"Junior Brother Ming, are you really okay?"
After walking a distance, Ouna finally couldn't help herself and caught up with Ming Qi.
"It's okay. A mere innate magical power can't hurt me." The wound on Ming Qi's arm had stopped bleeding, and there was no sign of spreading. It looked like a common knife wound, and it was impossible to tell it was caused by an innate magical power.
Hearing Ming Qi's resolute tone, Ouna felt relieved, but she was still very confused. Innate! That's an innate magical power. How could someone injured by an innate magical power be completely unharmed?
However, Ouna knew that Ming Qi wasn't the type to show everything on his face. Although he looked several years younger than her, Ouna had never underestimated Ming Qi.
"So, what do we do next?"
Tang Qi said hesitantly.
After the previous confrontation, Tang Qi had completely lost his confidence. The presence of a girl beside him made Tang Qi, who had always considered himself mysterious yet powerful, feel extremely conflicted, to the point where his words were a bit slurred.
"Let's just go shopping. We haven't even bought a single thing yet."
Ming Qi felt no pressure at all. He was truly fine. Thanks to the mysterious Supreme Mountain and Sea Map's dissolving power, which had completely neutralized the power of his innate magical powers, he was completely fine, save for the pain from the wound on his arm.
The trading area wasn't just one street. After wandering around a few times, they arrived at another. Ming Qi spotted a shop and went straight in.
"Huh?"
Tang Qi looked up and saw that the shop Ming Qi had entered wasn't selling goods, but rather a place to buy materials.
"Junbao Pavilion?"
Seeing the name, Tang Qi was taken aback. "This seems to be run by the Lihuo Sect, right?"
Unable to wrap his head around it, Tang Qi followed in, driven by a sense of fact rather than purpose.
When Tang Qi walked in, she saw Ming Qi chatting with the shopkeeper at the front of the counter.
"Junior Brother Ming, you..."
Tang Qi had originally intended to ask Ming Qi if he had anything to sell, perhaps even selling directly to someone within the sect. But he had barely finished his sentence when the mustachioed shopkeeper exclaimed in surprise.
"What? You have two thousand black viper linings?"
The roar was so loud it immediately attracted the attention of many people, and it startled Tang Qi and the other girls who had been following him.
Ming Qi had so many black viper linings?
They were genuinely skeptical. Even if black vipers weren't powerful monsters, capturing and skinning so many of them was no easy task.
Besides, Ming Qi hadn't been away from the sect long, so how could he have so many?
The four of them quickened their pace.
As Tang Qi and the other three approached the counter, they heard the shopkeeper's strangled voice: "You said you have the inner core of an innate demon beast? More than one?"
"Yes, as long as you offer a reasonable price, I don't mind selling them all to you."
Ming Qi spoke calmly.
Obtaining thousands of black viper linings might seem difficult to others, but Ming Qi didn't think so. With Meng Ling around, acquiring as many black viper linings as he wanted, even those from innate demon beasts, would be much easier.
"Um, this is a large transaction. I need to ask the boss for permission."
"Go ahead."
Ming Qi remained calm. Watching the front desk owner quickly run upstairs, he found a stool nearby and waited patiently.
This wasn't a secret, and Ming Qi had no intention of hiding it from Tang Qi and the others. Seeing their surprised looks, he couldn't help but smile, "Why, I'm going to get some Yuan Jing to exchange for some equipment for everyone. Any objections?"
"Uh..."
...
There was a moment of silence, speechless.
"No," Qiu Ling shook her head. She was straightforward and never one to beat around the bush, so naturally, she wasn't overthinking it at this point.
"How did you get so many viper linings?"
Tang Qi asked hesitantly.
"Before I initiated, I practiced in a snake valley. Over time, I've accumulated quite a bit, and now I'm just trying to exchange them for cash."
Ming Qi explained calmly, and it was clearly a good reason. The black viper wasn't very high-level, and considering Ming Qi's combat prowess, it seemed only a matter of time before he could collect its linings.
And so, the four people's doubts dissipated.
However, the Yuan Crystals obtained in exchange for the linings of two thousand Black Vipers were no small sum. This was probably equivalent to the combined assets of everyone in Tianqi Academy.
"Junior Brother Ming, this is something you've worked so hard to earn. How can we possibly take it?"
Sang Yue'er, who had always seldom spoken, spoke up at this moment. Her shy nature had often led many to overlook her presence, but now everyone in Tianqi Academy knew that Sang Yue'er's contribution to their survival was no less than anyone else's.
Hearing Sang Yue'er speak, Ming Qi chuckled and said, "Senior Sister Yue'er, that's your fault. Unity, without distinction between you and me, is also part of the Tianqi will."
Sang Yue'er's eyes flickered, and she opened her mouth but said nothing, clearly acquiescing to Ming Qi's words.
Indeed, the last hope of Tianqi Academy's survival stemmed purely from the support of Tianqi's will: unity, unwavering loyalty, perseverance to the end, and so on and so forth.
They were all working hard, striving for their ideals, their beliefs, and everything they cherished.
As they spoke, the front desk manager had returned.
Seeing the group chatting so cheerfully, the manager was slightly surprised, but then relieved. It turned out they were all in the same group.
"Young man, our boss wants to see you. Please follow me."
The manager bowed and made a gesture of invitation. Seeing the five people file past him, his heart skipped a beat.
Following the manager's instructions, Ming Qi and his group of five quickly arrived at a quiet room on the second floor of Junbao Pavilion. Sitting in the room was a middle-aged man in his forties. He looked well-fed, the kind with a broad build. However, his face showed signs of fatigue, as if he had been overworked.
"I'm here."
Seeing Ming Qi and his group arrive, the middle-aged man simply said two words, lacking the qualities expected of a business owner. It was as if Ming Qi owed him something.
Seeing this, Ming Qi didn't intend to be polite. He immediately waved his hand, interrupting the front desk manager who was about to speak, and said bluntly, "Boss, tell me the actual price."
"Actual price? One low-grade Yuan Crystal for the Viper's lining, three mid-grade Yuan Crystals for the Innate Demon Pill."
The middle-aged boss directly listed the purchase price, still looking listless.
Hmm?
Ming Qi was struck by this. This price seemed a bit strange to him. The Black Viper's lining was obviously quite expensive, but how could an Innate Demon Pill be worth only three mid-grade Yuan Crystals?
The boss couldn't have been unaware of the market situation, but he still offered this price, clearly deliberately.
But what was his purpose in doing this? Ming Qi couldn't understand it for a moment.
Unable to figure out the underlying situation, Ming Qi naturally wouldn't rashly sell the item. However, he saw through one thing: this so-called boss wasn't genuinely interested in completing the deal.
Thinking of this, Ming Qi decided to be very straightforward.
"Then I won't bother you any more."
With that, he turned and walked away.
"Hey, hey..."
The front desk manager behind him was still nagging at him, bewildered. He watched helplessly as such a wealthy customer simply turned and walked away, feeling deeply troubled.
"Junior Brother Ming, why didn't you sell it to him? Are you dissatisfied with the price?"
As they descended the stairs and exited Junbao Pavilion, Qiu Ling eagerly asked.
Everyone was genuinely curious as to why Ming Qi had so abruptly rejected the deal. Even if the price wasn't right, there was room for negotiation. There was no reason to just walk away.
Ming Qi, without stopping, spoke his conjecture.
"That old man, I suspect he's cheating. We have to be on guard."
"Cheating?"
Ming Qi's words left them even more confused. To conclude he was cheating based on just one simple statement was truly unbelievable.
However, seeing Ming Qi had no intention of joking, the four of them put their strange thoughts aside for the moment and simply followed him out of the trading area.
Having lost interest in strolling further, the five of them walked quickly, leaving the trading area in no time.
"Junior Brother Ming, if I remember correctly, that Junbao Pavilion seems to be a subsidiary of the Lihuo Sect. If there's any deception going on, it must be orchestrated by the Lihuo Sect."
As they left the trading area, Tang Qi expressed his opinion.
"The Lihuo Sect again?" Ming Qi was truly impressed by his luck. How could he have chosen a Lihuo Sect subsidiary out of nowhere?
"The Lihuo Sect's style of action is quite flamboyant, and in recent years, with the protection of the Jinchuan Bai Mansion, they've become even more brazen. Originally, they were merely a check and balance with us, but now they're desperately trying to stir up trouble, attempting to leverage the Bai Mansion's power to completely undermine the sect's foundation."
Tang Qi naturally knew more about the Biyou Sect's current situation than Ming Qi. While things appeared calm at the moment, the Biyou Sect's predicament had quietly been pushed to the brink of collapse, and a moment's hesitation could lead to its demise.
"So, how is the sect responding to this?"
Ming Qi was curious. Given the Biyou Sect's hidden situation, there was no reason for the sect's core leadership not to take some action. After all, the Biyou Sect's power was on a completely different level than the Bai Mansion's.
"Well..." Tang Qi paused, then said sadly, "These involve the sect's secrets, so I have no way of knowing."
At this moment, Ming Qi no longer paid attention to Tang Qi's dejection. Instead, he abruptly said, "I didn't expect they'd give up so soon."
The people who had been walking were suddenly startled. Listening carefully, they could hear the rustling of footsteps all around them!