Chapter 416: with translation of chapter title

416. Chapter 416: Treasure Stirs the Heart

Just as Jiang Cheng was telling his family the whole story, the neighboring room.

"Leader, back when we were in the Inner City District, did you really take out a Seven-grade Treasure from that Gu family kid?" Qin Lao asked impatiently.

He had kept this question bottled up for a long time, but while on the road it was inconvenient to ask.

The woman beside him remained silent, yet a hint of curiosity shone in her beautiful eyes.

Seven-grade Treasures are for Supreme-level Strongmen; even in our base there are only a handful, most of them severely damaged.

To put it plainly, even if a flawless Seven-grade Treasure were set before her, she might not necessarily recognize it.

Chu Feng revealed a faint smile.

Extending his hand, he produced a blue bead the size of a ping-pong ball, somewhat translucent; even more astonishing, the blue within was not still but flowed like mist, up and down, left and right.

"Really beautiful."

The woman's eyes widened as she involuntarily exclaimed.

Qin Lao swallowed and said, "Is this... this a Seven-grade Treasure?"

"Not bad."

Chu Feng explained: "My master once told me that the Gu family has a bead-like Seven-grade Treasure called the Calming Spirit Pearl; wearing it brings peace of mind and steadies the spirit, capable of resisting mental attacks."

"I see."

The woman nodded.

"However, many treasures can resist mental attacks; just this alone doesn't make it particularly rare."

"Leader, what you mean is, does this Calming Spirit Pearl have other uses?"

Qin Lao couldn't believe it.

By definition, a Seven-grade Treasure is one that can withstand attacks from a Supreme-level Strongman; the same holds for mental types.

So, being able to block a Supreme-level Strongman's mental attack isn't enough?

"Hehe."

Chu Feng chuckled: "Of course, its main purpose is to aid cultivation; when you attempt to break through an acupoint and fail, don't you feel indignant, and the more failures, the more indignant you become?"

"That's true."

The two exchanged a glance, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about; it's only human."

Chu Feng shook his head: "Even when you succeed, it can breed arrogance and complacency; either way, it affects your next attempt to break through an acupoint, possibly leading to deviation and injury, whereas this Calming Spirit Pearl will remind you when your emotions start to lose control; in the long run, it greatly increases the chance of breaking through the acupoint."

As his words fell, Qin Lao and the woman's breathing grew hurried.

Ordinary people, when their emotions run out of control, will silently recite some mnemonics to calm themselves.

But this method isn't foolproof; sometimes it backfires, and most of the time people only realize their emotions have run out of control after the fact.

And this Calming Spirit Pearl can give an automatic reminder? "Leader, leader," upon thinking this, Qin Lao's voice stammered, "This is a Seven-grade Treasure; doesn't that mean it can also increase the success rate of a Supreme breaking through the acupoint?"

"Not bad."

Chu Feng nodded.

"Leader, you've been stuck at the last few acupoints for a while; with this Calming Spirit Pearl..." the woman's voice grew excited.

"Exactly, Leader!" Qin Lao also trembled with excitement, "With its help, couldn't you shorten the time needed to break through to Supreme by quite a bit?"

"Mm."

"Great!"

Qin Lao slapped his thigh: "Everyone in our base hopes you'll break through to Supreme soon!" Chu Feng, however, laughed and shook his head.

"It's not as simple as you think."

"Huh?"

Hearing this, the two were stunned.

"Leader, you just said this treasure can indeed help you save a lot of time; why are you now saying it's not that simple? Could there be some restrictions on using this treasure?"

"Does this have a mental seal left by the Gu family?" the woman also asked.

"The seal naturally exists, but the seal is inanimate while we are alive; even I could undo it in a few days, and even if it were harder, I could take it back to my master to have him undo it."

Chu Feng glanced at the bead in his hand and said, "What I mean by not simple is, this treasure might not necessarily belong to us."

"It might not belong to us?"

Qin Lao and the woman exchanged a glance.

Soon they realized.

"Leader, are you referring to Little Brother Jiang?" Qin Lao frowned slightly, "Yeah, we only got this pearl thanks to Little Brother Jiang, who brought that Gu family kid out; otherwise we'd hardly have gotten this. You promised him back then that from the few treasures obtained from the Gu family kid, he could pick first; if we now go back on our word, that would indeed be bad."

"Special circumstances call for special treatment."

The woman pondered and said, "This Seven-grade Treasure is of great importance to us; we can explain to him that aside from this Seven-grade Treasure, the other several items are all his to choose from, since he is only a First-level Grandmaster and doesn't yet need something like this."

"That's what we say, but in fact we're still going back on our word." Qin Lao found himself in a dilemma.

"Qin Lao, those who achieve great things don't fuss over minor details." The woman said, "At worst we'll compensate him with another piece, letting him pick two from the upcoming treasures."

Qin Lao gave a bitter smile.

Even if he picks two Six-grade treasures, what then?

Don't think that Six-grade and Seven-grade differ by just one character; their prices differ at least tenfold.

As long as one isn't a fool, everyone knows how to choose.

Moreover, the reason Jiang Cheng left the Inner City District and defected to them was mainly because Gu Zhanglin went back on his word.

They seemed to give Jiang Cheng more options, but essentially, isn't that still going back on one's word?

Now that the two sides have just made contact, leaving such an impression on each other may be planting the seeds of future disaster.

But it cannot be denied, giving the Calming Spirit Pearl to the leader is what maximizes benefits.

"Xinlian."

Chu Feng shook his head, "I know your good intentions, but when speaking and acting, one must keep one's word. Since we initially agreed to let him pick first, we should let him pick first later, rather than first taking out the Calming Spirit Pearl and letting him pick among the next few treasures."

"But, Leader," Shen Xinlian anxiously said, "What if he chooses the Calming Spirit Pearl?"

"Then we can only give the Calming Spirit Pearl to him." Chu Feng shrugged.

"Leader!"

Shen Xinlian was so anxious she couldn't stand it; suddenly she thought of something and said, "In that case, don't tell him about the treasure's other function; just tell him it can block spiritual-type attacks. That way, he won't think too much."

Qin Lao's eyes lit up a little upon hearing that.

If that's the case, it seems acceptable; it wouldn't be considered breaking a promise.

Because speaking half the truth isn't considered lying.

(End of chapter)