I Am Immortal in Great Yu

Chapter 221: Chapter 91: Jade Plum Association (Part 2)

But he was the one who’d said it. He couldn’t just go back on his word and snatch them back in front of so many colleagues and superiors, could he?

The Jade Plums were nice, but not so nice that he’d be willing to lose so much face over three of them!

AHEM, AHEM!

Duan Yu was no ordinary man, so he simply waved his hand magnanimously. ”Don’t mention it. What are a mere three Jade Plums? Gifting them to Fang Yinzheng is simply my way of supporting a junior. It’s my pleasure! Haha!”

Despite his words, the twitching at the corner of his eye betrayed the pain he felt at the loss.

After all, three Jade Plums could be sold for hundreds in silver. For a Silver Seal Chief Constable, that was no small sum.

”Mm-hmm, my thanks to Duan Yinzheng.”

Fang Rui didn’t mind Duan Yu getting the upper hand verbally. He’d already secured the tangible benefits. So what if the man called him a ’junior’? It wasn’t as if he’d lose a pound of flesh over it.

’Besides, if this ’junior’ were to reveal his true strength, I wonder if this ’senior’ would die of shock?’ he thought to himself smugly.

’The Chief is incredible! He just scored three Jade Plums for free!’

Behind him, Li Dadan, Niu Bajin, and Xun Buhe were secretly marveling, resolving to learn from Fang Rui and become more thick-skinned in the future—much more thick-skinned.

The other Silver Seals who watched the spectacle were all smiles, but they also made a mental note that Fang Rui, this new Silver Seal Chief Constable, was not someone to be trifled with.

As for the Director of the Divine Capture Bureau, Zhou Changfa, and the other Golden Seal Renowned Hunters and Jade Seal Divine Hunters, they simply laughed off this little interlude.

In their eyes, Fang Rui and Duan Yu were both young men, and it was perfectly normal for the young to be hot-blooded!

This was an attitude of looking down from on high, the gaze one reserves for juniors. From such a vantage point, their tolerance was naturally high, and their concern low.

However, their private evaluations of Fang Rui rose a notch—he cared for his family, wasn’t obsessed with face, and valued practical benefits... ’What a good man!’

Since the Jade Plum Association was the Divine Capture Bureau’s ”high-class annual meeting,” it naturally involved more than just song and dance performances by beautiful women; there were internal activities as well.

As a guest, Ge Changgeng did not participate. Sun Shouchai, however, a Spirit Master from the Divine Capture Bureau, was present and decided to show off a little skill.

They watched as:

The man had a serving girl bring over a blank sheet of rice paper. He pointed a finger, uttered the word ”Haste!”, and amidst a flash of Spiritual Light, drew several Jade Butterflies toward the scroll, where they plunged into the paper.

The Jade Butterflies struggled violently as they gradually merged with the paper, becoming a seamless part of it. Specks of their light purple blood transformed into a morning glory, providing a perch for the butterflies in the painting.

”Excellent! Jade Butterflies are so agile that even a common Low Grade Martial Artist cannot catch one. For Spirit Master Sun to be able to draw them into a painting is truly a fine technique!” a Golden Seal Renowned Hunter exclaimed in admiration.

”Marvelous! It’s as if the rice paper had those Jade Butterflies all along... The attention to detail is exquisite, making it incredibly lifelike,” another Golden Seal Renowned Hunter chimed in.

”It is in perfect harmony with nature, a heavenly creation. This is leagues beyond the work of so-called master painters!” a Jade Seal Divine Hunter remarked with a sigh.

...

Amidst the chorus of praise, Sun Shouchai gave a proud nod and returned to his seat.

’So this is a Spirit Master?!’

On the surface, Fang Rui went along with the crowd, nodding slightly in agreement, but inwardly his mind was racing: ’That power is different from the ’Force’ of a Middle Grade Martial Artist, and also different from the True Qi of a Third Grade Martial Artist. It’s another, completely distinct type of Extraordinary Power. But... why does it make me feel so inexplicably uncomfortable?’

On the other side, Ge Changgeng also remained silent, frowning slightly. The Child he had brought with him, upon seeing the butterflies absorbed into the painting, couldn’t bear it and tugged on his master’s sleeve.

After that came a traditional event of the Jade Plum Association: the Director of the Divine Capture Bureau, Zhou Changfa, presented the prizes—three Spirit Jade Ginsengs of large, medium, and small sizes—for a sparring competition between the Jade Seal Divine Hunters, the Golden Seal Renowned Hunters, and the Silver Seal Chief Constables, with each group competing amongst themselves.

”Spirit Jade Ginseng?! That’s a Half-Spirit Medicine! The Director is being truly generous this year,” a Jade Seal Divine Hunter exclaimed in amazement.

”That’s right. A Half-Spirit Medicine like Spirit Jade Ginseng might be the byproduct of a failed attempt to cultivate a full Spirit Medicine, but it still has ten to twenty percent of the efficacy,” a Golden Seal Renowned Hunter said, his eyes burning with desire.

”If Spirit Jade Ginseng is the prize, then I’ll have to enter the competition this year,” another Golden Seal Renowned Hunter said with a laugh.

...

”Spirit Jade Ginseng, a Half-Spirit Medicine...”

Fang Rui murmured, recalling a record from a book of miscellany he had once read: ’To break through to the Upper Three Grades, one needs Spirit Medicine. But cultivating Spirit Medicine is incredibly difficult, and a single misstep often leads to failure. The failed byproduct is a Half-Spirit Medicine... While a Half-Spirit Medicine is inferior to a true Spirit Medicine, its effects far surpass those of a Great Medicine or Old Medicine, making it extremely valuable...’

The competition naturally began with the Silver Seal Chief Constables. Perhaps because the prize was so generous, two of them immediately took the stage.

”Chief, are you going to go?” Niu Bajin asked in a low voice.

”I’m not.”

Fang Rui currently had sufficient resources and wasn’t particularly interested in the Spirit Jade Ginseng. It was also his first time participating in the Jade Plum Association, so he didn’t want to stand out too much. He planned to keep a low profile for a year.

After a round of matches, Duan Yu defeated another Silver Seal Chief Constable. Seeing no one else step forward from their ranks, he couldn’t help but turn his gaze to Fang Rui and issue a challenge. ”Fang Yinzheng, how about coming up for a spar? Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you.”

That’s right, he had no intention of actually harming Fang Rui. He just wanted to toy with him a bit, make him lose some face, and vent the frustration he felt from losing those three Jade Plums.

The challenge having been issued, if Fang Rui refused to go up now, he would be looked down upon.

’Was this really necessary?!’

He sighed to himself, said, ”As Duan Yinzheng wishes,” and stepped onto the stage.

Then, everyone watched as Fang Rui, relying on his Body Technique, made a monkey out of Duan Yu, who couldn’t even touch the corner of his clothes after dozens of moves.

——There really wasn’t much to describe. Fang Rui was already holding back significantly, simulating Bright Force with his True Qi to display only a Sixth Grade level of skill. He also only used his Body Technique at the Great Success Level, yet even this was enough to completely crush Duan Yu.