Supreme Emperor of Mist

Chapter 40: No Longer A Cripple

"I'll be standing guard here for all of you. Sit around me and consume the Precelestial Realm Restructuring Pill now." Qin Lan ordered all three of them to return to his side.

"Yes, young master!" the three of them came to Qin Lan in a flash and sat around him in a lotus position. The Precelestial Realm Restructuring Pill they kept securely inside their hidden pocket was placed into the mouth once they're ready.

From there, the miraculous effect of the pill started as a gentle Spiritual Energy in the form of crimson mist.

The residue of impurity inside their flesh came out along with the crimson mist as it changed from dark crimson to blood red. When the "cleansing" effect from the baptism of crimson mist is finally over, the next layer of the "restructuring" process finally came.

"Aargh!" they screamed as one of the blood vessels nearest to their heart ruptured. A dark fountain of blood sprayed outward from that opening point as the miraculous cultivation pill replaces their blood.

A lake worth of Spiritual Energy poured out from that small pellet size treasure as it nourishes the heart to start producing new blood that soon replaced what was discarded. And at this point, changes can be spotted in their appearance, skin tone, and flesh.

From this moment onward, they're no longer what they used to be.

Lu Yi and Huo Zunjie's appearance is much more refined than before. As for Lu Qing Yun, her beauty is enhanced once again, befitting the title of a cultivator of Clear Cloud Lotus Art. The bluish shade is noticeable on her already long and luscious hair, enhancing her beauty by several folds.

"Young master... We've entered the fourth-level of Flesh Refining Layer." Lu Yi, whose hair now had a tinge of copper red, said. Huo Zunjie's hair remained black as before, but with a somewhat glossier appearance.

"What about you, Qing Yun?" Qin Lan turned to his only female disciple and asked.

"Answering to the young master's question... Qing Yun advanced two levels in a row and also at the fourth-level of Flesh Refining Layer." Lu Qing Yun smiled as she replies shyly.

"Good. Good. Good." Qin Lan repeated the same word three times to show how satisfied is he with the pot of cultivation pill he refined in that cave.

With sufficient cultivation resources and time, overcoming the obstacle of Middle-Attainment Rank is no longer a dream for the trio. Even without him supporting them from the back, it wouldn't be as difficult as before.

"Young master, we shall stay beside you while you digest the Precelestial Realm Restructuring Pill," Lu Qing Yun said.

But Qin Lan rejected her kindness.

"We shall return now. Collect everything usable around here and return to the Fu-Rong Town first. It's not the time for me to consume the pill yet." Qin Lan said.

Seated on the bamboo wheelchair comfortably, Qin Lan was escorted back by the three as they're greeted like the heroes that recently came back from a winning war.

It seems that they're the last team that came back.

After a processing procedure just like the others, Qin Lan returned to Qin Tian's side while they're waiting for the Treasure Master to deliver his verdict after a thorough inspection.

Two hundred and thirty teams. One thousand and a hundred participants. At the end of this Annual Hunting Festival, only sixteen teams remained until the last day.

There was barely any excitement when the results from the ninth to sixteenth spots are announced. The highest was only three thousand and fifty points, with the lowest at two thousand and seven hundred.

"Eighth place! Yuan Kai's Team. Three thousand and four hundred points!" the Treasure Master hired by the Town Committees announced.

"Seventh Place goes to Zhang Huang's Team! Three thousand and nine hundred points!"

"Sixth Place, Chu Qian's Team! Four thousand and five hundred points!"

Fifth place, Chu Heng's Team! Five thousand and eight hundred points!" two consecutive wins by the Chu Household immediately made Qin Tian and Jiao Cheng congratulate the Chu Patriarch.

"Chu Patriarch, congratulations!" Qin Tian smiled amicably.

As for Jiao Cheng, he turned his head around, waiting for the top four to be announced.

"We've now come to the name list of the top four teams." the Treasure Master said. After he finished speaking, the envoy from the Cloud Plucking Sect finally made their appearance.

It was a pair of male and female from the sect itself. With the cultivation of first-level in Bone Restructuring Layer, their cultivation can be said to be at the top of the list compared to all the youths present in this town square.

"Core disciple Lu. Core disciple Xuan, would you do the honor of announcing the name of the winner and first runner-up for this Annual Hunting Festival?" the Treasure Master politely invited them.

"Why not? I'll let my junior sister Xuan have the honor to announce the winner's name. Let me read the results for the first runner-up." the Core Disciple surnamed Lu said.

"Core Disciple Xuan Fenglan, please!" Jiao Cheng smiled as he urges the envoy to continue.

Gently picking up the paper from the Treasure Master's hand, Xuan Fenglan glanced across it to notice something unexpected. After a light chuckle with her beauty that could topple a few cities, she finally speaks.

"The first place of this year's Annual Hunting Festival goes to..."

"Hu Jia's Team! Eight thousand eight hundred and eighty points!" Xuan Fenglan's announcement was unexpected to many, especially Jiao Cheng, Qin Tian, and the public! How could this girl with four deaths in her team obtain so many points?

It even shocked Hu Jia herself. Although she had a rough estimation of points she has, Hu Jia couldn't believe that slight addition of what she hunted on her way back could place her results up to the first place.

Feeling slightly sorry for Qin Lan, who stuffed two thousand and a hundred points into her Qiankun Pouch, Hu Jia was going to say something. But Qin Lan's slight shake of his head stops her from acting rashly.

Before Qin Lan, she's now just like a tamed kitten who's hungry for her master's attention.

Of course, that's also because of her luck. Hu Jia's team can be said to be the luckiest among the 230 present with a collection of four nests of loot.

"Congratulation, Hu Patriarch!" the three other patriarchs congratulate Hu Yong immediately for taking first place this year.

"Thank you, everyone. Thank you!" Hu Yong cupped his hand and returned their words with a humble gesture.

"Here," Xuan Fenglan shoved the paper over to her senior brother Lu next.

"It's my turn. Shall we see who's the runner up for this Annual Hunting Festival?" Lu Yuanjun received the paper and glanced through the content interestingly.

"Ah... Such a close battle..." he clicked his tongue twice.

"The runner-up for this year goes to... Qin Lan's Team!" Lu Yuanjun excitedly announced the result written on the paper in his hand.

"Eight thousand eight hundred and sixty points!" he added. The twenty points of difference between the first and second place made the public clicked their tongue just like Lu Yuanjun. It seems luck still plays a crucial role in the path of a person's cultivation.

"Impossible! How can a team with a cripple obtain eight thousand points? I think that they're cheating!" Jiao Heng complained. How can he swallow this loss, especially when he had to add in the fact there's not a single death from Qin Lan's team.

Furthermore, their tidy appearance made them much more suspicious than others.

"True... With three servants fighting while protecting their young master, how much can they do?" the masses started to discuss amongst one another.

"I trust the Treasure Master's final verdict." Xuan Fenglan said as she returned to the spot where the envoy was seated earlier.

"I trust the Treasure Master's final verdict as well," Lu Yuanjun added. With the paper now back to the Treasure Master hired by the town committees, he literally left the responsibility of explaining to the Treasure Master.

"Quiet, everyone." the Treasure master said.

"Qin Lan's Team, can your member answer my question, please? What's their level of cultivation right now?" the Treasure Master decided to use the crudest method to convince everyone.

Which is by showing their raw strength.

Qin Lan smiled towards the Treasure Master and permitted Lu Yi, Lu Qing Yun, and Huo Zunjie to release a fraction of their cultivation strength. When that happened, the power of three fourth-level Flesh Refining Layer covered the stage.

"Fourth-Level! All of them is a fourth-level cultivator! No wonder they could hunt so many Quasi-leveled beasts in those seven days!" the Treasure Master nodded. As somebody in the Middle-Attainment Rank, how can he overlook this kind of possibility?

"It is possible if they're all fourth-level cultivators. But what about the third young master of Qin Household?" there are still some people unwilling to accept the result.

Qin Lan chuckled right in front of everyone as he stands upon his own feet, without the need of people supporting him. Added with the third-level cultivation strength emitted by him, Qin Lan stood there confidently without uttering a single word.

"Qin Family's third young master has recovered! He's no longer a cripple!" one of the masses from the public said. The others followed. And soon, the Annual Hunting Festival is no longer that interesting compared to Qin Lan being able to stand and cultivates again.

The Treasure Master announced the remaining result for the third and fourth place, but it had fallen to deaf ears. All Jiao Heng has is Six thousand and a hundred points, just a hundred points above Qin Huang's six thousand points.

"The Qin Household has climbed up once again. We'll have to inform the eleventh elder about it." Lu Yuanjun whispered, followed with a nod from Xuan Fenglan.

"Look's like the Jiao Household has lost their value here in Fu-Rong Town. It is twelve elder's time now." Xuan Fenglan added.

"Let's go back after all these facades. I'll make the arrangement for everything to be moved to Su-Hang Town." Lu Yuanjun said. In his hand, a piece of communication talisman made from jade crumbled into dust as it finishes conveying the intended messages.