Chapter 514 - 293: A Junior’s Tribute: Tier Three Geng Metal
Chapter 514: Chapter 293: A Junior’s Tribute: Tier Three Geng Metal
"Uncle Lin, you must have heard about what happened with my brother. These are the Spiritual Materials he brought back after his last incident. They’ve just been sitting idle, so for this visit, we decided to present them to you as a token of our respect."
"That’s very thoughtful of you."
With a smile, Lin Changheng accepted their kind gesture. He opened the box, glanced at the golden Materials that faintly pulsed with a sharp aura, and put them away with a wave of his hand before starting to make small talk with his two guests.
The conversation was largely guided by Lin Changheng. Despite his warm and friendly demeanor, the pair remained quite stiff, only answering what they were asked.
Lin Changheng touched on three main topics.
First, he reminisced about his friendship with Xu Fugui and asked after his well-being, which served to reassure the two that their connection was secure.
Second, he inquired about the Sun Family Immortal City where Xu Bazheng lived. He learned that the city’s business was rather unremarkable, a far cry from the Floating Immortal City. It could only be considered a larger, more prosperous Marketplace, and what’s more, there were signs of suppression from an Upper Sect, limiting its future prospects.
Third, the conversation turned to Xu Yongzhen. With the Purple Extreme Sect now fully committed to the Song-Jin conflict, Lin Changheng asked if a Ninth Layer Qi Cultivation practitioner like him might be sent to the battlefield.
The answer was that, based on his current performance and Cultivation, he had already entered the queue for a Foundation Establishment Pill. This granted him a temporary exemption from the draft; he would only have to join the war effort after he broke through to the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Xu Yongzhen added that this was largely thanks to the staunch support of Junior Martial Uncle Mo. Because the Sect was currently focused entirely on war preparations, the administration of other affairs had grown chaotic—or rather, had been forced to yield to the war effort. This created loopholes, and oversight had weakened considerably—
—corruption was festering, leading to occasional cases where the allocation for a Foundation Establishment Pill was usurped.
If that had happened to him, being removed from the queue would have meant being forced onto the battlefield. Thankfully, having a patron like Junior Martial Uncle Mo within the Sect had prevented such an outcome.
The gratitude in Xu Yongzhen’s voice was palpable as he spoke of this.
...
"If you run into any trouble in the future, feel free to come find me. I can’t promise I can solve everything, but I certainly won’t refuse to help with what I can."
As the two were taking their leave, Lin Changheng made this uncharacteristically direct offer, his gaze resting mostly on Xu Yongzhen.
He also gifted each of them some high-quality Elixirs to help advance their Cultivation.
Between Xu Bazheng, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and Xu Yongzhen, Lin Changheng was far more optimistic about the latter’s prospects.
From their earlier fishing, Lin Changheng had perceived that the young man possessed an extraordinary Heart Nature—calm and unattached. That, combined with his Upper Grade Spirit Root and the Sect at his back, gave him the potential to advance far beyond the Foundation Establishment Stage.
This was Lin Changheng’s judgment, made purely from the perspective of a senior—or, one might say, an elder.
He was willing to make a suitable investment in and offer assistance to such a person.
He suspected this was precisely what Xu Fugui had intended, though it wasn’t stated explicitly in his letter. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had his daughter deliberately bring his grandson for a visit.
On one hand, Xu Fugui had done so because he valued and was optimistic about Xu Yongzhen. On the other, he had a remarkably precise grasp of Lin Changheng’s character. If the young man failed to impress Lin Changheng, then even if Lin Changheng agreed to help just to be polite, he would never truly make a long-term investment in him.
For Lin Changheng, the days that followed were a period of waiting.
He was waiting for Bai Zhenchuan to deliver the Centennial Warm Jade for refining the Magical Treasure Embryo, and he was indeed itching with anticipation.
In the midst of his wait, however, the Huang Family arrived first.
It was Chef Zeng, who had come to the island to deliver the final two hundred portions of Red-eyed Fire Demon Essence Blood.
Enough for Metamorphosis!