"Promise? What promise?" Ye Qingchen asked, looking baffled as he turned to Hong Yan.
Hong Yan immediately rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Are all you men like this? Sweet as honey when you need someone, but then you pull up your pants and deny everything afterward?"
Ye Qingchen was growing more and more confused; he couldn’t recall making any personal promises to Hong Yan.
Wang Qiang laughed heartily and spoke up from the side. "Hong Yan, stop teasing Qingchen! He’s still young. He has no idea what you’re talking about."
Then, Wang Qiang turned to Ye Qingchen with a smile. "Qingchen, Hong Yan is talking about your promise to team up with us for the Secret Realm."
It finally dawned on Ye Qingchen, and he chuckled. "Oh, that! Since I agreed, I’ll definitely see it through. Don’t worry, Senior Brother Wang Qiang!"
"However, before we head to the Secret Realm, I need to exchange for a Spirit Pill. I’ll have to ask you all to wait just a moment longer."
With that, Ye Qingchen quickly made his way to a different resource exchange counter in the distance.
When it was his turn, the disciple at the counter looked up. "You again?" he asked, his expression shifting from surprise to impatience.
"Senior Brother, I’ve come to purchase a Breakthrough Pill," Ye Qingchen said with a smile, passing his Identity Token through the window.
"You have enough points? A single Breakthrough Pill costs a whopping 11,000 Sect points..."
As he spoke, the disciple slotted Ye Qingchen’s Identity Token into the reader beside him.
BEEP!
The display lit up with his Sect point total: 11,326!
The disciple swallowed the rest of his sentence and gasped.
HISS... It’s actually enough...
Then, as a thought occurred to him, he looked at Ye Qingchen. "Not bad, kid. You managed to borrow over 11,000 Sect points in such a short amount of time!"
He doesn’t believe I could have earned enough points for a Breakthrough Pill this quickly.
"Borrowed? Let’s just go with that," Ye Qingchen said, initially taken aback but then deciding it wasn’t worth the effort to explain. He smiled and continued, "Senior Brother, I’d like to redeem the Breakthrough Pill. Is it still available?"
The disciple nodded. "It hasn’t even been a day. Of course we have it! Here you go."
After deducting 11,000 Sect points, a porcelain bottle containing one Breakthrough Pill and his Identity Token were returned to him.
Seeing only 326 points left on his Identity Token, Ye Qingchen shook his head with a wry smile.
These Sect points really don’t last. I’m broke again in the blink of an eye!
After stowing the Breakthrough Pill, Ye Qingchen headed back and handed his Identity Token to Wang Qiang.
Wang Qiang collected the Identity Tokens from all eight team members and passed them through the mission distribution window. "A team of eight, here to accept the mission for the Secret Realm in the Northern Region Mountains that appeared a month ago."
The disciple inside responded, "The Secret Realm mission requires at least one Outer Sect disciple on the team. Are you aware of this?"
Wang Qiang nodded. "We know. Ye Qingchen here is an Outer Sect disciple."
"Good! Then there’s no problem. I’ve registered your information. For this mission, as long as you return safely, you will each receive 500 Sect points. As for anything you find inside, you can either keep it or return here to exchange it for Sect points based on its value. Now, proceed to the Spirit Horse-drawn transport carriage prepared by the Sect. It will take you to the Secret Realm. Good luck!"
Soon, Wang Qiang led Ye Qingchen and the others to a transport carriage hitched to a robust Spirit Horse that stood over two meters tall.
"Giddy up!"
With a crack of the whip against the Spirit Horse, the spacious carriage galloped over the rugged mountain path as if it were flat ground. The eight occupants inside felt no jolts whatsoever.
An old Daoist on the team looked at Ye Qingchen with a kindly smile and asked, "Junior Brother Ye Qingchen, what kind of Elixir did you just exchange for?"
Ye Qingchen smiled back. "Just some life-saving Elixirs, nothing worth mentioning."
Although the man’s attitude was cordial, it was their first meeting, and Ye Qingchen remained on his guard, choosing not to answer truthfully.
After all, one shouldn’t flaunt their wealth. I learned that lesson a long time ago.
The old Daoist was clearly unsatisfied with Ye Qingchen’s answer, but he maintained his pleasant smile. "There’s no need to be secretive. We’re all comrades on the same team now. Only by knowing what each member possesses, knowing ourselves and one another, can we be victorious in every battle."
He was obviously very eager to probe Ye Qingchen’s resources.
Ye Qingchen feigned a look of realization and nodded. "I see! Then how should we go about it? Perhaps Senior Brother could set an example? I’ll be sure to follow your lead and provide a detailed account."
Having been so deftly outmaneuvered, the old Daoist’s mouth twitched, and a sullen look flashed in his eyes. "Kid, are you trying to pry into my affairs?"
Ye Qingchen put on an innocent expression and spread his hands. "You’re the one who said it. I’m not like some people who deliberately try to trick others. I have no such intentions."
Realizing his slip of the tongue, the old Daoist’s face darkened, and he glared fiercely at Ye Qingchen.
Not to be outdone, Ye Qingchen stared right back.
The atmosphere inside the transport carriage instantly grew tense.
Seeing the two squaring off, Wang Qiang’s face fell, and he snorted coldly. "We are a team. The mission hasn’t even started, and you’re already fighting amongst yourselves. How do you expect to accomplish anything later on?"
"If you two keep this up, you can get off the carriage right now. We’ll find replacements!"
For any team, the greatest taboo was discord and internal strife. Wang Qiang wouldn’t hesitate to kick both the old Daoist and Ye Qingchen out.
"Captain, I was wrong," the old Daoist said, giving a sheepish grin and quickly lowering his head in apology.
Ye Qingchen also looked at Wang Qiang apologetically.
"Good. Since you’ve both admitted your mistake, we’ll let bygones be bygones."
"But now, everyone listen up!"
"It’s rumored that the Secret Realm we’re heading to contains the ruins of a martial spirit powerhouse!"
Ye Qingchen’s eyes instantly lit up.
A martial spirit powerhouse! In the Northern Desolate Country, they are absolute rulers with revered status and immense strength. Their ruins must contain countless treasures! If I could get my hands on an inheritance from a martial spirit powerhouse in a place like this, it would be a heaven-sent opportunity!
"Senior Brother Wang Qiang, the ruins of a martial spirit powerhouse must be fraught with danger. I’m just a new Outer Sect disciple. By inviting me to the team, aren’t you worried I’ll slow you down?"
Hong Yan laughed. "Junior Brother Ye Qingchen, you don’t know yet, but this Secret Realm is very special. Any team that enters must include at least one Outer Sect disciple from our Qingyun Sect. Without one, nobody gets in!"