307: Tenth on the Heavenly Ranking

Elsewhere, within the Quiet Garden.

Upon seeing Jiang Qinghe, the Clan Chiefs of the Four Great Families knelt in unison, their wails shaking the heavens. They accused Feng Ming of forcibly purchasing medicinal herbs, their words filled with exaggeration, painting him as a tyrannical and oppressive bully.

Feng Da stood to the side, watching their performance and secretly clicking his tongue in amazement.

Jiang Qinghe furrowed his brows and asked in a low voice, "What exactly is going on? You are Feng Ming's man, why have you come with them?"

Before Feng Da could speak, the Clan Chiefs of the Four Great Families all started talking at once, recounting the events with particular emphasis on Feng Ming's "threat," attempting to get Jiang Qinghe to take their side.

Jiang Qinghe listened, his frown deepening. He turned to ask Feng Da, "For what purpose does Feng Ming need such a large quantity of seventh-grade or higher herbs?"

"This subordinate does not dare to speculate on the Young Master's affairs. Perhaps, Old Master, you should ask him yourself," Feng Da replied with a bow.

Jiang Qinghe nodded. Feng Da immediately took out a communication stone and contacted Feng Ming.

Inside the trial grounds, Feng Ming soon received the transmission. Jiang Qinghe's voice, carrying a note of interrogation, came through: "Feng Ming, why are you so determined to acquire seventh-grade or higher herbs, and why have you come into conflict with the Four Great Families?"

Feng Ming replied with sincere honesty, "Old Master, to be frank, Shuwan is pregnant. I urgently need to gather herbs to help her recuperate and to allow the child in her womb to develop an Innate Physique. It was out of necessity that I negotiated with the Four Great Families. They refused to sell, so I was forced to resort to this last resort."

"What did you say?" Jiang Qinghe's voice suddenly rose sharply, filled with shock.

"Shuwan is truly pregnant," Feng Ming repeated. "At first, everyone thought it was a rumor, but I later confirmed it. It's absolutely true. For the sake of Shuwan and the child, I had no choice but to press the Four Great Families for the herbs."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qinghe instantly lost all interest in listening to the Four Great Families' accusations and immediately waved his hand, saying:

"You needn't concern yourself with this matter anymore. Shuwan's pregnancy is a major event for our Jiang Family, far more important than the herb issue. You just wait where you are. Naturally, someone will deliver the herbs to you."

"Thank you, Old Master," Feng Ming responded with a smile.

Beside him, Feng Mian, Qin Hu, and Guan Rong all gave Feng Ming a thumbs-up. Indeed, everything had unfolded just as he predicted.

Within the Quiet Garden.

After Jiang Qinghe ended the communication, the Clan Chiefs of the Four Great Families immediately crowded around him, their faces full of expectation as they asked, "Old Master Jiang, has Feng Ming agreed to back down? We've all received deposits and are just waiting to deliver the goods after the Trial ends."

Jiang Qinghe's face turned cold, his tone brooking no argument: "This year, all seventh-grade and higher medicinal herbs within the Liangzhou Trial grounds are exclusively reserved by me, Jiang Qinghe. I will match whatever deposit they gave you. Whoever dares to sell these herbs to anyone else will be making an enemy of Jiang Qinghe!"

The Clan Chiefs of the Four Great Families were instantly dumbfounded. One of them hurriedly said, "Old Master Jiang, what are we to do? We can't explain this to those noble families. Besides, Feng Ming was originally willing to pay twenty percent more!"

"You refused to sell to him back then. Now, with me, you'll only get this price," Jiang Qinghe said coldly. "Matters of Liang Province are not for outsiders to comment on. If you wish to die, go ahead and try."

The Clan Chiefs looked at each other, their hearts filled with regret. Had they known it would come to this, they might as well have sold directly to Feng Ming earlier; at least they could have made a bigger profit. Now, not only were their profits reduced, but they also had to offend those noble families. It was truly a case of losing the wife and the soldiers.

One of the Clan Chiefs, unwilling to give up, asked, "Old Master Jiang, why have you suddenly decided to acquire these herbs?"

A smile finally appeared on Jiang Qinghe's face, his voice brimming with joy: "Because Shuwan is pregnant! I'm going to be a grandfather!"

Having said that, he turned and instructed Steward Jiang: "Immediately issue a notice in my name, offering high prices to purchase seventh-grade and higher medicinal herbs. No restrictions on quantity, we'll take as much as available. Money is no object!"

"Yes, Master!" Steward Jiang bowed and accepted the order.

Jiang Qinghe paid no further attention to the Clan Chiefs of the Four Great Families. He turned and left, unable to help muttering to himself with immense joy as he walked: "I'm going to be a grandfather! Good! Good!"

Watching Jiang Qinghe's ecstatic retreating figure, the Clan Chiefs of the Four Great Families hung their heads in dejection, their hearts filled with bitterness. Yet, they dared not voice their anger and could only accept their defeat.

With Jiang Qinghe stepping in, Feng Ming no longer needed to worry about the herb matter. He could even guess that the final quantity of herbs received would be several times greater than initially anticipated.

After the news of Jiang Shuwan's pregnancy spread, the entire Jiang Mansion instantly became a bustling hub of activity.

Relatives who were usually completely out of touch, envoys from various major forces in Liang Province, all came knocking with gifts. Some brought rare treasures, others brought Spirit Stones, but most sent precious medicinal herbs, all just to curry favor with Jiang Qinghe.

Feng Ming paid no mind to this commotion. All his thoughts at this moment were focused on Jiang Shuwan and the child in her womb.

He stayed within the trial grounds with Feng Mian and the others, guarding the camp. While waiting for the herbs to be delivered, they took turns cultivating, with Feng Ming occasionally offering guidance to help them overcome their cultivation Bottlenecks.

Time slipped away quietly. It had already been a month and a half since the Liangzhou Trial began; the schedule was past its midpoint, and the atmosphere within the trial grounds grew increasingly tense.

On the heaven ranking tickets tally, Feng Ming still held a firm first place with 680 tickets. Although the second-place contestant's count had surged to 420 tickets, the rate of increase had noticeably slowed, and the same was true for third and fourth place.

Clearly, at this stage, obtaining heaven ranking ticketss had become increasingly difficult. Those who could hold onto their tickets all possessed genuine capability.

Qin Hu had long anticipated this: "These people are all waiting for the final month. At that time, they will choose someone from the top ten of the Heaven Ranking to pledge allegiance to, using their heaven ranking ticketss as their token of submission. In the last month, the ticket counts of the top ten will still rise; it all depends on who can attract more followers."

Feng Ming had little interest in this. For him, strength and protecting his family were far more important than any Heaven Ranking position.

The rankings on the power ranking were relatively stable. Zhang Bai, having been the first to Breakthrough to the eighth layer of the Nascent Soul Realm, firmly held first place.

Feng Ming followed closely behind, occupying second place.

Five days after Feng Ming's Breakthrough, Jiang Ling also successfully stepped into the eighth layer of the Nascent Soul Realm, ranking third. Moreover, her heaven ranking ticketss also held steady within the top ten. Barring any unforeseen events, she was certain to secure a final spot in the top ten.

Jiang Shuwan's cultivation also steadily improved, Breaking Through to the seventh layer of the Nascent Soul Realm. Due to her pregnancy, Feng Ming specially selected gentle herbs for her recuperation, making her Foundation even more solid.

As for Feng Mian and Guan Rong, lacking special cultivation boosts and not having the profound heritage (Foundation/background) of Zhang Bai and Jiang Ling, they still had some distance to go before reaching a Breakthrough to the eighth layer of the Nascent Soul Realm.

As for Lu Qianqian, she was wholeheartedly striving to break into the top ten of the Heaven Ranking, wanting to become an official in the imperial court. She had yet to reunite with Feng Ming and the others.

In forty days, her heaven ranking ticketss had climbed to over two hundred, yet the gap between her and Feng Ming's group grew ever wider.

Feng Ming had no objections to this. To each their own ambition; he respected Lu Qianqian's choice. He only needed to find some Opportunities for her later in the Trial, which wouldn't affect the overall situation.

The Spiritual Qi within the trial grounds grew increasingly dense, yet hidden dangers lurked. Various forces lay in wait, all anticipating the final month's power plays. Feng Ming remained at the camp, protecting Jiang Shuwan while diligently Cultivating, quietly awaiting the changes to come.