Afternoon...
In the work shop, Rex was sharing a table with Ria. Seven Spiced Herbal Delicacy was served on the table.
Rex first emptied the bowl then looked at Ria who was staring at him.
"It was only a draw, why are you so concerned about it? Ji Biyu is older than you and has experienced the ways of the world from before you were even born having a draw with her is already praiseworthy, you cannot always win, my lady," Rex consoled.
The result of the chess competition has surprised him, Ria and Ji Biyu's match was the final as expected, the matchboard was shared live. The match intense from the start till the end, Ria was in the lead but one wrong move, and Ji Biyu turned it into a stalemate.
Rex first thought about making them play one more math but then he got an idea and declared that both of them got the first prize, this action will prove that Frozen Flame is not stingy when it comes to rewarding moreover he was already planning to provide Ria some equipment, the competition was just to increase the organization's popularity.
Unlike Lucia Ria follows the path filled with battle and struggle to reach immortality, he didn't know it before but after knowing her true self it was easy to guess, her personality was similar to Luo Ru in some ways, they both don't like to be outdone it just that the former is a quite wild and cunning.
And it wasn't the only surprise in the competition, the second ranker was Stephan, he was the third bank manager in his organization and this competition proved that this scholar's skills in strategy weren't much lower than others. The third ranker was someone named Dark Crow, Rex didn't have much time to collect information on him so he put it aside for now.
"I'm not bothered by that, I was just thinking that this Ji Biyu is quite a talent. It's not that hard to find talented strong people but the people with great wisdom only come by luck, it's better to use her for your benefits, the progress of your organization will get a good boost," Ria said after some thinking.
Rex's lips twitched.
'Use her? To think my shy little Ria was that dangerous,' Rex just couldn't compare the Ria sitting in front of him to the one he saw for the first time, they looked like a world apart.
Rex sighed and didn't think more, he liked her that's a fact these things are just spices that gave her a new flavor, he took out a black box and placed it on the table.
"Little Green, I will be heading out tomorrow. This is a gift I prepared for you after a lot of consideration," Rex said as he opened the box.
There are two things in the box. One was a pendant consist of a silver chain and a diamond-like artifact Rex made before.
He did the same thing with it he did with Zakiya's artifact, he converted it into a pendant. A normal artifact needed to be summoned to show its effect, so it will be present on the user's body as a pendant when in use, and if the host wants to retract it that the chain will be left around the neck while the crystal in the body. The name he gave it was Elixir Diamond Pendant, according to Rex, this name was way better than Black Pendant.
The other thing was a cylindrical test tube filled with a light golden liquid, it was the dilute version of Elixir Of Life.
Rex then explained to her the uses of these two.
Ria obediently nodded and took both of them without hesitation the asked.
"Do you have one more set of these?" Ria asked with an expectant look.
Rex's body got stiff.
'Wasn't she supposed to say it is too much and I can't take it? Or I will never forget your kindness and stuff, but the hell, she didn't even say a thank you and wants one more... asking for one more is not actually out of the question though, after all, she has a twin sibling,' Rex thought.
"I know, you don't need to ask, that Little Green is indirectly also my responsibility I guess," Rex took out another box with the same content and gave it to her.
"You are my responsibility, hmph," Ria quickly retorted.
[You are really quite generous today,]
'You don't understand Rose, it's a future investment. I asked them to join the clan but they haven't replied yet meaning they are still thinking and are not sure, if I give them such gift that it would be hard for them to refuse. Apparently, most gifts are seen as bribery in this world, I learned this from Jiang Shuang,' Rex said.
Ria then put the gift in a storage ring. She knows the value of such a gift, the artifact raises cultivation speed by 50% and this effect might decrease after she reached a high cultivation base but... artifacts could grow and so their ability, if it is cultivated well then this boost could significantly increase. But there was something that surprised her way more than that which was Rex could craft Treasure Artifacts, she was shocked but she neither showed it on her face nor did she ask, the promise was still in effect.
"This is my personal gift, and not the competition's rewards, you can get to the weaponry with your sister and pick whatever you want," Rex said.
"Oh, Brother Rex is sooo gooood too meee," Ria said with a shy expression.
When Rex heard her saying 'Brother Rex' he got shivers down his spine.
'This girl...' (Rex)
"Brother Rex is so kind, he is going against the rules and even letting my sister choose a spirit rank equipment with me," Ria shyly covered her face with her hand as she spoke.
"What is fair and unfair? These are for me to decide, other competitors think I don't know how they helped they secretly helped their sect members to win after they lost, the thing I couldn't guess it when the player met the opponent of the same sect with the higher status they directly gave up. The competition was never that fair in the first place, if I want to reward Mia I will do it and how would others know it? And yeah, Don't Make That Face Again!" Rex said.
"Hehehe... I see, in that case, I need to thoroughly thank my Broth- no Master Rex," Ria said in a teasing tone then she took out a pure white muffler and gave it to me.
Rex shook his head, he took the muffled and observed it. The muffles were although made of white fiber but when the light fell on it its surface shines in various colors like rainbow, it had a different presence to it, one look was enough to guess that the muffler wasn't simple.
"This?" Rex said.
"It's a 2 Star grade treasure artifact I found a long time ago, it doesn't have a name so you can name it yourself. Consider it a gift from us two sisters," Ria said with a serious expression but in the next second, she burst into laughter.
Rex's face was dark. Just a while ago he was explaining to her what is a treasure artifact and how it works with a haughty expression and she listened to everything he said with admiring eyes, he was very satisfied with all that but now she gave him a 2 Star treasure artifact meaning she knew everything about them from the very start and was probably laughing at him inwardly until now.
He didn't ask where did she got it or how she got it just like she didn't ask where did he learn to refine one and how did he get the materials.
But he was inwardly pleased with her behavior, the value of a 2 Star treasure artifact was higher than two 1 Star treasure artifacts, it takes time and resources to grow an artifact which greatly changes their value between different grades. If it wasn't for the fact that his artifacts were actually quite special then this 2 Star grade would have long surpassed their value.
"Hehe... You are becoming cocky, looks like your Master Rex needs to discipline you a little," Rex stood up from the chair and sneered at her.
"Eh... No not today, hey stop I need to go help Lucia today... that's my new dress," Ria controlled her laugher as she tried to run out of the workshop.
"Young lady, one needs to be responsible for the words they spoke and the actions they take," Rex said as he chased after her.
He didn't have much to do but Rex was hardworking so he didn't waste any time and focused on raising his VIT until the next day.
...
Next morning...
Rex was standing in front of a big mirror in his 'new' room.
Rex was in his bloodline form, he was wearing a long white coat, white shoes, white belt... he was a man in white at the moment. His long hair that could easily reach his back was now only shoulder length, they were curled towards the left. Rex looked at his reflection in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction.
He then snapped his finger and a clone with the same looks as him appeared beside him, with a thought, the clone used Transformation.
The psychic energy in the surrounding moved and soon formed a layer that covered the entire body of the clone, it was like he was covered in foam, in the next instant his body gave off a dim radiance, and his skin color, height, hair, appearance, clothes... etc all changed in an instant.
The clone now looked the same as Rex in his bloodline form, he was wearing a simple black robe Rex usually wears when acting as Ye Tian. With his current capabilities, Rex wasn't worried about someone seeing through the clone, only people like Lerna and Zakiya can do that.
'I also left a lot of clones here and gave them orders to complete the ongoing task step by step, theoretically continuous supply of energy can keep extending their summoning time but I don't know how long it can work in practical use,' Rex thought.
Just then Rex heard a knocking sound on the door, the door was already open and the one standing outside could see the interior. Rex could guess who was it without even turning around as only one would do this.
"Come in," Rex said while turning around.
Lucia walked in and slightly bowed to him. She wasn't surprised by the Ye Tian clone as it wasn't her first time seeing it.
"I heard Young Master Rex summoned me," Lucia said in her usual tone.
"Haha... Lady Lucia, I'm going on a long trip don't you have anything to say?" Rex asked with a smile.
Lucia thought about it then spoke.
"I wish Young Master Rex luck for the trip," Luca said.
Rex smiled bitterly.
"Don't you have anything else to say?" He still held o to a slight glimmer of hope as he asked.
Lucia thought again then spoke.
"I will try my best to handle the work here in Young Master Rex's absence," Lucia said.
'Why did I even got my hopes up? All she has to say is I will miss you but no, is she that clueless or avoiding the topic? Lucia, my Lucia, please have ambitions of being more than just an alluring- responsible maid,' Rex sighed.
"I see, then I will have to thank you for that in advance. I had prepared a gift for you, the information on how to use it is also written in it and you are not allowed to give it back or give it to someone else, just use it, understood?" Rex said then handed over a wooden box similar to the two he gave to Ria and Mia.
Lucia wanted to politely reject the gift but after hearing his words she was in a dilemma, she had lived in a big family before and knows that giving and accepting a gift has too many hidden meanings, one wrong step and one can be lost a lot of things.
Seeing her so hesitating, Rex gave up on tactics of Gift In Exchange For Joining The Clan Plan and spoke.
"Don't worry, I don't have any hidden motive behind this gift. Your abilities had proven very helpful for the organization so far so I want you to grow fast and keep up the pace with us, this gift will help you in that," Rex assured her.
Hearing his words, she felt a burden on her shoulders lifted and accepted the gift.
"I thank Young Master Rex for the gift," Lucia bowed and said in a polite tone.
'I'm really not good at such kind of scheming,' Rex thought while nodding to her.
[Looks like the world can still be saved]
'Shut up,' Rex snorted then walked out of the room.