You Wouldn't Want to See Senior Sister Lin Sad, Would You?

After the outer sect steward finished recording everything carefully, she said respectfully, "Senior Brother, Senior Sister, please wait a moment. For a transaction involving supreme-grade Law Artifacts, I need to fetch them from the storeroom myself."

Qin Nanyue nodded slightly, her expression calm. "Go ahead."

The outer sect steward hurriedly bowed, then turned and left in quick strides, soon disappearing into the depths of the corridor behind the Law Treasure Hall.

Before long, the patter of footsteps approached from a distance, and the steward returned.

She brushed her fingertips lightly over the Storage Bag at her waist. A faint light flashed, and two Law Treasures with a restrained radiance appeared on the counter out of thin air.

One was an inky-black heavy sword with a blade over two meters long. Its spine was thick and its edge sharp, and it radiated an immensely steady, oppressive pressure. Even lying there motionless, it seemed to weigh down the surrounding air until it grew sluggish.

The other was a robe, folded neatly with crisp, well-defined edges and not a single wrinkle.

At first glance, the robe looked almost identical to an outer disciple's clothing, but a closer look revealed the differences.

Intricate spirit patterns crisscrossed its surface, their flowing lines far more elaborate and complex than those on ordinary outer disciple clothing. A faint spiritual light could just be seen slowly coursing through them.

Lu Yang took a deep breath and suppressed the excitement in his heart, then reached out and solemnly put the two Law Treasures away.

Meanwhile, the steward at the counter deftly deducted the contribution points from the sect token.

Holding the token in both hands, she bowed and returned it to Qin Nanyue. "Senior Sister, please take your token. The two supreme-grade Law Artifacts cost a total of nine thousand six hundred contribution points!"

Qin Nanyue casually took the token, looking as relaxed as if she had merely bought a few worthless trinkets, without the slightest trace of reluctance to part with the points.

The sight made the outer sect steward's heart tremble.

This Senior Sister Qin... isn't she a little too rich?

Two supreme-grade Law Artifacts!

That was a full nine thousand six hundred contribution points!

Converted into Low-Grade Spirit Stones, that came to nearly a hundred thousand. Ordinary outer disciples might not be able to produce that much even after saving for years.

Yet this senior sister had spent it on a whim, without so much as a flicker of emotion on her face. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought she had only bought a few ordinary mid- or low-grade Law Artifacts.

At the thought, she stole a glance at Lu Yang standing beside her, and a wave of envy rose in her heart.

This senior brother was certainly dashing and extraordinarily handsome, but his skin... wasn't it a little too thick?

Such valuable supreme-grade Law Artifacts, and he just accepted them without a single word of refusal?

He was eating soft rice far too unabashedly.

But then again... he really was so very handsome.

No matter how she looked at that face, she couldn't take her eyes off it...

Lu Yang and Qin Nanyue naturally had no idea that an entire drama had already played out in the steward's mind.

The two turned and walked out of the Law Treasure Hall side by side. Sunlight streamed down outside, warming their bodies.

Qin Nanyue turned to Lu Yang and asked casually, "There are four hundred contribution points left. What do you plan to exchange them for?"

Lu Yang thought for a moment. "Let's exchange them for some pills."

Hearing this, Qin Nanyue's lips curved into a half-smile, and a teasing look entered her eyes. "Yingying has her heart set on helping you refine pills right now. Yet here you are, turning around and buying supreme-grade pills refined by someone else. If Yingying finds out, I'm afraid she'll feel guilty again for quite a while."

At her words, the image of Lin Ying's little face immediately surfaced in Lu Yang's mind. At the auction, when he had bid on that Supreme-Grade Yellow Dragon Pill, she had been full of guilt but had tried hard not to show it.

His heart warmed at the thought, and his expression softened without him realizing it.

Come to think of it... should I look for more chances to spend time with Senior Sister Lin and raise her favorability to a hundred as soon as possible?

He turned the thought over in his mind, but his face gave nothing away as he looked at Qin Nanyue and smiled. "Just don't tell Senior Sister Lin, Senior Sister Qin. Let's treat it as a little secret between the two of us."

Qin Nanyue's heart skipped a beat without warning. Even she didn't understand what had caused the sudden flutter.

"A... secret between us?"

Lu Yang's smile didn't fade, and he nodded as though it were only natural. "Yes. After all, you're so close to Senior Sister Lin. You wouldn't want to see her sad either, would you?"

Qin Nanyue broke into a bright, open smile. "All right, then. I won't tell her. Let's go!"

The two then headed to Pill Peak and exchanged some points for pills at the Pill Hall on an accompanying peak.

Perhaps the demand for pills was too great, but the Pill Hall didn't even have any Supreme-Grade Yellow Dragon Pills in stock. Only Supreme-Grade Qi Nourishing Pills were available for exchange.

A bottle of Supreme-Grade Qi Nourishing Pills was priced at one hundred and fifty contribution points, equivalent to about fifteen hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, considerably less than the price of Supreme-Grade Yellow Dragon Pills.

Lu Yang didn't hesitate and exchanged points for two bottles.

There were still a hundred contribution points left on the token. Lu Yang had originally intended to give them to Qin Nanyue as payment for the effort of accompanying him all day.

But Qin Nanyue flatly refused to accept them and even grew somewhat angry. Her delicate brows knitted slightly as she looked at Lu Yang. "You want to give me contribution points for such a sesame-seed-sized matter? What kind of person do you take me for? Isn't our friendship worth more than a mere hundred contribution points?"

Since she had put it that way, Lu Yang could only drop the matter.

But to his bemusement, Qin Nanyue not only refused to accept a single point, she even paid out of her own pocket, adding the few dozen contribution points left on her token to buy Lu Yang another bottle of Supreme-Grade Qi Nourishing Pills.

Thus, three bottles of Supreme-Grade Qi Nourishing Pills ended up in Lu Yang's hands.

Once that was done, the two didn't dare linger on Pill Peak and quickly left.

Although the accompanying peak where the Pill Hall stood was not the one where the disciples lived, if their luck was bad and they really did run into Lin Ying, she would most likely blame herself and feel guilty again.

On this matter, Lu Yang and Qin Nanyue shared an unspoken understanding, each walking faster than the other.

They had dashed all over the sect, exchanging points for Law Treasures and then pills. By the time everything was settled, it was nearly noon.

Lu Yang glanced at the sky, then turned to Qin Nanyue with a smile. "Senior Sister Qin, it's noon. Let me treat you to a meal, just as one friend treating another."

This time, Qin Nanyue didn't refuse.

Her lips curved slightly, and she nodded graciously. "All right."

The two ordered five Spirit Cuisine dishes in the sect dining hall. The dishes were wreathed in faint Spiritual Qi, and their color, aroma, and flavor were all superb.

They ate to their hearts' content, thoroughly satisfied, a touch of contentment showing even in their brows.

After the meal, they each returned to their residences.

To Lu Yang's mild surprise, although he had given Qin Nanyue no Law Treasures or pills today, and the two had merely run around the sect, exchanged points for some things, and eaten a meal, her favorability toward him had quietly risen by two points.

Qin Nanyue (favorability: 77)

Looking at the number on the system panel, Lu Yang was a little baffled, but he couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from lifting.

Though he couldn't figure out why, it was naturally wonderful news for him.

After all, once Qin Nanyue's favorability rose another three points to eighty, he would receive another favorability reward.

Time passed like a white steed flashing through a gap, gone in an instant.

Before he knew it, another month and more had quietly passed.

Early one morning, Lu Yang slowly opened his eyes and breathed out a mouthful of turbid Qi, ending a whole night of cultivation.

Morning light shone through the window paper, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow on the wooden floor.

He got up briskly and first completed each of his daily tasks. Then he brought up the system panel with practiced ease and added all fifty points of Universal Experience to his Spirit Root.

[Spirit Root: high-grade (3250/10000)]

Seeing that his Spirit Root experience bar had steadily advanced to nearly one-third full, he couldn't suppress a smile, and genuine joy appeared in his eyes.

Soon.

After a little more time, his Spirit Root would advance from high-grade to supreme-grade!

Over the past month and more, Lu Yang had completed his daily tasks without fail, and his base attributes had steadily climbed day by day.

In particular, his physique attribute had just broken through the ten-point mark, while his intelligence and charm were also approaching ten points.

The rise in his base attributes brought changes in every respect. His body grew ever leaner and stronger, perhaps comparable to that of a Late Qi Refining or even peak-stage body cultivator.

His comprehension had become clearer and sharper, and he had made rapid progress with the Wind Riding Technique and Golden Light Shield, which he had exchanged points for a few days ago!

Even his bearing had become more ethereal and immortal-like.

Only his appearance had not changed much.

Besides completing his daily tasks, Lu Yang used his own spiritual power every day to refine those supreme-grade Law Artifacts, the control array plate for the Flowing Light Flying Boat, and his storage ring.

After nurturing and refining them day after day, he had finally finished refining every item ten days ago.

From then on, Lu Yang had begun taking Supreme-Grade Yellow Dragon Pills to aid his cultivation.

It had to be said that the Supreme-Grade Yellow Dragon Pills were truly outstanding. Refining them together with the Spiritual Qi contained in Spirit Cuisine made his cultivation several times faster than before.

He consumed one Supreme-Grade Yellow Dragon Pill each day. After just ten days, he could clearly feel that his Mid-stage Qi Refining realm had stabilized completely, his foundation was solid, and he was steadily advancing, step by step, toward the bottleneck of Late Qi Refining.

With a flip of his hand, he put the Wind Riding Technique manual into his storage ring, stood up, and stretched comfortably, his bones cracking all over.

Lu Yang walked to the window and pushed it open. A fresh morning breeze rushed eagerly against his face, carrying the fragrance of grass and trees and the faintly earthy sweetness of the soil, refreshing him to the core.

Lu Yang took a deep breath and looked up just in time to see an inner disciple standing on a flying sword high in the sky, robes fluttering, streaking across the morning sky like a stream of light before vanishing among the clouds in an instant.

A glimmer of anticipation and delight appeared in his eyes.

The new year was approaching, and he planned to leave the sect that very day and return to the Lu Household for the celebrations!

Compared with the last time he had left his Lineage, Lu Yang was no longer the same man.

He had officially become an outer disciple of the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect, possessed a full three supreme-grade Law Artifacts, and had nearly a million Spirit Stones alone in his storage space.

To gain wealth and honor without returning home was like walking at night in embroidered robes.

Naturally, he wanted to return in glory for a visit and give his Household a good deal of help.