Chapter 73: 73. Talent hunting.
Lin Zhaoyue looked at the silent Lin Zhaowen for a few moments before waving her hand dismissively.
"Forget it. I didn’t come here just to tease you."
Lin Zhaowen stopped shoveling and looked up.
"What does the Young Miss need?"
Lin Zhaoyue did not answer immediately.
Instead, she walked over to the wooden fence and watched the spirit beasts leisurely chewing their feed.
After several moments, she casually asked,
"How much have you repaid already?"
Lin Zhaowen answered honestly.
"Thirty Body Tempering Pills."
Lin Zhaoyue gave a small nod.
Thirty already, that meant only seventy remained.
Her contribution points were more than enough to exchange for seventy Low Grade Body Tempering Pills.
Once she handed those over, his debt to Zhaohao would be completely settled.
Compared to the contribution points she still possessed, that amount was hardly worth mentioning.
She quietly stored the calculation away before looking back at him.
"So, another seven months?"
Lin Zhaowen smiled bitterly.
"Probably."
Lin Zhaoyue turned around with an exaggerated look of surprise.
"I thought a genius like you would finish in five."
"Contribution points aren’t that easy to earn."
Lin Zhaoyue nodded.
"That’s true."
She then changed the subject without warning.
"Do you know why Father values talent so much?"
Lin Zhaowen shook his head.
"I don’t."
"Because talent is time."
She picked up a small pebble from the ground and tossed it into the distance.
"A talented cultivator reaches in one year what others need ten years to accomplish. So tell me. Do you think your time is worth spending here?"
Lin Zhaowen fell silent.
Before he could answer, Lin Zhaoyue continued.
"The clan can produce more dung tomorrow, it can produce more contribution points next month but it cannot produce another Lin Zhaowen."
Her words struck him far harder than he expected.
She folded her arms.
"So why are you insisting on wasting your greatest advantage?"
Lin Zhaowen tightened his grip around the shovel.
"I owe Zhaohao those pills and will repay them."
Lin Zhaoyue nodded.
"I know and I never said you shouldn’t."
She looked him directly in the eyes.
"I’ll help you settle the remaining debt. I’ll exchange my contribution points for the seventy Body Tempering Pills you still owe."
Lin Zhaowen looked up in disbelief.
"Young Miss... I..."
Lin Zhaoyue raised a finger.
"This isn’t charity nor is it a gift either."
She looked straight into his eyes.
"It’s an investment, I’ll repay your debt and I’ll also provide enough resources for you to step into the Qi Refinement Realm. In exchange, you’ll work for me."
Lin Zhaowen was stunned.
"Work... for you?"
Lin Zhaoyue nodded matter-of-factly.
"I need capable people and I don’t like seeing talent wasted."
She smiled faintly.
"As for those seventy pills... Treat them as an advance and you can repay me slowly in the future."
She glanced at the shovel leaning against the fence.
"So. Would you rather spend another seven months shoveling spirit beast dung or spend those seven months breaking into the Qi Refinement Realm?"
Lin Zhaowen looked down at the shovel and then at his rough, calloused hands.
After a long silence, he respectfully cupped his fists.
"This disciple is willing to follow the Young Miss."
Lin Zhaoyue smiled with satisfaction.
"Great. Now that you’ve sworn your loyalty, take this."
She reached into her storage pouch and casually tossed a jade bottle toward him.
Lin Zhaowen instinctively caught it.
He looked at the jade bottle in confusion before carefully opening it.
The moment the stopper came off, a rich medicinal fragrance drifted into the air.
His eyes widened.
Inside rested ten perfectly round Body Tempering Pills.
Their color was deeper, their surface smoother, and even the aroma they released was incomparably richer than any Body Tempering Pill he had ever taken.
Lin Zhaowen stared blankly at the pills.
Although he did not know how to judge the grade of medicinal pills...
Even someone with no knowledge of alchemy could tell that these were extraordinary.
He slowly looked back at Lin Zhaoyue.
"You... Young Miss..."
Lin Zhaoyue folded her arms behind her back.
"Those are your first month’s wages. Don’t waste them. If you can’t even break through to the Qi Refinement Realm after taking those..."
She smiled teasingly.
"I might have to reconsider whether my investment was worthwhile."
Lin Zhaowen immediately tightened his grip around the jade bottle.
His eyes shone with determination.
"I won’t let you down, Young Miss. I’ll definitely enter the Qi Refinement Realm."
Lin Zhaoyue nodded with satisfaction.
"I’ll be waiting."
Without another word, Lin Zhaowen bowed respectfully before hurrying out of the stable.
He could no longer wait.
Every moment he spent here now felt like a waste of time.
Watching his departing figure, Lin Zhaoyue quietly smiled.
With Lin Zhaowen taken care of, she dusted off her sleeves and left the stables.
Her next destination was Lin Zhaohao’s courtyard.
Compared to Lin Zhaowen, Lin Zhaohao’s talent was slightly inferior.
Even so, he was still considered one of the more promising disciples among the younger generation.
Given enough resources, breaking into the Qi Refinement Realm was only a matter of time.
If she wanted the Lin Family to grow as quickly as possible, there was no reason to overlook him.
As she walked through the clan grounds, a smile slowly spread across her face.
If I can raise enough Qi Refinement Realm cultivators before the next biannual clan assessment...
The Lin Family might really have a chance to advance to Rank Eight.
The thought alone made her steps noticeably lighter as she continued toward Lin Zhaohao’s residence.
As Lin Zhaoyue made her way toward Lin Zhaohao’s courtyard, she noticed a young boy standing quietly outside one of the nearby residences.
Lin Zhaoyue’s brows furrowed.
His complexion was pale, his breathing weak, and the spiritual qi within his body was so sparse that it was almost nonexistent.
More importantly, his dantian had been shattered.
Lin Zhaoyue slowed her steps.
"Who are you?"
The boy immediately turned around.
The moment he recognized her, he respectfully cupped his fists and bowed.
"This disciple greets the Young Miss. My name is Lin Zhaofeng."
For a brief moment, Lin Zhaoyue fell silent, she remembered Lin Zhaofeng clearly.
He had already reached the Ninth Layer of the Body Tempering Realm in two months despite only having a grade two martial spirit.
There was no way he should have fallen to this state.
"Who did this to you?"
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