Elder Yang was filled with joy and couldn't wait to take Yang Chen to meet the Yang Family Patriarch.
It didn't take long before Yang Chen and Elder Yang arrived at the Patriarch's courtyard.
"What, the Patriarch is currently entertaining an honored guest?" Elder Yang frowned.
The old servant guarding the residence knew of Elder Yang's status and didn't dare to be impolite. He respectfully said, "In response to Second Master's question, the Patriarch did instruct us that he is hosting an honored guest. No one is allowed to disturb him without his command. If Second Master doesn't have any important matters, it's better to come back another day."
Elder Yang was not willing to give up so easily, treating the current Yang Chen like a treasured golden ingot in his heart.
For Yang Chen to receive attention from the family was now the top priority in his heart. With such talent, delaying even a day would be a great mistake in his eyes.
"I have an extremely important matter right now!" Elder Yang said sternly.
The servant hesitated but eventually responded, "In that case, I will go report to the Patriarch and ask Second Master to wait for a while outside!"
"That'll do," Elder Yang waved his hand.
After the servant left, Elder Yang smiled and said, "Yang Chen, don't worry. Once the Patriarch learns about this, he will definitely reward you greatly and make you a top priority for nurturing."
"If that's the case, I'll have to thank Second Master for his cultivation," Yang Chen sincerely hoped for some resources as well.
In the path of martial arts cultivation, resources were of utmost importance. He was once called Bo Le, very skilled at nurturing geniuses, and understood the importance of resources even more deeply.
Elder Yang now found Yang Chen more and more pleasing to the eye, even his eyebrows were dancing with delight. Just as he was about to say something, his eyes darted and he hurriedly said respectfully, "Greetings, Patriarch!"
Yang Chen was startled and realized an additional person had emerged from the courtyard without his notice. This middle-aged man looked much younger than Elder Yang. His powerful cultivation gave Yang Chen a sense of astonishment. To him, this middle-aged man seemed to be no less powerful than Li Youyan of the Li Family.
"A Spirit Martial Realm expert!" Yang Chen realized the man's identity as he was shocked to his core.
This middle-aged man was none other than the Yang Family Patriarch.
Seeing Elder Yang repeatedly hinting at him, Yang Chen didn't dare to put on airs and immediately said, "Greetings, Patriarch!"
"Hmm, no need for excessive courtesy," the Yang Family Patriarch said with a dominating aura, dismissing the gesture with a casual tone.
Only then did Elder Yang rise and say, "Patriarch, I heard from your servant earlier that you are entertaining a distinguished guest. I took the liberty of requesting an audience. I hope the Patriarch may pardon me."
"Indeed, this guest is distinguished. However, you came at the right time as the guest had just left not long ago," The Yang Family Head, Yang Jinhe, stood with his hands behind his back looking pleased. Apparently, the conversation with the 'distinguished guest' was quite satisfactory to him.
Elder Yang let out a sigh of relief.
Yang Jinhe then asked, "Second Elder, I heard that you have an important matter to discuss with me. What has happened?"
Seeing the topic approaching its main point, Elder Yang quickly grinned and said, "Patriarch, it's like this..."
Elder Yang recounted Yang Chen's accomplishments without any omissions.
However, to Elder Yang's disappointment, the Yang Family Patriarch didn't show any surprise or joy on his face. He just glanced at Yang Chen and said, "Is he the Alchemy Genius you mentioned?"
"Exactly, Patriarch, Yang Chen has a very strong foundation in alchemy. He learned the technique for refining Clear Flame Pills in just one attempt. Such talent is extremely rare even in the vast wilderness. I think Yang Chen definitely deserves the Patriarch's focused cultivation!"
Afraid that Yang Jinhe would underestimate Yang Chen, Elder Yang didn't dare to pause and continued, "Of course, although Yang Chen had some unsavory past experiences, people can change. I hope Patriarch won't deny his current talent because of his past."
Yang Chen felt grateful to Elder Yang for promoting him so enthusiastically. He had already made up his mind to express his gratitude to Elder Yang in the future when he had the opportunity.
However, Elder Yang's enthusiastic promotion didn't seem to have any effect. The Yang Family Patriarch didn't even look at Yang Chen and said, "Second Elder, the Coming of Age Ceremony is coming up. An Alchemy Genius is not the primary focus for our clan, only the Martial Arts have been eternal. You should know this as well."
"But, Patriarch..." Elder Yang couldn't believe that the Patriarch was dismissing Yang Chen like this.
What was going on? Usually, Yang Jinhe wouldn't be so dismissive of alchemy, even if he didn't pay much attention to it.
Seeing that Elder Yang was still unwilling to give up, the Patriarch's expression darkened, and he said coldly, "What, Second Elder, did you not hear what I said?"
"Yes, Patriarch!" Although Elder Yang held a high status, he was still one level below the Patriarch, so he could only sigh and say, "In that case, I won't disturb the Patriarch any longer."
The Yang Family Patriarch didn't try to keep him and waved, instructing the old servant to send off Elder Yang and Yang Chen.
Soon, the old servant returned and respectfully stood in front of Yang Jinhe.
Yang Jinhe glanced at the old servant and asked, "What, do you have any doubts?"
The old servant awkwardly said, "No one can deceive the Patriarch's eyes. While it's true that alchemy is not as important as martial arts, it is still an essential part of supporting the existence of martial arts. Patriarch, normally you wouldn't dismiss alchemy like this. What's going on today?"
Yang Jinhe sighed, "It's strange indeed. Today, Elder Li Youyan from the Li Family Commerce Group came to visit me personally, saying that they want to cooperate with our Yang Family. You know that the Great Wilderness is quite chaotic now. The Li Family has always been self-sufficient as a Chamber of Commerce, without any cooperation or dealings with other major clans. They only came to our Yang Family, so how can I not take this matter seriously?"
"But, this humble servant is not very smart, how is the Li Family Commerce Group connected to the way of alchemy?" the old servant asked curiously.
Yang Jinhe let out a sigh, "I'm also not sure what kind of tricks Li Youyan is up to. But he did say that he saw a genius in our Yang Family and appreciated them. He even said that his cooperation with Yang Family today depended on that genius's face. When I asked who this genius was, Li Youyan laughed and said I was asking knowingly..."
"Who is the genius that Li Youyan mentioned?" the old servant was curious as well.
"I really don't know. I wonder what medicine Li Youyan is selling in his gourd," Yang Jinhe said, "However, Li Youyan said that he would come to our Yang Family Coming of Age Ceremony personally this year to demonstrate his cooperation with us. As the head of the family, how could I ignore this? Right now, my main focus is cultivating the genius that Li Youyan mentioned."
"As for the Alchemy Genius, while it is important, it's currently more important to focus on the person Li Youyan appreciates. I'm guessing it's probably one of Yang Wu and the other promising youngsters. As for Yang Chen, we can delay his development for now."