Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Talent Pavilion
"I can... but not right now."
Hearing this, Muu Yao grew anxious. "If you can cure it, why not now? Teacher Qin, what do you mean?"
Muui Yunlie’s brows furrowed. With a displeased expression, he snapped, "Calm down! Panicking over every little thing—what has become of you? Let Teacher Qin finish speaking." He then turned his gaze to Qin Ya.
Having been scolded by his father, Muu Yao calmed down, though he griped internally, ’A little thing? This concerns your very life! How could we possibly treat it as a little thing?’
"I have a way to cure this poison, but with my current abilities, I am not yet capable of it," Qin Ya said indifferently. The Barbarian Race Wizard’s poison was potent, but with the skills of a Pill Venerable, there was a way to cure it.
"What is the way?" Muu Yao asked.
In their minds, if Qin Ya couldn’t do it, he could just tell them the method, and they could find someone capable to do it for them.
"Refine a Seventh-Grade Pure Yang Pill to purge the evil poison."
As soon as he said this, the room fell deathly silent. Muu Yao and the others stared at Qin Ya in disbelief. "Teacher Qin, are you sure you’re not joking? Refining a Seventh-Grade Pure Yang Pill?"
My heavens, Fifth-Grade Alchemists in the entire Yunxiao Empire could be counted on one hand. A Sixth-Grade was unheard of, to say nothing of a Seventh Grade! To them, such a person was the stuff of legends...
"Teacher Qin, there’s something you may not know," Muu Xue said with a wry smile. "If we could find a Seventh-Grade Alchemist, the poison in my father’s body wouldn’t have remained uncured until now..."
The corners of Qin Ya’s lips lifted slightly. "Give me half a year."
Half a year?!
The crowd was puzzled, but then a possibility suddenly occurred to them, and they paled in shock. Could it be that within half a year, he could refine a Seventh-Grade Elixir himself, or that he could find a Seventh-Grade Alchemist?
Either possibility was enough to leave them shaken.
Since the founding of the Yunxiao Empire, only Sixth-Grade Alchemists had ever appeared in its history; a Seventh-Grade Alchemist was unheard of. If one truly appeared, they would undoubtedly be sought after by countless factions. Even the Four Great Noble Families of the Imperial Capital would spare no expense to recruit them.
"Why do you need half a year!"
Qin Ya smiled indifferently. "A Seventh-Grade Elixir is still a bit of a stretch for me right now. Only after I break through to the Earth Element Realm will I have complete confidence. I will give you the Pill Formula for the Pure Yang Pill. In this half-year, you just need to gather the medicinal ingredients. Then, you can wait for me to start the furnace and perform the Alchemy."
GASP...
Everyone sucked in a cold breath. Half a year to become a Seventh-Grade Alchemist?!
Could he really become a Seventh-Grade Alchemist in half a year? Muu Xue had known Qin Ya for some time and knew he wasn’t one to make empty boasts. And while Muui Yunlie and Muu Yao had only just met Qin Ya and didn’t know him well, they could also see that he wasn’t joking.
But the more they believed him, the more shocked they were!
A Seventh-Grade Alchemist, and one who wasn’t even twenty years old at that! If this was true, the entire Empire would be shaken to its core!
"Alright!" Muui Yunlie took a deep breath. He had already endured this poison for ten years; what was another half-year? More importantly, he had no better options. He could only place his hopes in Qin Ya.
"Since the poison cannot be cured for the time being, let’s set the matter aside for now," Muui Yunlie said again. "We have troubled Teacher Qin today. You must stay so I can fulfill my duties as a host..."
Qin Ya thought for a moment and said, "In that case, I will impose on you."
"Teacher Qin, let me show you around."
"Alright..."
The Muu Mansion had been bestowed by Your Majesty and covered a vast area. However, Muui Yunlie was a military man of incorruptible character. Even most of the servants in the mansion were retired veterans, a fact that earned Qin Ya’s admiration.
"Heh, our mansion is rather simple. I hope Teacher Qin doesn’t mind."
"Marshal Muu’s integrity and uprightness are a blessing to the Empire."
Feng Ling smiled. "Indeed. Ten years ago, after the battle to pacify the northern barbarians, Your Majesty bestowed one million Gold Coins upon him, but Uncle refused to take a single one. Instead, he distributed it all to the families of the soldiers who died in battle. In the entire Empire, I’m afraid only Marshal Muu would do such a thing."
Hearing this, Qin Ya smiled faintly. "I suppose only a Marshal Muu like that could command the invincible, ever-victorious Red Flame Army."
Suddenly, Qin Ya stopped in his tracks. He looked toward a pavilion in the distance, a strange light flashing in his eyes as he asked, "What is that place?"
Muu Xue’s gaze followed Qin Ya’s finger. She explained, "That is the Muu Mansion’s Talent Pavilion. Inside are all the spoils of war my father brought back from the battlefield. You could say each one represents a military achievement. It is the glory and splendor of the entire Red Flame Army, and also the most valuable place in the Muu Mansion."
"May I go take a look?" Qin Ya asked.
"Of course."
The simple, ancient pavilion stood tall. With a CREAK, the great doors were slowly pushed open, kicking up a cloud of dust. Qin Ya and the others walked inside.
The first things that met their eyes were rows of bloodstained or broken weapons, emitting waves of Evil Qi. The sounds of slaughter on a battlefield seemed to faintly echo in their ears.
"What a magnificent Talent Pavilion."
Qin Ya was slightly surprised. It wasn’t that the many items in the pavilion were particularly precious, but that their sheer quantity was staggering. They were packed densely together, at least several thousand pieces. Such a number was enough to prove the brilliance of Muui Yunlie’s military achievements. Within the Empire, his was a unique collection.
"No matter how many times I come here, I can’t help but be amazed," Feng Ling said with emotion. "For the Empire to have such a pillar of support is truly a blessing for the nation."
Qin Ya slowly walked past rack after rack, his hands brushing over one broken weapon after another. His mind seemed to be pulled into a boundless battlefield, one filled with the clash of golden spears and iron-clad horses, his ears ringing with battle cries.
Suddenly, a cold sensation spread from his fingertips...
Abruptly, Qin Ya stared at the object in front of him, a strange glint appearing in his eyes. Within his body, the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame suddenly became incredibly active.
’This is it.’
Before him was a pale blue bead the size of a baby’s fist. It emanated a faint, cool sensation, and even the surrounding air temperature seemed to drop.
’Exquisite Jade! A rare treasure used specifically to seal Marvels of Heaven and Earth. I never expected to see such a treasure here.’ A look of surprise flashed in Qin Ya’s eyes. Moreover, the strange stirrings of the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame within him told him that the marvel sealed inside was definitely related to an Exotic Fire.
Seeing Qin Ya stop before the pale blue jade for a long time, Muu Xue and the others grew curious. They walked over and asked, "Teacher Qin, have you taken a fancy to this jade?"
"Do you know the origin of this jade?" Qin Ya asked.
Muu Xue shook her head. "Only my father knows the stories behind the things here. If Teacher Qin is particularly fond of this jade, you can go and ask my father. I imagine he won’t be stingy."
If it were any other item, Muu Xue could have made the decision herself. But everything in the Talent Pavilion had been won by Muui Yunlie and the Red Flame Army through bloodshed on the battlefield; she couldn’t presume to make a decision on her own.
Qin Ya thought for a moment. "Very well. This item is indeed unusual."
Back in the main hall, Muui Yunlie gazed at the pale blue jade before him, a look of reminiscence in his eyes. He said with a sigh, "This item... I obtained it fifteen years ago when I led one hundred thousand soldiers of the Red Flame Army to encircle and suppress the rebels of Great Snow Dragon Mountain..."
