Chapter 112 - 111: Medical Expenses Not Included

Chapter 112: Chapter 111: Medical Expenses Not Included

Tuoba Yan had called Dongfang Ran over to save the situation. Chatting with Gu Qingyin was just too exhausting, and he figured these two archenemies would have a great chat.

But things didn’t go as planned. Gu Qingyin and Dongfang Ran really had nothing to say to each other. Gu Qingyin shot her a glance and then clammed up completely.

Dongfang Ran didn’t want to make a fool of herself, so she also walked on in silence, pretending she was mute.

Tuoba Yan clicked his tongue. ’Oh well,’ he thought, ’at least I’m not the one getting stonewalled anymore.’

The group went to the large conference room on the sixth floor and took their seats.

Gu Qingyin and Liu Ergou sat on one side, while Tuoba Yan and the people from the Mystic Association sat on the other, making it look just like a negotiation.

"Where’s the Soul Mirror?" Gu Qingyin said with a yawn, looking utterly exhausted. "Hurry up and give it to me. I want to go home and sleep."

Tuoba Yan chuckled. "Don’t be hasty. A Divine Artifact bonding with a master is a serious matter. While we have agreed to give you the Soul Mirror as compensation, we still have to follow procedure."

’I knew it wouldn’t be that simple,’ Gu Qingyin thought. She pursed her lips and asked, "What procedure?"

Tuoba Yan cleared his throat, pretending not to notice her expression. "The master of a Divine Artifact must prove their strength. We wouldn’t dare hand it over to someone without sufficient power, now would we?"

Gu Qingyin got it. "So how do you want to test my strength?" She thought for a moment. "To bond with the Soul Mirror, one’s soul power must be extremely strong. Why don’t we test that?"

Tuoba Yan hadn’t expected her to agree so quickly. He’d prepared a whole speech to persuade her, but now the words were stuck in his throat. He felt a bit choked up.

"What do the elders think?"

The elders exchanged glances, and their gazes finally settled on Dongfang Ran.

Dongfang Ran mused, "Soul power is difficult to control. A mistake could cause permanent damage. It’s just a test; there’s no need to take such a risk."

Hearing this, Elder Wang frowned. But just as he was about to speak, Dongfang Ran cut him off. "Besides soul power, the Soul Mirror also has extremely high demands for Spiritual Power. Why don’t we test Spiritual Power instead?"

Others might not have known, but Dongfang Ran was perfectly aware that Gu Qingyin was born with immense Soul Power. Competing against her in soul power meant certain defeat.

Gu Qingyin gave a wry smile and shrugged nonchalantly. "Fine. We’ll do it your way. How do you want to test it?"

Liu Ergou, who was beside her, could barely stop himself from rolling his eyes. ’In my opinion,’ he thought, ’why not just let her try to bond with it? If she succeeds, it proves she’s strong enough. If she fails, then that’s that. Why make it so complicated?’

’The Mystic Association clearly isn’t sincere about handing over the Divine Artifact. It’s not like anyone forced them to offer it. Acting so petty just makes them look pathetic.’

Tuoba Yan, Dongfang Ran, and the elders conferred for a moment before reaching a conclusion: "A gauntlet."

"We will take turns fighting you with Spiritual Power. If you can defeat three of us, we will acknowledge that you have the strength to control the Divine Artifact."

Before Gu Qingyin could say a word, Liu Ergou slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet. "That’s absurd! Bonding with a Divine Artifact already consumes a huge amount of energy. After fighting all of you, even if she wins, will she have any strength left to complete the bonding?"

Even Tuoba Yan felt this was going a bit too far. He cleared his throat and said, "If Gu Qingyin wins, she can recover her strength and come back for the bonding later. We never said it all had to be done today. This is just a qualification test."

The elders looked a little embarrassed, nodding in agreement. Then, their expressions darkened as they glared at Liu Ergou.

"Watch your tone. Do you think this is your Daoist temple?"

Liu Ergou jutted out his chin, ready to argue further, but Gu Qingyin pulled him back.

Gu Qingyin paid no mind to their thoughts and asked directly, "Do I get to pick my opponents?"

Tuoba Yan paused for a second before nodding. "You do."

Gu Qingyin smiled and turned to Liu Ergou. "Besides Dongfang Ran, who here do you find most annoying?"

Liu Ergou caught on quickly. He first pointed to Elder Wang, who had just reprimanded him, then his gaze shifted to Tuoba Yan. "Are you on the list?"

Tuoba Yan didn’t actually want to fight, but as the president, he couldn’t show weakness. He had no choice but to nod.

Liu Ergou clapped his hands. "Then it’s you!"

’As the president, he can’t even be fair and impartial. He deserves a beating! More importantly, Tuoba Yan’s fashion sense is a crime against my eyes. It’s only reasonable that I want to get some payback for them, right?’

Tuoba Yan glanced at Gu Qingyin. Remembering the last time she’d beaten him, he couldn’t help but swallow nervously. "Fine," he said, steeling himself.

The other elders had no objections. Since it didn’t concern them, they stood up and urged, "No time to waste. Let’s head to the Trial Arena now."

The Trial Arena was located behind the main building. It was open to the public, but use required an appointment. Most of the time, it was used for live combat testing of new runes or Spells.

If a new rune or Spell successfully passed the combat test, it would be officially promoted throughout the Mystical World, and its creator would receive a handsome reward.

Because of this, many people came to the Trial Arena every day. Some were there for actual combat tests; others were just there for the entertainment.

Someone had once developed a scented rune. It was supposed to be for marking ghosts, but the smell was so foul that the Heavenly Master in charge of testing it passed out from the stench.

In the end, the new rune passed inspection, but it was reclassified from a support-type to an attack-type.

The creator, a Heavenly Master, was thrilled at first, thinking he was about to strike it rich. Only later did he realize it was completely unsellable.

It was an utterly uncontrollable stench! Using it was an indiscriminate attack—not only would the enemy suffer, but the user couldn’t stand it either!

Well... except for the eccentric Heavenly Master who invented it.

Cases like this were too numerous to count.

In short, if life ever got you down, a trip to the Trial Arena was guaranteed to make you laugh.

The Trial Arena: the Xuan Technique Association’s stress-relief sanctuary!

Before their arrival, Tuoba Yan had notified the person in charge and reserved a combat testing area to serve as the ring for the match.

The surrounding Heavenly Masters were shocked to see the group arrive. ’The president and all the elders are here? Did something major happen? Who’s that young, beautiful woman in the center? Don’t tell me she developed some incredible new rune, and the top brass all came to witness it personally?’

This was huge!

It was a completely baseless rumor, but it spread like wildfire. Within minutes, more and more Heavenly Masters were rushing over, all eager to witness the birth of a new rune.

Seeing the growing crowd, Tuoba Yan’s right eyelid began to twitch violently. The bad feeling in his gut intensified. He had the urge to clear the area, but he couldn’t. ’Not with so many people watching! Wouldn’t clearing the field just show that we’re afraid of Gu Qingyin?’

’What a joke! Absolutely not!’

Gu Qingyin sauntered languidly to the center of the field. Her gaze swept over the group as she asked with commanding presence, "Who’s first?"

The clueless Heavenly Masters in the crowd were collectively baffled. ’There’s more than one person being tested? Just how incredible is this new invention?!’

Tuoba Yan looked from side to side, but seeing that neither Dongfang Ran nor Elder Wang intended to step forward, he had no choice but to clear his throat and go up himself.

Gu Qingyin smiled. "Just so we’re clear, I’m not covering medical bills."