Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 43 – 15 Rings

More and more people came forward to bow until they completely obscured Qin Yu from sight. Although the sword cultivator couldn’t see him, he was still dripping with sweat. To directly crush a Golden Core in frontal combat, the fame of the Kong Family’s Foundation Establishment Exalted was undoubtedly the hottest topic in Canyondwell City in recent times. It was also a topic that many people loved to talk about. Although he had just arrived he had heard the stories countless times already. Thinking of this, the sword cultivator nearly cried.

Qin Yu didn’t think that there would still be people recognizing him after several months passed. Since these people all came up to him with smiles, he could only respectfully nod in surprise. However, those people who thought well of him were surprised at his response. Could it be that Lord Ning Qin thought their martial talents were up to par, and if so, should they take advantage of this chance to become his disciples?

Realizing the sparkle in everyone’s eyes, Qin Yu didn’t give them the chance to speak. He directly stated, “I have some matters I must attend to. You can all leave for now.”

Everyone was disappointed but they didn’t dare to disobey. They quickly drew backwards.

As the crowd parted they revealed the still frozen form of the sword cultivator. Many people stared at him with admiration. You stupid boy, hurry up and move!

The sword cultivator turned even paler as more sweat streamed down his face.

Qin Yu stepped around him and directly entered the alliance station.

He didn’t cause difficulties nor did he glare; he simply walked through like passing clouds and wind.

Everyone revealed looks of surprise and admiration. Indeed, this person was truly worthy of being Lord Ning Qin. Not only was he broad of mind but he was willing to walk around that embarrassed fellow without stirring up trouble. As everyone thought back to the day where Qin Yu had raced through Han Beishan’s supernatural powers to grasp his throat and then jump off the platform, they felt he was even more worthy of praise. Qin Yu seemed to emit a comfortable heroicness from head to toe.

Lord Ning Qin was simply our generation’s idol!

There were several cultivators exchanging items in the Merit Department. Identity cards were being checked, merit points were being transferred, documents were being issued; the entire hall was simply a chaotic mess.

Suddenly, outside the hall of the Merit Department, a purple bell began to ring on its own. The deep bell ring was enhanced by an invisible strength. In the blink of an eye it spread far and wide until it enveloped the entirety of Canyondwell City.

This was a merit service bell that had been refined especially by the cultivator alliance in order to strengthen their sense of unity and honor. When a person who cut down a demonic Golden Core cultivator entered the Merit Department, the bell would automatically ring throughout the entire city.

Everyone within the Merit Department turned to look at the entrance with awe. If a person could kill a demonic Golden Core then they were inevitably a great figure within the alliance. At this time, another ring of the bell sounded out. Everyone’s complexion changed once more. This great lord had actually killed two Golden Core demonic cultivators!

And soon after, there was a third ring, a fourth ring, a fifth…

Dong…

Dong...

Dong…

The bell’s sound shrouded the entire city, leaving countless cultivators stunned. They all looked towards the alliance station, confused. Could the merit service bell have broken?

At the battle stage.

Numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators had gathered here to privately discuss how to become Lord Ning Qin’s disciple. As they heard the bell ring on without end, their expressions began at respect, turned to shock, became expressionless, and finally they started to curse in hushed whispers.

“The Merit Department is too unreasonable. They can’t just ring the bell whenever they want!” An old veteran Foundation Establishment cultivator indignantly said, drawing approval from those around him.

Suddenly, another person asked, “Do you think it is Lord Ning Qin?”

The crowd fell silent, everyone scared silly by these words. But then they subconsciously rejected this.

“Isn’t that impossible? There’s already been over 10 rings of the bell, meaning that over 10 demonic Golden Core cultivators have been cut down. Lord Ning Qin is strong, but he shouldn’t be strong to such an abnormal degree.”

“Definitely. There must be a mistake.”

“Haha, it must be a coincidence that Lord Ning Qin arrived at the same time. He must be surprised too.”

As everyone began to calm down, they subconsciously glanced towards the entrance of the Merit Department. As they thought back to the day where Qin Yu had instantly defeated Han Beishan, they felt their hearts begin to waver. Could it…really be him?

As the bell rang out over 10 times, all the cultivators in the Merit Department felt their faces flush red. A female cultivator stormed up and said, “I must inform the lord to fix it!”

She couldn’t wait any further, otherwise the Merit Department would lose any face they had.

She hurried out, but as she was about to step through the hall doors she suddenly froze where she was. She stared blankly at the scene before her: the giant merit service bell glowed with a sparkling purple light, emitting a vast and boundless ringing without end. A black-robed cultivator stood beneath the bell, a frown on his face as he looked at the large bell with doubt.

The female cultivator only saw his profile. Although he looked ordinary, there was some inexplicable attraction emanating from him. Her face blushed faintly red as she looked at him with rapt attention: Foundation Establishment, sixth level.

She relaxed. But before she could wonder why she felt relieved, her face blushed even redder and she said in a flustered voice, “Hey you, hurry up and get out from beneath that bell. It’s broken so it might fall down and hit you.” She had taken Qin Yu as the culprit who had caused a problem with the bell. She felt this was both funny and incredulous.

Qin Yu revealed a look of understanding. No wonder the bell had started to randomly ring by itself. He quickly moved forwards and cupped his hands across his chest, “Thank you for the warning, fellow daoist.”

At this time, the bell stopped ringing.

It had rung 15 times.

She saw his face; he couldn’t be any more ordinary than he was. So, why in the world was there such an intense attraction coming from him? The female felt her cheeks burn hot. She lowered her head and said, “What are you here for?” But just as she said that she stiffened. Why would anyone come to the Merit Department? What a stupid question she had asked.

Qin Yu laughed. He looked at this nervous and clumsy woman who seemed overly tense and lightly smiled, “I came here to look at the hundred treasure list.”

Seeing that he didn’t seem to have noticed her current state, the woman’s heart calmed down and she finally looked up. They met eyes, and as he waited for her to regain her composure, a young cultivator working at the Merit Department walked forwards to greet him.

With heavy disappointment, she ruthlessly glared at the youth for not minding his own business. She wanted to help him but was afraid that she would be too obvious, so she simply stood to the side. As for informing the lord about the problem with the merit service bell…well, it was already fine right now!

Qin Yu asked for the newest hundred treasure list. The battlefield against the demonic path took place over a vast area and there was an alliance branch division in every city, each with the jurisdiction to exchange for treasures. Thus, if he wanted to determine whether or not the Skythunder Bamboo was still available, this was the most accurate place to do so.

The youth in front of him had an expression of barely concealed hostility. Qin Yu was shocked for a moment, but as he thought of the female cultivator who nearly fainted just now, he smiled and thought little of it. He probed the jade slip.

Tenth rank, Skythunder Bamboo.

Fortunately, no one had taken it first.

Qin Yu brightly smiled, but the youth’s complexion across from him became even uglier. The youth couldn’t help but acknowledge that even though this fellow had ordinary looks, his smiling face was just far too attractive! For a large fellow to smile so beautifully, there was definitely something wrong with him!

“What else do you want? We are very busy here!” These rough and tough words actually revealed a little lack of self-confidence. This was a typical performance from a young, hormone-driven youth.

Qin Yu smiled. He laid down the jade slip and turned to leave.

The female cultivator was suddenly anxious. She glared at the youth and then blushed as she said, “He’s a bit irritable because we’ve been so busy recently. I hope fellow daoist doesn’t blame him.”

Qin Yu shook his head, “I understand.”

His casual and understated manner, his broad mind and honesty, all of this caused the woman’s heart to quicken. She quickly tossed out another topic, “Did fellow daoist come in to determine whether an item you wanted was still there?”

There was no problem in revealing this. Qin Yu nodded and smiled.

The female cultivator relaxed. She hurried said, “In truth, fellow daoist can use a portion of your merit points to reserve items on the hundred treasure list. Then, even if someone takes out more merit points to exchange for the item, we will still try to inform you and also retain the item for seven days.”

Qin Yu’s eyes brightened. “There’s something like that? Then I definitely have to put in my reservation.”

The youth who found him displeasing to the eyes coldly snorted, “For the items on the hundred treasure list, you have to have at least 30% of the merit points required before you can make a reservation. The higher the rank, the more merit points are required, so you had best calculate how many you have before you embarrass yourself!”

The female cultivator gnashed her teeth, “Just shut up!” With a bit of worry on her face she said, “With my current level authority, the most I can do is lower the minimum amount of merit points required by 10%. If it’s too much, even I am helpless to do anything about it.”

The youth felt as if he had been struck in the chest and he nearly started crying.

Big sister, your favoritism is too blatant!

What about me? What do I do!?

Qin Yu laughed and rejected her offer. “It’s no problem. I have enough merit points, so please help me reserve the tenth ranked item on the hundred treasure list.”

The female cultivator’s heart skipped a beat. If this person could collect half the merit points required for an item on the hundred treasure list, that meant they were immensely skilled. Her voice became even gentler as she said, “Great. The tenth rank on the hundred treasure list, I will help you reserve it immediately.” She turned and waved, “Shanshan, quickly bring out the reservation book for me.”

Seeing her close friend stare at her with dull and wide eyes, she stomped her feet and angrily said, “Just what are you looking at? Hurry up and bring it over!”

The youth sneered, “Skythunder Bamboo? Fellow daoist, are you sure you didn’t speak incorrectly, or perhaps you came to our Merit Department to stir up trouble!”

“There’s no mistake.” Qin Yu lightly said, “What I want to reserve is the tenth item on the hundred treasure list, the Skythunder Bamboo.”

Within the Merit Department, everyone’s complexions turned strange. From Qin Yu’s earnest expression, they didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. A mere sixth grade Foundation Establishment cultivator…to think he dared babble such nonsense!

The youth laughed out loud. “Do you know how many merit points are required to exchange for the Skythunder Bamboo? Did you know that up until now, there hasn’t been a single person that has reserved or exchanged for any of the top ten ranked items on the hundred treasure list? It’s like you don’t know how great the heavens and earth are!” The youth was simply too excited that this person was far too stupid. In order to show off he had done something so ridiculous, and now was the perfect chance to rip off his mask and reveal his true appearance to his junior-apprentice sister!

The youth took deep gasping breaths as he waited for Qin Yu to feel ashamed or maybe argue back in return. However, he was actually ignored.

Qin Yu took out his identity card and passed it to the female cultivator. “Could you help me determine the amount of merit points I have?”

Ziqing, the female cultivator, was stunned, “You…you really want to reserve the Skythunder Bamboo?”

Qin Yu nodded, “Yes.”

The youth fumed so much that flames seemed to leap out from his ears. He grabbed the identity card and said, “I will help you convert the merit points. I want to see just what skill you have to be so arrogant!”

Several nearby exchanging cultivators looked at Qin Yu with admiration in their eyes. In order to court a woman, this fellow was willing to go the distance! However, his current actions were unwise. He would likely have to draw back in shame after this.

Ziqing bit her lips. She wanted to stop him so that he didn’t publicly shame himself, but she couldn’t find a reason. She looked at him, not blaming him. This fellow was truly able to see through her thoughts. He actually used such a method to draw her attention.

But what would he do now? He was going to embarrass himself!

Ziqing looked at Qin Yu. As she saw his calm expression, she actually didn’t feel any loathing or disgust in her heart. Rather, she thought that he was very interesting. This fellow’s skin was incredibly thick. He was actually still continuing with his plan as if nothing would go wrong. Did he want her to remember him using this method? As she thought of this, her face blushed red and her heart began racing in her chest.

Oh no, if he waits a little and asks me out for a private meeting later, what should I do? Should I…agree? Or should I be a little stubborn? Mother always said that men were quick to change their hearts, and if something was too easy to obtain they wouldn’t cherish it.

A cry of shock interrupted Ziqing’s daydream. She looked up in panic like a little beast that had been caught stealing food. She discovered that around Qin Yu, everyone was staring at him with wide eyes, completely dumbfounded. Her heart shrank as she slowly turned around. She saw that in front of the youth, the merit point stone was shining with a deep purple light, so luxurious and noble that it left one staring in awe.

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