More than twenty individuals were seated here, most of them young men in their mid-teens, with only two appearing slightly older, looking to be around forty. These two, a man and a woman, had the woman's face obscured by a veil.

The tallest figure, a boy of about fifteen, stood atop a high stone, gesticulating wildly as he spoke about the recent assembly of the Five Great Powers at the Long Family Plains, forcing the Long family’s hand. He began by detailing how the Li family was the first to enter the Long Family Plains, followed by the arrival of the Hua family, the Demonic Sect, and other factions.

As he recounted these events, he interspersed details of the Long family’s reactions and their evident helplessness against the pressure. Having been suppressed by the Long family for so many years, always living under their shadow, everyone present was immensely excited by the Li family’s current display of dominance in the Long Family Plains.

His narrative skill was exceptional; he spoke with such vividness, as if he had personally witnessed every moment. Especially when describing how the Li family members swaggered past the Long family members—who dared not act against them, regardless of their inherent strength—the crowd below erupted in cheers.

“Hold on, let me grab a drink of water!” The young man, carried away by his story, picked up a nearby water gourd and gulped down several mouthfuls. “Now, when the Five Great Powers, led by our Li family, gathered before the Long family gate that day, you wouldn't believe the sight!

The Long family members standing there were trembling, and one of the guarding disciples holding a long staff actually dropped it on the ground…” “You’re exaggerating! I heard the Long family members were all up in the tower!” As soon as he finished speaking, someone immediately voiced an objection from below.

These people were mostly children of the Li family servants. They could cultivate internal energy too, but most had achieved little success.

Among them were a few who hadn't even managed to manifest their inner energy. Their parents had served the Li family for generations and often knew a great deal of information.

Just like the boy speaking now—his father was a steward in the back courtyard. Though a servant, his status was quite high, and he had even reached the peak of the Second Layer strength, having accompanied the expedition to the Long Family Plains.

Because his father had been there, the boy could recount so much. Currently, the most engrossing topic in the entire Li family was the events at the Long Family Plains.

Ordinary servants and disciples yearned to know every detail, wishing they could have been present themselves. “You don't understand.

Those in the tower were their Clan Head and other elders. How could the servants and common disciples get access to the tower?

Many people were guarding downstairs—I’m talking about those people!” When challenged, the young man showed no annoyance. He simply shook his head and explained slowly.

The dissenter paused, then scratched his head sheepishly, clearly conceding the point. The Long family was even larger than the Li family; if the Li family had this many people, the Long family must have had far more.

Even the largest tower couldn't accommodate that many individuals. “That day, the fighting was absolutely earth-shattering!

You can’t imagine how powerful our Five Great Powers were combined, and how mighty our Elder Li was—he personally slew three of their Elder-level masters!” The young man resumed his tale. The battle that day had indeed been fierce and tragic, and it was true that the Long family had lost three Fourth Layer experts in the fight.

However, the deaths of these three had little to do with the Li family; it was the result of a desperate struggle against the Demonic Sect. The Demonic Sect suffered the heaviest losses.

It was rumored they sealed their mountain gates upon returning, likely intending to move or lie low for a considerable period. In the world of internal energy cultivation, it is survival of the fittest, especially among these established noble families and sects with long histories.

Having history and longevity proves they possess resources. In this era of dwindling reserves, the resources they controlled were their greatest wealth and the most coveted prize.

This was the reason the Hua family relocated to Changbai Mountain and the Huyan family departed. Across the land of Huaxia, while the number of internal energy cultivation families or sects is not vast, there are certainly many.

During the ancient zenith of power, there were nearly a thousand such families alone. The fact that only a handful have managed to survive to this day speaks volumes.

The young man spoke with mounting excitement, and those listening clapped their hands continuously, utterly mesmerized by the account. “Finally, someone stepped forward from the Long family—a very young person.

Reportedly, this individual was only in his early twenties, an inheritor of the Medical Sage lineage, from the Zhang family of the Medical Sages. His name was Zhang Yang.

As soon as Senior Zhang Yang appeared, the situation flipped immediately!” As the young man reached this point, a sharp gleam involuntarily flashed in his eyes. Young men naturally admire strength, and he was no exception.

After hearing of Zhang Yang’s astounding deeds, he instantly took him as his ultimate idol. Zhang Yang had some renown before, but nothing compared to this.

Now, it was said that even the hidden Ancestor, the Grand Elder of his own sect, was no match for Zhang Yang. After the events at the Long Family Plains, the outside world began to understand the Great Perfection realm better, as several Great Perfection experts had shown themselves, and many Second Layer disciples had witnessed them firsthand.

Upon hearing the mention of the Medical Sage lineage and the name Zhang Yang, the bodies of the older man and woman in the group visibly trembled, their faces etched with bitterness. They kept their heads down, daring not to speak, merely listening in silence.

“Senior Zhang Yang turned the tide! The moment he stepped out, everyone froze in place; even those engaged in combat separated.

With his own power, he commanded the entire scene. His heroic aura—truly unparalleled!” The young man spoke loudly, going on to describe the clash between Zhang Yang and the Great Perfection masters—a truly heaven-shaking event.

Of course, this was all his improvised embellishment; even his father hadn't witnessed the reality. However, his exaggeration was not too far off.

The event had indeed been seismic; Zhang Yang’s single strike caused a shockwave equivalent to a minor earthquake, more powerful than a high-caliber artillery shell. It had left behind a pit nearly ten meters deep.

The more vividly he described it, the more agitated the listeners became. Soon, Zhang Yang became the icon in the hearts of these young men.

Zhang Yang himself had no idea how many hearts he had just captured. Only the couple—the man and the woman—wore even deeper expressions of bitterness.

With their heads bowed, their faces were also filled with regret. “Husband, shall we go back?” The woman whispered to the man beside her.

A closer look revealed a faint red patch on her face, not very obvious, but enough to mar her beauty and discourage people from looking at her for long. “Go back?

How can we go back? This is the Li family.

We signed indenture contracts when we entered; we probably won't even pass the main gate before they drag us back and beat us to death!” The man replied with a bitter smile, shaking his head. The woman nodded slowly.

“We shouldn't have so easily believed their words. We thought they would teach us internal energy properly, but instead, they put us to doing chores the moment we arrived!” “We overestimated ourselves.

We thought our special constitution would attract attention, but we never considered that at our age, even if we achieved success in cultivation, it wouldn't amount to much. The Li family was willing to take us in just to laugh at our plight; they never truly valued us.

From the start, they viewed us only as menial servants!” The man hissed, his voice barely audible, as everyone else was focused on the young speaker. This couple was Yan Yefei and Li Juan.

They had refused Zhang Yang’s initial invitation to join the Medical Sage Martial Sect and pledge loyalty to the Medical Sage lineage, driven by their own selfish motives. After being away for some time, they had tracked down several internal energy sects and families using the addresses Zhang Yang had provided them.

Initially, practitioners there were interested in their constitutions, but as soon as the Medical Sage lineage was mentioned, they immediately refused, stating they couldn't teach them. At first, they didn't understand why, suspecting Zhang Yang had deliberately warned others against them, leading them to resent him for a time.

Later, they stopped mentioning that Zhang Yang had referred them, and finally, someone showed interest again. However, it was only fleeting interest.

None of these groups possessed the Marrow Cleansing Pills needed to help them re-cultivate their internal energy. Eventually, they reached the Li family, whose interest proved even greater.

They also lacked the Marrow Cleansing Pills, but they offered them a chance: providing cultivation manuals and guidance to see if they could regain their internal energy. Having met dead ends everywhere, the couple was overjoyed and accepted without hesitation.

It was only after spending considerable time with the Li family that they realized, at their age, regaining internal energy without the Marrow Cleansing Pill was impossible. They even dared to request the pill once, only to be mocked and driven out by the Li family disciples.

The Marrow Cleansing Pill was a spirit medicine; even if the Li family possessed one, they wouldn't give it to two mere servants. This finally made them understand they had been duped.

The Li family kept them purely because of their unique constitution, but their objective was never to genuinely teach them cultivation—it was merely to keep a living cautionary tale nearby. There was another factor: jealousy.

Their constitution was one in ten thousand; everyone coveted it. Yet, the possessors had no opportunity, possessing no internal energy, making them inferior to even the common disciples.

This somewhat balanced their psychological state. Many Li family disciples would deliberately mock them, filling the couple with resentment at those moments, wishing they could kill them all.

Fortunately, they remained level-headed. Here, without internal energy, they were akin to ants; any formal Li family disciple could crush them easily.

And such an act would incur no consequence. At this moment, they finally understood how genuinely well Zhang Yang had treated them.

They finally grasped why his requirements had been so absolute. Now, they fully understood why Zhang Yang had demanded absolute loyalty to the Medical Sage Martial Sect.

Cultivating internal energy practitioners was indeed not easy, and no one was willing to allow their cultivation techniques to leak or to train disciples for others without compensation.