Mithril Ring

"Fifteen thousand gold coins! This gentleman has already offered the high price of fifteen thousand gold coins. Any higher bids?" the fat man asked with a beaming smile.

"Sixteen thousand gold coins!" Quite a few people felt that this ring was anything but ordinary and wanted to gamble on it as well.

"Eighteen thousand gold coins!" Xia Ming was determined to win it.

"Nineteen thousand gold coins!" The competing bidder gritted his teeth and raised the price again.

Xia Ming frowned. "Twenty thousand gold coins!"

Seeing how readily Xia Ming raised his bid each time, and with twenty thousand gold coins being no small sum, the other bidders hesitated. In the end, Xia Ming claimed the ring for twenty thousand gold coins.

A maid carried the ring over to Xia Ming on a tray. Once his crystal card had been swiped, Xia Ming became the owner of this mysterious ring.

"It really is Mithril!"

Xia Ming was so delighted he could hardly close his mouth. His luck was truly excellent—this ring really had been made of Mithril!

The ring was exquisitely crafted. Xia Ming could not bear to put it down and immediately slipped it onto his finger, examining it closely.

This ring must have quite a history. Unfortunately, it's missing a fragment and is somewhat damaged. Otherwise, I might have been able to trace some clues from it, Xia Ming thought.

Still, Xia Ming had already made a killing, so he did not dwell on the ring any further. He probed the space inside with his spiritual power and found it fairly good—roughly ten cubic meters of storage space. Among spatial rings, that was considered quite decent.

The following auction items failed to interest Xia Ming. Stroking the Mithril ring on his hand, he left the auction hall, with the hostess following close behind.

Just as Xia Ming was about to leave the Myriad Phenomena Trading House, Yuna stopped him.

Yuna approached Xia Ming with swaying, graceful steps, every inch the seductress. Xia Ming caught a whiff of intoxicating fragrance, and her snowy, delicate skin and soul-stealing eyes all radiated immense allure.

This woman truly was a temptress.

Xia Ming said, "May I ask what Miss Yuna wants with me?"

"You truly are cold-hearted, sir. Can't Yuna seek you out unless she has business with you?" Yuna countered with a soft laugh, her face full of grievance.

But Xia Ming did not fall for it. "Miss Yuna manages the trading house and is busy with countless affairs every day. If you came looking for me, there must naturally be a reason. Go on—what is it?"

Yuna smiled faintly, her large seductive eyes seeming ready to drip with water. "You truly are heartless, sir. It seems Yuna does not catch your eye. Still, I did indeed come to discuss something with you."

"Sir, after you auctioned that [Mana Source Potion], quite a few people became very interested in it. Several of them wish to meet you. Would you like to see them?" Much of the seductive charm faded from Yuna's face as she asked.

Xia Ming was slightly surprised. A single Mana Source Potion had actually attracted so much attention. He asked, "Who wants to see me?"

"Hughes, the steward of the Black Dragon Alliance; the black-robed man who bought your potion; and members of several other magical families," Yuna said slowly, watching the mysterious man before her.

"Forget it. I won't see them." Xia Ming made his decision. Though concocting Mana Source Potions was no difficult matter for him, his current strength was insufficient. He was a lamb draped in a tiger's skin, and making contact with such colossal forces too early was no good thing. Failing to catch the fox and coming away covered in stench was the kind of trouble he could not be bothered with.

Xia Ming waved a hand. "All right, I'm leaving."

Yuna watched Xia Ming's figure vanish into the crowd on the street and could not help murmuring to herself, "Master-level alchemy... who could he possibly be?"

The night stretched boundless, silent and cold.

Xia Ming returned to his temporary residence and began meditating.

Apart from the days he spent adventuring, Xia Ming meditated for no less than ten hours every day. He had practically replaced sleep with meditation altogether.

Over these past days, Xia Ming had achieved results that left him fairly satisfied.

Of course, this was also related to the meditation formula Anthony had taught him. The old mage's meditation formula was one of a kind, undoubtedly an advanced formula that could greatly improve meditation efficiency. Every mage's meditation formulas and incantations were unique, with vast gaps in quality between them. This was the defining difference in a mage's inheritance.

Of the one month Anthony had given him for training, half had already passed. During the next half-month, Xia Ming continued his previous routine—adventuring by day and hunting magical beasts, then returning to meditate at night.

As a fourth-level mage, there were very few magical beasts in Green Caterpillar Forest capable of harming him. He had almost slaughtered every magical beast in the forest.

"It's been nearly a month. It's about time I went back to see Teacher."

That day, Xia Ming emerged from meditation and opened his eyes, only to realize that a month had slipped by without him noticing. It was time to return.

"I wonder whether Teacher will be satisfied with my achievements this past month?" Xia Ming smiled, though confidence shone across his face.

He left his temporary residence and stepped onto the street. In a secluded place with no one around, he removed his cloak and black robe, revealing his own handsome, refined face.

With a smile on his face, Xia Ming strode toward the back mountain of Azure Flame Academy...

The sun was bright, and Clearwater Lake shimmered with rippling light. Sunlight reflected off the lake's surface in golden arcs, while fish could be seen swimming through the clear water. The scenery remained as beautiful as ever.

Stepping onto the verdant grass, Xia Ming arrived before the wooden cabin on the back mountain.

There was only this one cabin on the entire mountain peak. It had to be said that the old mage carried considerable weight—the back mountain of Azure Flame Academy was no ordinary place.

As he approached the cabin, Xia Ming first heard voices, as though people were conversing inside. The moment he drew near, the voices abruptly fell silent. With a creak, the cabin door opened by itself. Clearly, only a mage with extremely powerful spiritual power could accomplish such a thing—controlling physical objects with spiritual power!

Immediately afterward, Anthony emerged, dressed in a white mage's robe, his hair sparse.

"You brat, you're quite punctual," Anthony said casually. The Starsea Staff in his hand tapped the ground, and a terrifying wave of magical elements surged straight at Xia Ming.

"Huh? You're already fourth-level?" Anthony quickly noticed something unusual about Xia Ming. His hand holding the Starsea Staff trembled slightly, and he nearly failed to hold onto the priceless staff. "No, not fourth-level. You're already close to the fifth level!"

Having just advanced to the fourth level and nearing the fifth level were entirely different concepts. If Xia Ming had merely broken through to the fourth level, Anthony could still understand it. After all, the talent Xia Ming had displayed before had already astonished him.

But being close to the fifth level was enough to leave the old mage somewhat shaken!

"Teacher, what's wrong?"

"Cough, nothing. I've been eating too much lately and got a little overheated. I'm a bit worked up. Cough, a bit worked up." The old mage was too proud to admit that Xia Ming's cultivation speed had shocked him, and tried to cover it up with a clumsy excuse.

Xia Ming looked at Anthony. "Teacher, it seems you have a guest?" He had clearly heard Anthony talking with someone just now.

"That's right. You returned at just the right time. I'll introduce you to a distinguished guest." Anthony grinned, stroked his sparse white beard, and led Xia Ming into the cabin.