Ouyang Qing’s remark that she “happens to lack a top-grade medicinal cauldron” felt like a pillow tossed to a drowsy man, striking right at the heart of Su Yi’s thoughts!
He had originally planned to use this opportunity to make up for the growth-type magical artifact meant for Tantai Yunzhi in the original plot. With Elder Ouyang bringing it up himself, it made things flow all the more naturally—it couldn’t be better.
Without further hesitation, he flipped his palm. A quaint, dark-gold token engraved with the characters “Divine Might” on the front and an embossed miniature sword on the back appeared in his hand.
“Is this... the manor treasury’s ‘Golden Token’?!” Ouyang Qing had only chimed in casually, but seeing this token, his old eyes instantly went wide as saucers.
He knew full well that this Golden Token was no trivial matter. Its bearer possessed the special privilege of choosing any magical artifact from the core vault of Divine Might Manor!
Even as the Young Manor Lord, obtaining one was by no means easy. Only because Su Yi had turned the tide in the Foundation Establishment secret realm and achieved such outstanding merit had the Manor Lord bestowed this token as a reward, which was only right and proper.
Hiss— Ouyang Qing sucked in a breath of cold air, his gaze darting back and forth between Su Yi and Tantai Yunzhi.
He had originally assumed Su Yi would at most go to the market to buy a decent-grade one, yet the boy was handing over an item straight from the manor’s secret vault?
‘Could it be... that girl Yunzhi was actually right? Is this Su brat truly so impartial toward the disciples of the manor? To the point where he can give away such a precious treasure concerning his own Dao path so easily?’
In his eyes, even if Su Yi didn’t use it himself, he ought to give it to the person he cared about most.
He was already so devoted to Gongsun Lin, yet now he was giving such an important treasure to Tantai Yunzhi?
While stormy waves raged in Ouyang Qing’s heart, Su Yi calmly placed the Golden Token atop the stack of heavy medical canons in Tantai Yunzhi’s arms.
The token met the books with a soft clack.
“Junior Sister, with this token, you may enter the core area of the manor treasury. You can take any magical artifact inside that catches your eye, regardless of grade or type. Don’t hesitate, and there is no need to consult me again.”
Looking at the dark-gold token that had suddenly appeared before her eyes, Tantai Yunzhi’s heart skipped a beat.
A far more tangled emotion quietly welled within her. Even though she was a newcomer, she could glean the value of this token from Elder Ouyang’s reaction.
Possessing it meant she could almost immediately obtain a powerful magical artifact that countless cultivators would envy.
Yet, a subtle sense of regret stirred quietly in her heart, like an undercurrent beneath the water’s surface.
‘A Golden Token... choosing any magical artifact at will... it truly is a rare opportunity. But...’ A thought inexplicably flashed through her mind. ‘Originally, I didn’t really care about this...’
Composing herself, she held the medical canons and the token tightly against her chest and offered Su Yi another graceful bow, her voice trembling almost imperceptibly. “Yunzhi... thanks Senior Brother for his generous gift.”
Straightening up, her clear gaze turned to Su Yi, her lips parting slightly. The request hovering on the tip of her tongue was ready: “The treasury is vast, and Yunzhi’s knowledge is shallow. If Senior Brother... has some free time, could you accompany me to pick one out?”
Yet before the words could leave her lips, Su Yi had already turned toward Ouyang Qing and crisply cupped his hands. “Elder Ouyang, now that matters are settled, this junior will not disturb you teaching Junior Sister Yunzhi the study of medicine. I shall take my leave.”
“Junior Sister Tantai, until next time.”
Before his voice had even faded, he had already turned on his heel and walked away, his movements smooth and without the slightest hesitation—as if he had just cleared a quest and was in a hurry to leave.
Watching his receding back, Tantai Yunzhi could only swallow the invitation that had reached her lips.
‘Yes, Senior Brother Su... until next time.’
...
A few days later, in Su Yi’s courtyard...
‘Tsk, things seem to have gone too smoothly. The female lead hasn’t established a deep cultivation goal at all right now!’
On his bed, Su Yi rested his head lazily on his hands, looking at the quest tab on the UI interface. Over the past few days, everything had just been slice-of-life daily plots.
‘Because of me, Tantai Yunzhi doesn’t seem to have that drive to summit the peak of the Dao path anymore.’
Sitting up, Su Yi racked his brain, recalling the original plot. Tantai Yunzhi had pursued cultivation because, from an early age, she had been groomed as one of the successors of the Tantai clan, a prominent cultivation family.
Growing up, aside from etiquette and decorum, she had been immersed entirely in cultivation knowledge.
Yet ever since an issue arose with her physique, and after every method the clan tried proved futile, she was abandoned.
Then she arrived at Divine Might Manor and was treated with cold indifference everywhere she went, which had only strengthened her resolve to grow powerful.
However, due to his interference, Tantai Yunzhi’s current situation was a far cry from the original plot, where practically everyone showed up to mock her.
What’s more, he even felt that the female lead no longer cared about what the people of the Tantai clan thought of her.
That was indeed a good thing, but it left her lacking the motivation to grow stronger. What would happen when the demon clan invaded?
‘She still needs a compelling reason to realize that she must grow stronger.’
Contemplating this, Su Yi continued scrolling through the quest list. Suddenly, an odd expression crossed his face.
“No way, right? Unlocked early again?”
Su Yi straightened his posture, staring at the unlocked quest.
【Four Sects Exchange—Journey to Ancient Sword Mountain】
...
The central square of Divine Might Manor.
The usually spacious and solemn square was now teeming with people, several times noisier than ordinary days.
Many Divine Might Manor disciples hurried about, their faces etched with curiosity and a hint of nervousness.
“Hey! Junior Brother Li, hurry up! People from the other three sects have all arrived! They’re over at the Guest-Welcoming Palace right now!” an older disciple urged toward someone behind him.
The young disciple being hurried trotted to keep pace, scratching his head and complaining, “Senior Brother Wang, isn’t this way too sudden? In previous years, hasn’t the ‘Four Sects Exchange’ always kicked off at leading sects like the Return to Origin Sect or Ancient Sword Mountain? Why was it not only moved up this year, but even had its first stop set at our Divine Might Manor?”
Hearing this, the disciple addressed as Senior Brother Wang looked left and right, lowering his voice with an air of mystery. “You wouldn’t know, would you? A good friend of mine at Ancient Sword Mountain leaked some wind to me... Supposedly, this change is inextricably tied to our Young Manor Lord!”
“The Young Manor Lord? Senior Brother Su?” The younger disciple grew even more puzzled. “What does this have to do with Senior Brother Su?”
“I’m not entirely sure about the details either,” Senior Brother Wang shook his head, a trace of bafflement on his face as well. “It seems that because of what Senior Brother Su... well, whatever he did in the Foundation Establishment secret realm previously. In any case, the higher-ups of the three sects seem to be paying special attention to our Divine Might Manor because of it, which is why they set the exchange’s first stop here.”
“Listen to you—we don’t even know what happened in the Foundation Establishment secret realm to begin with, do we?” The disciple rolled his eyes. News regarding the Foundation Establishment secret realm had apparently caused a massive stir and was placed under total lockdown; every disciple who took part had been placed under a gag order. All they knew was that the credit for everything this time belonged entirely to Su Yi.
“Sigh, anyway, let’s go take a look first.”
Rate on N.U.
