Chapter 67: The Mysterious Man
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Did this representative of Leng Clan really defeat the Spirit Cultivating Seventh Realm martial artist with one move?”
The crowd stared in disbelief at the man’s partially concealed face. Ye Mo knew that his silence was all they needed to hear, as today’s results had proved his competence.
After several moments of silence, one of the clan leaders exclaimed, “Leng Clan will most certainly thrive and prosper with this wonderful martial artist in their family!”
Initially, Leng Fubo had mixed feelings about Ye Mo, but when he saw the excitement in Leng Leng’s face, his inscrutable face broke into a smile. Leng Leng had a good eye indeed.
“Ye Mo, how are you so powerful?” Leng Leng gushed, hugging Ye Mo’s arm excitedly.
“Don’t ask how, this is my secret. Just know that we are friends,” answered Ye Mo.
“Only friends?” mumbled Leng Leng, a hint of disappointment in her voice. So all that was a lie. He only had the Scavenger Hunt on his mind. It sure felt nice though, thought Leng Leng.
Voyage of the Dragon was beautifully executed, Ye Mo’s best rendition of it yet. In the face of the power of the dragon, any martial artist in Spirit Cultivating Seventh Realm or even Spirit Cultivating Eighth Realm would have to take a step back.
With the duel out of the way, Ye Mo had secured a spot in the Scavenger Hunt. The next step was to show up on the day of and head into the Enchanted Cave to start foraging for the Mo Clan resources.
In the remaining two days leading up to the Scavenger Hunt, he planned to stay at the Leng Clan Complex. Leng Leng prepared a room for Ye Mo, and after chatting for a while, she left him to his own devices.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Ye Mo pondered about the Scavenger Hunt. As he grew up in Ye Clan, he knew of the potential that existed within there, including martial artists under 20 years old who were in Spirit Cultivating Ninth Realm.
As Qin Clan was the chief clan in Limestone City, naturally, there would be skillful martial artists that were in Spirit Cultivating Ninth Realm.
With Ye Mo’s current skills, he could possibly take down an enemy in Spirit Cultivating Eighth Realm, yet if faced with an enemy in Spirit Cultivating Ninth Realm, the chances of winning would become extremely slim.
The strength of a Spirit Cultivating Ninth Realm martial artist was equivalent to 18 stones, so unless Ye Mo could awaken another four dragons, even if he unleashed all his dragons, it would still be insufficient.
Unfortunately, his powers had only upgraded very recently. Coupled with the fact that Yuanli for the Rising Dragon Pillar was not overly abundant, purely relying on the atmospheric Yuan Chi would take ages before more Dragon Power could be awoken.
“Wanting to power up within a short period of time is almost impossible!” sighed Ye Mo as he opened his eyes.
“Big brother Ye Mo, once you learn the Sealing Arts and how to use seals proficiently in battle, defeating a Spirit Cultivating Ninth Realm martial artist will be a piece of cake!”
“Seals?” Ye Mo’s face lit up. How could he forget about this treasure residing within his Energy Center?
“Ling’er, I nearly forgot about you after we returned from Spirit Valley. Tell me, what is this wonderful seal that you talk about?”
Ye Mo had only ever used one Body Seal, which was on the Gates of his two legs. Although it increased his speed tremendously, the associated Yuanli cost was also incredibly large. Since he possessed Dragon Power, he could afford that cost, but for an average martial artist, maintaining the Yuanli would be very difficult.
Ling’er sat on the piece of parchment and said smugly, “Your face tells me that you have obviously never been exposed to the Sealing Arts. Well, in short, sealing artists use their Yuanli to inscribe patterns onto special parchment. It may sound simple, but not many martial artists can do it, mainly because it requires excellent control of one’s Yuanli as well as Spirit Energy.”
There were a grand total of three sealing artists in Limestone City: one from Qin Clan, one from Ye Clan, and Xiao Yue.
Ye Mo knew nothing about the elusive sealing artist in Ye Clan, except for the fact that he or she would seclude themself, dedicating their time to research. He knew that Xiao Yue mainly worked on Battle Seals and was capable of crafting Beast Seals, subduing beasts to do her bidding and partner in battle.
On the other hand, the other two sealing artists both specialized in Utility Seals and were capable of crafting seals that had a variety of special purposes, such as the Seal of Cloud and Thunder he saw at Hundred Treasure Pavilion earlier on and the Seal of Lightning given to him by Xiao Yue.
“Sealing artists can be categorized into six types, including: Attack Seals, Defense Seals, Body Seals, Beast Seals, Encapsulation Seals, and Illusion Seals. The former three are easier to craft, whereas the latter three are relatively more difficult. You should try to craft the easier ones first.”
“What should I do?” asked Ye Mo. Learning new knowledge filled him with a burning curiosity, especially since he knew that his performance in battle would improve with the aid of seals. He could just imagine himself bringing out a powerful seal from his Dimensional Bracelet. Victory would be imminent.
“You’re still an amateur, but I’ll teach you an effective seal, Blazing Seal!”
After six hours of patient coaching by Ling’er, Ye Mo could finally grasp the basics of crafting seals, as well as the procedure in crafting Blazing Seal.
The first step to crafting Blazing Seal was to obtain a fire-based Heart-stone. Secondly, it was important to obtain special parchment on which the seal would be inscribed. Sealing parchment was not any plain paper, but rather, it was created from the piece of fascia between the skin and muscles of Beasts. The corpse of a Spirit Cultivating Realm Beast could yield about three pieces, but it largely depended on the size of the Beast as well.
Sealing parchment was not cheap, and if the inscription process failed, the sealing parchment could not be reused. Therefore, the costs associated with crafting seals were rather high.
“Surely, the Hundred Treasure Pavilion sells sealing parchment!”
Without missing a beat, Ye Mo left the Leng Clan Complex and made his way towards the Hundred Treasure Pavilion. As he entered the shop, the sight of Xiao Yue with another man greeted him. The man’s face was partially concealed in a mask, his violet eyes murky with hatred and murderous intent. For some strange reason, Ye Mo found this man slightly familiar, as if he had seen him before.
Seeing the two standing so closely together caused great displeasure in Ye Mo, nd his face instantly turned an ugly shade of green, full of envy. Even Ye Mo himself did not realize the reason behind this.
Noticing Ye Mo entering, Xiao Yue walked towards him and said, smiling sweetly, “Ye Mo, how come you’re here?”
“Why can’t I be here? And who’s that? Why is he with you, where’s he from?” said Ye Mo, his voice sharp with irritation.
Sensing Ye Mo’s irritation, Xiao Yue held back a smile and said, “This is Wu Qing. He is the external aid Xiao Clan hired for tomorrow’s Scavenger Hunt.”
“Yue Yue, this guy gives me the creeps, especially since I don’t know where he’s from. I suggest you be wary of him, but luckily I’ll be there tomorrow, so you know you’ll be safe with me around!” said Ye Mo.
“Miss Xiao Yue, is this the Ye Mo you mentioned to me earlier? How arrogant, how could he suspect me! Today, you will see the true extent of my powers!” said the masked man. A cloud of purple, toxic gas formed between his palms, taking the shape of a giant hand, hurtling towards Ye Mo’s head.