Early the next morning, Chen Ming got out of bed, practiced a set of fist forms in the courtyard to loosen his muscles and joints, then bathed and changed into clean clothes. After breakfast, he headed for the Council Hall.
Divine Wind Island lay shrouded in a thin veil of morning mist, like an immortal paradise. Early-rising disciples were already cleaning the streets, and the patrols had begun their daily rounds.
Several long horn calls sounded from the harbor as ships raised their sails and set out to sea. Everything seemed so peaceful and serene, as though yesterday's grand celebration had been nothing but a dream.
But Chen Ming knew that beneath this tranquil surface, undercurrents were stirring.
When he entered the Council Hall, Liu Qingqing was already there.
She sat at a desk, reviewing the accounts from yesterday's celebration, with a steaming cup of spirit tea beside her. Seeing Chen Ming enter, she set down the ledger, rose, and bowed. "Island Master."
"Sit." Chen Ming took the seat of honor and asked casually, "Have you finished tallying yesterday's accounts?"
"Almost," Liu Qingqing reported. "We received two hundred and thirty-seven congratulatory gifts from various parties at yesterday's celebration, with a total value of approximately one hundred and fifty thousand Spirit Stones.
"The most valuable was a Seven-Star Spirit Gathering Array Disk set sent by Deputy Hall Master Ling of the Star Palace. That set alone was worth over fifty thousand Spirit Stones. Next were the three thousand-year spirit herbs and a bottle of Essence Condensation Pills brought by Elder Meng of Jade Wave Island, worth about thirty thousand Spirit Stones.
"Black Wind Island's gifts were also quite valuable, worth around twenty thousand Spirit Stones. The gifts from the remaining small and medium-sized factions added up to roughly fifty thousand Spirit