Chapter Seventy-Two: A Playful Bargain

Two days passed swiftly. On the third day after Lin Qingyun returned to Haicheng, Lin Qingfeng personally brought the medicinal herbs Lin Qingyun had requested, arriving at Haicheng University under the escort of a master at the Soaring Cloud level to complete the transaction.

Even with Lin Kunshan’s influence and wealth, gathering all the herbs Lin Qingyun wanted was no easy task. It required him to call in substantial favors and expend significant effort to collect them. After numerous difficulties—especially since Lin Qingyun took first place in the freshman combat trial, while Nangong Lingyue, Zhen Qiang, Song Yichen, Xie Zhiqiang, and other much younger freshmen rose swiftly—things became even more complicated. Furthermore, the military and education departments later confirmed that surviving freshmen from the First Warzone would have an easier path in future cultivation, and the ceiling for top-tier geniuses would be higher than ever. This drove Lin Qingfeng nearly mad with envy.

He had painstakingly guarded and refined the Coldfire Embryo Pill for a year, only for it to be snatched away. Meanwhile, those who simply participated in the freshman trial all gained rare opportunities—where was the justice in that? Stimulated by these developments, Lin Qingfeng became even more obsessed with reclaiming the Coldfire Embryo Pill.

It was precisely because of his stubborn, even frenzied, insistence that Lin Kunshan and Zhang Xueyi spared no expense to gather the required herbs. Lin Kunshan was recently occupied with major matters in the family conglomerate and could not accompany Lin Qingfeng, but sensing Lin Qingfeng’s unstable state, he specifically asked Zhang Xueyi to go with him.

"Where is he? Didn’t he agree to meet here? Why isn’t he here yet? That boy is becoming more and more unruly. First among the freshmen, is he? I’d like to know what kind of ridiculous luck he’s been blessed with…" Zhang Xueyi, following her son, had barely arrived when she saw no sign of Lin Qingyun and could not help but complain.

Lin Qingfeng himself was visibly irritable and impatient. Even without Zhang Xueyi’s complaints, his eyes were already burning with frustration as he looked around restlessly. After less than a minute of waiting, his breathing had grown uneven.

“Damn it… Where is he…” he cursed under his breath, about to contact Lin Qingyun directly.

But as he reached for his communicator, he remembered that Lin Qingyun had blocked him after several previous attempts to get in touch—mainly because Lin Qingfeng had said too much useless nonsense. Eventually, their friend contact information had even been deleted.

“Mom, you contact him. Ask him where he is,” Lin Qingfeng urged, anxiety written all over his face.

Seeing her son even more anxious than herself, Zhang Xueyi finally remembered Lin Kunshan’s warning: to keep an eye on her son, whose frame of mind had grown too agitated lately.

“Don’t worry, Feng’er, I’ll contact that rascal right now,” Zhang Xueyi reassured him as she prepared to call Lin Qingyun.

Just then, a cute little delivery robot zipped toward them from afar. At first, no one paid it any mind—such delivery robots were a common sight on campus, ferrying packages and meals everywhere. But when the robot approached their group, the Soaring Cloud master assigned to protect Lin Qingfeng and his mother stepped forward, shielding them.

“Lin Qingfeng, you have a campus delivery! Please verify your identity with facial recognition,” the robot chirped, its large screen displaying an adorable cartoon face as it bounced up and down, urging Lin Qingfeng to confirm receipt.

“Madam Zhang, Young Master Feng, it’s just a regular delivery robot. I’ve already scanned it with my spiritual sense—no danger,” the Soaring Cloud master informed them after confirming the robot was harmless and stepped aside.

“What the hell is this?” Lin Qingfeng still hadn’t processed what was happening. But as he stepped forward and completed the facial recognition, he discovered that within the robot was a single pill—no jade bottle, no ornate box, just the Coldfire Embryo Pill he had obsessed over, the one he’d crossed mountains and rivers to reclaim, sitting there exposed.

For a moment, Lin Qingfeng was dumbfounded.

“Please collect your meal, please collect your package,” the delivery robot prompted again.

“Lin Qingyun, you damned brat, how could you treat my Coldfire Embryo Pill this way? You… you…” Lin Qingfeng was beside himself with rage, wishing he could tear Lin Qingyun apart. Something he regarded as a treasure, something for which he’d paid a steep price to retrieve, had been delivered by a mere robot—this was deliberate humiliation.

“I’m busy. Just put the herbs on the delivery robot and let it bring them over,” came a message to Zhang Xueyi from Lin Qingyun at that moment.

“Lin Qingyun, you’re growing more outrageous by the day. What do you mean by this? Who are you trying to humiliate? Using a delivery robot for the pill, you’re becoming more and more insufferable. That pill was rightfully my son’s. Feeling bold, are you? Fine, you want the herbs, come get them from me yourself,” Zhang Xueyi fumed, her anger soon giving way to a gleam in her eye.

After all, the Coldfire Embryo Pill had originally belonged to her son, and Lin Qingyun had snatched it away. Now, to treat it so cavalierly was playing with fire. Who did he think he was? Did he think he was humiliating others?

“Come, Feng’er, let’s go. Let him come crawling to us,” Zhang Xueyi decided, intent on teaching Lin Qingyun a lesson.

At first, Lin Qingfeng was furious, but hearing his mother’s words, he faltered. Yet as he held the Coldfire Embryo Pill in his hand, his expression shifted—from rage and excitement, to delight, then to deepening seriousness and confusion.

Eventually, his hands trembled as he gripped the pill.

“Something’s not right… The surface of this Coldfire Embryo Pill has been fused with other medicinal ingredients. What’s going on? He’s ruined my pill…” Lin Qingfeng cried out anxiously.

“Lin Qingyun, show yourself!” he shouted in fury, then immediately turned to his mother. “Mom, ask him what’s going on!”

A message arrived before Zhang Xueyi could even inquire. “Deliver what I want within ten minutes, or the medicinal energy will seep into the Coldfire Embryo Pill and destroy it. If you think you can solve the problem in ten minutes, go ahead and try. But if you make any sudden moves, the energy attached to the pill will seep in and ruin it.”

A countdown timer was attached to the message.

“How malicious can you be…” Zhang Xueyi was livid and prepared to curse Lin Qingyun. But Lin Qingfeng, obsessed as he was, grew all the more desperate to reclaim the Coldfire Embryo Pill. He immediately loaded the herbs onto the delivery robot.

Though the robot wasn’t large, it could stabilize larger items placed on it.

“Let’s follow it. I want to see what Lin Qingyun is up to…” Zhang Xueyi, still fuming, wanted nothing more than to confront Lin Qingyun.

“If I see you, I’ll be so disgusted I might destroy the pill right then and there,” came another message.

“Mom, stop, don’t move!” Lin Qingfeng cried, panic-stricken, as he received the next message, grabbing Zhang Xueyi to restrain her.

“What are you afraid of…” Zhang Xueyi was exasperated by her son’s fear, but seeing how fixated and anxious he was, eyes glued to the altered Coldfire Embryo Pill, she found she could not scold him further.

“Is it there yet? Any word from Lin Qingyun?”

“What’s the matter, Mom, ask him again…”

“Time’s almost up—why hasn’t Lin Qingyun replied yet…”

Lin Qingfeng’s emotions churned, swinging from one extreme to another. After being influenced by Zhang Baole, he’d convinced himself that, with Lin’s Pharmaceutical Group in hand and Lin Qingyun ruined, the loss of the Coldfire Embryo Pill was no big deal. But after Lin Qingyun took first place and the younger freshmen all gained opportunities, his obsession flared up again. By now, his state of mind had grown decidedly unhinged.

Zhang Xueyi consoled him repeatedly while cursing Lin Qingyun without pause, not realizing that her own words and actions were only making Lin Qingfeng’s anxiety worse.

“Don’t worry, Feng’er, he wouldn’t dare destroy it. If he did, this wouldn’t be over. Trust me, he won’t dare…” Zhang Xueyi tried her best to reassure him.

Yet at this moment, Lin Qingfeng could hear nothing but the ticking clock, his gaze fixed on the pill in his hand.

“Time’s almost up. Should I…?” As the ten minutes dwindled, he hesitated, desperate yet afraid to act.

A quiet hum sounded.

The communicator, still in Lin Qingfeng’s grip, finally received a message at his moment of greatest anxiety.

“Just kidding. It’s only some pill residue on the outside—crush it.”

Crush it?

Lin Qingfeng could scarcely believe it, but, trembling, he gently pinched the pill. As the outer layer crumbled away, his Coldfire Embryo Pill was revealed, untouched within.

For a moment, Lin Qingfeng was both overjoyed and relieved, regaining some composure. Together with his mother, he cursed Lin Qingyun for toying with them.

“Lin Qingyun, you really are something—treating your own family like this. Just wait, you’ll pay for this…” After venting for a while, Lin Qingfeng could think only of going back to refine and absorb the Coldfire Embryo Pill.

He longed to break through to the Soaring Cloud level as soon as possible; only then, when he next met Lin Qingyun, could he exact his revenge.

Zhang Xueyi was still fuming, wanting nothing more than to see Lin Qingyun and give him a piece of her mind. But Lin Qingfeng was already impatient to return and take the pill, leaving her with no choice but to go along.

Just as they were about to leave Haicheng University, Zhang Xueyi received several calls in quick succession. The first was from the police, informing her that Zhang Baole had been killed and as his next of kin, she needed to come handle the situation.

Before she could even ask for more details, Lin Kunshan called, telling her he was already on his way and giving her the full story: Zhang Baole had been killed—not only him, but also the four bodyguards protecting him, several women he’d brought to the island, and the people guarding Xie Zhiqiang’s sister. Seventeen people had been killed on the island; the incident had become a major case.

What’s more, it hadn’t been the authorities who first discovered the crime, but a journalist sneaking onto the island for a scoop; the scene was now fully exposed.

The news struck Zhang Xueyi like a thunderbolt. No matter what trouble Zhang Baole had caused, he was still her brother. She broke down in tears as she saw news reports from the scene, her spirit utterly crushed.

Meanwhile, in the Institute of Alchemy at Haicheng University, Chu Qing, upon learning that Lin Qingyun was not in seclusion, rushed over, followed quickly by Brother Chao.

“B-boss, something’s happened. Zhang… Zhang Baole’s been killed…” Chu Qing’s voice trembled—not because she mourned Zhang Baole, but because she’d been in regular contact with him, acting as a double agent under Lin Qingyun’s instructions to earn his trust.

Lin Qingyun would message her from time to time, guiding her to gain benefits and trust from Zhang Baole. She was no longer the high school girl she had been months ago; her recent experiences had taught her much. She knew that Lin Qingyun’s ambitions extended far beyond Zhang Baole.

Now, with Zhang Baole suddenly dead, she was at a loss for what to do.