Chapter 49: The Wrong Person Identified

In the somewhat messy lobby, each of them was lost in their own thoughts. Though Qiao Tianhao was in pain and gritting his teeth, there was a hint of satisfaction on his face.
In the capital city, reaching the seventh level of the Lingdong Phase at the age of twenty was considered a high talent among ordinary people, but it certainly wasn’t enough to make the administrators overjoyed, let alone have the dean come out to greet him and offer spirit stones. He never expected that in a small county town, he would still receive such treatment.
As the dean of a county-level martial assessment institute, even if it was in a remote area, he was still a sixth-rank official. The fact that a sixth-rank official would eagerly bring spirit stones to greet him was enough to make him feel proud, not to mention the chance to act arrogantly in front of him.
Originally, seeing that Lin Dong also remained standing, Qiao Tianhao couldn’t help but want to mock him whenever he felt pain in his right arm. But thinking about how his arm was broken, he swallowed his words.
Having been defeated by someone at the third level of the Lingdong Phase, Qiao Tianhao had never suffered such a humiliating defeat, yet he dared not speak out in anger. The look in his eyes toward Lin Dong—filled with disdain and fear—was extremely strange.
Lin Dong ignored Qiao Tianhao’s strange gaze, preoccupied with figuring out how to explain why it took him thirteen or fourteen years to reach the second level of the Lingdong Phase, only to leap to the third level in less than three months.
Before long, an elderly man in his sixties, thin and disheveled, rushed out of the back yard. His clothes were untidy, his hair and beard white, and his eyes scanned the lobby anxiously before stopping on Lin Dong’s face.
“It’s me! I was wrong!”
Qiao Tianhao reminded him irritably.
“You?” The old man was stunned for a moment before showing a kind smile. “I am Ren Qingsong, the dean of the Martial Assessment Institute. What’s your name, young man?”
“Qiao Tianhao!” Qiao Tianhao raised his broken arm toward Ren Qingsong. His tendency to treat others badly when they showed respect didn’t change just because of Ren Qingsong. Impatiently, he asked, “How many spirit stones do you have in total?”
Ren Qingsong’s snow-white eyebrows furrowed slightly before relaxing again.
“There are about two thousand first-tier spirit stones, three hundred second-tier ones, and a hundred third-tier ones.”
Qiao Tianhao grinned, almost laughing uncontrollably. With this amount, at least three thousand silver taels would be needed to cover it all.
Even Lin Dong was slightly surprised. The dean of a martial assessment institute indeed had a high salary, but as a martial artist himself, he should also consume a large amount of spirit stones. Yet it seemed Ren Qingsong had saved so many.

The two of them didn’t realize that although the warriors who pledged loyalty to the court were somewhat interested in worldly power and wealth, their main motivation was to use the court’s strength to gather spirit stones and medicinal pills. Ren Qingsong, however, was an exception—he wasn’t driven by strength but rather by an intangible title. As long as the title had a rank, that was enough; as for the accompanying power and wealth, Ren Qingsong regarded them as even less important than most warriors.

Over forty years of salary, spirit stones, and medicinal pills—Ren Qingsong never used any of it for himself. Most of it was given to those in Xilan City who were qualified to break through to the Lingdong stage, so that he could rise to become the director of the fourth-rank military testing institute.

“Give it all to me! Is there anything else good?” Qiao Tianhao was so happy he forgot his pain. He even waved his broken arm at Ren Qingsong.

“How many hours does Young Master Qiao practice every day?”

Ren Qingsong smiled and changed the subject. With so many spirit stones, he didn’t plan to give them all away. After all, as the director of a military testing institute, he would need them too. Moreover, he needed to figure out first whether the other party would focus solely on breaking through to the Lingdong stage.

Marriage, children, wealth, and power—these were all obstacles that could make one give up halfway. If he didn’t figure it out, losing the spirit stones would be a minor issue, but if all his hopes vanished, he wouldn’t even know how to cry.

“More than eight hours.”

Ren Qingsong was overjoyed and quickly asked, “Has Young Master Qiao gotten married or had children? If not, when does he plan to?”

“So many questions! If you don’t want to give me spirit stones, I’m leaving. I’m moving to a nearby county town tomorrow.” Qiao Tianhao grew impatient, playing hard to get, and turned to leave.

What an impatient guy! Ren Qingsong felt embarrassed but could only force a smile as he rushed after him, “Wait, wait…”

From the back door, Yang Laiting rushed in, his chest heaving heavily, clearly having run all the way. He hadn’t caught up with Ren Qingsong, likely because his earlier sprint forced him to rest for a moment in the backyard.

“Wrong, wrong!” Seeing Ren Qingsong holding Qiao Tianhao, Yang Laiting slapped his thigh and pointed at Lin Dong beside him. “Director, it’s him!”

“Huh?”

Both Ren Qingsong and Qiao Tianhao were stunned.

Lin Dong smiled without saying a word. After all the commotion caused by Qiao Tianhao, he knew exactly where Ren Qingsong’s bottom line was. Or rather, he knew Ren Qingsong basically had no bottom line.

“Old man, are you crazy? I’m the one who’s at six and nine-tenths of the Lingdong stage!” Qiao Tianhao sniffed. What poor memory the old man had!

Six and nine-tenths of the Lingdong stage?

Ren Qingsong finally came to his senses. Although he had rushed over without hearing Yang Laiting’s detailed explanation, he still remembered that Yang Laiting had mentioned someone at the third level of the Lingdong stage. Thumping his head, Ren Qingsong stepped in front of Lin Dong and smiled awkwardly, “I wonder what your name is, sir?”
“Just call me Lin Dong,” Lin Dong replied. Seeing that Ren Qingsong was about to speak again, Lin Dong added with a smile, “Don’t ask me if you have questions. Let’s not discuss too much for now. I have enough pills for two months to assist in cultivation. With my current strength, it shouldn’t be too much. As for the rest, we can talk slowly in two months.”
Ren Qingsong was somewhat stunned. Just after meeting someone aggressive, now he encountered someone even more determined?
Although spirit stones were not common in the market, they could still be bought with silver. But pills were different—there weren’t any available in the market, and even large sects could only provide them to disciples with excellent aptitudes.
The Tianwei Pavilion of the Great Han Nation had a spirit pill workshop that was on par with those of major pill-making sects, but the pills allocated to the head of a county-level martial assessment institute were only one first-class spirit pill per month.
The consumption at the third level of the Lingdong stage might not be high, but if pills were used continuously for two months of cultivation, at least six first-class spirit pills would be needed—enough for half a year. Even so, Ren Qingsong wasn’t unwilling to part with them.
But since the other party said they needed to discuss further in two months, it was clear they intended to extract as much as possible from his forty years’ worth of stock.
Seeing Ren Qingsong’s reaction, Lin Dong laughed, “Don’t worry! I only need enough pills for my cultivation, and I only require two months’ worth each time.”
Ren Qingsong was delighted—just enough pills for cultivation?
It would take less than three months to advance from the second level to the third level of the Lingdong stage. At this pace, with the help of pills, it would take a year to break through to the next stage.
In a year, even if the consumption of pills gradually increased, about a hundred pills would be sufficient. Once he broke through, if he still wanted more, it would depend on which rank he reached as the head of the martial assessment institute.
As for daily cultivation time and other issues, since he only needed two months’ worth at a time, it didn’t matter to investigate later.
“Okay, follow me.”
After thinking it through, Ren Qingsong agreed immediately.
Lin Dong smiled indifferently, glanced at Qiao Tianhao, and smiled meaningfully before following closely behind.
“That’s wrong! You’re all wrong! I’m at nine-tenths of the sixth level of the Lingdong stage!” Qiao Tianhao grew anxious and, ignoring his injured right arm, grabbed Ren Qingsong with his left hand. “Make that old man see clearly—I’m at nine-tenths of the sixth level!”
Ren Qingsong moved, pushing Qiao Tianhao away.

Though he’s ruthless, his attitude isn’t that bad. If this person understood what it means to respect the elderly, and given Ren Qingsong’s caution, he might even greet them with a smile and treat them as a backup for the last spot. But this person is clearly arrogant and overconfident; it’s better to negotiate directly once there’s really no other choice, rather than wasting effort on someone uninterested.
“What attitude? They don’t even know what’s wrong—two old fools!”
Seeing the three enter the back yard, Qiao Tianhao lost his temper, kicked the counter hard, decided not to go through the registration process, and turned to leave.
Once those two old fools realized the situation, they’d surely rush to the Chunlai Inn to find him. By then, don’t blame me for deliberately making things difficult!