CHAPTER 614: CHAPTER 483: WORLD’S FIRST REFINING

Hearing Long Baobao’s words, Housekeeper Huang couldn’t help but take several more looks at Ye Lingyue, his attitude becoming much more respectful.

The young master is a rare genius of the Long Clan, appearing once in five hundred years. Despite his young age, he has accurate judgment.

He has been full of praise for Ye Lingyue’s Dagger, which means her Dagger must be truly extraordinary.

How could a mere newbie Mercenary possess such an excellent Dagger?

"This young lady, where did you obtain this Dagger?"

"I bought it off a street stall for ten silver taels. I heard it was crafted by a down-and-out blacksmith. I found it to be sharp and have often used it to chop vegetables and meat... Oh, and occasionally to trim my nails," Ye Lingyue answered smoothly, her face not reddening in the slightest. After speaking, she glanced at Xia Qing, who involuntarily twitched her fingers.

Indeed, she had just sliced off Xia Meng’s ten fingernails with one stroke.

Upon hearing her misuse of the Star Saliva Dagger, the little face of Young Master Long Baobao shuddered with his plump little cheeks.

"You, you, you! How can you treat the Star Saliva like this? It’s sheer vandalism!"

Ye Lingyue could see that Young Master Long was a little Artifact Refining Madman, who would almost desire to drool over a rare Spiritual Artifact upon seeing one.

This is only him seeing a piece of Star Saliva, and he’s already like this. If he were to find out that her Star Saliva Dagger could split into eighteen pieces, who knows what kind of expression the little guy would show.

Having broken through the Ghost Sect Thirteen Needles, Ye Lingyue can now conjure up to eighteen Daggers simultaneously.

"Cough cough, Young Master, let’s get back to the main topic and discuss the mission this time," Housekeeper Huang, seeing Ye Lingyue’s adept response and not appearing to lie, dismissed his suspicions. "Ladies and gentlemen, this time, Huang invites you all here to commission you to help escort the young master to register for the World’s First Refining."

It was from Housekeeper Huang that everyone learned that the World’s First Refining was about to begin.

In addition to those secluded sects, every Alchemist of note and every Artifact Refining noble family on the mainland would participate.

"No way, can this little one even register, can he refine artifacts?" Lan Cai’er opened her tiny mouth wide enough to swallow a whole egg.

Isn’t this child abuse? This little fellow, with his chubby arms and legs, could he even lift the tools used for Artifact Refining?

"To register for the World’s First Refining, there’s no need to provide one’s age or even real name. It only requires one to submit a qualifying Spiritual Artifact to enter the preliminaries. After the preliminaries, one can join the final selection competition," Housekeeper Huang also did not blame Lan Cai’er.

Ye Lingyue’s mind stirred. To enter the preliminaries, one only needs to submit a Spiritual Artifact? Back then, Grand Ancestor Ye Wuming had passed the preliminaries and, during the final competition, failed to refine the Heavenly-grade Spiritual Artifact Nine Dragon Chant, thus missing out on the World’s First Refining. Perhaps she could make up for this regret.

It was just a pity that she didn’t have a notable Spiritual Artifact at hand. The Star Saliva Dagger seemed good, but if she really wanted to participate in the World’s First Refining, it was probably not enough.

To register for the World’s First Refining, one must pass through Purple Bamboo Ridge, but recently, due to the appearance of Qiankun Purple Gold Bamboo, the Purple Bamboo Ridge area has been rife with bandits, robbers, and also some ferocious beasts.

For Long Baobao and Housekeeper Huang, a young and old pair, passing safely would be quite difficult.

This was the reason Housekeeper Huang sought the Mercenary Alliance.

Although not explicitly stated, everyone present was astute; they all understood that as a famous Artifact Refining noble family of the mainland, Long Baobao must be carrying a very valuable Spiritual Artifact with him to participate in this World’s First Refining.

Its preciousness could very likely be a Heavenly-grade Spiritual Artifact.

Upon hearing this explanation, everyone came to understand why the Long Clan had gone to great lengths to enlist the aid of two first-tier mercenary teams for protection.

According to Housekeeper Huang’s instructions, one mercenary team was to stay close to Young Master Long Baobao at all times, while the other team was tasked with scouting and clearing any obstacles ahead, all in an effort to prevent any distress to the young master.

"Old man, rest assured, with ’Blood Drink’ personally protecting Young Master Long, we will ensure his safe passage through Purple Bamboo Ridge," Dao Ge quickly said. "As for the task of scouting and removing obstacles, that will be handled by ’Emperor’s Slaughter.’"

"Why should we do the thankless job of exerting ourselves?" Yan Jiu was dissatisfied.

To put it nicely, that’s scouting; to put it poorly, that’s acting as a meat shield.

"Heh, do you think anyone in your group is capable of appeasing Young Master Long?" Dao Ge mocked.

Yan Jiu glanced at Wu Zhong, then at Ye Lingyue and Lan Cai’er; none of them looked like they were adept at cajoling children.

With no other choice, Yan Jiu agreed to take on the scouting and watching duties.

Once the commission was confirmed, Ye Lingyue and Lan Cai’er were called over by Yan Jiu.

"I’ll be covering the rear with the team leader; you two will take charge of scouting ahead."

Yan Jiu had his reasons for such an arrangement; if he were leading the front, his high profile would deter any bandits or robbers from appearing.

Recently, Ye Lingyue and Lan Cai’er had completed quite a few missions and had become much more familiar with the terrain.

With the task distribution set, and after resting in the city for a night, the following morning, "Emperor’s Slaughter" and "Blood Drink" set out from Mercenary City, escorting Young Master Long Baobao.

Once they left Mercenary City, it was all dangerous mountains and treacherous waters. To avoid drawing attention, the group decided to proceed on foot, while Young Master Long Baobao was carried forward in turns by several male mercenaries from "Blood Drink."

In order to travel light, everyone only carried enough dry food and water for one day.

After discussing with Lan Cai’er, Ye Lingyue decided that they would take turns scouting; the first day, Ye Lingyue would scout first.

"You’re planning to scout just like that?"

Before Ye Lingyue could set off, "Emperor" threw out a cold remark.

Ye Lingyue looked at himself and wondered, if not scout this way, then how should one scout?

"I’ve seen stupid, but not this level of stupidity." "Emperor" pulled out a small silver bell from his bosom, grabbed Little Zhiyo despite its struggles, and without further ado, hung the bell around Little Zhiyo’s neck.

With this addition, Little Zhiyo looked even more like a dog.

Little Zhiyo wanted to cry but had no tears and wanted to remove the bell, but upon encountering "Emperor’s" gaze, it didn’t dare to move.

How frightening! This man, known as "Emperor," why was he as mean as that certain someone!

"Hey hey, Xiao Heizi, don’t misunderstand, our boss did this for your good. This time we’re venturing deep into Purple Bamboo Ridge; the danger there doesn’t just come from people, but also the unseen assassin—miasma. By wearing this silver bell, should any poison gas be encountered, the bell will change color, and we’ll leave and change direction." Yan Jiu kindly explained.

Upon hearing this, Ye Lingyue felt quite embarrassed, but also realized that Team Leader "Emperor," despite having a killer’s face, was actually quite attentive. This revelation caused Ye Lingyue’s impression of him to improve slightly.