“Holy crap, was that Senior Sister Jiang Ningzhi just now? She actually came to Celestial Abode to have a meal with someone of the opposite sex?”
“Yeah, the Third Prince, Nangong Qian, invited her multiple times and she never agreed. But now, she's openly dining here with a youth. If the Third Prince finds out, he'll probably spit blood.”
“I don't know if Nangong Qian will spit blood, but I'm truly envious. Senior Sister Jiang's talent and family background are top-tier in our Tianyuan Dynasty. If that kid can get on her good side, he can skip decades of detours on his cultivation path.”
Just as Ye Lin and the others entered the private room, a wave of sighing and whispering broke out in the main hall.
After all, although Jiang Ningzhi was not the number one beauty of the Inner Academy, she was still heroic and valiant, with very good looks. Most importantly, her background was immense—her grandfather was the principal of the Tianyuan Cultivation Academy, and she was also the eldest young mistress of the Jiang family.
With such an identity, she naturally drew attention wherever she went.
And with Ye Lin appearing here together with her, it was only natural for them to be talked about.
Meanwhile, inside the private room, Ye Lin was asking the maid named Qingzhu how exactly they could participate in the competition of the four arts—zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting.
“There are no specific mandatory rules. Guests only need to channel and display their spiritual power, and our Celestial Abode will have specialized treasures to detect it,” the maid, Qingzhu, explained with a smile and a bow.
“What do you think, Senior Sister?” Hearing Qingzhu's words, Ye Lin did not rush to make a decision, but instead looked at Jiang Ningzhi beside him.
Hearing this, Jiang Ningzhi was visibly startled, clearly not expecting Ye Lin to ask for her opinion.
“Since we're already here, there's no harm in participating.” She casually stored the long saber at her waist into her storage ring and said with a faint smile.
Seeing that Jiang Ningzhi had no objections, Ye Lin agreed to participate in Celestial Abode's event.
Before long, their signature dishes were served one after another: Golden Core Stage demon beast meat, soup brewed from high-grade spiritual ginseng, high-grade spiritual fruits, high-grade spiritual tea, and so on.
Every single dish was of immense benefit to the cultivation of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
“Using tea in place of wine, I would like to thank you, Senior Sister, for guiding my way back then and today.”
Pouring a cup of spiritual tea for both himself and Jiang Ningzhi, Ye Lin raised his cup and thanked her with a serious expression.
“Don't mention it. I wish you a smooth immortal path, Junior Brother, and a constant stream of immortal destinies.”
Jiang Ningzhi was also a generous and bold woman. Seeing Ye Lin offering her a toast, she also smiled, raised her cup, and drank with him.
Afterward, the two began to feast, quickly polishing off the delicious delicacies on the table.
By the time they finished eating, Celestial Abode's event had also begun.
Led by Qingzhu, four more women walked in. One held an ancient zither in her arms, one carried a Go board, one held a scroll of an ancient book, and one carried an ancient painting.
“Guests only need to inject their spiritual power into these four treasures to participate in this event,” Qingzhu said, walking over and bowing to them.
Hearing this, both Jiang Ningzhi and Ye Lin casually funneled their spiritual power into the treasures held by the four women.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Not long after the spiritual power was injected, the four treasures burst with dazzling light.
Immediately after, the light transformed into two phantom stars. The phantom star representing Ye Lin was as dazzling as a blazing sun, while the phantom star representing Jiang Ningzhi's spiritual power only emitted a blue light that was slightly brighter than white light.
“Thank you to both guests for participating in our Celestial Abode's event. The rewards will be delivered to you very soon,” Qingzhu and the others said. Their expressions did not change at all in response to the performance of the two's spiritual phantoms. After bowing with smiles once more, the maid led the four women out of the room.
Only after they had completely left the private room did the maid speak in a shocked tone:
“Quickly go and tell the shopkeeper! A rare Extreme Realm genius has appeared here!”
Hearing this, the four women beside the maid also looked extremely excited.
Behind Celestial Abode was the colossus faction known throughout the Southern Domain, the 'Tianyu Chamber of Commerce'. They often invested in potential geniuses ahead of time.
The competition of the four arts—zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting—just now was actually one of their methods for selecting investment targets.
And for every potential genius they discovered for the chamber of commerce, these maids would receive a certain reward.
An Extreme Realm genius was precisely the tier with the highest reward. As long as the chamber of commerce successfully invested in Ye Lin, they would receive unimaginably massive benefits.
Before long, both Ye Lin and Jiang Ningzhi each received a storage ring.
Afterward, the two left Celestial Abode together. Of course, when passing through the main hall, they were met with another wave of envy from the Inner Academy disciples.
Ignoring the extra stares, after walking out of Celestial Abode, he bid farewell to Jiang Ningzhi and returned directly to his cave dwelling.
“It's time to upgrade my physique and talent,” Ye Lin muttered to himself, entering the Sovereign Heaven of the Desolate Ancient Dao Pagoda.
Casually taking out several storage rings, he opened them all without any hesitation.
Some of these storage rings were taken from Xiao Chen, some were fleeced from Senior Zhu Xuanwei, and the last one was obtained from participating in the event at Celestial Abode just now.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
As all the storage rings were opened, pile after pile of cultivation resources was laid out before him.
Among them, there were over thirty thousand low-grade spirit stones, which were opened from Xiao Chen's storage ring.
And there were over a million mid-grade spirit stones, which were obtained from the storage ring given by Celestial Abode.
“What the hell? Just participating in a simple event yields this many mid-grade spirit stones?”
Suddenly opening up over a million mid-grade spirit stones, Ye Lin was also somewhat dumbfounded.
Even if Celestial Abode was backed by a behemoth like the Tianyu Chamber of Commerce, one million mid-grade spirit stones was equivalent to ten million low-grade spirit stones. How could such a massive fortune be easily given away to someone else?
After all, money didn't just grow on trees.
With deep doubts, Ye Lin cast his gaze toward the storage ring given by Celestial Abode.
Inside, besides the million-plus mid-grade spirit stones, there was also an Earth-grade black robe, an Earth-grade spirit sword, an Earth-grade cultivation method, an Earth-grade spell, as well as various cultivation resources needed for the Foundation Establishment Stage.
It could be said that the items inside truly took into account every single aspect needed by a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
In addition, there was also a letter inside the storage ring, which read as follows:
“First, congratulations to Fellow Daoist Ye Lin for being selected for our Tianyu Chamber of Commerce's Genius Cultivation Program. Because you are one of the highest-tier candidates, the resources provided to you are also of the absolute top tier.”
“Second, regarding the secret of your Extreme Realm, our chamber of commerce has already executed the highest protocol. The memories of Qingzhu and the others regarding you have been erased. Except for your direct contact and the general manager of the chamber of commerce's cultivation program, no one else will know your information, so please cultivate with peace of mind.”
“Finally, our chamber of commerce will not interfere with any of your cultivation, nor will we force you to do anything you are unwilling to do. In every realm, you can collect cultivation resources for that specific realm from us. You only need to lend us a hand within your capabilities when our chamber of commerce needs you after you have achieved success in your cultivation. If it exceeds your capabilities, you are completely free to choose to stand by and watch.”
“Additionally, if you encounter enemies on your cultivation path that you cannot handle, our chamber of commerce will step in to resolve them for you.”
“Last but not least, we wish Fellow Daoist Ye progress in your cultivation, and may your immortal path flourish forever!”
Rate on N.U.
