Chapter 0537 Immortal Body

Chapter 0537: Immortal Body

Qin Yun and Mu Fengxiao descended the stairs and saw the bald elder in a fit of rage, cursing those who had gossiped about his granddaughter.

"This is the Vice Hallmaster of the West Qiwen Hall, the Western Bald Patriarch—quite an interesting character! His granddaughter, Liu Jingmeng, is freakishly talented—a twenty-year-old Martial Master and also a beginner Runes Master!"

Mu Fengxiao couldn't help but sigh in admiration when speaking of Liu Jingmeng.

Just then, a young girl hurriedly rushed in, bumping into several people along the way.

The girl had a pair of bright, beautiful eyes and a slightly round face, exuding radiant beauty with childlike innocence, making her appear like a naive young girl.

She was originally dressed in a white gown, but it was now covered in mud.

Upon arriving and seeing so many people staring at her, she immediately lowered her head shyly and ducked behind the bald elder.

Everyone quickly guessed that this must be Liu Jingmeng.

When Qin Yun saw Liu Jingmeng, he felt a pang of longing for the adorable Qi Meilian.

"Mengmeng, how did you get so messy?"

The bald elder's face, originally fierce, instantly softened into kindness upon seeing his granddaughter, his eyes filled with unconditional love.

The crowd silently judged this bald elder for having two completely different faces!

"When I was returning to the city, I met some children who asked me to play with mud, so I did for a while! It was so fun that I forgot to come here..."

Liu Jingmeng spoke barely above a whisper, her voice timid.

Play with mud?

The crowd was torn between laughter and disbelief!

A Martial Master under twenty, at the Spiritual Martial Realm, playing with mud like a child!

"Baldie, is your granddaughter even capable? How come we’ve never heard of her understanding the Way of Odd Patterns?"

A middle-aged man from the South Qiwen Hall scoffed.

"What do you mean, 'not capable'? My granddaughter is a beginner Runes Master!" the bald elder immediately retorted loudly, his face full of pride. "How many of you venerable elders, hundreds or even thousands of years old, are still just Rune Masters?"

After speaking, the bald elder patted his slightly dazed granddaughter and said, "Mengmeng, show them your badge!"

Liu Jingmeng, still shy, pouted slightly and slowly pulled out a mud-covered purple-gold badge. Despite the dirt, it gleamed through the mud.

The Rune Masters present fell silent.

That badge indeed belonged to Liu Jingmeng.

"Mengmeng, this is a very valuable item. Don’t play around with it in the future," the bald elder said gently, admonishing her.

"I thought it was pretty, so I showed it to the children," Liu Jingmeng replied, giving a playful tongue-click.

The crowd broke into grins. Though they disliked the bald elder, they found it hard to dislike his airheaded granddaughter—in fact, they even felt a bit fond of her.

The bald elder, puffing with pride, turned to Chu Binyu. "First, we'll compete in material preparation, then in rune precision. Let my granddaughter face your entire South Qiwen Hall alone. If you win even one round, victory is yours!"

His words were domineering and filled with arrogance, making the members of the South Qiwen Hall seethe.

"If our West Qiwen Hall loses, we are willing to merge into your South Qiwen Hall! If your South Qiwen Hall loses, we won’t demand a merger—just allow us to establish a branch in the southern district. How about that?"

The bet proposed by the bald man drew murmurs of surprise from many.

In Celestial Armory City, among the four Qiwen Halls, the East Qiwen Hall was the strongest, followed by the North Qiwen Hall and then the South Qiwen Hall.

The West Qiwen Hall was dead last.

If the two halls from the south and west merged, they would become the largest Qiwen Hall here.

This was beyond Chu Binyu's authority to decide alone.

However, one of the elders from the South Qiwen Hall gave a nod of approval.

"Then let the contest begin now! The challenge will test metal refinement—forging half a kilogram of inferior-grade Xuanyuan Steel within an hour."

"Whoever can increase the weight of the Xuanyuan Steel the most will win! Our side will only send Mengmeng, while your side can field anyone you wish."

The bald man was brimming with confidence, wearing a cocky grin.

From the South Qiwen Hall, six Rune Masters were fielded—aside from Chu Binyu, there were two elders and three middle-aged men.

Qin Yun thought himself highly skilled, but Liu Jingmeng was on another level entirely.

Not yet twenty years old, she had already reached the Spirit Martial realm and was even a Rune Master!

"Xiao Yun, that little girl possesses a powerful bloodline inheritance and a spirit-gifted martial soul... Unless I'm wrong, she was born with a Flame Immortal Physique—her flames are unnaturally potent," Ling Yuner suddenly remarked.

"The hell's that?" Qin Yun was astonished.

"A Flame Immortal Physique is a body fated for ascension," Ling Yuner explained. "The people of Celestial Armory City must have noticed her constitution!"

"There’s actually such a thing!" Qin Yun was blown away.

"Of course, there are also Saint Bodies and Divine Bodies, but those are even rarer—evolved from Immortal Bodies!" Ling Yuner added.

"Xiao Yun, if you train hard enough, you might cultivate a Sky Lion Profound Body! Though Profound Bodies are considered lower-tier foundations, they can still grant you immense strength and even evolve into an Immortal Body!"

Listening to Ling Yuner’s words, Qin Yun felt his pulse quicken and was itching to attempt it.

If he could cultivate such a powerful physique, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous aid to his future cultivation.

"Begin!" the bald man shouted loudly.

In the center of the hall, an arena had been cleared where the Rune Masters from both sides would compete.

The furnaces and forging hammers they used were standard-issue.

No one expected that Liu Jingmeng, who usually seemed spacey and dim, would become so focused and composed when forging materials, as if she had become one with the craft.

Liu Jingmeng gripped a forging hammer tightly in her small hands, and as it descended, azure fire erupted from the hammerhead!

"Blue flames! Could that be a Blue Martial Soul? That’s a spirit-gifted martial soul!" someone exclaimed in shock.

"Who knows what kind of spirit-gifted martial soul it is! Judging by its aura, it’s nothing to scoff at!"

"That bald man’s granddaughter is truly extraordinary!"

"Blue divine flames are wickedly potent."

The crowd gasped in shock.

Chu Binyu and the others were also startled, suddenly under serious pressure.

On the scene, the clang of metalworking already filled the air.

Before they knew it, the hour was up!

The senior Runes Masters competing against Liu Jingmeng were thrown off balance—they hadn’t expected her to possess mystic flames.

Of course, even with Liu Jingmeng’s mystic flames, if they lost, it would be a humiliating loss.

After all, these senior Runes Masters were all elderly.

Losing to a girl under twenty would indeed be embarrassing.

Now, they began weighing the xuanyuan steel one by one.

The one-pound piece of low-grade xuanyuan steel had shrunk significantly after an hour of forging.

Though smaller, if the forger was skilled, the xuanyuan steel could become heavier.

The weigh-in was over in no time!

Liu Jingmeng’s xuanyuan steel weighed 2.8 pounds!

Meanwhile, the heaviest among Chu Binyu and the other seniors was only 2.5 pounds!

Keep in mind, these elders were powerful Martial Lords or even Martial Kings, vastly outclassing Liu Jingmeng in power.

Liu Jingmeng took the first round!

Those who had doubted her abilities earlier were now struck dumb and didn’t say another word.

The second round was next—a precision challenge in carving a King-Grade Spirit Pattern.

Within an hour, they had to carve the same King-Grade Spirit Pattern, judged on precision.

Like many others, Qin Yun was on the edge of his seat waiting for the results, carefully observing the spirit pattern Liu Jingmeng carved.

From where he stood, he couldn’t discern the precision level and had to wait for the final evaluation.

During the contest, the carving tools were identical, and all carvings were made on the same xuanyuan steel plate.

Before anyone realized, the hour was up!

Liu Jingmeng had clearly finished effortlessly.

Then came the precision judging!

The result rocked Qin Yun to his core.

Liu Jingmeng scored level eight.

Chu Binyu and the other seniors also scored level eight.

This round resulted in a dead heat!

Who would’ve thought... "To carve level-eight precision with just an ordinary engraving knife?"

Qin Yun was also hit hard, feeling that he could hold his own against Liu Jingmeng when forging materials.

As for precision, maybe he'd hit level seven, or even push to eight!

According to the wager, South Qiwen Hall would win as long as they won just one round.

If they failed to win even one, they would lose!

Several senior Runes Masters from South Qiwen Hall got swept by Liu Jingmeng in the first round, while the second round was a tie!

This meant they hadn’t won a single round!

"Hahaha… Mengmeng, we won! Our West Qiwen Hall can now open a branch in the southern district!"

The West’s bald old man was overjoyed, laughing as he gave Liu Jingmeng an affectionate pat.

The crowd now looked at Liu Jingmeng with awe!

Many young talents present also wanted a wife like her.

"Holy hell, South Qiwen Hall actually lost! West Qiwen Hall is coming up in the world!"

Mu Fengxiao suddenly felt immense pressure, as West Qiwen Hall would now become his competitor as well.

He had originally thought the two halls would exhaust each other in their rivalry, but things didn’t go as he expected.

At that moment, a golden-robed youth strolled out with a smile, entering the central arena.

He looked at the bald old man, his thin face wearing a smug smirk, and said, "I am Long Yuetao, son of the Grand Master of North Qiwen Hall! Our North Qiwen Hall would also like to see what your West Hall’s got!"

The crowd buzzed upon hearing this name.

"Long Yuetao? Isn’t he the Runes Master from the Medicine Fairy Vale? At fifty, he reached the Spirit Martial Realm as a Martial Master and is also a Runes Master! A once-in-a-generation talent—who would’ve thought he’d appear here!"

"Fifty? Looks half that!"

Long Yuetao himself was a scion of the Long family, and his father was the Grand Master of North Qiwen Hall, making him a big-shot pedigree.

"What’s the challenge?" The bald old man naturally had full confidence in his granddaughter’s abilities.

"Same deal as last time!"

"As for the wager… if you win against me, your West Hall can open a branch in our northern district!"

"But if you lose, Liu Jingmeng must marry me, and your West Qiwen Hall will get absorbed by us. How about it?"

Long Yuetao shot back, cocky as hell.