Chapter 0913: Trade Fair

Chapter 0913: Exchange Meet

Lan Chen shouted worriedly, "Brat, don’t mess around with me—this could kill someone!"

Yu Shutian’s eyes flashed with surprise, as Qin Yun knew how to carve totem patterns—a skill only a highly skilled Master Runesmith could achieve.

From this, she could also tell that Qin Yun’s runic abilities were exceptional, especially his ability to inscribe soul runes into martial souls, something only a master of the art of soul refinement could accomplish.

"Old Lan, if I carve a runic soul into you, you’ll gain at least the strength of a dragon. Come on, let’s try it!" Qin Yun grabbed Lan Chen’s arm and dragged him into a sealed room.

Lan Chen was terrified and yelled, "Girls, save me! Don’t let him mess around—I’ll die!"

Hong Mengshu and Yu Shutian shared a grin but didn’t stop Qin Yun.

Especially Hong Mengshu, who had complete faith in Qin Yun’s skills.

"You bastard, why would you carve a Star Totem into me for no reason? There’s no such thing as a free lunch—you must be using me as a test subject!" Lan Chen cursed under his breath as Qin Yun dragged him into the chamber.

Lan Chen had already noticed that his strength was far inferior to Qin Yun’s, which saddened him. He recalled how, in the past, Qin Yun had been much weaker and couldn’t hold a candle to him.

But now, Qin Yun had left him in the dust.

Qin Yun had Zi Qingcheng come out from the Nine Sun Divine Soul Orb.

Lan Chen, who was sitting on the ground, jumped up in fright when he saw the purple-robed Zi Qingcheng suddenly appear. "Purple Spirit Palace Master?! Why are you here?!"

Qin Yun playfully pinched Zi Qingcheng’s beautiful cheek and grinned. "She’s with me now!"

Back then, Lan Chen had lost a battle against Zi Qingcheng and was forced to hand over the Blue Spirit Star Palace to her.

That incident had been a life-long disgrace for Lan Chen.

And Zi Qingcheng had become his personal demon.

To his dismay, Zi Qingcheng was now Qin Yun’s woman!

"Sect Leader Lan, long time no see! You’ve reached the Midstage Martial King Realm too!" Zi Qingcheng smiled. "Shall we have another match?"

"N-no need!" Lan Chen felt like he was seeing things. He had thought that, thanks to the Star Totem, his progress would far outpace his peers.

Yet, Zi Qingcheng had also reached the Midstage Martial King Realm!

Lan Chen had no chance in facing her.

Qin Yun laughed. "Old Lan, you can’t beat her! I’ve etched totem patterns into her—her strength is far beyond yours!"

Lan Chen gasped. "Is that true?"

"Of course!" Zi Qingcheng grinned. "Sect Leader Lan, shall we spar a little to test it out?"

Having recently reached the Midstage Martial King Realm, she was eager to test her newfound power.

"No need!" Lan Chen shook his head frantically.

Qin Yun had Zi Qingcheng return to the Nine Sun Divine Soul Orb to continue learning under Yao Fang’s guidance.

His fear now easing, Lan Chen sighed. "Brat, it seems your art of soul refinement is quite advanced! Alright, get on with it. If I die, I die—anything to get stronger!"

Qin Yun chuckled. "Quit exaggerating! I’ve never botched a job when etching runes or totem patterns on other Martial Kings! Unless the heavens hate you, nothing will go wrong!"

"What if my luck runs out?" Lan Chen pouted, "I'm riding high right now—I don’t want you ruining my bright future!"

"No 'what ifs'!" Qin Yun said, "What’s your Martial Soul? You gonna summon it for carving, or should I just cut into your belly directly?"

Lan Chen released his Martial Soul—a blue Star Martial Soul!

"A blue Martial Soul—and a Divine one at that! Is this also hereditary?" Qin Yun laughed.

"Of course! Our bloodline’s always had the Blue Star Martial Soul and the Star Totem!" Lan Chen said, "Bad luck—my totem markings landed on my head!"

Qin Yun asked, "Old Lan, what’s your Divine Art?"

Lan Chen replied, "The Star-Summoning Divine Art—I can call down countless falling stars. If you ever wanna wow a girl by taking her to see a meteor shower, just come find me. I’ll summon one for you and create some romance!"

Qin Yun burst into laughter, "Old Lan, thanks! But I don’t need that trick. The star patterns I control can also summon meteors—not just meteors, but even massive stars if I want!"

"Quit yapping, kid, and focus on carving the Star Totem! Don’t screw this up! I’ve heard that if a mistake is made while carving a totem on a Martial Soul, the consequences are severe!" Lan Chen warned sternly.

"Oh? Never seen a screw-up before—I’d actually like to witness it!" Qin Yun said as he began carving the Star Totem.

Lan Chen went white as a sheet!

Mo Mo had just scraped together the intel and immediately passed it to Qin Yun.

That’s how Qin Yun picked it up so fast.

But this was exactly what worried Lan Chen—Qin Yun had only just obtained the Star Totem not long ago.

Lan Chen’s Martial Soul glowed blue, resembling a blue fireball—the Blue Star Martial Soul.

Once released, its size was quite large, making Qin Yun’s carving process much easier.

Meanwhile, Lan Chen was sweating bullets, tense all over as he watched Qin Yun’s Spirit Insight Pen. He feared his Martial Soul might suddenly fail and dissipate.

The process went smoothly, and Qin Yun grew even more proficient in carving the Star Totem.

With one successful attempt, failure was practically impossible.

When Lan Chen saw Qin Yun succeed, he was overjoyed, his face beaming—he could feel his Martial Soul’s power surging after the Star Totem was carved.

"Just now, you were scared to death, and now you’re all smiles!" Qin Yun scoffed, "If it were anyone else, even if they offered me hundreds of millions, I wouldn’t bother carving a totem for them—it’s exhausting! You’re my friend, so I did it for free. You hit the jackpot, pal, you know?"

"Nice try, kid, but I know you were using me for practice! Besides, if it weren’t for me, would you have even gotten the Star Totem?" Lan Chen chuckled, "Call it square!"

"By the way, have you seen Elder Xie and the others?" Qin Yun asked.

"Yeah, Xie Wufeng is incredible! He was Midstage Martial King—probably Late Stage now. No clue how he pulls it off, but his cultivation improves insanely fast!" Lan Chen exclaimed in awe when speaking of Xie Wufeng.

Qin Yun knew Xie Wufeng had encountered a rare opportunity and worked hard, which led to his rapid progress. As for what that opportunity was—that was Xie Wufeng’s secret.

"What about Mu Rong Xiaoren?" Qin Yun asked.

"That bum? Barely a Peak Martial Lord! But honestly, that’s still fast for him, considering he usually slacks off and fools around!" Lan Chen said, "Anyway, I’m off to the Sigil Hall to find Lan Huayu. You coming?"

"Not for now. I’d rather not get grilled about Sister Lan..." Qin Yun chuckled, "And don’t mention me to him yet!"

"Got it!" Lan Chen left the chamber, said quick goodbyes to Hong Mengshu and Yu Shutian, and hurried off.

Qin Yun emerged from the chamber, waving two Emperor-grade Source Stones, and grinned, "Just a quick trip, and scored these two things!"

"Emperor-grade Source Stone... Brother Yun, where did you snatch these from? Never knew you were so good at lifting things!" Hong Mengshu laughed.

Yu Shutian also looked surprised as she walked over to examine the Emperor-grade Source Stone.

"Come on, I didn't steal them—I won them!" Qin Yun then explained the story of the Emperor Melon to Hong Mengshu and Yu Shutian.

Hong Mengshu pouted, "Such a fun event, and you didn’t take me along! I love gambling the most!"

Qin Yun chuckled, "Meng Shu, you so-called gambling queen better stay away—you’d lose every last coin!"

Hong Mengshu, unconvinced, puckered her lips at Qin Yun.

"Xiao Tian, tell me about this Emperor Melon?" Qin Yun asked.

"The Emperor Melon... is a very special monarch-grade spirit fruit that grows in the Emperor Mountain Range. Deep within the mountains, these melons are relatively common!" Yu Shutian, being well-read at Phantom Spirit Academy, was very knowledgeable.

"So, there are a lot of these melons?" Qin Yun asked.

"Yes! But very few of them contain Emperor-grade Source Stones inside. As for how they grow, no one really knows!"

"Anyway, these Emperor Melons are plentiful. Usually, a single vine bears ten or more. When people find them, they take the whole vine and sell them as gambling material!" Yu Shutian smiled. "Ah Yun, finding two Emperor-grade Source Stones in one melon—you’re really lucky!"

Suddenly, the door creaked open, and Qin Yun quickly put away the Source Stones.

The person who entered was none other than Granny Wang.

Seeing Qin Yun there, Granny Wang showed little surprise.

Granny Wang had also brought along three elders.

Each elder was accompanied by a young person, apparently candidates for the assessment.

"Granny Wang, this is my friend Yu Shutian. She’s also here for the assessment," Hong Mengshu said to Granny Wang.

A red-robed man following Granny Wang remarked with surprise, "Yu Shutian from Phantom Spirit Academy? The celebrated genius of Hundred Towers City! Also an Astromancer, an expert in stellar arts. Rumor has it she’s even the woman admired by the chief disciple of the Hundred Towers Sect!"

"And this gentleman?" The red-robed man turned to Qin Yun and asked.

"He’s my friend. He’s not here for the assessment," Yu Shutian replied.

"Oh, just tagging along then," the red-robed man sneered dismissively.

Granny Wang couldn't be bothered to explain further—she knew full well how capable Qin Yun was.

"There’s a trade conference tonight! Those with invitation cards or those with Emperor Wu cultivation can attend," Granny Wang said, glancing at the three elders. "Let’s discuss the details inside."

After Granny Wang and the three elders went in, the three young people outside introduced themselves to Hong Mengshu and Yu Shutian.

The three youths—two men and one woman—had come with their elders. Being young Martial Kings, they were rather haughty.

The red-robed man boasted, "Though it’s my first time taking the assessment, I’m certain I’ll pass smoothly! After that, I’ll pick a good retainer to follow me into the Hundred Towers Sect!"