Ling Luoyi did not reply, but Li Shu understood and smiled, "Then, I would like to propose another cooperation with Miss Ling. Do you agree?"
"Cooperation? Alright."
"Here are the required items, quantities, and prices. Miss Ling, please take a look." Li Shu produced a piece of paper and handed it to Ling Luoyi.
Ling Luoyi took it and scanned it carefully. "The items are fine. When does Young Pavilion Master want them?"
"That depends on Miss Ling's schedule. Miss Ling still has many orders for elixirs, so the timing is up to you."
"Alright, I will do my best."
Seeing Ling Luoyi agree, Li Shu produced a crystal card and said, "Here is the deposit. Miss Ling can check it."
"No need," Ling Luoyi replied. "This is not the first time I've cooperated with Young Pavilion Master. I trust you on this."
Watching Ling Luoyi accept the crystal card, Li Shu said, "It's almost time for dinner. Why don't Miss Ling join me? The chefs at Mingyue Tower have learned how to prepare spiritual vegetables. Miss Ling might want to try them."
"Alright." Ling Luoyi had always been unable to resist good food, perhaps due to past experiences.
The waiter quickly brought the dishes.
Ling Luoyi's eyes lit up as she saw the exquisite dishes laid out on the table. The chefs at Mingyue Tower were renowned, and she had eaten there before; it was indeed good.
Seeing Ling Luoyi's eyes sparkle, Li Shu smiled, "Miss Ling, please try."
Ling Luoyi picked up a piece of green vegetable. As soon as it entered her mouth, she frowned.
The taste was not as good as what she had eaten before.
Seeing Ling Luoyi frown, Li Shu asked, "Miss Ling, is there something wrong with these spiritual vegetables?"
They had all tasted them and felt they were suitable for sale before offering them to Ling Luoyi.
After tasting each dish, Ling Luoyi said, "Young Pavilion Master, to be honest, although the chefs at Mingyue Tower have decades of experience, they may lack experience in preparing spiritual vegetables, thus failing to bring out their true value. For example, this dish has lost too much spiritual energy, making it almost indistinguishable from ordinary dishes. These few dishes have the same problem. As for the texture, these dishes are rather astringent and don't taste very good."
When spiritual vegetables are prepared into dishes and consumed, they can replenish spiritual energy. Although not as effective as elixirs, they are still faster than meditating to recover.
Li Shu was aware of this, but spiritual vegetables were rare, and very few chefs knew how to prepare them. The chefs at Mingyue Tower had learned through their own experimentation.
"Then, could Miss Ling offer some guidance?"
Ling Luoyi shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, Young Pavilion Master, I don't know how to cook spiritual vegetables. However, this continent is vast, and with the strength of Liuyun Pavilion, it shouldn't be difficult to find someone."
Hearing this, Li Shu sighed. "I had intended for Miss Ling to be the first to taste the spiritual vegetables, but I seem to have disappointed you. Next time, after Mingyue Tower can prepare spiritual vegetables properly, I will apologize to Miss Ling."
"No need for apologies. However, I have some poultry that were fed with spiritual vegetables. Their meat is better than ordinary poultry. I'll give them to you." Ling Luoyi produced a storage ring and placed it on the table. "Young Pavilion Master, I have other matters to attend to. I'll be leaving now."
"Alright, Miss Ling. Please go ahead."
Ling Luoyi returned to the carriage. Zhuxue was waiting. Seeing her come up with the fox, her expression was not good. She asked, "Miss, what's wrong? Your servant sees that your complexion is not good. Did your discussion with Young Pavilion Master Li not go smoothly?"
Ling Luoyi sat down and said, "No, it's just that I ate something unpleasant, and I'm feeling a bit unwell."
"Ah?" Zhuxue did not expect this to be the reason and asked, "Shall your servant go and buy you some pastries now?"
"No need. Let's go and see the shops you've chosen first."
"Yes."
The carriage started moving. Ling Luoyi took out two fruits, threw one to Zhuxue, and picked up the other to eat.
Zhuxue had selected a total of eleven shops, all located far apart, encircling Yunyuan City.
Ling Luoyi inspected all the shops that afternoon and finally chose six, instructing Zhuxue to purchase them and prepare them as she had instructed.
By the time Ling Luoyi returned to the Ling Mansion, it was already dark.
After sending someone to inform them, Ling Luoyi returned to Qingyin Pavilion.
"Luoluo, that Young Pavilion Master doesn't seem to be from Tianwu Kingdom?" Gu Yuncheng said angrily, thinking of how Li Shu looked at Ling Luoyi.
"He probably isn't. But where he's from has nothing to do with me. We are just cooperating."
"But he guessed your identity as an artifact refiner, so he might guess other things too."
"Asu, what's wrong? You seem a bit off," Ling Luoyi noticed Gu Yuncheng's unusual mood and asked.
"Luoluo, I'm just worried about you."
"Asu, you know, no one can harm me now."
"Luoluo."
"Alright, let's go to sleep."
Ling Luoyi hugged Gu Yuncheng and climbed into bed, falling asleep quickly.
Gu Yuncheng watched Ling Luoyi not taking his words to heart and felt helpless.
Never mind, he was here anyway, and no one could harm her.
The next day, at the competition arena.
A total of thirty-five people had advanced in the previous two days. All of them were at the Spiritualist realm or above. Today, the top ten would be selected from these thirty-five.
The elder had tentatively ranked the top ten based on the previous days' matches. These ten individuals would serve as reigning champions, and the remaining twenty-five could challenge them. A winner would become the new reigning champion. Each challenger had only two opportunities, and a reigning champion could not be challenged consecutively.
The elder first announced the tentative top ten and then said, "Now, challengers may issue challenges to the reigning champions."
The challengers were also ranked according to their advancement order. For fairness, the two opportunities were divided into two rounds.
Five people from the Ling family had advanced. Among the top ten were only Ling Luoyi and Ling Luochen.
Everyone knew Ling Luoyi's cultivation level, and this was their only chance to enter the top ten. No one would choose Ling Luoyi.
Therefore, Ling Luoyi felt no sense of participation.
Ling Luochen's cultivation ranked second. Furthermore, he had severely injured Wei Chutian with a single move two days prior, and it was rumored that Wei Chutian had not yet woken up. Thus, they also did not wish to challenge him at this time.
Consequently, the brother and sister calmly watched the matches from the resting area.
Among the tentative top ten, besides the Ling siblings, were the eldest young masters of the five great aristocratic families, as well as the eldest young master of the first-rate Fang family, Fang Yanqing, and the eldest young master of the Bai family, Bai Zhixu.
Currently on the stage were Fang Yanqing and Ling Luozhe. Both were first-order Spiritualists, with comparable strength, so their fight was evenly matched.
However, neither of them had used their full strength.
Ling Luozhe wanted to see how far he could go with his own strength, while Fang Yanqing did so out of respect for him being from the Ling family.
However, Ling Luoyi could see that Ling Luozhe was gradually falling into a disadvantage.
Indeed, within moments, Fang Yanqing's spear was at Ling Luozhe's chest, while Ling Luozhe's long sword had not come close to Fang Yanqing.
Fang Yanqing did not stab Ling Luozhe's chest. Upon seeing Ling Luozhe lower his sword, he withdrew his weapon.
Ling Luozhe smiled, "Thank you, Young Master Fang, for showing mercy."
"Not at all. This is just a competition; a simple touch is enough."
Both were naturally gentle in disposition and shared similar temperaments. After a spar, their camaraderie grew, and they had now become friends.
"Luozhe, after the genius selection ends, let's have tea and chat together."
"Okay."
The two smiled and stepped off the stage.
Ling Luozhe was very happy today. Previously, he dared not make friends for fear of implicating others. Now, it was fine, and he no longer had to worry.