That night…
Liu Yan, Jiang Lingzhu, Ye Gumo, and the others had all returned to the temporary residence of the Cloudsoaring sect.
Not long after, Nie Tian also returned after he finished shopping.
The moment Nie Tian returned, he saw Jiang Lingzhu and Ye Gumo happily playing with their newly-bought spiritual tools, looking rather pleased.
Ye Gumo brandished a long sword that had a silver-white aura wreathing it, giving it a rather extraordinary look. “Nie Tian, how did it go? Did you get anything? We heard about what happened with the Spiritfount Pill. Even though they’re hard to find in the Realm of Flame Heaven, considering your status, I’m sure you’ll be able to get one. It’s just a matter of time.”
Jiang Lingzhu also consoled him, “Don’t worry. With your help, your grandfather’s injuries will definitely be healed someday.”
“Thanks for the kind words,” said Nie Tian.
Liu Yan was very frank, “I’m afraid we won’t be able to get the Spiritfount Pill this time… I’ve asked a few friends to help me buy it from Fei Li, but Fei Li seems to have guessed their intentions, and insisted on not selling it.”
“Thank you, Uncle Liu,” Nie Tian said. “I appreciate the effort.”
As they were talking, Luo Xin and Shi Yi also returned. Shi Yi was holding a heavy cloth pouch in his left hand.
As soon as he walked in, he lifted the cover of the bag, revealing the Flame Dragon Armor inside of it. “Nie Tian, I’ve brought this armor back for you.”
Shi Yi furrowed his brow and said, “My cultivation base is at the late-stage of the Heaven stage. But, even I would have difficulty walking around in it.”
“Many thanks, Uncle Shi,” Nie Tian immediately said.
Luo Xin stared at Nie Tian and said, “You just won’t listen. This armor clearly doesn’t suit you, and it obviously isn’t worth nine thousand spirit stones. Why did you insist on buying it?”
Nie Tian put on a wry smile, but didn’t explain.
“What?! He spent nine thousand spirit stones on some armor?” Jiang Lingzhu was speechless.
“Yeah…” Then, Luo Xin gave a brief description of what had happened earlier.
After hearing the whole story, everyone looked at Nie Tian with an expression that seemed as if were calling him a spendthrift. They all felt that he was too young and inexperienced, and acted too rashly.
Just as they were criticizing him, the master of Liu Yan, Shi Yi, and Luo Xin, the man named Wu Xing, returned. As soon as he entered the room, the racket ceased as everyone lowered their voices.
Liu Yan, Shi Yi, and Luo Xin greeted him simultaneously. “Master.”
Jiang Lingzhu and Ye Gumo also bowed.
Nie Tian had never met Wu Xing. He hesitated for a bit and chose not to take the initiative to greet him, but rather stood there quietly.
Via Nie Donghai, Nie Qian, and the others, he had long since learned that Wu Xing had been his mother’s master, and that Wu Xing had placed high hopes on his mother.
It was said that his mother had been Wu Xing’s favorite disciple.
However, after hearing about his mother’s mysterious death, the furious Wu Xing had blamed Nie Donghai for it and had since disliked the Nie clan.
Afterwards, when Nie Qian had received unjust treatment from the Yun clan and Nie Donghai had been wounded by Yun Meng and Yuan Fengchun, Wu Xing had stayed out of it.
His silence had fueled the Yun clan’s defiance, and at the same time, made many people from the Cloudsoaring sect feel that his rage towards the Nie clan might never subside.
It was also because of this that Nie Beichuan had dared to take the opportunity to kick up a storm over Nie Donghai’s injuries, and slowly ate away Nie Donghai’s power, before finally replacing him.
Nie Tian’s feelings towards Wu Xing were extremely complicated…
On one hand, he was grateful towards Wu Xing for favoring his mother when she was alive, together with everything else that he had done for her. On the other hand, he secretly hated him for his indifference towards the entire Nie clan after his mother’s death.
Wu Xing was wearing green robes, his face serious. After entering the room, he immediately caught sight of Nie Tian, whereupon he began to look him over.
Nie Tian lifted his head and finally their gazes met.
Resentment could clearly be seen within Nie Tian’s eyes, as if he wasn’t even trying to cover it up…
“Gan Kang talked to me today.” Wu Xing stood in silence for a while and continued, “He told me that if you stay out of the issue between him and that girl from the An clan, he’ll have Fei Li give you the Spiritfount Pill. For free.”
Anger appeared in Nie Tian’s eyes. “An Shiyi is my sworn sister!”
The moment they exchanged words, the atmosphere in the room immediately turned serious. Jiang Lingzhu and Ye Gumo exchanged a glance and quietly went upstairs, not wishing to stay for another minute.
As far as seniority in the clan is concerned, Nie Tian, who was Wu Ji’s disciple, should be considered as Wu Xing’s junior martial brother.
However, Nie Tian’s mother used to be Wu Xing’s most valued disciple.
Wu Xing had spared no effort to guide her, and unhesitatingly granted her almost all of his most precious medicinal pills and spiritual tools.
Back then, Nie Jin was Wu Xing’s weak spot, like the proverbial inverted scale that every dragon has. Everyone also knew what he had done for her
After Nie Jin’s death, Wu Xing had supposedly suffered a heavy blow and had spent a long time in secluded training, avoiding all visitors.
Because his connection to Nie Jin had been so deep, he blamed the Nie clan for her death, and had thus treated them indifferently afterward.
As a result of his indifference, Nie Qian had been repudiated by Yun Zhiguo, and Nie Donghai had been seriously injured.
However, now the son of his most loved disciple had a new lease on life and was unexpectedly chosen by Wu Ji, making Nie Tian his junior martial brother. This was something that Wu Xing had never expected.
“Senior martial brother…” Luo Xin said timidly, hinting for Liu Yan to advise Nie Tian to control his temper.
Liu Yan smiled bitterly and waved his hand, signaling for Luo Xin and Shi Yi to go upstairs.
Luo Xin and Shi Yi, who had felt uncomfortable, seemed to have received a pardon and immediately went upstairs, just like Jiang Lingzhu and Ye Gumo had previously done.
After they left, Liu Yan coughed and said, “Master, umm… when An Shiyi was in Black Cloud City, she gave Nie Tian a spot to enter the Green Illusion dimension trial, which turned out to be a life-changing journey for Nie Tian. If it weren’t for his enormous growth during the trial, martial granduncle might not have set his eyes on him, so…” He tried to ease the tension.
Wu Xing glanced at him and said indifferently, “I’m only delivering Gan Kang’s message. I’m not going to force him to do anything. He’s my junior martial brother now, so I wouldn’t dare to make decisions for him.”
Liu Yan secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
Wu Xing spotted the Flame Dragon Armor that was partly shown. He frowned slightly and asked, “What’s that?”
Liu Yan hurriedly explained everything to him.
“Nine thousand spirit stones on a third level Medium grade armor? Nonsense!” With these words, Wu Xing walked upstairs, long-faced, as if he despised Nie Tian for his rashness and at the same time wished if he could be more mature.
Nie Tian muttered, “You’re not my master. I don’t need you to teach me.”
With a sigh, Liu Yan said, “People always go hardest on those whom they care about. You don’t know how dearly my master liked your mother. After she died, it took him a very long time to recover. The feelings that he harbored towards her… were deeper than anyone else’s.
“Truth be told, I think he treated her like his own daughter.
“Perhaps he was partly responsible for the things that happened in the Nie clan after that, but it was all because he couldn’t let go of her. You shouldn’t blame him too much.
“Your grandfather’s injuries can still be cured. As for your aunt Nie Qian, if that Yun Zhiguo truly loved her, he wouldn’t have done something like that to her.” He tried his best to console Nie Tian.
However, Nie Tian never said a word.
Meanwhile…
There was a certain manor in the Spiritual Treasure sect that was used to receive foreign guests, where Lai Yi had created a soundproof shield, inside of which he was having a secret conversation with two other foreign Qi warriors.
In distinct contrast to his silence during the daytime, Lai Yi had an expression of ecstasy while he spoke. “The Blood Core from the Flame Dragon Armor has surfaced! We’ve searched for it for so long, and could only find out that the Blood Core had been sold over and over again before finally ending up in the Realm of Flame Heaven. I thought that I would only be able to bring a few high ranked pieces of spiritual equipment back during this trip to the Realm of Flame Heaven. I never thought that the Blood Core would show itself so quickly!
“Actually, I didn’t hold my hopes too high. Who would’ve thought a youngster would buy the armor on the first day!”
Excitement filled Lai Yi’s face.
The other two foreign Qi warriors also appeared quite excited after hearing about the appearance of the so-called Blood Core.
The three of them were rubbing their hands together, as if the news of the Blood Core was like a shot of adrenaline.
“If we can get the Blood Core, it’ll definitely be considered a tremendous contribution on our part!”
“Only when the Blood Core is reattached can the Flame Dragon Armor be considered complete again, and only then will it truly display its might!”
“Master will definitely reward us handsomely!”
Lai Yi gradually calmed himself and said, “Compared to the Blood Core, our mission on this trip is nothing and can be ignored. I’ve asked around. That kid’s identity isn’t ordinary. If we want to keep living in the Realm of Flame Heaven, there would be a problem if we made a move on him. Well, it’s not like we can’t leave. No matter what method we have to use, as long as we can seize the Blood Core and the Flame Dragon Armor and return to our master, we won’t have anything to worry about.”
“So when do we make a move?” one of them asked.
Beastly ferociousness could be seen in Lai Yi’s eyes. “If an opportunity shows itself, we’ll strike in the following days. We take the Blood Core and the Flame Dragon Armor and leave! Either that or we wait until the Treasure Convention ends and strike them on their way back to their sect!”
“Alright!”