After everyone was reborn, I was strictly disciplined.

As dawn broke, a golden sun leaped out of the eastern sky, its shimmering light piercing through the clouds and illuminating every inch of the sacred land of the Fire Marrow Elixir.

The continuous medicinal herb fields stretch across the valley, the morning mist still lingering, carrying the unique fragrance of the herbs.

A new day begins quietly amidst the crisp chirping of birds and the footsteps of the disciples.

Thousands of registered disciples, dressed in uniform gray-blue cloth, worked in the waist-high medicinal herb fields.

The time of Chen Shi (7-9 AM) is when the medicinal effects of spiritual herbs are at their peak. If this half-hour is missed, many rare spiritual herbs will lose their spiritual energy and medicinal effects.

Therefore, everyone was in a hurry, their fingers flying across the ground as the morning dew-covered herbs were uprooted and neatly stacked into the bamboo baskets on their backs. The air was filled with the fresh scent of soil and vegetation, but no one had the mind to savor it.

Everyone is racing against time.

Lu Chengyuan was among them.

His posture was as upright as a pine tree, and even when he was working with his back bent, he could not hide his heroic spirit that was out of place with his surroundings.

The coarse gray disciple's robe he wore did not look crude at all; on the contrary, it accentuated his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and robust physique.

Sunlight shone on his handsome, well-defined face, highlighting his deep-set eyes, high nose, and healthy, honey-colored skin, which attracted many female disciples to steal glances, yet they dared not look too closely due to the rules.

With swift movements, he pinched the root of a three-leaf purple herb with his fingertips, gently twisted it, and pulled the entire herb out intact. After shaking off the soil from the roots, he accurately tossed it into the bamboo basket.

In less than half an hour, his basket was filled to the brim with spiritual herbs, all of them of excellent quality.

Lu Chengyuan straightened up, his back bulging slightly, his joints cracking softly. Beads of sweat trickled down his face and dripped into the soil beneath his feet.

He turned and walked toward the registration office at the edge of the medicinal field. As he turned, the left side of his face, still swollen and red, was revealed.

The redness and swelling spread to his cheekbone, with a faint bruise, which contrasted sharply with the smooth, honey-colored skin on his right side, making it particularly jarring.

Zhang Shan's slap yesterday was extremely forceful. Even though he used spiritual energy to treat it that night and applied some ordinary external medicine, the mark was still conspicuous, and the outline of the five fingers could still be faintly seen.

"Tsk, look at Lu Chengyuan's face, it's swollen like a steamed bun."

Not far away, a short, stout disciple caught a glimpse of this scene, a mocking smile curling at the corner of his mouth. He nudged Wu Hao, who was standing next to him, hard with his elbow.

His voice was extremely low, yet it carried an undeniable bitterness:

"Yesterday, the lady's guards delivered a whole box full of pills and spirit stones to his room. Those treasures are enough for us to live comfortably for fifty years, right? And he's actually reluctant to use them?"

Upon hearing this, several disciples around, who had been listening intently, nodded subconsciously, their eyes filled with blatant jealousy.

Everyone witnessed He Anyao's orders yesterday. When the sandalwood box carried by the guard was opened, it shimmered with light. The few bottles of high-grade healing pills alone were enough to make them flock to it, not to mention the dozens of crystal-clear mid-grade spirit stones at the bottom of the box.

Those were treasures they rarely even got to see on ordinary days.

They were so envious of the generous compensation they received for just one slap.

Many people secretly murmured that if they were the ones getting slapped, they would be happy to receive ten slaps, let alone one.

However, the rules of the Fire Marrow Pill Holy Land are very strict. Who would dare to covet something personally bestowed by the Lady?

Even if they were consumed by jealousy, they could only suppress their greed and at most gossip about it behind their backs.

Following his companion's gaze, Wu Hao looked at Lu Chengyuan's back, pursed his lips, shook his head, and said in a tone that was hard to describe: "He's not reluctant to use it, he hasn't touched it at all."

"Didn't it move?"

The short, stout disciple's eyes widened, then he suddenly realized and lowered his voice, saying...

"Could it be that they were all given to her mother and sister? Well, given their situation, her mother is bedridden year-round, and her sister has to rely on her stall to supplement the family income. These things can indeed help them in their immediate crisis."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding disciples gradually quieted down, and their gazes toward Lu Chengyuan held not only jealousy but also a complex mix of emotions.

They were all disciples, mostly from ordinary backgrounds, and naturally knew that Lu Chengyuan came from a poor family. They just didn't expect him to send all such precious things home.

Wu Hao merely let out a sneer and didn't reply.

As Lu Chengyuan's roommate, he knew the truth better than anyone else.

Lu Chengyuan neither used those pills and spirit stones to heal his injuries nor sent them home. Instead, he locked them untouched in a wooden cabinet in the corner of the room.

Last night, he saw Lu Chengyuan put the wooden box into the cabinet and lock it with a brass lock, without even glancing at it again.

He couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing? Why aren't you using these excellent healing pills? Are you just letting them gather ashes? Your mother's illness..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Chengyuan had already lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed), his back to him, leaving only a cold and indifferent figure. No matter how he asked, he remained silent.

Wu Hao was rebuffed and didn't dare to press the matter further, but his doubts only grew stronger.

Thinking of this, Wu Hao subconsciously touched the cloth bag in his arms, and couldn't help but smile broadly.

The three top-grade spirit stones tucked in the cloth bag were a casual gift from Xie Xingran yesterday. They were warm to the touch and full of spiritual energy, far more precious than the mid-grade spirit stones that Madam had given to Lu Chengyuan.

His family situation wasn't much better than Lu Chengyuan's. His parents were still alive, but they had to support nine children: an older brother who was about to get married, a second older sister who was also unmarried, and several younger siblings who were still being fed.

Despite her parents working tirelessly from dawn till dusk, they still struggled to make ends meet, often going hungry.

These three top-grade spirit stones, when converted into silver, would be enough to ensure the family's food and clothing for five years. The dowry for the eldest brother's wedding and the second sister's marriage would also be secured.

Wu Hao looked up at the sun; it was already past mid-morning, and he had almost finished picking the spiritual herbs in his basket.

Unable to contain his eagerness any longer, he quickened his pace and rushed to the registration desk, handing over the bamboo basket. After the registered disciple verified the information, he branded his disciple's badge with his mark.

Wu Hao took the disciple's token, tucked the cloth bag into his pocket, and ran excitedly toward his residence, his steps becoming much lighter.