"The case wouldn't be so serious if the young miss would have taken my advice and let the task force conduct its own investigation. She decided to get involved and, in the process, got captured by the enemy. DO you expect him to let her go just because she is the heir of Brown-stone guild? The boy must have a similar sort of backing and hence is not scared to offend the guild."
"We should take some precautionary steps to investigate the matter properly. The cost is too big."
A sudden gust of aura blasted the manager to the nearest wall. Blood started dripping out of his mouth as he looked at the elder with fear in his eyes.
"Are you implying that the young miss is not worth the price Considering your contribution to the guild, I will let this matter slide, but try to pitch these words ever again, and you wouldn't live to see the next day?"
"The precautionary teams are useless in this case. From the information I gathered, multiple groups were in pursuit of the target but were wiped out by the group supporting Lu Ming. The only people who were left alive were the leaders of the respective teams. He injured most of them and a huge cost needed to be spent for their recovery. They were left alive as a warning to the groups behind them."
"The leaders described the situation as being out of their control. They were assaulted by a group of practitioners who were having cultivation far greater than theirs. Lu Ming doesn't belong to any known groups within the Pill Valley region, yet he has such a team supporting him from the shadows. Just how powerful is his real backing? "
"You wish to make an enemy out of someone whose power is well beyond the scope of your understanding. The only person he took hostage was a young miss, which means he recognized her. If he knowingly chose to approach us with a demand for compensation, would you expect him to be unable to confront our power?"
The manager bowed his head in shame. He never analyzed the situation in this way. It seems he still needed a huge amount of training in this area.
"At the end of the day, we are merchants. It is better to have an ally rather than an enemy. The matter is even more important if the person in question is quite capable or has a successful future ahead of him. Prepare a list of items and add the following items as a gift of appreciation for Lu Ming. I require you to upgrade his status from black-gold to red-gold."
"Since we began with the wrong step, we could only hope this price is enough to satisfy his appetite."
Xuan Ying was in charge of the current branch of Brownstone for a long time. Not only was he a skilled merchant, but he was also in possession of a strong cultivation base. His vast experience helped him in analyzing this situation in a proper manner. If handled perfectly, a situation like this might turn in their favor.
"Prepare the items and hand me the storage ring. I will be watching his performance on the second test. My guts say that he is going to top this round as well. This gift might be adequate in that situation. We are to handle this matter with utmost secrecy and circulate the order that Lu Ming is to be treated with respect from now on."
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The second had arrived soon enough and the participants had gathered within the stadium to undergo the second test. The elder in charge came forward and spoke:
"I extend my warm welcome to the participants of the second round. All of you are eligible to become the inner disciple of our valley and those who manage to pass this test can be admitted as a core disciple of the valley."
"The test in front of you is known as the test of the soul. Among the most crucial attributes of an alchemist except for control, another important factor is soul strength. An alchemist wouldn't be able to advance in his journey if his soul strength is not adequate. The rules of this test are quite simple."
"What you see in front is an altar where the test will proceed. Once you take a position within the altar, the test will begin with the help of a special kind of object we refer to as soul beads. You will be using your soul energy to catch the soul beads and keep them floating in the air. The more soul beads you are able to catch, the higher will the marks obtained within the test."
"Only the top 2 rankers will be allowed to enter the next round and become eligible to be a core disciple of the valley. "The elder paused for a brief moment before looking at the row where Lu Ming was standing.
"There were some startling performances in the first round. I hope we get to see a similar kind of view in this test too."
The performance was obviously referring to Lu Ming. He managed to wreak havoc within the whole valley with his performance in the first round. Numerous elders arrived at the stadium to watch his performance.
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The test proceeded in a similar fashion with participants proceeding towards the altar one after the other. The soul beads were extremely small in size. This led to the participants gaining some confidence in handling many of the beads. The test began and the beads poured down. It wasn't until it came in contact with the participant's soul that they realized how horrifying they were.
The first participants were knocked out just after around ten beads were poured down. Even after a great amount of effort, none of them managed to cross the barrier of 15 soul beads. This view taught those who were unappreciative of the difficulty this test held.
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Lu Ming was standing quietly in a corner when a figure approached him out of nowhere. It was none other than the participant standing at the second rank, Teng Huan. He stopped in front of Lu Ming and stared at him.
"Is brother having a matter to consult me with?"
"You needn't act so naïve. Both of us are fully aware of what happened yesterday. I didn't like the fact that my elders didn't believe my talent. They doubted the fact that I might not be capable enough to take you on. I apologize on their behalf, and I am here to issue a challenge."
"I may have lost to you in the domain of fire control, but I am confident in my soul strength. Let's test it out."
Lu Ming formed a good image of Teng Huan in his mind. He was honest enough to admit the incompetence and issue a challenge to Lu Ming.
