Disciples doing miscellaneous duties in the warehouse on the night shift and the day shift chit-chatted, paid compliments, expressed envy, and even criticized their wives back home for being incompetent. It was rather lively.
"What are you all doing, aren't you going to get to work!" Just before the start of the shift, the manager turned up and seeing everyone huddled together, he barked at them.
Everyone immediately scattered like birds – the night shift got off work, and the day shift started getting ready to start working.
"Wang Zijia, come with me." Wang Zijia was about to start work himself, but the manager suddenly halted him.
"Okay!" Wang Zijia hesitated for a moment before obediently following him.
"So, did you manage to make a talisman paper yesterday?" On their way, the manager conversed with him, which was unusual.
"Erm, no, I was just fiddling around." Wang Zijia lowered his head inwardly and replied, "Did you require something from me?"
"No, the shopkeeper of your Talisman and Charm Area wants to meet you. He asked me to pass on a message," the manager said nonchalantly.
Wang Zijia's heart fluttered slightly and he replied, "Oh!"
That was the end of the conversation between the two. They were not familiar with each other, and the manager only initiated a dialogue because he saw Wang Zijia trying to make talisman and charm at a young age.
After a while, they arrived at the warehouse entrance and parted silently.
Walking through the warehouse area, he arrived at a corner of the front hall and stopped at a designated rest office.
"Knock, knock..."
Wang Zijia hesitated a bit before knocking gently on the door.
"Come in!"
An elderly voice sounded from inside the room as the door opened silently to reveal an ordinary elderly man with some white hair.
This man was Wang Zijia's boss and had the authority to decide his employment status.
Xiang Ji, the most ordinary outer sect disciple of Wanyu Sect, had middle-stage cultivation level as a child. Because of certain connections, he was able to come here during his deployment and became the shopkeeper.
The stages of Dao cultivation for the monks were divided into: Child, Sacrificial wine, and the Perfected stages.
"Shopkeeper, did you call for me?" Wang Zijia asked respectfully.
"I originally wanted to ask you in the past few days about how you're considering the matter of a marriage by being adopted into the Xiang family. But today I suddenly heard you have started learning the talisman techniques, so I decided to call you..."
Seemingly being occupied with something and with his back towards Wang Zijia, Xiang Ji was speaking while turning around, then suddenly stopped and looked at Wang Zijia, "Innate? Did your martial way breakthrough occur before or after you began learning the talisman techniques?"
Surprised by the question, Wang Zijia had to search his past memories to find relevant information.
His father had suddenly received the Entry Token, and everyone knew about it. But that was fine, since it wasn't a significant treasure and wouldn't cause conflicts.
However, after his father's unexpected death, the shopkeeper Xiang Ji had approached him.
Don't get it wrong; he wasn't after his property. In fact, this shopkeeper was very decent and probably had a good relationship with his father.
He had directly proposed for him to marry into the family through adoption, and then the Xiang family would help him test for spiritual roots. If his spiritual roots were sufficient, he would be allowed to use the Xiang family's channel to directly enter the Outer Sect using the command token.
If his spiritual roots were lacking, the Xiang family would help him find a way to reach the initial stage of Child within ten years of his Dao cultivation, and then use the command token to directly enter the Outer Sect.
Of course, if he didn't have spiritual roots, he would need to give up his spot to someone else from his clan.
Thinking about it, it was quite a good proposal. The previous person had spiritual roots, so it was definitely beneficial for him and there was no oppression.
Unfortunately, his predecessor's father had prepared the cultivation method for him to contemplate. But he was unable to gain an understanding of it, which strongly dictated that he didn't possess spiritual roots. Therefore, the previous person hadn't accepted the offer, stating that he needed time to consider it.
And he had been considering it for several months.
The shopkeeper seemed to be looking out for him as he wasn't taking the matter seriously. He wasn't anxious for him to agree to the marriage.
During his thoughts, Wang Zijia deliberated and responded, "Shopkeeper, my breakthrough came after my innate perception."
"Irresponsible." Xiang Ji frowned, "My original offer is still valid. As soon as you marry into my family, the clan will help you test for spiritual roots and then find a way for you to enter the Outer Sect directly."
Wang Zijia lowered his head, remaining silent.
"Forget it. Since you've achieved the innate state so quickly, it's unlikely that you don't have spiritual roots. Also, after learning the Talisman Techniques, I guess you don't want to be under the control of others. Ah, you youngsters, this is what you're not doing right, you are too arrogant and don't understand the benefits of marriage by adoption. If only I had such an opportunity back in the day..."
At this point, Xiang Ji stopped himself.
'No, I am well aware of the benefits of living off a woman's money!'
'I would love to live off a woman, but I don't have spiritual roots. I definitely can't be negative about marrying into a family and become a wealth-delivering boy. I can't just give Xiang Ji a spot in the Outer Sect for free, right?'
"Think about it more, this offer is valid until you turn twenty. Though my Xiang family may not be wealthy, we are still a peripheral family of the Wanyu Sect. We wouldn't disgrace you. If you agree, you can consider any girl in the clan who has spiritual roots."
Perhaps because he heard that he had begun to try to make talisman cards, Xiang Ji added a little more to his promise. At least from his memories, he didn't recall the shopkeeper ever saying that he could choose a girl with spiritual roots.
"Hmm!" Wang Zijia buried his head almost into his collar, humming lightly in the same way as he remembered his predecessor doing.
"Ah, kid, your father pampered you too much. You lack experience. Once you join the sect without the support of a clan, you'll surely face difficulties!" Seeing Wang Zijia's demeanor, Xiang Ji sighed again.
"Hmm!" Wang Zijia hummed once more.
"Alright, think about it more, you can leave now if there's nothing else!" Xiang Ji didn't say more and bid him goodbye.
Feeling like he had been pardoned, Wang Zijia hurriedly left the room after a quick bow.
Seeing this, Xiang Ji shook his head helplessly, muttering, "Just a little boy, still doesn't understand the benefits of marrying into a family."
After hurriedly leaving the front hall, Wang Zijia took a deep breath. It was stressful enough to pretend to be introverted on a normal day, but doing so in front of the shopkeeper was even more challenging.
After all, from his memories, this Xiang Ji was also an acquaintance of his father. He understood his family situation very well.
After returning to the warehouse, there were no more incidents, and Wang Zijia started his work as usual.
Like always, Wang Zijia went home after finishing his evening shift, ate his meal, waited for the nanny to leave, and then began various attempts.
He even tried everything from cleaning to watching soap operas to find the quickest way to accumulate silver weights from a multitude of skills.
It was late at night by the time he went to bed.
...
"Roar..."
In the depth of the night, Wang Zijia was awakened by a loud roar.
"Boom!"
Before he could react, another loud explosion was heard, accompanied by a slight tremor.
Wang Zijia immediately rolled off the bed and upon opening the door of the room, he felt waves of peculiar fluctuations.
After scanning the surroundings, he subtly sensed the flowing of true qi and used a light-body technique to leap onto the rooftop.