Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”The Sheep Head of the Golden Horned Spirit Sheep, I assume with the Crown Prince’s insight, you would not fail to recognize it. I wonder, could this item be worth one hundred thousand gold coins?”

With Yun Xiao’s opening remarks, and the words ”Golden Horned Spirit Sheep” from his mouth, the object in his hand seemed to gleam even more brilliantly with gold.

”Is it really a Golden Horned Spirit Sheep?”

From the moment that golden object appeared, Nie Qianqiu’s gaze was locked onto it, and he had his suspicions from the beginning; now, he was even more certain.

The item was naturally the one that Yun Xiao had acquired from the Treasure Pavilion in Xuri City. It was the first treasure he identified in the difficult-to-assess area, which had astonished many people, including Xu Hongzhuang, whom he had not yet met.

The Golden Horned Spirit Sheep is a rare and powerful Vein Demon, and the most precious part of it is the pair of Sheep Horns, supreme materials for forging divine weapons.

Generally speaking, Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures of the Spiritual Rank Advanced level are valued around seventy to eighty thousand gold coins, or say one hundred thousand gold coins. If it were just a single Golden Horned Spirit Sheep Horn, it might not be worth one hundred thousand, but two are a different matter.

Furthermore, this Crown Prince of the Lingtian Empire has always been in need of a suitable weapon. Yun Xiao presenting the Sheep Horns of the Golden Horned Spirit Sheep was exactly to his taste, which is why he took interest immediately.

”Did you just say that if I don’t pass the assessment as a Low-Level Spiritual Rank Meridian Refining Master within three hours, it would count as your victory?”

Although Nie Qianqiu was extremely covetous of the Sheep Horns of the Golden Horned Spirit Sheep, fortunately, he hadn’t lost his reason. With so many eyes on him, he still had to maintain his dignity.

After reminding himself of the process for assessing a Low-Level Spiritual Rank Meridian Refining Master, Nie Qianqiu had actually decided to take up the bet. He just wanted to confirm it one last time.

What a joke, even he, the Crown Prince of the Empire, had spent a full day and night; this guy in front of him thinking he could pass the assessment in three hours was impossible.

Even with the precedent of Yun Xiao passing the first three stages of the assessment, this was a Spiritual Rank level, completely incomparably. If he could lose such a bet, wouldn’t this young fellow’s Meridian Refining Talent rival those monstrous geniuses in the Middle Three Realms?

”Exactly, that’s what I mean!”

A glint of conspiracy flashed through Yun Xiao’s eyes as he confirmed his statement, then added, ”So does that mean the Crown Prince is willing to lend me fifty thousand gold coins so I can take the assessment?”

”Very well, I, the Crown Prince, accept this bet!”

Pleased with the answer he wanted, Nie Qianqiu was delighted and then turned to a girl named Xiao Qiu, saying, ”Record the fifty thousand gold coins under my account. We’ll settle it together later!”

Xiao Qiu was still stunned. Just a moment ago, she worried about how Yun Xiao, lacking money, was going to participate in the assessment, and now in the blink of an eye, it was resolved.

Given the Crown Prince’s status, taking account was obviously not an issue. Xiao Qiu nodded and turned to say, ”Yun Xiao, you may enter now!”

Yun Xiao glanced faintly at Nie Qianqiu, and as he turned away, he said with a faint trace of sarcasm, ”It seems that the Crown Prince indeed didn’t bring enough money and can only put it on the tab!”

With that comment, Nie Qianqiu felt a burning sensation on his face, cursing in his heart that this young man was so ignorant of the times, and he must find an opportunity to teach him a lesson. However, all of that would have to wait until after he obtained that Golden Horned Spirit Sheep Horn.

As for Mu Yun, she had already taken out an hourglass from her Waist Storage, set it to three hours, and now just waited for the last grain of sand in the upper part of the hourglass to fall, marking the moment when the Crown Prince would claim victory in the bet.

...

Having entered the room as he wished, Yun Xiao no longer cared about the thoughts of the others outside. In his view, passing a Low-Level Spiritual Rank Meridian Refining Master assessment in three hours was more than enough time.

The room was silent, but the lingering scent of medicinal herbs reminded Yun Xiao of Nie Qianqiu’s previous assessment. It must have originated from that time.

Stepping into the room, Yun Xiao caught sight of two old men sitting at a distance from each other, one to the left and another to the right, and the color of their robes led him to instant conjecture.

Sitting on the left was an old man in a Green Robe, whose eyes were slightly closed, as if he heard nothing of Yun Xiao’s entrance, not even moving a muscle on his face.

As for the black-clothed old man on the right, he looked at Yun Xiao with a kind face and even a smile on his lips, which clarified the situation to Yun Xiao, who then directly walked toward the right side.

”Young man, my name is Zhang Quan, and I welcome you to the assessment for a Low-Level Spiritual Rank Meridian Refining Master!”

Seeing Yun Xiao approaching, the black-clothed old man was the first to speak, his voice gentle, not imposing any pressure, which made Yun Xiao feel somewhat fond of him right off the bat.

”Spiritual Rank Intermediate Meridian Refining Master!”

However, when Yun Xiao sensed the old man’s aura up close, he affirmed in his heart that this man named Zhang Quan was likely much more powerful than Liang Song and Li Yang from before.

”Yun Xiao pays respects to Elder Zhang!”

For this powerful elder with a mild temperament, Yun Xiao was also very polite. After making a fist salute, he elicited an even brighter smile from Zhang Quan’s face.

Zhang Quan was a genuine Spiritual Rank Intermediate Medical Pulse Master. Although he was not amongst the top at the Meridian Refining Master Guild, he always took special care of young juniors talented in Meridian Refining.

This young man before him looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old and already qualified to take the lower-level Spiritual Rank Meridian Refining Master examination. Such talent was likely comparable even to the Empire’s Crown Prince Nie Qianqiu, who had passed the examination previously.

It’s worth mentioning that while Yun Xiao talked with Zhang Quan, the elderly man in the green robe seated to their left remained still, not casting so much as a glance in their direction, seemingly indifferent.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Quan didn’t waste any more words and went straight to the point: ”The examination for the lower-level Spiritual Rank Meridian Refining Master is slightly different from before. You can choose from two types of assessments, and as long as you succeed, you will pass.”

”May I know which two types?”

Yun Xiao was intrigued, thinking this was an opportunity. If it involved refining lower-level Spiritual Rank Elixirs, that would take too much time and wouldn’t be conducive to his previous bet with Nie Qianqiu.

”Alchemy and treatment!”

Zhang Quan straightforwardly said these five words and then waited with interest to see the choice of the young man before him, wondering whether it would be the same as Nie Qianqiu’s previous decision.

In fact, Zhang Quan speculated that compared to treating an unknown disease, the difficulty of Alchemy might be somewhat less.

After all, to have someone refine elixirs, you must provide them with a Pill Recipe and prepare the ingredients, right? It’s often said that the unknown is the most terrifying. If you’re faced with a tricky and unheard-of illness, you might be finished before even starting.

Take, for example, the Empire’s Crown Prince Nie Qianqiu, who chose the Alchemy examination. Despite being spent in both Qi and soul after a day and night, he ultimately succeeded.

”I choose treatment!”

Just as Zhang Quan was contemplating this, the young man in front of him spoke without a moment’s hesitation, momentarily surprising the Spiritual Rank Intermediate Meridian Refining Master.

”Oh, you choose Alchemy... What? You said treatment?”

Initially mouthing the word ”Alchemy” unconsciously, Zhang Quan’s eyes suddenly widened as he realized what had been said. He knew that very few candidates for the lower-level Spiritual Rank Meridian Refining Master examination chose treatment.

The unpredictability of healing was much greater than that of Alchemy. Sometimes even Zhang Quan himself wouldn’t know the condition of the patient set up for the examination.

These patients were randomly selected by the Meridian Refining Master Guild from suitable conditions and transported through a certain channel to this room, where the examinee would treat them. Success meant passing; failure, the opposite.

”Yun Xiao, are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?”

Out of regard for the young man before him, Zhang Quan still offered another word of advice. In his opinion, this young fellow was probably unaware of the difficulties involved in medical treatment.

Healing and Alchemy and Medicine Refining were not the same; the latter can be successful as long as the Meridian Refining Technique is sufficient. However, the former is different. Without extensive experience, even a Spiritual Rank Advanced Meridian Refining Master couldn’t guarantee immediate success.

”Thank you, I insist!”

Yun Xiao maintained a polite smile, but his tone left no room for doubt, and this attitude made Zhang Quan lose the good impression he’d had just moments before.

”What a stubborn kid who doesn’t know how to adapt!”

Zhang Quan’s smile faded, categorizing the young man before him as obstinate, a brazen sort with a bit of talent who didn’t understand the immensity of the heavens and the earth.

”Well, he’ll understand some things aren’t so easy to accomplish once he hits a wall!”

With this thought in mind, Zhang Quan stopped talking and walked over to a concealed button, pressing it. Shortly afterward, a wooden platform was rolled into the room.

Yun Xiao didn’t concern himself with how the wooden platform got in; his gaze was already fixed upon the figure lying on the platform, thinking this must be the patient for his examination.

A middle-aged man lay on the platform, his complexion pale, seemingly without clothes, just covered by a white blanket. His breath felt extremely feeble upon sensing it.

”Hm? It’s this patient!”

What Yun Xiao didn’t see was that as soon as the wooden platform entered the room, Zhang Quan’s face subtly changed, and he muttered to himself, frowning almost imperceptibly.

Although Zhang Quan was somewhat displeased by Yun Xiao’s attitude earlier and thought the young man was somewhat oblivious to his limitations, he was generally affable and felt no malice toward Yun Xiao himself.

However, upon seeing the patient on the wooden platform, even someone as mild-mannered as Zhang Quan couldn’t help but feel a bit of anger. For a brief moment, he even subconsciously wondered if there had been a mistake—the patient for a Spiritual Rank Intermediate Meridian Refining Master examination shouldn’t have been sent in.