Chapter 317: The Mentor That Illuminated His Path

It had been over two years, but Qin Lie could not have predicted that he would run into Yao Tai again in the Song Family residences of Profound Heaven Alliance.

He had always held a bit of respect toward Yao Tai.

This low ranking artificer had devoted many years to artifact forging but was unable to acquire high ranking spirit diagrams the entire time because no one had supported him. His growth in artifact forging was limited, and his entire life was filled with obstacles. It was only when Tu Shixiong was at Nebula Pavilion that he had enjoyed a short period of glory.

After that, he had floundered about aimlessly, unable to achieve his ambitions all this time.

Since he was too old, Yao Tai did not qualify to participate in Armament Sect’s testing. He was only a Common rank artificer, so high rank forces would not pay attention to him either.

So, after wandering and bouncing around for two years, he chose to attach himself to a Song Family Star rank foreign delegate. He hoped that he could assist the foreign delegate’s family and forge artifacts so that he might acquire high grade spirit diagrams and reach a breakthrough in artifact forging.

However, after the Song Family Star rank foreign delegate learned the price for Profound Heaven Alliance’s spirit diagrams and exactly how many contribution points he needed to spend, he decisively postponed his intentions to purchase high grade spirit diagrams for Yao Tai.

The Star rank foreign delegate was not rich in the first place, so he was also unable to provide the materials needed for Yao Tai to forge artifacts.

Over time, due to lack of practice, not only did Yao Tai’s skill in artifact forging not improve, it even deteriorated to the point where he made mistakes when forging spirit artifacts he was able to forge in the past.

This was the cause for the dissatisfaction of the Star rank foreign delegate’s son.

Since the Star rank foreign delegate’s resources were limited and could not suffer the cost of failure in artifact forging, this particular failure had triggered the son’s violent anger.

“Young Master, next time… next time, I will definitely be more careful. I will definitely not fail again.” Yao Tai begged again and again with a bent back and a cautious tone, “Please give me another chance.”

Yao Tai’s expression was filled with sadness and helplessness. He sighed on the inside with a bowed head, hating himself for being too impulsive in the past.

If he had swallowed his so-called artificer’s pride back at Nebula Pavilion, lowering himself to gain Liu Ting’s favor instead of inciting her anger, he would have at least not been kicked out of Nebula Pavilion and reduced to his current situation.

Not only did he not manage to obtain a high ranking spirit diagram, he wasn’t even able to forge artifacts on a regular basis. His current situation was even lousier than the time at Nebula Pavilion.

“Next time?” The young man’s face was unsympathetic as he swung his short sword, looking as if he couldn’t wait to slash Yao Tai’s body a few times. “Do you know how much of a loss you caused me with your single failure? Half a year. I will need at least half a year of preparation before I can gather the materials again!”

“Even Mo Hai of Armament Sect cannot guarantee success every time he forges artifacts…” Yao Tai defended himself in a small voice.

“Hmph! If you were Mo Hai and you were able to forge a Profound Grade Seven spirit artifact, I wouldn’t say a thing even if you failed ten times!” The young man’s tone was full of scorn, “But who the hell do you think you are? You can’t even properly forge a Common Grade Five spirit artifact!”

The moment he got excited, the short sword he was holding swung at Yao Tai’s face again.

A bolt of dark blue electricity cut through the sky like a dazzling serpent that struck at the short sword with unbelievable accuracy.

“Prak!”

The dense electricity blossomed, and the lightning arcing on the short sword vanished in an instant. The young man’s sword hand shook, and the sharp edge of the sword unintentionally stabbed into his own shoulder. Blood immediately spread from his wound.

“What the fuck, who’s causing trouble?!” he yelled loudly.

Qin Lie had already walked out of his abode. Frowning, he swiftly moved to this area, calmly saying, “I am.”

“Y-you’re?” The young man went blank in an instant, and when he saw the star-shaped identity card at his waist, a trace of fear appeared on his face. “You’re the Star rank foreign delegate of this place?”

Plenty of middle-aged men and women were beside the young man. They had just watched from the sidelines, and they had not stopped the young man’s humiliation of Yao Tai.

When Qin Lie appeared from behind them and they realized that he was also a Song Family Star rank foreign delegate, their expressions changed slightly as they hurriedly saluted him in respect.

One of them quickly stopped the young man and said, “Little Mu, he is also a Star rank foreign delegate like your father, and your father… is not around at the moment.”

The young man called “Little Mu” paled slightly. At first, he was still thinking of arguing a little with Qin Lie, but now he had gone completely quiet with obedience.

“You’ve disturbed me,” Qin Lie said coolly.

“I’m sorry, it’s our mistake for not noticing. We’ll be more careful next time.” The middle-aged man who stopped the young man apologized respectfully and did not dare to retort even once.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

It was at this moment that Yao Tai turned around and glanced at Qin Lie.

First, his pupils shrunk as shock surfaced on his face. Then his eyes widened as he stared closely at Qin Lie’s face. His mouth moved a little as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.

He was afraid that he had the wrong person…

Compared to two years ago, Qin Lie had undergone massive changes due to growth and his appearance also changed slightly.

The most important thing was his aura.

Compared to how he was two years ago at Nebula Pavilion, his current aura was far more prominent!

The Qin Lie from back in Nebula Pavilion was somewhat shy and honest. When he worked beside Yao Tai, he followed every order seriously and paid a great deal of attention to his work. However, his personality… was kind of introverted and rigid.

The current Qin Lie was arrogant and cold, having eyes like blades while giving off a threatening impression just by standing there.

In Yao Tai’s eyes, the current Qin Lie and the Qin Lie from Nebula Pavilion were only similar in appearance. Everything else was completely different.

That was the reason why he thought he had the wrong person.

“Great Master Yao!”

While Yao Tai was timidly withdrawing his gaze from Qin Lie’s face, afraid of provoking his anger, Qin Lie suddenly bowed and knelt in front of Yao Tai as a disciple would. His expression was humble.

“Y-you… you’re…” Yao Tai’s plump body gave an obvious shudder. Then he shook again and pointed excitedly at Qin Lie, stuttering, “You’re really Qin Lie?!”

Qin Lie grinned with a cheerful smile. “Great Master Yao, why did you stare at me for so long without saying anything? I almost thought… that you didn’t recognize me anymore.”

“No, no no, I was just worried that I had the wrong person.” Yao Tai was incredibly excited and overjoyed. He seemed as if he wanted to touch Qin Lie’s shoulders to show his affection, yet when he raised his hands, he suddenly saw the identity card around Qin Lie’s waist. His movements abruptly went rigid.

In his eyes, the Star rank foreign delegates of the Song Family were larger than life.

In an instant, he realized the massive difference in status between him and Qin Lie.

So his hand just hung there, unsure if he should continue or withdraw. His expression was one of slight embarrassment.

Qin Lie came over with a grin, willingly stepping forward and giving Yao Tai a powerful hug. He said in a low tone, “No matter how our statuses may change… in my eyes, you will always be the mentor who illuminated my path!”

Deep gratitude appeared in Yao Tai’s eyes.

Seeing that Qin Lie not only recognized Yao Tai, but also seemed to be incredibly friendly with him, the people beside them were all shocked on the inside.

“My lord, we… we did not know that you were familiar with Yao Tai. We… hold no malice toward him.” The middle-aged man humbled himself and, after parting from Yao Tai and Qin Lie, looked bitterly at Qin Lie with regret while putting his hands together. “I beg for your understanding.”

“Great Master Yao, we have not met each other in two years. Come, come to my place and have a seat!” Holding Yao Tai’s shoulders, looking as close as a son and his father, Qin Lie pulled Yao Tai away and did not even glance at those people.

“Qin Lie, I… they…” Yao Tai felt somewhat timid. His footsteps were slow as he attempted to ease the friction between both sides.

“It’s fine.” Qin Lie grinned and let out a long bout of laughter. He knew what he was worried about and said, “Just follow me.”

“Er, I met a friend… we’re gonna sit down together… I’ll go have a seat and come back soon.” Yao Tai turned around and explained with an apologetic look.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” the middle-aged man quickly replied.

Qin Lie frowned slightly and turned to look them in the eye. Then he said, “When your master comes home, have him come see me. I have something to discuss with him.”

“I will, I will,” respectfully responded the man.

“Qin Lie, I…” Yao Tai was surprised.

“Just come with me.” Qin Lie smiled.

After thinking for a while, Yao Tai finally went quiet and left with Qin Lie toward his accommodations.

“Second Uncle, why are you so afraid of him?” After Qin Lie and Yao Tai left, the young man asked grudgingly.

“He is the same rank as your father, and we are just your father’s relatives. We have no status here to speak of and, by extension, no right to speak whatsoever.” The middle-aged man sighed and said, “Your father isn’t around, so if we clashed with him, then the one to suffer would definitely be us. Even if he decided to slaughter us mercilessly, the Song Family would not say anything due to the difference in status.”

The young man’s expression paled.

“Your father will return soon. When your father comes back, then we’ll get our revenge.” The middle-aged man hmphed and said, “From the looks of it, he seems to be a new Star rank foreign delegate. We may not be able to do anything to him, but your father is a veteran. Will it not be easy for him to deal with that guy?”

The young man asked with an odd expression, “Say, how do you think Yao Tai knows him?”

“Who knows?” The middle-aged man shook his head and violently said, “Forget trivial matters. When your father comes back, we will naturally show him what we’re made of!”

“Mn.”