Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 122: Chapter 122: Ice Armor Acquired

The Steward was no fool. For Ye Qingchen to reach the rank of a second-grade Alchemist at such a young age, his future accomplishments would be limitless. Indeed, he was far beyond what a minor steward like himself could ever hope to associate with. The Steward immediately changed his attitude, speaking to Ye Qingchen with a hint of respect, ”Please wait a moment, young friend. I will help you count the Spirit Pills right away.”

Ye Qingchen nodded, and the noise around them subsided. No one urged him any longer. Seeing the dazzling array of Spirit Pills on the table, what they now felt was only awe—the awe one feels for a powerful expert. Although being an Alchemist wasn’t the same as having combat strength, a Martial Artist’s cultivation was fundamentally inseparable from Alchemists. Therefore, while Alchemists might not possess great prowess, their connections were certainly extensive. And Ye Qingchen now had the qualifications to become a top-tier Alchemist, which was why these people felt such awe.

It’s almost funny, Ye Qingchen thought, recalling their previous expressions compared to their current cowed silence. It seems that no matter the era, strength is the only way to earn respect.

Ye Qingchen watched as the Steward carefully counted the Spirit Pills, occasionally jotting notes in a book. Most of these pills had been refined by Ye Qingchen during his seven days of closed-door cultivation. Among the first-grade Spirit Pills, there were only Crimson Heart Pills and Six-Yang Soul Gathering Pills; the rest were all second-grade. Although he had produced a considerable number of elixirs, time had been limited. Ye Qingchen wasn’t entirely confident he could exchange them for five million sect points. Otherwise, given his speed in Alchemy, he would have refined far more than this.

About an hour later, the Steward finally finished his count and said cautiously to Ye Qingchen, ”Young friend, these Spirit Pills are of very high purity, so I have appraised them at a high price. However, they can only be exchanged for two million sect points. Would you like to make the exchange?”

Ye Qingchen nodded. Exchanging them for two million sect points was, as the Steward said, already a high price. However, he needed five million sect points for the Ice Armor. He was still three million short!

After helping Ye Qingchen exchange the points, the Steward offered, ”How about this? I’ll set aside this medium-grade Ice Armor for you. You can come back and claim it once you’ve refined enough Elixirs to cover the full amount.”

The Steward had started to think on Ye Qingchen’s behalf, hoping to foster a good relationship. With Ye Qingchen’s Alchemic Talent, he was bound to become an extremely important figure in the Qingyun Sect.

After a moment of thought, Ye Qingchen asked, ”Steward, can Low-grade Spirit Stones be exchanged for sect points?”

Ye Qingchen knew that Low-grade Spirit Stones were an essential currency for cultivation and were precious everywhere. The Qingyun Sect would surely acquire them; he just didn’t know the exchange rate.

Hearing Ye Qingchen’s question, the Steward quickly nodded and said, ”Of course. The Sect’s acquisition rate is one hundred thousand sect points for one Low-grade Spirit Stone.”

Ye Qingchen nodded, but just as he was about to take out the Spirit Stones, the same inner sect disciple who had mocked him earlier couldn’t help but speak up again.

”Ye Qingchen, even with all those Spirit Pills, you only got two million sect points. I know the Sect Leader rewarded you with twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones for participating in the Pre-Alchemist Conference, but even with those, you’re still one million short! If you can’t complete the exchange today, you’ll have to take responsibility for wasting so much of our time. We won’t make things hard for you. Just refine some second-grade Spirit Pills for us, and we’ll let this go!”

This inner sect disciple knew his earlier mockery had infuriated Ye Qingchen. It was probably too late to try to curry favor now. He figured he might as well try to stoke the crowd’s anger against Ye Qingchen and perhaps gain some benefits for himself in the process.

Ye Qingchen was unaware of the disciple’s petty scheming, nor did he care to be. In my eyes, this inner sect disciple is nothing more than a mere buffoon!

Ignoring the inner sect disciple, Ye Qingchen placed thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones on the table. ”Steward, please help me with this exchange.”

”So many Low-grade Spirit Stones?” Even the Steward was astonished that Ye Qingchen could produce so many at once.

As the inner sect disciple had said, everyone knew the Sect Leader had rewarded Ye Qingchen with twenty stones. But where had the other ten come from? What they didn’t know was that Ye Qingchen had obtained some Low-grade Spirit Stones from Elder Fen Tian during his foray into the Secret Realm with Wang Qiang and Hong Yan.

Although Low-grade Spirit Stones were immensely helpful for cultivation, what Ye Qingchen needed most right now was the Ice Armor. With it, he could find a way to subdue the Fen Tian Earth Fire, which would grant him an even greater boost in strength.

The Steward carefully collected the thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones and asked, ”Young friend, you have enough sect points now. Do you wish to exchange them for this Ice Armor?”

Ye Qingchen nodded and said without a hint of hesitation, ”Exchange!”

The Steward took Ye Qingchen’s disciple token. After a flurry of operations, the sect points were instantly deposited and just as quickly deducted. He then handed the Ice Armor and the disciple token back to Ye Qingchen.

The moment Ye Qingchen touched the Ice Armor, he felt its intensely frigid aura, but strangely, it didn’t feel cold to the touch. With so many people around, it was obviously not the time to inspect the armor. Ye Qingchen placed the Ice Armor into his storage ring and prepared to leave.

He now had two Heart-Protecting Pills and two vein-protecting pills. He had also acquired the Ice Armor, a mid-grade Spiritual Artifact. All that remained before he could attempt to subdue the Fen Tian Earth Fire was to increase his strength.

But those swarms of Fire Rock Beasts... Ye Qingchen felt a touch of helplessness. The strength of a Fire Rock Beast is comparable to a fourth-tier martial master, and they’re gregarious Monster Beasts. To safely enter their midst, I would probably need the strength of at least a fifth-tier martial master! But I’m only a second-tier martial master right now. It’s impossible to reach the fifth tier in a short amount of time.

Ye Qingchen sighed. It seems I have no choice but to return and cultivate diligently, only heading to Redflame Mountain once I’m strong enough.

”Look, Senior Brother Zhao is here!”

”Wow, it really is Senior Brother Zhao! He’s in the top ten of all inner sect disciples. I can’t believe he came to the Sect Main Hall today.”

”Senior Brother Zhao must be here for a major mission. If only I were lucky enough to team up with him!”

A sudden burst of exclamations drew Ye Qingchen’s attention. He saw a handsome young man dressed in white slowly walk into the Sect Main Hall, causing a stir wherever he went.

”His name is Zhao Jiehui. His strength has reached the level of a fifth-tier martial master, ranking him in the top ten among the inner sect disciples,” the Steward explained, noticing where Ye Qingchen’s gaze had fallen.

”Thank you for the clarification, Steward!”

Ye Qingchen smiled and paid Zhao Jiehui no more mind. Zhao Jiehui might be powerful, but that has nothing to do with me.

To his surprise, however, Zhao Jiehui began walking straight toward him.