True Martial World - Chapter 180: Dragon Rune Ranking

"Simple…"

Facing the young ladies' inquiry on how he found the Meteorite Grass, Yi Yun gave an indifferent look as if it was not an issue at all.

"Of course I won't be able to cut every rock open. But Meteorite Grass can be found inside meteorites. I happen to know meteorites well. There may be many rocks in the Tai Ah Divine City's herb mountain, but there are few meteorites. I just opened every meteorite up."

"You know what meteorites are?" The young ladies asked again. They only had a vague concept of things like meteorites and they were not sure what it was because they were still young.

Yi Yun said, "Meteorites may look the same on the surface as normal rocks, but there is actually a difference. When a meteorite is falling, the heat bearing on it is extremely high. It will burn and melt in the Heaven Earth Yuan Qi, forming a molten shell on its surface. And it is shiny and glossy black, which makes it different from other rocks. Also, it falls at an extremely high speed, thus, it burns through a path of Heaven Earth Yuan Qi, leaving behind a texture of being blown on by Heaven Earth Yuan Qi when it cools. Although it is not obvious, you can look for this 'wind pattern'."

Yi Yun began to speak at random. He came up with a random story which wasn't entirely clear. Based on the knowledge he had of meteorites in his past life coupled with his own imagination, it sounded amazing.

However, validating the story was not easy. Distinguishing meteorites was like appraising jade. It was not something someone could learn after hearing a few words. Every meteorite was different. The characteristics he mentioned could be found in some kinds of meteorites, so he was not exactly speaking nonsense.

Even if someone proved that he was speaking nonsense in the future, there were no rules against speaking nonsense. There was always competition among the geniuses in the Tai Ah Divine City; hence, others would think he was making up nonsense so he would not share his secrets with others.

Sure enough, Zhao Qingcheng and company believed him. Even Wang could not find fault with Yi Yun's words that sounded reasonable. Wang had not done any research on meteorites as a warrior.

"Brother Yi Yun sure is great. You can even find a meteorite amongst all of those stones…" The thirteen-year-old girl was looking at Yi Yun with sparkles in her eyes.

She wanted to accompany Yi Yun while he picked herbs. However, according to the rules of the Tai Ah Divine City, warriors had to be alone while picking herbs. It was to prevent them from privately exchanging herbs.

If not, by combining 20-30 people's worth of herbs all to one person, one could easily break the record.

Yi Yun began to take out all sort of numerous herbs. After counting each one and drying the low-grade Yellow-ranked herbs, Wang quickly counted Yi Yun's actual harvest: 208 dragon scale runes.

"208…"

The few girls behind Yi Yun drew in a cold breath of air. Although they had already guessed in their hearts, they were still shocked when the number came out.

It was ridiculous. They had been arduously picking herbs all these days just to pay the bank loan. And that loan was only 200 dragon scale runes.

The amount of dragon scale runes the four of them borrowed was earned by Yi Yun in a day!

It was really an exasperating comparison…

"Your luck sure isn't bad. You might have some skill after all." After keeping Yi Yun's herbs, Wang used her slender eyes to size up Yi Yun, "It's no wonder you asked so much about breaking records. Some confidence you have there! Alright, bring your token here!"

Back when Yi Yun entered his residence, Baldy Qin had issued him the token. The front of the token was filled with inscriptions and on the back were the words "Divine Wilderness".

Each token was inscribed with 10 dragon scale runes at the beginning. Yi Yun's token was no different.

After taking over the token from him, Wang used her spirit to imprint something within. After a few seconds, some thickly-dotted golden sparkling runes flew from her token to Yi Yun's token. It was like a bunch of tiny golden bees.

Zhao Qingcheng and company looked by the sidelines. Those golden runes made them envious!

After Yi Yun's token absorbed all the dragon scale runes, golden lines appeared on the surface. They were like dragon scales, and extremely beautiful.

"Thanks." Yi Yun grinned, taking his token back. At this rate, in about four or five days, he would be able to accumulate enough dragon scale runes to enter the Wilderness Divine Hall.

"This… Little Brother Yi Yun…" Just as Yi Yun was prepared to leave the jobs office, Zhao Qingcheng called out to Yi Yun with a flushed face.

"Oh? What's the matter?" Yi Yun looked at Zhao Qingcheng and from the way she wished to say something, Yi Yun guessed what it was about.

"About this…"

"You want to borrow runes?" Yi Yun hit the nail on the head, making Zhao Qingcheng feel extremely awkward.

After all, she was not familiar with Yi Yun, so it was not easy to ask to borrow dragon scale runes.

In the Tai Ah Divine City, loans between cultivators were not protected by the officials of the Divine City. There were no terms of conditions or anything. In a nutshell, the divine city did not support the borrowing of dragon scale runes among cultivators.

What the Tai Ah Divine City supported were fair trade and gambling fights! If one wanted returns, they had to prove their strength. There was no such thing as reaping without sowing.

To borrow dragon scale runes, one had to borrow from the bank. With an interest rate of 12-15%, very few people dared to take out a loan, because it was easy to fall into an abyss of debt.

As for the private loans between warriors, the divine city had no way of interfering. Of course, one had to be prepared that the other party might not return it.

Besides, no one was rich in dragon scale runes and everyone had to pinch their every penny. To borrow from others?

Difficult!

"About this… We just want to return the loan from the bank. We just need thirty dragon scale runes, no… just twenty would do, is it possible…?" Zhao Qingcheng said with her face flushed and she no longer had any clout in her words.

Yesterday, she had asked if Yi Yun wanted to become an associate member of the Luohuo Association. Also, she said that she would protect Yi Yun if he ever needed help.

But today, she wanted to borrow dragon scale runes from Yi Yun. Not only was she not protecting Yi Yun, he had ended up protecting her.

Upon recalling the words she said yesterday, Zhao Qingcheng was ashamed and embarrassed.

"Twenty…" Yi Yun knitted his brows. To him, this was nothing. At his speed of making about 200 dragon scale runes a day, he could enter the Wilderness Divine Hall in five days. Lending Zhao Qingcheng 20 dragon scale runes would not affect the time it took for him to enter the Wilderness Divine Hall.

Having met by chance, Yi Yun was under no obligation to help Zhao Qingcheng, but since it was as easy as lifting a finger for him, Yi Yun did not reject it after some thought.

To get to know another person in the divine city would be beneficial. After all, it might be of use in the future.

He asked, "Sister Zhao, I want to ask something. Previously, on the roll of honor, I saw that Luo Huo’er was number one on the Man ranking. But she was ranked rather far back in the Heaven and Earth ranking. What's the matter with the Man ranking?"

"The Man ranking… The Man ranking is dragon scale runes. The amount of dragon scale runes on your token and a number of resources bought from the divine city will be combined to form a rank. Senior Luo is number one on that!"

"But Senior Luo isn't as rich as you think. Senior Luo earns a lot, but she spends a lot as well. She often worries about dragon scale runes… She's a Desolate Heaven Master, and she needs to practice the Desolate Heaven skill, so she needs a sizable amount of dragon scale runes."

"I see…" Yi Yun finally understood. Since the Tai Ah Divine City allowed private trade among the cultivators, as a Desolate Heaven Master, she could earn dragon scale runes quickly. But the practice of the Desolate Heaven skill was very expensive; so although Luo Huo’er was number one on the Man roll of honor, she was not very rich.

It should be said that with the rules set by the Tai Ah Divine City, no one could end up being rich. The dragon scale runes were used to buy resources.

There were many resources in the Tai Ah Divine City that were astronomical in price. No matter how much dragon scale runes one had, it could be easily spent.

"Twenty dragon scale runes, I can lend it to you…"

"Really!? Thank you so much!" Zhao Qingcheng was pleasantly surprised. Yi Yun had been a great help for her this time round.

Yi Yun's dragon scale runes could be used to pay off the month's interest, which was a timely gift.

"I'll return you on the fifth of next month." Zhao Qingcheng said with immense gratitude. She left behind a voice transmission mark with Yi Yun, facilitating their contact in the future.

"Okay." Yi Yun nodded.

After Yi Yun left, Zhao Qingcheng still felt like she was in a dream. This young boy had ridiculous observational power!

"He seems to be as old as me," The young lady from before said helplessly. She was also about twelve years of age, and she subconsciously still felt that she was still a child.

But the things Yi Yun did, was it something that a child could do?

"Yeah… That Yi Yun might one day become a rising star! If we have cordial relations with him, it might perhaps help out our families…"

Zhao Qingcheng began making her calculations. Even if Yi Yun's cultivation level was nothing in the future, just his observational skill would be beneficial. When warriors went to dangerous mystic realms on expeditions, a keen sense and observation could save lives. Partying up with these sort of people was an assuring matter.

True Martial World - Chapter 179: Handing Herbs Over

The one who wants to break the record?

Hearing the way Wang addressed him, Yi Yun nearly choked. This woman sure had a foul mouth. He had only asked a few questions and she was being this sarcastic about it.

But… Alright… Although he did want to break the record, he had not said it out loud.

"Little Brother Yi Yun, it's you."

Zhao Qingcheng looked at Yi Yun and forced a smile. She transmitted her voice, "This woman is a hedgehog. She wants to prick anyone she sees. She's also a metallic rooster made of black iron. She's so stingy that she won't allow you to pluck out even a single feather! You will know once you hand over your herbs today. She will reduce the price of your herbs drastically. Many rookies can't even pay the 25 dragon scale runes rent."

Zhao Qingcheng was full of complaints. She was still worried over the usury.

The few herb-picking girls were all at a loss. To cultivators, dragon scale runes were too precious. They had to pinch every penny to lead their days, wishing they could use one dragon scale rune as two.

"Thank you, Sis Zhao's advice. Why does Sister Wang have such a bad temper?" Yi Yun asked casually.

"Who knows. I heard that she was a cultivator in the Tai Ah Divine City. Then she found another cultivator who she liked and got engaged. Later, due to some mishap, the person she liked died while cultivating. Later on, this Wang woman stayed behind in the Tai Ah Divine City. She's actually very strong but she is not friendly with anyone; hence, she was sent to be in charge of miscellaneous jobs."

"This…" Yi Yun did not expect for this to happen. Hearing this story, he could feel the brutality of cultivating in the Tai Ah Divine City. It was so easy to die.

"Sis has to tell you. Dragon scale runes are very precious. Every dragon scale rune has to be wisely spent. Do not waste them. It's difficult for rookies to earn dragon scale runes. You make about 10 or so a day, and there are many places where you need to use them in the future."

Zhao Qingcheng knew this all too well.

Yi Yun nodded. He felt that although Zhao Qingcheng was never serious with her words, she was still a good person.

At that moment, Wang had already lifted the steelyard, and said to Yi Yun, "Herb picking is the same for rookies and veterans. 25 dragon scale runes, not one less! If there's not enough… then we will have to reduce your dragon scale runes to below zero."

Wang dragged out her tone and played with the pigeon egg-sized weight, knocking it on the table.

"Of course, if you don't want to sleep on the streets, you can choose to be like those debtors and borrow from the bank. As for the interest… for rookies, it's less. Only 12%, but of course it compounds."

While saying this, Wang glanced at Zhao Qingcheng and company. They all turned red with embarrassment. Wang truly had a foul mouth.

Yi Yun was nonchalant upon hearing Wang's words. He placed his herb basket onto the table.

Wang uncovered the cloth covering the basket and reached in to pull out the herbs.

But, with a grab, a strange expression appeared on Wang's face.

Having been in the herb-picking office for so long, she was extremely sensitive to herbs. With that reach, she could feel something amiss. Upon looking at the basket, she gave an odd look.

She flipped the herb basket and her face gradually froze.

"Oh?"

Zhao Qingcheng and company also noticed Wang's expression and were curious about what had happened.

"These… were picked by you?"

Wang raised her head and sized Yi Yun up from head to toe as if this was the first time seeing him.

Yi Yun nodded. Zhao Qingcheng and company also came to realize that something had happened. They came over out of curiosity and looked into the basket and were immediately stunned.

"Void Star Flower, Panniu roots. Oh? This is Duskwood Fruit… a treasure among Yellow-ranked herbs, and… what is this…?"

Zhao Qingcheng took out a worm-like object. After looking at it for good while, she recalled the record in the 'Divine Wilderness' book. "This… it can't be! Meteorite Grass?"

Zhao Qingcheng had picked herbs for a long time and she had only encountered a few low-grade Mystic-rank herbs, which were all very common ones among the Mystic-rank herbs.

And Meteorite Grass was a middle-grade Mystic-ranked herb that nearly approached upper-grade Mystic-rank.

Among the middle-grade Mystic-ranked herbs, Meteorite Grass was extremely rare. It was not easy to find one and it was worth a lot. Zhao Qingcheng had never seen the Meteorite Grass in the Tai Ah herb mountain, hence it took a while for her to recognize it.

"Hmph! To pick herbs with that knowledge of yours. You will fail to recognize the herb even if it's in front of you. What's the point of picking!?"

Wang mocked Zhao Qingcheng. Indeed, herbs in the Divine Wilderness were very difficult to find. If one was lucky enough to see one and not recognize it, it would be a great waste.

But, this situation had happened to a lot of cultivators.

Unless one was an alchemist, how would one be able to recognize the various kinds of herbs? Also, the herbs in the Divine Wilderness were different from those in the central plains. Alchemists who did not have enough experience had to learn how to identify herbs on the spot.

Typical cultivators would rely on the records written in the 'Divine Wilderness' book.

But after all, a book was a book. Just from some drawings and description, it was difficult to perfectly describe the different properties of the herbs. It was very common to not recognize one!

It was common for rookies to have dismal results picking herbs. Many herbs were missed due to their ignorance.

In fact, those who could recognize most of the herbs from the herb mountains’ thousands of species of plants using just a book's record were abnormal!

And now, Yi Yun was one of those abnormal people in Zhao Qingcheng's mind.

In the Tai Ah Divine City's herbal mountain, many of the grass, shrubs, woods, and plants all looked similar to herbs. It was not easy to distinguish which was which!

Many rookies had situations when they picked the wrong plant. Many spirit plants had some spirit gathered within it, making it look like a herb.

Also, many herbs could hide, making it even more difficult to find them.

For Yi Yun to pick so many herbs on his first time was ridiculous!

"This Void Star Flower… How did you find it?"

Void Star Flower could hide by transforming to make itself look like a tree. Zhao Qingcheng had not picked a Void Star Flower in all of her months here.

"Oh… Doesn't the 'Divine Wilderness' book say… A Void Star Flower will make itself look like a tree. But the tree it creates will have a speckled texture. Like when clouds clear, leaving behind a void of star-like water droplets, hence the reason for its name."

Hearing Yi Yun's explanation, Zhao Qingcheng looked at Yi Yun as if she had seen a freak.

Of course, Zhao Qingcheng knew how the Void Star Flower got its name and how to distinguish the fake tree made by a Void Star Flower and other plants.

But!

How small were the water droplets left behind after the clouds clear?

In the Tai Ah Divine City's herbal mountain, it was filled with trees and it would take a day to travel through it. At the speed a warrior traveled, they would see tens of thousands of trees. Who would notice that a single tree had some sparkles? Especially when the sparkles were about the size of a pinhole!

How did Yi Yun get those eyes!?

Zhao Qingcheng could not believe it.

The four girls crowded around Yi Yun. Yi Yun could not stand it, "Uh… Why are you surrounding me like that… Uh, you are even drooling."

Yi Yun saw that a girl his age was drooling while looking at the Meteorite Grass in Zhao Qingcheng's hands while standing beside her.

"Eh?" That thirteen-year-old girl quickly wiped her mouth and smiled sheepishly.

This Meteorite Grass was worth 80 dragon scale runes. It was a treasure. They were going mad from being poor, and they naturally wanted it.

And standing beside the Meteorite Grass, they could smell its milky scent, which was very appetizing.

"That… Brother Yi Yun, how did you find this Meteorite Grass?"

The young girl was a family friend of Zhao Qingcheng. She had just come to the Tai Ah Divine City and was following Zhao Qingcheng after being taken under her care.

But clearly, Zhao Qingcheng was not doing too well in the Tai Ah Divine City. She could only give limited care to this girl. At most, she could introduce the various rules and bring her around.

When this young girl asked the question, everyone looked at Yi Yun. Although the Void Star Flower was difficult to find, it at least had some defining characteristics. It was no wonder Yi Yun could find it if he had ridiculous observational powers.

But for Meteorite Grass, it hid within stones and could not be seen from the surface. Only upon cleaving a rock open would one see it. But there were more rocks than trees in the Tai Ah Divine City's herb mountain! How could you cleave open so many?

True Martial World - Chapter 178: The one who wants to break the record

Yi Yun had originally intended to pick a few herbs on his first day. It would be too amazing if he had picked hundreds of herbs on his first day. After all, it would arouse the suspicions and doubts of others if Yi Yun carried on picking so many herbs in the future.

Zhong Yi's record was due to the quality of herbs he picked, not the quantity.

With a keen perception and a certain amount of luck, it was not surprising to pick exquisite herbs. Just by picking a few herbs that were worth a thousand dragon scale runes, one could easily get tens of thousands dragon scale runes.

Hence, it was reasonable to break the record this way.

If he did not use this method and broke the record in terms of quantity by picking ten to twenty times more herbs, then something would be amiss.

Hence, Yi Yun wanted to win according to the quality of herbs he picked, not the quantity. There had to be a gradual process in breaking the record.

After collecting these herbs, Yi Yun began to concentrate on training his movement skills.

He practiced for most of the day. While practicing his movement skills, Yi Yun still managed to find some herbs here and there. After some hesitation, Yi Yun also plucked these herbs.

One of the Yellow-ranked herbs he picked was a Duskwood Fruit. The divine city exchanged it for 50 dragon scale runes.

This Duskwood Fruit was one of the best herbs among the Yellow-ranked herbs. It was worth even more than some of the low-grade Mystic-ranked herbs.

Today's harvest was estimated to be about 200 dragon scale runes, an amount seven or eight times more than what a normal cultivator could gather!

Yi Yun touched his nose guiltily and smiled helplessly. He had accidentally picked more than 200 dragon scale runes. It was considered pretty good for a typical rookie to pick about 30 dragon scale runes worth that was barely enough to pay the rent.

By slowly accumulating experience, one was able to pick about 40-50 dragon scale runes worth of herbs.

To pick 200 in his first day was somewhat exaggerated.

But upon careful thought, compared to Zhong Yi who left the record of 19,000, he was still inferior. Zhong Yi's average returns each day was above 300 dragon scale runes. That was every day!

That number was quite amazing!

For Zhong Yi to pick so many highly ranked herbs, it clearly could not be explained by mere luck alone.

Of course, picking herbs needed luck. Picking a Heaven-ranked herb due to luck was not surprising. But luck was not something that was unlimited. One or two lucky days was possible, but not every single day.

"Senior Zhong Yi must have had some keen perception or some other advantage. He must have had some special ability to leave behind such a record…"

In this world, there was a very tiny number of people who had sharp natural instincts. Some people could observe their surroundings and remember every detail of the scene, such as the position of each blade of grass. These people were like alert animals. It was very difficult to sneak up on them.

This intuition might not bring much to a person's fighting strength; but, if they entered a dangerous mystic realm, this intuition would often save their lives.

Yi Yun believed that Zhong Yi was such a person.

With Zhong Yi's record, it should not attract too much attention if he picked 200 dragon scale runes worth of herbs. People would just shrug it off as luck.

In the evening, when Yi Yun saw the setting red sun, he spat out a mouthful of foul air and sat down to meditate.

When the sun completely set, Yi Yun arranged his herbs and went through the teleportation array back to the Tai Ah Divine City.

Besides his harvest of herbs, Yi Yun could clearly feel that the Flowing Mercury Gown that weighed 200 cauldrons had been forging his body during his herb-picking journey. It made his body better and allowed him to absorb the primordial strain's energy perfectly. At the same time, under the huge pressure, he had managed to gain better control of his strength, allowing him to have a deeper understanding of the large success stage of Minute Subtlety.

Upon returning to the job office, Yi Yun saw a bunch of girls with herb baskets handing over their herbs.

These herb-picking girls, regardless of origin, wore coarse clothes in the Tai Ah Divine City. They did not put on any make-up, making them look like simple village girls. It was a breath of fresh air.

"Sister Wang, you are pressing too hard with the steelyard! I'm already unable to afford my meals. Why do you make things difficult for me?" wheedled a young girl with a pettishly charming voice.

However, Wang was basically immune to it. With a foot-long rod, a pigeon egg-sized weight, and a shiny plate, she measured the weight of the herbs.

The herbs handed over by the girl was placed into a moisture-removing array by Wang before its weight was measured. The herbs' weight was checked by Wang, and it would not be a big deal if she made some tiny changes to the number she recorded. But she was incorruptible and mean, so no one could gain any advantage from her.

"Next."

Wang impatiently waved and ignored the petulant young girl.

The young girl stuck out her tongue and retreated. Behind her were a few of the girls that Yi Yun had met here earlier.

The head of these girls was Zhao Qingcheng, and they were all from the Luohuo Association.

Zhao Qingcheng saw Yi Yun at the outset, but she did not greet him this time.

"Low-grade Yellow-ranked herbs, 545 grams. Rounding down to the nearest 50 grams, it will be counted as 500. A total of 100 dragon scale runes!" Wang deftly kept her steelyard. She rattled off a string of words rapidly. It was impossible to tell what she said without listening carefully.

In fact, with Wang’s cultivation level and keen perception, she could accurately tell the weight of the herbs using her hand. But she liked to use the steelyard to measure because by sliding the scale back and forth, it also tugged on the heartstrings of many cultivators.

"95 grams…"

Hearing this number, the jovial Zhao Qingcheng could no longer smile.

Typically, only middle-grade Yellow-ranked and above herbs would be computed one by one. Most of the low-grade Yellow-ranked herbs were all mixed together and dried using an array and given 10 dragon scale runes for every 50 grams.

By rounding down the last 45 grams, it made her heart ache!

She just needed 5 more grams!

Although low-grade Yellow-ranked herbs were not valuable, they were their main source of income for these herb-picking girls. The higher grade herbs were too difficult to find. For example, Yi Yun's Meteorite Grass was hiding inside a rock. Only by cutting open the rock could one see it. Who else could find something like that?

Zhao Qingcheng's little group had four girls. With all their middle-grade and upper-grade herbs, their days' combined revenue was 166 dragon scale runes.

Subtracting the 100 dragon scale runes rent, there was only 66 left, averaging to about 15-16 dragon scale runes per person.

This income was terrible…

"Ai, why the hell didn't I pick one more herb. Just a few leaves would make up 5 grams…"

Zhao Qingcheng heart chagrined. She looked at Wang and persisted, "Sister Wang, I'm just short of 5 grams to reach 550 grams. Just let it pass. Do you know, Sister Wang, we had found an extremely good elixir a few days ago. And the price was reasonable and it's perfect for us sisters to use. We grit our teeth and borrowed 200 dragon scale runes from the divine city's bank and together with our savings, we bought the elixir. This loan has a 15% interest rate and the interest compounds. If we can't return it in three months, all of us will be sleeping on the street."

"Seeing that it's nearly the end of the month…We are just short of the 200 dragon scale runes. If we have enough, we can return it. If we can't return it, we still need to pay a month's interest! What do you…"

As Zhao Qingcheng said it, she stared at Wang with a watery, wide-eyed, appealingly innocent gaze and fluttered her eyelashes.

Wang had put down her steelyard and was about to lift up her precious mirror. She did not even raise her head despite hearing Zhao Qingcheng say so much. She adjusted her hair and after a while said coldly, "What has all that crap you said have to do with me?"

Zhao Qingcheng's smile froze. She carried on smiling obsequiously, "Sis Wang's mirror is so exquisite… I say, Sis Wang is so pretty. If I were as pretty as Sis Wang, I'll never part from the mirror."

"Thanks."

Wang accepted Zhao Qingcheng's praise, and then… carried on fiddling with the small mirror in her hand.

She was impenetrable!

Zhao Qingcheng was wrecked. No matter how she counted, there was no way she could pay that sum of dragon scale runes.

15% interest would mean another month of scrimping and saving. If they couldn't return it, they had to sleep on the streets.

It was an absolute disgrace for a bunch of girls to sleep on the street, and looked at by a bunch of male beasts in the Tai Ah Divine City!

Yi Yun heard the conversation between Zhao Qingcheng and Wang.

This was the first time he knew that the Tai Ah Divine City had a bank. So it was possible for people with negative dragon scale runes to maintain a decent living by relying on loans.

But…15% compounded interest meant the bank was pretty much a usury!

By lending 100 dragon scale runes, the next month would be 115, and the following month 132!

Even a lot of usuries were not that bad!

It was no wonder that Zhao Qingcheng was under so much pressure. If they could not return the loan to a usury within the short period of time, it would be nearly impossible in the future. Who would want to keep bearing a high-interest loan during their six years of training? And the interest kept rolling!

Of course, this had nothing to do with Yi Yun. At that moment, Wang put down her mirror and allowed Yi Yun to weigh his herbs.

"Hey, aren't you the one who wants to break the record? What are you standing there for? Hurry and hand them over!"

Wang appeared very impatient. Her expression said to hand over the herbs quickly and go to a corner, don't waste my precious time.

True Martial World - Chapter 177: Meteorite Grass

In the endless Tai Ah Herb Mountain of the Divine Wilderness, a small figure was climbing and jumping in the mountains!

With 200 cauldrons of the Flowing Mercury Gown weighing him down, Yi Yun had to be careful with every step he took. He could not step on mud and he had to step on rocks, or his entire leg would sink into the ground.

In the Divine Wilderness's mountains, there were many rocks, and their hardness was sufficient for supporting Yi Yun's weight.

After stepping on a particular piece of rock, Yi Yun was just about to take the second step when the large granite rock he had rested his weight on flipped over suddenly. It was as if it could not handle the heavy weight Yi Yun possessed, causing it to be pried out of the soil.

This sudden turn of events surprised Yi Yun. With the rock’s flip, his entire body crashed downward.

With 200 cauldrons of weight in the Flowing Mercury Gown, if he did not change the weight in time, falling would be no laughing matter.

If Yi Yun fell on any normal rocks, they would shatter and injure him at the same time.

Despite him about to crash into a large rock, Yi Yun still chose not to change the weight of the Flowing Mercury Gown; instead, he twisted his body in the air and drew out his Thousand Army Saber from his back!

Cha!

The long Thousand Army Saber that rivaled a human's height sliced through the rock wall like tofu. Using this force, Yi Yun swung his body and somersaulted back into the air. With the strength from this backflip, Yi Yun's body, which was about to crash into the ground with his back first, managed to swing to the side.

He was like a lively monkey. After traversing a distance of ten feet and tipping his toes on a rock, Yi Yun regained his stability. But the simple tip of his toes had crushed the rock to pieces.

As a result, Yi Yun finally had enough power to firmly land on top of a boulder.

The series of moves he executed was a result of reaching the threshold of the large success stage of Minute Subtlety. If not, he could only have reduced the weight of the Flowing Mercury Gown while falling off the large rock.

Climbing a mountain with a weight of 200 cauldrons was difficult since he could accidentally crush the rocks he walked on.

Yi Yun was continuously attempting and experimenting. Under all these attempts, he slowly gained more and more precise control of his strength. Each ounce of strength was no more, no less than necessary. It was like he was dancing on the tip of a blade.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Step after step, Yi Yun climbed up the mountain. Each step was swift and cautious.

Every spot he passed by left behind an imprint that resembled a behemoth's footprint. There was a large crater left behind wherever he rested his feet.

Every time he encountered a situation with the rocks he stepped on, Yi Yun would emerge safely through the use of his movement skills.

"Oh?

Yi Yun suddenly realized that there was a shimmering light by a tree a hundred meters away. It was like starlight.

The Purple Crystal within Yi Yun's body began to pulsate slightly, bringing the light's existence to Yi Yun's attention.

With Yi Yun's cultivation level getting higher, his spiritual energy was growing more powerful. It allowed him to now perceive things in a keener manner. Yi Yun could perceive every bit of energy in a hundred-meter radius.

And if there was a primordial strain filled with pure energy in the vicinity, Yi Yun would still be able to detect one even if it were several kilometers away. Yi Yun’s perception was not affected even if the energy was sealed. Of course, being able to perceive sealed energy was one thing. Absorbing it was another!

This was the fantastic vision that the Purple Crystal gave Yi Yun—a world with energy as its building blocks.

Under the guidance of the Purple Crystal, Yi Yun easily found the source of the energy.

Brushing away the shrubs, Yi Yun found a fist-sized flower in between the cracks of a tree trunk.

"Void Star Flower?"

By looking at the flower's colors and the way the petals moved, Yi Yun identified the flower.

When he came to the Tai Ah Divine City, he had read the book 'Divine Wilderness', which had records about the Void Star Flower. It absorbed Heaven Earth Yuan Qi and rain to grow. It was rooted in an ordinary large tree as a parasite.

But this tree was actually no different than the Void Star Flower's own roots. Upon removing the Void Star Flower, the tree would slowly wither away.

In the Divine Wilderness, there were all sorts of treasures that had the ability to hide and protect themselves, if not, they would be easily eaten by desolate beasts or picked by humans.

The Void Star Flower was a high-grade Yellow-ranked herb and he could exchange it for about three dragon scale runes.

"After going so far, all I've found is this high-grade Yellow-ranked Void Star Flower. If it's the other cultivators from the divine city without the Purple Crystal, they can only find herbs by rummaging through grass and stones. Their efficiency at picking herbs will be much lower. To find a dozen Yellow-ranked herbs in a day would be quite amazing. If one were lucky, one or two Mystic-ranked herbs would be a great harvest."

"Low-grade Yellow-ranked herbs can only be exchanged for two dragon scale runes. Mystic-ranked herbs can get a bit more, but it's only around ten dragon scale runes. By this way of counting, a herb-picking cultivator can, at best, receive 40-50 dragon scale runes in a day!"

"But, by choosing the herb-picking job, there is a requirement of handing over at least 25 dragon scale runes of herbs a day. This is firstly a way for the divine city to gain resources, and secondly, to prevent people from being lazy. Once 25 dragon scale runes are deducted, there will be even less!"

No wonder people were reluctant to pick herbs. This was indeed a lonely, boring and dead-end job.

After picking the Void Star Flower, he carried on. By choosing to particularly step on rubble and easy to slip gravel, Yi Yun kept testing his movement skills and his power control.

This naturally slowed down Yi Yun's speed.

A typical herb-picking cultivator would begin searching for herbs upon reaching the herb mountain. They wouldn't have the time to care about anything else. If they could not hand over 25 dragon scale runes, then their dragon scale runes would go in the negative.

Upon reaching negative dragon scale runes for two consecutive days, the divine city would remove the free lodging privileges, causing one to sleep on the streets.

For a warrior, sleeping on the streets was nothing, and not really a punishment, but… it would be extremely shameful.

Those who could come to the Tai Ah Divine City were all prideful people. But to end up being ineligible to live in the divine city's free lodgings to the point of sleeping on the streets would bring great ridicule upon the news traveling back to their family clans. They might as well kill themselves.

Hence, the people who came herb-picking would not dare to skive. But Yi Yun proceeded slowly into the herb mountain. Most of the time, he was practicing his movement skills. As for picking herbs… He did that casually. With the Purple Crystal, he had a 100% efficiency rate.

Soon, Yi Yun's herb basket was filled with a dozen kinds of herbs, mostly of the Yellow-rank.

Yi Yun estimated that the herbs were only worth about 30 dragon scale runes.

"Oh? That is…?"

Yi Yun looked up and discovered that there was a fuzzy energy fluctuation several hundred meters away. The energy fluctuation was more intense than the Yellow-ranked herbs he had previously found.

"It has to be a Mystic-ranked herb."

Yi Yun licked his lips and began using his movement skill to head towards the energy fluctuation like an agile monkey.

Yi Yun interfaced his spiritual energy with the Purple Crystal. From his perspective, there was a huge blob of Heaven Earth Yuan Qi, burning like a fire cluster. It was apparent that there was some spiritual item at its origin.

But when he exited the Purple Crystal's vision, all Yi Yun could see was a black rock. The black rock was rough on the surface and was riddled with tiny potholes. It looked no different than an ordinary rock, with no sign of a herb.

Yi Yun stroked his chin and recalled an entry in the "Divine Wilderness" book. He quickly understood what this rock in front of him was.

Yi Yun drew out his Thousand Army Saber and slashed down!

"Cha!"

With a light sound, the black rock was cut into two!

"So hard! Guess I was right."

Yi Yun's eyes lit up. The Thousand Army Saber was able to cut through metal like mud, and with his strength, even a thick metal wall would be easily cleaved by Yi Yun, not to mention a rock.

Yet, the rock in front of Yi Yun caused numbness in his hands despite him splitting it apart.

This was no ordinary rock, but a meteorite!

"As expected of a meteorite! Due to the falling process, the meteor would turn hot due to the friction with Heaven Earth Yuan Qi, eventually combusting into flames. The fire would burn off any impurities, and Heaven Earth Yuan Qi essence will enter the rock. Through this way of casting, the rock would be on a completely different level than typical metals. It has the same principle as a blacksmith forging metal by striking it tens of millions of times!"

The meteorite that Yi Yun split was smooth and grayish-white on the inside. Within the grayish-white texture, there was a hole the size of a thumb which was very conspicuous.

Yi Yun put his finger into the hole to clasp it and a smile appeared on his face.

He quickly dug out a 'worm' from the hole!

However, this was not a worm, but something known as "Meteorite Grass". It was a tuber-like plant.

Meteorite Grass would send its seeds flying tens of thousands of kilometers away into the vast wilderness, finding a place to root.

It would be attracted by meteorites, especially metallic ones, before landing on the surface of a meteorite.

The Meteorite Grass' seed will then secrete a corrosive liquid and, after a few years, it would slowly bore into the meteorite, taking root!

Then, the Meteorite Grass would be like a worm in an apple. It would slowly crawl and make thumb-sized tunnels within. It would absorb the meteorite's essence that aided its growth!

These sort of amazing plants made Yi Yun sigh. In the Divine Wilderness, there were all sorts of wonders. The lifeforms here exceeded Yi Yun's past knowledge.

"Meteorite Grass! Middle-grade Mystic-ranked herb. As there aren’t that many, it wasn’t easy to find. The Tai Ah Divine City's manual says that this can be exchanged for 82 dragon scale runes!"

After Yi Yun began practicing martial arts, his memory had become extremely good. He had already memorized all the dragon scale runes rewards within the manual.

Mystic-ranked herbs began at ten dragon scale runes. Based on the herb's value, a few rare Mystic-ranked herbs could be worth as much as a hundred dragon scale runes, more than some Earth-ranked herbs.

"Oh… This should do for the day. I'll prepare to leave. I shouldn't be too ridiculous on my first day picking herbs."

True Martial World - Chapter 176: Herb Picking Profession

Zhao Qingcheng could tell that Yi Yun had some interest in the Luohuo Association and she turned slightly delighted, "Hehe, little brother, it will be difficult to last in the Tai Ah Divine City without being in an association. How about it, are you interested in joining our Luohuo Association? Our Luohuo Association has very strict entry requirements! But I will introduce you, and you can immediately become an associate member!"

The olive branch Zhao Qingcheng threw to Yi Yun was rejected by him with a shake of his head, "No thanks, I'll go at it alone."

Associate member? What a joke! I wouldn't even join as a full member!

Although Yi Yun had these thoughts on his mind, a harmless smile was still plastered on his face.

Actually, Yi Yun knew that his current situation as a rookie kid with a medicine basket on his back made him look like a poor, low-class peasant. Who would want to accept him!?

"Alright, if anyone bullies you, Sis here will protect you, hehe!"

Zhao Qingcheng fluttered her eyes at Yi Yun before she went off with her other sisters like larks.

Yi Yun was left holding the little booklet in a daze. The primordial herbs seemed difficult to pick. It was better for him to look for Heaven-ranked herbs, which was more reliable. Even Earth-ranked herbs would do.

But he could not be too exaggerated in his picking. He had to toe the line.

As he was thinking about this, a lioness suddenly roared behind him.

"Are you done? If you are done, stop standing here in a daze and blocking the path! Go elsewhere if you fancy dazing!"

Yi Yun jumped and turned his head and saw Wang rapping the table impatiently with one hand while holding a mirror in the other.

"Has this woman… reached her menopause?" Yi Yun maliciously thought, but he felt that it was not worth it to make a fuss with the bad-tempered woman. Well… the real reason is that he had no ability to make a fuss. His arms were thin and he had just arrived at the Tai Ah Divine City. He could not do a thing yet. He was just like a shrimp with no presence wherever he went.

But Yi Yun did not mind. He was extremely happy. Who said that there was no future in picking herbs? He had just received a goal he could work hard towards.

As such, Yi Yun carried a herb sickle and a herb basket that was about half his size out of the office.

In this pathetic, uncouth outfit, he walked on the streets of the Tai Ah Divine City, receiving all sorts of contemptuous, as well as odd and confused stares. Finally, Yi Yun reached the teleportation portal to the herbal mountain.

When he began to pick herbs, Yi Yun realized that trying to date girls while picking herbs was an unrealistic situation.

The Tai Ah Divine City herbal mountain had been divided into many sectors, and each sector was immense. Many of the sectors were segregated by arrays, preventing passage into another sector.

A herbal mountain was a wonderland nearly a few hundred kilometers in radius. Around the wonderland, there were multiple arrays surrounding it.

In this mountain, a rich spiritual aura and the protection of arrays prevented any typical desolate beasts from entering.

The herb mountain bred all sorts of treasures, which were widely distributed on steep cliffs, deep abysses, or in the middle of a huge divine mountain.

Herb-gatherers were randomly sent to a herb mountain and Yi Yun was the only person in this particular herb mountain. After the herbs were collected, a herb-gatherer would have to use the teleportation portal in order to return to the Tai Ah Divine City.

Upon reaching the Tai Ah Divine City, they had to turn over the herbs and calculate the dragon scale runes rewards.

Hence, the herbs picked in the herb mountain could not be traded or secretly kept.

There was even a body-search of the warriors before they went picking herbs. This was to prevent unscrupulous people from bringing their own herbs to exchange for dragon scale runes.

Under all these rules, herb-picking was a lonely and boring job. It was hardly surprising that few people were willing to do it.

But, this suited Yi Yun.

When his body entered the teleportation array, sparkles flew around his body and a violent wind blew, making Yi Yun experience some changes. When he opened his eyes again, he was already at the base of a huge unfamiliar mountain.

What Yi Yun saw made him speechless.

While in the Cloud Wilderness, Yi Yun had seen many magnificent mountains. But those mountains could not compete with the peak in front of him.

The mountain in front of him pierced the clouds and stretched far, with no end in sight.

The peak was probably obscured a few dozen kilometers away by a thick foggy mist.

Under the mountain peak, lush plants grew. Ignoring the large trees, just the shrubs alone were as tall as a person. Their roots were dense and sharp, like swords and spears.

There was jagged gravel that rolled down to the foot of the mountain like falling meteorites that were about the size of a house. Their hardness was greater than steel.

The huge, luxuriant mountain was so immense that it made one feel minute.

"Such a big mountain, it's really a wonderland!" Yi Yun sighed. This so-called 'herb field' of the Tai Ah Divine City was spectacular. The small area of the herbal mountain a person was transported to was already so vast!

Such a large divine mountain had limitless treasures and one only needed the sufficient number of opportunities to obtain them.

"Such a massive herbal mountain, and not the only one…The Tai Ah Divine City sure is bottomless…I wonder how many herbs I can pick here?"

Yi Yun felt more and more assured that choosing herb-picking as his job was perfect.

After cutting through grass taller than him, Yi Yun walked towards the deeper parts of the herbal mountain. The air here was misty and turbulent. There was a milk-like smell of herbs in the air.

When these aromas entered the body, it felt like every pore was being cleansed in top-quality nectar, making it extremely pleasurable.

By just sitting here meditating, needless to say, picking herbs would be extremely beneficial.

"Let's begin!"

Yi Yun warmed up his body and with a rub of his wrist, he felt he was at his optimal state! With this endless herb mountain that contained numerous treasures, Yi Yun was filled with lofty sentiments!

By interfacing with the Purple Crystal through his spiritual energy, Yi Yun's vision slowly turned white. In Yi Yun's vision, there was an area with slightly denser light, while another area was lacking. This meant that the different areas had different concentrations of Heaven Earth Yuan Qi.

Yi Yun naturally headed to the place with more Heaven Earth Yuan Qi.

With a thought of his mind, the Flowing Mercury Gown he wore had a bizarre change.

The weight began to surge up, pressing down every inch of Yi Yun's skin.

Soon, a sound came out from Yi Yun's feet. He had shattered the hard rocks under his feet!

Ka Ka Ka!

Crack lines appeared in all directions on the rocks with Yi Yun as the center.

It was as if Yi Yun was carrying a mountain on his body. He had adjusted the weight on the Flowing Mercury Gown to 200 cauldrons.

His back was slightly bent, making him look like a strong and vigorous cheetah, poised to strike any moment!

Yi Yun could endure 350 cauldrons while frog-jumping. But climbing up the herbal mountain was more difficult than frog-jumping. If he took on 350 cauldrons, his strength would be quickly drained.

Not only did Yi Yun want to pick herbs, he also wanted to take this opportunity to train his body's strength, allowing himself to continuously grow to his full potential.

Time was of the essence; due to the fierce competition in the Tai Ah Divine City, Yi Yun had to seize every second to train. Even picking herbs was a rare opportunity to train.

Yi Yun had become outstanding in the Cloud Wilderness in a short amount of time. He had gone from an ordinary youth step by step into his current state. The word miracle was not enough to describe this. The real reason was due to the Purple Crystal that he had. But using that as a foundation, Yi Yun had worked hard, and with good, decisive use of time, he was able to take every opportunity to cultivate.

It was challenging to climb such a tall mountain while wearing a 200 cauldron Flowing Mercury Gown. After all, the herb mountain did not have any special tiles within it. 200 cauldrons of weight were enough to crush the rocks to pieces!

After taking a long breath, Yi Yun sank Qi into his dantian, and all the bones in his body began to snap. The energy at the peak of the early stages of Purple Blood began to ignite.

With his flowing blood supporting him, Yi Yun was like a vigorous cheetah running through the mountain!

The Tai Ah Divine City's herbal mountain, with its limitless treasures, was awaiting Yi Yun's discovery.

Yi Yun was full of anticipation and yearning. The road of martial arts that belonged to Yi Yun had flipped open to an exciting new chapter.

True Martial World - Chapter 175: Luohuo Association

Thinking that Yi Yun was making a fuss, Wang grunted, "Is it strange to have a record? Although herb-picking has no future, the divine city will still recognize and reward those who work hard at one job and specialize in it. In the divine city, anything that can be quantified will have a record, including things like forging! As for the herb-picking record, that was from two to three thousand years ago. The person who breaks a record will get a one-time reward of 10,000 dragon scale runes and a glory point."

10,000 dragon scale runes?

And a glory point!

Yi Yun's eyes lit up. 10,000 dragon scale runes were enough for him to cultivate within the Wilderness Divine Hall for 20 hours!

Besides that, there was a glory point. This was even greater. The most precious things in the Tai Ah Divine City could only be exchanged using glory points.

In the entire Tai Ah Divine City, 95% of the cultivators did not even gain a single glory point in their entire six years!

This showed how hard it was to obtain glory points!

To an ordinary warrior in the divine city, glory points were an unattainable thing.

Breaking a record gave high rewards; even if it was some unimportant little record, it was still extraordinary!

Yi Yun excitedly pinched the pages with his thumb and forefinger and flipped page by page. The herbs produced by the Tai Ah Divine City Herbal Mountain had very clear categories.

The most common herbs had ranks of Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow.

The most commonly found herbs were ranked Mystic or Yellow. The corresponding amount of dragon scale runes was relatively smaller.

Upon reaching the Earth-ranked herbs, things became amazing. One herb could be exchanged for a sizable amount of dragon scale runes.

But Earth-ranked herbs were difficult to find.

Moving up, there were Heaven-ranked herbs like Phoenix feathers or Qilin horns. By having one lucky encounter, one could obtain a massive amount of dragon scale runes!

Zhong Yi, who broke the herb-picking record many years ago, had obtained more than 19,000 dragon scale runes in two months because he had picked a few Heaven-ranked herbs!

But… Heaven-ranked herbs were not the best herbs. Moving up, there were primordial herbs, immortal herbs, primal herbs and other different strains of divine medicine.

These herbs had ridiculous value!

But, this manual had no record of them...

Oh? Why were there no records of the awards for the primordial herbs, was it because the cultivators from the Tai Ah Divine City had no chance of picking them?

If that was the case, how would the rewards be paid out if one found primordial herbs?

Yi Yun thought about this and asked Wang, "Might I ask a question? If I were to break the herb-picking record, will I be able to leave a name on Sage Avenue?"

Upon hearing Yi Yun's inquiry, Wang became impatient. She gave Yi Yun a glance which spelled out, "does this have anything to do with you?"

She tested her patience saying, "The people who can leave their names on Sage Avenue completed a tough task that showcased their strength, showing that they have a chance to become a Sage in the future."

"As for jobs like herb-picking, it doesn't reflect one's strength. Even if you break the record, it has nothing to do with being a Sage in the future. You will only have your name written on the exchange booklet."

"I see."

Actually, Yi Yun did not mind even if could not leave his name on Sage Avenue. All he cared about was the benefits. "Then allow me to ask more, is there a fixed amount of time for picking herbs? It says here that Senior Zhong Yi took exactly 60 days. Does it mean everyone is given 60 days?"

"Why are you asking so much? Could it be that you want to break the record?"

The Wang woman rolled her eyes at Yi Yun, and many surrounding girls managed a laugh.

Yi Yun scratched his head and gave an innocent little brother-next-door look, saying, "I'm just a kid asking, nothing else."

"The herb-picking record is indeed for a period of two months. As for breaking this record, stop dreaming about it. This record has been there for thousands of years. Are you done asking?"

"Eh… One last question..." Yi Yun said weakly.

"Just say it!" Wang was rendered speechless. This kid just keeps going on and on!

"Oh… It's this. There's this question a kid like me wants to know. If I were to pick a primordial herb or a primal herb, will there be a special reward? I tried looking in the manual, but there's nothing about it..."

When Yi Yun asked that question, Wang nearly threw her mirror.

She widened her pair of slender, mean eyes and looked incredulously at Yi Yun as if she was trying to tell if this youth had any mental problems.

"What did you say?"

Other than Wang, everyone in the vicinity looked strangely at Yi Yun.

This kid actually asked if there was a reward if he picked a primordial-ranked treasure?

"Oh..." Yi Yun gave a look of innocence. Was such a big reaction necessary...

"Pfft!"

A few female herb-gatherers couldn't help but laugh, and their voices rang out beautifully like a bell.

"Little brother, you sure know how to dream. Let's not talk about the rarity of the primordial herbs, the Tai Ah Divine City herbal mountain might not even have it. But the crux of the issue is, the entire herbal mountain is horrendously large. Finding a divine herb is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Even if you have god-defying luck and chanced upon a primordial herb, don't even think about picking it. These herbs have a spirit within them. They can hide! Let's not talk about primordial herbs, even Heaven-ranked herbs are difficult to pick. They have all sorts of ways to protect themselves. You can walk by one without even knowing it!"

"Oh? There's such a thing?" Yi Yun looked at the female herb-gatherers with surprise. The herbs he picked in the tiny tribal clan were normal herbs. Yi Yun had never heard of herbs growing a spirit.

"Of course! Little brother, you really have a lot of questions. If you can really pick a good herb, the divine city will reward you and never let you down, or even give you less than the value of the herb! The crux is, can you even pick one?"

"The divine city is very generous to us cultivators. In recent years, there were even some descendants from family clans who mixed in some herbs that they brought from their family, pretending they were harvests from the divine mountain to exchange for the rewards from the divine city. I haven't heard of anyone picking herbs who tried to keep it for themselves!"

"But then again… Those Heaven-ranked herbs and above have never been picked by anyone in the past couple years. We cultivators who come to pick herbs don't have the ability, so if the divine city's Elders need any Heaven-ranked herb or above, they would have to pick it themselves. But that is a huge waste of time and effort, so the Elders are not willing to waste time. Even after putting so much effort, there is no guarantee of finding one. If someone were to find such a drug, the Elders will be very happy and would give out a generous reward, but… it's impossible finding one even if you wanted to!"

"Thank you, Sister." The female herb-gatherer's words made Yi Yun excited. It seemed like as long as he picked good herbs, the rewards given by the divine city would be amazing!

Firstly, it was because the Tai Ah Divine City was generous to cultivators and willing to nurture talent. The second reason was that the Tai Ah Divine City's herb mountain's herbs were grown due to the Heaven Earth Yuan Qi, and were not intentionally planted by the Tai Ah Divine City.

The herbs were considered part of the Divine Wilderness's wealth, and the Divine Wilderness was the common treasure of the entire world's warriors.

"I guess it would be difficult for me to pick a primordial herb… I might be able to find a herb with spirit within it, but to catch it… difficult!"

Yi Yun knew his own strength. The primordial herbs were definitely not easy to catch.

There were all sorts of treasures in the Divine Wilderness's herb mountain. Whoever had the skill could pick it.

"Little brother, what's your name?"

The female herb-gatherer found Yi Yun amusing, his words were silly and goofy as if he was not right in the mind.

It is indeed true that newborn calves are not afraid of tigers.

These fifteen-year-old girls liked such a handsome and innocent little boy because they found him adorable.

"Oh… My name is Yi Yun."

Seeing the female herb-gatherers looking at him as if he was an object of amusement, Yi Yun was speechless. He was an adult but was found to be amusing by these fifteen-year-old girls, this made Yi Yun at a loss of whether to laugh or to cry.

"So it's Little Brother Yi Yun. Alright, I'll remember you. My name is Zhao Qingcheng, just call me Sis Qingcheng in the future."

Sis Qingcheng?

Yi Yun rolled his eyes. As if I would call you Sis Qingcheng.

Zhao Qingcheng could tell that Yi Yun had no interest in her, and deliberately elongated her tone saying, "Little Brother Yi Yun, this sister is from the Luohuo Association!"

"Luohuo Association? Oh?" Yi Yun paused for a while, finding the name familiar. He guessed that Zhao Qingcheng had used her background to prove her strength. It was probably some large sect...

"Is that the name of your sect?" Yi Yun asked casually, without any interest.

Zhao Qingcheng managed another laugh and chattered, "Little brother, you sure are cute. In the Tai Ah Divine City, many of the cultivators will form an association amongst themselves. The purpose of the association is to let the members help each other through the sharing of resources, and trading."

"The Tai Ah Divine City has all sorts of fierce competition. Forming a group has its advantages. Our Luohuo Association is the biggest association in the Tai Ah Divine City. The Luohuo Association’s president is Luo Huo'er who is number one on the Man roll of honor. You must have heard of it!"

So it was Luo Huo'er!

Yi Yun, of course, remembered Luo Huo'er. It was no wonder he found the name Luohuo Association familiar. This Luo Huo'er had used her own name to create an association.

"This Tai Ah Divine City sure is complex. The cultivators even form their own societies..." Yi Yun secretly thought about it. But it was a rational choice. The people who came to the Tai Ah Divine City were all capable people. Forming an association and deepening each other's relationships was beneficial to their own future development and other aspects.

As strength came from unity, an association's strength naturally exceeded that of an individual.

True Martial World - Chapter 174: Even picking herbs has a record?

Yi Yun said, "Thank you for Instructor Qin's advice. I understand your good intentions."

However perfect people may be, someone better will always appear. He had barely inserted a single Primal Arrow, but a genius youth from a reclusive family had inserted seven.

The gap was obvious.

Baldy Qin's eyelids jumped, "Can you tell me your reason?"

He felt that for Yi Yun to stick to his beliefs meant that he had to have some reason, or else it would be too difficult to understand.

Yi Yun said, "There's no special reason. In the past, I picked herbs every day to earn a living when I was in the Cloud Wilderness. Once I could walk, I began picking herbs. Thus, after all these years, I have accumulated some experience picking herbs. Also, I have some talent in picking herbs, so I think I will do well."

Yi Yun casually gave an explanation, but when this fell onto the surrounding people's ears, they were stunned and looked at Yi Yun oddly.

Cloud Wilderness? Picking herbs to earn a living?

The young warriors present had sometimes gone to pick herbs, but that was only when they were searching for treasures that could aid in their breakthroughs. Who needed to pick herbs for a living?

They did not believe that one of them was previously a medicine boy, and was even from the Cloud Wilderness?

They knew Yi Yun's strength was greater than theirs!

This made it even more difficult for them to accept… A medicine boy from the poor, barren Cloud Wilderness was better than all of them who came from family clans?

It made them speechless. It was like a mule had infiltrated a group of horses and then it defeated all of the horses.

A mule was not necessarily worse than a horse. It excelled in endurance and strength, and it ate less. Although a horse was weaker, making it unable to do heavy work, it was better at running fast. It could be said that each had their own advantages, but… no one would wish they were the hard-working mule instead of the horse.

Now, the group of horses could choose a job that could hone their abilities, yet Yi Yun had chosen to pick herbs.

It was like the horses had chosen to go on the battlefield, but the mule had chosen to go mill grinding. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

And the reason was, he had done this in the Cloud Wilderness and it was his trade.

Besides, he even said he had talent in picking herbs.

This made them at a loss on whether to laugh or to cry. What talent was there in herb picking? Who couldn't pick herbs?

"This kid! What the hell?" Zhou Kui gave a frowning look at Yi Yun. He had engaged with Yi Yun a few times, and except for not necessarily losing the last round, he had lost the other two times. He knew of Yi Yun's strength, making him curious.

"Don't mind him, Brother Kui. I guess this kid must have been hooked on being a bumpkin. People who come from the vast wilderness have a special way of thinking..."

"Old Xiong is right. Brother Kui, since we have come to the Tai Ah Divine City, we need to quickly accumulate dragon scale runes to increase our strength. This way we can go out to hunt or engage in other high-risk, high-reward jobs. How can picking herbs be a fast way of accumulating dragon scale runes? This kid Yi Yun may be slightly stronger than us, but since he wants to take the road of ruin, no one can stop him. Perhaps, he will drown in an ocean of people in the future, and he will become a stepping stone for us to trample upon."

The people from the Xuanwu Army privately transmitted their voices. They were complete strangers to Yi Yun, so they would not say much. It should be said that for someone to make a foolish decision, they would actually gloat, as they were all competitors!

Baldy Qin shook his head. Finally, he gave up on persuading Yi Yun. He said, "Then take care of yourselves. Among the rookies every year, there will be a few exceptional ones. In two years time, both Qiuniu, Chu Xiaoran will become the Yang Qian and Yao Dao you saw previously!"

"The two of them have the chance to enter the top 1000 spots in the Heaven or Earth roll of honor within a year, but you? How long would it take you to enter the top 1000? Furthermore, will you even be able to enter the top 1000 before you leave the Tai Ah Divine City?" Saying those words, Baldy Qin left.

Baldy Qin had said that whoever managed to enter the top 1000 places in the Tai Ah Divine City would receive the attention of all the various large factions within the divine kingdom.

To enter the top 1000 in one year meant that it was easy to enter the top 200 in two years. At three years, it would be the top 50-60. When leaving the Tai Ah Divine City after six years, they were likely to enter the top 5 or top 3, or even be the first!

Being first in the Tai Ah Divine City's roll of honor sounded too far off. The person taking that spot was someone who Yao Dao and Yang Qian were a far cry from.

And Yao Dao and Yang Qian were someone that they were too far behind to catch up with.

The gap was obvious.

Yi Yun ignored the opinions of others. After he had his dinner, he went straight back to his residence. He began meditating, allowing his body to slowly fuse with the primordial strain essence.

After a night...

When the sky lit up, the Tai Ah Divine City was still filled with fog. After Yi Yun finished washing up, he prepared to report for his job.

Song Zijun, who lived close to him, had also come out.

Today, Song Zijun had changed into an ordinary combat shirt and looked less like a wealthy scion. He had a rustic flavor that looked somewhat unpolished.

"Yi Yun, picking herbs is such a waste of your talent. Your movement skills at your age, are the best I've seen in my whole life!" Song Zijun was still completely puzzled over Yi Yun's decision.

The most important part about being a sparring partner was not to be resilient against attacks. Even if you were resilient against attacks, you would still get beaten down after being hit multiple times. The most powerful sparring partner was the type that could dodge attacks and protect himself.

Yi Yun had entered the large success stage of Minute Subtlety, meaning he would have great benefits as a sparring partner. Song Zijun was actually very envious, but now, Yi Yun had chosen to pick herbs, which was a waste of a treasure.

"Are you really not thinking of following me?" Song Zijun still felt some regret over Yi Yun's decision.

"No." Yi Yun smiled and waved at Song Zijun.

Song Zijun shook his head, "Forget it, you have your own decisions. My thoughts might not suit you..."

Ever since Yi Yun managed to reach the threshold of the large success stage of Minute Subtlety, Song Zijun had greatly admired Yi Yun. Although Yi Yun's decision was odd, Song Zijun believed that Yi Yun had his reasons...

Fifteen minutes later, Yi Yun reached his job's location. The different types of miscellaneous jobs had their own respective locations.

Since sparring was very popular, it resulted in a surplus of applicants, producing a long line.

But the job of picking herbs was much quieter.

When Yi Yun reached his destination, he found a few girls who were arranging the herbs leisurely.

When these girls saw Yi Yun, they were a bit surprised. When they saw that Yi Yun was in rookie attire, it was apparent that he was a rookie that had just entered the Tai Ah Divine City. To be a boy and pick herbs as a rookie was unbelievable.

Boys who occasionally came to pick herbs usually suffered some injuries, resulting in them being unfit for sparring or forging; hence, they came to pick herbs.

Yi Yun ignored the girls, reported his name and received a drug basket, a jade box to hold the herbs, and a map of the herb mountain.

The person-in-charge was a woman in her thirties with last name Wang. She was indifferent with Yi Yun's arrival, and she just kept looking into her mirror. She kept fiddling with a lock of her hair, but she was never satisfied with whatever position it was in.

Even as the herb-picking person-in-charge, she herself felt that herb-picking was a dead-end business. Seeing Yi Yun coming to dawdle at his young age made her have no good feelings for Yi Yun.

"That… Sister… May I ask how many dragon scale runes will be received in exchange for the herbs picked by me?"

Wang glanced at Yi Yun and placed her mirror down. This was probably because Yi Yun used the word "Sister" making her feel good; hence, she grew some patience for this lazy child who came to pick herbs. She threw a manual at Yi Yun and said, "This is the exchange table of the herbs and dragon scales. Look at it yourself."

Yi Yun caught the manual and flipped to the first page. Seeing the words on the first page, Yi Yun was shocked.

The first page wrote—

"Qingli Year 82, Zhong Yi picked 315 kilograms of herbs using 60 days, obtaining 19,260 dragon scale runes. He had broken the records of the ancestors. This record is to encourage future generations!"

Record? This can't be...

"Even a miscellaneous job like picking herbs has a record?"

Zhong Yi, in 60 days, broke a record picking herbs!