Chapter 586 - 586: To Shield

"That despicable bastard..."

Mu Xiaoxiao was furious and started forward to argue.

However, Chu Qingyun reached out an arm to stop her. Things had already reached this point; saying anything more would be useless. In fact, it would only give Cai Mao and his group an opportunity to stir up trouble.

But just then, a surprised voice suddenly called out from the side, "Cai Mao, Chu Qingyun, you're both here?"

Hearing the somewhat familiar voice, both Chu Qingyun and Cai Mao instantly turned their heads to look.

The newcomer was none other than...

Zhou Ling, who had competed in the station next to Chu Qingyun at the Celestial Martial City Pill Battle Conference.

The moment he saw Zhou Ling, a flicker of passion flashed in Cai Mao's eyes, and a warm smile spread across his face. "Junior Sister Zhou, I can't believe I'd run into you in the Outer Sect Trading District. Are you here to buy something? If you need any help, please don't hesitate to ask."

Cai Mao appeared very enthusiastic.

Zhou Ling was not yet twenty, but she was already a Spirit Level Alchemist. Not only was she beautiful, but more importantly, her grandfather was the Dean of the Saint Extreme Sect's Pill Institute.

As a result, many in the Pill Institute, and even throughout the Inner Sect, flocked to her, eagerly fawning over her at every opportunity.

Cai Mao was clearly one of them.

However, compared to Cai Mao's enthusiasm, Zhou Ling's response was far colder.

She gave Cai Mao a casual glance and nodded noncommittally. "I'm just browsing. No need to trouble you, Cai."

Then, she turned to Chu Qingyun and asked with a smile, "Chu Qingyun, I never thought that after we both got to the Saint Extreme Sect, this is where I'd run into you. What are you doing here?"

Chu Qingyun!

Hearing the name again, the surrounding crowd, including Cai Mao and the other Martial King Realm disciples, finally understood. So this was the guy who dared to stand up to Cai Mao—Chu Qingyun.

The champion of the Celestial Martial City Pill Battle Conference, owner of over ninety thousand Saint Extreme Points, who had cleared the Saint Extreme Road on his very first attempt.

For days now, his name had been causing a huge stir throughout the Saint Extreme Sect's Outer and even Inner Sects.

However, for the vast majority of people, they had only heard the name and never seen the person. That was why no one had recognized Chu Qingyun.

Zhou Ling's obviously preferential treatment made a flash of gloom pass through Cai Mao's eyes.

But he quickly masked it, jumping in before Chu Qingyun could speak. "Heh, so you're Chu Qingyun. I never would have guessed. Your great name has been making the rounds even in the Pill Institute these past few days. I suppose this means we've become acquainted through conflict."

"But as for what happened today, I think it was all just a misunderstanding, wouldn't you agree?"

As Cai Mao spoke, he shot Chu Qingyun a covert glare, his eyes full of threat.

He clearly didn't want Chu Qingyun to tell Zhou Ling what had happened.

If Zhou Ling found out, it would, for one, damage his image in her eyes. For another, Zhou Ling and Chu Qingyun seemed to be quite familiar with each other. If she got involved, things would get troublesome.

But Chu Qingyun hadn't been afraid of them before, so how could he possibly be intimidated by a single glare now?

He quickly gave Zhou Ling a brief summary of the whole affair.

After hearing him out, a look of indignation appeared in Zhou Ling's eyes.

"Cai, your unreasonable behavior is a disgrace to our Pill Institute!" Zhou Ling said.

Cai Mao's expression changed. "Junior Sister Zhou, you can't just take his side of the story! I was merely acting according to the Treasure Pavilion's rules."

"Rules?"

"Then what kind of rules were you following when you stopped others from bidding and allowed your men to injure someone?" Zhou Ling retorted.

Seeing Zhou Ling's stance, not only were Cai Mao and the other Inner Sect Disciples astonished, but even the surrounding Outer Disciples were shocked to their core.

Inner Sect Disciples bullying Outer Disciples was practically an unspoken rule throughout the Saint Extreme Sect. As for the Alchemists from the Pill Institute, their arrogance was even more well-known.

There was absolutely no reason for Zhou Ling to defend an Outer Disciple so staunchly.

Even if Chu Qingyun was the champion of the Celestial Martial City Pill Battle Conference, it didn't warrant this kind of reaction. After all, that championship only proved his potential.

Cai Mao, on the other hand, was barely thirty, yet his skill in Refining Elixirs could already rival that of senior Alchemists decades, or even a century, older. He was quite famous even within the Pill Institute.

However, what those people knew was that Chu Qingyun had won the Pill Battle Conference; what they didn't know was just how astonishing his performance had actually been.

Besides, Chu Qingyun had also done Zhou Ling a huge favor during the Pill Battle Conference.

So, no matter how you looked at it, Zhou Ling was always going to choose to help Chu Qingyun over Cai Mao in this situation.

"Junior Sister Zhou, surely you don't intend to help an outsider go against one of our own from the Pill Institute?" Cai Mao's face turned ugly.

"This isn't about helping anyone. I'm just looking at the facts."

"Cai, if you're not satisfied, why don't we go find a few Elders to judge the matter?" Zhou Ling said.

At this, Cai Mao's expression soured even further.

Although he had exploited a loophole in the Treasure Pavilion's rules, any discerning person could see that he was just making trouble for no reason and bullying others with his power.

Without Zhou Ling present, he wouldn't have been afraid even if the matter was brought before the Elders.

But with Zhou Ling involved, it was a different story. Leaving everything else aside, the Elders would definitely have to consider Zhou Qian's reputation. Besides, she was the one in the right here.

Cai Mao's expression shifted several times before he forced a smile. "There's no need to trouble the Elders. Since you've spoken up, Junior Sister Zhou, I'll defer to you. I'll let them have the three All-Seeing Fruits."

After saying this, Cai Mao had no desire to linger. With a brief farewell, he led the other Inner Sect Disciples away.

It was only three All-Seeing Fruits. To Cai Mao, they were merely a way to save some Primordial Spirit Liquid he would have used for cultivation. It wasn't worth offending Zhou Ling over them.

After Cai Mao and his group left, Chu Qingyun breathed a sigh of relief and put away the three All-Seeing Fruits.

"Miss Zhou, thank you for your help this time. I owe you one. If it weren't for you, Cai Mao and his cronies would have probably snatched these three All-Seeing Fruits," Chu Qingyun said gratefully.

"Just call me Zhou Ling."

They started walking out together. "By the way, Chu Qingyun, what do you need the All-Seeing Fruits for? You even ended up confronting Cai Mao and his group over them."

"For cultivation, naturally," Chu Qingyun replied.

"Cultivation? The power contained in three All-Seeing Fruits, when refined into an Elixir, should be enough to break through to the Martial King Realm! Don't tell me you're planning to participate in the Inner Sect qualification competition?" Zhou Ling asked, growing even more puzzled.

But Chu Qingyun just shook his head helplessly.

For an ordinary person, even one whose Qi Sea was opened with a Tier Four Martial Soul, the Elixir from three All-Seeing Fruits would be more than enough to support a breakthrough to the Martial King Realm.

But for him, even if he directly devoured all their power, it would probably only be enough to reach the eighth-level Martial Spirit.