I Have Already Been Merciful

A small pile of spirit stones, each thumb-sized and in varying colors, lay on the table. Their faint rosy glows echoed one another, and pure spiritual qi washed over them, making for a truly captivating sight.

"These three hundred spirit stones should be enough for three years' rent."

Meng Jinliang spoke calmly.

Ning Fa could not help but regard his aunt's husband more highly. This man did have some depth and bearing.

Even at the current market rental rates, three hundred spirit stones was by no means a small amount.

But Ning Fa sneered. "Who said it was enough? It's nowhere near enough!"

At those words, even Meng Jinliang, who was deeply calculating, could not keep his expression from turning ugly. Ning Muchun flew into a rage. "Ning Fa, don't push people too far!"

Ning Baiquan tried to smooth things over. "Ning Fa, you can't possibly understand the market. A hundred spirit stones a year is absolutely not a small sum. Do you know..."

He wanted to continue, but beneath Ning Fa's oppressive gaze, he could not force out another word and could only give an awkward laugh.

Ning Fa turned to Ning Muchun and snorted coldly, speaking with impassioned force. "You took that land deed for three years—three years when I needed spirit stones most. A full three years! Do you know how I survived those three years?! If I had had those spirit stones, I might have passed the clan's Pill Master assessment long ago. I wouldn't have had to risk making a wager with the Fifth Elder! And now you dare say I'm pushing people too far? Who is really pushing people too far?!"

The moment those words were spoken, Ning Muchun, who had been boiling with rage, revealed an embarrassed expression. Ning Zhengqian, who had intended to speak and persuade him, also fell silent.

Ning Fa's expression was calm. "I'll lay it out plainly today. Aside from these three hundred spirit stones, bring me another two thousand spirit stones within a year. Then I can pretend none of this ever happened. If you refuse... that's fine. I'll come and take them myself someday."

Hearing the coldness and resolve in Ning Fa's voice, Ning Muchun and Meng Jinliang's expressions changed.

Ning Zhengqian and Ning Baiquan did not dare speak to dissuade him either.

"I've said what I needed to say. Please leave."

Ning Fa stood and saw them out.

Ning Muchun's lips trembled as she tried to say something else, but Meng Jinliang held her back. He then dragged the furious Ning Furong away from Ning Fa's home in haste.

Ning Baiquan followed close behind.

Only Ning Zhengqian's family of three and Ning Xilin remained in the room.

"Ning Fa, could you..."

Ning Zhengqian still wanted to persuade him, but Ning Fa cut him off directly. "Eldest Uncle, there's no need to say any more. My mind is made up. Besides, I've already been merciful enough."

Ning Zhengqian sighed. "Sigh, your eldest aunt has brought this upon herself... But the Spirit Stabilizing Pill is a matter of great importance. Ning Fa, do you think you could ask the Ninth Elder for help?"

Just as Ning Fa was about to refuse, Ning Zifeng, who had barely spoken until then, raised a hand to stop his father from continuing.

He said calmly, "Father, there's no need to say more. Even if Ning Fa obtains a Spirit Stabilizing Pill and Brother Furong successfully advances to Late Qi Condensation, so what? He still has no chance of achieving a good ranking in the Heir Competition."

"The reason I previously agreed to pool the strength of our branch and help Brother Furong advance to Late Qi Condensation was only because I wanted our line to produce a late-stage cultivator as soon as possible to stabilize the situation. After all, our circumstances on Pingchang Island are very unfavorable right now. And since our aunt's husband is not a member of the Ning Clan, there are certain matters in which it would be inconvenient for him to step forward."

"But now that Ning Fa has entered the clan's Alchemy Hall, his status already surpasses that of ordinary Late Qi Condensation clan members. There is no longer any need to rush Brother Furong into breaking through to Late Qi Condensation."

"Rather than spend a vast amount of resources on helping him break through, it would be better to direct our branch's resources toward Ning Fa. Ning Fa is now the hope of our branch. As long as he can establish himself firmly in the Alchemy Hall, no one will dare bully our branch again."

Ning Fa looked at this cousin of his in some surprise.

He could naturally tell that his cousin was not saying this merely to curry favor with him, but spoke from the heart.

In fact, during the gathering a month ago, when everyone had discussed the matter, Ning Zifeng had spoken up for him.

At that time, Ning Fa had gained a deeper understanding of his cousin's character. He was not as rigid and oblivious to human feelings as the memories of the original owner of this body had suggested.

On the contrary, this cousin had principles of his own and was far from foolish. As with what he had just said, his father still had not grasped the situation and was still talking about the Spirit Stabilizing Pill.

After hearing Ning Zifeng finish, Ning Zhengqian froze, then began to come around as well.

Ning Xilin, beaming with delight, immediately added, "Zifeng is absolutely right! Ning Fa is now the hope of our branch. It is only right that we support Ning Fa with all our strength. As long as Ning Fa can advance to Qi Condensation Mid-stage and later become a First-grade Mid-rank Pill Master, then even if our branch is not part of the direct line, we will be no worse than the direct line!"

Ning Zhengqian seemed to have been struck by enlightenment. Nodding vigorously in agreement, he said, "Right, right. I truly have grown muddleheaded with age. It seems I need to speak with Eldest Sister and Baiquan again. Rather than fight for the direct line with little hope, Ning Fa is our true hope."

Ning Fa smiled faintly, then pointed to the spirit stones on the table. "Eldest Uncle, Uncle Xilin, when you lent me spirit stones and relieved my urgent need, this nephew will never forget your kindness. Now is the perfect time to repay you."

But Ning Xilin hurriedly stopped him, saying anxiously, "Ning Fa, this old man has little use for spirit stones. Your future advancement in the Alchemy Hall will require even greater expenditures of spirit stones. Keep all of these for yourself."

Ning Zhengqian nodded as well. "Xilin is right. Ning Fa, there is no need to stand on ceremony with us."

Seeing how resolute they were, Ning Fa did not press the matter.

Soon afterward, Ning Zhengqian and the others left excitedly as well. Clearly, they were going to find Ning Muchun and the others at once to discuss what had just been said.

It was foreseeable that his Maternal Aunt's Family would not compromise so easily, but Ning Fa did not care.

It would naturally be good to have the support of his own branch, but if they did not support him, it made little difference to him.

For one thing, with his current ability to refine Essence Replenishing Pills, earning spirit stones was no longer difficult. It should be enough to support his future alchemy expenses.

The alchemy expenses here referred to practicing with other pills.

After all, a pill needed to reach a certain degree of completion before the Mysterious Scroll could restore it. Naturally, he first had to bring his pill refinement to a certain level. But compared to other Pill Masters, he was already unimaginably better off.

Moreover, he had refined pills six times during the earlier assessment and obtained more than twenty proper pills, along with quite a few Failed Pills. Those alone could be sold for a substantial sum of spirit stones.

Thinking again of how everyone treated him now, Ning Fa could not help but marvel that Pill Masters truly deserved to be the foremost profession among the Hundred Arts of Cultivation.

Ning Fa put away the spirit stones on the table, a contemplative look appearing on his face.

He thought of his uncle. Compared to the fifty spirit stones given by his eldest uncle, his uncle, whose family circumstances were clearly much poorer, had sent him a hundred spirit stones. He would never forget such kindness.

He had originally wanted to ask Uncle Xilin to help return the spirit stones just now, but after some thought, he decided it would be more appropriate to personally visit his uncle's home after he had settled down in the Alchemy Hall.