight to improve the ranking of the family in the hundred affiliate families within the Liuxian faction!" The Taoist-robed elder sternly ordered.
"Yes! Master!" The youths were excited!
The Liuxian faction had a hundred affiliate families. The Li family was amongst those, ranked thirtieth.
But even ranked thirtieth, they were still very powerful.
How many talents are there in total between in the hundred affiliate families? Just how powerful is the Liuxian faction? Just how difficult is the recruitment contest?
"If you become a minor disciple of the Liuxian faction, you shall be rewarded with three low grade marrow cleansing elixirs.
"If you become a major disciple of the Liuxian faction, you shall be rewarded with a medium grade marrow cleansing elixir, and be considered as a candidate for the position of master of the family."
The eyes of the youths sparkled. The rewards were great as long as they managed to become disciples of the Liuxian faction. Becoming a major disciple would actually secure you as a candidate for being the next master of the family!
"We set off tomorrow for the Liuxian faction, prepare yourselves! Give out the elixir!" the Taoist-robed elder coldly ordered.
He waved his sleeves and eleven jade bottles flew toward the youths. One of the bottles flew towards Su Yu and he grabbed it. He did not understand, even he got one?
Within the jade-bottle was a pale blue elixir. A peculiar fragrance wafted from the bottle.
He took a small whiff and his body felt as though it had been purified, shocking him.
"Low grade marrow cleansing elixir! We usually only take one of these every festive occasion. The contest is a big deal and there was an exception to the rule! This is simply surprising!"
"Hehe, a martial artist consuming this would purify his body, lowering the difficulty of entering into the realm of the Holy King; Holy Kings consuming this would improve their mortal body and raise their biological limits. It is extremely precious and cannot be bought with money."
Su Yu was extremely surprised, the marrow cleansing elixir was this precious?
The master left. The youths in the hall were all excited.
At that moment, some of their eyes fell upon Su Yu; more specifically, they looked at the low grade marrow cleansing elixir in his hands.
"That's weird, even a person not from the Li family got one. Does it matter if he's entering the contest?" A young girl looked at him harshly. Obviously, they were feeling disgusted that an outsider had access to their treasures.
Su Yu's expression was calm, disregarding her words as he turned to leave.
"Stop right there! You can leave, but the elixir stays behind." A youth of Level Nine Peak of the Martial Paths stepped forward quickly and blocked his path, looking for a fight.
Su Yu shook his head slightly, "You are not my opponent, make way."
"An outsider dares to be so brazen!" The Level Nine Peak youth let out a laugh. He punched forward toward Su Yu's chest.
A little impatient, Su Yu raised his finger, tapping on the youth's fist.
Sizzle—
It was as if the youth had been electrocuted. He retracted his fist hastily, shaking out the cold pain. He was furious, "What icy hidden weapons are you using? Despicable!"
"Again!" At this point, many of the juniors were observing the fight. The youth did not want to lose face, he furiously grunted, attacking with his fist again.
"You should stop, you are truly not his equal," A cold stern voice said, short but forceful.
The youth's eyes filled with fear and respect. He immediately retracted his fist, feeling a little unjust. "Brother Konghui, you underestimate me too much. I was only careless and got wounded by a hidden weapon. I have the advantage when it comes to cultivation level, how could I lose to him?" He softly muttered.
"You didn't even realize that the opponent used a top class deity level technique. It would be weird if you really did manage to defeat him," Li Konghui scolded him, walking forward with big strides.
His frame was slender, his features sharp. He had a bed of short hair and his gaze was similar to a panther's, piercing and soulful.
He had passed Level Nine Peak of the martial paths, approaching the realm of a Holy King. He was a genius!
"Top class deity level technique? Him?" Some of the juniors were surprised, retracting their belittling looks.
Cultivating a top class deity level technique wasn't weird. What was weird was how young Su Yu was. They could see how high Su Yu's level of perception was.
The crowd looked at each other, no one stepped forward to challenge Su Yu.
Among them, some of them felt they could definitely defeat Su Yu.
But his Level Nine Upper Tier cultivation base together with a top class deity level technique made him an above average opponent.
Even though the Level Nine Peaks who had cultivated top class deity level techniques, as well as Li Konghui, who had almost reached the realm of the Holy King, could easily defeat Su Yu, the others would have to spend greater energy in order to do so.
In the hall, disgracing themselves was a small matter; but, bringing about the discipline of the elders was not to be taken lightly.
"So may I go?" Su Yu asked calmly. His heart had not recovered from the death of Li Guang. He did not have the energy to continue the dispute.
Li Konghui slowly touched his chin, "Giving outsiders a Li family elixir is unusual. But, on account of Li Guang, you may keep the elixir this time, but this shall not happen again. We, the Li family, are not a charitable organization, we cannot keep giving them to you out of pity. If you understand, you may leave.".
Was the elixir charity? Su Yu's expression was calm. He took out the elixir, stuffing it into the hand of the Level Nine Peak youth before leaving.
Li Guang had bowed and begged for them to accept Su Yu. In the eyes of Su Yu, that was already the Li family's unwilling act of charity.
Accepting charity once was enough. Had he accepted it another time, he would find it hard to recover.
The crowd was dumbfounded.
"He's a person who bullies the weak but fears the strong! When brother Li Niu wanted it, he fought back. But when Brother Konghui wanted it, he suddenly became a coward!"
"No, no. It seems like he has a strong pride. He felt that he was being humiliated and tried to retain his dignity by returning the elixir! Now he must feel the pinch in his heart, suffering for the sake of his dignity."
Su Yu rejecting the act of charity had caused the disciples of the Li family to be annoyed and disgusted by him.
Li Konghui gently creased his brows, slightly shaking his head, "You will not go very far being this proud."
Entering the house, Su Yu was surprised to discover a jade bottle and a jade box placed on his table.
Within the bottle was a pale blue elixir, the low grade marrow cleansing elixir! In the box was two crystalline films, each the size of a fingernail.
At the side was a note.
"Firstly, the elixir was not an act of charity. Li Guang had volunteered to remove his name from the Li family roster to exchange for three items. The first is the marrow cleansing elixir. The second was the right to enter the recruitment contest held by the Liuxian faction, and the third was a request for the films to cover your pupils with. These were all prepared for you. It is up to you whether to accept them or not," Su Yu read aloud.
"Secondly, Li Guang… was wronged. He was a man full of justice, definitely not a rapist! But, I had to care for the entire Li family, and while I knew that he was wronged, I cannot fight against the entire Liuxian faction. If you enter the faction and have a chance, please clear his name.
"Thirdly, Li Guang should have been executed back then, but two elders within the Liuxian faction protected him, and they banished him the Shenyue Island instead. If you have the chance, you can ask to go under them for protection," Su Yu finished.
Even though there was no indication of a name, it was unquestionable that it was the master of the Li family who had written the note.
He knew that Li Guang was wronged, but Han Zhi's authority was strong. As an affiliated family, the master of the Li family had to think of the entire family and could not contest their decision.
They had not even dared come too close to Li Guang when he returned from a hundred years of exile. They could only look at him with cold eyes.
A dedicated family member had suffered before them, but they could only treat him as a stranger, leaving Li Guang alone as he died. It was agonizingly cruel.
Holding the marrow cleansing elixir, Su Yu was in grief.
Li Guang had already planned for Su Yu's future before facing Xi Ruolan.
The price he paid was… removing his name from the family roster!
His existence was a black spot in the Li family. By removing his name from the roster, many members of the Li family were elated.
But to an elder who had been a vagrant for a hundred years, wasn't his ancestral home his final resting place after his death?
For Su Yu, he had given up his final resting place. By removing his name from the roster, he had given up on the right to be buried within the tombs of the Li family.
Su Yu was indescribably grateful. Su Yu placed the two crystalline films into his eyes.
His abnormal purple pupils were covered, and the Seal of Time that he had difficulty controlling was temporarily sealed without the need to close his eyes.
Li Guang had considered everything!
Su Yu ingested the low grade marrow cleansing elixir. The elixir entered his body, the wondrous medicinal properties seeping into his limbs.
His body felt as though it was thoroughly cleansed of any mortal filth. As time passed, a thin film with a nasty odor was dispelled from within him through his pores.
The sticky film was composed of the impurities within his bones and flesh. It was the result of years of eating and breathing impurities. They had settled within the body, impairing a person's ability to fuse with nature.
After dispelling those, Su Yu felted cleansed, as if returning to his most primal self. His body felt hollow and in harmony with nature. His face looked energized, as if reborn.
Based on his intuition, his biological limits should have had a slight change, getting him closer to the constitution of a Holy King.
The elixir also harbored a large amount of energy, pushing Su Yu's cultivation level to Level Nine Peak.
"The marrow cleansing elixir lives up to its reputation. Even though it was a low grade, its effects are remarkable!" Su Yu exclaimed, surprised.
He could faintly sense huge amounts of energy in the air. It was spirit energy.
Sensing spirit energy was the first step; next, he needed to absorb it.
If he was able to absorb spirit energy, he would be that much closer to entering the realm of the Holy King, similar to where Li Konghui was.
Su Yu was currently at step one, still far away from entering the realm of the Holy King.
"If only I could have ten more low grade marrow cleansing elixirs, I should be able to almost enter the realm of the Holy King," Su Yu muttered.
But he later shook his head, mocking himself. He was lucky to have gotten one elixir—the Li family knew any more would help him, but they simply didn't care.
The next day, the team set off.
But before setting off, Su Yu asked for the body of Li Guang.
Li Guang could not be buried within the Li family tombs, but his body had not yet been discarded. Su Yu buried him at an abandoned hill behind the manor.
Su Yu knelt in prayer, "Teacher, your disciple will set off now. I will not return before taking the heads of Han Zhi and Xi Ruolan!"
In his heart, Su Yu had another wish. He wanted to bury Li Guang's body within the Li family tombs, returning Li Guang to his roots. Li Guang had been alone for all his life. He should not continue to be lonely in death.
A group of eleven made their way to the Liuxian faction. The master of the Li family, who was the Taoist-robed elder, led the way.
Along the way, the juniors of the Li family were chatty, exchanging pointers about cultivation and practicing with each other.
Su Yu, however, was alone, left out by the juniors of the Li family.
Multiple days of travel later, they set foot in front of the Liuxian faction. A weird yet marvelous sight greeted them.
Within the wilderness was an opulent palace, vast beyond imagination. Pavilions and houses floated in the air, like a playground for the gods.
Celestial fog surrounded the palace and spiritual beasts were prowling around.
Occasionally, spiritual figures flew around in the sky.
The multiple first-time visitors deeply trembled. The scene before them seemed to have come out of an ancient legend.
At that moment, the heavenly gates had congregated close to a thousand martial artists.
The top ten talents from each of the hundred affiliate families had arrived.
"Oh, Su Yu!" A voice nearby voice shreiked in shock.
There was a person who recognised Su Yu here, and his voice was slightly familiar.
