Chapter 496: Disagreement

The Tongyou Institution looked bustling on the outside, but in actuality, all the Martial Extermination Realm experts had been secretly sent elsewhere.

To the world, the institution declared that their deputy patriarchs were in secluded cultivation while the other Martial Extermination Realm experts remained in the battlefield between the two worlds. Those in the battlefield between the two worlds were either there to deal with administrative matters, or they were sent to fight the experts of the Azure Spiritual World. Only a tiny portion was left in the Tongyou Mysterious World.

On the surface, Zhang Haogu was the person in charge of the institution in the battlefield between the two worlds while Liu Zhiyuan was handling matters in the Azure Origin World.

Since the time the Tongyou Mysterious World had formed, it had been remodeled. At the moment, it remained in the core region of the Tongyou Institution and it was the true headquarters of the institution. Shang Xia’s Talisman Hall was also somewhere in the core region.

Bidding Zhang Jianfei farewell, Shang Xia headed there immediately.

Because the situation in the battlefield between the two worlds had stabilized, the Talisman Masters on the Observation Peak had returned to the institution.

When Shang Xia arrived in the Talisman Hall, the entire place broke out into a flurry. Fan Yuanhui even brought several Talismans Masters and craftsmen out to welcome him.

“Mister Fan, this… This… You can’t do this! It’s a little too much…” Shang Xia jumped in fright when he saw the luxurious lineup. Turning his body to the side, he tried to move away.

Who would have thought that Fan Yuanhui would turn serious the next second? “Talisman Master Shang, you’re the only Talisman Grandmaster in our Talisman Hall. Your accomplishments in the way of Talismans are truly boundless. As the leading figure, why wouldn’t you accept our greetings?”

Shang Xia wanted to say something else, but Fan Yuanhui saw the awkward look on his face and quickly turned around to gesture to the others, “Alright, we have welcomed our Talisman Grandmaster back to the Talisman Hall. I believe all of you are busy. Please, return to whatever you were doing.”

After everyone had left, Shang Xia finally noticed someone standing beside Fan Yuanhui.

As the two of them approached, Shang Xia turned to Fan Yuanhui and asked, “Mister Fan, this is…”

The smile on Fan Yuanhui’s face faded slightly, but he wasn’t disrespectful as he replied, “I’ll make the introductions. This is Talisman Master Lou Zizhang. He’s a new rank three Talisman Master and he has been sent by Deputy Patriarch Liu Zhiyuan to take on the role as the Deputy Hall Master of our Talisman Hall.”

After the introductions, Lou Zizhang cupped his fists towards Shang Xia and greeted, “I greet Talisman Grandmaster Shang.”

“There’s no need for such formalities. It’s great that we have another rank three Talisman Master among us!” Shang Xia waved his hand casually in response. His time in the Talisman Hall was limited in the first place and it was the first time he was meeting Lou Zizhang. He might be a little suspicious in his heart, but he still nodded his head politely towards the other party. Soon after, he turned to Fan Yuanhui with a strange smile on his face. “I didn’t know that our Talisman Hall also had a Hall Master and a Deputy Hall Master. Mister Gong Hang didn’t tell me about this before either. Does this mean that the original Hall Master of our Talisman Hall is Mister Gong?”

“No. Talisman Master Gong is not the Hall Master.” Lou Zizhang replied with a smile on his face.

Staring at him in shock, Shang Xia turned to look at Fan Yuanhui. He seemed to understand his knowledge was a little lacking and he asked, “Who might the Hall Master be then? Could it be you, Mister Fan?”

Fan Yuanhui forced a smile and shook his hand.

“Currently there isn’t a candidate suitable to become our Hall Master. After all, the position of the Hall Master has to be approved by Patriarch Kou.” Lou Zizhang interrupted from the side.

Shang Xia instantly understood what was going on and stared at Lou Zizhang with a look of mockery on his face. “Oh? Wouldn’t this mean that I would have to listen to your orders, Deputy Hall Master?”

Grinning slightly, Lou Zizhang wanted to act a little more humbly when Shang Xia turned to speak to Fan Yuanhui. “I wonder where Mister Gong is right now? I haven’t seen him for a long time. Is he still stationed in the battlefield between the two worlds?”

Shang Xia’s open disregard of Lou Zizhang caused a trace of gloom to flash across his face.

Fan Yuanhui smiled slightly in response. “Even though the battlefield between the two worlds is extremely busy right now, the situation there isn’t as bad as it seems. There is no need for so many Talisman Masters to stand guard there. He’s currently living in the Tongyou Mysterious World.”

“Mysterious World?”

Shang Xia was surprised, but he quickly understood what was going on. “So does this mean that the Mysterious World is about to be fully open?”

“It already has. However, it won’t be easy for one to get in.” Fan Yuanhui chuckled.

The way Fan Yuanhui and Shang Xia spoke was too casual, and Lou Zizhang was feeling extremely annoyed with the difference in treatment.

He was like an outsider as the two of them conversed, and he couldn’t help but cough lightly to interrupt them, “Talisman Master Shang, may I ask if you have any reason for returning to the Talisman Hall at this time?”

A smile slowly appeared on Shang Xia’s face, and Fan Yuanhui didn’t wait for Shang Xia to speak. He replied on Shang Xia’s behalf. “Talisman Master Lou, you must be kidding. Talisman Master Shang is from our Talisman Hall all along. Why does he need a reason to return?”

Lou Zizhang also smiled in response, “Brother Fan, I think you misunderstood me. I wanted to ask if Talisman Master Shang requires anything from me?”

“Deputy Hall Master, you’ve already made it clear earlier. I wouldn’t dare to ask you for anything.” Pausing slightly, Shang Xia continued, “However, there are two important things I actually need to do. Firstly, I managed to borrow the Purple Bamboo Brush from the institution and I won’t need the mid-grade brush anymore. I am here to return it…”

He retrieved the mid-grade brush from his sleeves when he was done speaking.

Even though he had a Spatial Pouch, he still carried 2 Embroidered Cloud Cases that were 3 cubic feet large on him. They contained a lot of miscellaneous items within and they also served the purpose of hiding his Spatial Pouch from the public.”

Lou Zizhang’s eyes lit up at the sight of the brush. He quickly reached out to receive the brush.

“Wait!” Fan Yuanhui stopped Lou Zizhang quickly and muttered, “Talisman Master Lou, you can’t take it!”

Lou Zizhang’s expression sank and he growled with displeasure, “Why not?! This brush belongs to our Talisman Hall in the first place. As the Deputy Hall Master, why can’t I receive it?”

Stepping between Shang Xia and Lou Zizhang, Fan Yuanhui explained, “Well, Talisman Master Gong handed this brush to Talisman Master Shang previously. Moreover, he has been the one using it all along. As such, Talisman Master Shang should return it to Talisman Master Gong personally. Deputy Hall Master Lou shouldn’t bother yourself with this.”

With his expression turning slightly ashen, Lou Zizhang growled, “I can pass it to Talisman Master Gong on his behalf!”

A sneer emerged from Fan Yuanhui’s lips the next moment. “Talisman Master Lou, you don’t seem qualified to enter the Tongyou Mysterious World. How are you supposed to give it to Talisman Master Gong?”

“You…” A look of shame appeared on Lou Zizhang’s face and glared daggers at Fan Yuanhui.

It was true that the Tongyou Mysterious World was open, but not everyone had the qualifications to enter.

Other than those who had broken through to the Martial Extermination Realm with the help of the Tongyou Mysterious World in the past, there were only 2 other groups of people who could enter the Tongyou Mysterious World. One of them was the current Martial Extermination Realm experts of the institution, and the other was the group of experts at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm who had great contributions to the institution.

The latter group wasn’t limited to experts in the institution. Anyone in the Tongyou City who made enough contributions was included!

Of course, they would only be given a set period to stay in the Tongyou Mysterious World. It wasn’t that the Tongyou Institution was stingy, but the Tongyou Mysterious World required time to recover. They couldn’t possibly allow others to absorb energy with no end.

It was also somewhat detrimental for Martial Intent Realm experts to remain in the Tongyou Mysterious World for a long time. After all, one had to possess extremely strong divine intent before one could continue to comprehend the world origin that exists there.

Those that remained for too long without strong enough divine intent might be eaten up by the world origin in the Tongyou Mysterious World instead.

Lou Zizhang might not know how he gained the qualifications to become the Deputy Hall Master of the Talisman Hall, but he knew that he wasn’t someone from the institution to begin with. He changed his professions sometime ago and because of his abilities to craft talismans, someone recommended him into the Talisman Hall. Moreover, he hadn’t been a rank three Talisman Master for long. Along with his tiny contributions to the institution, he was a perfect example of someone who wasn’t qualified to enter the Tongyou Mysterious World.

That was also the reason he couldn’t establish his prestige as the Deputy Hall Master of the Talisman Hall.

Fan Yuanhui’s words were like vicious slaps across his face and he nearly exploded in anger.

“Talisman Master Fan, Talisman Master Lou!” Shang Xia interrupted when he noticed that things were going awry. “Let’s not embarrass ourselves outside the Talisman Hall!”

As the situation finally died down slightly Shang Xia continued, “There’s no need for you two to get angry with each other. I’ll personally return the brush to Talisman Master Gong in the Tongyou Mysterious World.”

“Of course!” Fan Yuanhui replied immediately.

No matter how reluctant he was, Lou Zizhang knew that he couldn’t do anything about it. He could only sigh helplessly, “So be it…”

“Oh right, Talisman Master Shang, what is the other thing you need? Is there anything I can do to help?” Fan Yuanhui asked.

In front of Shang Xia, Fan Yuanhui truly lowered his status. A look of disdain could be seen on Lou Zizhang’s face when he looked at Fan Yuanhui. But he didn’t dare to mock the other party. Instead, he awaited Shang Xia’s reply.

Instead of replying immediately, Shang Xia discovered many people staring their way and he hurried, “Alright, we’ll talk inside. Let’s go!”

Finally entering the inner hall, Shang Xia didn’t wait for any of them to speak up. “The second matter involves a series of talisman inheritances I retrieved from the Taihang Mountains. It’s a series of rank five talisman inheritance and according to the rules of the Talisman Hall, you two have the qualifications to learn the first 3 talismans. I’ll make a copy of the others and leave it with the Scripture Depository….”

“Wait!” Fan Yuanhui couldn’t help but interrupt Shang Xia. His voice trembled slightly as he spoke, “Talisman Master Shang, did you just say a series of rank five talisman inheritance? Do you mean… Do you mean that the talismans we’re not qualified to study are of the fifth… the fifth rank?!”

It was no wonder Fan Yuanhui couldn’t speak properly. What Shang Xia revealed was actually a massive bomb.

Even the Tongyou Institution only had several rank four talisman inheritances at the moment!

There wasn’t a need to mention a rank five talisman inheritance. Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui hadn’t even heard of the existence of one!

Lou Zizhang was equally as shocked. However, he seemed to snap back to reality to reveal a look of excitement.

With his voice still trembling, Fan Yuanhui continued, “What… What is the name of the rank five talisman?”

Lou Zizhang released a strange cry all of a sudden after realizing what Shang Xia said. “Wait! Shouldn’t you leave the entire inheritance from the first to fifth talisman in our Talisman Hall?! The moment you send the remaining inheritance to the Scripture Depository, they’ll be able to restrict the growth of any talisman master they desire!”