Chapter 53: Dongbo Xueying, a Name-Bearing Rank?

“This is the final and most important magical artifact,” Dongbo Xueying said, picking up a pendant. When the lid opened, a transparent orb was revealed inside. “It can store mana, up to the full mana capacity of a Celestial-tier mage. Your mana reserves are still quite limited, so using these magical artifacts will be very strenuous for you. Store some mana regularly for everyday use, and you can draw upon it in critical moments to cast more spells.”

“Okay,” Qing Shi nodded.

His elder brother had thought this through so thoroughly for him.

“But remember, these are all external aids!” Dongbo Xueying cautioned. “Your own strength is the most crucial.”

Although these artifacts seemed numerous, even a formidable knight, like a Meteor Knight, could still threaten Qing Shi’s life. These magical artifacts could only dominate below the Meteor-tier level! Of course, they had the advantage of being instantly usable and could barely hold their own against a Meteor-tier knight in a fight.

“Brother, I understand. These artifacts are already amazing. My teacher doesn’t even have this many magical artifacts,” Qing Shi replied.

“This storage ring is something I just recently acquired. It has a vast space and is of immeasurable value. You must absolutely not reveal it,” Dongbo Xueying said, pulling out a black ring that looked like a simple loop of wire at first glance. “You’re finally a full-fledged mage now, so remember to disguise the ring’s appearance slightly to prevent others from recognizing it.”

Although it appeared ordinary, Dongbo Xueying remained cautious.

One must understand that even a small space ring covering a three-foot range was worth tens of thousands of gold coins! A space ring with a three-meter cubic space was extremely rare, usually valued at nearly a million gold coins! That was an astronomical figure. Such high-level spatial rings were typically found only in the possession of Title-ranked beings. Nobles, merchants, and others of normal status simply lacked the capability to protect such valuable treasures.

Even among Title-ranked beings, many didn’t possess space rings with such large storage capacities!

“Vast?” Qing Shi asked, and upon receiving it, easily refined it with his mana, his eyes widening immediately. “Wow, it’s so big!”

Crafting a storage artifact was extremely difficult.

Smaller spaces could sometimes be created through special alchemical methods. However, large space rings required the direct intervention of a powerful Transcendent mage skilled in spatial magic to carve out a stable space. For some Transcendent beings, cutting space might be possible, but stabilizing and fixing it within a storage artifact was extremely difficult. Hence, large space rings were incredibly expensive.

As a mage, Qing Shi naturally understood the preciousness of such a storage ring.

“Brother, how did you get this?” Qing Shi asked curiously. “This is just too—”

“Haha, I told you, I gained a lot from my recent journey outside,” Dongbo Xueying laughed. “Also, take a look at the spell scrolls stored inside the ring. These scrolls are of no use to me or Uncle Zong and Uncle Tong, so I’ve given them all to you. Their combined value is staggering. Study them one by one—they are your life-saving tools.”

Spell scrolls were even more incredible.

Throwing out a scroll and channeling mana into it would unleash a powerful spell with a boom! Of course, the scroll would be consumed in the process.

So throwing spell scrolls was like throwing gold coins!

Yet spell scrolls were in high demand. Mages often couldn’t chant incantations in time to cast powerful spells during critical moments, so using a spell scroll instantly could save their lives! These scrolls were spoils of war collected over many years by that Divine Envoy. Dongbo Xueying had taken it all and reserved it for his younger brother.

“Big brother, these spell scrolls are too valuable,” Qing Shi said, sensing them briefly and realizing their exceptional quality. Some were likely fifth-tier spell scrolls, while whether there were sixth-tier ones required further study.

“I’m a bit scared,” Qing Shi admitted, feeling uneasy about possessing so many treasures.

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Dongbo Xueying shook his head. “Sort the spell scrolls by their power level and don’t use them except in dire situations! When your life is on the line, survival becomes the top priority.”

“Okay,” Qing Shi nodded.

“Disguise the ring and keep the spell scrolls on your person. As long as you don’t speak of them, neither I nor Uncle Zong and Uncle Tong would ever betray you, so no one will know,” Dongbo Xueying said. “Remember, never reveal this to anyone! Even your little girlfriend mustn’t find out.”

Within Xueshi Castle,

Dongbo Xueying truly and absolutely trusted only the three people before him. Uncle Zong and Uncle Tong needed no explanation; they shared a deep bond of life and death with Dongbo Xueying’s parents and were like family to him. His relationship with his younger brother was even more profound… but his brother was still very young, and Dongbo Xueying feared he might boast carelessly outside, hence his serious warning.

“Brother, don’t worry. I understand. I won’t tell anyone,” Qing Shi assured him.

“Haha, don’t be tense. These are just external tools after all. Your own strength is the foundation,” Dongbo Xueying laughed, never placing much importance on such external objects.

Yet Qing Shi’s heart was filled with complex emotions.

Earlier, his girlfriend had said many things, but now the gifts his elder brother had given him were unimaginably valuable. Compared to his wealth, even Master Bai Yuan’s hard work over many years wouldn’t amount to a tenth of what he now possessed.

“Brother,” Qing Shi approached and hugged Dongbo Xueying tightly. “I just want to hug you for a while.”

“You brat,” Dongbo Xueying was momentarily taken aback by his brother’s sudden embrace but then gently patted his head.

As a child, his younger brother often hugged him and even liked to sleep holding onto him.

But as they grew, such embraces had become rare.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Qing Shi looked up and grinned. “Brother, I’m going back now to study those scrolls.” With that, he turned and ran off.

Dongbo Xueying looked at the open study door, his brows slightly furrowed.

“We’re leaving too, Xueying. Get some sleep early,” Tong San said.

“Wait, close the door first. I have something to say,” Dongbo Xueying said, frowning.

Zong Ling casually shut the door, and both turned to look at Dongbo Xueying.

“I feel something’s off about Qing Shi today,” Dongbo Xueying frowned. “Even though he tried to act natural, I’ve watched him grow up. I can tell what he’s thinking just by watching his eyes blink. He can’t hide anything from me. And then he hugged me at the end… that made me even more suspicious.”

“Oh?” Zong Ling and Tong San looked puzzled.

Dongbo Xueying pondered, “At his age, living up in the mountains with few worldly troubles, it’s probably something related to emotions. He was fine during dinner, but after seeing off his little girlfriend, his mood changed when he came to me. It’s likely related to her.”

“Uncle Zong,”

Dongbo Xueying continued, “I’m going to write a letter right away. Please send someone to deliver it to Master Si An at the Longshan Pavilion in Yishui City! Ask him for help. I need to find out everything about my brother’s girlfriend, Ji Rong—her entire background, all her relatives, everything she’s done from birth until now. I must know exactly who this Ji Rong truly is!”

Even without today’s strange behavior from his younger brother, he would still investigate Ji Rong’s background.

How could Dongbo Xueying feel at ease knowing his younger brother was associating with someone of unknown origins, possibly even living together with her in the future?

“Alright, I’ll send someone today,” Zong Ling nodded, then smiled slightly. “Xueying, now that you’ve reached Title-ranked strength, why not tell Qing Shi?”

“Yeah, Xueying, you’re about to take on Bronze-tier missions. Why keep it a secret?” Tong San added.

Dongbo Xueying gently shook his head. “Qing Shi has too little experience and is too naive. If he knew I was Title-ranked, who knows how arrogant he might become! He might even turn into a spoiled, ostentatious noble brat, which is exactly what I don’t want to see. Qing Shi still lacks dedication and diligence in his magical studies. Even You Yue has broken through to the Earth-tier, yet he’s still just an ordinary mage.”

“Don’t set your expectations too high. He’s only sixteen,” Zong Ling chuckled.

“I entered the Destruction Mountains at fifteen to hunt Shadow Leopards,” Dongbo Xueying shook his head. “I should talk to Master Bai Yuan again and put some pressure on Qing Shi. He shouldn’t be idle every day. His talent for magic is much greater than our mother’s, and his spiritual power has always been extremely high since childhood. Yet among Master Bai Yuan’s disciples, his strength is just average. Even You Yue, who was far less talented when they started training at the same time, has surpassed him in cultivation.”

Dongbo Xueying had now reached the Title-ranked level, standing at the pinnacle of mortal power, and his aspirations were even directed toward becoming a Transcendent being.

Yet the one he was most concerned about and couldn’t let go of was still his younger brother.

…

The next morning,

In Yishui City, at the Longshan Pavilion.

“Master, this is a personal letter from Dongbo Xueying,” the elderly man You Tu placed a sealed letter on the long table.

Sitting there, Master Si An perked up his ears and looked up. “A personal letter from Dongbo Xueying? It arrived so early?”

“It was delivered last night,” You Tu replied.

“What’s so urgent that it had to be sent overnight? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Master Si An immediately picked it up to read.

You Tu chuckled. “I took a quick look. It didn’t seem like anything particularly important. Dongbo Xueying is asking the Pavilion Master to help investigate the background of his younger brother’s little girlfriend, Ji Rong. It was already quite late last night, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“From now on, anything related to Dongbo Xueying must be reported to me immediately,” Master Si An said seriously.

“Uh… okay, I understand,” You Tu replied somewhat oddly. Did even such a trivial matter as investigating a little girlfriend’s background require immediate attention? Was the Pavilion Master of Longshan Pavilion really that cheap?

“By the way, he also included a thousand-gold note as payment,” You Tu added.

“Dongbo Xueying certainly knows how to handle things properly,” Master Si An smiled. It was common for powerful individuals to request assistance from the Longshan Pavilion for various tasks. Since this wasn’t an official matter, a service fee was usually required. A thousand gold coins for investigating someone’s background was quite a generous offer.

“Ji Rong?”

Master Si An immediately gave instructions. “You must arrange for people right away to investigate Ji Rong thoroughly at the highest level. Her parents, all her relatives and friends, every detail of her life from birth until now! Find out everything about her, and do it as quickly as possible!”

“At the highest level?” You Tu was surprised.

The Longshan Pavilion was already the premier intelligence network in the land, but even for such a minor matter, did it require the highest level of investigation? That seemed absurd.

“Yes, go ahead,” Master Si An ordered.

“Understood,” You Tu could only comply and immediately began making arrangements.

Master Si An sat there but picked up a nearby dossier and unrolled the scroll.

“Si An, keep a close watch on Dongbo Xueying and monitor all information about him. This person is suspected to be a Title-ranked expert, with a fifty percent likelihood!” This was a command from the provincial capital, accompanied by some detailed intelligence.

“A Title-ranked expert?”

“Could that be real?” Master Si An couldn’t help muttering. He had known about this for a day already and was still in shock.

But the provincial capital had sufficient evidence.

For example, Dongbo Xueying had spent 500,000 gold coins shopping in the capital city, which was just supporting evidence. The key point was the battle inside the Lu family’s castle. Because it involved a demon god, the Longshan Pavilion had investigated thoroughly. They discovered a short spear deeply embedded in a massive stone! Among the five high-level experts dispatched, only Dongbo Xueying used a short spear! At the age of fifteen, Dongbo Xueying had already used a short spear to kill many bandits from the Cutlass Alliance! They also found curved throwing daggers deeply lodged in the stone. Each curved dagger was crafted by a renowned alchemy master and worth a thousand gold coins! Even a Silver Moon Knight wouldn’t be so extravagant.

Moreover, judging from the depth of the spear and dagger penetration into the stone… it could only have been achieved by someone of Title-ranked strength!

An explosion wouldn’t have driven the spear and daggers so deeply into the stone!

In addition, based on the estimated power of that explosion, a Silver Moon Knight would almost certainly have perished! Yet Dongbo Xueying emerged unscathed, and even Yu Jingqiu survived.

There were also other subtle clues, such as the battle marks left on some collapsed boulders, which hinted at… a Title-ranked battle having occurred there! And the other party might have perished, while this young Dongbo Xueying survived. Thus, Dongbo Xueying gained great wealth, enabling him to casually spend 500,000 gold coins in the capital city!

“A Title-ranked knight at such a young age? If it’s true, that’s terrifying,” Master Si An muttered to himself. The headquarters of the Longshan Pavilion in Anyang Province had already placed Dongbo Xueying under close surveillance!