Wanhua Tower.
On the open-air pavilion.
Lin Qingyi examined the Vajra Token in her hand, then looked at Jiang Ning with a surprised expression.
"Kid, are you Shen Congyun's illegitimate son?"
"Sister Lin, why do you say that?" Jiang Ning asked.
Lin Qingyi lightly tossed the Vajra Token in her hand and explained, "This token is called the Vajra Token. It's a token circulated by the Vajra Temple. Holding this token allows you to join the Vajra Temple without any reason and become an official disciple!"
"If your Vajra Indestructible Body reaches the minor mastery level, you can even become a true disciple of the Vajra Temple with this token!"
"True disciple?" Jiang Ning was surprised.
"Yes!" Lin Qingyi nodded slightly. "A true disciple! The true disciples of the Vajra Temple are no ordinary matter. Apart from the Buddha's teachings, true disciples have access to all other teachings."
"This includes the complete version of the Vajra Indestructible Body!"
"In the future, you might even have the opportunity to attain the status of an Arhat."
At this point, Lin Qingyi glanced at Jiang Ning and, seeing the strange look on his face, quickly explained.
"The Arhats of the Vajra Temple are what the world calls Grandmasters!"
"Sister Lin, you know a lot!" Jiang Ning praised.
Lin Qingyi smiled.
"Now do you understand the importance of this Vajra Token?"
"With your current achievements, as long as you hold this token and join the Vajra Temple, you can rise from an official disciple to a true disciple."
"The status of a true disciple is second only to the Buddha's heir within the Vajra Temple!"
"For you, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Seeing Jiang Ning deep in thought, Lin Qingyi added, "It seems you're hesitating."
"Yes," Jiang Ning nodded.
He was indeed hesitating.
The Vajra Temple was one of the top sects in the world.
No doubt joining the Vajra Temple would bring immense benefits.
However, he also knew that the rules of the Buddhist sect were strict.
Having lived a previous life, he wasn't sure if he could endure the monastic discipline.
If he couldn't, there would be no turning back.
Joining the Vajra Temple was difficult, but leaving would be even harder.
Once you joined, there was no room for regret.
If you left, you would face the Vajra Temple's relentless pursuit.
In this world, with the Vajra Temple's power, who could say they weren't afraid of their pursuit, aside from a select few?
Then, he glanced at his system panel.
He thought about the two great divine abilities he possessed, both of which came from the system.
"If I didn't have the system's opportunities, joining the Vajra Temple would indeed be a good choice."
"But now, for me, joining the Vajra Temple and living under the watchful eyes of so many unfathomable experts..."
"Not to mention the benefits, if they discovered some of my secrets, it could be a disaster."
Thinking this, Jiang Ning had already made his decision.
Lin Qingyi looked at Jiang Ning and smiled slightly.
"It seems you don't want to join the Vajra Temple for now?"
"Correct," Jiang Ning nodded, coming back to reality. "The Inspection Bureau has Martial Saints, access to martial arts secrets and medicines from all over the world, and freedom!"
Lin Qingyi nodded. "That's true."
Then she tossed the Vajra Token back to Jiang Ning.
"Even if you don't join the Vajra Temple, this token is still very useful to you!"
"With this token, you can make a reasonable request to the Vajra Temple."
"As long as it's reasonable, they will agree!"
Hearing this, the look of disdain in Jiang Ning's eyes instantly disappeared.
Looking at the Vajra Token in his hand, he couldn't help but feel delighted.
He had originally thought of selling this seemingly useless token for gold.
Now he realized that the Vajra Token was still a valuable treasure for him.
The Vajra Temple was one of the top three sects in the world.
Even during the Great Xia Dynasty's peak, the Vajra Temple's influence remained immense, untouched by the dynasty.
It was said that the Martial Saint had once visited the Vajra Temple.
The exact outcome was unknown, but from then on, the Vajra Temple remained as it was.
The Great Xia Dynasty seemed to turn a blind eye to it.
The two coexisted without interfering with each other.
Although these were just records from miscellaneous books, Jiang Ning believed there was truth to them.
In such a unified dynasty, with a history of over 800 years, the fact that the Great Xia Dynasty tolerated the existence of a Vajra Temple that influenced an entire province spoke volumes.
The Vajra Temple was powerful, extraordinarily so.
Therefore, the Vajra Token, which allowed him to request the Vajra Temple, was of immense value, far surpassing the token's apparent worth as a piece of gold.
This token could potentially save his life.
Jiang Ning immediately stored the Vajra Token carefully.
"By the way," Lin Qingyi added, seeing Jiang Ning's action, "if you don't join the Vajra Temple, you can use the Vajra Token to request a viewing of the Vajra Indestructible Body!"
"With your abilities, you can easily memorize the entire technique."
"If you can master the Vajra Indestructible Body when you become a Grandmaster, you could even fight against a Great Grandmaster!"
"Good!" Jiang Ning nodded.
Lin Qingyi then pointed to the golden Vajra Pill in the box.
"Take this Vajra Pill as well! This pill is a great elixir refined by the Vajra Temple, said to grant the power of Vajra."
"Having the power of Vajra means your strength limit at the eighth rank will expand."
"Now that you've reached the peak of the ninth rank, taking this pill, combined with your mastery of the Medicine King Valley's Pill Refining Secret Technique, will help you directly break through to the eighth rank."
With that, Lin Qingyi waved her sleeve.
The lid of the wooden box snapped shut.
Then the box flew toward him.
Internal Energy!!
Jiang Ning's eyes narrowed as he caught the box mid-air.
"Thank you!" He cupped his hands in gratitude.
"Alright!" Lin Qingyi yawned, covering her mouth. "Now that I've handed over everything Shen Congyun left here to you, you don't need to come looking for me anymore."
Jiang Ning said, "Wait a moment, I still have some things to sell."
"Go find Xiao Lu for that," Lin Qingyi replied.
"These items are quite valuable," Jiang Ning added.
"Oh?" Lin Qingyi glanced at him curiously.
Jiang Ning then unwrapped the cloth bundle beside him, revealing two weapons.
One was the long sword Shi Xiaoyuan had been carrying.
The other was the soft sword Liu Qingsong had used.
These weapons, wielded by such powerful individuals, were naturally of extraordinary value.
Originally, Jiang Ning had planned to sell these weapons to a blacksmith shop.
But after seeing Yang Kai's reaction to the iron ore in the shipwreck, he realized that the blacksmith shop's wealth was already stretched thin from buying the warehouse full of iron ore.
Asking them to buy these two weapons was out of the question.
So he had no choice but to come to Wanhua Tower and sell them there.
"These two weapons..." Lin Qingyi glanced at Jiang Ning again. "Interesting."
Then she waved her hand.
Swish
The soft sword unsheathed itself.
Transforming into a streak of white light, it flew into her hand.
Seeing this, Jiang Ning couldn't help but show a look of surprise.
"What, surprised by your sister's skills?" Lin Qingyi asked, a smile playing on her lips.
"Is this... Internal Energy?" Jiang Ning asked.
"You guessed right!" Lin Qingyi nodded slightly, then continued, "Whether it's sound transmission or telekinesis, these are just basic applications of Internal Energy."
"Sister Lin, are you at the fifth rank, Internal Strengthening?" Jiang Ning asked.
"You guess!" Lin Qingyi chuckled.
Then she flicked the soft sword with her finger.
Clang
The sword trembled, emitting a clear ringing sound.
"Not a bad sword," Lin Qingyi nodded slightly.
Then she looked at Jiang Ning with some surprise. "Where did you get such a fine sword?"
Jiang Ning replied, "I found it."
Hearing these two words, Lin Qingyi couldn't help but roll her eyes at Jiang Ning.
She knew Jiang Ning didn't want to elaborate, so she didn't press further.
She then noticed a chip on the soft sword.
"This flaw reduces the sword's value by twenty percent. I can offer three thousand taels of silver. Do you accept?" Lin Qingyi pointed to the chip on the sword, which had been caused by Jiang Ning's strike.
"Deal," Jiang Ning nodded immediately.
Although he didn't know the exact value of the soft sword, he trusted that Lin Qingyi wouldn't cheat him.
If she wanted to deceive him, she wouldn't have given him the Vajra Pill or the Vajra Token.
In terms of value, those two items far surpassed the soft sword Liu Qingsong had wielded.
They weren't even in the same league.
Especially the Vajra Token. Jiang Ning couldn't understand why Shen Congyun would leave such an important token for him.
Could it be that Shen Congyun was from the Vajra Temple, and he left the token for Jiang Ning to join?
At this moment.
Seeing Jiang Ning nod, Lin Qingyi flicked her wrist.
The soft sword shot through the air, accurately returning to its scabbard.
Then.
She waved her hand again.
Shi Xiaoyuan's weapon, the long sword, didn't have a scabbard.
So the sword flew up from the ground, heading straight for Lin Qingyi's hand.
As soon as the sword left the ground, Lin Qingyi looked at Jiang Ning in surprise.
Through her telekinesis, she could sense the sword's weight was astonishing.
It weighed over two hundred pounds.
From its weight alone, it was clear this wasn't an ordinary weapon.
Only someone with immense strength, at least at the eighth rank Divine Strength level, could wield it.
And not just any eighth-rank Divine Strength practitioner.
When the sword landed in her hand, Lin Qingyi felt its weight even more.
She looked at Jiang Ning in amazement. "Where did you get this sword?"
"I found it," Jiang Ning replied.
Lin Qingyi: "..."
She rolled her eyes at Jiang Ning.
Then she flicked the blade with her finger.
Clang
The sword hummed, vibrating continuously.
"It's a good sword, made of excellent material, likely thousand-fold refined iron. But unfortunately..." Lin Qingyi's gaze fell on a chip in the blade.
At a glance, she could tell this chip was made by the same weapon that had damaged the soft sword.
Could it be this kid's sword?
Lin Qingyi glanced suspiciously at the pitch-black long sword Jiang Ning had placed beside him.
Then she shook her head inwardly.
It couldn't be.
A soft sword of such value wasn't something an ordinary ninth-rank martial artist could possess.
A weapon of this caliber would likely belong to an eighth or even seventh-rank martial artist.
Moreover, this sword weighed over two hundred pounds.
To wield it effectively, one would need at least three to four thousand pounds of strength, if not more.
Someone with such strength would be at least a top-tier eighth-rank Divine Strength expert.
Or even a seventh-rank expert.
How could Jiang Ning possibly defeat such a person?
Lin Qingyi immediately dismissed this baseless speculation.
Then she looked at the chip on the blade and said, "This flaw also significantly reduces the value of this heavy sword. I can offer two thousand six hundred taels. Do you accept?"
"No problem," Jiang Ning nodded.
Seeing Jiang Ning agree, Lin Qingyi's lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.
However, downstairs, Xiao Lu's ears caught Lin Qingyi's voice.
"Xiao Lu, bring five thousand five hundred taels of silver notes upstairs."
Hearing Lin Qingyi's voice in her ear, Xiao Lu's expression remained unchanged, as this was nothing unusual to her.
But if others witnessed this, they would realize how profound Lin Qingyi's abilities were.
To transmit sound over such a distance wasn't just a display of powerful Internal Energy.
It was also a sign of immense spiritual strength.
A moment later.
"Jia'er, why are you here?" Lin Qingyi frowned slightly as she saw Lin Jia'er appear.
Lin Jia'er's presence was unexpected.
Since that day, to avoid awkwardness, she had tried to prevent Lin Jia'er and Jiang Ning from meeting in the tower.
Moreover, since that day, she had grown somewhat displeased with Lin Jia'er.
In her eyes, Lin Jia'er was too shortsighted.
If you wanted to become a general's wife, you had to start from the bottom, following a soldier's journey.
Jiang Ning, in her eyes, was becoming more and more promising.
Forming a bond during his humble beginnings would allow her to rise to greatness in the future.
A Grandmaster, or even a Great Grandmaster this was her current assessment of Jiang Ning's potential.
Even with her status, a young prodigy with the potential to become a Great Grandmaster was worth befriending.
Not to mention, he was a young man who happened to align with her aesthetic preferences.
If it weren't for that, mere talent and potential wouldn't have earned him her current favor.
Lin Jia'er, seeing her aunt's expression, smiled sweetly and curtsied. "Greetings, Aunt."
Since that day, she had known her aunt held some resentment toward her.
But even so, she dared not show any displeasure.
Although she didn't know who her aunt had married, the changes in the Lin family over the years and the attitude of the Lin elders toward Lin Qingyi during her visits home told her that her aunt's husband was no ordinary man.
He was extraordinary, incredibly so.
Then, Lin Jia'er turned to Jiang Ning and curtsied.
"Greetings, Young Master Jiang."
Although she was reluctant to show such respect, she knew her aunt held this young man in high regard.
To win her aunt's favor, she had no choice but to act this way.
At this moment.
Xiao Lu, who had followed Lin Jia'er, spoke up.
"Reporting to the Tower Master, Miss Jia'er saw me hurrying and asked why."
"After learning the reason, Miss Jia'er personally brought the five thousand five hundred taels of silver notes you requested."
Lin Qingyi asked calmly, "Are the silver notes on you or Lin Jia'er?"
"Aunt, they're with me!" Lin Jia'er replied, smiling sweetly at Lin Qingyi.
She then took out the silver notes she had brought and respectfully handed them to Lin Qingyi.
Seeing this, Lin Qingyi frowned again.
She took the silver notes and handed them to Jiang Ning.
"Count them. It's five thousand five hundred taels."
"Alright," Jiang Ning nodded.
After finishing her conversation with Jiang Ning, Lin Qingyi turned to Lin Jia'er.
"Jia'er, you've overstepped."
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