Volume 1, Chapter 122 – Advice

“Why?”

Shi Lan put away her halberd, dispelled the phantom scene behind her, and asked in confusion. She really could not understand why Shen Tianlan would admit defeat.

“My cultivation was higher than yours to begin with. In this bout I also held every advantage in timing, terrain, and people. From the start, it was unfair to you. I shamelessly made a move earlier only because it was my master’s order and I could not disobey. Now that I have stepped into the Earth Fiend Realm, if I were to attack you again, it would go against my own heart and hinder my cultivation on the martial path.”

Shen Tianlan shook his head slightly and said openly, “Besides, if my cultivation were the same as yours, and if this arena were not atop Sky Thunder Peak, I probably wouldn’t last ten moves in your hands. I, Shen Tianlan, willingly concede defeat.”

Shen Tianlan’s words did surprise Shi Lan a little. It was rare, and truly remarkable, to see someone so frankly admit they were not as good as another, especially someone of Shen Tianlan’s status and standing.

At the edge of the arena, Lei Chen fell silent for a moment, then waved a hand at Elder Xin.

Elder Xin nodded, holding a jade bottle about eight inches long in his hands as he walked toward Shi Lan.

“This is the Seven-Treasure Enlightening Jade Dew, the reward for the champion of this martial meet.”

As he offered the jade bottle to Shi Lan, Elder Xin’s expression was a little unnatural. Shi Lan had descended from the heavens, yet it had been through his hands that she was allowed into this martial meet at all. He could not help feeling a bit strange about it.

That this Seven-Treasure Enlightening Jade Dew ended up in Shi Lan’s hands was, in a way, partly thanks to him.

Gu Rentong clenched his fists and smacked them together, face alight with excitement, pacing back and forth at the edge of the arena in wild joy. Throughout the entire bout his heart had been leaping up and down without a moment’s calm. Now the dust had finally settled.

“In addition to this Seven-Treasure Enlightening Jade Dew, the champion of this martial meet may also choose any one item from the treasure vault of our Sky Thunder Hall. Don’t forget to go and claim it later.” Having said that, Shen Tianlan left the arena and headed straight toward the main hall.

No sooner had Shen Tianlan finished speaking than the surroundings instantly erupted in an uproar. Before the martial meet began, they had only heard about the Seven-Treasure Enlightening Jade Dew. As for this reward of choosing any item from the Sky Thunder Hall’s treasure vault, not a hint of it had leaked out.

The Sky Thunder Hall was a fifth-grade force, with a legacy of nearly three thousand years. The accumulation in its treasure vault was enough to make even most Heavenly Astral Realm martial artists green with envy.

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By comparison, the Seven-Treasure Enlightening Jade Dew suddenly seemed rather lackluster.

Lei Chen’s face darkened at once. This particular reward had never been intended to be publicly announced by the Sky Thunder Hall.

After all, before the martial meet had even started, the Hall had already regarded the champion’s position as something in its pocket. This access to the treasure vault had originally been a private reward the Sky Thunder Hall prepared for Shen Tianlan.

Lei Chen had never imagined that Shen Tianlan would actually speak of this reward out loud. Dissatisfied as he was, he was also somewhat helpless and could only curse Shen Tianlan inwardly for being too straightforward.

Since Shen Tianlan had already said it, this reward now had to be honored. It was a matter of the Sky Thunder Hall’s reputation.

“If you have nothing else to do right now, come with me to the treasure vault.” Lei Chen walked up to Shi Lan and said, somewhat coldly.

In truth, Shi Lan no longer cared much about rewards such as the treasure vault. On this trip to the martial meet, her gains had far exceeded what ordinary people could imagine.

Still, no one would complain about having more rewards.

“Please wait a moment, sir.”

Shi Lan walked to the edge of the arena and handed the jade bottle in her hand to Gu Rentong.

“Thank you, young lady.”

Gu Rentong accepted the jade bottle with trembling hands, then bent slightly at the waist and offered her a bow.

“No need to thank me. Fortunately, I have not failed your trust.”

Shi Lan shook her head slightly. To her, it was only a transaction.

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“I will wait for you on the hilltop from yesterday.”

With that, Gu Rentong left, riding his artifact away once Shi Lan nodded.

“Come with me.” After Lei Chen finished speaking, he turned into a streak of rainbow light and flew toward the rear of the main hall.

Shi Lan followed close behind. After about half a stick of incense, they arrived before a great door set into the cliff face.

The door was nearly three zhang tall, forged entirely from jade. There was not a single person in sight before it, and no one stood guard.

Lei Chen stepped forward, pressed his palm against the jade door, and gave it a casual push. The jade door swung open with a resounding boom.

Behind the jade door lay a cavern. Rows upon rows of wooden shelves stretched out in plain view, each shelf lined with ornate brocade boxes. On a patch of open ground not far away,

piles of spirit crystals of every kind had been heaped up into small hills. Shi Lan was a little dazed. It was one thing not to have someone guarding the entrance to a treasure vault, but they had not even set up any protective measures?

There was not the slightest trace of array patterns around the jade door or within the treasure vault.

“Hurry up and choose.” After saying that, Lei Chen walked straight out through the jade door, leaving Shi Lan alone in the treasure vault.

His attitude made Shi Lan subconsciously suspect whether this place was really the treasure vault of the Sky Thunder Hall.

“This place is without a doubt the treasure vault of the Sky Thunder Hall.”

The voice that suddenly appeared in her mind made Shi Lan’s heart twitch reflexively.

“Samsara, could you stop suddenly speaking like that all the time? I really can’t get used to it.”

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Murmuring this inwardly, Shi Lan began to circle the treasure vault. This was far from the first time Samsara had startled her.

After all, when a stranger’s voice suddenly sounded from deep within your own mind, especially with such clarity, it was hard for any normal person not to be spooked.

What was more, Samsara was the sort who spoke very little. Since Twin Moon City, he had become even more sparing with his words.

Sometimes when Shi Lan wanted to find someone to chat with, Samsara simply ignored her. For half a month at a time he might not say a single word, then suddenly pop up with one line like this. It was honestly a bit creepy.

“This is the most convenient way to communicate.”

“Then talk to me more often. Maybe I’ll get used to it quickly.”

“Communication requires energy.”

Shi Lan felt a little helpless. She walked up to a row of wooden shelves and picked up a brocade box. Inside lay a pitch-black lump of iron. The slip of paper pressed beneath the brocade box read “Blacklight Profound Iron,” a material used to forge magical artifacts.

This entire row of wooden shelves was filled with materials used in refining magical artifacts.

Passing by this row of shelves, Shi Lan asked silently, “You suddenly popped up. Do you have something to say?”

No one visits the Three Treasures Hall without a reason. From various little clues, Shi Lan had already seen just how stingy Samsara was with energy.

“I want this treasure vault.” Samsara kept it concise.

“I want it too.” Shi Lan replied without thinking, then realized what she had said and frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”

“The strongest person here is only in the Myriad Phenomena Realm. Killing them would be as easy as turning over a hand. It would not consume too much energy. Exchanging a bit of energy for this treasure vault is a very good deal.” Samsara spoke with cool, clear logic.

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Shi Lan stopped walking. “Samsara, are you human?”

“No.”

“Then that’s that. I don’t agree to this.”

Saying so, Shi Lan started walking again.

“Why? I think it’s a very good deal.” Samsara, unusually, sounded a little puzzled.

“I don’t want to discuss this with you. Explaining it will be a huge pain. The way you think is different from normal people.”

“I don’t see anything wrong with this logic.” Samsara truly could not understand and did not quite know why Shi Lan seemed angry.

“These people are neither kin nor friends of yours. If you don’t want to kill them, then just leave their lives alone. My previous suggestion was only to reduce trouble. If you take the treasure vault and these people don’t die, it will cause a lot of complications.”

Samsara was talking more than usual.

Shi Lan once again came to a halt. There were some lines that could not be crossed. If a person had no bottom line, they could hardly be called a person.

“A true man seeks profit within benevolence and pursues wealth within righteousness.”

“But you’re not a true man.”