Chapter 228 - Can’t Afford to Climb this Social Ladder

Lin Xuanzhi swept a glance over Qi Er. “Gentleman Qi Er, this location is connected to the outside world. You should leave first to recuperate and recover.”

Actually, Qi Er would never continue to stay here, even if Lin Xuanzhi didn’t say anything.

“Many thanks to Brother Lin for saving my life, the Qi family will definitely return the favor someday.” Qi Er expressed his thanks, then looked over at Shen Rubing’s side and gnashed his teeth, “As for you…my Qi family and your Shen family, this is not the end!”

The Qi family had suffered such a big loss in the Pill Limit Mysterious Land this time and didn’t even get a single treasure before they all had to leave this place, which was certain to become the shame of the entire family. Most likely, the Qi family would start causing trouble for the Shen family even before Shen Rubing leaves the Mysterious Land.

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“He, of course, it’s not over between us.” Shen Rubing narrowed her eyes. She was the eldest legitimate daughter of the Shen family’s main branch, and the Shen family was one of Sky Peak City’s elite families. Naturally, the Shen family wasn’t afraid of the North Continent’s Qi family.

After exchanging fierce threats, Qi Er, with one lame leg, crushed the transportation ball and disappeared.

After resting for a while, everyone walked forward along the mountain path under the direction of Shen Rubing.

The mountain path was very dark and had many forks in the road, but Shen Rubing easily navigated the way forward and didn’t even hesitate at the forks, obviously very familiar with this place.

After walking around yet another mountain path, Qiu Lu couldn’t help but ask in a whisper, “Shijie, where are we going?”

Shen Rubing replied lightly, “To where the treasures are.”

Qiu Lu froze for a moment. “Shijie seems to be very familiar with this place.”

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Shen Rubing swept her a glance. “This was originally the Shen family’s Mysterious Land.”

“Ah?” Qiu Lu’s eyes widened in surprise.

Although he’d already warned Shen Rubing, Lin Xuanzhi naturally couldn’t wholeheartedly trust her, so he had always been vigilantly observing Shen Rubing’s every move.

Shen Rubing probably knew that there were more enemies than friends here, so she didn’t cause trouble.

Shen Rubing took various twists and turns when at junctions in the road and pressed some hidden mechanisms from time to time. After arduously strolling about on the mountain path for six to eight hours, they finally arrived at a bright mountain chamber.

The ground inside the mountain chamber wasn’t made of stone, but a rare soil instead, which was covered with mature spiritual plants. Spiritual fog lingered around the plants, and an immortal aura was faintly discernible when one looked at it.

The spiritual plants gave off a unique medicinal fragrance that made people feel comfortable when they smelled it.

Everyone’s eyes brightened, especially Wan Linghua and Yan Tianhen, these two people who dealt with spiritual plants all day. They were itching to rush over immediately and rob this place empty!

“Dage, that’s the Luo Water Spring that only blooms once every 300 years!”

“Dage, this is the Setting Sun Returns to Sun grass, which will only bear a seed every fifty years!”

“Dage…”

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Lin Xuanzhi heard Yan Tianhen excitedly chatter on beside his ear and spoke with a smile, “Ah Hen, just go and pick the spiritual plants you can use.”

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Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Yan Tianhen sighed, “If only I had a storage bag that could hold the entire field of spiritual plants.”

“That will depend on your Dage’s skill.”

Lin Xuanzhi smiled faintly, “Sooner or later you’ll have it.”

Yan Tianhen looked at Lin Xuanzhi. “Dage, how long can I dig here for?”

Lin Xuanzhi smiled, “Dig however long as you want.”

Yan Tianhen was rest assured.

Although the majority of spiritual plants here were of lower grades, there were also higher grade ones. The higher the grade of spiritual plant, the more Qi you needed to consume in order to pull it out, so it wasn’t like everyone could casually take away all they wanted.

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Yan Tianhen dug up a stalk of Third Grade spiritual plant, his forehead already covered with sweat, his Qi greatly exhausted. He learned his lesson and started to dig out the high grade and rare spiritual plants. He soon had more than ten dug out.

Duan Yuyang and Yuan Tianwen also went down to dig up spiritual plants. Because Duan Yuyang had never done this kind of work before, he accidentally damaged many stalks when he dug, but fortunately, he didn’t have to compensate anyone, so he didn’t regret too much.

Shen Rubing probably valued her own image too much to go down and dig up spiritual plants, but Qiu Lu couldn’t endure watching any longer and started digging as well.

Wan Linghua and Jin Fangfei gathered in a circle and were also busy harvesting spiritual plants together.

Lin Xuanzhi couldn’t gather Qi internally, so he couldn’t dig out any spiritual plants and only stood by and watched.

At this point, Shen Rubing no longer held any affection for Lun Xuanzhi. Instead, she felt a certain degree of vigilance and fear for this person.

Shen Rubing found a place to sit down, her face full of frustration.

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She was waiting for someone.

Lin Xuanzhi also knew that she was waiting for someone.

In the Pill Limit Mysterious Land, there were three ways to reach the same location right here. The Shen family would never send just a Shen Rubing alone to this place, and most likely Shen Rubing was aware that she was at a disadvantage here, so she had to wait for reinforcements the Shen family.

Lin Xuanzhi saw through it but didn’t mind very much. After all, he was afraid that one Shen Rubing, with her level of cultivation, couldn’t open the true door of the secret chamber either.

After a while, Shen Rubing, perhaps from boredom, raised her head and asked Lin Xuanzhi, “Aren’t you afraid of being chased down and killed by the Shen family after getting out of the Mysterious Land?”

“The Shen family should resolve its own troubles first before looking for trouble with others.”

When thinking about the Qi family waiting outside, Shen Rubing’s expression darkened.

Even though she wasn’t afraid of the Qi family, no one actually wanted trouble to come knocking on their door.

The two didn’t have much to say to each other, and Shen Rubing didn’t look for conversation either.

Not long after, a mountain wall suddenly made a loud rumbling sound. Shen Rubing stood up at once and looked at the entrance expectantly.

Two people entered, one after the other.

One of them was Shen Changgeng.

When Lin Xuanzhi saw Su Zixing next to Shen Changgeng, his gaze became a bit cold but soon returned to the normal indifferent expression.

Shen Changgeng saw Shen Rubing from afar but, to his surprise, also found many extraneous people present as well.

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He was stunned at first, then walked over calmly and leisurely and sized up Lin Xuanzhi without an ounce of aggression. He shook the folding fan in his hand and spoke with a handsome smile, “I think this gentleman here should be the Craftsman Lin who gained fame at the Hundred Families Gathering. The humble me is Shen Changgeng, the Shen family’s second son. You can call me Shen Er.”

He looked like a very gentle, courteous, and elegant gentleman, but Lin Xuanzhi knew that that was merely on the surface.

After all, if you really thought of yourself as being on equal footing with the other party and genuinely wanted to make friends with them, you would voluntarily report your mountain peak – which sect and which peak, rather than simply saying that you’re from the Shen family.

Lin Xuanzhi didn’t mind. “Gentleman Shen.”

Su Zixing, who was beside Shen Changgeng, had a cold and serious expression. He had eyebrows as slender as willows, long and narrow eyes, thin lips, and a sharp aura. When combined, they gave people a feeling of arrogant and lofty aloofness that made him difficult to approach or harbor any disrespectful or playful intentions toward him.

Such a person was the future number one craftsman whose name was known throughout all Five Continents.

West Continent’s Su family, main branch, and young sect master of West Continent’s Imperial Sky Sect.

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Su Zixing narrowed his eyes slightly as he willfully sized up Lin Xuanzhi. “The Small Mingyin flame, is it in your hands now?”

The news that Lin Xuanzhi took away several rare treasures during the Bai family’s Treasure Appraisal Convention that day had already spread throughout the entire Sky Peak City.

When Su Zixing heard that the Small Mingyin flame, this kind of unique crafting divine fire, had actually appeared on the Bai family’s Treasure Appraisal Convention, he was secretly vexed for a long time. If he knew beforehand that there was such a rare treasure, he definitely wouldn’t have refused to attend the Treasure Appraisal Convention because he thought it below his status.

Lin Xuanzhi replied lightly, “It’s in my hands.”

Su Zixing said directly, “Name a price, I’m buying it.”

Lin Xuanzhi smiled, “Not selling.”

Su Zixing’s gaze suddenly turned cold. “Do you know who I am?”

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

“Selling or not selling has nothing to do with your identity.”

He wouldn’t yield an inch even if the emperor came.

Su Zixing just stared at Lin Xuanzhi for a while and didn’t mention the Small Mingyin flame again. He only said, “I heard that you are very arrogant and conceited. I’d like to see if you really can protect the Small Mingyin flame.”

Lin Xuanzhi spoke lightly, “I’m afraid that there are many people who want the Small Mingyin flame. However, the only one I can confirm right now is Your Highness. If I lose the Small Mingyin flame one day, it can be assumed that the entire world will know that Your Highness is the one who stole it.”

Treasuring a jade ring becomes a crime, now that Lin Xuanzhi had the Small Mingyin flame in his possession, he had already experienced no less than ten assassination attempts, but it’s just that he was protected by the Lin family’s hidden guards and the people that Sky Peak City’s City Lord had sent to protect him. After all, if anything happened to Lin Xuanzhi while in Sky Peak City during the Hundred Families Gathering, someone would take the opportunity to accuse the Huangfu family of being incompetent and wait for a chance to undermine the Huangfu family. Even though Huangfu Jin didn’t like Lin Xuanzhi, he wasn’t willing to suffer that loss.

If Lin Xuanzhi lost the Small Mingyin flame afterward and people found out that it was Su Zixing who took it, Su Zixing probably wouldn’t have a day of peace.

Su Zixing, of course, understood the insinuation. He immediately became angry, “You dare to threaten me?”

“I dare not,” Lin Xuanzhi responded, “I’m merely stating the facts.”

Shen Changgeng immediately came out to mediate the situation, “It’s fate that you guys met here. Besides, you two are both craftsmen and can exchange and compare notes. Why hurt the amicable relations?”

Su Zixing coldly flung his sleeves and threw out, “Can’t afford to climb this social ladder.”

Lin Xuanzhi also coldly curled his lips slightly, “Same here.”

This scene was quite different from that of the last life.

In the past life, the two people met because of an accidental encounter. Lin Xuanzhi saved Su Zixing, who was being chased by a demonic beast. At that time, even though Su Zixing was also cold and arrogant, he treated Lin Xuanzhi sincerely and thought of him as a close friend.

However, it was exactly such a “sincere and close friend” who really made Lin Xuanzhi lead the wolf into the room — Su Zixing was the one who informed his superior of the secret that Yan Tianhen was an exceptional furnace, leading to Yan Tianhen’s ultimate death.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Not only was Su Zixing competitive, but he also possessed a very envious nature, often claiming that he was the number one craftsman and disdaining to be associated with ordinary craftsmen. Lin Xuanzhi had long since foreseen that once his reputation overshadowed Su Zixing’s, it would cause Su Zixing to be greatly dissatisfied. Therefore, he didn’t need to keep up any pretenses with Su Zixing.

This was exactly Lin Xuanzhi’s intention as well.

Su Zixing wanted the Small Mingyin flame and, in the last life, he did indeed get it from Bai Yichen’s hands — though rather than getting it, it was more like using threats and promises to obtain it.

In this life, Lin Xuanzhi had obtained the Small Mingyin flame ahead of time. Su Zuxing shouldn’t even think about getting it.

The two sides were hostile, as though with swords drawn and bows bent, but with Shen Changgeng, this “good person who never offends anyone”, they could neither fight nor curse at the other party.