Listen with Your Ears, See with Your Heart (Please Bookmark, Please Follow)

"Top-grade Earth-grade Treasure."

"Cough, cough..."

The moment Yi Yunya's requested resources were revealed, Yi Qing's tea-drinking motion froze. Then she rolled her eyes fiercely.

"You're applying for resources, not making a wish. Forget now—even if you truly became a Golden Jade Tower Steward, you still wouldn't be qualified to apply for something like that, even with Shattered Jade."

Yi Yunya said, "If top-grade won't do, then high-grade should be fine, right?"

"..." Shaking her head speechlessly, Yi Qing said helplessly, "Yun Ya, what you're applying for are rare treasures born by chance through the power of heaven and earth, not ordinary spirit materials or magical artifacts. If it were the latter, I could give them to you right now."

"But for treasures, you can only apply for low-grade Earth-grade ones."

Hearing this, obvious disappointment appeared on Yi Yunya's face.

Yet she did not lower her demands.

In order to make herself seem useful, the strong-willed girl gritted her teeth and made a decision.

"Little Aunt, my father still has some Merit Points in the Golden Jade Tower, right? If I use the resources from Shattered Jade along with those Merit Points, can I exchange them for a high-grade Earth-grade Treasure?"

"..."

Yi Yunya's words made Yi Qing's hand pause. Then, frowning tightly, she said, "Xiao Ya, are you sure you want to do this?"

"The Merit Points your father left you were meant for exchanging resources when you reach Foundation Establishment. If you use them now, and the person you invested in fails, your path of cultivation will be cut off because of this."

The severity of those consequences did make Yi Yunya hesitate for a moment. But she quickly said in a firm voice, "Thank you for the reminder, Little Aunt, but I'm prepared for this. Besides, I believe in my own judgment."

Seeing that Yi Yunya understood everything yet still made this decision, Yi Qing sighed and stopped trying to dissuade her.

"I hope you won't regret it later."

After murmuring softly, she said solemnly, "I understand your request. In the name of the Vice Tower Master of the Golden Jade Tower and an elder of the Yi Family, I approve your application."

Yi Qing was not finished yet. The expression on her face grew colder and colder.

"You can collect what you asked for from the Golden Jade Tower's treasure vault tomorrow."

"But remember, everything has its price."

"The item you applied for is of very high quality, and because of that, the Yi Family's demands of you will also be high."

"Before the end of the month, you must become a Steward. Within one year, you must become a Jade-grade Steward. If you fail, then wait to be punished."

With that, she stood and prepared to handle the Shattered Jade procedures for Yi Yunya.

But when she reached the door, she seemed to recall something. Turning back to Yi Yunya, she said, "Oh, right. I'll leave the Flood Dragon True Intent Diagram to you. All three of its uses will be yours."

That made Yi Yunya smile. "Thank you, Little Aunt."

"You're thanking me too soon. If you fail the tests after Shattered Jade, there'll be plenty of time for you to cry."

After Yi Qing left, only the young men and women of the Yi Family remained in the room.

At that moment, the expressions with which everyone looked at Yi Yunyan were somewhat strange.

Even Yi Yunyan herself could no longer spare attention for the Illustration of the Flood Dragon.

After silently watching Yi Yunya for a while, she could not help asking, "Seventh Sister, you're gambling so heavily this time. Aren't you afraid of losing everything?"

"Hehe, Fourth Sister, thank you for your concern. But I have faith in myself, and in my Senior Brother."

Casting one last glance over the people in the room, Yi Yunya left with a relaxed and delighted expression.

But though she had left, the people in the room continued discussing her.

"Just what did that Senior Brother of hers do to make her so confident?"

"Shattered Jade... How many years has it been since anyone last saw that?"

Some were puzzled and curious.

Others could not help snorting coldly. Yi Yunyan was one of them. "No matter what she has planned, she won't get what she wants this time. The person she invested in will never be a match for Young Master Ye Cheng."

Yi Yunyan had great confidence in Ye Cheng.

The other descendants of the Yi Family were likewise highly confident in the people they had invested in.

Yi Yunhai said, "The Steward position is mine this time."

Yi Shan said, "Sorry, Seventh Sister. I have no wish to be your enemy, but the struggle for the Heir Apparent has always been like this. Don't blame me."

The Steward position was still extremely important to the Yi Family's younger generation.

In cultivation, there was the saying that deep accumulation led to sudden breakthroughs, and another that one step ahead meant every step ahead.

If they took the Steward position now, they could gain greater authority in the Golden Jade Tower and reap more resources from it.

Using those resources to increase their strength and recruit more talented people, they could then compete upward for even better positions.

Such snowballing growth meant that those who fell a step behind would be suppressed by those ahead forever.

Under such circumstances, the competition for this Steward position became incomparably fierce.

At the same time, because of Yi Yunya's Shattered Jade move, quite a few Yi Family descendants listed her as their primary enemy and even prepared to join forces against her.

"Yunhai, Yi Shan, let's join forces. Although I don't think that so-called Zhong Ming can be a match for Young Master Ye Cheng, Yi Yunya dared to gamble so much. There must be something strange behind this."

"Fine."

"Then let's eliminate her first."

Some formed alliances, while another group of Yi Family descendants left the room to seek out Yi Yunya.

—The descendants of the Yi Family would receive support from the family, but because their talents and backgrounds differed, the amount of support they received was not the same.

Yi Yunya, Yi Yunyan, Yi Yunhai, Yi Shan... They called Yi Qing Little Aunt, and even at this stage, they had a chance at becoming Stewards. The support they received was actually quite substantial.

The resources possessed by the other Yi Family descendants were far inferior to theirs, and their talents were even less comparable.

This was why those Yi Family descendants had no intention of competing with them.

Unable to compete, some Yi Family descendants chose to lie low for the time being, while others wanted to attach themselves to someone.

In the Yi Family, there was also the saying: when one person attains the Dao, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.

If the person they attached themselves to became a chief steward or even Vice Tower Master, then as retainers who had helped raise the dragon, they too could gain high positions in the Golden Jade Tower.

That counted as a shortcut.

Yi Yunya had dared to make such a wager, and afterward, she had not appeared panicked or uneasy. Instead, she had seemed relaxed and delighted. This made many Yi Family descendants believe that she could win.

Under such circumstances, people naturally came to attach themselves to her.

Yi Yunya accepted them all without exception.

If she wanted to become a chief steward of the Golden Jade Tower, or even its Vice Tower Master, she could not fight alone. The support of the Yi Family's other descendants would also be important.

What was more, after these people came to her, she could gather some resources from her "brothers and sisters" and use them to nurture Zhong Ming.

After learning of Zhong Ming's circumstances, one person chose to wait and see, while another chose to wager everything.

Zhong Ming still knew nothing of any of this.

At that moment, he lay on his back amid the bamboo forest. As he watched the clouds stretch and unfurl and the sun set in the west, he kneaded his aching head.

"Intent Reading is very useful. Every time I activate it, I become a genius of comprehension, able to truly sense the rhythm of all things flowing through heaven and earth."

"With it, I can gain three to five hundred Experience Points in a single cup of tea's time."

"Unfortunately, it consumes too much mental strength."

"With the strength of my soul as it is now, activating Intent Reading three or four times drains my mind and soul dry."

"Alas, my weak soul prevents me from unleashing the full power of this trait."

Thinking of this, Zhong Ming indulged in a bitterly amused fantasy.

If only there were some treasure that could amplify or restore my mind and soul power.

Then the speed of my cultivation technique's progress would at least double.

And with such astonishing cultivation speed, I might even have hope of competing for first place in the Seven Peaks Grand Competition at the end of the month.

Of course, Zhong Ming also knew that fantasies were fantasies, while reality was reality.

A pie falling from the sky was not going to land on his head.

So, he quickly cast aside that delusion and closed his eyes. As he rested, he listened to the wind and the sound of flowing water.

Because Heaven Rewards Diligence, even without Intent Reading, Zhong Ming could still gain proficiency in his cultivation technique.

He did not even need to open his eyes to see.

Listening with his ears and feeling with his heart, he could still sense the rhythm of nature and all things in motion.

After closing his eyes, his brain no longer needed to process countless useless pieces of information, and his imagination was set free. This tranquil sensation was even more effective than staring with his eyes wide open.

[You heard the sound of flowing water and gained a faint insight into flow. Spirit Stream Finger · Stream Interception progress +3]

[You heard the wind sweeping fallen leaves and gained a faint insight into flow. Spirit Stream Finger · Stream Interception progress +4]

[You...]

In that tranquility, time swiftly passed.

Before long, the sun had completely set, and the moon slowly rose.

Yet when he saw that night was falling, Zhong Ming... had no intention of returning.

With heaven as his blanket and earth as his bed, he lay amid nature, quietly sensing the impact of the sun and moon's passage upon the world. He also watched the starlight filling the endless sky as it flowed through the boundless cosmos.

"Not just the world—the universe, too, is moving, flowing..."

[You observed the turning of the sun, moon, and stars and gained a new insight into flow. Spirit Stream Finger · Stream Interception progress +102]