Chapter 600 - 581: Peerless Genius

If anyone found out he was making money on the side, he would be a dead man.

A group of disciples stood in a row, silent out of fear. Yang Qi’s icy gaze swept over them. "Which imbecile made such a rookie mistake!"

Everyone bowed their heads, but no one stepped forward.

"You all know my temper. If I have to find out who it was myself, there will be hell to pay!"

Yang Qi’s voice was deep and low, and the very air seemed to freeze.

But even then, no one stepped forward. Pang Hong and Xie Xian exchanged a glance, each seeing the worry in the other’s eyes. Given Yang Qi’s relentless personality, this matter likely wouldn’t be resolved peacefully.

BANG! The door was pushed open. Pang Hong steeled himself, his mind racing to find an excuse that would get everyone off the hook.

"Master, the truth is..."

Suddenly, the enraged Yang Qi froze. His hand gripped the door tightly, his eyes glued to the shattered Demon-Binding Ropes on the floor. Their luster was completely different from the ordinary kind.

"Master, actually, we weren’t the ones who refined these..."

Yang Qi immediately held up a hand. "I know. All of you, wait outside!"

With that, Yang Qi went inside and shut the door, leaving the group to stare at each other in bewilderment.

’What... what was happening?’

Master Yang remained inside for over two hours. The Artifact Refining Room was completely silent, and for Master Yang to stay quiet for that long was practically unheard of.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

CREAK. The door opened. Yang Qi was still shaking his head and muttering, "This is impossible... It’s irrational... How could this happen? Tsk, tsk... Well, I’ll be damned!"

"Master, what is it?"

Yang Qi finally snapped out of his daze and glanced at Pang Hong. "Someone came to challenge us. A real expert. Pang Hong, tell me what happened."

"Master, here’s what happened. This morning, a young man came who wanted to join our Divine Artifact Pavilion as an apprentice. He took a pile of Demon-Binding Ropes, saying he wanted to practice on his own. I felt sorry for him, so I..."

’Pang Hong knew his master had a sharp tongue but a soft heart and especially admired ambitious young people. This was his only angle.’

But Yang Qi blew up. "Apprentice, my ass! This guy’s skill level is higher than mine! A young man? In the entire Divine Artifact Pavilion, no one with this kind of skill is under fifty years old!"

Spittle sprayed all over Pang Hong’s face, but he didn’t dare wipe it off. ’...Skill level?’

’You call *that* skill? He’s even better than Master? That dissolute-looking guy?’

"M-Master... he was a young man," Xie Xian said cautiously from the side.

"What???" Yang Qi was stunned. "How old did he look?"

"Twenty at most. And he really did say he wanted to join our Divine Artifact Pavilion and took a pile of scrap Demon-Binding Ropes..." Xie Xian was also completely baffled.

"A twenty-year-old Artifact Refining Master???" Yang Qi was dumbfounded. In all his years, he had never heard of such a thing.

"Where is he? What’s his name? Where’s he from?!"

’Yang Qi’s heart raced with excitement. ’Damn it, if I can recruit someone like this for the Wang City Divine Artifact Pavilion, that old bastard from the Spirit Control Association can go to hell! I’ll crush him so completely he’ll never be able to hold his head up again!’

Pang Hong and Xie Xian looked at each other blankly. How were they supposed to know what that sucker’s name was?

"Find him! All of you, go! I don’t care if you have to turn Wang City upside down, find him for me!"

Yang Qi roared, but it was a roar of excitement. ’This has to be a self-taught artifact refining prodigy! Someone who can miraculously evolve Demon-Binding Ropes, yet still make a rookie mistake like smothering the furnace! A true genius!’

’Gods, I have to find him! This is my chance to achieve fame and fortune, to make my name known across the continent!’

Master Yang’s face was glowing!

Meanwhile, the prodigy in question was drinking tea and chatting with the young maidservant. Wang Meng was by nature a sociable person who loved being around friends. Since arriving, Little Wan’Er was the only person he could really talk to, so he took the opportunity to learn about the Jiang Family’s situation.

It seemed the Jiang Family was in a truly desperate situation. The Muhe Clan was dominant, the newly ascendant Kun Family was fiercely aggressive, and the Zhe Family was clearly playing its own angle. The three young members of the Jiang Family were actually quite talented, but unfortunately, Wang City had become a hotbed of conflict, and local influence alone wasn’t enough. This was why the Jiang Family had sought help in Haojing. They just hadn’t expected to bring back someone like "him"—a person nobody wanted or cared for.

’The people of the Heaven-Reaching Continent have a rather worldly approach to cultivation,’ he mused. ’Cultivating within the mortal world, transcending from the mortal world.’

It was clear that Wan’Er idolized the young mistress of the Jiang Family. Whenever Jiang Biyao was mentioned, her large eyes would light up, and she would praise her as if she were a goddess, unparalleled on heaven and earth.

Wang Meng had to admit, Jiang Biyao was a beauty. But... ’What kind of beauties has Master Wang not seen before?’ Although Jiang Biyao was attractive, she didn’t make the cut. In comparison, he found Wan’Er to be quite adorable.

Now, Wan’Er was actually encouraging him to pursue Jiang Biyao, leaving him unsure whether to laugh or cry. There was a simple charm to her naivety, and he had to admit, talking with Wan’Er was a very pleasant experience.

"My Lady, are you really not going tomorrow?"

Wan’Er looked pleadingly at her mistress, Jiang Biyao.

Jiang Biyao shook her head with a wry smile, reaching out to gently pinch Wan’Er’s nose. "Wan’Er, I’ve always seen you as a little sister. You shouldn’t go either. You may know a person’s face, but you can’t know their heart. The world is a dangerous place."

As she spoke, she stroked Wan’Er’s head. "You just need to help me keep an eye on him. As long as he doesn’t harm the Jiang Family, let him do as he pleases."

The Jiang Family’s cold shoulder was meant to make Wang Meng recognize the difficulty of his situation and leave on his own accord, saving everyone from further awkwardness. News had arrived from Haojing that the Wang Family had truly abandoned him; they reportedly didn’t even care if he lived or died.

Jiang Biyao gave a bitter smile. She had really taken a huge tumble this time, and the other three families were all waiting to see her become a laughingstock.

With a mountain of other matters to handle, Jiang Biyao had no energy to dwell on her maidservant’s words. Her birthday was in a few days, and that presented another problem. With Wang Meng present, not introducing him was out of the question, but introducing him could lead to even greater trouble. Who knew what kind of outrageous stunt he might pull? Yet, if the Jiang Family didn’t host a celebration, their prestige would weaken even further. Besides, the matter couldn’t be kept secret.

It was the first time Jiang Biyao had ever been in such a bind. To make matters worse, Zhe Wulei and Wu Yuan now knew about the situation. Heaven only knew what might happen. The thought alone gave Jiang Biyao a headache.

The next day, just as the sky began to lighten, Wang Meng heard a stir outside his door.

When he opened the door, he saw Wan’Er standing outside with a large bundle on her back.

"Young Master, you’re awake," Little Wan’Er said, her eyes twinkling with anticipation.

"Heh, what has you up so early today?"

Wan’Er looked a little shy, nudging a small pebble with the toe of her shoe. "Didn’t you say... we were going to the outskirts today? I’ve never been before."

"Of course. Give me a moment."

In truth, Wang Meng had been awake for a while, just practicing his cultivation. Practicing the Merak Fire Cloud Technique around dawn allowed one to gather a more refined True Essence than at other times. ’One really can’t afford to be lazy.’

After circulating his energy, Wang Meng was at his most vigorous.

He and Wan’Er left the city and headed toward the Taibai Mountain Range.

The Taibai Mountain Range was vast and expansive, with innumerable smaller ranges branching off it. The spot Wang Meng and Wan’Er chose for their outing was on Firefoot Mountain, the closest peak to Wang City. In the early morning, they climbed high to gaze into the distance, enjoying the gentle mountain breeze and drinking from a mountain stream. It was utterly relaxing.

’Come to think of it, back in the later days of the Small Thousand Realm, I was always either busy cultivating or handling Star Alliance affairs, not to mention constantly going off to war. It’s been a long time since I could just quiet my mind and do something peaceful. It feels... like I’m a person of flesh and blood again. Is this what it means to be immersed in the mortal world?’

Wan’Er was like a fawn set free in the mountains, joyfully skipping about. One moment she was tossing stones, the next picking wildflowers. Whenever she found some tasty wild greens, she would let out a cry of delight, her happy voice echoing throughout the mountainside.

Since this area was the closest to Wang City, it was also one of the spots most frequently visited by Cultivator Groups hunting for Spirit Beasts.

Time always flies when you’re having fun exploring nature. In the blink of an eye, it was noon. A bit tired from all the playing, Wan’Er rubbed her stomach but was too shy to say anything.

Wang Meng smiled and patted Wan’Er’s head. "Hungry?"

"Is the Young Master hungry?"

Wan’Er, ever so considerate, shook her head. ’How could we eat just because I’m hungry? The Young Master is the master. We can only eat when the Young Master is hungry.’ This was the principle that had been drilled into her since she was old enough to understand.

"I’m hungry too. I was just waiting for you to cook for me," Wang Meng said, taking the large bundle Wan’Er had carried that morning out of his Qiankun Bag and handing it to her.

"Okay! Don’t you worry, Young Master. Even the Eldest Miss says my cooking is delicious!"

Wan’Er delightedly opened the large bundle. Inside was an assortment of spices, filling at least a hundred small bottles.

Wang Meng glanced over curiously, only to be pushed away by Wan’Er. "No peeking, Young Master! A real man’s job is to wait for his food."

Watching Wan’Er open her Qiankun Bag, Wang Meng chuckled. ’She really is more competent than Brother Rencai ever was. Jiang Biyao was right—even if the old Wang Rencai had gotten any ideas, he wouldn’t have stood a chance against Little Wan in a fight.’

In no time at all, a large, open-air kitchen materialized on the patch of grass. No wonder the Qiankun Bag had been so full that there was no room to even stuff the large bundle of spices inside.

Wan’Er then cheerfully began to cook, humming a little tune she’d made up herself as she chopped the wild vegetables they had gathered. "Mountain turnips, green little sprouts, carrots are the sweetest, no doubts..."

Wan’Er shooed Wang Meng to the side. They were now at the edge of Firefoot Mountain. In the distance stood a large, dome-shaped mountain with a perfectly round peak, which the locals fittingly called Little Round Mountain.

Wang Meng gazed at Little Round Mountain, seemingly basking in the sun, but in his mind, a plan was quietly taking shape. ’Borrowing Spirit might be the way to remedy my missing Five Elements attribute, but I’ll need an exceptionally good True Essence Beast for it to work.’

Suddenly, a flash of light crossed his vision—a fiery streak, like a piece of the setting sun, blazed across the sky.

Anyone else might have dismissed it as a trick of the midday sun, but Wang Meng knew what it was: a pure Fire Attribute Spirit Beast.

On the Heaven-Reaching Continent, Cultivators could capture an Exotic Beast, take it to the Spirit Control Association to have its quality appraised, then visit the Divine Artifact Pavilion to select a matching Sealing Container, and finally return to the Spirit Control Association to complete the sealing. This would transform it into a True Essence Beast.

During battle, a Cultivator could use a Borrowing Spirit Technique to absorb the power of their True Essence Beast, receiving a boost in strength or even gaining access to powerful Magic. Naturally, the higher the level and talent of the True Essence Beast, the stronger the effect of Borrowing Spirit. Beyond that, they offered many other benefits, serving as mounts, assistants, and more.

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