Wen Qingye smiled faintly and said softly, "I once heard some news. It seems there are rumors in Sheng City of the Dayan Dynasty about the Ninth Supreme Origin Fire Seed, the Qilin Fire. I want to go and take a look."
When Qingg Ruo’ai heard him, her pretty face was filled with disbelief. "Qilin Fire? How is that possible? Do you think I’m that easy to fool?"
"The Qilin Fire is a Supreme Origin Fire hidden in a Qilin’s Qi Sea, ranked ninth among all Supreme Origin Fires. The Qilin itself is an ancient Auspicious Beast that no one saw even in antiquity, let alone now. It’s impossible. The Qilin Fire is something that exists only in theory. It’s impossible to obtain."
Wen Qingye looked at the vast, empty scenery before him and said, "That’s not necessarily true. In this wide world, nothing is impossible. For a peerless Supreme Treasure like this, even the slightest bit of information is enough reason for me to go. Besides, if I go back now, I’ll definitely be hunted down by the Elders of the Taiyi Pavilion. It won’t hurt to check it out."
Qingg Ruo’ai frowned slightly. "But even if the Qilin Fire does exist, don’t you know how powerful a Supreme Fire Seed like that is? I bet you’d be turned into a pile of ash before you could even refine a single sliver of its origin."
Wen Qingye pondered for a moment before replying, "No. I have Rebirth Ointment, which can hold it off for a while. As long as I can get close to the Qilin Fire, there’s a chance I can refine it."
Qingg Ruo’ai’s eyes flew wide open as she stared at Wen Qingye’s back. "You’re insane! Are you really not afraid of death? With that frail body of yours, refining something like that... aren’t you afraid of dying?"
"Death? I don’t think I’ll die." Wen Qingye’s voice drifted through the air as his figure slowly vanished into the horizon.
...
Ten days flew by in the blink of an eye.
The Nocturnal Strait and the Mingzhu Strait were the two main river arteries that ran through the entire Eastern Profound Domain. Their waters surged, rolling in from the west. The intersection of these two great rivers formed the Eternal Night River, which flowed beside the Imperial City of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty.
The Imperial City of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty was also the most prosperous and bustling city in the entire Eastern Profound Domain. It was perennially bathed in lamplight, its clamor shaking the heavens, and its streets thronged with traffic. Thus, it was also known as the City of No Night. The Eternal Night River, in turn, was one of the four great Secret Lands of the Eastern Profound Domain, and the only one teeming with human activity.
At this moment, on the Eternal Night River, a massive ship drifted lightly across the water’s surface, heading toward the Dayan Dynasty.
On deck, countless Martial Artists stood about, chatting with one another. Most of them were heading to the Dayan Dynasty.
Wen Qingye gazed at the endless expanse of water before him and muttered to himself, "It won’t be long now. We should reach Sheng City in two days."
Qingg Ruo’ai retorted irritably, "And that’s when your death warrant will be signed."
Though she was a Sword Spirit, she still had some knowledge of the Supreme Origin Fire. Never mind a super-existence ranked ninth; she didn’t believe Wen Qingye, in his current state, could control even the Human Dao Supreme Fire, the very last on the list.
"Is this young man also heading to the Dayan Dynasty?"
Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind Wen Qingye. He couldn’t help but turn to look. A middle-aged man was smiling at him, flanked by a younger man and woman who both looked to be in their twenties.
The middle-aged man’s cultivation was at the Seventh Heaven of the Destruction Realm, which wasn’t low. As for the young man and woman behind him, one had a cultivation at the Eighth Heaven of the Yin-Yang Realm, and the other was at the Fourth Heaven of the Yin-Yang Realm. Considering their age, their cultivation levels weren’t bad at all.
Wen Qingye nodded impassively. "That’s right."
The middle-aged man smiled. "It seems we’re brought together by fate. We are also heading to the Dayan Dynasty. I am Xiong Zhou of the Xiong Family from Tianhe City. This is my young daughter, Xiong Rou, and this is Xu Jinhao, a disciple of the Mountain River Sect."
Xiong Zhou had been observing Wen Qingye for quite some time. He had noticed the young man’s extraordinary bearing and, feeling a flicker of interest, couldn’t resist coming over to make an acquaintance and form a good connection.
Wen Qingye simply nodded at the three of them, showing no surprise at their identities.
’Forget a mere disciple of the Mountain River Sect; even the Sect Leader of the Mountain River Sect isn’t qualified to make me bow and scrape.’
Seeing this, Xu Jinhao couldn’t help but frown. ’This kid is really putting on an act.’ Xu Jinhao was extremely well-known in the Mountain River Sect and was even considered a minor genius in the areas surrounding the Dayan Dynasty. Yet this kid was acting as if he didn’t even see him. How could his conceited heart tolerate such a slight?
Xiong Rou, standing to the side, was also extremely irritated by Wen Qingye’s attitude. She huffed coldly, "Hey, kid, aren’t you going to introduce yourself? My father is the Patriarch of the Xiong Family of Tianhe City, you know!"
"Rou’er, stop that!" Xiong Zhou quickly stopped Xiong Rou, then cupped his fist toward Wen Qingye. "Young friend, please don’t mind her. My daughter is young and foolish. I hope you can forgive her."
Wen Qingye waved his hand and smiled. "It’s nothing. I won’t hold it against her."
Hearing Wen Qingye’s words, both Xu Jinhao and Xiong Rou looked furious. Xiong Zhou just gave a dry laugh and asked, "May I ask for your name and origins, young friend?"
Wen Qingye shrugged and smiled. "My name is Wu Qiren. I’m just a Registered Disciple from the Three Realms Sect. You’ve probably never heard of me."
Hearing this, Xu Jinhao couldn’t help but sneer, "So, a Registered Disciple from the Three Realms Sect. And here I thought you were a True Disciple from the Celestial Profound Sect or something."
This time, Xiong Zhou didn’t try to stop Xu Jinhao. He, too, was somewhat disappointed. He had originally thought that this young man with the extraordinary bearing, despite his seemingly low cultivation, must have an exceptional background. But the status of a mere Registered Disciple from the Three Realms Sect was a great letdown.
Xiong Rou looked at Wen Qingye with disdain. "The Three Realms Sect? Did you know? The Fourth Senior Brother of the Three Realms Sect, Liu Shaoze, and my Brother Jinhao are sworn brothers!"
"Never heard of him," Wen Qingye said, shaking his head with a smile.
Xiong Zhou grabbed Xiong Rou, who was about to speak again. "Well then, we won’t disturb you from enjoying the scenery any longer, young friend. Farewell."
Xu Jinhao let out a heavy, cold snort, his eyes filled with blatant provocation, before he finally turned and left.
Wen Qingye couldn’t help but smile and shake his head. ’He understood. There were two ways to show off in this world. The first was to step on others to climb higher. The second was simply to belittle others and put them beneath your feet.’
’Of course, most who tried to show off fell into the second category. They lacked the strength to step on others, so they could only resort to belittling them.’
"Those three idiots. Morons," Qingg Ruo’ai sneered, watching their retreating backs. "I could kill them with a single sword strike."
Wen Qingye asked, puzzled, "Why would you kill them?"
Qingg Ruo’ai laughed happily. "Because I don’t like the look of them. If I feel like killing them, I’ll kill them. It’s not as if my kill count is low enough to notice three more."