Chapter 51 - The Prodigy Qin Ying

Bam.

Everyone around Zhongwang Shi involuntarily jumped and scampered away. The wall that he punched was not so unfortunate as it currently had huge web-like cracks springing from the ball sized hole made from his fist.

The veins that stood on his face were seething with the hot blood, indicative of his anger.

"How dare he. I, the great Zhongwang Shi, showed pity and invited him to serve under me but that... that- look." He started to vent with words but as he recalled the event that took place a couple hours ago, he once again relied on his fists to convey just how angry he was to the poor wall.

"If I see that piece of- ahh, I am going to rip every tendon out of his body." He began to tap into his bestial nature and roared to the sky. Everyone around him stood afar off, making sure they were not noticed by him or else they may become the next wall.

However, that did not stop them from chiming in a few words since it seemed that they had nothing else to do with their time. "It looks like Tian Longmeng's refusal really did a number on him."

No one ever disagreed or turned down any offer from Zhongwang Shi; after all, he is not only a great talent, but he has a fickle temper with great power to vent it with. Anybody would have to think three times before nonchalantly turning him down. Even the instructors and elders would not address him in slight.

Except, an upcoming first-year which just so happens to be somewhat talented brushes him off without a second glance.

Just thinking about it again made Zhongwang Shi's fist tremble. As he was just about to direct his anger to the ground, he was stopped by the sight of a foot in his face.

He flipped over and sprawled on his back, getting up while holding his jaw soon after. Strangely, he did not rage like what would be expected. Far from it actually; he did not even dare make a squeak in front of this presence.

This person was the prodigy of the Qin family, Qin Ying. Holding his purple feathered bamboo fan, he had a regal aura surrounding him that made anyone feel an internal urge to prostrate. Because of his amazing skills in both his terrifying cultivation speed and rallying others under his banner as the leader of the Heaven Faction, all the instructors and elders held him in extremely high regard.

For Zhongwang Shi, he held his tongue against Qin Ying for one reason only; this Qin Ying was an absolute monster. Zhongwang Shi could not help but shudder when he remembered how he was invited to the Heaven Faction by Qin Ying.

At the time, Zhongwang Shi viewed anybody with such a baby face and innocent smile as a pushover; so, naturally, he challenged the prodigy. The next time he opened his eyes, his face was seeing dirt and his own blood as Qin Ying simply flashed the blood off of his fan.

Zhongwang Shi had to resign himself to his residence for a week while taking medicine for his injuries to heal. At that time, it was firmly imprinted in his mind that Qin Ying was someone to absolutely fear.

Qin Ying looked at Zhongwang Shi on the ground and calmly talked while fanning himself. "So I received word that you went to the ranking test and failed to grab anyone."

Zhongwang Shi, sensing the foreboding tension, quickly made his plea. "Forgive me leader, there was not much good talent there so it is not like we lost much. Plus, I did attempt to recruit somebody-"

As he was making his plea, Qin Ying cut him short. "I recall there being about 8 people recruited to factions based on my information. That means that there were at least 8 or more people that the general people accepted as impressionable talents." "Not to mention that the one you did approach ruthlessly shot you down, causing you to explode in a fit of anger and ignore the person I sent you to recruit."

Zhongwang Shi paled. He was told personally by Qin Ying not to pick up Tian Longmeng, but Qin Qingtian. Qin Ying said that if Lu Yan was willing, he could join as well but the priority was Qin Qingtian. "No one else could have her," said Qin Ying.

However, when he saw the accolades of Tian Longmeng, he thought to himself that if he recruited someone of this much potential, even if he was a commoner, the leader would be pleased.

He just did not expect that the trash would think that he was so high up as to brush him off. Even now, Zhongwang Shi was clenching his fists silently. Of course, he did not do it where Qin Ying could see.

The only fortunate thing was that neither Lu Yan nor Qin Qingtian accepted any of their invitations to factions. Otherwise, there would be no telling of his fate today.

Qin Ying shook his head slightly then covered his mouth with the fan before speaking once more. "I keep you around because I like your tenacity. I hope that tenacity won't disappoint me again."

Zhongwang Shi stiffened. "Yes leader, I promise to do better."

"Good. Then I will excuse myself." Qin Ying promptly shut his fan and departed from the scene, leaving Zhongwang Shi who was seething in anger.

"This is all because of that trash. I am going to kill him." Zhongwang Shi also left, heading towards the training area to vent the rest of his anger.

.....

In the Medicine Facility, Tian Longmeng was busy buying numerous pills and herbs, exchanging it for what he had left of his stash of items from the wilderness. Although the prices for items were jarringly higher than Spring Well Villa, he had to admit that the quality was on a whole other level.

However, Tian Longmeng was now in a predicament. He finally used up the remaining items from his impossibly huge bag, so he had nothing more to trade in for items or medicine. The only thing he kept from the wilderness was the Hou Tiger corpse that Elder Canglong said to keep since it had uses.

"How can I find resources? Do I really have to risk the trouble of going back home?" Tian Longmeng pondered about his possibilities.

The big roadblock he was experiencing was due to Tang Fei Martial Academy having a policy forbidding disciples from exiting the premises without proper permission. Meaning, unless he befriended some instructors or got lucky enough to participate in some event, he would never see the Desolate Wilderness until he left the martial academy.

For Tian Longmeng, leaving the academy was not a problem. He never planned to stay here long and only considered this place and its people as a good starting point to his journey. The only problem was that he was not finished with all that he could experience in the academy yet. He still preferred to have one or two more years of experience before he decided to call it quits.

Tian Longmeng rubbed his temples in frustration at this dilemma. However, as coincidence would have it, he encountered a signboard with an invitation.

Annual Open Botanical Hunt begins in two months. Maximum of 50 members. Collect as much as you want and you get to keep 40% of the spoils as long as it is over 100 jins.

Tian Longmeng swerved and bolted to the receptionist's desk to quickly inquire about the details. "How many spaces are open? Are first years allowed to participate? Is there any limit to what we can take up?"

The receptionist was taken aback by the bombardment and forgot to compose herself for a while. She eventually collected her thoughts and answered the questions. "Yes, there are multiple spaces still open, and yes, first years are totally allowed to enter as it is located in a fairly contained area at the edge of the Desolate Wilderness. Also, the only limitation for this event is that only people who are not core disciples can participate. The core disciples have their own excursion within the Desolate Wilderness in a few more months."

As the receptionist made that last point, her face lit up as if she remembered something; however, she ultimately did not say anything more.

Since she finished explaining, Tian Longmeng took the opportunity to register for the hunt. He left the place thinking that it is nice that he found a good avenue for resources so soon; however, he couldn't help but think about something else.

"It would be nice if I can go into the actual Desolate Wilderness. I could probably get some items from the Profound Cave while no one is looking. Ah yes, she said that the core disciples will go in the near future. I wonder if I can become a core disciple before then. Then again, I do not even know the steps to take to become a core disciple." Tian Longmeng rambled in his thoughts throughout the whole journey back to his residence.