Afterward, Ace received 'congratulatory gifts' from every Forger Master; even Forger Master Clifton gave him a grade-3 cauldron.
But still, the most precious gift he received was from Spirit Armor Hall Master Stetson, and the least precious gift was from the old man with a wrinkled face and snow-white long hair. He gave him an upper ascension grade-2 herb, and to his surprise, no one seemed to belittle or jeer at him. That old man was the Hall Master of Spirit Spear Hall, Horace, and for some reason, Ace sensed hidden hostility from him!
However, Ace didn't mind since he knew these guys were trying to rope him into their own halls and even had a motive to assimilate him into their clans. Moreover, Ace could guess another reason for their generous gifts: it was most likely because of that eccentric, and they might want to find out what happened after he took him away.
