344 Appreciation

The mist evaporated and the light beam dissipated, revealing a young man in a black robe.

He was 23 or 24 years old, with straight eyebrows that slanted upwards and bright eyes. He had sunken cheeks, a tall nose and thin lips, and appeared to be of a calm temperament with an evident air of nobility. His robes did not have any excessive accessories. They were black with a deep red accent, but one could tell from the cloth quality that it was not an average robe. The man's hands were clasped behind his back and a long sword hung from his waist. The scabbard was a dark gold color with a five-claw dragon on it.

The man was not surprised. When he saw Meng Qi and the others, he nodded as a way of greeting them. "We shall be companions from today onwards."

His tone was normal and there was no coldness in it, but Meng Qi vaguely felt that the man was not as easy to get along with as he seemed. He appeared to be approachable and refined, while actually holding a condescending attitude towards them. However, it was simply unnecessary for him to show it.

"Do I have some slight subconscious jealousy or bias against anyone with this kind of style...?" Meng Qi did some self-reflection before he smiled and said, "How shall we address you? Where are your former comrades?"

Although he might not tell the truth, at least Meng Qi could determine if the man's companions had been killed by him, lest he implicated himself and the others.

The man took a few steps forward, closer to Meng Qi and the others. However, when he was five feet away from them, he stopped and left a very clear gap between himself and them. One could not tell for sure if it was because he was used to being on guard, or because he disliked staying too close to others in case he breathed in their filthy scent. "After my team made it through the Death Task, things went well at first. However, during the second Samsara task, we strayed too far from the exploration branch line and triggered an accident. That angered another powerful team that had the Thunder God From the Ninth Heaven, an official member of The Myths. In the end, only I managed to survive."

"The Myths?" Meng Qi asked feigning ignorance.

Jiang Zhiwei and Ruan Yushu looked at the tips of their feet. Meng Qi's acting was simply too realistic!

The man gave a faint smile. "The Myths is a secret organization. I don't know the exact situation, but I'm sure that some of their formal members are Samsara travelers. They're also willing to accept and train new Samsara travelers as reserve members. I've been invited before but rejected their offer."

"If you don't know The Myths, I fear that you've been growing too fast and have had too few confrontational tasks. Otherwise, you should've been able to meet teams prepared for the training of The Myths and The Immortals."

"It's almost just as I thought..."  Meng Qi nodded thoughtfully. Listening to such a description, it seemed that he and the others would still have the task of leading newcomers in the future. However, the newcomer would no longer join the team directly, but simply establish some sort of connection. They would serve as reserve members and join the team after passing the Death Task.

"Why didn't we have someone to guide us in the beginning?"

"Could it be because of the small jade joss?"

The man clasped his hands behind his back, displaying a calm disposition. He continued, "As for how you may address me, I am Luoyang's Zhao Heng."

His expression was one of indifference and his manner of speech was concise. It seemed that as long as he announced his name, the other party would know who he was.

He had just finished his statement when he heard Meng Qi's voice. "Luoyang's Zhao Heng? Do you guys know who that is?"

Meng Qi looked at Jiang Zhiwei and the others in doubt. "Why is this man acting like he's famous?"

Zhao Heng's face indiscernibly twitched. He opened his mouth, but eventually chose to close it and stay silent.

Jiang Zhiwei tilted her head to the side slightly as she tried hard to remember the Luoyang people she knew. She eventually frowned. "I haven't heard of that name."

Qi Zhengyan, with his poker face, shook his head to indicate that he did not know him either.

Ruan Yushu gave it some thought before saying, "I only know that the fifth Imperial Prince is called Zhao Heng, but he was never a part of Jianghu, and isn't well-known."

Zhao Heng sighed quietly. "That's me."

Meng Qi was instantly a little excited. When it came to the fifth Imperial Prince, he did know some things about him. After all, he had read up on Luoyang in the past. It was just that he had not been able to team up with the Jianghu masters. He asked via Secret Voice-sending, "Could he be that fifth Imperial Prince who was born with a weak body and ordinary talents, considered to have a bleak future?"

"It is him. After he turned eighteen years old, his body miraculously improved and his martial arts progressed rapidly. If anything happens to the current Crown Prince, he would be one of the strongest contenders for the position." Ruan Yushu affirmed Meng Qi's rumors.

"I see. No wonder, no wonder..." Meng Qi came to a sudden realization. So his body had miraculously improved and his body potential had significantly increased, all thanks to the Dominator of Samsara in the Six Realms.

The two of them also told Jiang Zhiwei and Qi Zhengyan about Zhao Heng's background.

Zhao Heng quietly watched them discuss, looking a little cold and irritated. "Even though you guys are using Secret Voice-sending, is it really a good idea to talk "behind my back" right in front of me?"

"For new comrades, we should appear to be fair on the outside, but be secretly guarded and observe his actions. We must also maintain the strength of us four and complete the task." Meng Qi was not using Secret Voice-sending just for gossiping. Soon, he achieved a consensus with Jiang Zhiwei and the others on their attitude and approach to treating the newcomer.

He took a step forward and decreased the distance between them. Cupping one hand in the other in front of his chest, he said, "I see it is Your Royal Highness the Fifth Imperial Prince. I am but a mere villager from the countryside and a minor Jianghu character. I have shown Your Highness disrespect. Please do not take offense."

Due to Meng Qi closing the distance, Zhao Heng frowned slightly and quietly took a step back. Then he gently nodded and said, "No matter. How may I address you all?"

"I am Su Meng. This is Jiang Zhiwei from Sword Washing Pavilion. This is the Ruan family's Ruan Yushu from Langya, and this is Huanhua Swords Sect's Qi Zhengyan." Meng Qi did not hide anything.

As companions, they had to join forces to fight. Even if they changed their appearance then, based on the origins of their martial arts and their usual mannerisms, it was possible to guess who they were. Therefore, Meng Qi had decided to just be honest.

Zhao Heng's face changed slightly. No matter how good his upbringing was, he was still shocked by the powerful individuals who were among the top members of the Ranking List of Young Masters. No wonder their team had not had to go through a lot of confrontational tasks and they had quickly rose to their current level.

"I see. It is the Fairy of the Extinctive Sword and Killing Blade, two powerful masters in the flesh," he exclaimed, and then smiled and looked at Ruan Yushu. "Young sister Yushu, I carried you in my arms before. I can't believe you've grown so much in the blink of an eye."

Ruan Yushu had been born in Luoyang. At that time, her father had been an official in Beijing, and was now a Pengzhou provincial governor.

"We've met before, Your Highness." Ruan Yushu gracefully curtsied without a feeling of closeness at all. She had returned home when she was two years old.

Zhao Heng was not surprised, and smiled. "I'm roughly aware of your strengths and martial arts. I've already opened Nine Acupores and achieved Heaven-man Connection. I've also learned part of Book of Shocking the World and exchanged for a few supreme arts. I'm good at palm moves, the fist style, and using the sword."

Everything he said was information that could be guessed. Meng Qi smiled and said, "Fifth Imperial Prince, we've exchanged Karma points for information on the mission. Would you be willing to pay some points for it?"

Zhao Heng smiled. "I was still planning on sharing with you the information I exchanged for after the last mission. By the way, I'll just let you all know; Skyscraping True Devil has at least the same strength as that of a two-fold Heaven Exterior-level master. There will be at least two Half-step Exterior Scenery level demons out of the Seven Great Demons."

"You've been there?" Meng Qi was a bit surprised. He inwardly cursed and that he'd given him the information directly. The rich really did have more power...

Zhao Heng nodded his head. "I've had a mission there and witnessed the grand opening of the Demonic World channel, but back then I did not have the strength to participate."

"We're planning to exchange items for restraining demons. Would Your Highness like to join us?" Meng Qi did not discriminate against the new comrade. He warmly invited him and acted fairly.

Zhao Heng gently shook his head. "It's alright, I already exchanged mine last time."

"What a rich man..." Meng Qi thought of his own poverty and was both envious and jealous.

If not for the fact that he was poor and lacked Karma points, why would he have traded his Space Ring? He could have just directly given Karma points to Jiang Zhiwei and the others, and kept a decent item convenient for everyday use!

However, if he did so, he would only have about 1,000 Karma points left, even after exchanging all the Heaven and Earth Converging darts, Bone-weakening Mist and other items he had on him. After collectively exchanging for information and the Demon-subduing Pagoda, he probably would not even have sufficient points for a Recover Pill.

Comparatively, the Recover Pill, a replacement for his left hand's sword, the identification of the nine postures, the complementing of Five Thunder Bombardment of Sky, and the accumulating of achievements of the Exterior-level Eight Nine Mysteries were all important things that took priority over the Space Ring. In any case, he might still be able to obtain it from the task world, and it could also be obtained at a relatively "low price" from Six Fan School. Therefore, Meng Qi considered it, and then took out the "Who am I, I am Who" ink scroll from the Space Ring before trading in the latter.

Moreover, he put the ink scroll and Jiang Hengchuan's secret accessories into the room in the Samsara Square so as not to be evaluated.

Seeing that Zhao Heng did not want to participate, the four of them began their own discussion.

Without a trace of expression, Qi Zhengyan said, "In regards to the matter at Dongyang Villa, this time I came prepared for it, but was unable to catch up in the end. I'm already very satisfied to be able to share Donghua's Green Book and the formula for the Immortality Elixir of East Pole. Since I'm lacking in Karma points, I intend to exchange what I have for items that everyone can use. Oh, they're the same as what Lady Ruan has chosen: the Filth-extracting Pill and Devil-rinsing Charm."

Concerning the Dongyang Villa issue, the other three thought about how Qi Zhengyan had hurried over from afar, but simply had not made it in time because they had ended things too quickly. After some discussion, Meng Qi, Jiang Zhiwei and Ruan Yushu decided to give him some of their Karma points. Since they all had to chip in anyway, it was the same as using it on themselves.

After exchanging for his items, Qi Zhengyan only had 80 Karma points left.

Meng Qi stepped into the Central Light Pillar and closed his eyes. He recalled Duan Rui's nine postures and requested appreciation.

"The remnants of the first volume of Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture, worth 6,300 Kama points. It can be exchanged for 3,200 Karma points. If you want to make up for missing portions and adjust it to be in the correct order, you will need to spend 2,500 Karma points. After it has been made up for and adjusted, it will be viewed as a traded item, and can no longer be imparted to others."

The sound of the Dominator of Samsara in the Six Realms blared in Meng Qi's ears, shocking him for a moment. It really was Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture! And it really needed to be adjusted into its correct order!

Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture was an incredible assistive Divine Skill. Those of a high Dharmakaya level had amazing results with it. Its total price was 150,000 Karma points and was divided into three volumes that could be exchanged for separately. The third volume required 100,000 Karma points while the second volume required 40,000 Karma points. The first volume required 10,000 Karma points.

Although Meng Qi had already gotten rid of his common body, the frightening part of Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture was that it could still be improved on the current level. It did not only target body potential, but also the level of his own martial arts. One could even break through previous stagnation. While it might not have any effect on Eight Nine Mysteries, as it was considered the highest level among the six paths, Meng Qi's own swordsmanship, bladesmanship, Lightness Skill and the like could all be dramatically enhanced. For instance, the Nine Strategies Beyond the Swords could go from breaking through Qi to breaking through momentum, and finally, through Oneness of Heaven and Men.

Unfortunately, he did not have enough Karma points... Of course, Meng Qi had to wait for the completion of a Divine Skill. He would not exchange it for Karma points. After all, if he wanted to obtain it in the future, it would be very difficult.

"But why does it become a demonic art when Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture practice sequence is wrong?" Meng Qi asked the Dominator of Samsara in the Six Realms.

"That information costs 3,000 Karma points." The Dominator of Samsara in the Six Realms spoke without inflection.