Chapter 250: The Divine Shao Soul Art, Lin Yan
When the news spread that Mo Yu had taken over the Bai Gang and renamed it the Mo Gang, the entire Inner Academy was thrown into an uproar. No one had expected that this newcomer, who had only been in the Inner Academy for a few days, could actually seize control of the Bai Gang from Bai Cheng.
No, it could no longer be called the Bai Gang; it was now the newly established Mo Gang—named after Mo Yu himself!
From the moment the Mo Gang was formed, it secured a place among the powerful factions within the Inner Academy. And Mo Yu, the leader of the Mo Gang, instantly became one of the academy's most talked-about figures.
Many students in the Inner Academy couldn't help but feel a mixture of envy and admiration. After all, a new student who had only been there for a few days had managed to rise to such power, wielding significant influence—it was truly something to be jealous of.
But just as everyone in the Inner Academy was reeling from the formation of the Mo Gang, another piece of news quickly spread through the academy: the auxiliary weapon sold by the Mo Gang, the Cold Jade Bead, could suppress the fire poison from the Skyflame Qi Refining Tower!
At first, many students were skeptical about this claim. After all, even the renowned Yao Gang couldn't produce something that could suppress fire poison—how could the newly formed Mo Gang possibly achieve this?
However, when some students tried it out of curiosity, they were pleasantly surprised to discover that this small Cold Jade Bead actually worked to suppress the fire poison generated by the Skyflame Qi Refining Tower.
Once the effectiveness of the Cold Jade Bead was confirmed, the reputation of both the Mo Gang and the bead skyrocketed. In just half a month, many students lined up to purchase Cold Jade Beads from the Mo Gang...
In the Mo Gang's hall, Mo Yu looked at the number on his red Fire Crystal Card, which had reached a staggering 1,470, and couldn't help but nod in satisfaction.
After taking control of the Mo Gang and establishing his own faction, Mo Yu was able to gather materials to produce the Cold Jade Beads more efficiently. Over the past half month, Mo Yu had crafted over a hundred Cold Jade Beads.
Aside from the thirty or so beads allocated to the members of the Mo Gang, the rest were sold to others, significantly increasing Mo Yu's stockpile of fire energy. With the steady income from Cold Jade Bead sales, Mo Yu no longer had to worry about running out of fire energy.
At that moment, most of the Mo Gang members were also sitting in the hall. With the Cold Jade Beads selling well and business stabilizing, they no longer needed to personally oversee sales. Instead, they could relax in the gang while waiting for students to come and buy the beads.
Seated below Mo Yu were three of the gang's top-ranking members, one of whom was Fu Ao. Over the past few days, Mo Yu had thoroughly familiarized himself with the gang's operations. Although Bai Cheng had left, with Mo Yu's addition, the Mo Gang still had four Dou Ling experts.
Among them, the tall, slender man seated to Fu Ao's left was named Li Xing, a Four-Star Dou Ling. The man with a refined appearance on Fu Ao's right was named Gong Qing, a Two-Star Dou Ling.
During this half-month of getting to know each other, Mo Yu's unique charisma gradually won them over. Now, Fu Ao and the others were fully devoted to him.
"How have the Cold Jade Bead sales been going these past few days?" Mo Yu asked as he saw that most of the members had arrived.
"Great!" Fu Ao laughed heartily. "We sold five on the first day, ten on the second day, sixteen on the third day, and twenty-three yesterday. Today, we're on track to sell over thirty. With each bead selling for ten days of fire energy, we've made hundreds of fire energy units in just a few days! I never thought selling weapons could be so profitable. No wonder alchemists and weapon forgers are always the most sought-after and envied professions on the continent."
Hearing Fu Ao's report, Mo Yu raised his eyebrows and chuckled, "That's not bad at all. The price for each Cold Jade Bead is a bit steep, so I wasn't sure if many students would be willing to buy them. But it seems sales are better than I expected."
"We weren't expecting everyone to be able to afford them," Gong Qing chimed in with a respectful smile. "Most of the students who buy Cold Jade Beads are quite strong and don't mind spending ten days' worth of fire energy to try them out. Once they experience the effects of the beads, I'm sure they'll become regular customers."
"Plus, the 'Moon Spirit' faction has accounted for a large portion of our sales, thanks to Sister-in-law Xiao Yu's support. If it weren't for her bringing the Moon Spirit members to buy from us, the Cold Jade Beads might not have gained popularity so quickly," Li Xing added, his words full of praise.
"Oh…" Mo Yu chuckled when he heard that Xiao Yu had been so supportive of him.
"By the way, how are the Cold Jade Beads produced by the two new weapon forgers in the gang? Can they meet the demand?" Mo Yu asked. In addition to crafting the Cold Jade Beads himself, he had also instructed his members to find other weapon forgers within the Inner Academy. After all, he couldn't spend all his time making the beads.
Fu Ao, Li Xing, and Gong Qing quickly located two weapon forgers. Although there weren't many forgers in the Inner Academy, the ones they found were sufficient for the Mo Gang's needs. Under Mo Yu's generous offers, the two forgers soon joined the gang. After observing them for a few days, Mo Yu taught them how to craft the Cold Jade Beads. With his detailed guidance, the two forgers quickly improved.
"Rest assured, boss. Except for a few minor differences, the Cold Jade Beads they're producing are nearly as good as the ones you make," Fu Ao replied.
Hearing this, Mo Yu nodded in satisfaction. The Cold Jade Beads were not particularly complex to craft, and now that he didn't have to make them himself, he could breathe a little easier.
"Also, boss, because of the Cold Jade Beads, many students who can't afford them have asked to join the Mo Gang. Following your orders, we've recruited sixteen new members over the past few days, so our gang is quite strong now," Gong Qing reported, his mind sharp as ever.
"Good."
Smiling, Mo Yu nodded. Now that the Cold Jade Beads had gained a reputation and the Mo Gang was growing stronger, he could see a future where they would team up with Yuanfu in the Black-Corner Region and make a name for themselves on the Dou Qi Continent!
"Excellent!" Mo Yu exhaled slowly, then stood up, his gaze sweeping over the Mo Gang members in the hall as he spoke. "You've all worked hard. Now that the Cold Jade Beads are selling well, I won't disappoint you. Fu Ao, Li Xing, and Gong Qing, as the captains, each of you will be rewarded with thirty days of fire energy. The rest of the veteran members will receive ten days, and the new members will get five days as my reward to you all!"
"Long live the boss!"
The Mo Gang members were stunned at first by Mo Yu's generous rewards, but they quickly erupted into cheers of joy, nearly lifting the roof with their excitement. The Mo Gang now had nearly fifty members, and rewarding each with ten or five days of fire energy, with the captains getting thirty, meant giving out over four hundred days of fire energy. This level of generosity was impressive even by the Inner Academy's standards.
Such largesse was something Bai Cheng couldn't have managed before, but with Mo Yu as the new leader, not only did they get free Cold Jade Beads, but they also received substantial rewards. It was truly exhilarating.
Seeing the enthusiasm among his men, Mo Yu nodded in approval. He was confident that with more new members joining and the veterans fully loyal to him, Bai Cheng's influence would completely fade from the Mo Gang.
In the future, when people mentioned the Mo Gang, they would only think of Mo Yu!
…
Once the Mo Gang was running smoothly, Mo Yu left its management to Fu Ao and the others while he retreated to a quiet room.
Inside the room, Mo Yu sat cross-legged, holding a small purple cup in his hands.
Though Mo Yu had been busy crafting Cold Jade Beads over the past few days, he hadn't neglected his soul power training. In fact, due to the frequent use of soul power for bead crafting, Mo Yu was pleasantly surprised to find that his soul power was on the verge of breaking through.
In his original plan, even with the help of the small cup, it would have taken him several months to break through to a five-star soul power level. But by some stroke of luck, his soul power was recovering much faster than expected. He had only been at the academy for less than a month and was already nearing a breakthrough.
Thinking of this, Mo Yu became eager. He held the small cup, and as he channeled his soul power into it, he began to recite an incantation under his breath…
As the incantation left his lips, traces of spiritual energy began to be drawn into Mo Yu's body!
Spiritual energy is a very mysterious force. It doesn't possess the same power as Dou Qi, but it is an essential nourishment for the soul. However, spiritual energy is difficult to sense, almost like it's hidden within the chaos of the world. In ancient times, alchemists used special soul techniques to sense and absorb spiritual energy, but those techniques have long since disappeared, leaving few alchemists today with the knowledge of how to harness it.
But what had vanished from the Dou Qi Continent was not scarce for Mo Yu!
What Mo Yu was using now was a soul technique called the Divine Shao Soul Art.
Ordinarily, Mo Yu's current soul power wasn't strong enough to absorb spiritual energy. But Mo Yu, being a reincarnated soul, was more about recovering his former strength than breaking through, so he dared to take the risk of absorbing the spiritual energy in the world.
As Mo Yu meditated, the calm air in the room began to stir.
Feeling this familiar sensation, Mo Yu wasn't surprised. In his mind's eye, he saw tiny, almost imperceptible wisps of mist-like energy appear in the void, hidden among the more abundant energies of the world. But thanks to the Divine Shao Soul Art, Mo Yu was able to detect and gather them.
"So this is the spiritual energy of the Dou Qi Continent."
Mo Yu's consciousness focused on these faint streams of energy. This spiritual energy was so delicate and fragile that even if it were absorbed by someone by accident, it would be quickly dissolved by the surrounding energies. No wonder so few on the continent could sense its existence without the right techniques.
Now that he could sense the spiritual energy, a smile crept onto Mo Yu's lips. According to the normal process, if he successfully absorbed this spiritual energy, his soul power would gradually fill up, eventually advancing to the spiritual level.
Spiritual-level soul power would make him an eight-star weapon forger.
But that was a distant goal. For now, Mo Yu focused on breaking through to the five-star level.
With the help of the small cup and the Divine Shao Soul Art, the soul at Mo Yu's brow began to accelerate its activity, as if something within it was starting to recover...
Time passed quietly, and before he knew it, five days had gone by since Mo Yu had entered the room. The strange phenomena that had filled the room had gradually faded, leaving the space peaceful and silent once more.
But on the sixth day, a sudden boom echoed through the room.
"Boom!"
A deafening explosion erupted within the room, shattering the unbreakable ceiling and sending a burst of invisible light shooting out into the air. This light hovered midair, and a vast wave of soul power surged out like a tsunami.
Sensing this immense wave of soul power, the Mo Gang members outside the room were shocked, their faces filled with astonishment.
"Boss... has he?"
The tide of soul power continued to spread for several minutes before finally subsiding. Mo Yu then slowly stepped out of the room.
"Greetings, boss!"
As Mo Yu emerged, the Mo Gang members bowed respectfully. For some reason, they felt an unprecedented sense of pressure from Mo Yu—a pressure they couldn't quite explain but was undoubtedly tied to his soul power.
"Hmm." Mo Yu nodded before asking, "Has anything happened in the Mo Gang recently?"
The members exchanged glances before one of them spoke up. "Yes, boss. Someone has been looking for you."
"For me?"
"Yes, boss. You'll see when you meet him. If it weren't for Fu Ao and the other captains keeping him back, he might have interrupted your seclusion."
Hearing this, Mo Yu raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued.
In the hall of the Bai Gang, a gray-clad man with red eyes was pacing impatiently. Not far from him, Fu Ao and the others were watching him warily.
As this strange tension filled the hall, the sound of footsteps broke the silence, and a moment later, Mo Yu appeared.
Seeing Mo Yu arrive, Fu Ao and the others relaxed, while the gray-clad man slowly opened his eyes. He glanced coldly at Mo Yu and said in a flat tone.
"You're Mo Yu, the leader of the Mo Gang? My name is Lin Yan, ranked tenth on the Strong Ranking. I need your help with something."
(End of Chapter)
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