Chapter 114 – Yang Lin’s Gift
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Lin Ming had no interest or reason to be involved with the struggle for the royal throne. However, the Crown Prince and Muyi had shown graciousness towards him. If not for the Crown Prince sending a sound transmitting talisman to help him on the day of the Seven Profound Martial House’s entrance examination, then Lin Ming would not have been able to participate. Not only that, but he would have been miserably put in jail, and even disabled.
Lin Ming was a considerate person who returned good deeds and favors that others did for him. Being selfish and ungrateful was not part of his nature. If he ever did such a thing, then that would be a true betrayal of his heart.
He frankly asked, ‘Your Highness, how can I help you?”
Yang Lin did not expect Lin Ming to get straight to the point. It was quite refreshing. He smiled and said, “Brother Lin, you are a straightforward person who speaks his mind. Then I will also be blunt. Right now in the Sky Fortune Kingdom, it is time for a new person to inherit the throne. There are two possible candidates that can do so; me and my tenth younger brother. I was pushed into the position of Crown Prince. As such, now that I’ve ridden the tiger, I can no longer back down. Now, my queen mother’s life, and my younger sister’s life are already linked with mine. I have to fully commit myself to this throne struggle, whether or not I ever wanted to. I know that Brother Lin is a martial artist who detests political intrigue, but Brother Lin need not worry. If Brother Lin is willing to help me, then I will not have Brother Lin do anything. All I need is Brother Lin’s support. With Brother Lin’s status as a core disciple of the Seven Profound Martial House, it will already be of great benefit to me. If I must step back 10 thousand steps and say it, even if I lose the struggle for the throne, my tenth younger brother would still never dare to touch Brother Lin.”
Lin Ming responded, “Crown Prince Your Highness, I am afraid that you’ve misunderstood. I do not fear the Tenth Prince’s retaliation, nor do I fear any assassination attempts. It is just that I might not stay in the Sky Fortune Kingdom in the future.”
“Oh… I see.” Yang Lin sighed in his heart. Lin Ming really did have lofty ambitions; he was similar to Qin Xingxuan. A small country like the Sky Fortune Kingdom could not accommodate him.
Lin Ming said, “Your Highness, but I can guarantee that unless that I am too far from the Sky Fortune Kingdom, if I hear news of the struggle for the throne, then I will hurry back as soon as possible and lend Your Highness a helping hand.”
Yang Lin happily said, “I’m very grateful towards Brother Lin!”
Yang Lin brought Lin Ming to take a tour of the residency, which was in fact a manor. The manor also had an attachment of hundreds of acres of farmland. There were droves of livestock, poultry, and massive ponds for fish and shrimp. Inside the manor were male servants, guards, maids. All of the expenses of the manor were self-sufficient, and there was even a surplus.
In the bedroom of the manor were some money and valuables. There was a sandalwood box on the table. There were rows of true essence stones neatly line within; these true essence stones were pure in color, and were obviously of superior quality. There were more than 100 of them.
Even if Lin Ming were to cultivate daily with these, this number of these true essence stones would be sufficient to last him half a year. The pure color of the true essence stones implied that the amount of true essence within was many times more than an ordinary one.
This gift; it was quite generous.
In the box that held so many true essence stones, Lin Ming also discovered a plain ring. The ring looked like it was made of aged bronze, but it exuded a faint hint of true essence fluctuations.
“Mm? This is…”
Lin Ming’s eyes locked onto the ring. He sent his soul force out to see what was so unusual about it.
Yang Lin smiled and said, “Brother Lin has good eyes. This is a low-grade human-step spatial ring. It is a gift from my teacher, Mister Muyi, to his little brother Lin.”
“Spatial Ring?” Lin Ming’s mind blanked. He had heard of this kind of ring before. There was a small pocket dimension inside, and it could be used to store many things. It was also said to be unstable. The truth was that after several hundred years, the space inside would collapse upon itself, and the items inside would also be destroyed.
A spatial ring, according to its size and the degree of its stability, could be divided into many different grades. Although this spatial ring was only a low-grade human-step treasure, its true value was as good as a medium-grade human-step treasure. This was because it was far too difficult to create a spatial ring.
It was easier said than done for a martial artist to crack open a fissure in space. Even if it was only a small, unstable space that lasted a few hundred years, it would not be easy. Those spatial rings that had vast inner spaces and were very stable were inestimable in value.
“Mister Muyi gave this to me?”
“Mm. Teacher said that the reason he obtained this spatial ring was because of Brother Lin. When Brother Lin had just entered the Seven Profound Martial House, you may not have known, but the Seven Profound Martial House’s Elder Xu and Wang Yanfeng’s father were old friends, and thus Elder Xu was unsatisfied with you being named the first place new disciple. Therefore, Mister Muyi made a bet with him. He bet that Brother Lin would enter the Heavenly Abode before Wang Yanfeng did. Finally, Brother Lin entered the Heavenly Abode, and Elder Xu lost. This spatial ring was the gambling stake of that bet.”
“So that’s what happened. I remember Elder Xu. After I defeated Wang Yanfeng, this Elder Xu came on stage to look for trouble.”
“Yes, that’s him. So Brother Lin, please accept this spatial ring. Consider it an apology from Elder Xu.”
“Well, then I will ask your highness to thank Mister Muyi for me.” Lin Ming hesitated, then received the gift. Since he had already decided to lend the Crown Prince a helping hand, he would no longer be hypocritical in his actions. Not to mention, this spatial ring really was quite handy. Later he could use it to deposit all those piles of inscription technique materials that he had stocked up.
“Haha, Brother Lin, do not worry. There is also something in the spatial ring. Brother Lin can take it out. As long as you send your soul force through the spatial ring, you will be able to.”
“Oh?” Lin Ming did as the Crown Prince had said, and penetrated the spatial ring with his soul force. He could feel something like a piece of clothing inside. As soon as he took it out, he saw that it was a purple gold colored flexible armor.
The flexible armor appeared to be woven from thin metal wires. It was soft to the touch, and above the flexible armor was a scarlet blood symbol. These blood symbols were complicated and mysterious. They shined with a dazzlingly bright light. Lin Ming peered closer and found that the blood symbol had actually seeped into the texture of the metal wires, and had become a part of the flexible armor.
These blood characters were obviously written on after the flexible armor was created. To have the strength to force these characters through the metal weave, this bold handwriting style definitely belonged to the master of a master.
Yang Lin said, “This flexible armor is named the Purple Gold Flexible Armor. By itself It is a medium-grade human-step treasure. These blood symbols were drawn by a peak Houtian master who specialized in charms. He had to consume his own blood essence in order to draw this. It is able to weaken true essence attacks.”
“Mm? Weaken true essence attacks?” Ling Ming was surprised. True essence was a type of energy that naturally circulated inside the body. It could easily penetrate through flexible armor. This flexible armor was unexpectedly capable of weakening true essence attacks and was also a medium-grade human-step treasure. Its value could be imagined.
Yang Lin said, “Brother Lin is in a very sensitive position now. I fear that you may suffer assassination attempts so I gift this armor to Brother Lin. Even a normal Houtian master would find it difficult to break through this armor. Well, although I say it’s so great, at most this flexible armor can fend off a sneak attack and delay for some time. If facing off against a true Houtian master, I’m afraid that there would be no meaning for Brother Lin to put on this flexible armor. “
Although a Houtian master could not break through the flexible armor, that didn’t mean that Lin Ming could just wear it and challenge anyone he saw. As soon as a Houtian master hit the body with all of their strength, that attack strength would be transmitted through the flexible armor and would be enough to burst all of a person’s organs, much less, this flexible armor only weakened true essence attacks and was unable to completely negate them.
This flexible armor was priceless. For Yang Lin to give this to him, he must have paid an enormous price. Lin Ming hesitate slightly, and then decided to take it. He really was in a very sensitive position at the moment. This flexible armor could also be considered a lucky talisman.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Haha, Brother Lin is far too polite. In fact, I want to thank Brother Lin. Whatever I can give, to be honest, my tenth brother can give more, all of which is superior to what I can offer.” Yang Lin candidly said.
Lin Ming and the Crown Prince walked further inside until they reached another room. This was the master bedroom of the manor.
The master bedroom was very luxurious, and exquisitely decorated. In the middle of the room was a large mahogany bed more than ten feet wide. It was enough for four to five people to comfortably sleep in.
At this time, four maids had already prepared the bed for Lin Ming. They respectfully stood at the four corners of the bed. Of these four maids, their ages were around 16 years old, and it was hard to tell which was more beautiful. They had obviously gone through a careful selection process.
The maids were usually the daughters of poor people who were sold as children. The most beautiful among them would be selected, and sent off to train in how to serve; they were even taught the fine arts. In the future they would be sent to the palaces of the nobility to work.
Once a maid was purchased, their body belonged to their master, and their master could use them as they pleased. This was especially true for those personal maids that lived in connection rooms and served the daily tasks of their master. This was equal to being a concubine. This kind of maid was usually responsible for the governance of the house. Besides waiting in their master’s bedroom and doing some cleaning, they did not need to do anything else. Their monthly expenses and status were very high, and was a position that the outer maids much admired and envied. Many maids wanted to join in on this, after all, for them, becoming a concubine or even an aunt was the best result. Otherwise when they were sold out to be married, it would be difficult for them to find anyone decent. That was why most of the time, when a maid heard they would be sold, they would often cry in extreme distress.
The four maids saw Lin Ming arrive, and their hearts were filled with trepidation; some of them even had trouble breathing. The butler had already told them who this young man was. He was the most dazzling star of the Sky Fortune Kingdom who was called a genius of the Seven Profound Martial House that only came by once every century, and even had the possibility of becoming a core disciple. The butler had already given them strict instructions to serve him tonight in any way possible and that they had to perform everything perfectly and splendidly. If they could give this Sir Lin a good impression, then in this life they might have a chance of transforming from a sparrow to a phoenix.
Therefore this evening was very important to them. As a maid, to be able to serve this legendary and handsome young man as a personal maid was the good fortune of their life. The bedding had been neatly spread, and there was not even the slightest crease in the sheets. The furniture and curtains had all been spotlessly cleaned, the incense burner was new and the floor was sparkling bright.
Lin Ming saw these four fresh and juicy maids. He looked around and saw the fine mahogany furniture, the expensive spice purple gold incense burner, the woven silk sheets, and was unable to restrain a sigh. These were all the comforts and enjoyments of life that riches and fame could bring.
Yang Lin said, “Brother Lin, if you are tired, then let’s rest here tonight. I will also accompany Brother Lin and stay in the guest room.”
Lin Ming knew that Yang Lin offered this so that he would feel relieved and rest without fear of assassination. As the current dynasty’s Crown Prince, Yang Ling surely had martial arts masters who served as his royal guard, otherwise the Tenth Prince would not need to assassinate Lin Ming; he would simply kill the Crown Prince and be done with it.
Lin Ming looked at the four maids that were like little timid white rabbits, and saw the hope and fear that intermingled in their eyes. He shook his head slightly and said to Yang Lin, “No, I will return to the Seven Profound Martial House.”
“Mm? This manor is not to Brother Lin’s liking?”
“Not really,” Lin Ming said with a faint smile. He continued, “Here, life is too comfortable and luxurious. The quiet and simple days of the Seven Profound Martial House are much more suitable for cultivation.”