Chapter 0571 Granny Ma

Chapter 0571 Granny Ma

Ying Chengyu took out some materials and said, "The first round will be a rune-crafting competition!"

The crafting material was made from beast hide, and the rune being made was the Mystic Thunder Rune.

Once completed, the energy of the thunder rune would be absorbed by a lightning-absorbing pearl, and then weighed to determine whose rune was of higher grade.

"Three rounds, best two out of three!" Ying Chengyu smiled confidently. "This time, we're sure to win!"

The disciple behind him not only exuded confidence but also wore an air of cold arrogance.

The tools used in the contest were standardized.

Seeing the rune-crafting tools, Liu Jingmeng didn’t seem too nervous anymore.

"Two hours!" Ying Chengyu declared.

The Five Immortal Sects had no objections either, merely inspecting the contest tools to prevent any cheating.

The contest began!

Once Liu Jingmeng entered her focused state, she became completely absorbed, entirely unaffected by external distractions.

Her focus earned Ying Chengyu’s nod of approval.

"Why was the old sect leader's death handled so secretively? Is it because the new sect leader is too weak, fearful of reprisals?" Ying Chengyu asked, glancing at the black-robed elders.

"No!" replied the black-robed Granny Ma.

"If your new sect leader isn’t up to the task, I could return and take over!" Ying Chengyu laughed heartily. "With my current strength, I’d easily rank among the top three in the Five Immortal Sects!"

"Your concern is unnecessary!" a black-robed elder said sternly.

"Have it your way. Seems like the Five Immortal Sects are in decline anyway!" Ying Chengyu chuckled. "This time, you’ve only sent a single young girl as your disciple. In the past, you’d have sent several!"

"Jingmeng by herself can defeat all three of your disciples!" Granny Ma declared with unwavering confidence.

"Don’t be so sure!" Ying Chengyu laughed heartily. "My three disciples, who have already reached the Spirit Martial Realm, are all in their thirties and are Runes Masters."

The tens of thousands in the square broke into astonished whispers upon hearing this.

Runes Masters at the Spirit Martial Realm in their thirties were indeed exceptionally rare.

No wonder Ying Chengyu was so confident.

Soon, two hours passed.

Liu Jingmeng finished ahead of time. The Mystic Thunder Rune she crafted was astonishingly powerful—when thrown, it unleashed a powerful lightning arc that surged into a lightning-absorbing pearl.

Though the Mystic Thunder Rune crafted by Ying Chengyu’s disciple was also strong, it couldn't compare to Liu Jingmeng’s.

Finally, the two lightning-absorbing pearls were weighed.

Liu Jingmeng’s pearl was over half a pound heavier, a decisive lead.

Ying Chengyu lost, his face darkened. However, to ensure fairness, he allowed Liu Jingmeng to rest before moving on to the second round.

"I must admit, this little girl is truly remarkable. Not yet twenty, yet already achieved this level. Many veteran Runes Masters must feel ashamed compared to her!" Ying Chengyu admitted.

Mu Fengxiao, the bald Western Wind guy, and Chu Binyu were also present, watching. They all felt inferior to Liu Jingmeng.

"It's nothing. New talents keep popping up—this is good for our Runes Hall!" Mu Fengxiao didn’t mind at all and laughed. "A young and promising Runes Master like her is truly a blessing for the Runes Master community!"

Many of the elder Runes Masters there also nodded in agreement with Mu Fengxiao’s words.

Ying Chengyu snorted.

After resting, Liu Jingmeng began the second round of the mystical weapon forging contest.

The task was to forge a low-grade mystical weapon—a blade, to be exact. Then they would test the strength of the blades using instruments. The one with the higher strength would win.

Forging mystical weapons took almost an entire day!

For average Runes Masters, spending half a day forging a mystical blade often resulted in something unusable—maybe even worse than a high-grade spiritual weapon.

You can’t rush forging mystical weapons.

However, for some talented Runes Masters, even with limited time, they could produce excellent mystical weapons.

The contest dragged on late into the night and was nearing its end.

Guided by a few elders, several large glowing stones floated in the air, lighting up the square.

The crowd waited without complaint.

They all wanted to see whether the Celestial Armory City would ultimately lose their most precious Celestial Artifact.

Once time ran out, both Liu Jingmeng and Ying Chengyu’s disciple finished their blades.

Then the strength testing began.

According to the instruments, Liu Jingmeng's blade scored an eighteen on strength.

Meanwhile, Ying Chengyu’s disciple’s blade scored a nineteen.

"Haha, we’ve won one round! If we win the next, the Celestial Armory City will lose to me!"

Ying Chengyu let out a booming laugh, like he’d already won.

Liu Jingmeng lost this round by a narrow margin. She lowered her head, ashamed, not daring to look at the black-robed Granny Ma behind her.

"Jingmeng, don’t sweat it. Just crush the next round! Your totem engraving is excellent—you’ll definitely win!" Though Granny Ma said this, she was getting antsy.

If Liu Jingmeng lost again, their most powerful Celestial Artifact would have to be handed over to Ying Chengyu.

"Granny Ma, can we get Young Master Qin for the final round? His totem engravings are outstanding—he’ll surely win!" Liu Jingmeng whispered.

Chu Binyu, standing nearby, also saw an opportunity and quickly stepped forward. "Granny Ma, Qin Yun once defeated Long Yuetao in totem engraving—that’s a fact. Moreover, the precision of his totem engravings is extremely high!"

Ying Chengyu immediately interjected, "This isn’t about how precise your engravings are! It’s about engraving totems onto puppets and then having the puppets fight! The winner’s the one whose puppet wins!"

"Granny Ma, Qin Yun’s mastery of the Golden Ape Totem is ideal for puppet-making!" Chu Binyu added.

At this moment, the bald man also approached and said, "Granny Ma, Jingmeng is my granddaughter, and I’ve often guided her in rune knowledge. So I know very well that her skills in totem engraving are far inferior to Qin Yun’s! Ying Chengyu clearly came prepared. With Jingmeng’s skills, I doubt she can pull it off."

The bald man was also able to open a branch temple in the northern district thanks to Qin Yun, which brought him great benefits, so naturally, he had to help Qin Yun.

"Fine, I'll go find him now!" To secure victory, Granny Ma had no choice but to make an exception and release Qin Yun from his cell.

...

Inside the cell, Qin Yun relentlessly drilled the techniques of the saber, all of which were moves from the Mortal Saber Manual.

"Qin Yun, aren’t you tired of this? Practicing such third-rate blade forms all day!"

"Exactly, what’s the point of this worthless swordplay? It's full of flaws!"

"Stop it already, it’s annoying to watch!"

Those clan disciples taunted him mercilessly.

Qin Yun ignored them and continued practicing the various saber forms from the Mortal Saber Manual.

Just then, Granny Ma walked in with a few people.

Upon seeing Granny Ma, everyone immediately stood up and bowed slightly in respect.

"Granny Ma is here—she’s one of the Five Great Protectors of the Dharma Protector Hall, the Vermilion Protector!" an elder muttered under his breath to Qin Yun.

Qin Yun quickly lowered his blade and looked at Granny Ma.

Granny Ma approached Qin Yun with a cold expression and said, "Qin Yun, there’s a task you need to complete. If you do it well, your term will be shortened by one year!"

"What is it?" Qin Yun's spirits lifted, and he quickly asked, "Tell me first!"

The onlookers gaped when they heard this.

Shortening a sentence was something without precedent in the Dharma Protector Hall.

The punishments of the Dharma Protector Hall were always merciless and inflexible.

When the Hall decreed punishment, it would be three years—no exceptions.

Yet now, to get Qin Yun’s help, they were willing to reduce his sentence by a year!

The clan disciples were all shocked, their eyes wide at Granny Ma.

"Our Celestial Armory City is facing a competition, and we need a master carver of totem patterns. If you win, your term will be shortened by one year!" Granny Ma’s voice was frost-laden and detached.

"Oh," Qin Yun replied indifferently.

"What do you mean? Will you agree or not?" Granny Ma’s brow darkened.

"If I win, you’ll release me—then I’ll agree," Qin Yun said.

A disciple from the Long family inside the cell shouted, "Qin Yun, mind your tongue before the Vermilion Protector! Reducing your sentence by a year is already without precedent!"

Qin Yun gave a mirthless laugh. "So it’s an exception just for me? Then forget it. Let me see my sentence through—no need to break the Dharma Protector Hall’s rules!"

The infamously rigid Dharma Protector Hall was making an exception to reduce Qin Yun’s sentence just to have him compete—clearly, the matter weighed heavily.

Qin Yun understood at once that if they lost this competition, it would bring grave consequences for Celestial Armory City.

Now that the Dharma Protector Hall needed his help, offering only a one-year reduction was downright miserly.

"If you win, your sentence will be reduced by two years!" Granny Ma suppressed her anger and added.

Qin Yun sat on the ground, said nothing, then chuckled, "This cell may be a bit small, but I find it quite comfortable! I have many enemies outside, so laying low here for three years sounds just fine."

"Qin Yun, you made a mistake, and our Dharma Protector Hall must impose appropriate punishment. If we do nothing, what would become of the Dharma Protector Hall’s authority?" Granny Ma said coldly.

The clan disciples, who had initially wanted to interject, saw how furious Granny Ma was and didn’t dare speak, merely smugly enjoying Qin Yun’s trouble.

Everyone in the dungeon thought Qin Yun was doomed for daring to provoke Granny Ma like this.

"Exactly! No exceptions for anyone, so I’m perfectly willing to serve my three-year sentence!" Qin Yun said with a grin. "Granny Ma, go find another sucker!"

Granny Ma hadn’t bargained on Qin Yun bargaining with her like this.

After all, for the Dharma Protector Hall to make such a concession—reducing the sentence by two years—was already a huge deal.

"What do you want? A three-year reduction?" Granny Ma snapped.

"I never asked for a three-year reduction!" Qin Yun spread his hands. "I’d hate to mess with the rules, so there’s no need to make an exception for me!"

One of the clan disciples shouted at Qin Yun, "Qin Yun, quit while you’re ahead… Granny Ma, this brat is so arrogant—hurry up and teach him a lesson, throw the book at him!"