Han Dong's Bounty Ranking

"What are you tinkering with?" Kong Jiao nodded in greeting as he spoke, then crossed the room in a few strides to the forge and cast a curious look over.

Several brand-new items were displayed on the forging table. They were presumably the little trinkets Feng An had mentioned forging just now.

Zhou Tingyu was holding a bone artifact in her hand, though it was impossible to tell what it did.

Kong Jiao watched as the bone-chip artifact changed color every time Zhou Tingyu's little hand brushed over it, endlessly shifting between red, yellow, blue, and green.

"This is an unranked artifact. It doesn't have much use—once spiritual power is infused into it, it keeps changing colors and glowing. It can be used as a torch for lighting."

Feng An explained the artifact's function with a beaming smile, then gestured to Zhou Tingyu. "If you like it, Junior Sister Zhou, it's yours."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Feng!" Zhou Tingyu had long been unable to put it down. Hearing Feng An's words, she did not stand on ceremony. After thanking him, she happily accepted it.

"Girls all like these flashy but impractical things." Kong Jiao watched from the side, smiling without a word.

"No need for thanks. These are all refining materials we got from the Frostmoon Altar trip. They were things that should have been divided among us anyway." As Feng An spoke, he reached over and picked up several pitch-black arrowheads from the forging table.

Turning to Kong Jiao, he said, "I saw that Junior Brother Kong uses a bow, so I specially forged five arrowheads from those materials. Fortunately, I did not fail you—they've reached the level of low-grade artifacts now. You can infuse them with spiritual power, so they should be useful against enemies."

"However, arrows are one-use consumables. Once fired, they'll be hard to retrieve."

Hearing that they had been specially forged for him, Kong Jiao was immediately interested. Eagerly picking up an arrowhead, he gathered spiritual power in his palm and formed the shaft of a Profound Ice arrow, then fitted the arrowhead onto it.

He then took down his longbow, drew it fully, and poured in spiritual power.

Sure enough, the black arrowhead offered no resistance whatsoever to the infusion of Kong Jiao's spiritual power.

Compared to arrows condensed from Profound Ice, it could hold far more spiritual power, and its might was naturally greater as well.

Still, the arrowhead was only a low-grade artifact and could not be infused with too much spiritual power. Kong Jiao did not dare pour power into it without restraint, lest it fail to withstand the Lunar Scripture's spiritual power and explode.

"Not bad!" After testing it, Kong Jiao estimated that with these arrowheads, the power of his bow and arrows could increase by twenty to thirty percent.

Even though he already felt that the bow's usefulness was limited, something was still better than nothing.

He put away the five arrowheads and placed them in his storage pouch, then sincerely thanked him. "Senior Brother Feng An, you've put a lot of thought into this."

"We're brothers. Don't talk about such empty formalities—we've been through life and death together." Feng An waved a hand dismissively.

With both Zhou Tingyu and Kong Jiao having received things they liked, the atmosphere naturally became exceptionally harmonious.

Feng An brought out fine wine and food from inside, and the three sat in the elegant courtyard, chatting leisurely.

When it came to being well-informed, Feng An was undoubtedly among the best in the outer sect.

No matter the subject, he could always say a few things about it.

Of course, the hottest recent topic in the Cangwu Sect's outer sect was the calamity at Frostmoon Altar.

And speaking of the Frostmoon Altar calamity, one naturally had to speak of Han Dong.

As well as the three survivors of that disaster.

"The Lingyu Pavilion has records of the three of us returning from Frostmoon Altar. There's no way it could have been kept secret. Logically speaking, they should have dug us three out long ago."

When Feng An brought up the matter, even his aged face was full of confusion.

"But we've been back for over a month now, and there's been no news spreading around. It's truly strange."

Kong Jiao raised a brow. After pouring himself a cup of wine and downing it, he replied in an uncertain tone, "The Lingyu Pavilion must have sealed off the information."

In truth, Kong Jiao had already sensed that something was off when he went to the Law Enforcement Hall to be questioned.

The interrogation had been far too easy.

It was as if someone had specifically given instructions beforehand.

Now Feng An had said that all information concerning the three of them had been tightly sealed away.

That made Kong Jiao even more aware that something was amiss.

"Someone with real authority in the sect must be covering it up," Kong Jiao surmised.

At that thought, Kong Jiao glanced toward Zhou Tingyu beside him. Among the people he knew, only two could get someone with that sort of authority to conceal matters for them.

One was Zhou Tingyu, the second-generation immortal at his side.

The other was Huangfu Wuqin.

Both of them were connected to the Frostmoon Altar calamity in one way or another, so that explained it.

Concealing the information was, in truth, protecting the three of them.

Their strength in the outer sect was not high, yet drawing too much attention was hardly a good thing.

That powerful figure's purpose in concealing the information was likely to protect all three of them.

Of course, these were merely Kong Jiao's guesses, and he could not tell Feng An.

"No matter what, it's a good thing." Though Feng An could not make sense of it, he knew that having the information hidden brought them nothing but benefits.

"Those outer-sect brothers are still guessing that we're among the top experts of the first echelon. They'd never suspect us."

Feng An seemed to have thought of something amusing, and a sly smile spread across his face.

Zhou Tingyu lovingly fiddled with the glowing bone chip in her hand and casually joined the conversation. "By the way, Senior Brother Feng, Senior Brother Kong, have you heard the news about Han Dong?"

"I specifically checked the bounty board these past few days. Guess what I saw."

"What?" Kong Jiao looked at Zhou Tingyu with interest. Before going to Frostmoon Altar, this absentminded junior sister had not even known about the Law Enforcement Hall's bounty notices.

"I heard Han Dong's bounty ranking rose from eighty-second to thirty-seventh," Zhou Tingyu said excitedly, having completely forgotten that Han Dong had nearly killed her at Frostmoon Altar.

Feng An added with a chuckle, "It's not just his bounty ranking that rose—the reward went up too. Whoever captures him or brings back his head can receive a portion of human-grade Heaven-and-Earth Essence."

Feng An clearly knew what Heaven-and-Earth Essence was for. His aged eyes immediately lit up like snow beneath sunlight.

Still, he knew the limits of his own strength. Taking on Han Dong was nothing more than a fool's dream, so while he longed for it, he harbored no real hope.

The fact that even human-grade Heaven-and-Earth Essence interested him showed that Feng An clearly understood that, given his current circumstances, obtaining even one portion of human-grade Heaven-and-Earth Essence would be an enormous stroke of fortune.

"There are many kinds of human-grade Heaven-and-Earth Essence. What kind is the one on Han Dong's bounty notice?" Kong Jiao had only learned about Heaven-and-Earth Essence from Huangfu Wuqin.

Thus, he was quite interested and asked in detail.

"Tidal Essence, an essence soul condensed upon the Endless Coast. Even among human-grade essences, it ranks near the top." Feng An smacked his lips, speaking with great envy. "I wonder which senior brother will ultimately claim that reward."

"You're thinking too much. With Han Dong's strength, there probably aren't more than a few people in the outer sect's first echelon who can kill him." Kong Jiao had gained some understanding of Han Dong's strength.

He had used the Human Spirit Essence of countless cultivators to temper his wheel. Even Huangfu Wuqin had said it was an existence comparable to an earth-grade essence.

There really were not many people in the outer sect who could defeat him, much less kill him.

After all, he was someone who had escaped from beneath Huangfu Wuqin's hand.

The ranking on the bounty notice underestimated Han Dong somewhat.

Zhou Tingyu did not quite agree with Kong Jiao. Somewhat indignantly, she said, "Hmph, he only started cultivating a few years earlier than Senior Brother Kong. I think if Senior Brother Kong cultivates for another four or five years, Han Dong definitely won't be your match."

Zhou Tingyu had seen Kong Jiao's methods firsthand.

She firmly believed in the conclusion she had drawn.

Even Feng An fell slightly silent upon hearing this. His eyes lowered as though he were considering whether it was possible.

"Come on, you're overestimating me. Even if I cultivated for another ten or eight years, I still wouldn't go looking for him." Kong Jiao quickly waved his hand.

Unless he were forced into a desperate situation, he would never willingly cross blades with someone like Han Dong, a man backed by fortune and possessed of terrifying cultivation.

Since the conversation had reached this point, Kong Jiao naturally had to ask about the Twin-Stem Ice Lingzhi.

"Junior Sister Zhou, when will Elder Zhou Shangxiang emerge from seclusion?"

What Kong Jiao wanted to ask was also what Feng An wanted to ask. The reason he had gathered the two of them today was precisely to ask Zhou Tingyu about this matter.

He immediately stretched out his neck, waiting for Zhou Tingyu's reply.

"She should be out soon, probably sometime this month. Don't worry, I've already asked someone to pass on a message. Once she comes out, she'll definitely come find me." Zhou Tingyu was not entirely certain when her aunt would emerge from seclusion.

But she was brimming with confidence that her aunt would definitely come looking for her.

"It's no matter, no matter. Elder Zhou is occupied with important matters, so it's fine for us to wait." Feng An replied with a genial smile.

"Mm. The moment I hear anything, I'll come find you two." Zhou Tingyu nodded lightly, then began fiddling with her newly acquired bone chip again. She truly liked the little trinket.