The auctioning process in the North Qiu Kingdom was not different from the ones in the Xia Kingdom. In the auction that lasted three hours, Gu Lingzhi managed to buy the Thousand Leaf Jade that she had been eyeing using the spirit stones that she earned over the past few days.

Tianfeng Jin and other people who had been following her were slightly shocked, not knowing why Gu Lingzhi had auctioned for the Thousand Leaf Jade. Gu Lingzhi merely laughed lightly in response, “The Thousand Leaf Jade is a precious ingredient in making Earth-Level Spiritual Medicine. I’m buying it just in case I may need it in the future.”

When they all thought about Gu Lingzhi’s incredible progress in Alchemy, they did not bother pressing her for more answers. With her talent in Alchemy, it was only a matter of time for her to become an Earth-Level Alchemist. There was nothing strange with wanting to prepare some ingredients beforehand.

To not raise any suspicions, Gu Lingzhi used her remaining spirit stones to buy more medicinal ingredients that could be used in Alchemy. When the auction was over, she looked through her Storage Ring, only to find that she had used up all her spirit stones, making her broke once again.

Whilst she was lamenting over the spirit stones that she had spent over the past few days, a silver object suddenly appeared in her Storage Ring.

“Lady Gu, if you see anything that you like, please go ahead and buy it. The Third Prince has long set aside some spirit stones for you to spend,” Yuan Zheng smiled.

He could only admire his master’s thoughtfulness.

Gu Lingzhi’s fortune in the past few days had exceeded that of Rong Yuan’s. Even if that was the case, the Third Prince could tell from her actions that she had the intention of spending all her money away. Thus, he decided to prepare a whole Storage Ring full of spirit stones beforehand for her in case she needed it.

Seeing how Gu Lingzhi had squandered her money away like it was dirt the past few days, Yuan Zheng could only remind himself to find a wife that was poor but diligent so that he would not have to worry about being bankrupt. It was not easy to earn spirit stones for a bodyguard like him who was not proficient in any field.

Gu Lingzhi looked at the Storage Ring that Yuan Zheng had passed to her and was shocked at the amount of spirit stones that were squeezed in there.

This Storage Ring is actually filled with spirit stones to the brim? Why did she even bother spending so much effort to earn so much money then?

“…Your master is indeed especially rich,” was all Gu Lingzhi could muster when she finished examining the Storage Ring.

“Lady Gu, you can have as many as you want, as long as you are satisfied. If it’s not enough, I have more with me.”

Gu Lingzhi was speechless.

The Third Prince could probably buy the entire Baina Court.

When she turned around, a hand was outstretched towards her, holding a Storage Ring as well. “If it is still not enough, I happen to have some spirit stones with me as well,” Yan Liang said as he offered her some money.

“…I don’t need any more spirit stones. I have bought everything that I wanted,” Gu Lingzhi refused Yan Liang’s kind intentions. From the corner of her eyes, she could see that Tianfeng Jin wanted to say something but retracted her hand instead, seeming like she had wanted to offer her Storage Ring as well.

Gu Lingzhi’s mouth twitched slightly.

Was it really so obvious that she was broke? Why does everyone want to offer spirit stones to her? 

Though Gu Lingzhi did not know whether to laugh or cry at this prospect, she felt inexplicably warm inside at everyone’s kind intentions.

It is worth it being poor if she had so many people who genuinely cared for her!

The money that she had squandered on the past few days was not completely for herself. The Yan Capital was much richer than the Xia Kingdom’s Capital, the Chiyang City, there were much more ingredients and materials available for Alchemy and Weapon Forgery. After seeing many items that the Yan Capital had but the Chiyang City did not, Gu Lingzhi wished to make a few more Spiritual Medicine and Weapons that were of a better quality before her competition so that she could give them to people to increase their cultivation.

After she bought a few more items at the Baina Court once again, she went back to the First School.

As the competition drew near, more and more people started entering the district that had been specially put aside for them to live. Unexpectedly, Gu Lingzhi found someone that she recognized in the crowd.

Song Ze, who had once fought with her during the Flower Hunt, left a deep impression on her. Previously, Song Ze was only a Martial Student, but he had progressed very quickly in a short span of time. Now, he had already advanced to a Martial Practitioner. His cruel aura was still there, the smile on his face was just as sinister. He was almost like a beast that could swallow someone whole any time.

Sensing her gaze on him, Song Ze suddenly turned his head to look straight at her, almost as if he was debating how he should attack her.

“Impudent!” Yuan Zheng bellowed, standing in front of Gu Lingzhi to protect her. At the same time, a surge of Spiritual Energy shot across, causing Song Ze to wince in pain and cough up fresh blood.

“Isn’t the First Mistress of the Gu Clan extraordinarily talented? Even the Third Prince does not yield to his opponents, why are you still hiding behind someone?”

Yuan Zheng’s face darkened at Song Ze’s words. He wanted to attack Song Ze again with his powers as a Martial Lord, but was stopped by Gu Lingzhi.

“He’s right, I’m not a weak person. He’s just a clown, I don’t even need to care about his presence,” Gu Lingzhi commented before turning around to leave. She never had a good feeling about Song Ze.

“This is about to get interesting…” Song Ze mumbled to himself. Being underestimated by Gu Lingzhi did not make him angry, rather, it made him laugh sinisterly. He was out for blood and everyone could tell.

He was stunned for a moment when he realized that he was being watched. When he turned around to look, he saw Nie Sang. Standing beside him was Yan Liang and Xin Yi.

The three of them glared at Song Ze threateningly.

“Senior Yan, Senior Nie and Senior Xin, it is late now, aren’t all of you going to get some rest?”

Gu Lingzhi, who had already walked a few steps away, suddenly felt that something was up. She turned to see the three men who had cornered Song Ze.

Like what she had told Song Ze, she was no weakling. In fact, she knew that she would not lose to anyone who was of the same Level as her. She did not take Song Ze’s challenge seriously at all for that matter.

Gu Lingzhi took another glance at Xin Yi.

This young boy who was almost a stranger to her seemed to have helped her a number of times whether he had realized it or not. She did not think that she had the charms to attract someone whom she had only met a few times such that he would go to great lengths just to help her out in times of trouble.

If that was the case… then what other motive did he have for helping her?

When she recounted the encounters with Xin Yi, there was indeed nothing special that had come to mind. Even after Rong Yuan had returned, she was still struggling to find an answer.

“If you can’t think of anything, why don’t you just ask him the next time you see him?” Rong Yuan laughed as he saw Gu Lingzhi’s wrinkled forehead, deep in concentration. He lightly ruffled her hair. When he thought about the news that he had received earlier, his heart started to ache.

“That’s right, why didn’t I think of that?” Gu Lingzhi jolted in realization.

It was something so simple yet she had to rely on someone to remind her. She would have to cut down on the time she spent forging weapons from tomorrow onwards, because she was spending too much energy in that area and it was causing her to lose her logic.

The next day, Rong Yuan left early in the morning to attend the social events that never seemed to end. When he left, an unfamiliar silhouette appeared at Gu Lingzhi’s door. She had wanted to stay in to rest the entire day, but all her plans had gone to waste with the arrival of this man.

“The person’s name is Zhang Kuihan, the top-ranked Weapon Forger from the First School. He’s close to advancing to an Earth-Level Weapon Forger. He is here to find the Black Thorn, it could be regarding Weapon Forgery,” Yuan Zheng said as he looked at Wei Hanzi who had taken on the identity of the Black Thorn in replacement of Gu Lingzhi. When Rong Yuan was not around, Yuan Zheng and Wei Hanzi took turns to stay in close proximity to Gu Lingzhi in order to guard her safety.

“The top-ranked Weapon Forger in the First School?” Gu Lingzhi mumbled to herself, before replying, “Let him in.”

With Yuan Zheng and Wei Hanzi around, she believed that this man would not act rashly.

A man with a tough and stocky build walked into the room. He looked at the Black Thorn who was wearing a mask before he howled with laughter, “You must be the Black Thorn. I’ve seen the weapons that you’ve made, they are extremely intricately forged. Your control of fire must be exceptional. Are you interested in making an Earth-Level Spiritual Sword with me?”

An Earth-Level Spiritual Sword? 

Gu Lingzhi raised her eyebrows, slightly taken aback.

She did not think that Zhang Kuihan would be so straightforward, making his motive for coming here known to her in just his first sentence. What was more shocking, however, was his request – to make an Earth-Level Spiritual Weapon.

The Level of the Weapon Forger must be the same as the Weapon Level in order for the process to be successful. From what Yuan Zheng had described, it was obvious that Zhang Kuihan had yet to achieve that Level. Both of them had not yet advanced to become Earth-Level Weapon Forgers yet. If that was the case, then that meant…

“You want us to work together so that we can break our own barriers of creating an Earth-Level Spiritual Weapon?”

“That’s right. You must be the fiancée of the Third Prince, am I right? It is indeed like what they say – you are graceful, charming and smart. I cannot believe that you were able to guess my intentions so early on, His Highness is a very lucky person,” Zhang Kuihan complimented as he looked away from the Black Thorn and directed his gaze at Gu Lingzhi. That string of compliments made it seem that he was very used to sweet-talking even in his daily life.

Zhang Kuihan was born into an ordinary family who could not afford to pay for his Weapon Forgery expenses. All the materials that he had needed were obtained through his ability to converse with people. From someone who was as tough as him, being able to sweet-talk had yielded unbelievably good results.

Now that he had his eyes set on Gu Lingzhi, he had to be scheming and think through what he should or should not say in order to get on her good side. He had heard that she had squandered her money like dirt the past few days in the Yan Capital…

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