The moment he opened the box, Jiang Beiran immediately recognized the treasure inside—Cloud Feather Armor. Though thin as a cicada’s wing, its defensive capabilities were extraordinary. According to records, it required the tail feathers of various fifth-tier exotic beasts as materials and a special weaving technique to craft.
Not only that, but freshly made Cloud Feather Armor also needed the reinforcement of a Mysterious King-level expert, making it a well-deserved Mysterious-grade defensive treasure.
‘Although Cloud Feather Armor’s grade isn’t considered top-tier, gathering the rare feathers of various exotic beasts is incredibly difficult. Even across the entire Mysterious Dragon Continent, this treasure is one of the rarest. To think one of them is in Shi Fenglan’s hands…’
‘Hiss… Seems I need to reassess this runaway young noble Lady.’
After these thoughts flashed through his mind, Jiang Beiran chose option two, turning to Shi Fenglan with a blank expression and asking, “What kind of treasure is this?” Between these two options, the first one was likely the same as before—if he showed recognition of such rare treasures, the expert behind Shi Fenglan would take notice.
‘But the difficulty is getting lower and lower.’
Jiang Beiran remembered that when he first met Shi Fenglan, displaying keen insight would earn him a Mysterious-grade, mid-tier reward. Now, it had dropped to Yellow-grade, high-tier.
‘Seems teaching Hall Master Shi properly has had some effect. Did I raise the favorability of the person behind her by +1?’
[Option mission completed. Reward: Cooking +1] Hearing Jiang Beiran’s question, Shi Fenglan said smugly, “This treasure is called Immortal Feather Robe.
It’s a Mysterious-grade defensive artifact.”
‘Don’t just make up names!’
Jiang Beiran was certain this was Cloud Feather Armor. Shi Fenglan probably disliked the original name and changed it on a whim. Of course, he couldn’t voice this complaint.
Instead, he put on a perfectly measured look of astonishment and exclaimed, “Mysterious-grade!?”
“Hehe, impressive, right?”
Shi Fenglan couldn’t help but gloat, though she soon pressed her lips with a finger, looking slightly embarrassed.
“But… I can only lend it to you once because…”
“Hall Master, even if you offered to give it to me, I wouldn’t dare accept it. Just lending it to me for the trip to the Hidden Moon Sect is already more than enough.”
“Mmm~” Seeing Jiang Beiran smoothly take over the conversation, Shi Fenglan nodded and continued, “Also, how much power a treasure can unleash depends on the wearer’s own strength. Though this is a Mysterious-grade treasure, with your Qi Refining-level cultivation, you’ll probably only be able to bring out ten percent of its power. Still, even at that level, cultivators below the Mysterious spirit realm will find it hard to harm you, so you don’t have to worry about disciples from other sects posing any threat.”
“Many thanks, Hall Master Shi.”
“No need for thanks. You can go now, but remember to come early tomorrow.”
“Understood. This disciple takes his leave.”
After leaving Blue Heart Hall, Jiang Beiran couldn’t help but frown in puzzlement. Of course, he understood what Shi Fenglan meant. In the world of cultivators, using treasures beyond one’s level was highly inefficient.
It was like handing a fighter jet to someone who’d never flown a plane—no matter how advanced the machine, without the skill to operate it, it was little more than scrap metal. A skilled pilot, on the other hand, could perform all sorts of aerial maneuvers. The same applied to treasures.
The more powerful the treasure, the stronger the cultivator needed to wield it properly. Otherwise, it was just a waste. Cloud Feather Armor was undoubtedly powerful, but as Shi Fenglan had said, with his current cultivation, he could only bring out a fraction of its potential—if even that.
With the armor’s defensive capabilities so diminished, Jiang Beiran felt he had plenty of other methods to achieve better protection without owing Hall Master Shi a favor.
‘Seems there’s a deeper meaning waiting for me to uncover…’
Lost in thought, Jiang Beiran made his way back to the rear mountain. Early the next morning, as agreed, Jiang Beiran arrived at a pavilion outside Peacebeam Village at the foot of the mountain. From afar, he spotted Lin Yuyan already waiting inside, dressed in the unremarkable outfit he had gifted her.
Lin Yuyan’s version of the forgettable outfit was actually an enhanced edition. Not only did it lower her presence in a crowd, but even standing alone, she would blend seamlessly into her surroundings, making her nearly undetectable—an extremely effective feature. After scanning the area with his spiritual sense and confirming nothing was amiss, Jiang Beiran slowly approached the pavilion.
“Greetings, Senior Brother.”
Noticing Jiang Beiran’s arrival, Lin Yuyan, who had been waiting since the Hour of the Tiger, immediately stood and bowed.
“Morning.”
Jiang Beiran greeted her with a nod. To match the “plain and unadorned” nature of the forgettable outfit, Lin Yuyan had deliberately dressed in coarse hemp clothing, exuding a fresh, rustic charm.
‘Senior Brother’s gaze still only lingered on me for a single breath—no longer than before. Did I pair it wrong?’
Sighing inwardly, Lin Yuyan bowed again and said, “I truly appreciate you coming today. It’s given me much more confidence for the competition in two months.”
“Your calligraphy has already reached a commendable level. I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to teach you anything new.”
‘Hiss—’ Hearing her senior brother speak such a long sentence—and one that praised her, no less—Lin Yuyan couldn’t help but inhale sharply.
‘If this is a dream, please don’t let me wake up.’
After a silent prayer, she steadied herself and replied, “You flatter me, Senior Brother. Compared to your calligraphy, I still have a long way to go.”
“No need for such modesty.”
Jiang Beiran sat on the stone chair in the pavilion and asked, “Did you bring your work?”
“Yes, it’s right here.”
Lin Yuyan hurriedly unrolled a sheet of rice paper and placed it on the stone table before Jiang Beiran.
“Hmm, it really is quite good.”
Though the Mysterious Dragon Continent revered strength above all, ordinary people still made up the majority of the population, and cultivators often dabbled in artistic hobbies. As a result, the four arts of zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting had developed decently—though only decently. Take calligraphy, for example.
Even among renowned masters, the focus remained on basic elements: straight horizontal and vertical strokes, balanced structure, uniform stroke thickness, consistent starting and ending shapes, and chessboard-like composition. This severely limited the richness of aesthetic appreciation and hindered technical progress.
For instance, if you showed Zhang Xu’s wild cursive masterpiece Stomachache Script to these so-called masters, they would undoubtedly dismiss it as “unreadable,” “scribbles,” or “messy,” condemning it as “ugly calligraphy.” Jiang Beiran had once considered introducing seal script, running script, and cursive script to this world but had never found the right opportunity.
‘If Lin Yuyan can make a name for herself in this calligraphy competition, gradually rise to become a master, and then produce a piece of cursive script—who would dare call it ugly?’
‘Hmm… Interesting.’
(End of Chapter)