“Little junior sister, congratulations! You’ve advanced again. Tsk, at this rate, you’ll probably reach Core Formation soon.”
As soon as Bai Shengyi emerged from the room, she was met with a big bear hug from Qian Ying.
Looking at her senior sister, who was once again adorned in a sparkling orange outfit with shimmering threads, Bai Shengyi couldn’t help but twitch her lips.
“Senior sister, how many of these sparkly outfits do you actually own?”
She considered herself rather flamboyant in her own attire, but compared to her senior sister, she was like a tiny firefly next to the sun.
Qian Ying was truly the brightest spectacle in Divine Revelation Academy, always sporting either red threads with green pearls, or blue sequins. Oh, and those sequins were reportedly made from the scales of the long-extinct Merman.
If it weren’t for Qian Ying’s enchanting and captivating beauty, such attire would be a visual disaster.
“Just a little over a thousand sets, I suppose. If you like them, little junior sister, I can gift you a few.”
“No, thank you.” Bai Shengyi hastily refused, changing the subject. “Senior sister, is there something you’re waiting for me for?”
“Ah, I almost forgot!” Bai Shengyi’s words seemed to jolt Qian Ying’s memory. She covered her mouth and chuckled delightedly. “I came to tell you about the farce that happened at the Artifact Refining Peak yesterday. You wouldn’t believe how hilarious it was…”
Yesterday, Ling Yue and Ying Shengchong found Yun Kai and demanded that he return the High-Grade Earthly Artifact to the academy. But as Yun Kai had stated, the artifact had already become Yun Youyue’s natal artifact, and it was impossible to return it to the academy.
Yun Kai: “I can buy it with spirit stones, or I can refine a High-Grade Earthly Artifact for the academy next time.”
“But in these fifty years, you’ve only succeeded once, haven’t you?” Ling Yue directly exposed his ulterior motive. Who knew when he would refine another High-Grade Earthly Artifact?
It was important to note that on this continent, where even artifact refiners struggled to create Heavenly-Grade artifacts, High-Grade Earthly Artifacts were already top-tier weapons that cultivators could only dream of.
Yun Kai, angered by the accusation, asked, “Then what do you want?”
“Oh, just buy it, then. Yun Kai is also a member of our academy, Ling Yue. Let’s not be so rigid, shall we?” Ying Shengchong said, playing the role of a mediator. “Calculate how many spirit stones Yun Kai owes the academy.”
Ling Yue, clearly having anticipated this, stated directly, “250 top-grade spirit stones.”
“Ling Yue! Are you robbing me?”
“How can it be so much? That Mid-Grade Earthly Artifact at the Exquisite Treasures Auction previously only cost 1500 High-Grade spirit stones!”
Yun Kai’s furious roar and Ying Shengchong’s exclamation sounded at the same time.
“One is mid-grade, the other is high-grade. How can you compare them? And to prevent you from reneging, I’ve had someone draw up an account. From the moment Yun Kai began preparing to refine it, he requested Grade Nine Crimson Heart Grass, Grade Eight Dragon’s Roar Hide…”
“Not only were these top-tier materials, but Yun Kai also later requested Thousand-Year Black Ore and Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Gold Iron. These are the most precious materials in the academy’s Treasure Pavilion, and even top-grade spirit stones can’t buy them now. Charging you two hundred fifty is purely because you’re an elder of the academy!”
According to the academy’s rules, if an artifact refiner used materials provided by the academy to refine an artifact, they had to communicate the artifact’s ownership with the academy from the outset. If the refiner intended to keep the artifact, they had to pay for all the material costs. Otherwise, the artifact would default to the academy.
The refinement of a High-Grade Earthly Artifact not only required numerous expensive and rare ores and spiritual items but also had a high chance of failure. Therefore, Yun Kai had no intention of paying the academy for materials from the start and had used a considerable amount of materials wastefully.
“In short, give me the spirit stones!”
Yun Kai still wanted to haggle, but Ling Yue, as if seeing through his thoughts, made a grand gesture after Yun Kai repeatedly refused to pay—
He had Yun Kai’s belongings confiscated! Upon realizing that the spirit stones were still insufficient, he then had Yun Youyue’s belongings taken as well.
Finally, under Yun Youyue’s tearful pleas, Yun Kai handed over the spirit stones and then closed his eyes, collapsing.
In an instant, the entire academy was laughing at the Artifact Refining Peak!
“I heard Yun Kai’s residence was extremely luxurious, even the floors were paved with low-grade spirit stones, and the room was filled with Grade Nine spiritual flowers, rivaling the decorations in the main hall…”
While Qian Ying was enjoying the spectacle, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of melancholy.
“Ling Yue has finally stood up! It’s high time to deal with these shameless people! These individuals, relying on their status and strength within the academy, are now trying to take advantage of it. Don’t they realize that if the academy falls, what good will it do them?”
“Take Yun Kai and Yun Ying, for instance. They were both orphans. If Venerable Qingyun hadn’t taken them as disciples and taught them artifact refining, they might be beggars now.”
“Their master was Venerable Qingyun?” Bai Shengyi asked, surprised. “I thought it was Venerable Song Sheng, since Senior Brother Xia has such a good relationship with Yun Ying.”
A flicker of discomfort crossed Qian Ying’s eyes as she vaguely replied, “Senior Brother Xi Lou has always been very fond of Yun Ying.”
Seeing that Qian Ying didn’t want to elaborate, Bai Shengyi didn’t press further, silently noting the information. She had a feeling there were stories among the Three Venerables, but these matters were of little consequence to her now.
“Senior sister, has Qin Si returned from the main peak?”
“He has.”
Bai Shengyi frowned slightly. She had messaged Qin Si yesterday, asking him to reply upon his return, but she was certain she hadn’t received any message yet.
Bai Shengyi glanced at the communication talisman again. Sure enough, it was blank. She then looked at the telepathic bracelet; the star representing Qin Si remained motionless.
“Should I replace this communication talisman?” She wasn’t very proficient with these little trinkets created by artifact refiners and only knew that some communication talismans needed to be replaced.
Qian Ying leaned over to take a look. “No need, little junior sister. Yours still has two years of use left.”
Bai Shengyi pursed her lips. “Senior sister, I’m going for a walk.”
Qian Ying watched Bai Shengyi’s retreating back, her smile deepening.
It was rare to see her little junior sister in such a vexed state.
“What mood is Qin Si throwing at me?”
At first, Bai Shengyi hadn’t noticed anything unusual about Qin Si. But now, it had been two days since she left the main peak, and Qin Si hadn’t contacted her, which puzzled her.
Bai Shengyi reviewed the events of the past few days but couldn’t find a reason.
Admittedly, this feeling was rather unpleasant.
The Cycle Pen casually remarked in her consciousness, “Perhaps he’s just sparring with himself.”
Bai Shengyi:?
Before she could even ask, she found herself standing before Qin Si’s residence.
Qianxiao Peak was lush with greenery and stood tall and imposing. Due to the sparse population on the peak, the residences were scattered and varied in style.
Qin Si’s dwelling, for instance, didn’t resemble the residence of a peak lord at all; it was a simple cave nestled in an inconspicuous corner of the peak.
Bai Shengyi took out the world-breaking talisman Qin Si had given her earlier, activated the defensive barrier outside the cave entrance, and stepped inside.
“Qin…”
As the word left her lips, a loud “clatter” echoed from within.
Bai Shengyi looked up, and a stunning beauty, dressed provocatively, rushed out of the cave in a hurry, colliding directly with her.
Her expression immediately changed.
“Ah, this…”
The Cycle Pen, observing the scene through Bai Shengyi, was dumbfounded.
Was this a juicy secret it was privy to? Would it be silenced?