The next morning, when the first glimpse of dawn shot through the window, Lin Yun opened his eyes. He was brimming with energy despite the exhaustion of trying to reverse the Iris Sword Array last night.
“It feels weird to rest for a day,” smiled Lin Yun as he got up. His mental energy was pushed to the limit in the days he learned under Mo Ling, so he wasn’t used to resting. This was why he was looking forward to meeting Mo Ling today.
After he washed up and exited his quarters, he bumped into Gong Ming who was already waiting for him. Gong Ming handed the token over and greeted him, “Brother Lin, you’re up pretty early.”
Lin Yun smiled as he received the token. But just when he was about to reply, his face changed. A figure suddenly descended. The thing that shocked Lin Yun was that this person’s cultivation had reached the lesser Yang stage.
His aura was heavy, but he had retracted his aura well. If he released his aura without any restraint, it would be difficult even for others to speak. But Lin Yun’s expression soon returned to normal. He even met Liu Chenyi, so why would he feel pressured by this person? Compared to Liu Chenyi, this person was a lot more lacking.
Back then, when Liu Chenyi stood before him, Lin Yun sensed that he would definitely lose if they fought. All he could do in that situation was try his best and inflict as many injuries on Liu Chenyi as before he died. However, now that the Iris Sword Sutra reached the ninth stage, it was a different story.
Gong Ming’s face changed as he quickly cupped his hands together, “Greetings, Senior Brother Mei.”
Lin Yun fell into deep thought. He had heard this name somewhere, but he couldn’t recall where. When Gong Ming saw that Lin Yun wasn’t responding, he quickly whispered, “Lin Yun, this is Senior Brother Mei. He’s on the same ranking as Mo Ling as number one.”
Same ranking? It didn’t look like it because Mo Ling felt even more dangerous to Lin Yun than this person did. Mei Ziyan seemed to be honored by Gong Ming’s words as he smiled, “Brother Gong, you’re being too courteous. I don’t dare to accept that title.”
But Mei Ziyan clearly didn’t come for Gong Ming because he turned to Lin Yun. Wearing an amicable smile on his face, he spoke out, “Flower Burial of the Great Qin Empire. Back then, the Sword Firmament Pavilion’s name was even known throughout the entire Ancient Southern Domain. This is our first meeting and now that I’ve met you, I can tell that Gu Feng’s loss wasn’t by coincidence.”
“You’re flattering me too much,” replied Lin Yun casually.
Mei Ziyan didn’t hold back. He talked to Lin Yun as if they were friends and he even gave Lin Yun a jade bottle. When Lin Yun opened it up, the chilling fragrance instantly made his origin energy restless.
“Profound Yin Pellet!” Gong Ming exclaimed out of emotion, “Brother Lin, this is the Profound Yin Pellet refined with the Profound Yin Flower’s petals and Profound Yin Spiritual Essence. Aside from the Profound Yin Flower of the highest quality, the effect of the pellets aren’t any inferior to an ordinary Profound Yin Flower.”
Shortly after, Gong Ming continued with disbelief on his face, “I wanted to exchange for these pellets yesterday, but there were none in stock.”
“The pellets are already arranged for certain disciples before they’re even produced. Ordinary core disciples can’t get them.” smiled Mei Ziyan. The fact that he could obtain this meant that he had a high status in the academy.
“Senior Brother Mei, what is the meaning of this?” asked Lin Yun.
“This is just a casual gift for our first meeting,” smiled Mei Ziyan. But when he saw that Lin Yun and Gong Ming were about to leave, he quickly asked, “Brother Lin, I heard that you obtained an Infernal Flower yesterday…”
A smile appeared on Lin Yun’s face. He instantly knew what Mei Ziyan wanted. He took a sniff in the bottle and smiled, “These pellets are great. I wonder if Senior Brother Mei still has any? I’m willing to purchase them at a high price.”
Mei Ziyan fell into deep thought. He didn’t know if Lin Yun was pretending on purpose but he smiled, “I just so happen to have four bottles of them left. Since you like them, then I’ll give them to you for free. After all, they’re practically useless for me at my cultivation.”
Mei Ziyan then passed over another four bottles, which Lin Yun accepted. Gong Ming was dumbfounded that Mei Ziyan actually gave so many pellets to Lin Yun. Furthermore, Lin Yun accepted them openly.
Gong Ming was shocked by Lin Yun’s guts. He stared straight at the Profound Yin Pellets. After all, they were pellets that were of great demand.
“Brother Lin, it’s impossible to refine the Infernal Flower in the Yin stage. Even if you’re able to refine it…”
But before he could finish, Lin Yun smiled, “Brother Mei, I’m in a rush to meet Senior Sister Mo now. Why don’t we talk about the Infernal Flower again sometime? Or why don’t you come with me to meet Senior Sister Mo?”
Mei Ziyan’s face changed when he heard that. He didn’t know if Lin Yun was pretending, but Lin Yun actually refused him after taking his stuff. Was Lin Yun trying to fool him? He had given a total of five bottles, but Lin Yun actually wanted to chase him away now. A brief moment later, he smiled, “Since that’s the case, then we’ll talk about it again later.”
But he was still staring at Lin Yun without any intention of leaving. Clearly, he wanted Lin Yun to give back the five bottles. This made Gong Ming’s heart start throbbing and he didn’t dare to utter a word.
Lin Yun smiled, “You want to take back what you gave out? That’s not a custom that we have in the Great Qin Empire. Is this the custom of the academy? If that’s the case, then I’ll give them back to you. I’ll ask around and see if this is the rule of the academy.”
Mei Ziyan was stunned when he heard that. He never imagined that Lin Yun actually dared to threaten him. If everyone heard that he gave something out and wanted it back, his reputation would be entirely ruined. This meant that he had to say goodbye to the five bottles now.
Then again, Mei Ziyan was really naive. How could Lin Yun give back something he had just taken? Not to mention that Mei Ziyan said that they were gifts for Lin Yun for their first meeting.
Looking at Lin Yun’s ridiculing smile, Mei Ziyan instantly knew that Lin Yun had been fooling him from the start. He wanted Lin Yun to return the Profound Yin Pellets, but he couldn’t pull his face down to do it. He had never suffered such a great loss before in the academy.
“Brother Lin, you must be joking. How can I possibly take back something I’ve already given out? I’ll be taking my leave now.” Mei Ziyan calmed himself down after a long time and squeezed out a smile. But his smile was even uglier than a crying face. The moment he turned around, his face turned dark.
Gong Ming only felt relieved after Mei Ziyan left. However, his forehead was still covered in beads of sweat.
“His scheme is pretty deep. He’s clearly here to cheat me of my Infernal Flower, but he wanted to put it so righteously. How can I possibly give out the Infernal Flower since I’ve obtained it?” sneered Lin Yun.
Gong Ming smiled bitterly when he heard that. Even if Mei Ziyan’s scheme was deep, how could his scheme be deeper than Lin Yun’s scheme? Lin Yun had turned around and cheated Mei Ziyan out of five bottles of Profound Yin Pellets. A long time later, he spoke out, “Lin Yun, you should give it back to him. He won’t let you take them away for free with his temper.”
“Return them? Nah.” Lin Yun smiled. “But Senior Brother Mei really knows me well. I was beginning to be troubled by my breakthrough, but he came to give me Profound Yin Pellets. So there’s no reason for me to refuse him.”
Lin Yun then took out a bottle and he threw it at Gong Ming.
When Gong Ming caught the bottle, his face instantly changed. His lips trembled as he replied, “Brother Lin, I really don’t dare to accept this.”
“Don’t dare? Then give them back to me. I’m not as pretentious as Mei Ziyan,” smiled Lin Yun.
“T-then I’ll accept it.” Gong Ming ultimately gnashed his teeth and accepted it after a long moment of contemplation. After all, the temptation of the pellets was too great.
Patting Gong Ming’s shoulders, Lin Yun smiled, “Don’t worry about it. You don’t get to meet a fool like Mei Ziyan every day.”
Gong Ming smiled bitterly and he didn’t dare to utter a word. Lin Yun was probably the only one who dared to say such words in the entire academy.
“Senior Sister, your token.” Lin Yun returned the token to Mo Ling when he came to the Nightcloud Hall.
Mo Ling toyed with her token as she looked at Lin Yun. When she kept the token, she looked at Lin Yun and asked, “I heard you did something impressive yesterday.”
“Which thing?” asked Lin Yun.
“The Infernal Flower,” said Mo Ling.
Lin Yun’s heart trembled. But he maintained his composure as he looked at Mo Ling. He then realized that Mo Ling was already at the greater Yin stage and would soon make her breakthrough into the pinnacle Yin stage.
Then again, it wasn’t surprising since Mo Ling was already in the greater Yin stage. But the pinnacle Yin stage meant that she could refine the Infernal Flower. Did the Infernal Flower catch her attention? If that was the case, then things would become troublesome.