Chapter 49

Yed Yangqiu and the Xing Hall warrior temporarily stayed in Ling Family Town, waiting for a reply from the pavilion.

After the major incident in the Ling Family courtyard, now, whenever the Ling family members looked at Qin Lie, their eyes were filled with curiosity and astonishment.

Many Ling family warriors harbored gratitude and respect for Qin Lie, and Ling Xin and Ling Xiao often came to find Qin Lie to drink and chat.

Many bold Ling family girls would dress up beautifully and frequently loiter around Qin Lie's stone house...

Qin Lie traveled between the medicine mountain and the town every day, and the Ling family members' gazes would always focus on him. Sometimes, even the Star Cloud Pavilion warriors would smile and greet him.

For a time, Qin Lie suddenly became the center of attention in Ling Family Town, making it troublesome even for Ling Yushi to talk to him alone.

—He was too eye-catching.

Five days later, at noon, a message eagle appeared in the sky over Ling Family Town, landing on the shoulder of a Xing Hall member.

The message eagle brought a reply from the Star Cloud Pavilion.

In front of the Ling Chengye family, Yed Yangqiu read the letter and then nodded at Ling Yushi, saying, "Liu Yan has explained the matter clearly. Not only has your Ling Family not made any mistakes, but you have also done a great service to the Star Cloud Pavilion. Especially Qin Lie... his contribution points in the Star Cloud Pavilion have climbed to three thousand, and Elder Han Qingrui has recorded it."

Ling Chengye was completely relieved, repeatedly thanked them, and finally showed a relaxed smile.

Ling Yushi's beautiful eyes sparkled, and she said calmly and gracefully, "Thank you, Elder Yed, for clearing the name of my Ling Family."

"No, I should thank the Ling Family, thank that... Qin Lie." Yed Yangqiu's face remained indifferent, "The reason my subordinate Liu Yan survived the great disaster is entirely because Qin Lie made the Magic Wolf King attack Yan Dewu. Otherwise, Liu Yan would not have survived, and Gao Yu and the others would have been killed."

Upon hearing this, the Ling family members were also filled with emotion.

No matter how they imagined it, they could not have predicted that the person who repeatedly saved the Ling Family from dire straits was Qin Lie, whom they had looked down upon for five years and considered a fool.

—Especially Ling Xuanxuan, who had been feeling guilty for several days and was too ashamed to apologize to Qin Lie.

"The Ling Family has been cleared of any wrongdoing, but the Feng Family's scheme has also succeeded. They have already moved to the territory controlled by the Shuibing Manor. It will be a bit troublesome to take action against the Feng Family now." Yed Yangqiu's face was cold, and after a moment of contemplation, he suddenly said to Ling Chengye, "Regarding the incident ten years ago when Du Haitian plotted against the Ling Family, leading to the death of your wife and the sacrifice of many family members... I will investigate it. Even if Du Haitian is an elder, I will try my best to uncover the truth and seek justice for your Ling Family."

Upon hearing this, Ling Xuanxuan and Ling Yushi's eyes turned red, and they were overwhelmed with emotion.

Ling Chengye and Ling Chengzhi, the two brothers, only expressed their gratitude, not knowing what to say.

"I cannot guarantee that Du Haitian will be severely punished, as he is... also an elder of the same level as me. However, the lackeys who carried out his orders should not escape the punishment of the Xing Hall. Please be prepared for this." Yed Yangqiu added.

"We understand, we understand the difficulties Elder Yed faces." Ling Chengye quickly said.

"That's all. We have stayed in Ling Family Town for too long; it's time to return and report." Yed Yangqiu declined Ling Chengye's invitation, explained the situation, and then led the Xing Hall members to leave Ling Family Town.

That evening.

Qin Lie walked out of the medicine mountain mine and saw a graceful and elegant figure standing at the foot of the mountain—Ling Yushi.

A dark blue fitted long dress accentuated her elegant and serene demeanor, and her jet-black hair flowed down like a waterfall, adding to her beauty and nobility.

In the sunset, she looked like a fairy stepping out of a painting, evoking a sense of admiration and longing.

"How did you come today?" Qin Lie walked over and asked naturally.

"My father has set up a banquet at home and asked me to personally invite you, hoping you will honor us with your presence." Ling Yushi smiled gently, her eyes filled with deep meaning, "In the past few days, many young Ling family girls have been dressing up and loitering around your stone house, and I couldn't find a chance to see you..."

Qin Lie laughed helplessly, shook his head, and said, "This is what I have always been afraid of."

After he truly woke up, he still preferred to pretend to be dull and foolish to avoid attracting the Ling family's attention and causing unnecessary trouble that would affect his cultivation.

Now, whenever he appeared in Ling Family Town, all the Ling family members would focus their gazes on him, and there were various questions along the way. Even when he returned to his stone house, there were many people chattering, and sometimes Ling Xiao and Ling Xin would directly come over to drink and chat with him.

Now, even Ling Chengye was setting up a banquet, and he suddenly felt that he would not have a moment's peace in the future.

"You don't need to worry too much. Their enthusiasm will only last for a while, and it will pass." Ling Yushi consoled him, apologetically saying, "It's all because of me that your life has been disrupted, and you have been dragged into the Ling Family's messy affairs..."

Qin Lie smiled calmly, "It's not entirely because of you. The Du Family secretly had a weapon master break the array on the medicine mountain, which also offended me. I don't want the Du Family to have it easy."

"You, what is your true realm in the Body Refinement stage? Du Heng is at the eighth level, yet you beat him so easily. Your realm must be very high, right?" Ling Yushi slightly bowed, leaning forward, her bright eyes shining as she stared at him intently.

Ling Yushi was slightly taller than him, and after bending down, her full lips were only a fist's distance away...

A refreshing fragrance quietly wafted from her lips, making Qin Lie's heart flutter, and a mysterious flame seemed to ignite within him...

"Seventh level, I am only at the seventh level of Body Refinement, yes, just the seventh level." He spoke a bit awkwardly.

Ling Yushi looked deeply into his face and suddenly chuckled, her eyes filled with laughter, "I don't believe you."

"Fine, don't believe me." Qin Lie laughed, "My acupoints are filled with other forces, and spiritual energy cannot penetrate them. The acupoints cannot be connected, so I am at the seventh level, right?"

"Other forces?" Ling Yushi showed a thoughtful expression, walking alongside him toward Ling Family Town, frowning as she thought, "In theory, as long as the acupoints can accommodate and connect with forces, they are considered to be at the eighth level of Body Refinement. Even if the force in your acupoints is not spiritual energy, as long as it is a force, it should be considered connected, and thus the eighth level of Body Refinement..."

After a pause, she said, "Let's test it with the realm-measuring stone. We can determine the purity and thickness of your spiritual energy to judge your realm."

Qin Lie's mind was stirred, "If other forces can connect and refine the acupoints, it is considered the eighth level of Body Refinement, not necessarily spiritual energy?"

"Yes, I heard my father say before that those who cultivate special spiritual techniques can use other forces to connect their acupoints, allowing them to accommodate special forces. However, this is very rare." Ling Yushi said seriously.

Qin Lie's eyes brightened, nodded secretly, and said, "Alright, let's test it with the realm-measuring stone."

"Miss has returned."

"Hello, Qin Lie!"

"Haha, Miss is waiting for Qin Lie, how enviable."

"They are already engaged, so it's natural for them to be together, what's the big deal."

"..."

When Qin Lie and Ling Yushi appeared at the entrance of Ling Family Town, many Ling family members loudly greeted them and playfully teased them.

Qin Lie noticed that Ling Yushi's face was slightly red, with a hint of shyness in her eyes, but she did not get angry and seemed not to mind the teasing from the family members, which surprised him.

Amid the playful greetings, the two arrived at the Ling Family hall, where a table of sumptuous dishes had just been laid out, still steaming. Ling Chengye and his brother, Ling Xuanxuan, and the elder Ling Kang'an were all present. Seeing Qin Lie approach, they all smiled and stood up to greet him.

"Calculating the time, you should be here soon, so I had the servants prepare in advance. Qin Lie, when your grandfather was around, we occasionally had meals together. After your grandfather passed away... I neglected you, and it was my fault. Today, I will drink three cups as a penalty!"

Without waiting for Qin Lie to speak, the head of the Ling Family picked up a wine cup and drank three cups of wine.

"Qin Lie, I... I was wrong in the past, and I will also drink a cup of wine as a penalty, please forgive me."

Ling Xuanxuan lowered her head, not daring to look at him, her face flushed with shame and guilt, and she drank a cup of wine, then sat down without a word.

"Qin Lie, come, come, come, sit down first." Ling Chengzhi warmly invited, "Xiao Shi, what are you standing there for? Quickly bring Qin Lie to his seat."

"Father, Qin Lie needs to use the realm-measuring stone to determine his realm, let's drink later." Ling Yushi, seeing the family's enthusiastic and flattering demeanor, felt a bit embarrassed and said helplessly.

"I'll get it!"

Ling Chengzhi suddenly stood up, quickly left the hall, and then returned, placing a rhombic crystal realm-measuring stone in front of Qin Lie.

"Thank you."

Qin Lie was extremely concerned about his realm and, without regard for the presence of the Ling family, placed his palm on the realm-measuring stone, gradually infusing it with spiritual energy.

Blue light rays emerged from the realm-measuring stone, the first six appearing very quickly, but the seventh one was noticeably slower.

The Ling family members watched intently, each blue light ray representing a level of the Body Refinement stage. At this moment, the seventh blue light ray had already appeared...

Qin Lie continued to increase the flow of spiritual energy, his eyes fixed on the crystal surface of the realm-measuring stone. As the spiritual energy continued to increase, a very faint blue light ray appeared on the crystal surface, gradually becoming brighter and clearer!

"Body Refinement eighth level!" Ling Yushi was delighted, exclaiming, "I told you! You must have reached the eighth level of Body Refinement, and you still don't believe it. I don't know what to say to you."

In contrast, Ling Chengye and the others were not surprised at all. In their view, Qin Lie, who could make Du Heng unable to resist, should be at the eighth level of Body Refinement, which was not surprising. Hearing Ling Yushi's exclamation, they were puzzled, "Isn't that normal?" Ling Chengye asked for an explanation.

Ling Yushi then explained Qin Lie's concerns.

Ling Chengye was taken aback and then said to Qin Lie, "Regardless of the type of force, as long as it can connect and be released through the acupoints, it is considered to have reached the eighth level of Body Refinement. Moreover, according to my knowledge, those who can use other forces to connect their acupoints often have extremely rare and miraculous spiritual techniques..."

Seeing the clear eighth blue light ray on the realm-measuring stone and listening to Ling Chengye's explanation, Qin Lie was relieved.

After he withdrew his hand, the blue light rays on the realm-measuring stone quickly disappeared, and he looked at the smooth, mirror-like surface of the stone, his eyes filled with contemplation.

"I only used the spiritual energy from my dantian, and that was already the eighth level of Body Refinement. The lightning and thunder forces stored in my acupoints were not used at all. If, if the lightning and thunder forces from the 720 acupoints were also channeled into the realm-measuring stone, I wonder what would happen..."

During the battle with Du Heng, he thought Du Heng's defeat was due to underestimating him, not using his full strength, and the golden spirit bird's spiritual energy being destroyed by the electric grid, which led to Du Heng's sudden collapse and his mind being shaken, resulting in him being knocked back.

At this moment, he realized that it was not that Du Heng did not use his full strength, but that he himself was very powerful!

—He had underestimated his true strength!

It turned out that he had already reached the eighth level of Body Refinement without knowing it. With a realm and strength comparable to Du Heng, plus the additional lightning and thunder forces and the toughness of his physical body, it was only natural that he could make Du Heng unable to resist!

...