Chapter 360: Chapter 360
Ding Fan looked at Duorou's innocent appearance and didn't have the heart to say more to it.
Whatever the little thing wanted to do, he decided to just let it be.
As for Ye Ningbing, Ding Fan didn't need to worry. He had already dealt with the bad guys in the repair shop, and Ye Ningbing was not foolish. She would surely know if she needed to run.
As for where Ye Ningbing would go at night, Ding Fan no longer cared to concern himself with it.
Ye Ningbing had been mingling in those circles for so many years and had plenty of wealthy friends, so Ding Fan really didn't care about what would happen to her in the future.
After returning to the military district's guesthouse, Ding Fan locked himself away.
Since he would be setting off with Cheng Bufan the day after tomorrow, he needed this time to refine some runes and a few medicine pills.
The Longxi Auction was held only once every three years and would undoubtedly attract the participation of many Hidden Sects, with even some impressive figures attending. Thus, Ding Fan had to prepare thoroughly.
Ding Fan locked himself away until the early morning of the third day, when he finally came out of his room.
Today was the day he had agreed to set off with Cheng Bufan. According to the plan, it was time for Ding Fan to meet up with Cheng Bufan.
Not wanting to disturb Xian Shui and Mu Zi, Ding Fan slipped out of the guesthouse quietly. Concerned that they would worry, he left a letter on his bed to let them know that he would return after a while.
Upon leaving the military district compound, Ding Fan went straight to Cheng Bufan's shop.
When Ding Fan arrived at Cheng Bufan's place, he wasn't alone.
Cheng Bufan was merely the representative of Quanzhen Xuanmen in the Secular World, and had to serve the Sect often.
The person with Cheng Bufan was a first-class beauty whom Ding Fan had met before, the woman was Qi Luomei.
Back when the Exotic Treasure from Changbai Mountain was robbed, Ding Fan had encountered Qi Luomei.
Qi Luomei still had her haughty demeanor, as if everyone was beneath her.
"Second Brother, Qi Luomei has a special status. She has to to the auction, and I really have no choice..." Cheng Bufan knew that Ding Fan didn't like Qi Luomei, so he wanted to explain.
Ding Fan, however, waved his hand indifferently. "Big Brother, no worries."
Ding Fan didn't want to embarrass Cheng Bufan, so he had to just go with the flow.
"I've prepared the car. Let's set off now," said Cheng Bufan.
Thereupon, Ding Fan, Qi Luomei, and Cheng Bufan stepped out of the shop together. It didn't take long after leaving the Liuli Factory for the three to arrive beside a recreational vehicle (RV).
The RV was actually quite nice. Not to mention its exterior, which was similar to a large bus, it was the interior decor that was exceptionally well thought out.
Stepping into the RV, there was a thick carpet on the floor. Beyond the first door was a small living room, with a washroom and a toilet on the side. On the second floor, there was a not-so-small bed.
Ding Fan couldn't help but click his tongue in admiration of the RV. Human technology was impressive; a vehicle could practically be transformed into a mobile home.
Once the three were aboard, Qi Luomei moved to the living room, made a drink for herself, and lay down on the sofa to watch TV. She acted almost as if she was at home.
Ding Fan and Qi Luomei didn't have much to talk about. Cheng Bufan was driving, so Ding Fan decided he would just alternate driving shifts with Cheng Bufan.
The RV started and soon left Yanjing behind.
As they traveled, the scenery was pleasing, and even Ding Fan's mood improved greatly.
By noon, they had already covered a great distance.
When it was time to eat, Cheng Bufan parked the RV in a place with a nice view and then brought out the lunch he had prepared in advance.
Ding Fan was in high spirits and even shared a light drink with Cheng Bufan during lunch.
In the afternoon, it was Ding Fan's turn to drive.
Although he had never driven this RV before, he had observed Cheng Bufan's driving closely all morning.
With his strong memory and exceptional learning ability, it only took him the morning to learn to drive.
Moreover, Ding Fan drove both quickly and steadily.
Cheng Bufan, sitting beside him, thought Ding Fan had driving experience already and would have been surprised to know that it was Ding Fan's first time handling such a large vehicle.
Switching between them, Ding Fan and Cheng Bufan drove through day and night. Two days later, they were only half a day's journey from reaching Longxi.
Along the way, Ding Fan detected with his Divine Sense some high-level cultivation experts. Before even reaching Longxi, he encountered several waves of Earth Level Experts. This indicated that the Longxi Auction was destined to be a gathering of masters.
They were approaching Longxi soon and had ample time, so Ding Fan and the others were not in a hurry to rush on their journey.
Passing through a small town, the trio simply decided to get off there.
For one thing, it was a good opportunity to rest their feet in this small town, and secondly, this town was a waystation to Longxi; at this time, there would surely be no shortage of experts around, making it an ideal place for them to gather some information.
And to gather information, from time immemorial, the best places have always been none other than teahouses and restaurants.
Ding Fan and his companions made a point of finding a relatively famous local restaurant.
The name of the restaurant was Huikeju. The cuisine here mainly consisted of Shandong dishes. The decoration of the restaurant could only be considered ordinary, but at this moment, it was already packed with people.
Ding Fan and company had to wait outside for a full hour before they managed to find seats.
"Do you know? The Stele of Strength Measurement has been bustling these past few days—just a few days ago some awesome guy left his name in the third row of the 'Heaven' section!"
"Holy shit, that's insane! The third row of the 'Heaven' section!"
Just as Ding Fan and his friends sat down, a group of people nearby were loudly discussing something. Ding Fan and his peers remained quiet, simply listening in silence.
"What is this 'Stele of Strength Measurement'?" At this moment, someone nearby couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Damn, you don't know what the Stele of Strength Measurement is? It's a major attraction in Longxi for the Martial World! Almost every martial artist who comes to Longxi would visit the Stele."
At this time, an elder with a goatee was surrounded by seven or eight people, speaking passionately with flying saliva.
The surrounding crowd looked on, seemingly eager to learn, which only further satisfied the vanity of the goateed elder, who continued to speak proudly.
"The so-called Stele of Strength Measurement is an ancient stele left behind by some sage predecessor at an unknown time. It's divided into three levels, clearly separated into Human, Earth, and Heaven... ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦·𝘯𝘦𝘵
A martial artist who comes to the stele to measure their strength stands below it and first places a stone sphere inscribed with their own name into a small hole at the base of the stele. Then they leap up, and at the peak of their jump, release their greatest Inner Strength...
The stele holds a hundred names, and if the Inner Strength you release surpasses that of any one of those hundred people on the stele, the stone sphere with your name will push out the lowest ranking martial artist's name. Thus, your name will remain on the Stele of Strength Measurement."
The crowd appeared to understand.
"But, what do you mean by the third row of the 'Heaven' section that you just mentioned?" A somewhat younger martial artist asked.
The goateed elder stroked his beard in a teasing manner.
At that moment, the young martial artist busily lifted his cup and filled it for the goateed elder.
Only then did the goateed elder, filled with self-satisfaction, drink the wine that the young man had poured for him. "The so-called third row of the 'Heaven' section is merely a scale. From the first to the tenth row of the 'Human' section, from the first to the tenth row of the 'Earth' section, and likewise, the 'Heaven' section has ten rows.
Each row indicates the level of Inner Strength you have released. If you release Inner Strength corresponding to 'Human' row one, a line will automatically appear in that row.
If your Inner Strength reaches the level of the third row of 'Heaven,' and if your attempt is successful, then your name will stay next to the third row of 'Heaven,' showing that you have once achieved this result on the Stele."
The crowd nodded in understanding.
Listening from the side, Ding Fan became quite curious about this place; it seemed that in this world, there were also supreme and powerful entities. Like the Stele of Strength Measurement, if it was as the goateed elder described, then the person who originally built it must have been incredibly formidable.
"After eating, I'd also like to go have a look at the Stele..." At this moment, a martial artist said, unable to contain his eagerness.
The goateed elder looked at the martial artist and laughed, "That Stele of Strength Measurement is very accurate in gauging Inner Strength. If you attempt it and only reach 'Human' row one, you would have truly lost face."
After the goateed elder finished his remark, it elicited a round of laughter from everyone.
The martial artist who had clamored about going to the stele now blushed, laughing off the comments awkwardly. After a few drinks, he no longer mentioned the idea of going to the stele.
"This Stele of Strength Measurement sounds fun, let's go check it out later," Qi Luomei was genuinely interested in the stele.
Cheng Bufan just smiled, glancing at Ding Fan.
Ding Fan understood that Cheng Bufan was seeking his opinion. He didn't want to put Cheng in a difficult position.
Ding Fan nodded. "Since it's said to be a sight within the Martial World that you must see, of course, we'll have to take a look."
And just at that time, two people walked in from outside.
Among the trio, Ding Fan recognized one of them. That person was none other than Jing Yi.
Ruoran had been taken away by Jing Yi; now that he saw Jing Yi here, could it be that Ruoran had also come to the Longxi Auction this time?
Ding Fan hurriedly looked towards the people beside Jing Yi.
The person beside Jing Yi was not Ruoran at all. It was a woman whose appearance was in no way inferior to Ruoran's.
The beautiful woman by Jing Yi's side seemed to notice Ding Fan looking at her, and when she turned her head, she directly saw Ding Fan staring straight at them.
The woman frowned slightly, then deliberately turned her back to Ding Fan and sat down, clearly mistaking Ding Fan for some kind of lecher…