Fifty-Year Stone Bell Milk

"Finally... I'm back."

Qin Jue looked up at the city walls, dozens of feet high, his chest rising and falling slightly.

His trip to Silver Moon Bay was a near-death experience!

The bloody battle with the Ning Family's enforcer, Meng Kuang, the earth-shattering duel between two Nascent Core Realm powerhouses, the terrifying, world-ending might of it all still echoed in his mind. It was an absolute suppression of life levels, the shock and powerlessness of an ant looking up at a divine dragon!

"Nascent Core Realm..." Qin Jue narrowed his eyes, a spark of fervent fighting spirit flashing within them.

He lingered no longer, leading his equally exhausted Black Scale Horse into Skywind Martial City along with the crowd.

South of the city, at the Beast Tamer's Workshop.

Behind the counter, the manager, a man with a face full of coarse flesh, was dozing off, his drool nearly reaching the ledger. Hearing footsteps, he lazily lifted his eyelids, his cloudy eyes sweeping over Qin Jue.

"Yo, isn't this..." The manager felt a sense of familiarity. He rubbed his eyes and finally remembered, "It's you, kid. You're actually still alive?"

His tone was full of surprise. During this period, due to the anomalies in Silver Moon Bay, countless martial artists had flocked there, including many academy disciples. However, less than one in ten had returned alive! Especially for someone like Qin Jue, with his low cultivation, who looked like a poor kid just trying his luck, in the manager's eyes, being able to leave behind a complete corpse would have been a stroke of immense luck.

Did this kid get scared halfway and turn tail, running back without even getting close to Silver Moon Bay? Yes, that must be it.

The manager thought to himself, and his expression returned to its usual lazy disdain. He casually said, "Returning the horse? Tie it to that post over there and hand over the deposit slip."

Qin Jue ignored his thoughts, his expression as calm as a still well. He simply handed over the deposit slip and the reins with a faint voice, "The deposit."

The manager pouted, took the reins, and casually inspected the Black Scale Horse. Finding no injuries other than fatigue, he impatiently counted out ten gold coins from the money box and tossed them onto the greasy counter.

"Count it. Ten gold, not a coin less."

Qin Jue didn't count, merely weighing the coins in his hand before tucking them away and turning to leave.

The Four Seas Pavilion, the most prosperous commercial building in Skywind Martial City. It stood nine stories tall, entirely constructed from green jade glaze, exuding a magnificent aura. It was a renowned money pit within the city.

Qin Jue, carrying a hefty sum of fifteen hundred gold, strode into the Four Seas Pavilion. This money was the reward for killing Shen Yutang, Meng Kuang, and others.

Dressed in a simple blue robe, he stood out amongst the surrounding martial artists clad in luxurious attire and exuding extraordinary auras. The moment he entered, he drew many dismissive glances.

A graceful attendant approached, her face adorned with a perfectly professional smile. "Esteemed young master, welcome to the Four Seas Pavilion. How may we assist you?"

"I need Spiritual Medicine to temper Jade Bone," Qin Jue stated directly.

"Temper Jade Bone?" The attendant blinked slightly, then her smile grew even sweeter. "Young master has come to the right place. Our Four Seas Pavilion's bone-tempering spiritual medicine is second to none in all of Skywind Martial City. May I ask if you require ordinary bone-tempering powder, or the more effective Hundred Refinements Milk?"

In her opinion, the young man before her, with his ordinary attire, could barely afford bone-tempering powder at most. Her question was merely a formality.

However, Qin Jue's next words caused the smile on the attendant's face to freeze completely.

"Three portions of Stone Bell Milk, fifty years old."

"Wh-what... Fifty-year-old Stone Bell Milk?!"

The attendant's mind went blank. This Stone Bell Milk was a priceless treasure, sought after by even Hundred Refinements Realm powerhouses!

Let alone three portions, the combined value was easily over a thousand gold!

"This... this poor kid must be here to cause trouble!" A ridiculous thought arose in her mind.

The surrounding martial artists, drawn by the commotion, were first stunned by the resources Qin Jue mentioned, and then erupted into laughter.

"Did I hear that right? This kid is asking for fifty-year-old Stone Bell Milk?"

"He must be crazy! Does he know how much that costs? He couldn't afford it even if he sold himself!"

"What kind of penniless brat is this, spouting nonsense here? Doesn't he even know where he is!"

All sorts of sneers and discussions arose, and mocking gazes fell upon Qin Jue.

Facing the crowd's ridicule, Qin Jue seemed oblivious. His expression remained unchanged as he calmly looked at the dumbfounded attendant and asked faintly, "What, does the Four Seas Pavilion not have it?"

"Ah... Yes! Yes! Please wait a moment, young master!"

A glance from Qin Jue sent a shiver down the attendant's spine, jolting her back to reality. She dared not be negligent any longer. Although this young man was dressed plainly, his composure, unfazed even as Mount Tai collapsed before him, was certainly not that of an ordinary person! Feeling apprehensive, she quickly scurried to the back to fetch the manager.

Soon, a middle-aged manager in a brocade robe, exuding a steady aura, emerged. He first sized Qin Jue up before politely cupping his hands. "Esteemed young brother, the fifty-year-old Stone Bell Milk you requested, our Four Seas Pavilion happens to have. However... one portion is five hundred gold. These three portions, the total price is one thousand five hundred gold. What do you say..."

The manager didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

Qin Jue, too lazy to waste words, directly took out a stack of gold notes from his embrace and casually slapped them onto the counter.

"Count it yourself."

"Hiss—"

The entire hall fell silent the moment they saw the stack of gold notes!

The martial artists who had been mocking him earlier were now like roosters with their throats choked, mouths agape, eyes wide as saucers, their expressions priceless.

Over a thousand gold notes!

This colossal sum was enough for ninety-nine percent of the people present to work for half a year!

And this unassuming young man had produced it so casually!

"Heavens! That... that's over a thousand gold notes!"

"Who is this young man? Could he be a direct descendant of some major family out for training?"

"Spending gold like water without batting an eye... I've never seen such bearing in my life!"

Shock, greed, jealousy, awe... Countless complex gazes instantly focused on Qin Jue. However, Qin Jue, the center of attention, remained calm, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings.

Wealth is external; only when converted into strength does it truly belong to oneself. This fifty-year-old Stone Bell Milk, with its pure Origin Energy, was precisely the key to tempering his Jade Bone and laying a solid foundation for cultivating the Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record. Such a treasure was enough to make his foundation far surpass his peers, so why would it cause even the slightest ripple in his state of mind?

"Wrap it up," Qin Jue said lightly.

"Yes! Yes! I'll do it right away!" The middle-aged manager snapped back to reality, his face immediately breaking into a fawning smile. He respectfully packed the Stone Bell Milk for Qin Jue, his attitude a complete 180 from before.

In the end, Qin Jue spent fifteen hundred gold coins to acquire the Stone Bell Milk.

Half an hour later, at Qingcang Academy, Deacon Hall.

The elderly disciple in charge of registering missions was engrossed in organizing a mountain of mission scrolls. He looked up upon hearing footsteps, a flicker of surprise in his cloudy eyes.

"You brat... you're actually still alive?"

He remembered this arrogant Hundred Refinements Third Layer disciple. He had even kindly advised him back then, never expecting the fellow to actually return alive from the meat grinder that was Silver Moon Bay.

Qin Jue smiled faintly, not answering directly, but calmly stating, "Submitting a mission."

"Tsk, you've got some serious luck." The elderly disciple clicked his tongue and asked, "What did you find out? Speak up, if the intel is valuable, you won't be shortchanged."

"The exotic treasure in Silver Moon Bay is called the 'Moon Marrow Vermilion Fruit,' and it has already attracted the attention of several factions," Qin Jue said casually. "When I left, our academy's Deacon Lin Xiuyuan and Zhanfeng Academy's Deacon Du Yuan, two Nascent Core Realm powerhouses, were fighting fiercely over the treasure."

"What?!"

The elderly disciple shot up from his chair, his face a mask of horror!

"Nascent Core Realm... Nascent Core Realm powerhouses are fighting?!"

This news was too shocking! Nascent Core Realm powerhouses were figures at the level of elders and deacons in the academy. They were actually fighting over an exotic treasure in Silver Moon Bay?

His exclamation also drew the attention of other disciples handling missions in the Deacon Hall. Upon hearing the words "Nascent Core Realm," every single one of them, without exception, displayed expressions of fear and awe.

Watching the shocked reactions of those around him, Qin Jue felt nothing. He had omitted all the battles he participated in, and he hadn't mentioned the spoils worth thousands of gold. He understood the principle of "an innocent man is not guilty because he possesses a jade, but he is guilty if he possesses a jade" better than anyone.

"You... you brat, you escaped from a battlefield of Nascent Core Realm powerhouses?" The elderly disciple looked at Qin Jue as if he were a monster. After a long moment, he recovered and sighed, "Your ancestors must have smoked a lot of good incense!"

He picked up a brush and quickly recorded on the mission voucher, saying as he wrote, "Alright, mission complete. Based on the value of the intel... I'll give you a 'B+'."

Soon, he tossed a identity token over.

"Fifty Battle Merit, take it. In the future, keep your eyes open when taking missions, don't always pick these life-or-death ones."

Fifty Battle Merit!

Several disciples nearby who were also registering missions cast envious and jealous glances upon hearing the amount. This was equivalent to two to three months of grueling work for an ordinary disciple.

Qin Jue calmly handed over his identity plate and watched the Battle Merit count on it increase. He nodded inwardly.

Fifty Battle Merit, plus the more than a hundred points he had before, would move him up a rank. Next month, he could go to the Myriad Scrolls Pavilion to exchange for a few Mortal Tier Upper Grade Martial Skills.

"Thank you, Senior Brother."