Yang Family Elder Hall.
The hall was huge and spacious, the floor covered with thick elegant carpeting, many beautiful landscape paintings adorned the walls and an incense burner in the middle of the hall filled the air with a pure calming fragrance. The roof was made from the finest stone with many inlaid gems which seemed to sparkle like stars.
A few gray-haired old men dressed in simple robes either sat or stood about, studying various scriptures or practicing different Secret Arts, thoroughly engaging in their study of the Martial Dao.
Yang Kai, who had just arrived at the entrance of the hall, couldn't but admire it how rich these families are in old times.
After the family announced that Blood Warriors would be allowed to participate in the Inheritance War, the various Young Lords had started moving quickly, exchanging the valuables they had acquired outside for the services of the Blood Warriors.
"Look who came!" Someone suddenly spoke out from beside Yang Kai
Yang Kai looked over towards where the voice came from and saw Yang Zhao standing there
"Second Brother!" Yang Kai walked over and greeted him.
"Brother Kai," Yang Zhao smiled confidently.
Yang Kai then turned his gaze to another person who stood beside Yang Zhao. This young man stood there as straight as a sword, giving off an aura that made it seem like if the Heaven's collapsed and the Earth split apart he would remain calm and indifferent from beginning to end, forever unchanging. It was only when Yang Zhao shouted out to Yang Kai that this youth turned his eyes shifted.
"Eldest Brother!" Yang Kai knew who he was in an instant.
The Yang Family Eldest Brother Yang Wei!
"Has little brother also come to exchange some merits?" Yang Zhao looked at Yang Kai and chuckled, the latter nodding slightly and smiling bitterly, "There's no choice, the family said to come, so I have to come."
"Ha ha!" Yang Zhao laughed and patted Yang Kai's shoulder intimately, "Why else do you think the family has so much in storage? It's all things we've stolen from outside."
"Everything belongs to the family, one day you'll be able to use it for yourself." Yang Wei seemed to be born with a cold face. In Yang Kai's memory, he never laughed, nor said many words, he was always stoic, but his actions were always vigorous and resolute.
"Are you going to exchange for the Two Blood Warriors that brought you back? I saw that they treated you quite well," Yang Zhao asked seemingly offhandedly.
"Yes"
"I'm going ahead," Yang Wei casually gestured, striding forward confidently into the Elder Hall.
Yang Zhao shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Eldest Brother still doesn't like talking much, even though the rest of us brothers want to be closer to him."
"It's just his character," Yang Kai slowly shook his head, in fact, he actually appreciated Yang Wei's personality, no nonsense, no tricks or schemes, what he said was what he meant, what he did was what he wanted to do, living such a life must be liberating.
"Well, Second Brother will be going next, wait here for a bit."
"En, go ahead."
A long time later, Yang Zhao walked out with a big smile on his face, apparently very satisfied with his results. After he stepped out of the Elder Hall, Yang Kai stepped forward.
Seeing Yang Kai come in, Yang Zhen stared at him with sharp eyes. After Yang Kai walked up to him and bowed respectfully
Yang Zhen's hands still remained tucked into his sleeves, his expression carefree, "Speak, how many Blood Warriors are you here to obtain?"
"Two, since we can only receive two then of course I must obtain two!"
The smile on Yang Zhen's face slowly converged as he stared at Yang Kai coldly, his eyes becoming serious. Even the other white-haired old men in the room perked up their ears and stopped the movement of their hands, turning their heads to observe.
In an instant, all the eyes in the hall were staring at Yang Kai, all of these old men wearing curious expressions, like they were looking forward to watching a good show.
The Yang Family's Young Lords had all been sent out to various first-class forces for their life experience. The heritage of a first-class force wasn't too deep, and what these Young Lord's could obtain in such a short time was obviously not everything there was.
In order to exchange for the services of a Blood Warrior, the minimum offering would need to be a Mysterious Grade or three sets of Heaven Grade Top-Rank Martial Skills or Secret Arts.
Didn't that mean he had another two Mysterious Grade Martial Skills?
That was simply impossible! Martial Skills and Secret Arts of the Mysterious Grade wouldn't be so valuable if they could be obtained so easily.
Everyone in the hall didn't think that Yang Kai was able to offer up so much, so naturally they thought he didn't understand the rules or overestimated his own chips.
One by one, all of them prepared to watch an entertaining farce.
After a long silence, Yang Zhen grinned and said casually, "Then let's talk about your chips, this old master will evaluate whether or not what you've brought to us can be exchanged for two Blood Warriors."
Yang Kai nodded confidently before taking out two white jade bottles from his sleeve and placing them table in front of Yang Zhen.
Yang Zhen's brow furrowed, an impatient look appearing on his face as he coldly snorted, pulling his hand out of his sleeve picking up one of the jade bottles, Analyzing its content with his Divine Sense.
His Divine Sense swept over the jade slip, examining it carefully.
Suddenly, Yang Zhen's brow wrinkled as his expression became dignified, and after a while, his eyes became filled with doubt which gradually changed to shock; quickly followed by amazement.
With the rapid changes in Yang Zhen's eyes, his expression also became excited.
The old men who were going anticipating watching a good show saw Yang Zhen's expression and couldn't help becoming interested, wondering what exactly could provoke such a response from him.
A while later, Yang Zhen took a deep breath and slowly withdrew his Divine Sense from the jade bottle. Turned his gaze towards Yang Kai and staring curiously before picking up the other jade bottle.
As he examined this jade bottle, it was as if the previous event were replaying themselves, the various expression changes on Yang Zhen's face once again showing themselves in almost the exact same order just a extra expression of redness on his cheek.
The white haired Elders in the hall finally couldn't sit still, many of them having gotten up gathered around quietly before anyone had noticed.
"What exactly are in these?" An Elder couldn't help but wonder what Yang Kai had brought back that could actually cause Yang Zhen to pay so much attention to it, as he spoke, reaching out for the other jade bottle on the table.
But before he could pick it up, Yang Zhen snatched it back and gave this Elder a sharp glance.
"Little brat, come here!" Yang Zhen waved his hand and calmly pushed the curiously staring Elders aside.
"Disciple obeys," Yang Kai stepped forward unhesitantly
Holding the two pieces of jade, Yang Zhen frowned, his old face turning slightly red as he asked aloud, "What are these?"
"You don't even know what they are yet you're so interested in them?" One of the white haired Elders blurted out, everyone else in the hall also slowly shaking their heads, all of their expectations suddenly somewhat dampened.
"Two spirit pills."
"Bloody Hell!" Yang Zhen snorted, "This old master isn't a fool. Of course I know these are spirit pills, what I'm asking is what these spirit pills are for!"
As he spoke, Yang Zhen's face grew even redder.
"The first One is Ever-youth pill it can give eternal youth to one person till he die, other one is Nine Yang pill that can be used to breakthrough to Immortal ascension by 100%"
In an instant, Yang Zhen realized just how precious this spirit pills was.
Of course, the premise was that what Yang Kai had said was true.
The entire Elder Hall was deathly silent, the group of old men all stood in place, some of them thinking about the value of these Spirit Pills, some of them wondering whether Yang Kai's words were true or false.
Only after a long silence did Yang Zhen suddenly recover, turning his gaze to stare at Yang Kai with a grim expression, "Little brat, do you know what kind of punishment awaits you if you lying to the Elder Hall? Even if you are a direct descendant of the Yang Family, if you dare try to deceive us I'll make sure you die without burial right here right now!"
"Whether I'm lying or not, all you need to do is find someone who knows how to verify it," Yang Kai replied, his brow wrinkling slightly.
"Good good!" Yang Zhen sneered, turning to one of the other Elders in the hall and shouting, "Go call Cheng Bai Lian from the Alchemy Hall."
"En." A fat Elder replied, his body flickering as he disappeared.
Cheng Bai Lian, the Yang Family's Chief Alchemist! He was also an Alchemy Grandmaster whose name was famous around the world, but compared with Xiao Fu Sheng, he was still slightly inferior.
Xiao Fu Sheng was a Mysterious Grade Top-Rank Alchemist, the only one in the entire Great Han Dynasty whereas Cheng Bai Lian was just a Mysterious Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist.
"Brat, it's too late to regret now, when Cheng Bai Lian comes here and gives his opinion, this old master won't spare you," Yang Zhen sneered as he made a final probe.
Yang Kai's brow wrinkled further, dissatisfaction appearing on his face
An hour or so later, the fat Elder who had rushed out before brought over a roughly fifty years old man.
When this man entered the Elder Hall, he wore a thick gloom on his face.
Once inside, not even waiting for Yang Zhen to speak, Cheng Bai Lian roared angrily, "Yang Zhen! Do you know what you've done? This old master was refining a Xuan Qing Pill when you summoned me! This old master was at a critical moment in the refining process when I was disturbed! You better compensate me for that furnace worth of material or this old master swears he won't give your Yang Family any pills for three months!"
"Fine fine, I'll compensate you!" Yang Zhen's face went black, mechanically nodding again and again.
Although he was called by name by someone much younger than himself, and even more so was angrily scolded, Yang Zhen held his temper. After all, this man was the Chief Alchemist of the Yang Family. Many high-quality pills that the family needed were refined by him, so even though the gap in their cultivation and age was huge, Yang Zhen had no choice but to swallow his anger.
Cheng Bai Lian snorted and said, "That was a Heaven Grade Top-Rank pill. Although it wasn't too expensive, it had cost this old master a lot of thought and effort, but seeing you act appropriately enough, 500,000 will do."
Yang Zhen's expression became even darker, doing his best to endure as he quickly changed the subject, "Let's stop talking about this for now. We need to discuss the reason as to your summon."
Cheng Bai Lian nodded before glancing at Yang Kai who was standing nearby, "I heard about it on the way. You say these two Spirit Pills were brought back by this little brat?"
"Good, I want you to see if these things are really useful." Yang Zhen handed over the two Jade Bottle.
Cheng Bai Lian took the Jade Bottle from him before sneering, "This old master has pursued the Alchemic Way for many years and has studied a great number of Spirit Pills, but never once have I heard of such a magical Spirit Pills. It seems that you've grown more confused as the years pass by, actually being so easily deceived. Now that you've been tricked you want to drag this old master into the muddy water, if this were to spread out what face would you have left?"
"Enough nonsense, just take a look!" Yang Zhen was enraged by Cheng Bai Lian's taunting, but he really had nowhere to vent his frustrations, his old face turning purple with anger, secretly deciding that if Yang Kai really was lying to him, he would absolutely not let him off lightly.
Cheng Bai Lian found a place nearby and took a seat, his expression extremely relaxed as he casually released his Divine Sense into the jade examine it.
The entire Elder Hall except Yang Kai stared at him, wondering how he would evaluate these two Spirit Pills.
But just as Cheng Bai Lian began using his Divine Sense to studying the jade's content, he suddenly let out a scream, his body which had just sat down jumping up as his face showed an incredible expression.
Everyone who was holding their breath and waiting nervously also jumped in shock at this unexpected display.
"What happened?" Yang Zhen asked as he looked at Cheng Bai Lian with disappointment, "At such an age, getting so excited about something after merely a glance, please have some self-respect!"
However, Cheng Bai Lian completely ignored Yang Zhen, his eyes spinning round and round, a look of pure shock and joy flashing across his face. He turned and stared at Yang Kai for a moment, and in the next moment, his figure flickered and directly appeared in front of him, grabbing his shoulders in a vice grip as if he feared that Yang Kai would run away, asking in a slightly trembling voice, "Little brat, this Spirit Pills… you… where did you get it?"
Yang Kai's thinking of something before replying, "I obtained in a cave abode of a cultivator during my years".
Yang Zhen and the other Elders turned their eyes to Cheng Bai Lian, who simply shook his head and smiled without saying anything.
"Damn it, tell us already!" Yang Zhen had reached his limit, loudly cursing as he demanded an explanation from Cheng Bai Lian.
At any other time, the Yang Family's Chief Alchemist wouldn't have remained silent for so long, but right now he seemed to be completely absorbed in his thoughts, only speaking again after an extended silence, "although I don't know the uses of it but it is definitely a Spirit grade pill and top quality at that."
"Then its value?" Yang Zhen asked anxiously.
"Immeasurable!" Cheng Bai Lian replied seriously.
All the Elders in the hall couldn't help looking awkward. Yang Kai offering two of these Spirit Pills to the Yang Family, the number of merits they were worth was huge, even Yang Zhen didn't quite know how many he should reward Yang Kai with.
Cheng Bai Lian turned to look at Yang Kai, none of his previous disdain or contempt remaining on his face, politely asking, "Boy, what is your name?"
Yang Kai casually gave his name in response.
Cheng Bai Lian then patted his shoulder intimately, "Good good, this old master will remember you, when I have time I will invite you to my home to drink tea!"
After saying so, Cheng Bai waved his sleeves and strode out with great vigor.
Once again, all the Elders in the hall looked at each other in shock, some of them even wondering if they were dreaming.
Cheng Bai Lian had invited a junior to his home to drink tea…
"Elder Zhen," Yang Kai called out, "The validity of my offering has been proven, can I exchange for two Blood Warriors now?"
Yang Zhen rolled his eyes and muttered, "Good! But this old master must first remind you, depending on the strength of the Blood Warrior, the merits you'll need to exchange for their services are different."
"Then… what kind of Blood Warrior can I receive with my current merits?"
"Ah… er…" Yang Zhen lightly coughed, "Among the masters from the Blood Warrior Hall, you can choose any of them, including the Hall Master and Deputy Hall Master!"
"Hall Master and Deputy Hall Master?" Yang Kai asked in amazement.
"Yes, those two both stand at the very apex of the Immortal Ascension Boundary!" Yang Zhen nodded, "If you have the two of them to guard you, no one should be able to get close to you in this Inheritance War."
It seemed like the number of merits Yang Kai had earned all at once was too great so Yang Zhen wanted him to quickly consume them. Thus Yang Zhen spared no effort to promote the idea of Yang Kai recruiting the Hall Master and Deputy Hall Master.
"I don't want them"
Yang Zhen secretly sighed to himself before nodding, "If you don't want them, who do you want?"
"Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian" Yang Kai reported the names of the two Blood Warriors.
"Since you want, then I will give them to you!" Yang Zhen snorted, "I want to see just what kind of storm you can kick up by using those two for this Inheritance War!"
"Of course, Elder Zhen doesn't need to bother himself with my business."
Yang Zhen smiled deviously, immediately taking out a parchment and stamping it with the Elder Hall's seal before throwing it to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai took the parchment, glanced at it carefully before nodding with satisfaction, cupping his fists politely, "Many thanks Elder Zhen!"
"Good, after choosing those two Blood Warriors, you still have a lot of merits left! What else do you want to exchange for?" Yang Zhen raised his brow and asked, "For the Inheritance War, you can never do too much preparation."
"How many merits do I have left?" Yang Kai asked curiously.
"A lot," Yang Zhen said offhandedly, not disclosing a specific figures. It was quite possible he also didn't know just how many merits Yang Kai's contribution warranted.
"In that case I'll exchange all of them for Alchemy Refining materials, at least Heaven Grade Low-Rank, preferably Mysterious Grade or Above."
Listening to Yang Kai, Yang Zhen couldn't help but look at him in surprise, he didn't expect his request to be so simple, nodding as he replied, "I'll help you prepare the materials and have someone deliver them to your home."
"Many thanks for your effort Elder Zhen, disciple will take his leave." Yang Kai nodded, turned, and walked out.
"Brat, don't disappoint this old master by losing too early in the Inheritance War." Yang Zhen's called out from behind.
"Elder Zhen shouldn't worry, just sit back and watch!"
When these words were said, the person had already disappeared.