Snow Soul Pearl and the Armory Key

"Last time, you wiped out two White Lotus Sect strongholds and upheld the dignity of my mansion. You did very well. Merit must be rewarded, faults must be punished. These three items are all for you."

As he spoke, Xia Hong crooked a finger, summoning the three servants holding redwood trays forward. They opened the boxes atop them one by one, revealing the items within.

Inside the first brocade box was a round, snow-white bead the size of a soybean. It looked like some sort of pearl, but it was in fact an exceedingly rare and precious auxiliary treasure for martial cultivation.

The instant the lid was opened, an astonishing chill spread outward, invading everyone's minds and making them feel as though they had been cast into the depths of winter. In only a few moments, flakes of snow actually gathered and drifted down through the space several feet above the bead. This was no illusory spectacle, but real snow.

This bead actually possessed the power to alter the heavens' phenomena.

The strange and miraculous sight left everyone present staring wide-eyed, their gazes blazing. Without prior agreement, they all reached the same conclusion: this bead was a treasure, an incomparably precious treasure.

Even Xia Ning, whom the servants regarded as the young prince, showed surprise and confusion on his face before it turned into a dead man's expression, ugly beyond measure.

"What is this? The Snow Soul Pearl? Grandfather—how could Grandfather give the Snow Soul Pearl to this bastard?"

Overwhelmed by shock and fury, Xia Ning bit through his own lip. A trace of bloody sweetness flowed into his throat, yet he did not notice it at all.

Xia Hong saw Xia Ning's reaction and was somewhat displeased, but he gave no outward sign of it. Instead, he said to