I Pick Up Talents on the Interstellar Battlefield - Chapter 496 - 407: Myriadwood Source Crystal

Chapter 496: Chapter 407: Myriadwood Source Crystal

The lights in the hotel suite were warm and soft.

Dongfang Xi held a delicate Spiritual Energy pen between her fingers. Upon hearing her subordinate’s report, the pen paused on the paper, and a barely noticeable flicker passed through her gaze: “Dongfang Mingyue was assassinated?”

Her tone was flat, yet carried a hint of secretive expectation, aiming straight for the heart of the matter: “Is she dead?”

The subordinate quickly shook his head, lowering his voice slightly: “No. It’s said she was severely injured last night, but now she’s been sent to the Dan Tower to recuperate. With the protection of the Dan Tower, she should be fine.”

“Not dead… what a pity.” Dongfang Xi let out a cold laugh, her fingers clenching the Spiritual Energy pen until it turned slightly white.

As a member of the Dongfang Clan, she knew better than anyone the terrifying healing power of the Qingmu Bloodline—so long as there’s still a breath left, the Bloodline Power can rapidly heal the injuries.

What’s more, Dongfang Mingyue is currently at the Dan Tower, where healing elixirs are abundant. With the aid of elixirs, the recovery speed would only be faster, and even the alchemy finals in five days might not be affected.

Thinking of this, she let out another cold laugh and asked, “Who did it?”

“Currently, there are no clear leads.” The subordinate replied truthfully, pausing before adding, “But outsiders are speculating, it’s likely forces like the Beastman Empire or the Xieshen Association—because they don’t want to see another alchemy master rising among humans, they took action against Dongfang Mingyue in advance…”

Before he could finish his sentence, he noticed Dongfang Xi’s gaze growing colder, like a blade of ice, directly landing on him. His heart tightened, and the rest of his words got stuck in his throat, no longer daring to continue.

“You’re saying Dongfang Mingyue is being assassinated because she’s a ’future alchemy master,’ while I’m not worth their attention since I lack her potential, not even qualifying for an assassination, and just living uneventfully, is that it?” Dongfang Xi’s voice was as cold as winter wind, each word tinged with sharp sarcasm.

“No! Absolutely not! Young Miss, that’s not what I meant at all!”

The subordinate quickly waved his hands in panic, cold sweat instantly appearing on his forehead, and his back was drenched.

He knew all too well the nature of this young lady, narrow-minded and prone to overthinking. If she bore a grudge against him, life would be tough.

Yet he couldn’t help but think: assassination is such a major danger, isn’t safety a good thing? Why compare to Dongfang Mingyue over this—does she wish for someone to try to assassinate her to feel content?

“Hmph.”

Dongfang Xi coldly withdrew her gaze. If Dongfang Mingyue had died directly from the assassination, she would’ve had a winning edge in the upcoming alchemy tournament. But unfortunately, this woman’s fate was remarkably resilient, and now she’s hiding in Dan Tower. Even if she wanted to use some tactics, she couldn’t get a chance to do so now.

“Damn assassins.”

Dongfang Xi cursed inwardly, “Truly a bunch of incompetents.”

……

Two days later in the Dan Tower suite, sunlight streamed through the window lattice, dispelling the cold brought by successive snowy days.

Two tall, burly figures stood in the middle of the living room, their build almost identical, as robust as iron towers, with hair standing straight like steel needles, exuding a steady aura of strength.

“Miss Mingyue.” Both of them spoke simultaneously. Although their voices had slight differences, they both carried a sense of power.

“Big Brother Xiahou Wen, Big Brother Xiahou Wu.” Dongfang Mingyue greeted with a smile. The twin brothers were experts specially dispatched by the clan to protect her. Both were Tier Seven Spiritualists with silver bloodlines, elder brother Xiahou Wen was Tier Seven Three Stars, and younger brother Xiahou Wu was Tier Seven Five Stars.

What was even rarer was that from a young age, they had a mutual understanding; when working together, they could unleash power far exceeding others of the same rank, capable of matching Tier Seven Spiritualists with Gold Bloodlines.

Xiahou Wen took a step forward, his tone calm and clear, contrasting sharply with his rugged appearance: “Miss Mingyue, for the upcoming period, my brother and I will be fully responsible for your safety until we escort you safely to the Royal Star.”

“Then I must trouble you both.” Dongfang Mingyue nodded in gratitude. With these two powerful warriors present, her sense of safety increased substantially.

“Mingyue.”

At this moment, a gentle voice sounded, and an elder clad in a green robe walked in from outside, his hair and beard white, with a kindly face, but his eyes sharp.

“Grandpa Yuan Sheng!” Upon seeing the elder, Dongfang Mingyue’s face immediately lit up with a cheerful smile, and she walked up quickly.

The elder was Dongfang Yuansheng, a side branch elder from the Dongfang Clan. He had watched over her and Dongfang Haoyue growing up, treating them like his own grandchildren, maintaining a close relationship with them.

Dongfang Yuansheng gently patted her shoulder, carefully examining her to make sure she looked well, then finally relaxed a bit. His face darkened, and he spoke with concern and gravitas, “The clan received news of your assassination, and I was sent here immediately. How are you now? Have we discovered who was behind it?”

Dongfang Mingyue lightly shook her head: “Grandpa Yuansheng, I’m fine. As for those assassins, after Brother Min’s investigation, we only confirmed they were from the Round Table Meeting, but we haven’t found any clues about who hired them.”

“Round Table Meeting…” Dongfang Yuansheng furrowed his brows. He wasn’t unfamiliar with this organization. If it were really the Round Table Meeting, it would indeed be challenging to trace it back to their employer.

He looked at Dongfang Mingyue, his eyes full of compassion—this child had always been straightforward and focused solely on alchemy, never making enemies, yet now she was targeted by such a dangerous assassin organization.

It likely aligned with external speculation that opposing forces didn’t want to see another top-notch alchemist emerge in the Human Empire, thus resorting to such a severe assassination attempt.

“Mingyue, I heard this time during the attack, a military expert by your side protected you?” Dongfang Yuansheng’s tone carried a hint of earnestness.

“Can I meet him? Upon hearing the news, Haoyue specially applied for a treasure from the clan, asked me to deliver it to him as a token of gratitude.”

Knowing it was a good thing, Dongfang Mingyue gently said towards the empty living room, “Qin Tian, could you please come out for a moment?”

As soon as she spoke, a ripple of spatial energy suddenly appeared in the air, like the surface of water being gently stirred.

The next second, a figure abruptly materialized before everyone’s eyes, as if stepping right out of the void, with no premonition.

“Swoosh—”

The pupils of brothers Xiahou Wen and Xiahou Wu sharply contracted, their fists clenching instinctively, eyes filled with amazement.

Dongfang Yuansheng’s gaze showed a trace of surprise—this was a Spatial Ability!

To wield spatial skills so deftly that even he couldn’t detect the presence beforehand, the young man before him was truly extraordinary.

Qin Tian stood next to Dongfang Mingyue, his gaze swept past the Xiahou brothers and Dongfang Yuansheng, nodding slightly in greeting: “Military Department, Qin Tian.”

Dongfang Yuansheng carefully observed Qin Tian, noticing his stern features, his stance firm and upright like a pine, exuding a balanced and steady presence, indeed embodying a soldier’s robust demeanor, which increased his goodwill towards him.

Without much small talk, he directly raised his hand to activate the space ring on his finger, retrieving an ancient dark wooden box from within.

The surface of the wooden box was carved with intricate wood element patterns, faintly exuding a gentle vitality from within.

Dongfang Yuansheng handed the wooden box to Qin Tian, explaining, “Inside is the ’Allwood Source Crystal,’ applied by Haoyue from the clan and approved for allocation by Elder Ke. Elder Ke specifically instructed, let your companion spirit plant first consume this Allwood Source Crystal. After it completely absorbs the primordial wood energy of the crystal, then use the previously given Center of Wood Marrow, the two complementing each other, to assist your spirit plant to break through to Tier Seven successfully.”

“Elder Ke?”

Qin Tian’s heart was suddenly jolted, memories of the elderly man he met at the Dongfang Clan’s ancestral home—the Great Elder of the Dongfang Clan, former Patriarch Dongfang Ke.