Chapter 52

Time flies, and a month has already passed.

On this day, Lin Yiming had just finished appraising a few treasures in the appraisal hall when he was called away by a junior apprentice of the Appraisal Alliance, who told him that the president needed to see him.

Looking at Lin Yiming walking ahead, the young apprentice of the Appraisal Alliance felt a mix of emotions. He remembered that when Lin Yiming first came to the Appraisal Alliance, it was he who had led him to the appraisal hall.

At that time, he had envied Lin Yiming, who was younger than him but had already gained the president's favor and was able to work in the appraisal hall.

Later, he realized how ridiculous his thoughts were.

In just a short month, Lin Yiming's name had spread throughout the entire town. Almost everyone in town knew that the Appraisal Alliance had a very, very powerful appraiser.

Gradually, people from other towns also started coming to the Appraisal Alliance, seeking Lin Yiming to appraise their treasures, and the Appraisal Alliance finally gained a great reputation.

Lin Yiming, who was younger than him, had already achieved such success. He wondered how far Lin Yiming would go in the future.

The young apprentice sighed deeply, while Lin Yiming, walking ahead, was also deep in thought. He had been at the Appraisal Alliance for a month, and during this time, after practicing the book on mental cultivation, his mental power had grown at an unimaginable speed. In just a month, his mental power had doubled.

Now, even if all the appraisers in the Appraisal Alliance, including Elder Qin, combined their mental power, it would still be less than his. He had also appraised many treasures and earned a lot of money, but it was still not enough.

He was planning to go to Lihuo City and would no longer be in the village, so he needed to prepare enough money for the village to cope with the future.

The money he had earned in recent days was enough to buy food for the village and cover their expenses for the future. Even if he left the village, the villagers would be able to live well.

Especially the well, which was finally dug. Zhao Yongli was right; it wasn't that the village couldn't dig a well, but that they didn't know how to do it. The people from the Appraisal Alliance managed to dig the well, but it cost a lot of money.

Fortunately, the money he had earned in recent days was enough to cover the expenses.

The next step was to earn money for his journey and continue his cultivation.

In this month, he had made further progress and had reached the third level of the Martial Dao Spirit Heart. The speed of his Martial Dao Spirit Heart's rotation had reached an astonishing thirty-five times per breath. Even some Martial Dao Spirit Heart sixth-level warriors did not have a higher rotation speed. Although he was still four levels away from the Blood Soul Transformation, he needed to prepare in advance.

To break through to the Blood Soul Transformation, he needed a cultivation method different from the Ancient Spirit Scripture he was currently practicing.

Without such a method, no one could break through to the Blood Soul Transformation.

The Blood Soul Transformation was a fundamental change in the human body's blood, which would directly affect a warrior's future cultivation.

As far as he knew, there were many famous cultivation methods in the world, such as the Immortal Crane Universe Transformation, the Eight Desolate Demon Lion Transformation, and the Indestructible Vajra Transformation.

However, he only knew the names of these methods. He had no idea about the specific cultivation techniques.

When he was in the sect, because he could not become a warrior, the sect did not allow him to see the cultivation methods.

He needed to find a way to obtain a cultivation method.

Lin Yiming was lost in thought as he walked, and before he knew it, he had already entered the Appraisal Alliance. He then came to his senses. Looking up, he saw that Xiao Guoguo was also in the Appraisal Alliance, and there were a few people he did not recognize in the room.

Seeing Lin Yiming enter the room, Elder Qin nodded at the people Lin Yiming did not recognize and said, "This is our most powerful appraiser in the Appraisal Alliance, and he is the only warrior among all the appraisers. You can discuss your terms with him and see if he is interested."

"That's a lot of trouble for the president," a man with a scar on his face thanked Elder Qin and then turned to Lin Yiming with a smile, though the smile still looked somewhat terrifying.

"Master Lin, it's an honor to finally meet you. We came to the Appraisal Alliance specifically for you. The matter is this: we discovered a very precious Ice Dragon Fruit in the Yuanyang Mountain. However, because we don't know its age, we can't pick it. So we came to find you to see if you have time to go with us to appraise the Ice Dragon Fruit.

Of course, we won't let you do this for free. We will definitely give you a satisfactory price. It won't be less than eight hundred taels of silver. If the Ice Dragon Fruit is old enough, we will give you even more money."

Lin Yiming's face showed surprise when he heard this. He knew that the Ice Dragon Fruit was an extremely rare treasure. Many precious elixirs required the Ice Dragon Fruit as an ingredient, and it was irreplaceable.

However, their approach was somewhat strange. Discovering such a rare treasure, it was best not to pick it hastily. It was better to appraise it first.

For such treasures, a few days could make a significant difference in their age, causing great losses.

For example, if the Ice Dragon Fruit was already 99 years and 359 days old, picking it would make it a 99-year-old Ice Dragon Fruit. Waiting one more day would make it a 100-year-old Ice Dragon Fruit, which would be worth much more.

However, in the wild, people usually picked the treasures directly. If you didn't pick it, someone else might.

Their approach was too strange.

Lin Yiming was very puzzled.

Seemingly sensing Lin Yiming's confusion, the scar-faced man laughed and a powerful aura emanated from his body. His face showed a proud expression. "Don't worry, the location of the Ice Dragon Fruit is very hard to find, and I have marked it with my unique symbol. Anyone who sees the symbol will know that it's a treasure I have claimed. There are very few people in the town who would dare to ignore my symbol. This time, you won't go in vain. Master Lin, do you agree?"

As he spoke, the aura around Bai Tong intensified, and powerful energy surged from his body, spreading in all directions.

His clothes billowed without any wind, and his eyes seemed to emit a terrifying light.

Gradually, his figure, though close, became blurry, and an ancient and wild beast's aura filled the room.

Lin Yiming felt a great shock from the powerful aura. This was definitely the aura of someone who had undergone the Blood Soul Transformation.

The aura was so powerful that he felt a sense of suffocation just from facing it. As the aura continued to intensify, he felt as if he was not facing a person but an ancient demon monkey that had lived for thousands of years.

For a long time, until the aura subsided, Lin Yiming felt the pressure ease, and his thoughts returned to the man's words.

Although the man had explained his reasons, Lin Yiming still found his approach strange. Even a Blood Soul Transformation warrior couldn't guarantee that others would leave the Ice Dragon Fruit alone just because of his symbol.

Moreover, in the wild, if someone took the fruit, how would they know who took it?

It would be better to bring the fruit back directly.

The cost of bringing the fruit back directly would be different from the cost of having an appraiser go to the site to appraise it.

Unless the Ice Dragon Fruit was about to change its age in a few days or was at a special age like 9 years or 99 years, it wouldn't be worth paying extra for the appraiser to go and risk the fruit being taken by someone else.

Lin Yiming was full of doubts, but the money they offered was substantial. Eight hundred taels of silver was what he needed.

Lin Yiming bit his lip and finally nodded. "Alright, I agree. When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. Since that's settled, we'll go back and prepare. We'll come to pick you up tomorrow morning. Don't worry, Master Lin, your safety is our responsibility." Bai Tong said reassuringly before leaving.

Watching the man leave, Elder Qin frowned and looked at Lin Yiming with a puzzled expression. "Yiming, I can see that you don't want to go. Why did you agree? Yuanyang Mountain is a very dangerous place. Moreover, you have many doubts, and so do I.

They don't need to do this. Even if they leave, the Ice Dragon Fruit could be taken by someone else. The difference in payment between asking you to go and bringing the fruit back is significant. How can they be sure the fruit is about to change its age?

If the fruit has just changed its age or will change in half a year, what will they do? Pick it directly? That would mean paying you for nothing? Do they need to?

If they keep it, what if someone else takes it? I don't believe a unique symbol would stop people. These days, many people are willing to risk their lives for money. Can they arrange for someone to watch it all the time? That would be too costly unless the Ice Dragon Fruit is exactly 99 years old and will soon turn 100. Then it would be worth it.

But is that so easy to encounter? If it's a normal age, the value of the Ice Dragon Fruit doesn't differ much. An 8-year-old Ice Dragon Fruit and a 9-year-old Ice Dragon Fruit are almost the same in value.

Their approach is strange. Moreover, I don't know much about their background. They are not from the town, and if they were, or if they had a history with us, I would be more at ease. But this is the first time I've seen them, and I can't be sure. Yiming, if it's too risky, we should refuse."

Lin Yiming smiled helplessly. He understood Elder Qin's concerns. The man's actions were indeed suspicious, but he still needed to go.

"I don't want to go, but I need the money," Lin Yiming said with a hint of helplessness. "Even knowing the danger, I can't refuse eight hundred taels of silver. But I need your help, President."

Lin Yiming's expression changed, and he showed a flattering smile. "President, I know we have many treasures in the Appraisal Alliance. Since I'm going to such a dangerous place, could you...?"

Elder Qin laughed when he saw Lin Yiming's deliberate expression. "You're trying to get something from us. Fine, you're one of us, and I can't let you take such a risk. We have a hundred-year-old purple bamboo snake skin armor. It's almost impervious to ordinary blades. You can wear it on this trip."

"Thank you, President. I was actually thinking of the Hundred Bee Nest," Lin Yiming said, somewhat surprised.

"Hundred Bee Nest? You were after that treasure. It's a rare and powerful hidden weapon that can launch three times in a short period, each time like a swarm of bees. It can shoot steel needles that can penetrate steel plates. Fine, I'll lend it to you as well."

Elder Qin smiled. "Normally, we would charge for lending treasures, but considering your contributions to the Appraisal Alliance, I'll waive the fee. Also, we have some warriors in the Appraisal Alliance.

In our town, we have a warrior stronger than the Blood Soul Transformation, a Bone Iron Transformation warrior, who protects us year-round. He's been away recently, so we need to find another strong person. I remember a Blood Soul Transformation warrior who is free these days. I'll ask him to protect you. You're our only appraisal master, a treasure of the Appraisal Alliance, and we can't let anything happen to you."

"Thank you, President," Lin Yiming was deeply moved. Elder Qin didn't have to do this, but he was doing it out of concern for him.

"I want to go, I want to go!" Suddenly, Xiao Guoguo's voice rang out.

"You want to go?" Lin Yiming shook his head. "No, what will you do there? It's very dangerous."

"Guoguo doesn't care, Guoguo wants to go! You always leave Guoguo at home alone, and no one plays with me. It's no fun. Guoguo must go!" Xiao Guoguo pouted and then smiled slyly. "If you don't take Guoguo, Guoguo will follow you. You won't even notice."

"Uh..." Lin Yiming remembered how Xiao Guoguo had followed him when he left the village. If she was determined to follow him, he might not notice. Since that was the case, it might be better to let her come. Her strength was also considerable, and he couldn't even gauge her current strength.

Xiao Guoguo seemed to be at the first level of the Martial Dao Spirit Heart, but her strength was far beyond that, even surpassing his own when he was at the first level. This girl was truly mysterious and hard to understand!

Outside the Appraisal Alliance, the scar-faced man and his group left and walked around the street a few times to ensure no one was following them before entering a large mansion.

"Is it done?" A voice immediately sounded in a secret room inside the mansion.

"Rest assured, Master Liu, he has agreed," Bai Tong said respectfully to the young man opposite him.

In the dim light of the secret room, the young man's face was vaguely visible. He was handsome.

"Very good. Lin Yiming has such appraisal skills. If he continues to develop, it will be more difficult to deal with him in five years. If he becomes an appraisal master, he might even hire a warrior as powerful as me. We must eliminate him before he becomes too strong!"

Liu Yuliang stepped out of the darkness and patted Bai Tong's shoulder. "Don't worry, I won't forget your help. I'll introduce you to the head of the Wild Wind Martial Hall when the time comes."