Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 137 – Spotlight of One

Compared with that, the minor internal changes occurring within Sea Spirit Pavilion weren’t able to arouse any interest. For instance, the two high level sea spirit teachers that had been forced out of the seventh floor. Although they vehemently objected initially, after entering Chief Manager Wu’s office, both of them suddenly quieted down and then publicly vowed to continue their work in earnest.

In the words of Chief Manager Wu, if any one of them could earn 10 million spirit stones at once, then they too would be given this treatment. No matter how thick their skin was, they still couldn’t stand up against such an attack!

From then on, Sea Spirit Pavilion’s seventh floor gained a new and distinctive feature – Mister Ning. When sea spirit teachers looked at him, their gazes were filled with awe and respect.

At this time, Mister Ning’s workroom was empty and the fragrance of fresh tea was overflowing from the table. Chief Manager Wu smiled and laid down a storage shell. “This is just a minor token of appreciation on my part, I ask that mister accept it.”

Clearwood’s expression was calm, as if there had never been anything that irritated her before.

Qin Yu didn’t refuse. He probed it with his divine sense. Even though he knew Sea Spirit Pavilion had earned a ridiculous amount, he was still shocked by what he saw inside. He hesitated for several breaths of time and then said, “Chief manager is quite generous.”

Chief Manager Wu’s smile widened. After the previous matter, he now fully believed in the incident of the Skyspirit Sage. He sent a report to headquarters while simultaneously making a big decision to try and have Qin Yu stay. Since he made that decision, he certainly had to show just how much he valued Qin Yu.

Spirit stones…6 million!

With the 13 sea spirits, the Supreme Book had been signed for each of them. There was a total advance payment 1.3 million spirit stones, and if they were fully cured and treated within three days, there would be an additional payment made of 20 times the original advance, for a total of another 26 million. All in all, there was a gain of 27.3 million, and of that amount, 20% had been handed over to Qin Yu as a gift. To try and win someone over with such a heavy hand, even Clearwood had been shaken.

But, it was clear that she hadn’t objected.

“This is what mister earned and deserves. After all, if you had failed, you would have to follow me in running away.” The rarely humorous Chief Manager Wu joked. He stood up and cupped his hands together. “I would like to thank mister again for joining me in taking on such a great and dangerous endeavor. In the future, I’m sure that mister will hold the seat of honor within Sea Spirit Pavilion.”

Qin Yu sighed inwardly. Chief Manger Wu indeed knew how to win over others. To gift someone 6 million spirit stones, how could anyone not be moved. Unfortunately, he himself was only a fake member of the sea race and he was destined to not stay too long at Sea Spirit Pavilion, so he could only say that the chief manager’s efforts were doomed to fail.

Qin Yu nodded, not saying too much about it. He placed the storage shell back down and said, “Recently, there’s been a hindrance to my cultivation and I need some treasures that can strengthen the soul. I’ll have to bother chief manager with helping me complete the exchange. Moreover, if possible, instead of receiving this as payment in the future, it would be best if I could be paid with such treasures first.”

Chief Manager Wu quietly praised Qin Yu’s calm demeanor; he was truly worthy of being the lineage of the Skyspirit Sage! Even the gift he had carefully prepared hadn’t been able to move him. But, he didn’t worry because there would definitely be more chances in the future. As for treasures to strengthen the soul, all sea spirit teachers had high requirements in terms of the soul, so he didn’t suspect anything about this request at all. He took back the storage shell and smiled, “No problem. My Sea Spirit Pavilion purchases all sorts of things that can strengthen the soul throughout the year. We will exchange them at the base price for mister.”

Clearwood suddenly spoke up. “Mister Ning, in view of your particular situation, Sea Spirit Pavilion has produced a special edition of the Supreme Book. The lower amount that it can be signed at is at 100,000, and the earnings received will be split equally with you. Moreover, if there is an accident, you will only need to pay 30% of the losses. If mister is willing, then from today on, we can comprehensively offer this special edition Supreme Book to all 379 large cities within the sea region and to over 50 million customers.

“Of course, in order to ensure you can rest, we have set a maximum limit of 50 orders per month. Does mister have any objections?”

Qin Yu happily said, “As long as I can be paid in soul-strengthening treasures then I have no issues with it.”

Chief Manager Wu smiled and deep ambitions and dreams burst free in his heart. Perhaps he would be able to lead the capital city branch division to unimaginable heights.

“That’s right. It should be clear just who won the bet between me and the six other grandmasters. Is it about time they paid up?”

Chief Manager Wu’s smile stiffened. “3.5 million spirit stones is not a small amount. The several Grandmasters will need some time to raise that much. How about…”

Qin Yu interrupted, “It’s fine as long as they fulfill their debt. Then, I’ll have to ask chief manager to take care of this matter.”

Chief Manager Wu bitterly smiled. He knew that this fellow wouldn’t be gracious and forgive their debts. He could only mourn silently for the six grandmasters. Like this, everything they earned throughout the years with their blood and sweat would disappear. In particular, Grandmaster Goldrune. Chief Manager Wu prayed that he wouldn’t have to live out the rest of his life in debt.

…

As soon as Sea Spirit Pavilion’s special edition Supreme Book was released, it stirred up an immense wave within the world of sea spirits. The eyes of countless practitioners popped open. A minimum of 100,000 and a compensation rate twenty times over…this caused every one of them to waver. Even the top ten most respected Purple Card sea spirit teachers wouldn’t necessarily sign such an agreement. Had the capital city’s Sea Spirit Pavilion branch division gone insane? Or was there something they could rely on?

There were those who knew the truth, for instance, the higher ups of Bluesky Tower and Earthfault Spire who had closed down their business for restructuring. Right now, as they looked at Sea Spirit Pavilion their eyes were burning hot. If it wasn’t for Sea Spirit Pavilion’s deep background as well as the fact that they were an independently operated business, then they would have immediately brandished their spirit stone cards and recklessly bought up as many shares of Sea Spirit Pavilion that they could.

And soon, the special edition Supreme Book had its first customer – the mother of the royal palace’s chief guard captain.

She held a venerated status and was once said to have been the wet nurse of His Majesty. She was a respected old lady who had a reputation within the sea spirit world, and this was because she possessed a 3000 year old small-leaf wisteria. This sort of treasure gathered spiritual energy and grew increasingly strong with every year. It could create a tide of spiritual strength from thin air and it was greatly beneficial to one’s cultivation. The best evidence of this was the several outstanding descendants that had been produced from the household of the chief guard captain.

Once, someone had put forth an offer of 10 million spirit stones but their offer had been rejected without any hesitation. One could see just how precious it was! However, around ten years ago, the small-leaf wisteria seemed to have encountered some troubles. Ever since then, it had been seen coming in and out of various sea spirit institutions, but its situation still hadn’t been brought under control.

It was unknown whether she placed too many hopes within the small-leaf wisteria or whether it was because she was ruthless enough to want to use it to make a last bit of money, but after Sea Spirit Pavilion had determined that they would take this business transaction, the old lady put down an advance payment of a million spirit stones, with an insurance policy of 20 million if Sea Spirit Pavilion failed.

Perhaps it was because someone was secretly fanning the flames in the shadows, but in an extremely short period of time, news of this spread throughout the entire capital city. Countless eyes started to converge upon Sea Spirit Pavilion. All of them wanted to know what the final result would be, and whether Sea Spirit Pavilion would fly up into the skies or come crashing down to the ground!

Five days later, the small-leaf wisteria was returned to its owner. Everything proceeded in secret and no one knew the exact details of the situation. However, servants within the chief guard captain’s manor said that the thin spiritual tides of the small-leaf wisteria had been restored to their peak, and it was even several degrees stronger than it had been previously. Afterwards, the chief guard captain personally visited to express his gratitude to Chief Manager Wu. News of the generous gifts caused an absolute explosion in the situation.

The second Supreme Book special edition, the third, the fourth…in a mere three days, the 50 order monthly limit had been reached. With numerous difficult and stubborn illnesses being cured one after another, Sea Spirit Pavilion’s Mister Ning broke into the world of sea spirit teachers, with no one able to share the spotlight with him for some time.

No one could estimate how many spirit stones Sea Spirit Pavilion earned in this feeding frenzy, but from Chief Manager Wu’s wide smile and his two shiny canines, one could imagine how astonishing those profits must have been. And, half of this terrifying profit was exchanged for soul strengthening treasures that were continuously being sent to the tightly shut workroom on the seventh floor.

The night was dark. Leon sat at a work table, carefully processing a coral in nutrient fluid. After a long time, he straightened up and looked at the coral that was slowly regaining its vitality. He stretched his arms and smiled. If he had never treated a sea spirit by himself, then even he would never know that he possessed such a formidable talent. Perhaps it wouldn’t be much longer before he could apply to the middle level sea spirit teacher examination.

He turned around and glanced at the tightly closed workroom door, his face full of admiration. His teacher hadn’t emerged for over a month, and the spiritual plants that had been treated were all sent out through a small array formation. Even his powerful teacher was diligently working inside, so what reasons did he have to slack off?

Leon rubbed his eyes and shook off the weariness. He took out an ancient shell manuscript and probed it with his divine sense. Although his teacher hadn’t actually taught him anything, he had opened up the authority of a high level sea spirit teacher to him, allowing him to freely peruse through the ancient texts of Sea Spirit Pavilion and learn as much as he wanted. To Leon, this was an unimaginable stroke of luck, and when he had unwittingly revealed this to others, their looks of jealousy were sharp enough to kill.

There was also Lyon. He was already a handsome young fellow with a gentle grace and demeanor and he was currently learning to adapt to his human form. Under many envious eyes, they moved away from that small and cramped courtyard, and from that day on, his mother’s sickness miraculously began to improve. She was now undergoing the best treatment possible, and perhaps it wouldn’t be too long before she was fully healed.

And all of this was granted to him by his teacher.

Sometimes, Leon would quietly look up and thank the heavens that such a person had appeared in his life. Not only had his destiny changed, allowing him to pursue his dreams, but he was also given the chance to chase after the person he loved. Qinqing frequently met up with him but Madame Qing hadn’t appeared again nor had any mysterious strangers tried to stop him on the road from work for a little chat. Could the explanation for this be because Madame Qing had tacitly, or at least temporarily, agreed to their relationship?

Leon didn’t know what was happening. He could only try his best to improve himself and try to keep this dream-like illusion forever in his arms.

Within the workroom, Qin Yu was sitting cross-legged, absorbing a blue amber-like treasure in his hand. Faint traces of pale golden energy slowly seeped through his orifices and fused into his soul. He felt as if he were immersed in a hot spring as he slowly grew stronger at a steady speed.

Below his feet, above his head, and all around him, there were signs of the solid array formations built into the workroom. And above them, there were also the signs of a slightly messy array formation spinning.

On a work table not far away, the little blue lamp hung in midair. A foot of sea blue light bloomed from it, covering three sea spirits as well as the Soul Mushroom.

Refining the five-element spiritual objects allowed Qin Yu to realize just how necessary a powerful soul force was, and during this time as he was constantly refining these treasures and increasing his soul force, he also began to realize the advantages of a formidable soul. His senses became sharper and he was able to control his magic power with more fluid ease. It was as if he could thoroughly sense every inch of his mortal body.

Although there wasn’t any overall change to his strength, if the current Qin Yu were to explode with all his power, he would be over 10% stronger than before! One couldn’t underestimate this 10% either. If it were layered atop Qin Yu’s ninth level Golden Core cultivation as well as the physical strength of the Demon Body, this could be called an astonishing increase.

The use of the Soul Mushroom was made clear a long time ago. Qin Yu hoped it would soon mature and reach the level of a Partner Soul.

Kacha –

With a faint sound, Qin Yu absorbed the last several faint strands of pale golden energy. He opened his eyes and looked at the fragments in his hand, a helpless expression growing on his features.