Chapter 628: Audience

Finally leaving the institution, Shang Xia returned to the Shang Clan. Shang Jian, Shang Xi, Shang Quan, Shang Tai, and many other influential figures in the clan learned of his return and quickly came out to welcome him.

The moment he saw them, he cried out in shock, “There’s no need to come personally! This is truly overkill…”

Turning to look at his Ninth Uncle, Shang Yang, he said, “Ninth Uncle, your cultivation has improved since we last met! Congratulations!”

An awkward smile appeared on Shang Yang’s face. “It’s nothing much. I know my limits and abilities and I probably won’t be able to go much further. I only hope you can guide your 2 cousin brothers in the future. I won't be able to thank you enough if you do!”

Shang Xia chuckled in response. “We’re all family here. There’s no need to go around thanking each other!”

“Your Ninth Uncle isn’t that old but he sounds like he’s going to die or something… Little Xia, he’s just afraid that you would hold a grudge against him for what he did!” Shang Xi teased from the side.

“What?! Of course not…” Shang Yang waved his hands in apparent terror and everyone broke out in laughter.

As they conversed casually, they entered the rear of the residence. A huge group of Shang Clan disciples followed behind them and formed a massive entourage. Shang Xia’s cousins stared at their parents who were laughing away beside Shang Xia and complicated emotions filled their hearts.

After completing their welcome for Shang Xia and messing around with some jokes, a banquet was arranged to take place that very night. When everything was set, everyone finally left with the exception of Shang Quan and Shang Tai who found an excuse to stay.

“The great craftsman of the Talisman Hall, Mister Ren Huan, along with another expert, Mister Ren Bainian, are here to visit you. They’re waiting in the side hall.” Shang Quan reported.

“Huh?” Shang Xia got to his feet quickly. A wide smile appeared on his face and he gestured to Shang Quan. “Quick, invite them over!”

As Ren Huan and Ren Bainian made their way over to the main hall, they noticed Shang Xia standing outside from afar. He came all the way out to welcome them!”

After they seated themselves in the hall, tea was served before Ren Huan laughed happily, “I received the news of your return the moment you stepped into the institution. I ran all the way here immediately, but you held some assembly in the Talisman Hall to impart your knowledge. Just like that, 5 days passed! It was an amazing scene back then and because of our relationship, you don’t know how many people came looking for me to bring them into the Talisman Hall just to observe your lesson!”

Ren Huan looked at Shang Quan and Shang Tai at the side and chuckled, “I believe even more people harassed them than me though…”

Shang Quan and Shang Tai roared with laughter and revealed a look of delight.

Shang Xia’s assembly back then to impart the way of talisman crafting definitely brought honor to the Shang Clan. he also managed to raise his own prestige.

Unwilling to keep harping on the topic, Shang Xia waited for the laughter to die down before turning to Ren Huan. “Brother Ren, looks like you have also stepped into the Martial Extermination Realm!”

“Hehe…” Ren Huan sniggered softly in response. “It’s all because of our friendship! In the past 2 years, spiritual beasts had been emerging from their hiding spots in the battlefield between the two worlds. The institution formed many squads to hunt them down and because of my abilities to craft rank four talisman paper, along with the intentional support of the Talisman Hall, I was rewarded with a strand of extermination origin. Luckily, I succeeded in my attempt at my breakthrough.”

“Brother Ren, it has nothing to do with luck. I believe you were prepared for it.” Shang Xia smiled.

Because of the Tongyou Institution’s plan for their expedition to the Manyu Continent, they brought away most of the Martial Extermination Realm experts. It resulted in a lack of manpower in their defense in the battlefield between the two worlds.

In order to make up for their lack of high-leveled combat strength, the Tongyou Institution had been ramping up their support for experts to enter the Martial Extermination Realm.

The reason squads had been formed to kill rank four spiritual beasts in the battlefield between the two worlds was also to harvest their extermination origins.

Ren Huan managed to capitalize on the window of opportunity to obtain the qualifications to enter the Martial Extermination Realm.

With a peal of laughter, Ren Huan continued, “Right, other than celebrating your return, I actually came to ask you for some help.”

He brought out a sealed spirit case after he spoke. “These are the rank four talisman papers I managed to save up. There are 3 of them and they were made from the skin of spiritual beasts. According to the usual practice, I hope you can help me to craft a single rank four talisman.”

Raising his eyebrows in surprise, Shang Xia hesitated slightly. “Brother Ren, there’s no need for this…”

Currently, Ren Huan was also an expert in the Martial Extermination Realm. He was someone of a decent status in the institution and his authority level had risen.

Back when Shang Xia left the Manyu Continent 2 years ago, Ren Huan learned about Shang Xia’s success rate when crafting rank four talismans. It exceeded the standard 30 percent mark.

Now that 2 years had passed, Shang Xia’s cultivation took a huge leap forward. His ability to craft talismans should have risen proportionally.

Now that he brought 3 pieces of rank four talisman paper over to ask Shang Xia for the favor, he was actually giving him 3 extra chances to craft rank four talismans!

Moreover, with the friendship they shared, there was no need for Ren Huan to use so many pieces of talisman paper to request a single rank four talisman. After all, the price of 3 rank four talisman paper for 1 rank four talisman was the price publicized to the outside world.

Before Shang Xia could continue, Ren Huan interrupted him, “Brother Shang, let’s talk about all that after you deal with everything you need to do. Today, there’s no need to be courteous. Also, I sincerely hope you can help me to craft a rank four talisman.”

Shang Xia muttered softly, “Alright, I won’t stand on ceremony then. Brother Ren, what talisman do you want?”

Ren Huan seemed to have thought about it a long time ago and he replied almost instantly, “I just entered the Martial Extermination Realm and I’m not very good at combat. I wish to obtain something powerful. Yup, the effects of the talisman should be huge. The attack radius should also be massive…”

Speaking up to that point, Ren Huan suddenly felt a little self aware and he chuckled in embarrassment, “Brother Shang, is my request a little too unreasonable?”

“It’s alright. The Extermination Lightning Attracting Talisman seems to fit your criteria.” Shang Xia replied.

The Extermination Lightning Attracting Talisman could be ranked among the best among all the talismans Shang Xia knew in terms of power or difficulty.

Ren Huan nearly yelped in celebration. “In that case, I’ll have to trouble Brother Shang!”

Now that Ren Huan achieved his goal, he exchanged several more pleasantries with Shang Xia before taking his leave.

After he was gone, Shang Xia turned to Ren Bainian who had been sitting in silence the entire time. “I apologize for the wait, Senior Ren, I wonder if you have been able to settle your clansmen down in the Tongyou City? Have you adapted to the Azure Origin World?”

Back on the Tongyou Island, Ren Bainian personally witnessed how Shang Bo stepped into the Martial Dipper Realm. He also experienced a lot in his days on the Azure Origin World and he became even more respectful in front of Shang Xia. He even envied Ren Huan who had had such a great relationship with Shang Xia.

Hearing his question, Ren Bainian quickly responded, “Young friend, there’s no need to apologize! It’s my Ren Clan’s good luck to be accepted into a superior world. The heaven and earth qi here is rich and there are plenty of cultivation resources available. It’s really an eye-opener for us. How can we have any problems over here? We can only complain that we didn’t come earlier…”

Shang Xia broke into laughter. “It’s great that Senior Ren managed to adapt to our world. I saw several youngsters of your Ren Clan and the Manyu Continent entering the Outer Division of the institution. The progress is excellent.”

Pausing for a moment, he seemed to have thought of something and asked, “Oh right, where did you choose to settle down? Do you need our Shang Clan’s assistance?”

Ren Bainian replied immediately, “Young Friend Shang, there’s no need for you to worry. The institution made the arrangements themselves. Our Ren Clan and a portion of the cultivators from the Manyu Continent have temporarily established a small village 30 miles outside the city. Equipment to build houses and plow the lands has already been given to us. It’s also convenient for us to enter and leave the city at will.”

Shang Xia nodded his head in response. “That’s great. Anyway, is something the matter?”

“The first reason I came over today was to pay you a visit. I wanted to thank you for all the care and help you have shown us along the journey here. Secondly… I came here because of this!” He retrieved a long case from his sleeves and opened it to reveal a Talisman Brush that emitted a milky white glow.

Shang Xia leaped to his feet in surprise and he gasped, “Senior Ren, did you actually manage to restore the White Bone Brush?”

“I didn’t fail you!” Ren Bainian revealed a wide smile in response.

The look of joy on Shang Xia’s face grew deeper and he reached out to hold the White Bone Brush. Sending a trace of his inner qi into the brush, he felt it turning into an extension of his own arm.

He clearly recalled the feeling he had back when he used the brush for the first time. Back then, it could barely be considered a mid-grade brush. He wasted a lot of inner qi when using it.

Even without using the brush to craft a talisman, Shang Xia could feel that the brush had been restored perfectly! In fact, it was even better than the Purple Bamboo Brush that belonged to the institution!

“Nice… This is great! This is truly amazing!” Shang Xia yelled with joy before turning to Ren Bainian again. “Senior Ren, with your skills in repairing artifacts, everyone in the institution who has a good weapon will probably be lining up for your services!”

Even though the Azure Origin World was ranked higher than the Manyu Continent, the number of experts who possessed graded weapons was still in the minority.

Under such circumstances, many experts greatly cherished their weapons. However, it was inevitable that their weapons would be damaged after repeated battles. In order to obtain a new weapon, they would have to pay a sky-high price. As such, they would usually fix and repair their weapons whenever possible.

Ren Bainian smiled at the praise, “This old man hopes to find a footing in the Tongyou City so as to allow my clan to grow stronger. I also hope to quickly assimilate into the Azure Origin World. I can’t think of a way to start, and I was hoping to get your help…”

“Oh.” Shang Xia raised his eyebrows before turning to look at Shang Quan and Shang Tai.

“This isn’t a problem. Our Shang Clan has a store in the southern street. It’s pretty big, and the rent is relatively cheap. Senior Ren, you can send a couple of your clansmen over to take a look to see if it’s suitable for use.”

“Yes, yes. We can definitely make use of it.” Ren Bainian replied immediately. “I’m content to find a place to establish my clan in the city. There are 2 juniors in my clan who are also proficient in fixing weapons. They might not be as good as me, but they’re pretty good. They can take on their roles as craftsmen there.”

Seeing as the problem had been settled easily, Shang Xia continued, “Senior Ren, what are your future plans? Did the institution arrange anything for you?”

Shang Quan didn’t wait for Ren Bainian to answer as he immediately interrupted, “Little Xia, you might not have heard yet, but Senior Ren has already entered the Weapons Hall. At the same time, he took on a role as the Assistant Instructor of the Upper Division!”

“Oh!” Shang Xia chuckled happily. “Looks like I have to congratulate Senior Ren then!”

Yan Su’er took on the role of the Assistant Head Instructor, and it could be said that she became his grandfather’s aide. Now, Ren Bainian was also going to become an Assistant Instructor of the Upper Division and become Liu Qinglan’s deputy in command.

It seemed as though the Tongyou Institution had given their statuses and strength proper consideration!

After Ren Bainian left, Shang Quan made another report. “3 days ago, Ji Yu and Liu Zhidao came to pay us a visit. At the same time, they brought over really precious gifts. They said that the gifts were meant for you and we have no idea how to deal with them. When we were still stuck in a dilemma, Fifth Uncle passed down instructions for us to just accept them…”