Chapter 139: Leaving the Merchant Association, Breaking the Restrictions Begins

Hearing Ling Ruoxue’s address, Qin Xiao realized that this must be the expert she had invited.

“Qin Xiao greets you, Senior.”

Qin Xiao quickly stood up to offer a greeting.

“So you’re the kid named Qin Xiao. I’ve heard quite a bit about your reputation.”

Ji Ci looked at Qin Xiao, slowly nodding as he replied.

“You flatter me, Senior. I hardly have a reputation.”

Qin Xiao hadn’t expected his name to have spread so far.

Being too rich was no good after all. He must have spent too freely. They were probably calling him some rich landowner’s idiot son throughout the association.

“Alright, you don’t need to be modest, kid. The Young Miss mentioned that you wanted to remove some sort of restriction. I’ve encountered quite a few in my time, so perhaps I can take a look for you.”

Thinking that Qin Xiao was the one afflicted by a restriction, Ji Ci prepared to step forward to examine him.

Although restrictions were an obscure field, all profound arts shared a common origin, and his extensive mastery of Formations gave him full confidence in his ability to lift it.

“Ah, Senior, the restrictions are on other people. I’m fine. It would be wonderful if you could help.”

Seeing Ji Ci getting ready to examine him, Qin Xiao hurriedly explained.

“Master Ji Ci, never mind him for now. Examine little sister Man’er first. I suspect this boy may have put restrictions on her.”

Ling Ruoxue interrupted hastily. Her earlier remark had been a joke, but since the Master had already arrived, there was no harm in having him take a look.

“Miss Ling, what do you mean? Doubting my character? Go ahead, then. Let’s see what you say afterward.”

Qin Xiao was dumbfounded. He had assumed Ling Ruoxue was just joking, yet she actually wanted an inspection. Still, he didn’t mind in the least since he hadn’t placed any restriction on Yun Man.

“Since you ask, Miss Ling, I’ll examine her.”

Ji Ci didn’t know what Miss Ling was up to, but he took Yun Man’s arm and examined her.

After a thorough search, he found that far from being restricted, Yun Man possessed astonishing spiritual power and heaven-defying cultivation without a single trace of abnormality.

“She has no restrictions. She is a rare genius, though. An extraordinary constitution and pure Spiritual Power. From her bones, she seems to be only in her teens. Remarkable.”

Even Ji Ci was shaken by Yun Man’s cultivation level. To have reached the late Nascent Soul stage at such a tender age-such aptitude was beyond a mere genius; it was outright monstrous.

“See, Miss Ling? You doubted my character! I’ll have to reconsider those quotas. And perhaps I don’t need the pills so much after all.”

Qin Xiao knew what the result would be. He pretended to be angry to tease Ling Ruoxue.

“Well, I was only concerned about little sister Man’er. What’s wrong with that? Aren’t we good friends? You’re too petty. Fine, another discount: seventy-nine million nine hundred ninety thousand Spirit Stones for the quotas, and ten thousand off the pills too.” This story is hosted at novelping(.)com.

Not expecting Qin Xiao to genuinely take offense, Ling Ruoxue hurriedly softened her tone. She couldn’t afford to lose this transaction.

If it were just a standard association deal, it would be one thing, but this involved her own private profits. It was rare to secure such a massive windfall, and she couldn’t let it slip away.

“Forget the discount. I’m hurt. Having a good friend doubt my character is hard to take. Tell you what: if you ever change your mind and want to cultivate, become my disciple. Then I can act as if nothing happened.”

Seeing that Ling Ruoxue was growing anxious, Qin Xiao finally revealed his true objective.

“Oh, so that’s what you were leading up to? Fine! Though I have no plans to cultivate, if that day ever truly comes, I will give you priority consideration. Does that satisfy you?”

Realizing she had been played, Ling Ruoxue acknowledged her fault since she was in the wrong anyway. Agreeing cost her nothing since she had no intention of cultivating in the first place.

“Haha, Qin Xiao, you really are an interesting fellow. You actually want to take the Young Miss as your disciple? Splendid, splendid. This is the first time I’ve ever seen a young man quite like you.”

Ji Ci had watched them banter and now understood what was going on. He laughed as he spoke.

“Alright, I won’t tease you any further. Here are the Spirit Stones. We have pressing matters to attend to, so we’ll take our leave. Thank you for making this trip, Master.”

Qin Xiao flicked a Storage Bag directly to Ling Ruoxue. Now that the Master had arrived, it was time to return and begin breaking the restriction.

“Lead the way then. I must admit, I’m quite curious about what kind of restriction could prompt the Young Miss to summon me.”

Filled with intrigue, Ji Ci accompanied Qin Xiao out of the Immortal Dao Merchant Association.

After seeing them off, Ling Ruoxue opened the Storage Bag Qin Xiao had left behind to check the contents.

The bag held a hundred and eighty High Grade Spirit Stones. One High Grade stone could fetch nearly two million. Had Qin Xiao paid this way on purpose, letting her profit from the exchange?

“Just how many Spirit Stones does this kid actually have? No wonder Man’er urged me to take him as a master. It seems there are still plenty of secrets hidden on this fellow.”

The closer Ling Ruoxue got to Qin Xiao, the less she understood him.

News of Qin Xiao stepping out of the Immortal Dao Merchant Association in the company of an elderly man could hardly be kept secret.

“City Lord, Qin Xiao has just emerged from the Immortal Dao Merchant Association accompanied by an old man. To avoid detection, we kept our distance, so we couldn’t gauge the old man’s strength. Could he be an expert invited by Qin Xiao?”

Inside the City Lord Manor, a steward hurried to report to Chen Lou.

“No matter. However much the Immortal Dao Merchant Association favors Qin Xiao, they won’t send anyone to fight for him. They’re neutral and can’t join private conflicts between forces. Besides, their two local managers are only at Soul Formation. We’ll wait for my uncle. Keep watching.”

Chen Lou wasn’t worried. Even if the Immortal Dao Merchant Association wanted to help Qin Xiao, he thought they couldn’t send people to fight in a conflict between forces.

Meanwhile, the Clear Wind Sect received similar intelligence.

“Big Brother, has Qin Xiao found an expert to attack us?”

Great Elder Jiang Yang asked worriedly. Follow the newest chapters on novelping.com.

“Indeed. If they’ve found a way to crack our formation, we are no match for Ye Qiuyue.”

Second Elder Jiang Huai chimed in.

The Clear Wind Ancestor had recruited both of them. They were at mid Soul Formation and had no restrictions placed on them. They addressed one another as brothers.

“Brothers, don’t panic. I obtained that formation and the Restriction Art by chance. They’ve long been lost, and no one can break them. Duan Mingfei knew the weakness, but he’s dead. Unless an expert at Great Ascension comes, no one can force their way through.”

Seeing the two men so worried, the Clear Wind Ancestor hurried to reassure them.

Without that level of confidence, he would never have dared assist Chen Shunyi in moving against the Heavenly Clothes Pavilion, especially knowing that the pavilion harbored Ye Qiuyue, a practitioner at the Body Integration stage.

“Since Elder Brother is so certain, our minds are at ease.”

Hearing those words, Jiang Yang finally exhaled a breath of relief.

Duan Mingda, meanwhile, had been alone in his room for a long while. He was lost. What was the point of staying in the Clear Wind Sect?

Back inside the Heavenly Clothes Pavilion.

“Master Ji Ci, can you break it?”

Qin Xiao looked expectantly at Ji Ci, who had just stepped out from the Soul-Locking Tower.

“It’s hard to undo, and different from all the restrictions I’ve seen. But I’m confident. It will just take time.”

After examining it, Ji Ci found the restrictions hard to undo. They seemed to be ancient and long lost, quite different from modern restrictions.

“That is fine as long as it can be broken. May I ask how long it will take?”

Assurances of a solution were enough to set Qin Xiao’s mind at ease.

“Three days. In three days, I can certainly break it. But I must inform my superiors. I’ll be gone for three days.”

That was why Ji Ci had come out of the tower: he needed to inform the Immortal Dao Merchant Association. The Soul-Locking Tower was an ancient treasure itself. Its ability to sever Soul Power connections was extraordinary.

“Of course. Tell me what you need, Master Ji Ci, and how much your fee is. I’ll arrange everything.”

With a solution in sight, Qin Xiao turned his attention to the costs and materials.

“I have the materials already. Breaking it will use quite a lot, worth at least a million Spirit Stones. I won’t charge a fee. I’ll treat it as research; just cover the material cost. No hurry. Pay after I’ve broken it.”

Ji Ci wasn’t asking for an exorbitant price. He found Qin Xiao interesting and could earn a favor by helping him. Besides, Miss Ling had invited him personally, so he didn’t feel right charging a service fee. He was also very interested in these restrictions.

“Thank you, Master Ji Ci.”

Qin Xiao knew he was being offered a favor and thanked him.