Martial Cultivator

Originally finding the moonlight boring and planning to turn back into the room, Liang Jinjin suddenly received a message from her fellow disciples. The wooden plaque at her waist trembled slightly; it seemed a few fellow disciples had some trouble.

She originally intended to report to Sage Bamboo Moon, but then recalled that before nightfall her master had instructed them not to disturb her no matter what happened, so Liang Jinjin had no choice but to give up on that.

Liang Jinjin quickly left the water tower and went to the plaza in the middle of the lake at Three Streams Manor.

Soon, using her Qi Observing Technique, she found the whereabouts of several fellow disciples. They were in front of a cultivator’s stall, together with several disciples from other qi refiner sects.

At this moment, the two sides were confronting each other.

Seeing Liang Jinjin arrive, the female disciples beside her were overjoyed and called out softly, “Senior Sister Liang.”

As she spoke, the others facing off with them also looked over. Among them was a young man, eyes slightly narrowed, who kept scanning Liang Jinjin up and down.

Liang Jinjin came over. The other disciples also started speaking. She did not waste words and directly asked, “What happened?”

The female disciple quickly explained the situation: during the recent gathering, many cultivators from various sects roamed and set up stalls in Three Streams Manor, selling objects related to qi refiners. Her group had set their eyes on a royal seal that, upon careful inspection, appeared to be the signet of the South Suppression King from the previous Great Qi dynasty. Thinking it might benefit cultivation, they tried to purchase it. Although the price had been agreed upon, just as they were about to take the seal away, another group also wanted to buy it first and was unwilling to give way. Since first come, first served applied, an argument broke out. In the chaos, the other group seized the seal, which is why they sent the message hoping Sage Bamboo Moon would intervene to uphold justice.

Liang Jinjin fell silent after hearing this. Qi refiners were most sensitive to the flow of world fortune. From neglected incense offerings to the destiny of entire kingdoms, such things were beneficial to them.

She had heard of the South Suppression King from the previous Great Qi dynasty. In those chaotic times, the king extended the kingdom’s life for over a decade. Though born into the royal family, he was not the legitimate eldest son and never ascended the throne, but was fiercely loyal. At the end of Great Qi, he was its last pillar of support.

Even after most of the territory was lost, the region around his fiefdom, the southern mountains, stubbornly resisted the Great Liang’s founding emperor for years.

If the seal truly belonged to the South Suppression King, it would carry the last remnant destiny of the Great Qi dynasty, making it a prized item for qi refiners.

So it made sense why her fellow disciples refused to hand it over.

Liang Jinjin glanced at the leading young man opposite them. He was playing with the seal, a royal seal inlaid with gold and jade.

She remained silent for a moment before saying, “Fellow daoist, everything has a first-come, first-served order. Since my fellow disciples saw this item first, it seems improper for you to snatch it now.”

The young man sized Liang Jinjin up and smiled, “Fellow daoist, your words are mistaken. Though you came first, you did not pay then. I offered a higher price, so why should it not be mine?”

“You’re lying! We were about to pay, and the stall owner agreed!”

The first female disciple from Pinecreek Mountain spoke. She had been the first to realize the seal was no ordinary item and was determined to get it. Unexpectedly, someone jumped in at the last moment.

Hearing this, Liang Jinjin frowned slightly and looked toward the stall owner who had remained silent. He wore a troubled expression. He was only a qi refiner from a minor sect, and he could not afford to offend either side.

“Fairy Maiden, Fellow Daoists, I really have no choice. Since both parties want this seal, how about the highest bidder takes it?”

The stall owner was a middle-aged man with nothing remarkable about his aura. He appeared ordinary and anxious as he spoke, his eyes flicking between Liang Jinjin and the young man opposite.

Liang Jinjin lowered her voice, “What price did you agree on just now?”

One disciple answered, ”Two hundred pieces of skygold coins”

Liang Jinjin nodded slightly, looking at the young man. The young man nodded and smiled, “I think it’s fine. I offer five hundred pieces, I will take this seal.”

Before Liang Jinjin could speak, the female disciple shouted, “Six hundred!”

She looked at the young man with dissatisfaction but also anger. Clearly, the matter could have been settled with two hundred pieces of skygold, but now even six hundred might not guarantee getting it.

The young man smiled faintly, “Seven hundred.”

The female disciple glanced at him and bit her lip, “Eight hundred.”

“One thousand.”

The young man seemed truly determined to win. One thousand pieces of skygold coins was no small sum. Although the South Suppression King’s seal was valuable, more than two hundred years had passed, and who knew how much of the so-called Great Qi’s fortune remained inside?

The female disciple’s eyes widened, but she then whispered, “Senior brother, I’m out of money.”

The other disciples also lowered their voices, “Junior sister, let’s pool our money. We might gather around one thousand two hundred pieces of skygold, but we don’t know if it will be enough.”

Hearing this, the female disciple felt reassured and continued bidding with the young man. The price climbed to sixteen hundred pieces. Just as she was about to grit her teeth and shout two thousand, Liang Jinjin suddenly said, “We won’t buy it.”

“Senior Sister...”

The female disciple was confused, almost on the verge of tears.

Liang Jinjin lowered her voice, “I’ll explain later.”

After saying this, she looked at her fellow disciples and said, “Let’s go.”

The young man frowned at her words but soon returned to a normal smile, saying, “I thought you were determined to win.”

Liang Jinjin ignored him, leading her fellow disciples to a distance before calmly saying, “I’ve examined it carefully. The Great Qi fortune inside the South Suppression King’s seal has completely dissipated. It’s no different from an ordinary seal. Besides, I think that man and the stall owner probably know each other. This is just a trick to deceive you.”

Although Liang Jinjin wasn’t very talkative, she wasn’t stupid. She had carefully observed the situation. Even if it wasn’t exactly as she thought, the seal was certainly worthless.

The female disciple sighed. If what her senior sister said was true, then spending two thousand pieces of skygold to buy the seal would be a lifelong regret.

Still, the female disciple trusted Liang Jinjin, knowing her mastery of the qi observing technique, a secret art even the mountain lord didn’t possess.

“You all must be careful these days to avoid being fooled. Otherwise, even I...”

Liang Jinjin didn’t finish her sentence as suddenly a shadow flashed before her eyes. She was startled. Although it was only a fleeting glimpse, it looked very familiar.

“Senior Sister, are you alright?”

The female disciple asked, sensing something strange about her senior sister.

Liang Jinjin shook her head, “Nothing.”

...

...

At the stall, the young man threw the seal to the stall owner. The stall owner accepted it with a grim expression and looked at the young man.

The young man looked unwilling to give up and glanced into the distance, “So close.”

As he spoke, he saw a young man approaching, squatting down with interest to look at the South Suppression King’s seal.

“Sell this for ten skygold coins to me?”

The stall owner was taken aback and instinctively glanced toward the young man not far away.

Before the latter could speak, the young man pulling out money chuckled to himself, “I only have ten skygold coins. If I wanted more, I can’t take it out. Do you want it?”

The young man looked curiously at the newcomer and asked, “Fellow daoist, you don’t seem to be from our qi refiner lineage, right?”

The newcomer raised his head but only looked at the stall owner, not answering the young man’s question.

He just examined the small seal in the stall owner’s hand.