Chapter 141: Concept

"Women sure like spouting nonsense to themselves," Qin Lie quietly thought in his heart.

He still could hear Tang Siqi's mutterings after withdrawing his soul consciousness into the Soul Suppressing Orb.

Hearing her soliloquy, Qin Lie wasn't sure if he should be crying or laughing. He didn't know what to say about this.

Back at Ling Town, when Ling Yushi had assumed that he was stupid and thus did not understand what she said, muttering to herself and recounting her inner troubles before him was her most favorite activity.

Now that Tang Siqi thought that he had lost his consciousness, she had actually begun to mutter to herself as well.

"Do all women like to do this?" Qin Lie was speechless.

When he heard that Tang Siqi had also assumed that the reason he came to Armament Sect was for her, that everything he had done was to attract her attention, that he was chasing her using some unique methods... Qin Lie grew more and more dumbstruck.

"I cannot possibly accept you." Tang Siqi shook her head. Her bright eyes were focused onto his body. "Sect Master and Elder Mo Hai have placed high expectations on me, hoping that I can become Armament Sect's future sect master and take over Armament Sect in their place. I promised them that I would treat this matter seriously, that I will put my life's effort into forging artifacts!"

"A man will disrupt my heart and focus. I made up my mind a long time ago that I would not involve myself with any man!"

She was speaking towards Qin Lie, and apparently herself as well. "Setting you aside, I will not be shaken even if there was someone ten times better than you!"

She lowered her head and looked at Qin Lie again. "Besides, you're not really special. Your looks are only handsome at best, and your realm is also pretty low, far weaker even when compared to me. You do work seriously though, that is your one virtue only..."

"I hope that you can give up your pointless dreams once you wake up. I hope you can truly pour your heart into artifact forging and proficiently assist me in grinding spirit materials. In that case, I can recommend you into the inner sect and let you become my junior. At least it'll be better than you spending every day worrying about those despicable ploys."

"......"

Qin Lie felt incredibly wronged. He wanted to explain himself, but unfortunately, he could not open his mouth. He could only listen to Tang Siqi's misunderstanding about him.

He finally understood that Tang Siqi was just like the others, assuming that he had spent all his efforts to chase after her. That was why she had taken precautions and was always careful of him.

"It looks like I really have to correct this misunderstanding."

Qin Lie made up his mind to explain everything to Tang Siqi first thing after the Eclipse Insect's poison was neutralized to stop this woman from suspecting everything and believing that everything he did was for her sake and the sake of attracting her attention.

"What a vain woman! Did she seriously believe that every man in the world who comes to Armament Sect comes just for her? Just how conceited can this woman be?!" exclaimed Qin Lie on the inside.

An hour later, Yi Yuan arrived on time and switched shifts with Tang Siqi. Now it was Yi Yuan's turn to nag and spout his nonsense.

Qin Lie got annoyed of listening to them, so he focused his mind energy onto the frost picture scroll inside the Soul Suppressing Orb.

Slipping his soul consciousness into the frost picture, he meticulously felt every vein of power on the picture and the wonders of the frost concept.

His soul floated about as if he had entered the world inside the frost picture. It was as if he had placed himself inside the heart of frost and felt that even his soul was shuddering.

It was as if he could hear the cold wind blowing, the world freezing, the icicles flying, and the icy rocks exploding...

He was completely sunk within.

"Eh?!"

Yi Yuan suddenly stopped his nonsense and abruptly looked to Qin Lie with bright light shining from his eyes.

"A concept! A kind of absolute zero concept! It's as if this concept would freeze everything and turn the entire world into a world of ice!" Yi Yuan felt it for a moment and felt as if his teeth was going to shatter from the frost. Surprised on the inside, he had no choice but to stop it and even moved his chair away to put some distance between himself and Qin Lie.

"Just what kind of background does he have?" Yi Yuan frowned. "He could freeze himself and seal himself in a frozen state, and it seems that his soul is active as well? How can he comprehend soul power at just the early stage of the Natal Opening Realm? This is strange, much too strange. You can just see the anomalies everywhere. This Qin Bing... is probably no ordinary person."

A concept was something that was incredibly miraculous, and most average martial practitioners would find it really extremely difficult to capture and understand exactly what a concept was.

Only someone like Yi Yuan, who had grown up at Purple Mist Sea and had come into contact with a wider range of things, would understand a little of the magic that was concept.

He had heard that when one was executing spirit arts and spirit techniques, their powers could be enhanced several times if they could be matched with a complementary concept!

He himself had not understood the true wonders of concepts due to his realm, but he had seen a person who had completely learned a concept at Purple Mist Sea unleashing his concept of fire.

When that concept had spread out, the surrounding people had felt hot all over. It was as if their hearts had been ignited and their blood was burning...

He was also there, and to this day, he could neither forget the burning sensation in his body nor his fear-at the time, he thought that his innards were literally burning alive!

This frost concept is very, very weak, but the will to seal the world inside and the tendency to freeze everything in ice is extremely terrifying!" Yi Yuan sucked in a deep breath as his expression turned serious. "Qin Bing must not have learned much of it yet, or this concept would be far more than just this."

The concept arising from Qin Lie's body made Yi Yuan feel the illusion that he was in a world of ice and snow, as if the world he was in right now was frozen solid, and that there were glaciers and icy currents everywhere.

Yi Yuan's gaze towards Qin Lie grew more and more amazed. He made up his mind on the inside to pay more attention to Qin Lie and find out more about the wonders happening to him.

Just before the sky darkened.

Lian Rou and Tang Siqi arrived together. The moment the enter the room they both shivered.

"A concept!" Tang Siqi sensed her surroundings a bit before suddenly exclaiming, "I'm not mistaken, am I? Is this truly a concept?"

Lian Rou subconsciously pulled in her clothes tighter and put some distance between her and Qin Lie. Then, she closed in again and, carefully sensed her surroundings for a moment before suddenly confirming, "This is a concept alright! This feeling where our bodies aren't chilled, but our minds are... this is definitely a concept."

Yi Yuan agreed, "The so-called concept is to have your opponent feel its terror from the bottom of his heart and soul before they even begin to unleash their power. We are at the front door and a bit further away from Qin Bing. Our bodies don't feel too uncomfortable, but our hearts and souls feel as if they're in a world of ice. If this is not a concept, then what is?"

"Is the area of a concept only as big as a room?" There was a strange light in Tang Siqi's eyes. "Rumors say that when those who learned a concept unleash their concepts, it would cover a huge area. The powerful ones could even cover an entire city with their concept alone."

"That is how the rumor goes." Yi Yuan's voice was deep as he said, "I heard that someone had enveloped an entire city with a death concept in the past, and in an hour, every living being inside the city, be it human or beast, had committed suicide. In just an hour, the entire city had become a dead city. Not even a single dog survived."

Lian Rou and Tang Siqi shivered again. There was no telling if it was because they were frightened by Yi Yuan's tale or because of the will of frost inside the stone tower.

"Qin Bing's concept is still too weak and can only affect a room, so his understanding of this concept is still at a beginner's level." Yi Yuan continued, "But no matter how weak it is, it is still a concept! As his recognition of this concept deepens, it will grow scarier and more formidable! In the future, when the concept, his spirit art, and body have merged together, then... the destructive power Qin Bing can unleash will practically be unimaginable!"

Lian Rou and Tang Siqi grew more and more amazed. Their watchful gaze on Qin Lie also grew fearful on the inside.

"You can detox him now," reminded Yi Yuan.

"Oh. Oh, got it." Lian Rou's expression was a bit unnatural. After a moment, she took out a porcelain bowl from the spatial ring. The bowl was filled with sticky, black juice, and she passed it to Yi Yuan instructing, "Splash the juice inside this bowl on Qin Lie's body. Make sure it's balanced. The head and the face are key, so you must be careful."

"At your service," gently smiled Yi Yuan as he took over the porcelain bowl and arrived next to Qin Lie. He splashed the sticky juice onto Qin Lie's body in accordance with Lian Rou's instructions.

When a drop of the black and sticky juice fell onto Qin Lie's body, a sliver of black water then seeped through the thick icy crystals and sank directly into Qin Lie's skin.

Amazingly, the patch of dark green skin had immediately returned to its normal color once the black juice had seeped in.

"Sister Rou, you really are amazing!" Tang Siqi praised.

"But of course." Lian Rou lifted her head up high. "The poisonous swamps at the southern area is where I operated before I came to Armament Sect. Our family has dealt with poison and poisonous insects for generations. How can the mere poison of Eclipse Insect possibly put me down?"

"I knew my Lian Rou would be able to do it." Yi Yuan's face was also filled with praise.

"Yo-your Lian Rou? What did you say? Bastard, I dare you to say that again!" After freezing for a moment, Lian Rou suddenly and angrily glared at Yi Yuan while scolding him, "You madman! How dare you take advantage of me. I-I'll make it so that you won't be able to get out for the latter half of the month!"

Yi Yuan laughed. He did not reply her and simply looked at her affectionately. It was as if he would melt her heart through his gaze alone.

Lian Rou felt goosebumps all over as she was being stared at like that. It was just incredibly uncomfortable. She quickly ran behind Tang Siqi while scolding him, "I'm so unlucky to run into a madman like him. Compared to him, Qin Bing is still okay, at least he's not this crazy!"

"Yeah, now that I look at it, although Qin Bing has been a little despicable and shameless, he was slightly more pleasing to the eye than Yi Yuan in every other aspect," Tang Siqi smiled cheerfully.

"Who's despicable and shameless?" Qin Bing interrupted with a weak voice. He opened his eyes and looked at Tang Siqi, exerting a lot of effort, "You were the one disrupting me from the very beginning. The reason I caused those sparks is to shoo you away, but to think that..."

"More sophistry?" Tang Siqi put both hands on her hips and glared. "You almost shamed me to death, and I even had to hug you to extinguish the fire. You dare say you're not purposely setting me up?"

Seeing that the dark green color on his body was fading and that his ability to move was gradually improving, after a moment of silence, he suddenly said, "Brother Yi Yuan, Senior Sister Rou, I must thank you first. Also, can you please leave for a moment, there's something I need to talk with Senior Sister Tang about alone."

"No problem," coolly smiled Yi Yuan as he walked out without needing to be told to do so. When he arrived by Lian Rou he said again, "Let's leave first."

Although Lian Rou was uncomfortable with him, hearing Qin Lie's words, she could only nod and leave with Yi Yuan, exiting the stone tower side by side and leaving Qin Lie and Tang Siqi alone inside.

Chapter 142: Creating a Spirit Skill!

"What do you want to say?" Tang Siqi's brow creased.

Qin Lie did not immediately respond and murmured to himself for a while. Just as Tang Siqi was running out of patience, he started, "Senior Sister Tang, we might have a misunderstanding between us."

"Misunderstanding?" Tang Siqi returned her head to look at him, then sat down on a chair in the room. Her beautiful eyes were glimmering as she asked, "What misunderstanding are you talking about?"

"During the exam, I did not know you came before me to pick an assistant and was testing me on my composure." Qin Lie phrased it carefully. "I thought you were purposefully disrupting me, so I wanted to focus on the purification of the artifact. That is why I threw sparks at you. I assumed you would dodge and then you would stop bothering me..."

Pausing for a moment, Qin Lie then continued, "I hadn't expected for you to not dodge. I didn't pay attention to the path of sparks and caused your clothes to catch fire."

"So you didn't do it on purpose?" Tang Siqi had an enchanting smile on her face. "You didn't know that the newly admitted outer sect disciples would be chosen by inner sect disciples as assistants? You really know nothing about the customs of Armament Sect?"

"I'm truly completely ignorant," Qin Lie nodded. "More accurately, I had no knowledge of Armament Sect before I came to Armament City. I've only heard of Armament Pavilion before..."

What he said was the truth.

At Icestone City, he only knew of a single Armament Pavilion and didn't know that Armament Sect existed behind Armament Pavilion.

Only when Li Mu took him to Armament City and told him the connection between Armament Sect, Armament City, and Armament Pavilion did he understand that Armament Sect was a faction that was composed of artificer masters. It was similar to Dark Asura Hall and Seven Fiends Valley, a Black Iron power.

"You assume that I will believe you?" Tang Siqi raised her eyebrows. "Every person that comes to Armament Sect to participate in the exam would start preparing a year or two ahead of time. If you are truly ignorant of Armament Sect, how could you pass the exam?"

Qin Lie was silent. He had listened to Li Mu's suggestion and had studied under Yao Tai's for more than a year to get an understanding of the basics of forging. Then he had made it successfully through the exam.

But at the time, Li Mu had not spoken of Armament Sect and hadn't told Qin Lie his thoughts.

He had cultivated beneath the Arctic Mountain Range for three months. After awakening, Li Mu took him directly to Armament Sect, said a few words, and then left with the Icestone Snow Wolf King soon after.

Everything happened too quickly. Qin Lie had reached Armament City almost instantaneously and truly did not come from Armament Sect.

"Where did you really come from?" Tang Siqi's expression became focused. "I had people investigate you. Dark Asura Hall, Seven Fiends Valley, Dark Shadow Tower, and other factions nearby. Even their subordinate Limestone forces do not have a person named Qin Bing who cultivates frost power and understands artifact forging!

Qin Lie was shocked inside. He found that Tang Siqi's presence was completely overpowering his and he was in a reactive state.

"Just now, when you were talking to yourself, my body was sealed in ice, but my mind was still there." Qin Lie abruptly changed the topic of conversation. "I heard everything you said clearly. You think I have come to Armament Sect for you and have used all kinds of tactics to attract your attention in order to pursue you..."

A strange look appeared in Tang Siqi's beautiful eyes. "You heard all of that?"

"I heard it." Qin Lie inhaled deeply and calmly said, "Senior Sister Tang, you have overthought. I have come to Armament Sect because I am interested in artifact forging. I'm here to learn artifact forging, not for someone. Also, I have someone in my heart already. I once promised her that I will go find her one day."

He looked at Tang Siqi and asserted with certainty, "Senior Sister Tang, please do not worry. I have not come to Armament Sect for you! So you do not need to be on your guard all the time with me or work against me! If Senior Sister Tang is still dissatisfied with me, you can tell Elder Tong and change assistants. You can even fire me, I will not object."

While he was speaking, Tang Siqi did not interrupt him and listened very attentively. When he finished, Tang Siqi was silent.

A long while later, she nodded at Qin Lie and said, "I understand."

Finished, she turned and pushed the stone door open .

Qin Lie was stunned. He didn't know what decision Tang Siqi had made and did not know what she meant when she said she understood..

"Sister Rou, let's go." Tang Siqi went to Lian Rou's side. Her expression was not well.

"What did he say?" Lian Rou instantly inquired.

"Nothing." Tang Siqi's brow creased. Before Lian Rou started to move, she started to proceed to Flame Volcano.

Lian Rou could only follow behind.

Yi Yuan looked in shock as the two females returned to the mountain. He scratched his head, his heart filled with curiosity-he turned and went to find Qin Lie.

"Brother Qin, how do you feel?" A short time later, Yi Yuan walked in and inquired with a smile, "What did you say to Senior Sister Tang? Her expression wasn't too well just now, as though you had harassed her..."

"I didn't say anything," coldly responded Qin Lie.

......

A day later.

In Armament Sect's outer sect, in Tong Jihua's personal cultivation room, an Armament Sect martial practitioner came in and reported in a heavy voice, "Long He has died."

Tong Jihua had been sitting with his eyes closed. Hearing this, he instantly opened his eyes and shouted, "How did he die?"

"Someone pierced his throat with a sword. He didn't seem to have resisted before someone killed him." The person bowed as he continued, "The one that killed Long He should have been someone he was familiar with, or he was talking with Long He and stabbed his throat when Long He had his guard down.

"In the last half year, only Long He came from the south. We have finished investigating. Long He did come back with some Eclipse Insects." Tong Jihua's brow creased. "We have just started investigating and Long He was already killed. So it must have been Long He who brought the Eclipse Insects. Keep investigating along this trail and find out who Long He recently interacted with, especially the disciples in the outer sect. Investigate them."

"This subordinate understands." This person nodded and retreated with a bow.

......

At night, the moon was round like a plate.

Qin Lie was like a piece of ice standing in the little cultivation room inside his tower. He was looking at the plaza from the window.