Chapter 5

“Indeed, they need proper polishing.” Master Hongmei nodded in deep agreement.

For some reason, Yu’an always felt the eyes beneath Master Hongmei’s red eyebrows were fixed on him, and he instinctively shrank his head.

He was at least a Qi Refining cultivator with cultivation base to his name; the swelling from his uncle’s ten consecutive slaps to his pig-brain had mostly subsided by yesterday.

But when he hunched his shoulders, his short stature made him look downright shabby in Master Hongmei’s eyes.

Looking from Yulou to Yu’an, Master Hongmei sighed inwardly.

Brothers of the same clan, both dual-spirit-rooted—how could the gap between people be so vast?

Fine, consider him a bonus.

“I’ve drunk your tea and accepted your tuition. As your master, I ought to give you a Baishili .”

Saying this, Master Hongmei reached into his storage pouch.

“Master Hongmei, no need—you’re too kind! Our two boys genuinely seek you as master; the tuition is only proper, no Baishili needed!”

“Genuinely Seeking a Master”

“Paying Tuition Is Proper for Baishi ”

Seeing Master Hongmei about to pull out gold coins, Wang Rong hurriedly added:

“Go all out!”

Master Zhong, we paid our tuition top-notch—don’t be stingy!

We’re all respectable people, aren’t we?

Zhong Tianshuo’s face froze slightly; his hand inside the storage pouch shifted from reaching for a low-grade magic treasure to reaching for a mid-grade one.

Old Wang, you’re a real dog!

Might as well feed it to the dog!

The Wang clan is powerful, I’ve taken plenty of spirit stones, the tuition was generous—giving a mid-grade magic treasure... might as well call it even.

After all, these two lads are my disciples now.

Thus, a strange scene appeared in the Hall of Huafeng.

All the cultivators glanced at Master Hongmei, curious what this ultra-budget, junior version of Duobao Dao Ren would give his disciples as a Baishili .

Over here, Master Hongmei’s big hand rummaged, rummaged, rummaged inside the storage pouch.

As he rummaged, Master Hongmei weighed his options.

Hmm, this sword is too expensive—giving it to either of them would be a waste.

This Mountain-Stabilizing Stone still has potential for further refining its seals... I can’t bear to part with it.

After a long while, Master Hongmei finally smiled and pulled out a jet-black pearl from his storage pouch.

The pearl was the size of a chicken egg, entirely black, unremarkable in appearance, seemingly not a powerful magic treasure.

Holding up the jet-black pearl, Zhong Tianshuo’s cheeks quivered as he smiled and explained:

“Yulou, you’re a water-fire dual-spirit-root—hmm...

This mid-grade Ink Jade Oil Pearl suits you perfectly. It’s not a weapon for dominating in battle, but it will serve you until late Qi Refining.

Crafted from a complete ninth-rank Ink Jade, it can hold up to thirteen seals. If you advance in your Dao, you can refine it into a top-tier mid-grade magic treasure.

I’ve already implanted nine seals—it can hold nine hundred jin of fire oil, perfectly matching your water-fire nature, amplifying spell power when used in tandem.

But never use it against sharp or sturdy magic treasures—even a low-grade sword with five or six seals can damage it.”

A mid-grade magic treasure with nine seals!

Even if it’s only mid-grade entry-level and poor in combat, it’s still mid-grade!

Wang Rongyuan, a high-grade Qi Refining cultivator of the Foundation Establishment Wang clan, currently wields a magic treasure with at most twenty-one seals—he’s the Wang clan’s Transmission Hall elder, a top-tier Qi Refining combat expert!

Magic treasures are scarce for two key reasons: combat wear and tear and difficult crafting.

Forget combat wear and tear—just the difficulty of crafting alone drives countless cultivators to obsess over acquiring a single mid-grade magic treasure!

Spirit-material refining has failure rates, and the sealing techniques of magic treasures are each alchemist’s or sect’s deepest secret.

The Wang clan spent a fortune sending their two most gifted Di sons to Master Hongmei precisely because he masters fire-method Jin Shi refining seals.

Wu Jinyan and Tang Nianqiu nearby were drooling.

Is this the Hao of a top Qi Refining alchemist?

Master Zhong, can we still re-enroll and become your disciples?

Giving a mid-grade magic treasure as a Baishili —Zhong Tianshuo’s generosity instantly stunned Wu’s family head, himself a Qi Refining cultivator.

A mid-grade magic treasure with nine seals costs at least two hundred spirit stones.

It’s that expensive!

No good—we must renegotiate the price of Jin Shi and spirit materials we supply to Huafeng!

“Thank you, Master, for this treasure—I shall never forget your teachings!”

Yulou raised both hands, eagerly accepting the Ink Jade Oil Pearl bestowed by Master Hongmei.

Beyond seal count, grade, and material quality, another crucial factor in magic treasure worth is compatibility.

As a water-fire dual-spirit-root, Wang Yulou’s cultivated spiritual energy will inevitably be water-fire aligned.

This Ink Jade Oil Pearl, made of Ink Jade, can store fire oil to aid in battle—fire oil is inherently water-based, yet ignites into fire.

Perfect!

Moreover, the upper limit of thirteen seals still has four unimplanted—if four more are added, the Ink Jade Oil Pearl’s power will grow even greater!

Yulou got his treasure; now it was Yu’an’s turn. The boy stared expectantly at his cheap master.

But... Master Hongmei’s gaze toward him was complicated.

You got your face slapped yesterday for a reason.

How many times have you glanced at my daughter since entering Huafeng?

Are you polite?

He was inwardly annoyed, but with many friends and peers present, and the Baishi ceremony proceeding with dignity, he couldn’t lash out.

So he rummaged in his storage pouch, finally pulling out a special defensive treasure.

Amidst the crowd’s puzzled stares, Master Hongmei held up the special defensive treasure and explained:

“Yu’an, you’re a metal-earth dual-spirit-root. I have few mid-grade magic treasures suited to metal-earth.

This shell of a Golden-Horn Mud Turtle is a rare spirit-material with both metal and bone properties, naturally very hard—ordinary low-grade magic treasures can’t break it.

I gave it a simple refinement—it currently has three seals, a low-grade magic treasure, but its upper limit can reach fifteen seals—then it’ll surpass Yulou’s Ink Jade Oil Pearl.

Here, take it. With this, even if you face enemies, you’ll be safe.”

Master Hongmei: You’ll eventually crash and burn over romance—I’m doing you a favor!

When they attack you, you can summon this shell, hide inside, and defend—wouldn’t that be lovely?

Yu’an took the shell from Master Hongmei, bewildered.

“Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!”

Why did Yulou get a mid-grade magic treasure and I got a low-grade one...

Yu’an was hurt, but didn’t know why.

Yulou nearby almost laughed.

True, this defensive treasure was rare, and Master Hongmei was generous—but...

Golden-Horn Mud Turtle—Squirtle.

Hard to keep a straight face.

Yu’an, you’ve probably already had it in this lifetime.

“Good. Master Hongmei has gained fine disciples, Yulou and Yu’an have found worthy masters. Now, the third bow—the Baishili ...”

Tang Nianqiu was about to cry “ Baishilibi ,” when an unexpected intruder burst into Huafeng.

“Bang!”

The outer array of Huafeng only alerted—it didn’t block entry.

The visitor didn’t knock—he kicked the door open!

He wore the red robe of an outer-disciple of the Red Lantern Sect, wore a magic treasure instead of a crown, and carried a mid-grade magic treasure-level Spirit-Sealing Rope around his waist—looking mighty indeed.

His triangular eyes swept the hall, lingered for a moment on Wang Rongyuan, as if surprised, yet still spoke arrogantly:

“Oh? Old Tang is here too? Perfect—spares me a trip to Zhiwei Fang!”