Chapter 335: To Be Honest, It Tastes Good

Xiangfeng Prefectural Capital, the yamen.

Yang Ling and Juewang followed Zhao Qing into the rear courtyard.

This place was fairly lively. Not far away, several figures stood inside a pavilion.

Among them was Ministry of Personnel official Kong Xinghu, whom Yang Ling had seen before.

There was also Mining Guild elder Qian Dalong.

Outside the pavilion stood even more people, all with serious expressions, respectfully listening as if attending a ceremony.

Speaking with the Third Prince at this moment was a gaunt, dried-up old man.

The old man wore plain clothes, but his manner and bearing gave off the air of someone long accustomed to high position.

Even facing the Third Prince, he did not seem to flatter him excessively.

Yang Ling opened the man’s Status Panel for a quick look.

The old man’s name was Zhao Chonghong, and his cultivation was Middle Sixth-Rank.

“Is he the prefectural governor’s military commander? Judging by the surname, he’s probably also a member of the royal family.”

Thinking this, Yang Ling swept his gaze beyond the pavilion.

Outside stood the heads of the Prefectural Capital Ironclad Department’s Bandit Apprehension Division and Inspection Department.

And many clerks from the yamen.

Beyond the official faces, quite a few respected elders from Xiangfeng Prefectural Capital had come as well.

They were basically the big names from every industry.

There was a purple-robed middle-aged man whom Yang Ling had seen once before at the Great Yan Sword Sect.

Back then the man had been buying pills.

At that moment, the Third Prince’s conversation with Zhao Chonghong stopped abruptly, and he glanced over at Yang Ling.

Seeing this, the nearby crowd also turned their attention toward Yang Ling and the others.

Their looks ranged from curious to indifferent.

“Why isn’t that white-haired old man at the Third Prince’s side here…”

As Yang Ling thought this, his perception suddenly rippled.

At the corner of the courtyard, a white-haired old man was quietly watching Yang Ling.

The spot where he stood had a reason behind it: from there he could observe every motion in the small courtyard.

Behind him was a bare rock wall, impossible to hide anybody.

That meant if anything unusual happened in the courtyard, this man could react first.

Yang Ling’s eyes were calm as he looked his way. This man’s gaze no longer produced that chilling, scalp-tingling sensation for him.

Character: Cao Yunlong

Class: Martial Artist

Strength: 273

Agility: 245

Spirit: 80

Martial Arts: Tai Yin Heart Technique (Transcendent)

Bone-Melting Palm (Transcendent)

Wandering Dragon Transformation (Transcendent)

Faction: Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs

“I realized earlier that when he glanced at me, it put so much pressure on me mainly because my Spirit is two hundred points; my perception is too strong, so I could sense that terrifying strength.”

“Strength 273, that’s 74 points higher than Yun Buchuan at the peak of Lower Fifth-Rank…”

“Agility 245, also 46 points higher, so the two attributes combined surpass Yun Buchuan by over a hundred points.”

Yang Ling mused.

If 149 counted as the threshold between Upper Sixth-Rank and Lower Fifth-Rank—

Yun Buchuan’s Strength and Agility at 199 each must be the threshold between Lower Fifth-Rank and Middle Fifth-Rank.

This eunuch Cao Yunlong was clearly a Middle Fifth-Rank powerhouse!

Given that gaps widen the higher the cultivation realm,

the ceiling for Middle Fifth-Rank was probably around 299 points!

“That means the combined difference between the peak of Lower Fifth-Rank and the peak of Middle Fifth-Rank could be as much as 200 points, with single attributes differing by around 100 points.”

“At Fourth-Rank or Third-Rank, the gap will likely be even larger.”

“And his internal technique and martial arts are exactly the same as Eunuch Xu’s. That shows the palace trains eunuchs uniformly.”

“Maybe in the future Zhang Wei will also practice the Tai Yin Heart Technique, Bone-Melting Palm, and Wandering Dragon Transformation.”

“This Tai Yin Heart Technique at Transcendent could boost both attributes by 100 points each. With Bone-Melting Palm and Wandering Dragon Transformation, his Strength and Agility would at most reach the low four hundreds, not five hundred.”

Yang Ling felt increasingly composed, his steps steady.

His current burst potential was extremely high.

With internal technique, martial arts, and equipment combined, his Strength ceiling could reach 640, and Agility just over 500.

That did not even account for his various active skills.

He had a Vajra Indestructible Body, an Ironclad Fortress, and the Fire Crocodile Set’s physical damage reduction.

Just counting those, his strength already exceeded Cao Yunlong’s by a fair margin.

If they actually fought, his perception would also give him an absolute advantage.

Overall, Yang Ling judged that barring surprises, he could end the fight within twenty moves.

That was a conservative estimate; if the opponent was careless, one move might be enough.

These thoughts passed in only a few seconds.

While Yang Ling was appraising Cao Yunlong, Cao Yunlong was doing the same to Yang Ling.

Shortly after, Cao Yunlong smiled faintly, looked at the pavilion, and nodded his head slightly.

“Isn’t that so.”

The Third Prince nodded thoughtfully.

Zhao Qing hurried up to the pavilion, cupped his fists and saluted:

“Your subordinate Zhao Qing pays respects to the Third Prince!”

“Yang Ling from the Blazing Gold Mine and Master Juewang have already been brought here.”

“This Yang Ling indeed matches the rumors of youth. I heard that at the Blazing Gold Mine he displayed methods far beyond a newly promoted Sixth-Rank, likely securing a spot at Lower Sixth-Rank.”

“A chief from a Changhe Prefectural Capital Ironclad Department’s Public Security Division coming to our Xiangfeng Prefectural Capital to open a mine, is that reasonable? I don’t know what that man was thinking.”

Some in the courtyard subtly exchanged glances.

“Your subordinate Yang Ling pays respects to the Third Prince.”

Yang Ling stopped and cupped his fists toward the Third Prince.

Juewang joined his hands and intoned a Buddhist greeting.

“Director Yang, I have long heard of your famed name.”

The Third Prince watched Yang Ling with a half-smile:

“The three-hundred-year Crimson Blood Vermilion Fruit that I once had Master Juewang bring to you, have you consumed it?”

Three-hundred-year Crimson Blood Vermilion Fruit?

Zhao Qing flinched slightly, a barely noticeable flash of anger passing across his eyes.

He had no idea about this.

Giving a three-hundred-year Crimson Blood Vermilion Fruit to an outsider?

Was that acceptable?

Qian Dalong and Kong Xinghu also showed a shift in expression.

A few people present were big bosses in the medicinal trade.

They were clearly surprised to hear about the three-hundred-year Crimson Blood Vermilion Fruit.

This was exceptional material, usable to refine more than a dozen pills.

One of those was the famous Grand Derivation Vital Qi Pill!

“Why bring this up as soon as we arrived?”

Yang Ling muttered silently but nodded calmly:

“Your subordinate has already consumed it, and my Vital Qi increased considerably. If Master Juewang had not failed to mention it earlier, I would have come to the Third Prince then to offer my thanks.”

Juewang’s eyes showed a hint of grievance. Yang Ling paid him no mind, pretending not to see.

“How did it taste?”

“To be honest, it tasted good.”

Yang Ling nodded.

“And anything else?”

“Anything else?”

Yang Ling looked puzzled.

The Third Prince watched him for a moment, smiling and nodding slightly:

“Director Yang, I called you and Master Juewang here today to ask about the Blazing Gold Mine.

My father told my younger brother and me that whoever can get the Blazing Gold Mine into production will run it afterward.

Blazing Gold is rare and precious, useful in many ways. I very much want to personally manage that mine.”

“You might be disappointed, Third Prince. Qian Dalong threw down his tools and left; Master Juewang seems to know nothing about mining.”

“Instead, I led a group of miners who have been slogging away and we’ve nearly finished opening the mine. Daily production has already reached a little over two taels.”

“We’re not far from the standard of one hundred taels per month for officially operating a mine.”

Yang Ling cupped his fist and said, “The Fourth Prince and Eunuch Xu are quite pleased.”

The smile on the Third Prince’s face slowly faded as he looked at Yang Ling in silence.

As an intelligent man, he naturally understood the meaning behind Yang Ling’s words.

Qian Dalong’s face turned ashen as he stared daggers at Yang Ling.

If he had known production could reach over two taels so quickly, he would never have quit!

Who would have thought this impossible task was nearly solved by someone else?

And there were still three to four full months left before His Majesty’s deadline!