Chapter 350 - 231: The Theft Case 2

Chapter 350: Chapter 231: The Theft Case 2

The seven unique recruitment systems screened out the vast majority of exceptionally talented individuals through Cultivation Techniques, competitions, and more.

They cast a wide net, catching all the outstanding martial arts students each year, with few ever slipping through.

"You must be the Celestial Pride from Shenhan University, Yu Fei? I am Zhang Wenji. I’ve been waiting for you.

Ah, with Celestial Pride Yu’s arrival, a great weight has finally been lifted from my mind... Hahaha."

Zhang Wenji scurried over with small, quick steps, giving off an impression of urgency. Yu Fei found the old man interesting. With his Gang Qi Realm cultivation, he could have covered the hundred-meter distance in an instant just by circulating his technique.

Yet, he had deliberately scurried over like a normal person, a visual gesture of respect.

In his Reversing Destiny Vision, the man only had a green talent, yet he’d actually managed to cultivate to the Gang Qi Realm!

’He must be really rich!’

Yu Fei cupped his hands slightly. "I am Yu Fei, a freshman at Shenhan University. I accepted the mission to investigate the case of the missing Vast Sea Pearl on ’Pacify the World’. So, according to procedure, let’s verify our identities first."

Zhang Wenji was taken aback for a moment. ’This young man is so direct.’

"Of course, of course..."

Verifying identities for a mission on ’Pacify the World’ was actually quite simple. Both the mission acceptor and the mission issuer would receive a dynamic code, and they just had to scan or input the other’s code.

Since personal terminals were bound to the user’s biological information, there was no fear of impersonation.

Yu Fei recalled that earlier, Han Qiubai and Instructor Yan Sea had verified their information codes with each other. That was a different method.

After confirming there were no issues, Yu Fei relaxed and spoke politely.

"I’m about the same age as your daughter. May I call you Mr. Zhang? I’d like to ask you to tell me the details regarding the loss of the Vast Sea Pearl. The mission information on the platform was too brief."

To be honest, he wasn’t very confident about solving the case and planned to take it one step at a time.

Hearing this, Zhang Wenji’s face lit up with a smile. "You’re too kind, little friend. Then I won’t stand on ceremony. It’s a strange matter. Our Zhang Family’s Four Treasures of Jade Refining were left behind by my grandfather. They are a set of treasures that aid in cultivation..."

As Zhang Wenji explained, Yu Fei gradually came to understand the whole situation. He was then led toward the Cyan Jade Plaza, where the ancestral hall was located and also the primary crime scene.

The Four Treasures of Jade Refining, left behind by the Zhang Family’s Martial Saint, each had their own effects. They were interconnected and, when activated with a Secret Technique, could assist with cultivation.

Among them, the Vast Sea Pearl could absorb a vast amount of worldly essence. After being processed by the Cyan Cloud Ice Platform, it accelerated cultivation. The Chaotic Heaven Jade Bell could eliminate distracting thoughts from one’s mind, improving cultivation efficiency, and the Void-Breaking Jade Pendant could even enhance a Martial Artist’s comprehension.

The only drawback to this set of treasures was that it was only effective for Martial Artists below the Gang Qi Realm. After a moment of thought, Yu Fei understood the true purpose of the so-called Four Treasures of Jade Refining.

In reality, this set of treasures was especially effective for Celestial Pride Martial Artists who had not yet reached the Inner Qi Realm, particularly those in the second realm of martial arts. Its function of processing worldly essence was equivalent to a naturally formed cultivation chamber with a corresponding elemental affinity. Coupled with the other aids, it could help a Martial Artist quickly break through to the Inner Qi Realm.

Yu Fei glanced at the beautiful girl standing behind Zhang Wenji. Although she only had an orange talent, her cultivation realm had already reached the third realm.

And there were still three months until the Celestial Pride Positioning Competition.

He recalled that during the positioning competition at the beginning of the year, most of the Celestial Prides with orange talent were only in the second realm.

Clearly, she was the actual user of the Four Treasures of Jade Refining.

According to Zhang Wenji, the Four Treasures of Jade Refining weren’t specially stored away. Few people knew of their profound mysteries, and while the Cyan Jade Plaza where the ancestral hall stood was indeed priceless to ordinary people, in the eyes of a Martial Artist, these things were meaningless.

In their inactive state, the Four Treasures of Jade Refining were indistinguishable from ordinary jade carvings, which was why Zhang Ai had been cultivating here for the past year.

It wasn’t until the Vast Sea Pearl was stolen a week ago that they started taking the matter seriously.

Yu Fei found it strange.

"Mr. Zhang, if these Four Treasures of Jade Refining are so precious, why weren’t they stored away properly?"

Zhang Wenji said awkwardly, "In terms of their effects, they aren’t actually that precious. It’s just that they were left by our ancestor, so it would be terrible to lose them!"

Yu Fei found it even stranger. "Left by an ancestor, but not precious? If their value is low, then why post a mission on ’Pacify the World’?"

"Mr. Zhang, please tell me the truth. Otherwise, I can’t be confident I can handle this matter!"

He could tell that Zhang Wenji was hiding a lot in his words.

Zhang Wenji let out a long sigh, seeming to find it difficult to speak.

"Sigh... little friend, do you know anything about the history of my Songfeng the Zhang Family?"

Yu Fei paused. He had indeed searched for some information on the Zhang Family. It only said that it was founded by a Martial Saint several decades ago and had since declined. He knew nothing else.

"Please enlighten me, Mr. Zhang!"

Zhang Wenji said with self-deprecation, "There’s nothing that can’t be said. My grandfather was a Martial Saint. After he passed away, my father supported the family. My father also cultivated to the Grandmaster Realm, so we were still stable."

"My father also passed away ten years ago. Little friend, I am just a mediocre man at the Gang Qi Realm. If my family tried to hide any treasures, could we possibly hold onto them? That’s why we sold off all the valuable treasures, leaving only these Four Treasures of Jade Refining, whose functions are rather unimpressive, to be enshrined in the ancestral hall."

"That’s why they weren’t put away. In the Zhang Family’s current state, if we have no worthy successor, we can only live out our days in peace. Being secretive and hiding things would only invite disaster."

He spoke with frank honesty. Zhang Wenji wasn’t afraid of these words spreading; in fact, it would be for the best if they did. Treasures belong to the virtuous, and those without virtue are not blessed enough to keep them.

Zhang Wenji remembered that in the early years, his home had been ransacked countless times, both inside and out. After his father’s death, it was repeatedly searched, both openly and covertly. Things had only quieted down in recent years.

He couldn’t even file a formal complaint about it. His only recourse was to go to the Bright Jade Alliance and subtly plead his family’s miserable case.

The family had withdrawn from the alliance, so it wasn’t appropriate to report it to the Security Bureau. And if they brought in outsiders, the Zhang Family would likely become the focus of a power struggle between various factions and be utterly destroyed.

As they spoke, they arrived at the Cyan Jade Plaza where the ancestral hall was located. As Yu Fei entered the area, his gaze couldn’t help but focus.

To be honest, such a large palace hall made of jade was quite a shock to a poor kid like him. However, upon closer inspection, he found no supernatural characteristics, and he quickly lost interest.

Mundane treasures were useless to Martial Artists. The more powerful the Martial Artist, the less they cared about such things.

Although this jade structure was visually impressive, its value was far less than that of his Geometric Pyramid Realm.

"We’ve arrived, little friend. This is where the Four Treasures of Jade Refining are usually kept. And this is our Zhang Family’s retainer, Ma Pei! Mr. Ma has been protecting the Zhang Family for over twenty years and is the person I trust the most."

Then, he introduced Yu Fei.

"Mr. Ma, Yu Fei is a Celestial Pride from Shenhan. He accepted the mission to investigate the theft of the Vast Sea Pearl. Oh, right, now the Void-Breaking Jade Pendant is also missing. It disappeared just this morning. Look, up there on the dome is where the Vast Sea Pearl was placed..."

"The Four Treasures of Jade Refining normally have a mutual connection that can be sensed up to a hundred li away. But for some reason, after we activated the remaining ones, we couldn’t detect the location of the missing treasures at all. It’s strange. When my father was alive, he once said that not even a Grandmaster could block this connection..."

Yu Fei greeted Mr. Ma, but thought to himself, ’A family retainer? That’s a really old-fashioned title.’

Mr. Ma smiled and nodded in return, his attitude extremely humble. Yu Fei glanced at him from the corner of his eye but didn’t reveal his thoughts.

He gave a cursory glance at the so-called Four Treasures of Jade Refining, of which only two remained.

Zhang Wenji described the forms of the Vast Sea Pearl and the Void-Breaking Jade Pendant. Neither item was large. The Vast Sea Pearl was only the size of a pigeon’s egg, and the Jade Pendant could be held and toyed with in one’s palm.

The only thing they had in common was that both were small items.

Yu Fei hadn’t found any leads so far. He hadn’t cultivated any sensory Secret Techniques and lacked effective tracking methods. The Zhang Family had been lax with their security, and their personnel management wasn’t very strict. After the incident, Yu Fei asked a few questions.

Only to discover that the Zhang Family’s security was like a sieve.

The core area where the ancestral hall was located could be entered and exited by core members of the Zhang Family on a daily basis, and the person in charge of cleaning was also quite lazy.

Zhang Wenji seemed to see Yu Fei’s predicament and said considerately, "Little friend, it’s getting late. You’ve had a long and dusty journey to get here, which must have been very tiring.

"My wife has already prepared a simple family dinner. Why don’t you rest for a day and start the investigation tomorrow?"

From the moment Yu Fei arrived, Zhang Wenji had focused all his attention on this combat class leader from the Celestial Pride Class.