Gasps rippled through the onlookers as they looked at the half broken crystal in Liu Qing hands.
"That's a rare soul refining material, isn't it?"
"I heard even a broken one can be refined into a Spirit Birth Pill…"
Elder Mei's eyes gleamed coldly. "Where did you get this?"
Liu Qing gave a modest smile. "This one once wandered through the ruins of a battlefield in the Rainwind Marshes. It was half-buried beneath the mud. I didn't think much of it at the time."
"Hmph." Elder Wu tucked the fragment into his sleeve. "You did well to bring it."
Elder Yao grinned. "Maybe he's not entirely useless."
Scholar Li, who had been silent, tapped a finger against his jade armrest. "Let him stay. There's always work in the soul collection chambers."
Liu Qing bowed again. "Many thanks, honored elders."
A breath passed. Then—
Without warning, his aura erupted.
