"That"s more like it!" Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction as he held the amulet between his fingertips.Since the other party had been forged using Kong s.h.i.+"s blood essence, he was confident a Celestial Master Teacher that he could get it to submit to him by revealing his true ident.i.ty.
And everything did go according to his expectations.
"…" Wu Chen opened his eyes wide in disbelief.
He was a veteran who could be considered one of the most knowledgeable individuals on the Master Teacher Continent, but the shocks that he had encountered that day were far more than a lifetime"s worth for him. At this point, he really had to bow down to the young man.
The amulet forged by Kong s.h.i.+ did not even regard Ancient Sage Qiu Wu or Ancient Sage Ran Qiu as much, and yet, with a light fondle, it actually submitted to the young man!
Is there nothing that you can"t tame with those fingers of yours?
But what had truly left him shocked was not just that. Rather, after taming the Prime Amulet, which countless would murder to gain possession of, Zhang Xuan actually flicked it lightly into Luo Ruoxin"s grasp!
"Ruoxin, I"ll entrust this Prime Amulet to you. In any case, it won"t be much use in my hands!"
Wu Chen"s body froze in utter incredulity.
Those four young men before them had been willing to whip out Ancient Sage artifacts one after another in order to s.n.a.t.c.h it away, and that was more than enough to show how valuable the Prime Amulet truly was. Yet, the young man did not hesitate to give it away to Luo Ruoxin…
But what was even more shocking was soon to come…
"Since the Prime Amulet has acknowledged you as its master, it"ll do for you to keep it. I have even less use for it here…" Luo Ruoxin shook her head coolly as she pa.s.sed the Prime Amulet back to Zhang Xuan. "It"ll suffice as long as you bring me in when the Temple of Confucius opens."
After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Xuan took the Prime Amulet back and nodded. "Alright then."
No matter how formidable the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn was, as one who possessed the Library of Heaven"s Path, Zhang Xuan did not think that it was something that he would necessarily require, let alone a mere Prime Amulet.
The reason he had gone to this ancient domain was solely because Luo Ruoxin had invited him there. He had intended to uncover the ident.i.ty of the culprits who had taken Zhao Ya and his other students away, as well as to clarify the misunderstanding of the engagement to her…
As long as she would not use it to harm mankind, he did not mind giving away the precious Prime Amulet to her!
But who could have thought that the young lady would have little regard for it as well.
Seeing that it was pushed and shoved around, the Prime Amulet was on the verge of bursting into tears.
As an artifact forged personally by Kong s.h.i.+, not even Ancient Sage Ran Qiu was qualified to tame it, and yet, there it was, tossed around from person to person as if it was useless trash that no one wanted…
Don"t stop me, let me bang my head on the pillar and die!
Oh right, I am just a sheet of paper. Even if I bang my head against the wall, I can"t die…
Just as it was feeling deeply stifled, its new master suddenly turned his gaze to it with a greedy glint in his eyes.
"Little Amulet. Since you have already acknowledged me as your master, shouldn"t you show me some sincerity? There should be other treasures in the ancient domain, right? Come, bring me to them!"
"…" The Prime Amulet twitched upon hearing those words. "There aren"t any treasures left in here…"
"How can there be no treasures in here? Aren"t there ninety-nine doors? Since the door that I went through has the Dragonbone Divine Spear, surely the others should contain some kind of valuable treasure, right?" Zhang Xuan exclaimed in agitation.
"The other pa.s.sageways are really just trials consisting of Slaughter Formations or Illusory Formations. There are no treasures in the rest…" the Prime Amulet replied.
"Really?" Zhang Xuan turned his doubtful gaze to Luo Ruoxin and Wu Chen, only to see the latter two nodding in agreement.
"It"s right. The pa.s.sageways that we went through are really just trials. There was no treasure at the end."
"Is that so?" Zhang Xuan could not help but lower his head in disappointment.
He had thought that each of the ninety-nine granite doors would contain top-notch treasures comparable to the Dragonbone Divine Spear, but it seemed like he had set his expectations too high.
Since that was the case, Zhang Xuan had no choice but to compromise.
"Right, I"ll have to trouble you to help me gouge out the three words, "Ran Zi Hall", on the entrance plaque. Those are good, too!"
"…" Prime Amulet.
He had met plenty of stingy people in his time, but this was the first time he had seen anyone like that. That was the entrance plaque to the Ran Zi Hall, and yet, he would not even let it go…
Other people sought to claim swords, spears, and legendary treasures from ancient domains, and yet, Zhang Xuan s.n.a.t.c.hed even the very face of the esteemed Ran Zi Hall.
…
Paying no heed to the tearful Prime Amulet, Zhang Xuan did as he pleased and took everything that was of the slightest value away from the Ran Zi Hall before leaving with a satisfied grin.
As the old adage goes, only the breadwinner of a family knows how expensive every grain of rice is.
It had not been easy for Zhang Xuan to happen upon such a rich household, so it was a given that he had to fill his pockets to the brim in case of rainy days!
"Teleport us out!" Zhang Xuan instructed the Prime Amulet.
The Prime Amulet"s paper body crumpled together, and a shadow devoured their bodies. The next instant, they were already standing in the midst of the White Creek Mountain once more.
As soon as Wu Chen regained his balance, he clasped his fist and bowed deeply. "Milady, Zhang s.h.i.+, I have some matters that I have to attend to, so I"ll have to bid my farewell right now. I"ll find you all once more after my business is done!"
There was a deeply worried look on his face.
"What happened? Do you need help?" Zhang Xuan asked.
"It"s just a couple of trifling matters. I am very grateful for your offer, Zhang s.h.i.+, but I"ll be able to resolve them on my own!" Wu Chen nodded.
"That"s good." Zhang Xuan nodded in response.
"Go on. Look for me after you are done with whatever you have on hand," Luo Ruoxin replied.
"Thank you, Milady!"
With a tap of his finger, a spatial wormhole appeared before Wu Chen, and he leaped right in. In the blink of an eye, he had already vanished from sight.
With his departure, Zhang Xuan turned his gaze to the young lady before him and smiled. "Ruoxin, what do you intend to do now?"
Having obtained the Prime Amulet, it no longer mattered whether they found the remaining Subordinate Amulets or not. The only thing that they had to do was wait for the Temple of Confucius to open.
"I don"t have anything on at the moment," replied Luo Ruoxin as she shook her head.
"Since that"s the case, why don"t you come to the Zhang Clan with me?" Zhang Xuan said with a smile. "We left too hurriedly the previous time around, and I didn"t get to introduce you to my parents!"
To be honest, he still felt a little awkward around his parents, especially since they had only reunited with one another a few days ago.
But no matter what, they were still his blood kin, so it was only right for him to introduce his girlfriend to them. Furthermore, this would also show Luo Ruoxin that he was serious about her.
"This…" A hint of redness crept onto Luo Ruoxin"s fair complexion as she replied with a slight hint of fl.u.s.ter in her voice, "I s.n.a.t.c.hed you away from the Luo Clan, causing a fallout between the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan… Isn"t it a bad time for me to pay them a visit?"
"There"s nothing bad about the timing. Don"t worry, my parents are very open people!" Zhang Xuan rea.s.sured with a smile.
Despite the slight awkwardness in their relations.h.i.+p—he had not even gotten around to calling them father and mother yet—he had to admit that the Xingmeng Sword Saints were extremely doting.
Putting everything aside, what he had done back at the Luo Clan had snubbed not only the reputation of the Luo Clan but that of the Zhang Clan as well. Had it been any other parents, they would have already killed that unfilial son of theirs, yet his parents actually offered him their full support!
Just from that alone, he wanted to try accepting his parents.
"This…" Luo Ruoxin was still a little hesitant and worried about meeting Zhang Xuan"s parents.
She could remain cold and nonchalant toward anything in the world, such that not even the prized Prime Amulet could cause the slightest fluctuation in her emotions. Yet, a simple matter like this actually left her at a loss.
"There"s nothing to worry about, I"m around. It"s only a matter of time before we"ll have to meet them to affirm our relations.h.i.+p!" Knowing what Luo Ruoxin was worried about, Zhang Xuan held her hand tightly and consoled her. "Let"s meet them, alright?"
"I…" Looking into Zhang Xuan"s eyes, Luo Ruoxin hesitated for a moment before eventually sighing deeply. "Alright, I"ll meet your parents."
"Un!" Seeing that Luo Ruoxin had agreed to it, a bright smile crept on Zhang Xuan"s face. At this moment, he suddenly recalled something and added, "But before we head back to the Zhang Clan, I want to drop by the Luo Clan first!"
"You want to drop by the Luo Clan?" Luo Ruoxin frowned.