Chapter 14: Is Your Spirit Conduction Device Genuine?

Chapter 14: Is Your Spirit Conductor Genuine?

The Martial Soul Hall in Soto City was immense and easy to find. The entire building was brown, and above the main gate was an engraving of a longsword, exuding a sense of authority.

“Little brother, this is the Martial Soul Hall. What brings you here?” At the entrance, a guard spoke sternly.

“I’m here to see the head of the Soto City branch. I come from Notting City. This is a letter from the head of the Notting City branch,” Zhong Yan said as he pulled a letter from his pocket.

Back in Notting City, Zhong Yan had sought out Su Yuntao to express his desire to join the Martial Soul Hall. Su Yuntao then took Zhong Yan to meet Bishop Matthew Nuo. At first, upon seeing Zhong Yan’s talent, Matthew was eager to send him straight to Martial Soul City to meet the Grandmaster. However, Zhong Yan managed to persuade Matthew to first send him and the others to Soto City before heading to Martial Soul City. Thus, Matthew wrote a letter for Zhong Yan to present to the Soto City branch head.

Zhong Yan’s insistence on coming to Soto City had a particular reason: the crystal plate in Fland’s possession. After much thought, he recalled the novel’s description of it. This crystal was the most precious type of hair crystal, a rare form of crystal that contained golden thread-like inclusions known as “crystal hair” or “golden hair,” resembling strands of hair inside the crystal. Regardless of the crystal’s color, a single strand of crystal hair made it more valuable than the finest natural crystal. Crystals containing these inclusions were called hair crystals. The one before him was the rarest kind, a plate crystal, considered the pinnacle among hair crystals.

Usually, the golden threads inside hair crystals were sparse and disorderly. Only ancient hair crystals could accumulate enough threads to form a golden plate-like pattern inside the crystal, making these plate crystals the finest specimens due to their abundant and orderly golden threads.

This precious crystal was comparable to a hundred-thousand-year-old spirit beast in value. Unfortunately, in the original story, aside from being used against Zhao Wuji, it had little significance. But for Zhong Yan, it was different. The Heart of God controlled all earthly matters, and such a treasure could have unimaginable uses. When he thought of this crystal, the Heart of God glowed, which is why Zhong Yan had traveled so far to acquire it. Taking this crystal from Zhao Wuji would also be a great favor—ha ha ha—the ever-flowing traveler versus the ironclad Su Yuntao and the beaten Zhao Wuji.

The guard, seeing the letter stamped with the Martial Soul Hall’s seal, quickly led Zhong Yan to a room and knocked.

“Come in.” An aged voice replied. Inside was a bright office with a large desk behind which sat an elder soul master wearing a neat uniform. The four sword insignias on his chest marked him as a Soul Sovereign.

The guard opened the door. “Bishop, this boy brings a letter from Notting City.”

The old soul master chuckled, surprised upon seeing Zhong Yan. “What a handsome boy, come in.”

Zhong Yan entered and handed over the letter. The soul master unfolded and read it. “So you want to join the Martial Soul Hall? Hmm... the letter says you have innate full spirit power, and you’re already level 29?”

“Yes.”

“To progress so quickly, you must be a diligent genius. No wonder Matthew Nuo urged me to send you to Martial Soul City immediately. If you have no objections, you’ll leave tomorrow.”

“No problem. Thank you, master.”

The soul master stroked his beard with a smile. “Child, show me your martial soul.”

Zhong Yan raised his hand, and the Spear of Rainbow appeared. Two yellow spirit rings floated nearby, and surprisingly, the second one was a deep purple-yellow.

The soul master was astonished. “Your second spirit ring has surpassed the age limit, hasn’t it?”

Zhong Yan was used to such surprise. “Yes, it’s from a 999-year-old Rock Giant Lizard.”

“Excellent! With this, the Grandmaster will surely look at you differently. Ah, what nonsense did Matthew Nuo write? Such crucial information omitted!” The soul master scolded. “I’ll rewrite the letter and send it to Martial Soul City. When you arrive, someone will be there to receive you. You may leave now. We’ll depart early tomorrow.”

“Understood.” Zhong Yan nodded, noticing the master was already unfolding fresh paper. He quietly left, closing the door behind him.

“Now, I just need to get that crystal from Fland.”

Exiting the Martial Soul Hall, Zhong Yan began searching for the crooked merchant’s shop, surveying the city with its vivid colors as described in the original story. Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to a nearby storefront.

The shop was small, but its sign was distinctive, bearing a circular emblem with several symbols: a sword, a hammer, and a blue electric Tyrannosaurus rex. Together, these made up the emblem of the Martial Soul Hall, though an ordinary person might not recognize it.

“Hey, Fland, I’m here,” Zhong Yan said with a sly smile before quickly composing himself. “Ahem, better be serious. Let’s see if I can trick this scoundrel.”

He pushed open the door. Inside was dimly lit, and as he stepped in, a unique energy ripple caught his attention. Having read many books in the Notting Academy library and recalling what Tang San taught him from the masters, he knew this energy emanated from spirit conductors.

Spirit conductors always have spirit power fluctuations. If unused or unbound to a soul user, they emit external spirit power. Spirit conductors generally lack offensive capabilities and serve simple auxiliary functions. Despite this, they are extremely rare relics, with all known spirit conductors being antiques, as the crafting methods have been lost.

Inside the shop was only one person. There was no counter; instead, three walls displayed various items, all seemingly old and hardly valuable.

The apparent shop owner sat on a wooden recliner, eyes closed, body gently swaying with the chair. His face was distinctive: a protruding chin, broad cheekbones, a flat face, and a hooked nose. If one had to describe it, his face looked like the sole of a shoe.

Though his eyes were closed, he had a cunning aura. He wore black-rimmed crystal glasses with stiff square frames, giving an odd impression. He remained undisturbed by Zhong Yan’s entrance, breathing evenly while swaying.

“Sure enough, it’s Fland,” Zhong Yan thought. “The battle begins.”

Though Fland didn’t look at him, as a Soul Saint, he surely knew exactly what Zhong Yan was observing.

Ignoring the obviously feigning sleep Fland, Zhong Yan leisurely wandered the room, inspecting the items on the walls with interest.

After surveying everything, Zhong Yan realized Fland was indeed the notorious swindler from the original story. Nearly all goods in the shop were counterfeit or inferior. The faint spirit power emitted from the items resembled unknown spirit conductors.

Truly a master swindler! Zhong Yan’s eyes swept over the surroundings, concluding there was nothing of value except for a head-sized crystal near the door.

The crystal looked plain—transparent with large patches of dark yellow impurities. Zhong Yan quickly glanced and withdrew his gaze, careful not to reveal his interest.

He approached the door, pretending to examine a spirit conductor shaped like a bracelet, picking it up, studying it, shaking his head, and putting it down. Then he picked up a ring to fiddle with it, repeating this several times until Fland couldn’t hold back.

“What exactly are you looking at? Buy it or leave.”

Zhong Yan inwardly rejoiced, having anticipated this.

Picking up the bracelet again, he said, “Boss, this bracelet looks good. How much?”

“Two hundred gold spirit coins, fixed price.”

“Huh,” Zhong Yan shook his head with a smile, “Is this bracelet made of gold, or are the decorations gold?”

Fland removed his glasses, wiped them, blew on the cloth, and put them back on. “Tell me, where else can you find spirit conductors these days? These are all relics I dug up. You think it’s expensive? So do I.”

“Fine, I’ll buy it.”

“Give me the money.”

“Wait, is this spirit conductor genuine?”

Fland’s eyes gleamed suddenly. “I run a shop, would I sell fake spirit conductors?”

Zhong Yan looked him in the eye and asked again, “Is it genuine?”

Fland’s expression darkened. “Are you trying to pick a fight? Do you want it or not?”

Zhong Yan smiled broadly. “If it’s real, of course I want it. But what if it’s fake?”

Fland stood up and said, “If it’s fake, I’ll eat it myself. Happy now?”

“All right, I’ll buy it.” Zhong Yan produced a pouch containing exactly two hundred gold spirit coins.

Seeing Zhong Yan ready to buy, Fland sneered but lazily reclined again, eyes closed, and drawled, “You don’t have enough money.”

Feigning frown, Zhong Yan said, “This is two hundred gold spirit coins, no mistake.”

Without opening his eyes, Fland mumbled indistinctly, “That was the old price. Now it’s three hundred gold spirit coins.”

“Three hundred gold coins? Are you sure you won’t raise it again?”

Fland sensed an opportunity and rejoiced inwardly, but kept his lazy facade, eyes still shut. “Fine, five hundred gold spirit coins. Pay up or leave.”

Zhong Yan narrowed his eyes. “Though trickery is common in trade, your attitude makes it hard for me.”

“Price is price. You buy or not?”

“No thanks.” Zhong Yan put away his pouch, casually placed the bracelet near the crystal, and prepared to leave. Fland remained silent, still lounging lazily.

At the door, Fland called out, “All right, four hundred gold spirit coins, take it.”

Ha! If Fland let that money slip away, he wouldn’t be the stingiest man on the continent.

Zhong Yan turned back, picked up the bracelet, and pretended to notice the crystal for the first time. “This crystal is nice. It’d make a good decoration for the bracelet, though it’s a bit cloudy and seems low quality.”

Pretending to hesitate, Zhong Yan grabbed the crystal. “Boss, how much for this?”

Fland glanced at it, then looked down. “Twenty gold coins.”

“Hah, not buying. This cloudy crystal, and you want twenty gold coins? Keep it as a family heirloom.” Zhong Yan pulled out four hundred gold coins and started to leave.

“The crystal’s two gold coins. Take it or leave it,” Fland said.

“Still too expensive.”

“That’s the lowest I can go.”

“All right, I’ll buy it for decoration.” Zhong Yan placed two gold coins on the counter and took the crystal.

At that moment, both Fland and Zhong Yan wore sly smiles, though no one else witnessed it.

With the Crane View mission completed and no sign of Psyduck, Zhong Yan felt disappointed. As expected, the rumors weren’t reliable. This chapter was twice as long as usual—exhausting! Another chapter would come tonight.

(End of chapter)