Chapter 147: Seventh Grade, Storage Ring

Chapter 147: Chapter 147: Seventh Grade, Storage Ring

Advancing to the Seventh Grade and achieving minor mastery of the Cyan Dragon Technique, Lu Yuan felt like an entirely different person. His posture was tall and straight, his black hair cascaded like a waterfall, and his translucent skin seemed to glow. His height, build, physique, and overall aura had improved significantly. Of course, the most important change was his strength. Lu Yuan didn’t know exactly how strong he had become; he only knew that he was incredibly powerful now.

"Seventh Grade..." he thought.

Before he could fully savor the moment, Ink Jade suddenly shifted beneath his feet.

SWISH.

Lu Yuan quickly leaped away, landing gracefully on the surface of the river.

Ink Jade sensed the aura of the Cyan Dragon and thought, "Dragon! Dragon!" feeling rather uneasy.

"Sorry about that. Thanks for your hard work," Lu Yuan consoled it. He turned and stepped ashore.

Ink Jade silently slipped away through the water, keeping its distance from him.

"Lu Yuan, have you advanced to the Seventh Grade?" Lu Ming asked impatiently.

"Yes," Lu Yuan replied with a smile, nodding.

"This..." Lu Ming was at a loss for how to react. The pleasant surprise had come far too suddenly. His son wasn’t even sixteen yet, and he was already in the Seventh Grade. This was simply unbelievable.

"Seventh Grade! Seventh Grade..." Wei Huiling was equally flabbergasted, muttering the words over and over. Her heart overflowed with immense joy and absolute shock.

"Junior Brother, congratulations on reaching the Seventh Grade," Yan Qing said, walking over to him.

"Thank you for standing guard for me, Senior Brother," Lu Yuan said, clasping his fist in respect.

"Now that you’re in the Seventh Grade, you can use Profound Weapons and Magical Artifacts," Yan Qing said, taking out a quaint black ring. "This is a Storage Magical Artifact. Consider it a gift from your senior brother for your breakthrough."

"A Storage Magical Artifact!" Lu Yuan’s eyes instantly lit up, but he hesitated. "No, this is far too precious!" Storage Magical Artifacts required a Grand Artisan to forge. They were exceedingly rare and much more expensive than Profound Weapons.

"Everyone in our sect has one. This was left behind by our master," Yan Qing insisted, pressing the ring into Lu Yuan’s hand. "Besides, as a successor of the Weapon-Forging Sect, how can you not have a Storage Magical Artifact?" Members of the Weapon-Forging Sect had to carry tools and travel to collect materials, making a Storage Magical Artifact an absolute necessity.

"Thank you, Senior Brother!" Lu Yuan accepted it without further ceremony. As a member of the Celestial Weapon Sect, he felt it was appropriate to take it. But he also knew that Yan Qing was being truly selfless toward him.

"I might have to take advantage of you in the future, or even rely on you," Yan Qing said with a laugh.

"I’ll never let you down!" Lu Yuan immediately reached out his hand. "If you ever need anything in the future, Senior Brother, just say the word!"

"Alright, haha, I’ll remember that," Yan Qing laughed heartily.

Watching from the sidelines, Lu Ming couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy. A Storage Magical Artifact was the best kind of magical artifact. Having one was incredibly convenient since it allowed a person to carry so many things at once. However, they were far too precious, and he probably had no chance of getting one himself. Perhaps when his son became a Grand Artisan...

Lu Yuan put the Storage Ring on his left hand and briefly inspected it. The space inside was nearly ten meters across, featuring one main compartment and over a dozen secondary compartments. He stored his zither inside, along with two of his sabers. From now on, he would only need to carry a single Wind Thunder Saber on his person.

"Master Yan gave you a Storage Magical Artifact, and now I don’t even know what to give you. I didn’t prepare anything," Su Wan said, walking over with a troubled expression. She reached out and pulled her maid forward. "How about I give you Tingzhu so she can take care of your daily needs?"

"Miss!" Tingzhu’s face instantly turned bright red, and she quickly stepped back.

"Are you really willing to part with her, Sister Wanwan?" Lin Siyao asked, walking over to join them. "Brother Yuan’s family isn’t as wealthy as the Grand General’s Mansion, nor do they have as many servants. Sister Tingzhu would have to suffer a lot of hardships if she came here."

"The Lu Family’s courtyard is also quite small," Su Wan added, knowing when to stop teasing. "I’m just joking. Tingzhu has taken care of me for five or six years now. I couldn’t bear to part with her."

"Congratulations on breaking through to the Seventh Grade before turning sixteen, Brother Yuan," Lin Siyao said, turning to Lu Yuan with a beaming smile. She was overjoyed. Seeing Lu Yuan successfully break through made her even happier than if she had done it herself. Brother Yuan had proven himself! It was the most perfect outcome she could have imagined.

"You’re not even sixteen yet?" Su Wan’s jaw dropped in astonishment. She had always assumed that Lu Yuan was about her age, perhaps even a few months older. But to her shock... A fifteen-year-old in the Seventh Grade was a supreme, first-rate genius in the Daqian Dynasty—or anywhere else in the world, for that matter. Such individuals were incredibly rare; even top-tier aristocratic families rarely produced them. They weren’t someone who could simply be nurtured through resources; innate talent was far more crucial. What’s more, she knew that Lu Yuan had made these rapid advancements all within the past month.

"I’ll be sixteen in two months," Lu Yuan replied, his eyes flashing slightly. Fifteen was truly a special age. This was the year when geniuses typically began to surge forward in their cultivation. With their bones and muscles newly matured, they could utilize resources to the fullest. He had two months left, and he wondered just how much more he could improve in that time.

"How strong are you now?" Su Wan asked curiously.

"I haven’t tested it yet, so I’m not sure," Lu Yuan said, shaking his head. He glanced around the group and estimated that the only person present he couldn’t defeat was his future mother-in-law, Song Yumeng. "But beating Mu Lingyan shouldn’t be a problem."

Lin Siyao’s eyebrows immediately shot up. Brother Yuan wanted revenge!

Su Wan’s expression shifted as well. Her cousin had truly offended Lu Yuan to the core. To think that his very first thought upon breaking through was to beat her up... "My cousin is very powerful," she warned.

"I’ve seen her in action," Lu Yuan replied with a smile. He had witnessed her strength at the foot of Nine Phoenix Mountain that day, and she was indeed quite formidable. "However, as long as she doesn’t use a Spiritual Weapon, defeating her will be a breeze for me. Besides, the Celestial Weapon Sect has Spiritual Weapons too!"

Su Wan didn’t know what to say to that. But she knew her cousin, Mu Lingyan, would never be at a disadvantage. After all, she was the young lady of Marquis Weiyuan’s Mansion! Even if Lu Yuan wanted to, he wouldn’t dare actually lay a hand on her—unless her cousin provoked him first.

"You must all be hungry, right? It’s time for lunch," Wei Huiling called out. Having calmed her excited nerves, she brought out the food she had prepared last night, as well as the items she had bought from the street that morning, and laid everything out neatly on a woven mat.

"I’ll catch a couple of fish for everyone," Lu Yuan suddenly smiled. He took out his Seven Kills Zither and plucked the strings twice toward the river.

BOOM BOOM.

The surface of the water immediately exploded, sending several fish flying into the air.

SWISH SWISH.

Lu Yuan casually grabbed them through the air with a gesture. He gutted and cleaned the fish, then started a fire by the riverbank to roast them. He had brought his own barbecue seasonings. Walking back to the carriage, he fetched some vegetables, mushrooms, and other ingredients, dividing them to grill half and use the rest for soup.

The group watched him work. His techniques were deft and his movements practiced, giving them high hopes for the meal.

"Lu Yuan knows how to cook too?" Su Wan asked in surprise. It seemed he didn’t spend every waking moment practicing martial arts after all.

"I know all about it! Lu Yuan’s barbecue is absolutely delicious. It’s truly a masterpiece!" Lin Siheng ran over to squat by the fire, practically drooling. He had been completely won over by Lu Yuan’s grilling skills.

"Yes, it’s very delicious," Lin Siyao nodded. She also remembered it vividly; Lu Yuan used to grill food for her all the time.

"You can grill vegetables too?" Su Wan’s eyes widened in disbelief. She had eaten grilled fish and meat before, but this was her first time seeing someone grill vegetables.

"Yeah, they taste amazing when they’re grilled. Some are even better than meat!" Lin Siheng smacked his lips, but he immediately regretted his words. Why did he have to tell Su Wan? Wouldn’t she just fight him for the food later?

"You can grill anything. But whether it’s meat or vegetables, you have to brush them with oil while grilling. Otherwise, they’ll dry out or burn, and they won’t taste good," Lu Yuan briefly explained as he worked. "This fire isn’t the best. It’s ideal to use smothered charcoal."

"You’ve been obsessing over food since you were a kid," Lu Ming came over and teased.

"Eating is the most important thing in life!" Lu Yuan replied matter-of-factly.

"It looks simple enough. Let me give it a try," Yan Qing said, feeling embarrassed to just sit and wait. He stepped forward to help.

"Senior Brother, you’d better not. I didn’t bring that many ingredients," Lu Yuan hurriedly refused, pushing him away.

Yan Qing was left speechless. He played with fire for a living too, after all!