Chapter 111: Clouds and Sails

Before long, a plain-looking youth whom people could easily overlook darted out of the woods. Red radiance billowed above his head, smoke curling through it, while a huge line of characters proclaiming “Twenty kilograms of mid-grade origin stones” towered overhead in an ostentatious display.

The instant the unremarkable youth appeared, countless strange—and even greedy—gazes locked onto him. The youth solemnly glanced at the crowd, then looked up at the dark-red words hovering above his head as though deliberately showing off. His brows immediately drew together in a deep frown.

Even Yang Yu, who had been locked in an unending battle with Che Wuyou, halted his attack. He stared at the utterly ordinary youth before him, his eyes revealing profound shock. Perhaps others did not know, but Yang Yu understood all too well how difficult it was to obtain twenty kilograms of mid-grade origin stones on the first level, and what heaven-defying luck that required.

With Yang Yu’s wealth, twenty kilograms of mid-grade origin stones were not truly beyond his reach. Yet every treasure obtained within the Heaven-Reaching Tower possessed extraordinary significance. After all, even Yang Fengge, a youth of unfathomable strength, had obtained no more than ten zhu of low-grade origin stones. According to the system of measurement used in the Southern Continent, one jin of mid-grade origin stones equaled at least one hundred jin of low-grade origin stones; one jin of low-grade origin stones equaled ten liang, and one liang equaled ten zhu. From this conversion alone, it was easy to see why the youth before them was so astonishing.

“Yun Fan? It’s actually you,” someone in the crowd exclaimed upon recognizing the plain-looking youth.

“So his name is Yun Fan. I saw him during the Azure Pool’s Ten Trials. He was rated Ding in almost every category.” A youth in the crowd was utterly astonished. “But how could he have such incredible luck? On this first level, all I’ve seen are trees and boulders. Where did he find twenty kilograms of mid-grade origin stones?”

After their initial shock, several youths began whispering among themselves. During the Azure Pool’s Ten Trials, every test was graded as Jia, Yi, Bing, or Ding. Jia was the highest grade, while Ding was the lowest. Anyone who received a grade below Ding in even a single trial would be eliminated. Aside from Yang Fengge, Ye Xuan, and a handful of others, who had received Jia in all ten trials and thus stood out brilliantly, everyone else had their own strengths and weaknesses. Few had been graded Ding in all ten trials—but Yun Fan was one of those rare individuals.

Yet this utterly ordinary, inconspicuous youth had actually swept across the first level of the Heaven-Reaching Tower, standing head and shoulders above everyone else and obtaining the rare treasure of twenty kilograms of mid-grade origin stones. If he had performed so brilliantly on the first level, what would he obtain on the levels ahead?

“Yun Fan, hand it over. With your strength, you can’t possibly keep it. You might as well surrender it willingly. That way, you’ll be doing me, Zhang Tong, a favor, and we can still get along in the future.” Zhang Tong stepped forward and extended his hand.

This time, Zhang Tong was not acting on his own behalf, but on behalf of the Yang family. He knew that, with his own abilities, he could never hope to possess such a treasure. It would be better to seize it first and then present it to someone from the Yang family, thereby demonstrating the sincerity of his allegiance.

As for Yun Fan, Zhang Tong already believed he had him completely under control. A person whose every talent barely met the minimum standard—or rather, someone who might be eliminated from the Azure Pool at any moment—was not worth taking seriously. After all, Zhang Tong himself had received Jia in three of the Azure Pool’s Ten Trials.

Many people in the crowd who considered themselves capable no longer felt any need to rush forward once someone else had stepped in. They wanted Zhang Tong to lead the way and gauge the others’ reactions, especially those of the unfathomable Yang Fengge and Ye Xuan, whose performance during the Azure Pool’s Ten Trials had been dazzling. As for Yun Fan, a man blessed with heaven-defying luck but possessing little strength, naturally no one paid him much attention.

Zhang Tong waited with his hand extended for quite some time, but Yun Fan merely frowned in troubled hesitation, showing no sign of handing anything over. Zhang Tong could not help sneering.

“Yun Fan, since you refuse to surrender it, don’t blame me for taking it by force. Of course, your big brother here isn’t very good at judging his strength. If I happen to injure you—or even cripple you—you’ll have to forgive me.”

Zhang Tong advanced toward Yun Fan step by step. Many people could not help turning their gazes toward Yang Fengge, Ye Xuan, Yang Shi, Li Zhen, and the others. They were the most prominent figures among those selected by the Azure Pool this time, as well as the leading candidates to seize victory in the Heaven-Reaching Tower. If a contest truly broke out, most people probably would not be able to compete with them.

“You… you want it?” Yun Fan looked at Zhang Tong, who was steadily closing in on him, and frowned again, appearing deeply conflicted. “Since you like it, I’ll give it to you.”

As he spoke, Yun Fan actually untied the universe pouch from his waist and handed it to Zhang Tong.

“This seems to be a universe pouch. I took a secret look inside, and the storage space appears to be fairly large.”

Yun Fan’s words caused nearly everyone present to narrow their eyes slightly. No wonder the contents were so valuable—it was a universe pouch. Judging by its worth, it was probably the lowest-grade kind, but even so, it was an extremely precious possession for youths without powerful backgrounds. Even someone as outstanding and noble as Yang Fengge did not yet possess a universe pouch of his own, let alone the others.

But why had Yun Fan revealed this in front of everyone? Could it be that he was unwilling to surrender it wholeheartedly and had deliberately exposed the pouch to incite the crowd’s greed, taking revenge on Zhang Tong by provoking everyone to surround him? Yang Shi fixed Yun Fan with a cold, penetrating stare as he pondered.

“What a calculating youth. He knows he lacks the ability to protect the universe pouch, yet he refuses to hand it over for nothing. So he intends to stir up everyone’s greed and have them attack Zhang Tong. Then he can fish in troubled waters.”

Zhang Tong stared at the universe pouch Yun Fan had extended toward him. His vicious grin froze slightly. He had not even begun to use force, yet the youth had become so obedient that it caught him completely off guard.

Regardless, Zhang Tong was delighted to obtain the universe pouch without a struggle. He accepted it with one hand, then pointed at Yun Fan with the other and laughed as he scolded him.

“You little brat. What am I supposed to do with you? I told you to hand it over earlier, but you refused and insisted on waiting until I took action before cooperating. Still, you have some sense after all—you know your big brother’s strength. How about this? Follow me from now on. I won’t treat you unfairly.”

After taking the universe pouch, Zhang Tong glanced at Yang Yu, who was still entangled with Che Wuyou, then looked toward Yang Fengge and Yang Shi. For a moment, he did not know whom he should give the pouch to. He had just pledged himself to Yang Yu, but Yang Yu’s current performance had left him deeply disappointed. If he could not even deal with a youth who had entered the Azure Pool through connections, how could Zhang Tong willingly submit to him?

Just as Zhang Tong hesitated, a sheepish voice suddenly came from behind him.

“Zhang… Zhang Tong, I’m terribly sorry, but I… I’ve decided that I don’t want to give up my universe pouch after all. Could you please return it to me?”