Chapter 622 - 603: Visitors from Haojing

Yang Qi was an experienced man, after all. "Don’t spread word of what happened today. Your Martial Uncle has his own plans."

Although Yang Qi had a straightforward temper, he wasn’t a fool—otherwise, he’d never have become the Chairman. It seemed he was stuck with Wang Meng as his Martial Uncle.

"Crap, I forgot about our guests!" Yang Qi finally remembered. Guests from Haojing were definitely a big deal.

"In that case, I won’t disturb you. I’ll be on my way; I still have a lot to do."

"Haha, little brother, from now on, treat this place as your own home. You’re always welcome. I’ll go deal with those people."

Yang Qi chuckled. He was adapting to his new role quite quickly. The guests were probably about to lose their tempers. He wondered who had come this time.

By the time Yang Qi hurried over, the people inside were long past impatient. Xie Xian stood timidly at the door, his face a mask of misery as if he’d just been... violated. Seeing Yang Qi arrive, he rushed forward. "Master! You’re finally here!"

Of course, Xie Xian couldn’t tell the distinguished guests from the Haojing Headquarters that his master was meeting with an outsider and had no time for them. He could only say that he was in seclusion for forging.

"Old Yang, you’ve got some bear-sized guts! Get in here already!"

The person inside heard the commotion, let out a loud laugh, and bellowed.

Yang Qi’s expression froze for a moment, then broke into a joyful smile. "Old ghost Lone Fox! It’s you!"

With a long laugh, Yang Qi strode into the reception room.

Lone Fox Destiny Star cursed with a laugh, "You bastard, I’m a proper Elder of the Headquarters now. Next time we meet, you’d better call me Elder Lone Fox."

"You said ’next time,’" Yang Qi replied.

The two men looked at each other and roared with laughter.

Yang Qi then asked, "Old Fox, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be holed up at Headquarters?"

"For the Five Elements Divine Beast Festival, of course."

Yang Qi was stunned at first, then overjoyed. "The Five Elements Divine Beast Festival? The Headquarters is planning to..."

The Five Great Divine Beasts represented the Five Elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. No one had ever seen these five Divine Beasts, so they had no concrete form. During the festival, a Five-Colored Divine Dragon was generally used as their symbol, representing the Divine Dragon’s ever-changing nature.

On the Divinity Continent, legend told of five Divine Beasts that represented the five paths of ascension. Cultivators at the Divinity Transformation Realm could find the Path of Divinity by Borrowing Spirit from the Divine Beast that matched their Life Wheel’s attribute.

The Divine Beast Festival was a form of worship. In the past, Wang City’s status only permitted it to hold a regular Divine Beast Festival. Holding the Five Elements Divine Beast Festival now meant that Wang City was finally on the verge of becoming one of the eight major cities of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Lone Fox Destiny Star nodded with a smile. "The Divine Artifact Pavilion has decided to strengthen the Wang City Branch. Old friend, your burden is about to get heavier."

Yang Qi’s expression turned serious. "As long as they’re not here to steal the fruits of my labor, I’ll cooperate."

"You old coot, the Headquarters isn’t as dirty as you think. The Wang City Branch has developed very well under your leadership these past few years. Why would we swoop in and steal your credit at such a critical moment? Besides, who knows the current situation in Wang City better than you? Oh, right, I forgot to introduce you. This is Mo Chengkong of the Haojing Mo Family. He’s already a Fifth-grade Refiner at the age of twenty-six."

In the past, Yang Qi would have been overcome with envy, jealousy, and hate. But now, he was remarkably calm.

"The young man has a bright future. It’s rare to see someone like him interested in our Wang City."

Mo Chengkong gave a faint smile, his calm demeanor tinged with an arrogance born of his status. "Chairman Yang, I have a question for you, and I hope you will be forthcoming..."

"Go ahead." In truth, Yang Qi wasn’t very fond of these aristocratic scions.

"I was wondering if you, Master, know the current whereabouts of a certain Wang Rencai?"

Yang Qi smiled. "What do you want with him?"

A smile touched Mo Chengkong’s eyes as he keenly caught the shift in Yang Qi’s expression. "There is a small matter. I was just wondering if he is currently in Wang City."

"He’s in Wang City. He goes by Wang Meng now. Oh, right, you’re both from Haojing. Young man, you should learn from Wang Meng. Humility is the key to progress. If you can learn even a little from him, this trip won’t have been in vain," Yang Qi said with a grin.

Mo Chengkong and Lone Fox Destiny Star looked at each other. Was he telling a joke?

’A very funny one, apparently!’

But Mo Chengkong, with his high opinion of himself, didn’t linger on the topic. ’Whether he’s called Wang Rencai or Wang Meng doesn’t matter, as long as the man is in Wang City, that’s all that matters. Opportunities to show off like this are rare!’

If Wang City’s status was elevated, there would inevitably be another round of competition among the Three Major Conferences. Once the promotion was granted, the Spirit Control Association, the Pill Immortal Alliance, and the Divine Artifact Pavilion would all have to compete to gain an edge.

This Mo Chengkong was most likely brought along by Lone Fox Destiny Star to add some firepower.

Meanwhile, Wang Meng had already returned to the Bai Family’s courtyard. He was studying how to perfectly seal the five Five Elements True Essence Beasts into the Five Elements Spirit Holding Bracelet, naturally unaware that someone had come all the way from Haojing looking for trouble...

Compared to Artifact Refining, appraising and sealing weren’t difficult enough to stump Master Wang. However, sealing a Third-Transformation True Essence Beast was not only more complex, but from the Bai Family’s books, Wang Meng also learned that it required the use of some special tools.

Much like the Immortal Binding Rope, ninety percent of these tools were produced under the control of the Spirit Control Association. The remaining ten percent were controlled by the various great families. The Haojing Royal Family, for example, could produce their own without relying on the Spirit Control Association. A truly great family would never allow itself to be constrained in such a manner.

Master Wang studied for a long time and came to a conclusion: without those specific tools, successfully sealing these five Third-Transformation True Essence Beasts was truly an impossible task.

’Looks like I’ll have to pay a visit to the Spirit Control Association after all.’

However, it was already late. He would have to go tomorrow.

’This is a good chance to spend some time thinking through the method and process of sealing the five Five Elements True Essence Beasts... The key is the cycle of creation and destruction. Metal cannot be followed by Wood, and Water cannot be followed by Fire, yet they must all be in contact with each other... This is a very complex design...’

A crescent moon hung high in the clear, star-studded night sky.

It was now deep into the night at the Spirit Control Association. The entire residence was quiet and deserted, save for the patrolling guards.

In the rear courtyard, within a pavilion, someone pushed open a window to gaze at the moon. Slender, lotus-root-like arms rested on the sill, their delicate beauty appearing graceful and captivating under the moonlight.

It was Muhe Xiaoyu.

This pavilion, Wangyue Pavilion, was Muhe Xiaoyu’s residence at the Spirit Control Association. Whenever she was back in Wang City, she spent half her time here.

"I just got word. Wang Rencai... Wang Meng, he’s back in Wang City." Muhe Xiaoyu turned from the windowsill to look at her best friend.

Jiang Biyou smiled. "Little Yu, why bring him up all of a sudden? We were just talking about preparations for the Five Divine Beasts Festival on the first of next month. How am I supposed to follow up on a topic change that abrupt?"

Clearly, Jiang Biyou didn’t really want to talk about Wang Meng...

Muhe Xiaoyu smiled. "I wasn’t planning on it, it was just a sudden thought... Didn’t they say he tricked Kun Yaoyang when he returned to Wang City and produced several Third-Transformation Profound Abyss Demon Spirits? The Bai Family really lucked out. They’ll definitely be able to secure a qualification for the Divine Beast Festival in Wang City this time because of it."

Jiang Biyou just smiled. The Bai Family had indeed lucked out. She had no idea how Wang Meng managed to capture Third-Transformation Profound Abyss Demon Spirits, and several of them at that! There might even be more... ’What a pity he really is a pawn abandoned by the Wang Family. His only use is to give the Wang Family a legitimate excuse to extend their reach into Wang City...’

In the past few months, Jiang Biyou’s relationship with Zhe Wulei had grown closer and closer. At this point, they were only one confession away from being official.

"Well, he’s not a bad person, but he’s certainly not easy to get close to. From what I know, some big shots in Haojing want to deal with him. Anyone who gets close to him will just be asking for trouble."

It seemed the Jiang Family had really done their research. They were thanking their lucky stars that Wang Meng had left the Jiang Family, otherwise the Jiang Family would surely have been dragged into his mess.

"Hehe, it seems my dear sister still has a little interest in him," Muhe Xiaoyu teased.

"What interest? I just think he’s not a bad person, that’s all. Don’t overthink it!"

"Hehe, afraid of making Zhe Wulei jealous? Family matters aside, I think Wang Meng is a pretty good guy. He has a maturity that doesn’t match his appearance. There’s probably more to the story regarding what happened in Haojing," Muhe Xiaoyu said, her beautiful eyes clearly filled with curiosity.

’This man is always full of surprises. The Bai Family is definitely not strong enough to capture Taiyuan Demon Spirits. The key is probably Wang Meng himself. Just what kind of person is he?’

’One moment he seems like the useless lecher from the rumors, the next he seems like a man with a story. Master holds him in high regard, but it’s clear that after learning Wang Meng’s true identity and the rumors surrounding him, even he has become a bit wary. The Spirit Control Association has to consider all the angles, after all.’

"Little Yu... you haven’t fallen for him, have you?" Jiang Biyou asked, stunned.

The topics of conversation between best friends go far deeper than men can imagine. Muhe Xiaoyu and Jiang Biyou had even discussed things like how to go about their "first time."

When Muhe Xiaoyu didn’t immediately refute her, Jiang Biyou was truly shocked. "Little Yu, this is no laughing matter! That man is not worthy of you!"

Muhe Xiaoyu shook her head. "It’s not as dramatic as you make it sound. I’m just a little curious about him."

"Curiosity is a dangerous thing to have about him! The man is big trouble. I heard the Wang Family has already publicly disowned him, and it’s an irreversible decision. Besides, with the Fire Emperor back in the capital, the Yuan Family’s power has surged. There’s absolutely no way Wang Meng can go back. In fact, it’s better for him if he doesn’t. If he did, even more people would be out to get him."

Jiang Biyou hurriedly tried to nip her good friend’s curiosity in the bud. A girl’s curiosity could be a terrifying thing.

Muhe Xiaoyu smiled. Jiang Biyou’s strong reaction was a little amusing. She knew Jiang Biyou was just concerned for her. She was also a member of the Muhe Clan, and the Muhe Clan had its own pressures. Her future husband would likely be an excellent man, and certainly from a prominent family.

"Little Sister Yu, I’m certain your other half will be a young master from a famous Haojing family, or even better!"

Jiang Biyou said softly as she hugged Muhe Xiaoyu. Jiang Biyou’s figure was a bit fuller, while Muhe Xiaoyu appeared more delicate, making her very comfortable to hug.

The two beauties embracing was truly a picturesque scene.

The Jiang Family had already decided internally to ally with the Zhe Family. It was a win-win situation, and what’s more, Jiang Biyou and Zhe Wulei were a good match for each other. They had hit it off almost instantly.

After all the ups and downs, the Jiang Family had no intention of creating more complications. If they kept stirring up trouble, they might find themselves with no way out. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)