nChapter 11: A Thousand Silver Each Time

nTranslator:

/ KurazyTolanzuraytor Editor: Lucas

nLi Rou wanted to help Fifth Elder out of his current situation, but although willing, she was powerless to render her assistance.

nOver the years, she had spent all of her money on purchasing medicinal materials to help her son strengthen his constitution.

nCombined with her son’s recent expenditures on medicinal materials for the Seven Treasures Body Tempering Liquid, all of her savings only amounted to a bit over one hundred silver.

n“What’s wrong, Fifth Elder? Don’t you dare to bet with Seventh Elder?”

nSixth Elder Li Ping laughed with a complacent expression.

nJust as Li Ting was about to ask the other elders for a loan.

n“Seventh Elder, I’ll take you up on that five hundred silver bet!”

nA voice sounded from afar.

nFollowing this voice came a young couple walking together hand in hand.

nThe one who spoke earlier was the youth.

nThe youth had sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes; he was extremely handsome with a graceful bearing.

nIt was indeed Duan Ling Tian!

n“Ninth Elder, after spending most of your money on your son in these years, could it be that you still have five hundred silver left?”

nSeventh Elder Li Kun ridiculed while take a deep glance at Li Rou.

nLi Rou’s eyebrows creased slightly and she sighed lightly in her heart.

n“Greetings, Patriarch, Grand Elder, and all Elders.”

nDuan Ling Tian walked up the high platform while holding Ke Er’s hand and lightly bowed to the Li family higher-ups.

nPatriarch Li Nan Feng glanced at Duan Ling Tian with an expression of shock. The last time he saw him was a month ago.

nAt that time, Li Rou was in a rage and was punishing Seventh Elder’s son, Li Xin.

nAt that time, Duan Ling Tian was just a sickly person.

nBut Duan Ling Tian seemed like a completely different person now!

n“Third level of the Body Tempering stage…Duan Ling Tian, you actually broke through to the third level of the Body Tempering stage!”

nWhen Li Nan Feng instinctively checked up on Duan Ling Tian’s cultivation, his pupils shrank and his face had an expression of disbelief.

nLin Nan Feng’s shocked exclamation was like a rock falling into a pool and causing a thousand waves.

nInstantly, everyone on the platform had their gazes on Duan Ling Tian.

nAfter a brief moment, everyone on the platform except for Li Rou and Li Ting had expressions of disbelief.

n“If memory serves me right, a month ago when he was severely injured by Li Xin, he wasn’t even a martial artist yet!”

n“In only one month, this Duan Ling Tian went from being from an ordinary person to completing body tempering and subsequently reached the third level of the Body Tempering stage….I’m not seeing things, am I?”

n“You’re not seeing things; he really is at the third level of the Body Tempering stage. Seems like he must have obtained some fortuitous gain!”

n……

nIncluding Seventh Elder, most of the Elders were all struck dumb.

nThe scene in front of them was something that took them quite a while to react to.

nGrand Elder Li Huo opened his eyes and looked at Duan Ling Tian with an intrigued expression.

nLi Kun drew in a breath of cold air.

nDuan Ling Tian breaking through to the third level of the Body Tempering stage was something that exceeded his expectations.

nHowever, once he thought about the difference between the third level and the fourth level of the Body Tempering stage, he felt at ease once again.

nIn his opinion, whether Duan Ling Tian was at the second level or the third level of the Body Tempering stage made no difference to his son Li Jie

n“Duan Ling Tian, you said earlier that you’re willing to bet five hundred silver with me?”

nLi Kun looked at Duan Ling Tian as he asked.

n“Yes.”

nDuan Ling Tian nodded.

n“But to the best of my knowledge, Ninth Elder has spent most of her money on you in the past few years, so I’m afraid her savings are not enough to amount to five hundred silver.”

nLi Kun said.

nHis face had a complacent expression as he waited for Duan Ling Tian to yield.

n“You’re right, my family really can’t gather five hundred silver.”

nDuan Ling Tian nodded.

nThe financial situation of his family was something that even he knew about.

nIt was also for this reason that he wanted to cheat Li Kun of his five hundred silver.

n“Duan Ling Tian, the bet between me, Fifth Elder, and Sixth Elder are done using presently available money. The money must be passed over to the Patriarch so that he may bear witness….If you think you can make a bet without actually having the money to back it up, you are wrong.”

nLi Kun smiled mockingly.

n“Did I say I was going to place the bet without having the money first? Do you think I am like you?”

nDisdainfully glancing at Li Kun and ignoring his eyes that were seemingly flaming, Duan Ling Tian let go of the young girl’s hand and lightly said, “Ke Er, go to my mother.”

nThe young girl cleverly nodded and went to stand beside Li Rou.

n“Ninth Elder, you have such good fortune!”

nSome of the elders glanced at the young girl and congratulated Li Rou one after the other.

nAll of them noticed that the young girl would grow up to be a drop dead gorgeous beauty on par with Li Rou.

nLi Rou smiled in response to the elders’ congratulations.

nBeside her, the young girl’s face had long ago flushed red from embarrassment.

n<“What is Tian planning to do?”>

nWatching her son going against Seventh Elder Li Kun, Li Rou’s eyes flashed with a sliver of doubt.

nIt was getting tougher to understand her son.

n“Then let me see how you, Duan Ling Tian, produce five hundred silver today. If I’m not wrong, even Fifth Elder isn’t able to produce another five hundred silver .”

nLi Kun glanced at Duan Ling Tian in disdain.

nJust when Li Ting was about to take out his last three hundred silver, Duan Ling Tian’s reply not only interrupted his actions but also caused him to have an astounded expression on his face.

n“Don’t worry, Seventh Elder, I’m not planning on borrowing money from Fifth Elder….”

nSaid Duan Ling Tian, under gazes of disbelief from the Li family higher ups. He then walked to the front of Grand Elder.

n“Grand Elder, I know that because you usually have to cultivate and refine medicine, your body probably has many hidden injuries….How bout I help give you a massage and then you give me five hundred silver as payment. What say you?”

nDuan Ling Tian looked at Li Huo and faintly smiled.

n“Tian, don’t cause trouble!”

nLi Rou’s face distorted.

nIn the Li family, Grand Elder’s status was even above the Patriarch. Seeing her son being conceited in front of the Grand Elder, she felt angry and worried.

nHidden injuries?

nGrand Elder was a Grade Nine Alchemist; if he really had any hidden injuries, he would have treated himself already.

nJust when the Patriarch and all the higher ups were expecting Grand Elder to be furious.

n“You want five hundred silver only for giving me a massage? Kid, you really know how to demand an exorbitant price.”

nLi Huo glanced at Duan Ling Tian with an intrigued expression, lightly smiling.

n“Grand Elder, how about I give you the massage first….After it’s done, you judge the effect yourself and pay me according to how much you think it’s worth.”

nDuan Ling Tian made nothing of what Li Huo had said.

nHearing what Duan Ling Tian said aroused Li Huo’s interest.

n“OK, I’m curious about what you’re capable of, kid.”

nThe only reason he agreed was because Duan Ling Tian had changed so much in the past month.

nIn one month’s time, breaking through to the third level of the Body Tempering stage from an ordinary person was something truly unbelievable.

nAs a Grade Nine Alchemist, he was well aware.

nA normal person would be unable to completely transform into a third level Body Tempering martial artist in a mere month’s time even if that person had an unending supply of body tempering medicinal pills.

nThe present Duan Ling Tian was covered in mystery.

nMoreover, his body really did have hidden injuries which had worried him for all these years, so he wanted to give Duan Ling Tian’s massage a try.

nSeeing Duan Ling Tian standing behind Li Huo and placing his hand on his shoulders, most of the Li family elders had odd expressions on their faces.

nThey thought that Ninth Elder’s son was dreaming. If a casual massage could really earn five hundred silver, they would resign from being elders to go be masseuses.

nSeeing this scene, the corner of Li Kun’s mouth curled into a cold smile.

nNot respecting hierarchy and playing tricks on the Grand Elder!

nNot only would Grand Elder be furious, it would also be a crime against the Li family!

nIn his opinion, Duan Ling Tian was out of luck.

nLi Jie and the surrounding Li family disciples in the Martial Arts Practice Hall were unable to hear what was said on the high platform, so they did not know what was happening.

nSeeing Duan Ling Tian standing behind Grand Elder and giving him a massage, their eyes nearly dimmed and they almost blacked out!

nWhat was Duan Ling Tian doing? Did he think that giving a massage to the Grand Elder would make the Grand Elder bestow him with the strength to defeat Li Jie?

n“F**K! What is this Duan Ling Tian doing?!”

n“Instead of getting into the arena as soon as he arrived, he’s busy flattering the elders. Is he trying to win favor from the Grand Elder because he’s worried that Li Jie will beat him up too badly?”

n“I think you’re right. Seems like the only possible explanation.”

n……

nDuan Ling Tian’s action caused anger in the masses.

n“Grand Elder, while I’m massaging, please don’t circulate your Origin Energy.”

nSaid Duan Ling Tian to Li Huo. Using force in his hands, he started kneading Li Huo’s shoulders….

nAt this moment, a segment of memories flashed by in his mind.

nThis segment of memories belonged to Rebirth Martial Emperor; it was a very ingenious massaging technique. This technique was made to treat the side effects present on the bodies of low-grade alchemists.

nJust now when he saw Grand Elder for the first time, Duan Ling Tian noticed from the light black spot between his eyebrows that he was suffering from side effects.

nThis kind of side effect usually presented itself on low-grade alchemist who had to research the methods of refining medicine by themselves.

nUsually these side effects would not cause any discomfort, but when the alchemist circulates Origin Energy, there will be some pain in the body. On rare occasions, this pain would hurt so badly that it would feel like a knife was being twisted inside one’s heart and living would be no better than dying.

nDuan Ling Tian learned all of this from Rebirth Martial Emperor’s memories.

nRebirth Martial Emperor, being a formidable alchemist himself, had researched the art of refining medicine to mastery, so there was nothing he wasn’t capable of.

nAbruptly, the movement of Duan Ling Tian’s hands that were kneading Li Huo’s shoulders increased in speed!

nLi Huo’s expression changed from being tranquil and he started to tremble.

nSoon after, he clenched his teeth with a ferocious expression on his face as if he was dealing with extremely intense pain.

nThe Li family higher-ups on the platform all felt chills go down their spines….

nHow painful could it be to cause the formidable Grand Elder to have such an expression?

nFifteen minutes later, Duan Ling Tian stopped while sweating heavily.

n“Hu!”

nAt this moment, Li Huo spat out a mouthful of foul air. After slowly opening hi eyes, they shone like there was an array of stars inside. He seemed as if he had grown ten years younger.

nOrigin Energy was circulating smoothly throughout his body, causing him to feel a pleasant feeling like never before!

nIn the past, circulating his Origin Energy would reopen his hidden injuries, but at this moment it seemed as if those hidden injuries had disappeared.

n“Grand Elder, you still need to receive two more massages after this to fully treat the hidden injuries on your body. Now, how do you feel, Grand Elder? How much do you think you should give me as payment?”

nDuan Ling Tian smiled faintly.

nLi Huo laughed loudly, readily taking out a bunch of silver bills.

n“Take one thousand silver for now. Later on, each time you give me a massage, I’ll give you a thousand more like this time….What say you?”

n