68: Chapter 68 Third-Rank High-Grade Barrier-Breaking Pill

"Fifth Brother, I finally found you. Everyone else has finished their matches. Guess what place Yisong got?" Ye Jiekang said, panting for breath, not forgetting to leave a bit of suspense.

"First place, obviously. With those sorry excuses for talents, what kind of good things could they possibly make?" Ye Jiesheng said dismissively.

"Sigh, boring. Where's Yisong? I'm going to go talk to him." Ye Jiekang said, looking left and right. He ignored Ye Jiesheng's remark about "sorry excuses for talents"—he couldn't beat him, after all.

"Uncle Jiekang, I'm over here." Ye Yisong raised a paw and waved a greeting.

"Hahaha, Yisong, who beat you up like this? Tell Uncle Jiekang, and I'll avenge you." Ye Jiekang couldn't help but laugh when he saw Ye Yisong's pig-head face.

Ye Yisong glanced at Ye Jiesheng with his swollen eyes, implying something subtly.

"Ahem, Yisong, you must have been ill-behaved. Look how angry you made Fifth Brother; he probably hurt his hand." Ye Jiekang said righteously, having realized what happened.

Ye Yisong had been with Ye Jiesheng the whole time. Besides Ye Jiesheng, who else could have beaten Ye Yisong like this?

"Fifth Brother, I have things to do, so I'll be off." Ye Jiekang wanted to slip away, sensing that the situation was not right.

"Wait, tell me about the results of the Talisman Making assessment." Ye Jiesheng called out to stop Ye Jiekang.

"Alrighty!" Ye Jiekang could finally say what he had originally wanted to say.

"Yisong produced a Tier 2 High Grade Talisman, leaving everyone else in the dust, taking first place."

"Following him was Cousin Jiejing, who produced a Tier 2 Medium Grade Talisman, taking second place." Ye Jiekang was convinced this time.

"Third place is me, having produced four Tier 2 Low Grade Talismans, winning by a narrow margin." Ye Jiekang chuckled. Seeing Miss Shi Yu Cultivate three stalks of Tier 2 Low Grade spirit rice had made his heart jump into his throat. Fortunately, some of Miss Shi Yu's seeds were Innate-deficient and couldn't break through to Tier 2, otherwise, his third-place position would have been lost.

"Fourth to tenth place are: Miss Shi Yu, Li Yuan, Zhao Wentao, Jiehua, Jieyang, Zhao Wenjing, and Zhou Shi."

"Zhou Shi?" Ye Jiesheng said, surprised.

"Yes, this square-faced man's Talisman-making Technique is truly remarkable. He uses both hands to produce Talismans simultaneously, and he managed to surpass Cousin Jielu purely by volume." Ye Jiekang praised.

Ye Jiekang didn't mention the remaining seven people, instead turning back to Ye Yisong: "Yisong is still the most impressive. He got first place in both the Martial Examination and the Talisman Making assessment. This comes with the reward of a Tier 3 High Grade barrier-breaking pill."

"Hehehe, this Medicinal Pill is incredible. It can assist a Middle Stage Martial Master to break through to the Late Stage."

This is considered a hidden benefit of the Martial Examination. In the County Exam, achieving double first place rewards one with a Tier 3 High Grade barrier-breaking pill; in the Prefecture Examination, achieving double first place rewards one with a Tier 4 High Grade barrier-breaking pill.

As Ye Jiekang spoke, his big eyes twinkled as he looked at Ye Yisong. It was clear he had come for this. He had been stuck at the Five-Star Martial Master realm for over a year; cultivation is not easy!

When Ye Yisong broke through to the Martial Master realm, he had used a Tier 3 High Grade barrier-breaking pill, so he was naturally familiar with it. Thinking that he had now broken through to Nine-Star Martial Master, he wouldn't need this pill.

After spending these past few days together, Ye Jiekang seemed like a person worth knowing, so he thought it wouldn't be a big deal to sell it to Ye Jiekang. Yitian and Yiguang were still a long way off.

Before he could say it, he heard Ye Jiesheng say: "This pill already has an owner. It has to be returned to Uncle Nine. Where do you think the pill you used to break through came from? It was your father, shamelessly borrowing it in advance for you."

Ye Yisong said in astonishment: "You were actually able to borrow such a precious pill from that old man?"

After Ye Yisong finished speaking, he realized he had spoken incorrectly. Ye Jiexin's stinginess was famous in the Ye Family, but he did not allow others to gossip about it.

If Ye Jiexin found out that Ye Yisong was gossiping behind his back, he would definitely find an opportunity to make things difficult for him.

Ye Jiesheng was a bit envious of Ye Jiexin; Ye Yisong had never called him "old man," such an affectionate term, from childhood to adulthood.

Although the Tier 3 High Grade barrier-breaking pill is only a Tier 3 Medicinal Pill, worth 8,000 Spirit Stones, it is priceless and rarely available.

The Cangjiang Ye Clan was also often in a state of shortage. To obtain this quality of special Medicinal Pill, one could only exchange special Tier 3 Talismans, or even Tier 4 Talismans, from the Wei Family or Wang Family.

Upon hearing Ye Jiesheng's words, Ye Jiekang could only feel secretly sorrowful; a precious pill is hard to come by!

"Then our Cangjiang Ye Clan obtained a total of 38 points in this Shuinan County Talisman Making assessment. Added to the 50 points from the Martial Examination phase, our Family obtained a total of 88 points in this Shuinan County Martial Examination. The results are remarkable," Ye Yisong said, changing the subject.

"Hmm, indeed not bad," Ye Jiesheng also commented.

"The ranking of the top 100 in the Shuinan County Martial Examination is out, right?" Ye Yisong asked, looking at Ye Jiekang.

"It's out. The Shuinan County Magistrate seemed to have something urgent to attend to; after the Talisman Making assessment ended, he left in a hurry," Ye Jiekang replied.

"The general ranking hasn't changed; it's just that a few people have changed."

"Cousin Jiejing's points surpassed Cousin Jiehua, entering the top three. Zhou Shi entered the top ten, pushing Song Yilun out."

"Oh, one more thing. I heard that Song Yilun is crippled. After the Martial Examination ended, the Song Family Clan Chief, Song Qingshan, begged County Magistrate Sun to sell him a Profound Heaven Heart-Protecting Pill. County Magistrate Sun ignored him and just left. Song Yilun will probably be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life."

Hearing Ye Jiekang calling him "Cousin Jiejing" at every turn now, Ye Yisong felt extremely cringey. Before, he had been acting like he was at death's door, but what was up with him now?

Heh, he was probably scared by Ye Jiejing's violent Overlord Spear, afraid that he would end up like Song Yilun, with his body poked full of holes.

"Fifth Brother, that's about it," Ye Jiekang said. "Oh, right, County Magistrate Sun said the closing ceremony of the Martial Examination will be held at the County Office on the 20th of May. At that time, they will also present Yisong with the award for achieving double first place in the Martial Examination."

"Fifth Brother, if there's nothing else, I'll head back first. I've been worried about the Martial Examination these past few days and haven't slept well for days."

Ye Jiesheng nodded and said: "Go, get some good rest. Tell them that once the ceremony ends on the 20th of May, we will return immediately to prepare for the October Cangjiang Prefecture Examination."

"Alright, Fifth Brother." Ye Jiekang agreed and left. The heart he had just set at ease was raised again.

"You should get some good rest these days," Ye Jiesheng instructed Ye Yisong. "Here is the token. When you have time, go to the Cultivation Chamber to polish your cultivation. Although the dragon-tiger golden pill is good, it is ultimately an external object."

"Yes, Father, this child understands."

Just as Ye Yisong was about to leave Ye Jiesheng's sight, he heard a thunderbolt from a clear sky.

"Spend the next few months properly crafting Talismans. By the end of the year, prepare 300,000 Spirit Stones for your father. Your father has a use for them."

How much? 300,000 Spirit Stones?

Is he just working him to death now that he sees he's broken through to a Tier 3 Talisman Master?

With his strength as a Tier 3 Low Grade Talisman Master, calculating based on 1,000 Spirit Stones per Tier 3 Low Grade Talisman, he would need to craft 300 Tier 3 Talismans to scrape together these 300,000 Spirit Stones!

There are still eight months left; he needs to complete nearly 40 Talismans per month. 40 Talismans might not seem like much.

But that's not how the math works. Talisman Making has a success rate. A Talisman Maker's success rate is generally only about 30%, which means including the failed Talismans, he needs to craft about 120 Tier 3 Talismans per month.

Damn it!

"Father, just sell me off. See if I can sell for 300,000 Spirit Stones," Ye Yisong complained.

"If you don't finish, I will sell you off," Ye Jiesheng's light, emotionless voice drifted in from outside.