Chapter 521 - 179: An Unexpected Gift (Part 2)

After announcing the twenty-seventh name, Steward Xue began to read a little faster.

Standing among the disciples of Lingxi Peak, Yang Jing listened intently.

He noted the change in his own ranking and caught the name of his opponent for the second round.

The competition followed a top-versus-bottom seeding. As he was ranked twelfth, his opponent in the second round would be Huang Chao, an Inner Sect Disciple from Zhenyue Peak who was ranked eighty-ninth.

After announcing all the rankings, Steward Xue said no more. He turned, roster in hand, and descended from the stage.

Immediately, another steward on the high platform added loudly, "This concludes the first round of the main competition! The second round will begin tomorrow at the same time in Fushan Square!"

Hearing this, the disciples in Fushan Square began to disperse.

The sounds of footsteps and conversation mingled once again, and the previous clamor returned to the square.

Yang Jing left with Fang He, Yan Chenglong, Lin Ziheng, and the other disciples from Lingxi Peak.

As he was leaving, Yang Jing instinctively glanced toward the area where the Yunxi Peak disciples were gathered, but he didn’t see Sun Ningxiang.

A flicker of doubt crossed his mind, but he didn’t dwell on it.

’The gathering areas for Yunxi Peak and Lingxi Peak must have been too far apart. With the crowd so dense as everyone left, she probably already departed with the rest of her group.’

...

「On the other side.」

Sun Ningxiang hadn’t left with the main contingent from Yunxi Peak, nor had she stayed behind in the square to wait for Yang Jing. Instead, using the chaos of the dispersing crowd as cover, she walked quickly toward the Xuanzhen Sect mailroom, located not far from the docks.

The mailroom was a place the sect designated for storing disciples’ letters and packages. On any given day, two Outer Sect disciples were on duty, and occasionally a Steward would be present to oversee things.

Soon, Sun Ningxiang arrived at the mailroom entrance. Adopting a polite tone with the disciple on duty, she identified herself. "Sun Ningxiang, Outer Sect disciple from Yunxi Peak. Do you have anything for me?"

The disciple on duty heard her, lowered his head, and rummaged through a wooden shelf for a moment. He quickly retrieved a small, palm-sized package and a sealed letter. "Senior Sister Sun, this is for you," he said, handing them over. "Please sign here."

Sun Ningxiang accepted the package and letter. A hint of warmth flickered in her eyes as she saw the familiar handwriting on the envelope. She gave the disciple a slight nod and signed her name.

She had been expecting her father’s reply to arrive any day now.

After thanking him, Sun Ningxiang turned and quickly left the mailroom, envelope and small package in hand.

After leaving the mailroom, Sun Ningxiang followed a winding mountain path until she found a secluded clearing in the woods.

The area was lush with vegetation and rarely visited by anyone. She stopped and carefully tore open the envelope.

A few days ago, Yang Jing had suddenly come to her to borrow money.

Being perceptive, Sun Ningxiang had immediately guessed that Yang Jing must have run into some sort of difficulty with his cultivation.

With that in mind, she had taken up her brush that very night to write a letter to her father, who was far away in Yuhe County.

She didn’t mention Yang Jing in the letter. She only said that she had reached a crucial point in her own cultivation and was in urgent need of money and Elixirs. She asked her father to send some silver notes as soon as possible and, if it was convenient, to include some Bone Marrow Tempering Pills.

Sun Ningxiang pulled the neatly folded letter from the envelope. Her fingertips brushed lightly over the paper as she lowered her head to read.

The letter was written in her father’s familiar hand, the words filled with concern. "My dearest Ning Xiang, has your cultivation in the sect become more costly lately? Have you already used up all the silver notes you took with you?"

The letter went on to say that the family’s Martial Arts Hall and other businesses were doing very well, so money was no issue. He had sent her eighty thousand taels in silver notes, along with two Bone Marrow Tempering Pills. She was to focus on her cultivation and not worry about money.

A smile touched Sun Ningxiang’s lips as she finished the letter. She carefully folded the paper and put it back into the envelope.

She then picked up the small package and unwrapped the outer oilcloth. Inside, just as she expected, was a thick stack of silver notes and a small, palm-sized white porcelain bottle.

Sun Ningxiang picked up the porcelain bottle and pulled out the wooden stopper. A crisp, medicinal fragrance immediately filled the air.

Peering inside the bottle, she saw two Elixirs, each the size of a longan fruit, resting quietly within. They were a lustrous, pure white, and were indeed Bone Marrow Tempering Pills.

Sun Ningxiang couldn’t help but be taken aback when she saw the two Bone Marrow Tempering Pills.

Her father had run his Martial Arts Hall in Yuhe County for decades, teaching disciples and acquiring numerous properties and shops. He had built a solid foundation for the family and accumulated immense wealth.

And yet, her father often lamented how expensive these cultivation Elixirs were, claiming a single one could be worth half a year’s profit for an ordinary family business.

Take the Bone Marrow Tempering Pill, for instance. A single one had a market price of over fifteen thousand taels of silver. Her father himself was reluctant to use them, saying they should be saved for breaking through bottlenecks or for critical moments in cultivation to ensure they were put to the best possible use.

Yet, Sun Ningxiang recalled seeing Miss Jinlian give Yang Jing four Bone Marrow Tempering Pills. When Yang Jing had inspected the Elixirs later, he had looked quite surprised, seeming to value them a great deal.

What confused Sun Ningxiang, however, was that Yang Jing had already broken through to the Qi Eating Realm. Bone Marrow Tempering Pills were used to temper one’s physique and aid breakthroughs, so he shouldn’t need them to advance. ’Why was he so happy to receive them, then?’

From beginning to end, it never once occurred to Sun Ningxiang that there was another possibility: that Yang Jing was using Bone Marrow Tempering Pills for his daily training to increase his cultivation speed.

If word of such a thing got out, it would likely leave many people dumbfounded.