Chapter 80

Three months! Three months! Wu Dong felt that he already knew Zheng Shi Yi very well!

But... until this very moment... Wu Dong realized that he didn't really know his fellow disciple very well.

In just three short months, he had already qualified to challenge the Spirit Spring Realm!

Wu Dong shook his head with a bitter smile, but then he thought about it and realized it made sense. If this guy could master the "Eight Wastelands Step" and the "Invisible Blade Fragment," which others couldn't, his talent must be far beyond the ordinary.

And this guy had already killed Zheng Song, a Ninth Qi Wheel Realm practitioner, before he "disappeared." He must have already reached the Ninth Qi Wheel Realm at that time.

After disappearing and reappearing, he even took out Tian Kun, who was ranked tenth on the风云榜 (Feng Yun Board)! If he hadn't reached the peak of the Ninth Qi Wheel Realm by now, that would be truly strange.

The surprise in Wu Dong's eyes quickly faded, and then he patted Zheng Shi Yi's shoulder with delight, saying, "No wonder you're my brother, your progress is amazing!"

"The soul stones you need to challenge the Spirit Spring Realm have already been prepared for you! You don't need to worry about it. Close the dossier."

Wu Dong didn't care whether Zheng Shi Yi agreed or not, and forcibly closed the dossier he had opened.

Zheng Shi Yi looked puzzled, "Someone has prepared soul stones for me?"

He had few friends in the sect. Who would prepare soul stones for him? Could it be that woman? But even if it was, how did Wu Dong know about it, given that the woman was confined somewhere?

Seeing Zheng Shi Yi's puzzled expression, Wu Dong couldn't help but laugh and patted his shoulder, saying, "Brother, are you deliberately trying to hide the fact that you killed Tian Kun?"

"Or do you not know that you've made it to the tenth place on the Feng Yun Board, and a large number of soul stones are waiting for you as a reward?"

Wu Dong looked at Zheng Shi Yi with a sly smile.

Zheng Shi Yi's surprise turned into a self-deprecating smile, "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten! How many soul stones will I get this time?"

After killing Tian Kun, he was so focused on learning the cultivation technique the woman had taught him that he forgot about this.

Wu Dong propped his chin on his hand and looked at the ceiling, saying, "According to the sect's rules, the higher the rank you achieve on the Feng Yun Board for the first time, the more rewards you get."

"From 100th to 90th place, you get 50 soul stones; from 90th to 80th place, you get 100 soul stones... You made it to the top ten on your first try. I heard from the elders of the Feng Yun Hall that you will receive 5,000 soul stones this time!"

"5,000 soul stones?" Zheng Shi Yi was also surprised by this number.

He urgently needed soul stones and was just thinking about how to obtain a large number of them. He didn't expect that killing Tian Kun and making it to the top ten on the Feng Yun Board would earn him 5,000 soul stones as a reward.

Now he had 12,000 soul stones in hand. Adding the 5,000 soul stones, he would have 17,000 soul stones.

He was one step closer to the 30,000 soul stones he needed, but it still wasn't enough to reach 30,000.

Seeing Zheng Shi Yi's surprised expression, Wu Dong looked even more pleased and said confidently, "These 5,000 soul stones should be enough for you to form a Spirit Spring, right?"

Wu Dong, though not a Spirit Spring Realm practitioner, knew a thing or two about it. Forming a Spirit Spring would cost at most 1,000 soul stones, so 5,000 soul stones would be more than enough for Zheng Shi Yi!

But Zheng Shi Yi shook his head with a bitter smile, "Not enough."

"Not enough?" Wu Dong's brows furrowed, and he quickly understood. How could someone like Zheng Shi Yi, who had prepared to challenge the Spirit Spring Realm in less than three months after joining the sect, be an exception?

Seeing Zheng Shi Yi's eyes fixed on the dossier of wanted criminals, he began to understand that 5,000 soul stones were probably far from enough.

Wu Dong picked up the dossier on the table and said with a smile, "Brother, I know these soul stones aren't enough for you, but you should at least claim them first."

Zheng Shi Yi nodded in agreement and got up to follow Wu Dong to the Feng Yun Hall.

As they walked, Wu Dong flipped through the dossier Zheng Shi Yi had brought. When he saw that killing the top-ranked criminal would earn 50,000 soul stones, his lips began to drool uncontrollably, "If we could catch this guy, we would get 50,000 soul stones!"

"That's 50,000 soul stones!"

Wu Dong nudged Zheng Shi Yi with his shoulder and joked, "Brother, if you could catch him, you would get 50,000 soul stones. Why don't you go after him?"

Zheng Shi Yi gave Wu Dong a withering look, "Only if I'm tired of living. None of the elders who tried to capture him survived; they all died at his hands! If I go after him, I'll end up the same way."

"I've read through this dossier several times. The only criminals I can catch are those with rewards of less than 3,000 soul stones."

"Really?" Wu Dong shook his head, "I think you can catch the one with a 5,000 soul stone reward."

"5,000 soul stones?" Zheng Shi Yi looked at Wu Dong in surprise, "For the 3,000 soul stone reward, I only have a 50% chance of catching him."

"You actually think I can catch the one with a 5,000 soul stone reward? You're not trying to get me killed, are you?"

Wu Dong waved his hands with a smug look, "Old Zheng... Don't talk like that! You're my brother, why would I want to harm you?"

"Let me explain. The sect's soul stone rewards for catching each wanted criminal are indeed based on their strength, but not entirely."

"The Lang Liang I pointed out is an exception. His strength is relatively strong, but compared to other wanted criminals, he is weaker. The reason he is so valuable is that he practiced an evil technique."

"Years ago, this beast took advantage of female disciples and raped no fewer than fifty of them, using abnormal methods to absorb their pure yin, ultimately forming a Spirit Spring, causing a very bad influence on the sect."

"The sect sent strong practitioners to kill him, but he escaped through his evil technique, though he was severely weakened by the Demon Subduing Palm."

"The sect has sent people to find him multiple times but has never found him. To prevent him from passing on this evil technique and harming more women, they specifically listed him as the thirteenth wanted criminal, with a reward of 5,000 soul stones for his capture. Disciples, enticed by such a high reward, will surely do everything to catch him."

"Unfortunately, the guy is hiding so well that no one knows where he is."

Zheng Shi Yi took the dossier and flipped to the section on Lang Liang. The information Wu Dong provided was not in the dossier. If what he said was true, Lang Liang's strength did not match the reward for his capture, making it feasible to go after him.

However, the dossier did not provide any information on Lang Liang's whereabouts. Where should he look for Lang Liang?

Zheng Shi Yi pointed to the dossier, "Where should I go to find Lang Liang?"

Wu Dong pointed to the right, "In the Immortal Spirit Mountains, where I went a few days ago, there is a swamp. A month before you left, several murders occurred there."

"The victims were all female disciples. From their appearance, the changes in their bodies after death, and the method used to kill them, it is highly likely that the culprit is Lang Liang."

"Thus, Lang Liang is likely active in that area. Of course, it could be someone else, but the culprit must be related to Lang Liang."

"The sect has offered a reward of 1,000 soul stones for catching the culprit. If you can catch him, you will get 1,000 soul stones as a reward."

"Perhaps, you might also find Lang Liang. Then you will get 5,000 soul stones."

"Ah, I see." Zheng Shi Yi finally understood why Wu Dong recommended he go after Lang Liang. It was because he had some leads on Lang Liang.

Now he had over 12,000 soul stones in hand, plus the 5,000 soul stones he was about to claim. If he could also get the rewards for Lang Liang and the culprit, he would have over 23,000 soul stones, one step closer to the 30,000 soul stones he needed.

Seeing the smile on Zheng Shi Yi's face, Wu Dong patted his shoulder and said, "Brother, let's go there after we claim the reward."

"Alright." Zheng Shi Yi nodded, and the two quickened their pace toward the Feng Yun Hall.

The Feng Yun Hall was established by the sect to handle the rewards and rankings of the Feng Yun Board.

Any matters related to the Feng Yun Board could be resolved here.

With Wu Dong's lead, the two quickly arrived at the Feng Yun Hall.

Many disciples who had just claimed their rewards and were leaving stopped and turned to look at Zheng Shi Yi and Wu Dong as they entered the Feng Yun Hall. They watched as Zheng Shi Yi walked toward Elder Chai, who was responsible for distributing the rewards.

A disciple in new disciple clothing? Several disciples on the Feng Yun Board looked at Zheng Shi Yi curiously. What was a new disciple doing at this place to claim rewards? Was he a foolish new disciple asking about the rules of the Feng Yun Board?

Under the curious gazes of the crowd, Zheng Shi Yi and Wu Dong approached Elder Chai, who was responsible for distributing the rewards.

Elder Chai looked up and stared at Zheng Shi Yi for a moment. Disciples on the Feng Yun Board came to him every month to claim their rewards, and he remembered all of them. He had never seen this disciple before.

"A new disciple on the board?" Elder Chai was puzzled and asked, "Name?"

Zheng Shi Yi stepped forward and respectfully replied, "Zheng Shi Yi."

"Zheng Shi Yi?" Elder Chai's heart trembled, and he looked at Zheng Shi Yi in surprise.

Some disciples often came to claim rewards, but he only remembered their faces, not their names.

Unlike "Zheng Shi Yi," whose name he had deeply imprinted in his mind even before meeting him.

Because Zheng Shi Yi's name was truly too famous!

As a new disciple who had joined the sect in less than three months and had not participated in any ranking battles, he had made it to the tenth place on the Feng Yun Board. No one had ever achieved this since the sect was founded.

This showed how extraordinary Zheng Shi Yi's talent was. If he continued to grow at this rate, he might become an inner sect disciple and achieve significant success among them.

PS: More votes, more updates!