"Don't worry, young man. If I wanted to hurt you, I would have already done so. Come closer," the old man beckoned him.
"Senior is kind. He won't do anything to you," Wuying assured him.
"Okay," Xuefeng replied, realizing he had no choice but to comply. He stepped closer to the old man, hoping Ling was well hidden.
He guessed that the reason Ling wasn't responding was because of the old man. If his cultivation was high enough, he could probably sense her existence.
"Don't resist. I will just check your body. I've always wanted to examine the after-effects of the Six Petals Lotus Flower," the old man said, placing his hand on Xuefeng's shoulder and sending his Spirit Qi into Xuefeng's body.
Even with a small amount, Xuefeng could feel the overwhelming power behind it.
The old man was surprised to find three Rank 5 Spirit artifacts within a Spirit Grandmaster's body but remained silent. He checked the quality of Xuefeng's Spirit Qi and found no issues. It looked exactly like Black Talent Qi, with no differences.
Next, he checked Xuefeng's Spirit but didn't go too deep to avoid causing harm. After a few more minutes, he found nothing unusual.
"Were you really not born with a Black Talent? I can't find any changes," the old man said, withdrawing his Spirit Qi and frowning.
"I can't really tell myself. All I did was eat the herb," Xuefeng replied with a shrug.
The old man seemed to believe him and pondered out loud, "I guess Six Petal White Lotus only affects the Spirit Talent and doesn't provide any other benefits. I would need to scan the inside of your spirit to know for sure, but that could potentially harm you."
"Thank you for understanding," Xuefeng bowed gratefully.
"Ah, I'm not that desperate to find my answers. I just thought it was my sworn brother who gave you the white lotus since he is the only person who was in possession of it. I guess he must have sold it to the Trade Union since he was in need of money. That bastard, ah..." the old man muttered as he pulled up his sleeve, revealing a sword tattoo with a dragon wrapped around it. "He decided to roam free almost two hundred years ago and I haven't seen him since then."
'To think he lived for so long...' Xuefeng thought, amazed.
"Thanks to you, I regained some hope that he is still alive. Before my death, I wanted to meet with him for one last time, to share our stories and adventures," the old man smiled, pulling out a token with a sword and dragon engraved on it. "Here, take this token. If you ever find yourself in the Empire, go to the Sword Dragon Academy. Tell them it was gifted to you by Senior Wang, and they will definitely accept you as a disciple."
"Thank you, Senior," Xuefeng accepted gratefully, holding the token with both hands.
"Okay, you can go about your business. I will take my leave. Oh yes, I noticed your Spirit Qi was almost depleted. Take this Spirit Replenishing Pill. You probably exhausted it by reading manuals," Senior Wang said, tossing a round pill to him.
"Thank you, Senior. I really needed one," Xuefeng thanked again before consuming the pill without hesitation. He knew if the old man wanted to harm him, he wouldn't need to use poison. One snap of his fingers would be enough since even Ling had to hide from being detected.
Senior Wang nodded approvingly. If Xuefeng had hesitated, he would have suspected him of lying.
The moment the pill dissolved in his mouth, Xuefeng felt a surge of Spirit Qi rushing towards his dantian. In seconds, his almost empty dantian was full and even increased in capacity by at least 10%.
"Wow, amazing. What a great pill," Xuefeng commented in awe, realizing it would have taken him a week of cultivation to achieve such results.
"Well, it is a Rank 6 pill after all. Here, you take one as well. You are a really polite girl. You should take good care of her, young man. Don't let others snatch her away," Senior Wang advised, turning to Wuying and giving her a pill.
"Thank you, Senior!" she said, bowing and smiling sweetly. She looked at Xuefeng, eager to see how he would respond to the old man's reminder.
"Yes, Senior. Who wouldn't?" Xuefeng replied honestly.
Wuying's heartbeat quickened as images of them being together flashed in her mind.
"Alright, I will be going then," Senior Wang said before vanishing. The barrier around the Spirit Arts Tower shook but couldn't contain him.
'Uff, that old man is finally gone. He was definitely at the Spirit Saint stage or above. If I hadn't sealed myself, he would have detected me for sure. I'm too weak at the moment.' Ling reappeared as soon as the old man disappeared.
'Spirit Saint... Yeah, I understand. Don't worry,' Xuefeng assured, imagining how nice it would be to fly in the sky.
'The token seems harmless, but it actually has a hidden mechanism. The other party can track you as long as you hold onto it. If you try to get rid of it, he will know. This old man is not simple,' Ling warned after scanning the token in his hand.
'Well, there's nothing we can do, right? I don't think we should be too worried. If he wanted to harm us, why leave a token?' Xuefeng reasoned.
'Maybe you are right. If I regain my prowess, I might be able to seal it, but that's definitely a plan for the future,' Ling informed him.
'Okay, let's forget about it for now. We should focus on this floor,' Xuefeng said, placing the token inside his Storage Ring and walking towards the bookcases.
"Wait for me," Wuying called out, snapping out of her daydream and following him.
***
In the Clan Leader's Mansion, Liu Xiaobei was sitting in a study room when a person appeared before him out of nowhere. It was no other than Senior Wang whom Xuefeng just met.
"Did you find out anything?" Liu Xiaobei asked curiously, eager to find out the truth.
"No, Young Master's dantian looks perfectly normal as if he was born with a black talent," Senior Wang replied. "If this was the Six Petal White Lotus doing, there would be signs so I sincerely doubt it."
Liu Xiaobei paused, wondering whether he should tell him the truth or not. "You are right, it's not."
"I knew it," Senior Wang clicked his tongue. "What it is then? Is this the job of some master?"
"He indeed has found himself a master that healed his dantian and helped raise his talent. My wife and I decided it was best not to investigate it. As long as our son is progressing well, we shouldn't meddle with their business," Liu Xiaobei replied cautiously.
"That's understandable. An expert of such caliber could easily flatten this place if we offended them," Senior Wang sighed. "But aren't you worried about their intentions?"
"Whatever they are, it's for my son to deal with. For now, just observe and protect him when he faces life-and-death situations. You can go now," Liu Xiaobei ordered, waving his hand.
"Alright," Senior Wang acknowledged, vanishing into thin air.
'If my son can truly raise our talents, our plans for the future will change drastically...' Liu Xiaobei murmured, falling into deep thought. 'Once I recover my cultivation stage... Our family will dominate this world...'