Chapter 51

In the Ice Rock City, at the Star Cloud Pavilion.

Ling Feng and Liu Yan stood before Elder Han Qingrui, their expressions somewhat restrained.

Ling Feng had come to the Star Cloud Pavilion at the order of the head of the Ling family, to help Qin Lie exchange for the "spirit boards" used for practicing the inscription of spirit array diagrams. Since he was not very familiar with the Star Cloud Pavilion, he first sought out Liu Yan after arriving, asking him to guide him.

During the Tianlang Mountain incident, Liu Yan and the Ling family were very close, and at that time, Liu Yan had expressed his willingness to help the Ling family if they needed anything at the Star Cloud Pavilion.

Ling Feng's arrival made Liu Yan very happy, and he led him to find Han Qingrui, who then explained the situation.

"Qin Lie and Ling Lie are the same person, with a total of three thousand contribution points available. The spirit boards for inscribing spirit array diagrams at the Star Cloud Pavilion are worth five contribution points each. How many do you plan to exchange for Qin Lie?" Han Qingrui thought for a moment, then smiled slightly. "Is Qin Lie also a weapon refiner? Spirit boards are only used for practicing the inscription of spirit array diagrams; they are just basic materials and have no other uses. Is he really going to exchange for spirit boards?"

"Elder Han, during the Tianlang Mountain incident, Qin Lie helped me repair the hexagonal shield." Liu Yan explained with a smile.

Han Qingrui's eyes showed surprise, and he nodded, saying, "I see."

"Let's exchange for a hundred spirit boards." Ling Feng said.

"Alright, that will consume five hundred contribution points. I'll record it. This way, Qin Lie will have two thousand five hundred contribution points left." Han Qingrui made a few marks in a ledger, then handed a piece of paper to Ling Feng. "Take this voucher to the spirit material warehouse to collect them. Liu Yan can guide you."

"Thank you, Elder Han." Ling Feng thanked him.

Han Qingrui waved his hand and said casually, "Actually, Qin Lie can come directly to the Star Cloud Pavilion to cultivate and doesn't need to stay at the Ling family. My son often talks about him, hoping he will come soon. Yes, you can tell my son Han Feng to greet him."

"I will." Ling Feng said seriously.

"I didn't expect Qin Lie to have already formed friendships with people like Tu Ze and Kang Zhi. This kid is really good at hiding." As they walked out of the room, Liu Yan smiled and shook his head. "Ling Lie, Qin Lie, ha ha, he could have come to the Star Cloud Pavilion to become a core member long ago. Why is he still staying in your Ling family town? Isn't becoming a core disciple of the Star Cloud Pavilion the goal of young martial artists from the lower families?"

"I don't know what he's thinking." Ling Feng smiled bitterly. "For me and Ling Xin, Ling Xiao, and others, breaking through to the Kaiyuan realm before the age of twenty and joining the Star Cloud Pavilion is our goal. If I had the chance now, I would come to the Star Cloud Pavilion, after all, the environment here is more suitable for cultivation..."

"You will definitely come in the future." Liu Yan patted his shoulder.

"Right!" Ling Feng nodded heavily.

...

"Strange, Qin Lie can clearly come to the Star Cloud Pavilion to cultivate, why is he still staying in the Ling family town?" At the Ling family dinner table, Ling Chengzhi frowned deeply and said, "If he is waiting for Qin Shan to return, he can wait at the Star Cloud Pavilion. With our Ling family here, we can notify him as soon as Qin Shan returns. There's no need for him to stay at the Ling family."

"Maybe it's because of Sister?" Ling Xuanxuan's eyebrows twitched, and she suddenly looked at Ling Yushi beside her. "Is it, Sister? That guy could have left the Ling family town and found a better place to cultivate, but he insisted on staying. Is it because of you, Sister?"

Ling Yushi didn't know what she was thinking. Hearing the question, her face turned red, her eyes flickered, and she said in a flustered manner, "I don't know, it shouldn't be. I'm not quite sure what he's thinking..." As she said this, a sweet feeling welled up in her heart, and her cheeks turned even redder.

"Look at you, still saying it's not. Who are you trying to fool?" Ling Xuanxuan pouted and said angrily, "It's so strange. Qin Lie is the same age as me, but I will have to call him brother-in-law in the future. My status will be lower than his, how annoying!"

"What brother-in-law, you brat, always talking nonsense. Watch me tear your mouth apart!" Ling Yushi was furious, her face red as she tangled with her sister, scolding her, but her eyes were full of smiles.

"You're both of marriageable age, yet you still act like this, it's not proper!" Ling Chengye snorted.

The two sisters, seeing him scold them, smiled sheepishly and stopped.

Ling Chengye frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then said suddenly, "Shi'er, have you forgotten that your engagement to Qin Lie was just a temporary arrangement? When Qin Lie turns seventeen, both I and Qin Lie can unilaterally dissolve the engagement. Your engagement is not real..."

Ling Yushi's eyes dimmed, and she suddenly lowered her head, saying in a calm tone, "I remember."

Ling Chengye nodded and sighed, saying, "Although Qin Lie has helped our Ling family a lot and I find this child quite likable, his background is unknown, and he may be hiding many secrets. I... am very worried that some of his actions might bring trouble to the Ling family. Sigh, I am also in a difficult position, unable to make a decision. I just want to remind you not to take it too seriously."

Upon hearing this, everyone at the Ling family table fell silent.

After a while, Ling Yushi slowly got up, lowered her head, and said, "I'm full."

She left the dining hall directly.

"Daddy is just worrying too much! Really, Sister was happy for a moment, but now she's troubled by Daddy's words!" Ling Xuanxuan also slammed down her bowl and chopsticks, glaring at Ling Chengye, and said, "If Qin Lie is really a fool, I would be the first to oppose his marriage to Sister and do everything to stop it, so Sister doesn't suffer this injustice!"

Pausing for a moment, she added, "But Qin Lie is clearly very smart, his cultivation realm is not weak, and he has helped the Ling family a lot. Even Ling Feng, Ling Xiao, and Ling Xin hold him in high regard. Even I, who was always against it, now think he's pretty good. I don't understand why Daddy has to make things so complicated."

"Ling Xuanxuan, your father is the head of the family and must consider the entire Ling family in every decision." Ling Chengzhi frowned and scolded, "You only think about immediate satisfaction, seeing things as either good or bad, without any strategy or consideration for the future and the impact on the entire family. Your father cannot do that. The Ling family... is a very small family, unable to withstand too many storms. Even a small setback could lead to the complete disappearance of the Ling family."

After saying this, the head of the Ling family sighed heavily, his face full of bitterness and helplessness.

"Daddy, I was rash." Ling Xuanxuan also realized her mistake and apologized, "I just think Qin Lie is actually a good person. I had some prejudice against him before, so I feel guilty. I see that he has helped the Ling family many times for Sister, so..."

"Daddy understands, Daddy understands. I also think Qin Lie is good, but... sigh, if he were just an ordinary person, I could be at ease and let him and Shi'er be together. But... forget it, no more thinking, it just makes my head hurt. We'll see in the future." Ling Chengye stated.

...

A hundred spirit boards were neatly placed in a spacious cave on Medicine Mountain. Each spirit board was only the size of a palm, mostly made of unique stones, with smooth and flat surfaces, like mirrors.

Some spirit boards were made of wood, with natural wood grain on the surface, feeling slightly rough to the touch.

Low-grade spirit boards can only be used to inscribe low-grade spirit array diagrams, and the materials used are not fixed. Wood, stone, even bone and special leaf paper can be made into spirit boards.

Spirit boards have only one purpose—to practice the inscription of spirit array diagrams. They are disposable items, and each spirit board can only be used to practice one spirit array diagram, whether successful or not, it cannot be reused.

The hundred spirit boards, costing five hundred contribution points, were brought back by Ling Feng from the Star Cloud Pavilion for him to practice inscribing spirit array diagrams.

Separating the spirit boards of different materials, Qin Lie's expression was somewhat excited. He touched the spirit boards with both hands, feeling the materials, and focused his mind...

After a long time, he slowly adjusted his breathing, calmed down, and refined his spiritual energy.

His left index finger rested on a stone spirit board, and a faint light like a needle tip shot out from his fingertip, carefully sliding on the spirit board.

The spirit board was like paper, the needle tip like a pen, and the spiritual energy like ink...

His attention was highly concentrated, his spiritual consciousness penetrating the spirit board. He saw a white sheet of paper.

As the spiritual energy flowed in, a white light point suddenly appeared on the paper, the gathering point of the spiritual energy, the beginning of everything!

As the white light point moved, a lively and shimmering line gradually appeared on the "white paper" inside the spirit board... Seeing the spirit line emerge, he felt a surge of excitement, and his calm heart suddenly became a bit disordered.

"Snap!"

His finger trembled slightly, and the spiritual energy suddenly lost control. The carefully inscribed spirit line, like a broken rope, suddenly snapped, and the white light scattered, destroying the clean white "paper."

A spirit board was thus wasted.

Qin Lie withdrew his hand in disappointment, his face showing frustration, and muttered, "Five contribution points gone just like that..."

Any slight disturbance of the mind can cause the hand to tremble, leading to the loss of control of the spiritual energy!

Taking a deep breath, he took out another spirit board and placed his finger on it, trying to inscribe again based on his deep memory of gathering spiritual energy.

After a few minutes, he had only inscribed the third spirit line, and because of a mistake in controlling the spiritual energy of one of the lines, another spirit board was wasted.

The spirit array diagram in his mind was composed of thousands of spirit lines. He had just started and failed again.

"Another five contribution points gone. This practice of refining weapons is really a money-burner."

Qin Lie frowned, finally understanding why the Ling family lacked the financial resources to cultivate weapon refiners. The cultivation of a weapon refiner requires an astonishing amount of spirit materials, spirit stones, and spirit medicines, which small forces simply cannot afford.

After sighing, he took out another spirit board and continued to practice inscribing the spirit array diagram.

...

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