Song Changsheng knew he had hit another bottleneck. Continuing to refine artifacts in this state would be futile, so he decided to pause and instead immerse himself in the family's Artifact Crafting Archives, hoping to find some method to break through.
He spent over ten days there, studying day and night without rest, but still couldn't find any clues. Just then, some good news came from the Contribution Hall there was finally a lead on the Dragonblood Orchid he had been searching for for over a year.
Overjoyed, Song Changsheng rushed to the Contribution Hall. He walked straight to the front desk and gave a respectful bow to an elderly clan member with white hair.
"Elder, may I ask who took the task regarding the Dragonblood Orchid?"
The elder glanced up at him and, after confirming his identity, replied, "The one who accepted the task was a hunter from the Monster Hunting Squad."
Song Changsheng paused. "Do you know which hunter?"
The Monster Hunting Squad, though an auxiliary force of the clan, was allowed to take clan missions for extra earnings but they were rarely seen.
"It was Shangguan Jian. A few days ago, his squad stumbled upon a Dragonblood Orchid by chance. After seeing the task you posted, he accepted it. Seems like your luck's come around," the elder said with a grin.
"Ah, it was him." Song Changsheng remembered having met Shangguan Jian once before what a coincidence.
"You won't be able to meet him, though he's already left the mountain. But this is the Dragonblood Orchid he submitted for the task. See if it meets your expectations."
As he spoke, the elder took out a purple jade box from under the counter and opened it right in front of Song Changsheng.
Inside lay a plant about a foot long, closely resembling a butterfly orchid, but its entire body was deep blood-red. Intricate dragon-like patterns coursed through its leaves like flowing blood.
It was a pristine specimen close to a hundred years old. Both the leaves and roots were perfectly preserved without a single blemish. It was exactly what Song Changsheng had been hoping for.
"This is excellent. Many thanks, Elder," Song Changsheng said with a bright smile, bowing in gratitude.
"No trouble at all. Since you're satisfied, the task can be marked as completed." The elder chuckled and reached out to strike the Dragonblood Orchid task off the list.
But just then, a chubby young man burst in from outside, panting heavily. He waved his hand and shouted, "Wait! Please wait!"
The elder paused, clearly annoyed. "What's with all the shouting? Are you here to take on a task or submit one?"
The chubby youth quickly put on a sheepish smile. "Elder, I'm here to submit a task the Dragonblood Orchid one."
The elder froze and instinctively looked at Song Changsheng.
Song Changsheng was also a bit surprised. His task had indeed allowed for multiple submissions, and quite a few people had accepted it but he hadn't expected more than one to succeed.
After all, Dragonblood Orchids were rare, with only a few appearing each year.
The chubby young man, unaware that someone had already completed the task, opened his jade box with great excitement. Inside was indeed another well-preserved Dragonblood Orchid. Although not quite as fine as Shangguan Jian's, it still met all the requirements.
The elder looked troubled. "This is an unfortunate coincidence. Someone already submitted the task just moments ago. It's been marked as complete."
"What?" The chubby youth froze on the spot.
"What am I supposed to do with this then?" he asked anxiously.
Song Changsheng shook his head slightly he hadn't expected this either. Still, he only needed one Dragonblood Orchid. There was nothing he could do.
He nodded politely to the elder and turned to leave.
Unexpectedly, the chubby youth suddenly stepped in front of him, eyes lighting up with recognition.
"You're Clan Uncle Changsheng, right? You're the one who posted the task? Please take a look at mine too it's in great condition!"
Song Changsheng gave the boy a curious glance he was from the 'Qing' generation, probably seventeen or eighteen years old, among the oldest of his group.
For a moment, Song Changsheng felt a bit sentimental. The younger generation was already starting to contribute to the clan how quickly time passed.
"Clan Uncle, please just take a look. It's a really good specimen," the young man pleaded, holding up his jade box, a trace of desperation in his eyes.
But Song Changsheng simply shook his head and replied, "I only need one. I'm sorry."
The chubby youth's eyes welled up with tears at those words. He lowered his head and fell silent, but Song Changsheng could faintly hear the soft sound of sobbing.
This left Song Changsheng a bit puzzled. Even if he didn't want the orchid, there was no need for such a reaction. After all, Dragonblood Orchids were never short of buyers. True, they might not pay as well as he did, but it wouldn't be hard to sell it definitely wouldn't be wasted. So what was there to cry about?
"If you're worried about finding a buyer, I can help you figure something out," Song Changsheng offered, thinking the boy was concerned about selling the orchid.
The chubby youth wiped his eyes, his voice tinged with disappointment and redness as he said, "I wasn't planning to exchange it for spirit stones. I originally wanted to trade it with you… for a copy of your insights on formations."
That caught Song Changsheng off guard. "You're a formation master too?"
The young man nodded. "I'm a low-grade Tier-1 Formation Master, about to break through to mid-grade. But I've hit a bottleneck, so I was hoping to get a copy of your insights to help me advance."
"I see. But why come to me specifically? The clan's Scripture Pavilion has plenty of formation notes left by our predecessors. You could sell the Dragonblood Orchid and exchange it for several of those."
The chubby youth shook his head like a drum and mustered his courage. "You're my idol. I only want yours."
Song Changsheng's eyes widened in surprise. Idol? Did he hear that right?
He'd always been a little self-confident, sure but he had never imagined that someone would idolize him, especially someone so close to him in age.
"Uh… I'm just an ordinary person. You don't need to put me on a pedestal like that," Song Changsheng said, scratching his head.
The chubby youth immediately protested, "You're not ordinary at all! You're the youngest Tier-2 Formation Master in the history of our clan. You're the role model for all of us younger formation cultivators!"
Song Changsheng was stunned. Since when did I become that inspiring?
But when he looked into the youth's eyes filled with sincerity and determination he couldn't help but start to believe it a little.
After a moment of thought, Song Changsheng said, "I'll give you a copy of my formation insights but keep the Dragonblood Orchid. It's too valuable."
To him, sharing his notes was just a matter of a few moments. And since he had unexpectedly gained a young admirer, he didn't mind giving him a little support it was good to encourage the next generation.
The chubby youth immediately perked up, his eyes practically sparkling as he looked at Song Changsheng.
Song Changsheng took out a jade slip and inscribed some of his formation insights into it before handing it over.
The youth accepted it like it was a treasure, carefully storing it away then, before Song Changsheng could react, he stuffed the jade box into his arms and dashed off.
Startled, Song Changsheng called out, "What's your name?"
Without turning back, the chubby youth shouted, "Song Qinghong!"
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