CHAPTER 460: FOUR HUNDRED SIXTY, DO YOU RECOGNIZE THIS THING?

"Commander Lin Hao, you have greatly disappointed me!"

As soon as Lin Hao’s voice fell, he saw the disappointed expression on the young man’s face opposite him. His tone was also full of frustration and disappointment, which truly infuriated Lin Hao.

The Commander of the Moon Cool City Army, a true early-stage Spirit Vein Realm cultivator, was being stared at and lectured by a mere youth at the early stage of Meridian Union, which was hard to bear even for someone as composed as Lin Hao.

"Kid, these two are distinguished guests attending the Countries Hidden Dragon Conference. I advise you to stop while you’re ahead!"

Lin Hao’s words carried a heavy threat, but he didn’t notice the fleeting strange light in the young man’s eyes after he finished speaking.

Whish!

Just when everyone thought the youth in plain clothes would back down after Lin Hao’s words, they were shocked to see Yun Xiao slap his hand on his waist, directly storing the contested key herb into his Waist Storage.

Such an action also seemed to signify Yun Xiao’s stance, instantly turning the spectators into eager onlookers. On the other hand, the faces of Lin Hao, Shen Wannian, Ye Shimei, and even the stall owner Wu Xian darkened at that moment.

"Kid, no matter who you are, you’re challenging the authority of Moon Cool City’s ’Jingyu Army’!"

Unable to contain his anger, Lin Hao cried out the name of the Moon Cool City military unit, although the cultivators gathered around were not as familiar with the Jingyu Army as they were with the Xuantie Army.

"Jingyu Army, huh? It seems that the army led by Prince Xuan Jing is just like him!"

Yun Xiao was reminded of some matters, feeling even more frustrated, and his soft comment reached Lin Hao’s ears, enraging him further.

"How audacious, daring to question the authority of the Second Prince, seize this insolent boy for me!"

As the Commander of the Jingyu Army, Lin Hao acted with dignity, and at this moment, Shen Wannian and Ye Shimei, like the other spectators, watched on with great interest.

"Joking aside, even high-profile individuals like Shen Wannian and Ye Shimei wouldn’t dare offend a commander of the Jingyu Army in the Xuanyue Empire so recklessly, let alone openly challenge like Yun Xiao. Isn’t this a death wish?"

"Hey, Commander Lin Hao really holds great prestige!"

Facing the soldiers of the Jingyu Army advancing towards him, Yun Xiao’s expression remained unchanged. He then pointed to the two individuals nearby and said, "According to what Commander Lin Hao said earlier, distinguished individuals receive special treatment, right?"

Suddenly hearing Yun Xiao say this, Lin Hao was momentarily stunned, then subconsciously nodded. At that moment, he saw the plain-clothed youth calmly take out a black badge from his Waist Storage and pin it on his right chest.

"Is... is this a... Meridian Refining Master Badge?"

Many noticed Yun Xiao’s actions, instantly thinking that this black badge, which holds significant meaning, was issued by the Meridian Refining Master Guild.

"Hmph, it’s just a Meridian Refining Master Badge, after all, such a young kid can only be at most a Mortal Rank Advanced Pulse Refiner, and look how scared you all are!"

Shen Wannian glanced at the badge and smirked disdainfully, finding it strange that his remark received no support, not even from the two junior brothers from his own Sect.

Indeed, from Shen Wannian’s perspective, a youth roughly sixteen or seventeen years of age who had cultivated his Meridian Qi Cultivation to the early stages of Meridian Union was already an impressive feat.

However, the art of Meridian Refining was completely different from Meridian Qi Cultivation; even if this kid had started learning from the womb, he would at most be at the Mortal Rank Advanced, or at most Low-Level Spiritual Rank.

While his Sect, unlike the Jade Pot Sect, wasn’t filled with pulse refiners, low-level Spiritual Rank Meridian Refiners were plentiful. A top talent of his Sect, he certainly wouldn’t concern himself with refiners of such level.

"Elder brother, take a closer look!"

Just as Shen Wannian felt frustrated at the lack of agreement, he suddenly felt someone tugging at his right sleeve and heard a familiar voice—it was indeed his second junior brother, Luo An.

It seemed that he could hear a hint of dryness in Luo An’s tone, prompting Shen Wannian to seriously look at the badge on Yun Xiao’s left chest, and upon closer inspection, he suddenly felt dizzy.

"Three... three black moons, is this... a Spirit-grade Advanced Pulse Refining Master?!"

As the foremost young talent of his Sect, Shen Wannian was knowledgeable. He knew that Mortal Rank pulse refiners used a star shape to distinguish levels, while Spiritual Rank pulse refiners were identified by the number of black moons on their badges.

Three black moons on the badge represented the level of a Spirit-grade Advanced Pulse Refining Master, and the unique, intangible aura emanating from the badge left no room for doubt about its authenticity.

"No, this is impossible, given his age, how could he possibly be a Spirit-grade Advanced Pulse Refining Master!"

After a brief moment of shock, Shen Wannian finally regained his composure and pointed at Yun Xiao shouting loudly, and with his words, many people deeply agreed.

Yun Xiao’s age was indeed too young, a sixteen or seventeen-year-old Spirit-grade Advanced Pulse Refining Master, however one looked at it, it seemed false; of course, even more so, it was filled with deep envy.

Among those present were also Pulse Refining Masters, even those who had reached the Spiritual Rank, but which of them were not in their forties or fifties, or even with white hair.

Cultivating the way of Pulse Refining, unlike Meridian Qi Cultivation, is a very difficult pursuit, requiring extensive experience for breakthroughs.

Having cultivated for decades, maybe even a hundred years, barely breaking through to the low level of Spirit-grade Pulse Refining Master, how could people easily accept this suddenly emerging young boy claiming to be a Spirit-grade Advanced Pulse Refining Master?

"Yun Xiao? That name sounds a bit familiar?"

Reeling from extreme shock, Commander Lin Hao of the Jingyu Army noticed the name "Yun Xiao" engraved on the badge; he suddenly felt that he had heard this name somewhere before.

"How about this then, if one badge is not enough?"

Yun Xiao, completely indifferent to the incredulous expressions around him, saw his palm swipe again at his waist, and a flash of green light appeared out of thin air.

"Shhh..."

Among the onlookers were many well-informed individuals, and when they saw the prominent green twin crescent moons on that green badge, they all inhaled a breath of cold air.

"Spiritual Rank Intermediate... Poison Vein Master?!"

Even Ye Shimei, who usually cared about nothing, filled his ambiguously masculine and feminine voice with extreme shock; that green badge with a special significance was truly astounding.

Although Yun Xiao’s rank as a Poison Vein Master was lower than his Medical Pulse Master rank, the intimidating effect that the Poison Meridian Path had on others was entirely different.

Moreover, such a young Spiritual Rank Intermediate Poison Vein Master, given time, who knows to what extent he could advance? Perhaps someday a mere gesture could unknowingly poison someone to death.

Even the initially close Commander Lin Hao subtly took two steps back; for him, in the early stages of Spirit Vein Realm as a cultivator, a Spiritual Rank Intermediate Poison Vein Master already constituted a threat.

"You must be kidding, right? Shen has never heard of such a young Spirit-grade Advanced Pulse Refining Master on the Hidden Dragon Continent, who also pursues Dual Cultivation in medical and poison arts!"

On the other hand, the Grand Master Brother of Yuqi Sect, Shen Wannian, seemed visibly relieved when he saw Yun Xiao produce the second badge. There were too few monstrous dual cultivation talents in medical and poison arts on the Hidden Dragon Continent.

Also considering Yun Xiao’s incredibly young age, this defiance of the Hidden Dragon Continent’s understanding of a Pulse Refining Master. If this were true, then wouldn’t their decades or even centuries of arduous cultivation have been all in vain?

"It seems that you don’t really believe these two badges are real!"

Finally, Yun Xiao noticed the expressions of the onlookers, but he didn’t mind, knowing his age combined with these two badges would cause astonishment and disbelief.

Many things are excessive; when something surpasses others’ imaginations, they unconsciously believe it to be false. Yun Xiao displayed these two badges merely to divert these people’s attention.

Especially for Lin Hao, although he also didn’t believe those two badges were real, what if they were? Such a dual cultivation genius in medical and poison arts should not be offended by someone like him, a mere commander of the Jingyu Army.

"Commander Lin Hao, do you recognize this item?"

As Lin Hao hesitated, questioning whether to just smooth things over, Yun Xiao’s right hand swiped across his waist again, and suddenly there appeared an object glowing pale white in the palm of his hand.

"What is that?"

Yun Xiao continued to produce Meridian Refining badges one after another, igniting a hint of curiosity among the crowd; however, when their gaze shifted to the item in his palm, they were somewhat unfamiliar with the object.

Of course, this was referring to the casual onlookers, whereas Commander Lin Hao and the dozens of Jingyu Army soldiers, seeing the white object, all simultaneously turned pale.

"Is that a command from the Second Prince?"

Merely with one glance, Lin Hao could clearly see the small "Jing" character on the white order token; how could he not understand the significance it represented?

At the same time, Lin Hao finally remembered why the name "Yun Xiao" sounded familiar to him; recalling what the general of Moon Cool City’s Jingyu Army had said about that name, he felt a chill down his spine, even under his armored clothing.