Chapter 292 – Reward
The maid was stunned for a moment. She had been ordered to request that the Vermillion Bird Saintess come to the Seven Profound Valleys herself?
She hesitated and then replied, “My Lady, Her Highness the Saintess has recently gone into seclusion to complete the evolution of her life’s Vermillion Bird. It wouldn’t be appropriate to disturb her…”
“It’s already been one month. Little Flame’s evolution should almost be complete. There is much at stake concerning this matter about Lin Ming, it’s best if the Young Mistress personally comes here.”
“Yes, My Lady…” The two maids that Mu Qinghong had brought along nodded, and then walked away as they prepared to send a long distance sound transmission. There was no need to hide this matter from the Seven Profound Valleys.
s.h.i.+ Zongtian saw the two maids leave and his heart suddenly left as well. Since these two maids left now, he would be an idiot if he didn’t know that they were going to report the situation of this Martial Meeting. If those old elders at Divine Phoenix Island obtained this news, then wouldn’t they immediately try poaching?
s.h.i.+ Zongtian thought for a moment. He thought that if his position was switched, and he was an elder of Divine Phoenix Island, then there was no way that he would let off such a talent.
A fourth-grade sect had a much greater advantage in recruiting talent than a third-grade sect did. This was also one of the reasons why they could constantly suppress third-grade sects beneath them. The strong became stronger, and the weak became weaker.
Lin Ming couldn’t truly be considered a disciple of the Seven Profound Valleys. He wasn’t like Jiang Baoyun, who had grown up as a child in the Seven Profound Valleys and had his foundation within the Seven Profound Valleys, making it impossible for him to leave.
Thinking this, s.h.i.+ Zongtian’s expression became increasingly ugly. His Seven Profound Valleys just had too great a difference in strength with Divine Phoenix Island. If they truly tried to publically poach Lin Ming, s.h.i.+ Zongtian would only be able to swallow this grievance. Divine Phoenix Island might end up with a reputation for bullying those beneath them, but besides that, there was nothing else to lose.
What should he do…
s.h.i.+ Zongtian couldn’t sit still.
In the worst case situation, he would only be able to draw back and form a good relations.h.i.+p with Lin Ming, while asking for Divine Phoenix Island to compensate them. Divine Phoenix Island could be considered the leader of the many other third-grade sects around here. If they did something so wicked and petty and didn’t give any compensation, then they wouldn’t be able to justify their actions.
“Valley Master… should we send the rewards?”
The elder responsible for the tournament sat in the Grand Hall. He saw s.h.i.+ Zongtian’s complicated expression, but didn’t know what he was worrying about. Therefore he asked the question of whether Lin Ming should receive the rewards. If Lin Ming took the rewards, but then switched to another sect, then they really would end up the fool.
“Send! Of course we must send! Naturally, we must keep our promise of a reward. Also, directly issue the Heaven Opening Pill to Lin Ming; there is no need to wait for him to reach peak Houtian.” s.h.i.+ Zongtian said, acting decisively.
“Ah?” The elder asked in a daze.
“Do as I say. Consider this as establis.h.i.+ng good relations with Lin Ming.”
Although a Heaven Opening Pill was rare and precious, the Seven Profound Valleys was still able to refine 20 or 30 every three years. It did hurt to give one out like this, but it was a manageable loss.
There was no need to short someone. If Lin Ming really did join Divine Phoenix Island, this matter of the reward not being given would eventually come up, and Lin Ming would inevitably have some disgust towards the Seven Profound Valleys because of it. s.h.i.+ Zongtian could see that Lin Ming’s heart of martial arts was similar to the Seven Profound Valleys’ Sword Faction’s. This sort of martial artist stayed true to their conscience and heart – they would never be ungrateful.
If the Seven Profound Valleys could stay on good terms with a peerless powerhouse with just a Heaven Opening Pill and an earth-step treasure, then this was absolutely worth it. Then again, if Divine Phoenix Island really wanted to poach Lin Ming, the compensation they would pay wouldn’t be small. A fourth-grade sect’s compensation would be at least 20 Heaven Opening Pills and a good amount of medium-grade true essence stones.
Thus this reward was no loss for the Seven Profound Valleys.
“Yes, Valley Master, I shall manage this.” The elder said as he excused himself.
“Martial House Master Qin, congratulations! Your Sky Fortune Kingdom truly showed off its greatness!”
“It is far more than greatness, it is earthshaking! An event that will go down in history!”
In the audience, several of the neighboring countries’ Martial House Masters were congratulation Qin Ziya. The words they spoke were beautiful and flattering, but in truth their hearts were green with envy.
Whoever attained first place in the Martial Meeting, their master would obtain a Heaven Opening Pill as a reward. As for who was Lin Ming’s master, it was naturally considered to be Qin Ziya.
This was a Heaven Opening Pill, of which only 20 or 30 were refined every three years! That meant that on average, there were less than 10 per year! Except for the direct disciples, second ranked disciples and also some disciples who had huge connections and favors, other disciples would rarely receive a Heaven Opening Pill. There were many disciples who had a great chance to break through to the Xiantian realm. However, they lacked a Heaven Opening Pill, and because of this reason they would simply pa.s.s away at the peak Houtian realm.
Qin Ziya wasn’t young. To him, the opportunity of receiving a second Heaven Opening Pill seemed to be getting slimmer every year. He never thought that he would actually stumble into such unexpected success!
Once he entered the Xiantian realm, he would instantly be promoted to an Outer Court elder. This status was much greater than being some Martial House Master of a small country!
Realizing that Qin Ziya would most likely become an Outer Court eder in the future, many people came up to flatter him.
Qin Ziya finally recovered his composure. He only felt as if he were in a dream. He smiled and said, “This is all because of Lin Ming’s heroic efforts, I’m only following his rising star.”
Qin Ziya had excellent vision and foresight. After seeing Lin Ming’s amazing talent, he decided to raise Lin Ming, and did not hesitate to put some treasures in Sky Fortune Kingdom’s Seven Profound Martial House’s treasury, and then motivate Lin Ming by promising further generous rewards.
At that time, Qin Ziya had only thought that Lin Ming would s.h.i.+ne brightly at this Total Faction Martial Meeting; he never even imagined he would reach the top 10. Afterwards, Lin Ming’s talent continued to grow, and Qin Ziya thought that during the next Total Faction Martial Meeting, Lin Ming might have a chance of becoming the champion.
At the same, even this idea was crazy for him. It had to be known that in all these years of the Total Faction Martial Meeting, there had never been a disciple of the 36 countries who had ranked first. There hadn’t even been one to reach the top five! If the Seven Profound Valleys’ disciples had known of Qin Ziya’s thoughts, then they might have died laughing.
However, Qin Ziya never imagined that he had underestimated Lin Ming’s potential by so much. The first time he went to the Total Faction Martial Meeting, he became the champion in a single attempt. Not only that, but his matches were against Mugu Buyu and Jiang Baoyun, two top talents that the Seven Profound Valleys hadn’t seen in hundreds of years.
At this time, Qin Ziya suddenly thought of something. He pushed his way through the crowd and found Huoluo Nation’s Martial House Master Liang.
Qin Ziya cupped his fists together and said with a smile, “Martial House Master Liang, since we already agreed about the matter of the Seraphic Pond, then you can set the date. I can help Lin Ming with the travel arrangements.”
If Martial House Master Liang had felt some begrudging resentment, now he no longer dared to. What kind of status did Lin Ming have now? In the future, if he had minor success, he might become a Deputy Valley Master. He might even become a Valley Master! Such a character was not someone that a Huoluo Nation Martial House Master could afford to offend.
He squeezed out an ugly smiled that looked as if he were crying and said, “Martial House Master Qin must be joking. When Little Brother Lin has free time he can come to my Huoluo Nation, I’ll be waiting for whenever he comes.”
In these few words, Martial House Master Liang couldn’t say much. He could only hold his tongue and lower his head in compensation to try and establish some good relations. Besides that, there was nothing else he could do.
300,000 miles south of the Seven Profound Valleys was the Southern Wilderness. The Southern Wilderness was 100,000 miles long and wide. A further 500,000 miles south was the South Sea. In the South Sea, there was an island that was like a haven of paradise. The mortals who lived on the sea called this haven the Immortal Island. This island was scenic, exquisite, and incomparably beautiful. This ethereal land seemed to be crafted from jade, and there were even some people that claimed to have seen a phoenix flying around this Immortal Island.
Many people searched for this Immortal Island, but it seemed nothing more than an elusive mirage. One could see it, but when one went look for it, they would never find it.
This Immortal Island was the home of the top fourth-grade sect, Divine Phoenix Island.
Whilst the Seven Profound territory had winter weather with snow all over, Divine Phoenix Island was actually in the most blissful spring, with trees and flowers blooming gloriously everywhere.
Mu Qianyu had just finished a month-long seclusion. With the blood of the Thunder Flood Dragon and some other rare and precious materials, she had been able to help her life’s Vermillion Bird to complete its evolution.
Now, Little Flame’s power had reached the late Xiantian realm. With its Saint Beast bloodline, it was now a powerful ally of Mu Qianyu.
At this moment, Mu Qianyu received the one million mile limit sound transmission of Mu Qinghong.
The sound transmission included the results of the Seven Profound Valleys’ Total Faction Martial Meeting from beginning to end, and even included Mu Qinghong’s final appraisal of Lin Ming.
Mu Qianyu’s beautiful face showed some surprise and consternation; she hadn’t thought that Mu Qinghong’s appraisal of Lin Ming would be so high.
“As long as he doesn’t fall in the future, he will become a Revolving Core master, and not only that, but a Revolving Core master whose combat power exceeds those at his level?”
Mu Qianyu inhaled a deep breath. This appraisal of Lin Ming’s talent was no less than her own!
“This little fellow, he really…” Mu Qianyu suddenly smiled. No matter what, Divine Phoenix Island would never let go of such a talent, especially now that they needed more personnel.
Thinking this, Mu Qianyu patted the Vermillion Bird’s head and said, “Little Flame, let’s take a trip to the Seven Profound Valleys.”
Little Flame had just completed its evolution, and had experienced a month-long period of pain. It was too lazy to move at this time. Hearing Mu Qianyu’s words, it rolled its large eyes and gave a few shrill chirps.
Mu Qianyu smiled and said, “You lazy bird, it’s only one million miles, and 800,000 miles will be through a transmission array. You just need to travel a tiny 200,000 miles.”
As soon as Little Flame heard that it had to fly 200,000 miles, it immediately began to issue out miserable moans and wails, whining over and over again. It had to obey Mu Qianyu, so it reluctantly stood up in a very forced appearance.
Mu Qianyu thought this was quite funny. Then she suddenly remembered, “Do you remember that barbeque you ate two months ago? We are going to see the barbecue boy, later, he will let you eat your fill.”
Although Little Flame had completed its evolution, it was still a very young and immature Vermillion Bird, just like a child. And just like a child, eating food was its most beloved pursuit. Listening to Mu Qianyu say this, Little Flame’s eyes immediately began to s.h.i.+ne, and it fluttered its wings, impatiently ready for Mu Qianyu to embark.
Mu Qianyu didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. This silly lazy bird ate all sorts of spirit bamboo and fruits every day. If just a bit of that was converted to barbecue, it could probably fill up the entire Divine Phoenix Island.
The following morning, Seven Profound Valleys –
“Mm? They are going to send me the Heaven Opening Pill and earth-step treasure now?” When Lin Ming heard the transmission message from the Seven Profound Valleys’ deacon, he was very surprised. These two items were the prize for coming in first at the Total Faction Marital Meeting. The rules had stated he would have to reach the peak Houtian realm before he could obtain the Heaven Opening Pill. He hadn’t thought that they would send it to him now. With such a great medicine like the Heaven Opening Pill, Lin Ming might even be able to attack the Tempering Marrow boundary!
Within the ‘Chaotic Virtues Combat Meridians’, there was also two additional stages above the Pulse Condensation period, the Eight Inner Hidden Gates and the Nine Stars of the Dao Palace. As Lin Ming imagined these, his heart rate began to speed up.
“Mm, yes, Junior-apprentice Brother Lin may follow me to the Seven Profound Valleys’ treasure pavilion and choose any earth-step treasure there you like. The Warden Elder is already awaiting you.” The messenger deacon respectfully said.