Chapter 13

Qin Lie lay on the ground, his body aching and his muscles tingling with electric currents.

His true cultivation level was only at the Sixth Stage of Body Refinement. If it weren't for the power of the Nine Heavens Thunder, he would have had no chance of achieving such astonishing results.

Even just the two martial artists who rushed over from Yan Ziqian's side, if they had truly attacked him with all their might, he would have found it very difficult to win.

The fierce battle ended, the thunder dissipated, and due to his overexertion and the impact of the lightning, his spirit suddenly became listless.

Tu Ze and the others gathered around him, marveling at him with looks of admiration in their eyes, which made him feel uneasy.

"Brother Lie, what happened just now?" Kang Zhi's chubby face crumpled into a fawning smile. "It seemed like you could summon the lightning from the sky? How did you do that? You look so delicate like a girl, but once in battle, you transform into a completely different person, with a crazy and fierce killing intent that even scares me. You really have a unique set of skills!"

"It's all thanks to the spirit artifact," Qin Lie said weakly, ignoring their curiosity and taking out a beast core of the Shadow Lightning Carver, closing his eyes to rest.

Seeing his state, Tu Ze and the others didn't press him further, sitting down around him and taking out Spirit Recovery Pills to recover.

After a long while.

Qin Lie felt his strength gradually returning. Hearing the conversation between Tu Ze and the others, he slowly opened his eyes.

"You woke up at the right time," Tu Ze grinned, casually tossing him a jade token. "Here, this jade token is for you. With this, you can come to the Nebula Pavilion at any time and immediately become a core member."

Picking up the jade token, Qin Lie saw a nebula pattern on it and was somewhat stunned. "This..."

He knew that becoming a core member of the Nebula Pavilion, a Blue Stone-level force, was extremely difficult. The young men from the Ling family and other forces had been working hard to break through to the Origin Opening Realm before the age of twenty, just to gain the favor of the Nebula Pavilion.

Ling Chengzhi and Ling Chengye had reached the Origin Opening Realm, but their age limit prevented them from entering the Nebula Pavilion, so they could only exist as附属势力的武者.

The vast Ling family had only Ling Xuanxuan who had a chance to step into the Origin Opening Realm before the age of twenty and enter the Nebula Pavilion for cultivation.

Tu Ze's offer of the token, stating that he could become a core member at any time, was a huge shock to Qin Lie.

"The token is just one part of it," Zhuo Qian smiled, tossing him a wine bag. "I promised to treat you to a drink when we found the Star Essence Iron..."

Before Qin Lie could respond, she continued, "We just tallied up the numbers. You killed seven archers from the Ice Shattering Manor, all at the Fifth Stage of Body Refinement. The two you killed later were at the Seventh and Eighth Stages, respectively. Seven at the Fifth Stage count for fifty contribution points, the Seventh Stage for eighty, and the Eighth Stage for a hundred. Plus, you reclaimed the materials from the Ice Soul Python, which count for three hundred and fifty contribution points..."

Zhuo Qian paused, her smile becoming even brighter. "You haven't even joined the Nebula Pavilion yet, but you've already earned eight hundred and eighty contribution points. With so many contribution points, you can exchange for a lot of things as soon as you join."

Tu Ze and the others were all smiling.

Qin Lie was somewhat puzzled. "Contribution points? Killing people also earns contribution points?"

"Contribution points are the standard currency for core members of the Nebula Pavilion. They can be used to exchange for spirit techniques, spirit skills, spirit artifacts, spirit pills, and other cultivation items. There are many ways to earn contribution points. As long as you contribute to the Nebula Pavilion, you can earn them. Capturing spirit beasts and submitting materials can earn points, helping the pavilion find specific items can earn points, and killing enemies of the Nebula Pavilion can also earn points..."

Tu Ze grinned, explaining in detail. "The Ice Shattering Manor and the Nebula Pavilion have had many bloody battles. Due to the constraints of the All-Encompassing Hall, killing martial artists from the Ice Shattering Manor won't officially earn contribution points. However, the pavilion secretly adds contribution points. Today, you killed nine people, and we've already tallied it up for you. We'll report it to the pavilion, and with the materials from the Ice Soul Python, you've already made a fortune before even joining the Nebula Pavilion."

"The Ice Soul Python was hunted by you, so the contribution points should be yours, right?" Qin Lie asked in surprise.

"We couldn't protect it, and you were the one who reclaimed it, so it naturally counts as yours. Yes, all seven of us agree on this. It's yours, no need to argue," Tu Ze waved his hand.

Qin Lie nodded, not being overly polite. "Thank you."

"Ha ha! Good brother!" Tu Ze laughed heartily.

"There's more!" The chubby Kang Zhi smiled and tossed Qin Lie another leather bag, which was bulging, seemingly containing a lot of things.

"We carefully searched the bodies of the nine people you killed from the Ice Shattering Manor and found some cultivation materials that might be helpful to you. They are mostly spirit pills, spirit stones, and other miscellaneous items. The weapons and spirit artifacts they carried were of low quality, large in size, and not necessarily suitable for you, so we didn't sort them out for you. However, once we return to the pavilion, we will help you exchange them for contribution points," Kang Zhi explained.

Qin Lie weighed the leather bag in his hand, his eyes showing surprise, and he thanked them repeatedly.

Over the next three days, the group recovered from their injuries by the pond. Once Qin Lie felt his spirit energy was full, he sparred with Chu Peng, who was at the Seventh Stage of Body Refinement, without the help of the Nine Heavens Thunder.

Despite his true cultivation level being only at the Sixth Stage of Body Refinement, he did not show a significant disadvantage in the sparring match.

His cultivation level was slightly lower, but his body was strong, and the thunder and lightning within his body gave him an advantage, making Chu Peng struggle. Despite being one stage higher, Chu Peng couldn't gain the upper hand.

"The spirit technique you cultivate is very strange. If you have the right spirit artifact, its power will be even more terrifying," Tu Ze said, rubbing his chin after watching the sparring match. "Once we return, I'll look for a spirit artifact in the pavilion's spirit artifact library that can enhance your combat power."

Qin Lie smiled. Because Chu Peng was injured, he didn't use his full strength. He felt his body was much stronger than Chu Peng's!

Of course, he didn't fully reveal this. Privately, he believed that if he used his full strength without relying on the power of thunder, he could match up with the Eighth Stage of Body Refinement Kang Zhi.

"Yan Ziqian won't bring too many people to the Extreme Cold Mountains. This time, he suffered a loss. Given his cautious nature, he won't come without a sure thing. We'll stay a few more days and see if we can find more Star Essence Iron. Brother Lie, are you coming back to the Nebula Pavilion with us?"

"No, I need to return to the Ling family," Qin Lie declined. It was the time of frequent thunder and lightning, and he still needed the special environment inside the Medicine Mountain to continue cultivating the Heavenly Thunder Punishment. "Brother Tu, since you all have mostly recovered, I'll leave first. See you next time."

Despite Tu Ze and Zhuo Qian's efforts to persuade him, Qin Lie insisted on leaving first. The seven of them had no choice but to watch him leave with regret.

After Qin Lie left, Tu Ze and the others stayed by the pond, continuing their efforts to find more Star Essence Iron.

...

In the Ling family town, at dusk.

"It's been almost half a month, and Qin Lie hasn't shown up. It seems he really had an accident," Ling Chengzhi said, sitting in the stands of the training ground, watching the young men of the Ling family below, his brows furrowed.

Beside him were the Ling family head, Ling Chengye, and Ling Yushi.

Ling Xuanxuan, wearing a fiery red tassel skirt, stood in the center of the training ground, looking clean and fresh. She barked orders at the Ling family martial artists, her face full of pride. Her legs and arms, exposed in large patches of snow-white skin, shone brightly, making many young men with high blood pressure lose focus.

To ease her mind and help her concentrate on cultivation, Ling Chengye had personally promised her that there would be no marriage contract between her and Qin Lie.

Ling Xuanxuan was relieved and, with Qin Lie not showing up for half a month, had gradually forgotten about his existence in the Ling family.

"Brother, Qin Lie has never acted out of the ordinary in the past five years. This time, not returning for half a month, perhaps... he has already died in the mine," Ling Chengzhi said, his voice low. "This half a month, there has been no thunder and lightning on Medicine Mountain, and the withering of the medicinal herbs has clearly improved. Although we still can't gather enough spirit herbs to pay the Nebula Pavilion, it shouldn't affect us too much in the future."

"Ah, I promised Qin Shan to take care of him, but I can't enter that mine..." The Ling family head shook his head, sighing. He glanced at Ling Yushi, secretly relieved. "If he really had an accident, Yushi would have avoided a disaster and wouldn't have to be engaged to him."

"What if he reappears?" Ling Yushi asked, her brows furrowed, her voice soft.

For some reason, she felt that Qin Lie wouldn't be so easily killed. She couldn't explain why she felt this way, but she just thought Qin Lie might not be as simple as others believed.

However, she currently had no way to confirm whether Qin Lie was truly unusual.

"If he really reappears, ah, then it's your bad luck. Father can only follow the agreement with Qin Shan and have you get engaged sooner," the Ling family head said helplessly. "Ah, it's not that I want him to have an accident, but his appearance does indeed put us in a difficult position. The engagement is a troublesome matter, and the spirit herbs on Medicine Mountain... are the foundation of the Ling family."

"Um, we still don't know how to deal with the Nebula Pavilion. That woman has been urging us repeatedly, and I'm almost out of patience!" Ling Chengzhi said, his face dark, taking a deep breath. "Brother, what about us?"

"Stop talking! The timing isn't right!" The Ling family head lightly scolded, cautiously looking around. Seeing no spies from the Du family, he whispered, "I will personally lead a team to the Extreme Cold Mountains soon, hoping to find spirit herbs and medicines to make up for the losses on Medicine Mountain and give the Nebula Pavilion an explanation."

"Going to the Extreme Cold Mountains again?" Ling Yushi's beautiful face changed, her heart still trembling from the last trip. "Last time, we suffered heavy losses, sacrificing several clan members. Our Ling family's strength is not enough to venture deep into the Extreme Cold Mountains. Father, please be cautious."

"We have no choice!" the Ling family head shouted.

"The fool is back!"

"The fool is back in town!"

"Turns out he's not dead yet?"

"..."

At that moment, many people's shouts came from the town entrance. Hearing these voices, Ling Chengye and the others on the stands all had strange expressions, feeling secretly depressed.

Qin Lie's return, in the eyes of the two brothers, was like adding insult to injury, bringing new troubles to the Ling family.

Ling Yushi's calm face also showed a hint of helplessness and bitterness, sighing inwardly: This is fate, I suppose.

...

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