Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 142 – Oversleep

The old turtle staff member immediately paled and more sweat streamed down his face. “Chief Manager Wu, this is a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding. This is our responsibility and we must clearly investigate the incident.”

“You do need to investigate. You need to find out just what sort of person would actually have the gall to recklessly attack my Sea Spirit Pavilion’s chief sea spirit teacher in plain public sight. Mister Goodra, you need to open your eyes wide and remember just what day it is today. Not only is this a provocation against Sea Spirit Pavilion but this action in itself is the greatest affront to the sea spirits!” Chief Manager Wu scowled. Then, he turned and eyed Qin Yu. “Mister Ning, you only have a day to treat this sea spirit, so please don’t delay yourself any further. Allow me to handle this matter.”

Staff member Goodra wanted to say something but was immediately sent scurrying back by a series of loud and angry shouts. “Let’s go! I want to find the other committee staff members and ask them to take responsibility for this!”

The pitiful staff member Goodra was dragged away by Chief Manager Wu. He staggered along, and even when he tried to dispute anything he was immediately crushed into pieces by another series of shouts.

20 coral houses were prepared for the sea spirit teachers who had managed to seize one of the trays. Their entrances were guarded by staff members, and as they saw Qin Yu walk over, they glanced at each other with helpless faces.

The icy eyes shining beneath the black robes made their decision for them. The two sea race members drew back in shock, making sure that their heads were lowered. Although they were paid a high wage, it wasn’t enough for them to risk their lives.

Qin Yu stepped in. With a flick of his sleeve, the door slammed shut, isolating all aura outside. This sort of coral house was carved from a giant coral base, and because of the unique material quality, it was excellent for array formations. It was able to block out any spying eyes and was specifically prepared to protect the privacy of these high level sea spirit teachers.

Old Sea had told him that these coral houses had been thoroughly inspected before they were brought out for use, so there shouldn’t be any problems with them. Still, Qin Yu carefully scanned it with his divine sense. After determining that there weren't any problems, he took out a black stone. This was a special stone called a Silence Stone by the sea races. It could completely block out all sound and senses within a range of 10 feet so that nothing would be leaked.

After finishing this, Qin Yu sat down. He casually laid down the round tray in his hands, took out some pills, swallowed them, and closed his eyes to cultivate.

That was right. The ruthless and brutal Qin Yu who had sequentially wasted two high level sea spirit teachers beneath the gazes of countless people was currently cultivating.

The reason was simple. It was currently daytime and the little blue lamp was sleeping…

At this time, the competition outside was raging on like an inferno. Sea spirits were taken away one after another, and as there were fewer and fewer trays, the competition became increasingly intense. Two hours later, over 20 sea spirit teachers had been forced to withdraw from the competition because they had suffered heavy soul injuries. The sea spirit teachers who managed to seize a tray were too busy to think of resting. They swallowed some pills that mostly served to suppress their injuries and then they vividly buried themselves in their work.

Chief Manager Wu was like a crane amongst chickens. He stood at the end of a round meeting table like a hero battling numerous rivals as he was engaged in a fierce argument with the competition committee members. Even so, he didn’t seem to be at any disadvantage at all. Still, the back of his robes was matted with sweat. Though he was sneering and cursing, it could be seen just how great a pressure he had to bear.

The sea spirit teacher competition committee represented an incredible strength, and even with his status it was straining for him to deal with them. Fortunately, it was fact that Qin Yu was acting in self-defense, so even if his methods were a bit violent, it could pass as a reasonable excuse.

In the fiery ruckus, soothing music suddenly rang out from Chief Manager Wu’s robes. He reached into his chest, pulling out a spirit shell and placing it near his ear. A look of respect immediately lit up his features.

In unison, the committee members that didn’t want to give up on this matter and wanted to make Qin Yu into an example, suddenly lowered their voices. With Chief Manager Wu’s status, if someone could make him have such an appearance, then it might only be that noble lady in Sega City who left the capital 70 years ago.

“Yes, I understand, I was just explaining the situation to the committee members. Yes, of course, please wait a moment.” Chief Manager Wu looked up. “Chairman Xu, my family’s mistress would like to speak with you.”

Chairman Xu’s eyebrows leapt up. He calmly received the spirit shell and then took several steps away. As he spoke with the most honored and noble lady in the sea region, his voice was quiet and low. There were some occasional chuckles and it was clear they were having a good talk.

After a moment, the conversation ended and he passed back the spirit shell. Chairman Xu returned to his seat and said, “Everyone, we are currently in the finals and in order to guarantee that the competition remains fair, how about we temporarily put this matter to the side and discuss the investigation again once everything has ended?”

Many committee members cursed inwardly. Once the competition ended the committee would also disband, so how could there be an investigation? They glanced at each other with helpless looks. And just as they expected, soon afterwards a number of neutral committee members expressed their support for Chairman Xu. The ones who had previously spoken against Qin Yu fell silent.

Seeing that nothing could be done, several committee members grimaced and lowered their heads, not saying a word.

Chief Manager Wu silently praised his mistress in his heart. Although she hadn’t been in the capital city for many years, her prestige and fame still remained. With a mere spirit shell call, the entire situation had turned around. He cupped his hands together and coldly bid his farewells. His face darkened and he barked out orders, causing some Sea Spirit Pavilion cultivators to hurry away.

Even his mistress had been alarmed and had no choice but to intervene herself. It seemed that the one who planned all of this was a considerably strong character. If so, then it was obvious that their goal was a Purple Card sea spirit teacher. Only such a great harvest could drive such a powerful character to become enemies with Sea Spirit Pavilion.

He looked towards the coral house that Qin Yu was in and took a deep breath. Right now, he could only place all his hopes in Mister Ning. If he won, then this matter could be slowly investigated. But if he failed and Old Sea lost his position, that would set off a cascade reaction that would truly make things troublesome.

Time slowly passed. The first sea spirit teacher to cure their sea spirit emerged from their coral house after nearly six hours, taking away the first spot to enter the next round.

Afterwards, every now and then, another sea spirit teacher would appear. If they came out early, that meant they already succeeded. As for the others, they were still hard at work.

Qin Yu wasn’t amongst these people.

Not only did this shock Chief Manager Wu, but it even went beyond the expectations of most people.

The special edition Supreme Book had caused Grandmaster Ning’s reputation to reach far and wide. There were even those fans of his who said that he was the number one sea spirit teacher beneath the Purple Cards.

But now, six of the 20 available spots had been taken and the so-called number one beneath the Purple Cards had yet to make his appearance. It seemed he had encountered some problems during the treatment, or perhaps...during his fight where he crippled the two high level sea spirit teachers, he had been injured in the battle.

There were more people inclined to believe the latter reasoning.

After all, killing two sea pigs would require a considerable effort, much less two high level sea spirit teachers with formidable souls. Amongst the humans, there was an old saying that striking the enemy 1000 times would make one suffer 800 times also. It seemed there was some truth behind this.

Chief Manager Wu’s complexion darkened. The temperature around him began to chill, so cold that ice seemed to form around his body. The entire group from Sea Spirit Pavilion quieted down.

Qingqing watched anxiously. While she tried not to overthink the situation, she knew the relationship between Grandmister Ning and Leon, and knew that Leon would rise or fall with his teacher. If Grandmaster Ning became a Purple Card then her mother wouldn’t meddle in her relationship with Leon, and in fact would actively encourage her. But if this didn’t happen, the opposite might occur. While she was young and na?ve, that didn’t mean she was stupid; she was well aware of the consequences.

Her eyes swerved to the side…

Leon was actually completely relaxed!

Having known him for so long there was no way she would be wrong. Right now he was daydreaming, and a very deep dream at that. His eyes were glossed over and his mouth hung open a little, occasionally moving as he spoke to himself.

Qingqing instantly sucked in a deep breath. She lifted her leg and mercilessly stamped down on his foot!

Leon leapt up into the air, howling as he grabbed his foot. He looked completely aggrieved. He had no idea how he had offended this young lady that she had actually stamped his foot.

In the quiet environment, this shout was particularly clear and loud. Everyone from Sea Spirit Pavilion instantly looked over. As they saw a young man and woman seeming to have a little quarrel, they couldn’t help but twitch their lips.

Qingqing’s face flushed red. She lowered her head in embarrassment. Still, she couldn’t help but give Leon one ruthless glare, blaming this blockhead for causing her to lose face.

Chief Manager Wu had an ugly complexion. As Mister Ning’s disciple and at such a critical time, not only did he seem utterly indifferent but he even had the mindset to play around; it was just ridiculous. He wanted to speak up and scold the young man but he suddenly had a change of mind. He softened his voice and said, “Leon, Mister Ning still hasn’t come out. Aren’t you worried?”

Qingqing’s heart tightened. She looked up at him.

Leon had a blank look. He looked at a nearby coral as it turned murky blue and quietly said, “So it’s almost been a full day. No wonder I felt so tired…”

Qingqing clenched her teeth as she saw Chief Manager Wu’s ill expression. “If Mister Ning doesn’t come out soon, he will fail.”

Leon scratched his head. “It shouldn’t be like that. With teacher’s strength, it should be easy for him to deal with this competition.” He glanced towards the coral house. “Chief manager, how about sending someone to knock on the door? Perhaps teacher has overslept.”

Overslept…

Was this fellow really Mister Ning’s disciple!?

After not seeing him for a short period of time, when did he start to tease people!

Chief Manager Wu gnashed his teeth. As more time passed, he couldn’t help it anymore. He stamped his feet and moved towards the coral house. In any case, the time limit was almost up and even if Mister Ning was defeated, he still wanted to know what the problem had been.

The two staff guarding the entrance paled as they saw Chief Manager Wu approached. They hesitated, not daring to stop him. They had seen how Mister Goodra had been beaten up black and blue, and if this man had the guts to punch a committee member, there was no need to mention mere workers like themselves. And besides, to mess with this man was to mess with the entirety of Sea Spirit Pavilion; they decided to just follow him along.

Standing in front of the door, Chief Manager Wu took a deep breath. Then, he loudly knocked!

In truth, Qin Yu was quite famous right now. He was the most honored sea spirit teacher of Sea Spirit Pavilion’s capital city branch division, the person for which a special edition Supreme Book had been exclusively made, and even someone who possessed such a strong soul that he was able to demolish two high level sea spirit teachers in a contest of strength. Thus, more and more eyes turned his way as the time passed. Everyone wondered – how could such a fierce and tyrannical figure inexplicably lose like this?

As Chief Manager Wu knocked on the door, this curiosity had reached the peak. Almost the entire audience of people was watching him, waiting to see what happened next.

But there was no response. Could he have fainted?

Just as Chief Manager Wu lifted his hand to knock once more, there was a light swishing sound as the coral door opened from within. A black-robed figure appeared. He stretched his waist, seeming to yawn. “Chief manager, what a coincidence; you knocked at almost the exact time that I set my alarm for.” As Qin Yu spoke, he lifted a shell in his hand, one that was called a Time Shell.

This sort of shell formed a natural alarm clock after pouring a bit of magic power within. Once it used up its magic power, it would emit a loud sound. One could control the time delay through the amount of magic power they inserted.

At this time, everyone watching was left completely dazed.

Even someone as smart and calm as Chief Manager Wu dropped his jaw. He stuttered, “Mister Ning, you…you were really sleeping…”