“he's awake, senior Jianhong Lin is awake.” Opening his eyes, Lin heard Sun shouting next to his ear then the winged-tiger started licking the boy’s cheek and neck with its barbed-tongue... it mostly felt for the great-sage like his skin is being rubbed by sandpaper! the first thing Lin took notice of in this situation is that... this little furry-idiot is naturally calling him by his actual name... the second thing is that... the boy couldn't remember what happened after he finally succeeded in freeing his body from the restrictions of the last area of his trial. All the great-sage could remember is... the feeling of suddenly being free from the suppressive five-way energy-fusion then... his body being hurled towards the ceiling of the trial-tunnel at extreme velocity before hitting something right before he fainted! whatever he hit was tough as nails... Lin remembers that he momentarily felt like his neck came so very close to breaking when the impact happened. 'Buddy! did you forget about our little agreement? call me buddy so that you wouldn't get confused between the names Ming and Lin.' Lin used the ability of soul-link to send Sun this transmission while giving his best friend a knowing look. 'It’s senior Kai who told me not to lie, he said that this old man would know if I dared to do so... it got nothing to do with me buddy.' Sun nudged the boy with his muzzle before he continued having his fun and sandpaper the rest of the great-sage’s exposed skin... hearing that answer from his beast-companion... Lin had nothing more to say since it’s an order from the talking-raccoon and not the red-tiger acting on its own. Spreading his soul-sense because it’s the usual thing the boy does first thing whenever he wakes-up from sleep... the great-sage was satisfied with the speed of his soul’s recovery since it reached the maximum-range of fifty-kilometers already—which is already one-fifth of what he should be capable of transmitting his soul-sense at maximum-range according to his last test when his soul was at full-force—who knows? maybe it increased more than that in range... Lin only needs to wait for his soul to recover completely before testing once again. “Hoot.” Frostine lowered her head to stare at the boy's pair of golden-eyes after landing on his chest... like always her pair of hypnotizing blue-black eyes caused the great-sage to fall into a daze while admiring their enchanting-beauty! yet... this time Lin could notice some worry within these wide-eyes... that worry is exists for his sake... the great-sage used his arms to hug the white-owl and the orange-kitten towards his chest tightly while feeling gratified for all this care from his two beast-companions. “Guys. I'm alright, had I known that you’d be all that worried for me if I took the trial? then... I wouldn’t have took it in the first place.” While getting up from bed Lin spoke his mind and Sun attempted to free himself from this embarrassing position... meanwhile Frostine snuggling deeper into the boy’s embrace trying to soak as much as possible of these peaceful feelings. “Yes, yes, yes... how considerate of you! now let go of me buddy. I'm no longer a little cub, I already have cubs of my own but... you know all about it already.” The winged-tiger grumbled weakly while trying a bit harder to wiggle himself free from his buddy’s lock-hold. “You're still like little-Lao, a brother to me! even if your cubs had cubs of their own, and their cubs had even more and more cubs... I’d still hug and kiss you. Whenever I feel like getting intimate with you... I’d do so without feeling shame because you’re family to me.” Smirking while scratching Sun's scaly-skin by invading with the tips of his fingers underneath the orange-kitten’s thick-layer of soft fur... Lin kissed its furry cheek and let it go after telling his beast-companion this little piece of information which the winged-tiger already knows practically by heart now. “Fix-up the whiskers that you ruined then, you always say : "Fix what’s broken... even if you’re not the one who broke it" Kekekeke... I’m a genius! I take after Lily in these departments.” Sun acted like a spoilt kitten seeking the enjoyment of being treated like royalty by Lin... brought his cheek closer for the boy to fix his crooked whiskers! the great-sage was terribly amused by the orange-kitten's good mood and did what was asked of him then began to pour his feelings of love on Frostine instead... the white-owl seemed to be enjoying every ounce of warm emotions when she’s getting pampered by its new friend... Lin found himself in a large and spacious room after waking-up... that room have elegant decorations on the ceiling and on every single corner plus a single amazing big-sized chandelier that’s hanging from the center of the wide dome at the central-point of the ceiling... the light from that chandelier is fully brightening the room especially with the big amount of shining crystals that’s decorating it everywhere! on its own... this chandelier is already a masterpiece. The contrast between its delicate details and the scene of the dome which have different pictures drawn of armies of beasts and men engaged in a bloody war has a... unique contrast of beauty! the bed he’s on is so... spacious... it’s big enough to accommodate a dozen of grown-ups sleeping on it together while maintaining their space very comfortably. The mattress of the bed is both soft and bouncy yet... its texture isn’t fragile to the degree of make his small and lightweight body sink into it... the fabric for these sheets and the stuffing of these bed-pillows plus the thin, silky, almost invisible curtains around the bed itself... their style, texture, even the choice of their colors is... spot-on. The classic style of furnishings in this room... the contrast between the color of the thick yet fluffy-looking carpets and the color of the marble floor beneath it is... similarly an excellent choice of design being fused-with top-craftsmanship! for a second Lin recalled the memories of the civilization which he once lived within in a previous-life... he recalled once being their brightest hope then deeply sighed again... flashbacks of the scenes of the slaves especially the ones of the so-called evil-race being collared like nothing but filthy animals or maybe they’re considered worse than animals by their prisoners in this life. Since those like Lantian are respected and treated no different from humans by cultivators and mortals of this world... despite once belonging to true animals then... within spirit-world it’s maybe only with strength could the walls of "difference" be brought down! trying to distract himself from these sad memories... the boy looked towards the far left of this monstrous-sized bed at the open door... the great-sage could see the spacious balcony which have white clouds moving slowly below the level of its rails. Towards his right-hand side there’s a fireplace with some pieces of firewood already crackling after getting licked by the fire inside it and burning moderately in a gorgeous orange-green color... meanwhile on both sides of this fireplace there’s some type of shade plants adding a sense of liveliness to this side of the room... above the fireplace there’s a big painting on the wall that’s almost ten meters tall! a big painting of an old man who seems to be in his sixties that’s wearing a white full-body armor... his hair combed back, his medium-sized beard is neatly trimmed, two piercing and sharp eyes plus a very dignified yet easily approachable face, a straight nose, and not a single strand of hair on his face or head is black or grey in color. As if this old man with his wheat-colored skin was just pulled-out from a mountains’ worth of fine flour! but... the amount of muscles on his body is an amazing sight to behold for someone around this seemingly advanced age... the two wide shoulders of this old man made him seem like he could carry a whole chain of mountains on each side with ease. The old man within the painting stood with both of his arms hidden from view behind his back... from the image in the painting the boy sensed like this person is someone who wants to appear deeply resourceful judging from his pose! by hiding his hands this white-haired old man might appear helpless or at the twilight of his life but... by hiding his hands he’s already perfectly covering his intentions where nobody would be able to know if his hand is holding a weapon or empty... in a fist or open... at least that's what the great-sage thought to himself. Ahead of Lin is the door of this spacious room that’s befitting for a king or an emperor... the door is a whooping thirty meters tall and a dozen meters wide where each part of the two pieces beneath the hinges being six meters wide! the dark-brown wood that this "gate" is made from seems very sturdy and insanely heavy judging by the looks of it yet... the carvings on each side of this door are both classy and beautiful. After this short and quick inspection of his surrounding Lin looked towards Sun who kept looking around the room and sniffing at air as if searching for something or... someone! “Sun. Where’s this place?” Lin pushed the soft and warm bed covers from his body and placed Frostine on his shoulder then got down from bed while asking the orange-kitten... the boy discovered two comfortable slippers next to the bed that perfectly matched his size and unceremoniously wore them on... it doesn't matter if he’s going to be polite or not right now... especially since even his clothes and underwear has been changed during his sleep! he doesn't know what kind of fabric is the turquoise-aquamarine pajamas he's currently wearing but... they’re comfortable enough to put silk to shame and Lin really want to keep them after trying them. Even his long hair—which got messed-up during the trial—is already combed and trimmed around the edges... not to mention that... the boy doesn't feel like he’s currently suffering from any ailments within his body after experiencing many types and grades of suppression from fused-energy... there’s no soreness within his muscles or joints after what he experienced either! the great-sage is already aware that he's got better recovering-speed compared to others around his age but... it isn't to the degree where he wakes-up to find his primordial-soul and physical-body already recovered by this much... judging by what he's feeling right now... Lin is sure that he's not much different by now inside the dantian-space compared to the current condition of his physique and soul-world. 'Gang. What’s the situation like on your end?' The boy asked his sin-brother while waiting for the winged-tiger to answer his question. 'Soul-world... no problem recovering territory from the bleak darkness, dantian-space... let’s say it’s better than normal and keep it that way for now, body... well there’s no signs of hidden-injuries—at least for now, weapon-intent... the glass-heart is barely holding-up but all in all it’s still A-okay.' The deadly-sin of wrath gave a swift and slightly detailed report.

“This is the headquarters of mercenary-guild, we're at the top floor of the white-tower! come take a look at this view... your master is the mightiest person in this area, he’s the lord of this city and you buddy are his last disciple. He told us that in this mercenary-city no one would dare bully us, even if it’s sky-queen Hongtian... she wouldn't dare throw her weight around us in here.” Sun ran towards the balcony and crossed it to jump on the guardrails... while walking back and forth the winged-tiger seemed extremely excited to tell Lin these news. “Huh! I have a master now... but, why am I the last person to know such an... "important piece of information?" it’s kind of annoying to be the last to know about important news.” While smiling ruefully the boy looked towards Frostine and spoke sarcastically then became so amused when the white-owl shrugged and tilted her head to side slightly... the great-sage had to give this adorable bird a kiss as a reward for her timely gesture. “I don't know about these overcomplicated stuff so don’t ask me, tsk... I swear that senior Jianhong was right here in the balcony right before you woke-up. Maybe he had to go to the bathroom or something, let’s just wait until he gets back.” The orange-kitten scratched its head with its cute paws in confusion while looking around the balcony and outside the tower from this extremely elevated spot. “My master’s name is Jianhong and he's the one to control mercenary-city, city-lord janhong... since he's wearing a white armor then... he's titled as a "white-sovereign mercenary" is there anything else that I should know about him? buddy! focus, just tell me everything that you know about him. Such individuals—especially those who have extremely high cultivation—tend to be moody, I don't want to give that master of mine a bad first-impression... if he grounds me to stay here in this room or restricted my freedom? it’d result in extremely unpleasant days for all of us in the future.” Lin sat on one of the recliners and took a fruit to eat from the fruit basket on the table next to him while asking Sun to say what he knows about city-lord Jianhong... the boy stared at the sky above which seemed very close and within reach that he could grasp a piece of it within his hand and thought about the problem of Jin Bao's soul and the soul-oriented medicinal-ingredients he requires! how is he going to gather them now? would that master of his affect his plans? “Your master’s surname is Mu... he’s Mu Jianhong so don’t forget it, he's a spirit-sovereign and is currently the leader of mercenary-guild’s branch in the southern-continent. He may be much older than your father but don’t worry, he’s such a nice guy.” The winged-tiger stood on its hind-limbs like a heavenly-sage and enjoyed this rare opportunity where it gets to be the teacher to someone like his buddy... with one paw behind its back the orange-kitten regained its "sagely-halo" when it spoke while making sure to maintain its exaggerated paw gestures to enrich it current role and build character! just like how fast Sun attained this odd state of being a sage... it was gone in a wink and the winged-tiger slyly smirked when it noticed how the great-sage and Frostine are glaring at him. “Ei’hoot.” The white-owl seemed to sigh inwardly and shook its head while making this faint almost disappointed sound. “What was that?” The ears of the orange-kitten twitched slightly and it glared towards the bird who’s currently patting Lin's head with one of its wings to comfort him... after all... his best-friend is a complete moron! “Hoot’ing.” Frostine gave Sun a side-glance which cause the dominating-aura that he’s building to suddenly freeze then shatter and disappear into nothing... while patting the boy’s head it seemed like the white-owl is trying to tell the great-sage this message : 'I know, I know... believe me when I say that I know what you feel right now.'

'Frostine. Was that really all? that master Jianhong didn’t say anything else?' Lin asked the little-bird instead through a transmission of soul-link... now that he remembers... the boy never actually attempted to communicate with Frostine directly through a soul-to-soul method! 'Yes. This dummy kept telling that old man about where you met Wei and the rest and how you stopped Lantian and prevented the beast-wave from attacking pearl-road, how you caught that assassin and how you made him one of your subordinates... sigh... he even told the old man about your intimate relationship with both Mia and Bo An! your family and friends back in the land of forgetfulness and your frightening twin-sister, etc. The idiot was so busy talking and bragging about your accomplishments for a whole day and night and forgot to ask that old man about anything of use, except for asking him what’s his name and where this place in the beginning... then asking whether or not is he the true boss of this big city. The rest of it all was bragging and even more bragging! I swear that my feathery-ears almost fell-off after having to listen to all that bullshit.' The white-owl nodded repeatedly while rubbing her feathery-face in the skin of the great-sage’s face while thinking to herself : 'Finally! finally there's someone else—other than that "idiot"—who could really communicate with her.' The rest of the group—Lin included—couldn't understand her "hoot... hoot" language and the small bird was left with Sun as her only option whenever she’s in the mood for having a conversation after Fang Bo left... at least that one was polite to her. 'Heh. Thankfully he didn't mention senior Kai despite spilling all these beans.' The boy sent Frostine and the white-owl gave the orange-kitten a look of pure ridicule while replying : 'If he dares to? then... senior Kai would gladly skin him alive and feed him his own fur! hey Lin, teach me something... anything. I'm so bored I could die.' The ancestral-bird seemed so at ease while saying something completely frightening to the great-sage. 'What do you like to learn?' Lin was surprised by this odd situation since Sun always wants action and would be enduring being bored to death whenever the boy tries to teach him any new tactical-approach or retreat... things like that are the quickest method to put the winged-tiger to sleep! 'Water, ice, and frost. These are the things I like to know the most, but... I don't mind learning something different for a change.' Frostine's blue-black eyes lit-up from curiosity when the boy seemed to give her the freedom of choice when it comes to the topic... after being silent for a couple seconds the white-owl flapped her wings which causes snow-crystals to spread everywhere around them in a magical scene! 'It’s always easier to learn about the things you love, let it be a lesson about the properties of water and the difference between the various states of the element of water. This might hurt a little bit and I need you to endure it because it’d be much easier to understand that information if I transmit the knowledge directly to your soul... are you ready?' The great-sage began sending some of the vast knowledge—which he inherited from his previous-life—all that ocean-like of knowledge and information has been left to collect dust ever since his rebirth... hopefully it’s going to be put to some good use by this ancestral-bird. 'Whoa, whoa... kyaa! Lin. You're the best friend I ever had, I love you so, so much right now.' Frostine's enchanting blue-eyes spun in their sockets when the transmission was finally over... suddenly her head seemed like it became overfilled and spilling a great amount of information! knowledge about water, ice, frost, steam, and mist. While hugging Lin's head with both of her wings the white-owl kept rubbing her feathery-face with the boy... if her beak wasn't sharp and pointy? then... the ancestral-bird would've kissed him a few times on the cheeks and lips!

“Frostine. What has gotten into you so suddenly?” Sun noticed that Frostine is acting a bit too much like a very tamed and very obedient pet when he noticed her enthusiastic-attitude and all the face rubs with his buddy.

“Hoot’ing.” Very slyly... the white-owl shrugged the question from the orange-kitten and closed its eyes to enjoy "mind-reading" all of this exciting information.

Raising the fruit—which he didn’t taste yet and stopped when Sun gave him a very silly answer—Lin opened his mouth and took a bite from it. “Eh! that's not a spirit-fruit. This is a... freaking bomb of pure spirit-energy in a weird and deadly mixture. Who could eat that as a snack?” Lin felt his stomach getting bloated when the spirit-energy from that fruit began to spread within his body... after replacing the unfinished part of this lethal-fruit back into the fruit basket on the table the boy crossed his legs and focused on stopping this stomachache by circulating that spirit-energy within his veins hoping to refine them.

“Kekeke. Purr... buddy, how do you like the delicacies of a spirit-sovereign?” Sun seemed to enjoy the sight of the great-sage sweating from everywhere on his body while trying to digest the insane amount of spirit-energy—which entered his stomach after taking a single bite from some strange fruit—the orange-kitten did the same earlier and had to spend an hour worth of time just to digest a smaller piece of another fruit! The winged-tiger had to transform into his natural-form just to be able to endure the effect of that pure spirit-energy rampaging through his body untamed.

“Such a greedy, gluttonous, and impatient disciple you are! how could you have breakfast without me? this was supposed to be our first breakfast.” The city-lord of mercenary-city suddenly appeared next to Lin and placed one of his large hands on the boy's back to guide this excessive amount of spirit-energy as gently as possible towards his dantian-space after helping him refine and tame the wild spirit-energy! the rest of it was distributed towards the inner organs, muscles, then the skeleton of the great-sage... finally the energy that remained afterwards got pushed-out towards Lin’s skin. Raising his head up to look towards this master of his—who arrived at the exact moment just when Lin needed his assistance—the boy got reminded of the big fellow that’s called boss back in their village when he looked at Mu Jianhong's very muscular body. “Lin has seen master Jianhong.” After wiping the sweat on his forehead in one of his sleeves... the great-sage got-up to his feet then gave the old man his greetings. Being a disciple of that old man then... he should kneel and kowtow to his master in their first meeting! these are the traditions of this world after all... since Kai never mentioned anything about what Lin should do next and since the talking-raccoon didn't stop Sun from divulging the complete and detailed history and background of the boy... the great-sage took it as Kai's silent assent towards Lin taking this old man as his master! kneeling on both knees and kowtowing thrice... the boy was forced to stand by the silent white-sovereign who kept appreciating him with his eyes in silence from the beginning of this sacred ritual until it ended yet... the old and white-haired man couldn't stop himself from smiling widely and the great-sage remembered a description of such smile from elders... "dirty grandpa."

“Senior Jianhong. Isn’t it just like I told you it would be? Lin wouldn't mind being your disciple, buddy would welcome beggars and murderers into his life... you senior are a saint among saint! how could he refuse you when you’re the one to extend the olive-branch first? it’d mean that buddy is being rude to his seniors, and he hates doing just that. Kekeke...” Sun spread his cute wings and flew to stand on Lin's shoulder while saying all that... the winged-tiger smirked so devilishly and revealed his set of cute fangs while having a triumphant glint within his vertical yellow-eyes! “En. Your prediction were spot-on, little-Sun... tell me, what do you want to eat in your next meal?” While smiling so genially Mu Jianhong patted both heads of Lin and Sun with his wide, banana-leaf-like hands... the boy just sighed inwardly because this gluttonous orange-kitten seems to have just sold him for the price of a single meal! 'Sun! What the actual fuck did I ever do to deserve this?' The great-sage wanted to shout these words at his best-friend while strangling him but... thankfully Lin had enough self-control to hold himself back right now. “Some of the meat that’s so full of scalding fire-energy, I can't wait to surpass that arrogant Fang Bo... I’m going to press him in the mud below my paws and smear his face in it then... I’m going to make him lick the dirt from my paws. Purr!” Sun spoke his wish and Jianhong seemed to nod while appreciating the competitive-spirit of this amusing devil-beast. “Little-Lin. What about you? is there anything you specifically would like to ask from your master?” Looking towards Lin... this newest, latest, and final disciple of his Mu Jianhong! the old man raised the boy up by the armpits which made it seem like the spirit-sovereign is holding his grandson high up and having some fun with him... this white-sovereign mercenary is enjoying the feeling of having the company of a little child to join him while having breakfast for a change... the little courageous devil-beast is just the icing on the cake. “Master. I'm not picky or choosy with what I eat, as long as it’s enough to fill my stomach and nourish my body then... anything is fine.” Lin spoke politely and his answer seemed to cause Mu Jianhong to become even more pleased and happy. “Hahahahaha... great! excellent.” The white-armored elder laughed uproariously while twirling the boy around after sensing the genuineness of the kid’s previous answer... his thunderous-laughter shook the foundations of the white-tower that they're currently on its summit and spread everywhere in mercenary-city! everyone inside the tower stopped what they’re doing when they heard the sovereign Jianhong laughing and looked upwards in a daze... the situation within the white-tower could be similarly seen at every street or alley of mercenary-city... people would be stunned by this strange situation and look towards the peak of the white-tower of mercenary-city in confusion while having a single question in their minds. 'Which one of the serious sovereigns is laughing? and why?'

............

Outside the city walls of mercenary-city.

Sky-queen Hongtian witnessed Lin pass the trial then afterwards when the annoying old man grabbed him and took him away.

She kept herself hidden but these sorts of people—like this geezer for example—are not to be so easily tricked by her methods... in that fact she’s a hundred-percent sure... so sure that he—Mu jianhong—already knows that she's been following the boy! yet... she didn't reveal herself and waited for the individual who played the trick before on the devil-cultivator to reveal himself and take the brat away from that ignorant white-sovereign mercenary however... after waiting for a day and night outside the city... everything is still calm and nothing happened at all. Then she heard old geezer Jianhong laughing and could see him openly treating the little-boy no-differently from his own grandson... from where she hid herself... Hongtian was grinding her teeth in frustration because what happened is vastly different from what she expected! she doesn't want to see the boy receiving another dao-protector in addition to the "mysterious" fellow who once saved him before... if that happens? then... her chances of getting her hands on that origin-symbol and taking it for herself or... even getting a chance to study it up-close would become so thin until almost reaching none at all. After all... this geezer isn't a foe that she can face without a firm will to put her life on the line... seriously even when she does that Hongtian is only about ten-percent assured of her win! that win would be when she’s critically-wounded and hanging on to dear life by a thread while being chased by every mercenary within that city! as for the mysterious person who helped the boy against the devil cultivator? Hongtian doesn't feel like she have the slightest chance of going against him at all but... she does have a very valuable piece of information on that individual. He’s a space-cultivator who have formidable attainments in that area... the only figure she knows who could do the same is a member of the dragon-clan who likes to freely roam the world! still... that mysterious individual isn’t that dragon-senior. Why? simply because... he wouldn't hide himself from sky-queen Hongtian since he once asked her to become his partner! it was way back when this kingly-beast hadn't surpassed her lightning-tribulation yet. Looking at the boy and this city-lord of mercenary-city while they seemed to happily become closer and closer to one another after every more second they spend together... Hongtian judged that there’s no use in being forceful while trying to snatch this kid from these two dao-protectors which acted where one is being in the light while the other is hiding within the shadows! after giving the two in the balcony a final look that’s full of frustrations and helplessness sky-queen revealed herself and released her presence on its entirety... not only as a primordial-beast but also as a spirit-cultivator of the human-path who already reached the pinnacle-stages of the realm of spirit-emperor with. However... the most notable characteristic of this woman is her extreme beauty—which puts the beauty of Mia, Bo An, Ning Xue, lady Bai, and Lin’s own mother to shame—and her perfect body which surpasses Ning Xue and lady Bai's voluptuous bodies by a few grades... sky-queen Hongtian is far superior in beauty, charm, figure, and aura when compared to any other woman that Lin ever met in both lifetimes! “Old Mu. Long time no see.” Hongtian stopped a couple of meters outside the range of the black-colored city-walls and said ever so softly but... her lark-like voice—which could enchant any man that gets to hear it—spread all the way towards her target with ease! from the balcony of the white-tower Mu Jianhong stopped his small conversation with Lin and the interesting pet tiger of his disciple and they all were enjoying their breakfast in peace until Hongtian revealed herself... while smiling widely the old man looked towards the woman in red-dress... once she greeted him the white-armored mercenary gave his last-disciple a sly grin then took him towards sky-queen to meet her after whispering something faintly.

“Little-Tian. What a wonderful surprise that is? come let me introduce you to my new and last-disciple, this is Lin... son of Tai the mighty and Tian the beauty. Lin’er go-on, pay your respects to her majesty... sky-queen! that's one of the ten kingly-beasts of beast-mountains... all the borders of territory towards our south belongs to them, they’re one of our dearest neighbors while she’s the only queen among the kingly-beasts. You can consider her the shining moon surrounded by nine stars... every star is a kingly-beast.” Mu Jianhong alongside the little-boy—which she’s been watching in secret for a while now—stopped at a hundred-meters away from Hongtian in the blink of an eye... while gently pushing the boy a few steps ahead of him the white-sovereign mercenary told his last-disciple to speak and pay his respects to a senior! the old man immediately noticed how Lin wasn't mesmerized by the unfair beauty and charm of sky-queen like brats around his age... the boy kept looking directly at one of her red-eyes with his golden-eyes for a couple of seconds before saying : “Meeting you—your majesty—is a lifetimes’ worth of pleasure, this Lin has seen a lot of beauty in his short life that could be graded and standardized into many degrees yet... yours has truly outshone daylight itself. May the goddess of mercy soothe the aching hearts of those who got—and the many more who would get—their hearts forever captured after seeing such... "angelic complexion" I can only thank my fortune for being just an immature-kid when this meeting happened, and feel sorry for the one who once visited me in my dreams... I—in pure ignorance—once thought that she’s the prettiest female that could ever exist. Yet, you just shattered that thought into nothing after gracing us with your presence... well met, well met indeed.” Lin cupped his fist and bowed politely while giving his compliment... even Mu Jianhong became so stunned after hearing the eloquence this boy just demonstrated! Sky-queen Hongtian looked towards the old man with annoyance and blame in her red-eyes... after seeing the city-lord whisper something to this kid earlier then... he must be the one who "poisoned" the thoughts of this Lin and told him to say all that... nonsense.

However... both the woman in red-dress and Lin sensed how the area where their origin-symbol is located on their bodies become hot then the origin-symbols revealed themselves beyond hers or his control! “Old Mu. Such a glib-tongued disciple you have there, are you sure that he didn't veer-away from the intended script?” Hongtian gave the symbol of golden wings on the back of the boy's right-hand a quick and fleeting-glance before half smirking—which caused the great-sage to sigh inwardly at her unequaled beauty—then... the beauty looked towards Mu Jianhong and seemed to ridicule the old man with her words! “Hahahaha. Script or not, don't you deny that you liked the compliment if you did... that's the most important point.” Mu Jianhong laughed while ruffling Lin's black hair gently with his big hand... the old man was admiring and approving the character of this boy more and more by the second! “I want your disciple... lend him to me for a little while.” After pouting her lips slightly at the shamelessness of this white-sovereign—which she already expected—Hongtian pointed towards the boy and said the reason of her visit very straightforwardly. “Because of this... huh!” Lin's master caught the wrist of his last-disciple and raised the boy’s right-arm high then twisted it slightly towards Hongtian to show her the back of the kid’s hand then smirked very slyly. “Humans have no use for it, let me study it for a while and your people would receive less harassment within my territory for a hundred-years... the trade lines through pearl-road would remain peaceful during these hundred-years. I can personally guarantee that, however... bandits have to be handled by your people, it has nothing to do with us how humans clean their mess.” Hongtian spoke her terms and looked calmly towards Mu Jianhong... she seemed confident since these terms are very lucrative and advantageous for mercenary-city and mercenary-guild. “No... in your dreams! my precious Lin'er is so fragile and so young, you dare ask for him for a hundred-years? maybe... in a few years I might agree. When he matures properly and undergoes his growth-sprout, only then can you two sort this issue—in private—cough!” Squatting next to his last-disciple and hugging him towards his broad chest after circling the boy’s neck with his huge arm... it really seemed like a huge anaconda just rested a tiny part of its body on the kid’s small shoulders but... it gave the great-sage a great sense of security! Mu Jianhong spoke with a wide smile on his face that made it seem like Hongtian is so eager and impatient to be reunited with her lover—which is Lin in this case—and it caused the sky-queen to frowning slightly. Just the sight of this woman when she’s in deep thoughts and every single one of her expressions is a... really breathtaking-scene no matter how slightly small the change in her expression is! but Lin wasn’t in the mood to admire all that beauty and charm because... the boy felt like Hongtian is mere inches away from attacking both of them! after all... his master does seem to be really making it hard for this woman in red. “Then you better be ready, ready to lose each and every member of your mercenary-guild that dares enter in my territories from this moment onwards until you accept my terms.” The haughtiness of Hongtian's threat caused the great-sage to shudder slightly... this isn't an empty threat like the ones Ning Xue used to make around him... not even close! each and every word from this redhead was practically dripping viciousness plus enough power and authority to back them up... this was a true threat by all means. The look within Mu Jianhong's eyes became serious instantly when the mood of this conversation shifted... still... the white-sovereign mercenary didn’t seem to have any intention of handing this god-sent gift and one in ten-thousand years genius to this sky-queen no-matter the reason! if it comes to butting-heads? he’s an old man who’s stubborn enough to accept his branch stopping to receive any more missions within the territories of this sky-queen Hongtian... despite its meaning where his people would need to travel such a long distance inwards within the human-domain to circle-around the territories of sky-queen. Beast-mountains is already very large... besides the territories of this redheaded little-brat there’s nine other vast areas on beast-mountains that stretch from west to east on the southern-continent and take the major part of the map! these territories belong to the nine other kingly-beasts... besides these territories there’s central-territories that belong to the beast-emperors plus the many forbidden-zones and the unexplored-areas and many more. The city-lord can accept this loss in-exchange for finally having the opportunity to brag and show-off his own disciple to some really arrogant fellows... a group of shameless old geezers who likes to prance and strut like peacocks and have been doing so for a long while now and right to his face until this white-sovereign mercenary almost became crazy from holding his anger all these years! now it’s his time to snicker while some faces become black like the bottom of a wok... it’s his time to relish-in the moment and enjoy it to the maximum-limit while their failing-livers turn green from extreme envy after they get to see this unsurpassable genius that he just managed to find after years and years of searching. Not to mention the secret of the kid’s twin-sister—which Mu Jianhong plans to follow Lin when he decides to return home just to take her under his wing too—the appetite of this white-sovereign mercenary is huge... he plans to beating the vain cocky assholes and crush their self-esteem then scatter it on the ground then cover it with mud... the pair of twins are going to be his weapons. By first introducing Lin to that community and delivering him like a strike that lands on their heads out of the blue and makes them too dizzy to think straight! then... this white-haired elder would slaying them slowly and bury all of their confidence for good on the second strike when the follow-up introduction of Lin’s twin-sister Lily happens later afterwards.

“My brothers would back me up on this, if I ask them to ban your men from entering their territories then... this branch of mercenary-guild would be finished. Mercenaries were never welcome in our territories in the first place, all they do is kill or steal our spirit-resources... afterwards they sneak out like rats.” When Hongtian saw Mu Jianhong being silent... the beauty smiled such a charming smile which tugged at Lin's golden heart but the boy was quick to steady his emotions... sky-queen spoke with a confident tone of voice while crossing her arms beneath her perfectly-sized and shaped chest! this time the city-lord seemed to struggle inwardly yet... he ended-up shaking his head slowly towards the woman in red-dress to deny her request. However... the frosty gaze he gave Hongtian made caused the great-sage to feel his skin tingling... only now did Lin experience the surface-layer of cruelty that this old man is hiding inside him somewhere behind the gentle smile! “Tsk... old man Mu, out of respect for you I came to you directly and asked politely, just so you know... if I wanted to do anything to the boy? then, I would've done so long ago, long before you even noticed the kid.” Hongtian glared towards Jianhong and spoke while pointing one of her slender fingers at Lin.

“Yet... you—your highness—didn't. Someone of your highly-elevated status and superior-might... did nothing, I do believe those with power and capability... wouldn't ask if they can just take. Why? why didn’t you snatch me when you had the opportunity? Why wait until now? your highness don’t strike me as someone who likes to cause trouble.” Lin felt the need to stop these two and prevent this situation from evolving into a fight between the two factions... judging by the exchange of words the boy sensed that there would be countless casualties if this continued... and all these casualties would happen just because of him! one refused to hand him because a master should be protective of his disciple while the other seems to insist on "inspecting" his origin-symbol... after standing in silence while being in close-proximity of another symbol of wings the great-sage already feels closeness to the red-colored origin-symbol that’s between Hongtian's thin red-eyebrows... he even began to feel a lot of familiarity and some kind of "kinship" with the owner of the symbol of red-wings.

Hearing these questions from Lin and seeing the honest look within his golden-eyes... Hongtian seemed at a loss of words for a second or two and Mu Jianhong began to smile ever so proudly while letting his disciple speak his mind freely! the city-lord already decided to refuse Hongtian’s request anyway... even if it means that his mercenary-guild would accept no more missions within all of beast-mountains. Why not let his cute disciple Lin handle such a situation? that way he can see for himself how would the boy deal with someone that’s leagues beyond him in strength and authority! the first words from the kid already left sky-queen at a loss for words... this situation is becoming funny and amusing to watch for the white-sovereign mercenary. “You... dare question me? humph. Laughable!” Looking down at Lin after failing to find an appropriate answer... Hongtian spoke in a threatening and intimidating way while releasing some of her aura to pressure this annoying boy... meanwhile the beauty in red-dress was gritting her teeth inwardly because... to answer that question she'd be forced to reveal the existence of that mysterious individual whom she knows is an accomplished space-cultivator! that's why the redhead refused to say anything at all because... these two might not be even aware of the existence of that dao-protector. “If I offended you then please accept my humble obeisance, all this junior is after here is to try and find a middle-ground between you two to solve this issue in a peaceful way... wouldn’t that give you—your highness sky-queen—what you're after? having innocent people avoiding unnecessary bloodshed or falling under harm's way because of me is my goal here! as long as it doesn’t cross any of my master's bottom-lines then I’m open for trying anything. Could you—your highness—find it within you? be merciful on someone like me who's going to be tormented forever and spend countless of sleepless nights... if I once hear that someone died unjustly because of me? then... my heart would just shatter. I can't change the decisions of my master but, I can try and offer you—your highness—some alternative options.” The pressure from Hongtian wasn't unbearable for Lin since the suppression from the trial was way tougher and harder... meanwhile the beauty seemed to know when to stop because Mu Jianhong wouldn't let her bully his disciple in front of him anyway! the boy maintained eye-contact with sky-queen and spoke with honesty... when he found her red-pupils avoiding his golden-eyes slightly the boy felt encouraged to say more and more then stopped after giving her the last hint... the great-sage wanted to see if his attempt is working at all. If Hongtian asked him to continue? then... there's a chance for him to keep both sides from fighting. If she decides to ignore him and just leave? then... at least Lin would feel some comfort in having tried to stop the inevitable! while tapping her right-foot on-top of thin-air as if below her feet is a solid ground... Hongtian didn't seem to notice how her body vibrated in many areas because she’s too absorbed in her own world. Alternating between looking towards old Mu who’s smirking and the brat who’s annoyingly-calm—which an attitude that’s too frustrating—and looking back at her with his pair of warm and honest eyes... finally sky-queen seemed to surrender because her brothers wouldn't all agree to her suggestion of blocking these spirit-cultivators from entering their territories anyway! she’s certain that some of them would agree but... the rest might and might not accept her request... it’s really hard to say for a fact. Yes... these thieving-humans are plaguing the lands within their territories however... the little ones under her command and the little ones under the command of her brothers would feed on the flesh of the ones who fall in beast-mountains and grow stronger after consuming the spirit-rich bodies of the fallen cultivators! even the blood and bones of the fallen would feed the soil of beast-mountains over the passing of the years and cause the earth to sprout with various types of spirit-resources and miraculous medicinal-ingredients... according to the environment and laws of the area itself... a barren piece of earth might birth world-treasures. It’s just how things are... the workings of this world is very difficult to understand... not to mention the valuable experience the winners among the demonic-beasts would gain after overcoming their foes and coming out on top in the end—which enables them to rise higher and stronger in their dao—it’s really hard to say who’s taking advantage of who in these situations exactly.

“Tsk. Speak... Lin son of Tai and whatever. If I don't like it? humph... then I'm out of here. You as well as your master, both of you wouldn't like what is going to come next.” Just her clicking her tongue could make the hearts of the toughest men simply melt... it’s just that very few ever had the chance to witness it happen! the simple and almost careless wave of her jade-like hand could make the strongest of wills crack and crumble... such influential-aura has gentle-corrosiveness on the same and opposite sex alike... Lin smiled ever so helplessly because even with his stable mind and balanced personality... the boy couldn't find it within him to become mad or frustrated at Hongtian when the beauty spoke to him in such a condescending and commanding tone of voice. The great-sage isn’t one to care about how rude people could be however... he carries such a great amount of respect for his mother... prideful-respect that doesn’t allow the slightest hint of disrespect to her name! yet... he almost ignored the redhead’s rude remark earlier... such beauty is dangerous to the degree where most people might forget the basic-principles of their life just to please her or grab her attention. “My information background about the current situation isn't solid enough. Your majesty... please endure my flaws to the best of what your breadth of mind could allow, I take it that there's some kind of deep and old enmity between our mercenary-guild and those who inhabit beast-mountains... some of them are your subjects, subordinates, and underlings. Am I correct?” Lin asked after clearly notifying sky-queen that he's just plain ignorant... seeing Hongtian nod slightly the boy continued to speak : “Previously. Your highness mentioned that people who belong to our organization do sneak into the territories that belong to you and your brothers and disturb the peaceful rest of your kin, however... I do believe it isn't only our people who does so, so it would be slightly unfair to throw all the blame on our shoulders. Wouldn't you agree?” Again Hongtian nodded her head however... this time the beauty in red-dress raised an eyebrow while giving the great-sage a deeper and much more serious look! simply because... the redhead felt like she just lost some ground after agreeing to what he said.

“Your kin, subjects, and underlings... are they happy?” Lin asked directly and sky-queen just frowned because this brat just isn't making sense at all... what kind of question is that? “You’re a human, so the answer is : "none of yours or business." remember... you still haven't given me any of your so-called options yet.” Hongtian gave the boy a derisive smile before condescendingly spitting these venomous words in the great-sage’s face while looking down at him once again.

“I promise that my words are going to make sense if you let me rephrase that question for you—your highness—because... I myself have two beast-companions whom I love and treat no-different from my siblings who share my blood, however... unlike me both of them likes to have a territory for themselves to own! a territory where they could administer their might within it and enjoy their freedom, they’re willing to fight even me—despite all my love for them—if I stayed within their territory for too long. But, they always seem to like visiting my territory every now and then! they always want to visit different locations just for the fun and joy of exploring new places, their curiosity is just... insatiable. Personally. I didn't visit a lot of locations in this spirit-world just yet, yet... the way I see it, demonic-beasts are not welcomed within the territories that belong to humans. Just like how we humans aren't welcome in territories that belong to demonic-beasts. Am I right? your highness.” Lin asked again and noticed how Hongtian's red-eyes squinted slightly when he said the final two words... sky-queen noticed how despite seeming to be unhurt and uncaring towards the way she’s been looking down on him... this boy does have pride it’s just that he’s too good in hiding his emotions. “Apparently it’s because you humans can't be trusted, history is full of incidents that prove my words.” This time the gaze within the beauty’s red-eyes was full of extra contempt when she answered. “I myself. Totally agree with each and every word you just said, however... even if the majority of my kind perfectly match your description, there's the minority who’re unfairly taking all the blame for these crimes yet enduring in silence! trying to do their best and making the effort in secret while hoping to solve this ancient issue. Back to topic since there's no use saying anymore to justify and separate who’s guilty and who’s innocent, what if? instead of our people having to sneak inside your territory to steal and cause trouble... we just trade for the things that we need in-exchange for a reasonable price or in-exchange for spirit-materials that your side requires! of course the pricing and such details has to be decided beforehand by a supervising-organization that’s composed of spirit-cultivators and demonic-beasts... each individual of this organization has to have the required experience and the keen ability to filter-through and tag the prices of each spirit-resource, material, or medicinal-ingredient that comes from beast-mountains. Of course on-top of that organization there's a need for another group that’s mixed between spirit-cultivators and demonic-beasts to act as supervisors responsible for the smooth-workings of that organization, just to ensure that there’s nothing being neglected by this organization there’s a need for two authoritative positions at the very top. In-exchange for the suffering—which the subjects of your highness are going to experience—your followers gets allowed free entrance to mercenary-city, my master needs to be responsible for their safety inside the city and to ensure that... laws has to be revised! so that any dispute that occur have to be solved quickly and justly, since these situations are bound to happen a lot in the beginning. To evade prolonging that "uncomfortable-duration" we could ban or restrict cultivators, especially whenever they try entering some parts of the city where there’s a huge concentration of demonic-beasts at that time... in the beginning it could be a few streets and except for the workers in the shops and stores in that area only demonic-beasts gets allowed to be there! to encourage trade between the two parties we could give discounts to those who’re trading, selling, buying, or just dealing with stores and businesses of that area. Doing so would gradually increase the familiarity between our two races, as for the matter of this origin-symbol and how to stop the needless bloodshed... you—your highness—and my master can stay out of it! as my seniors I advise you to let us juniors handle our problems, your highness... you get to receive a period of time where you can throw opponents who belong to my generation at me. Having to face opponents daily would limit the capabilities of the toughest of people after time, my opponents can continuously chip-away at my power with a fight after fight! if I lose? you're welcome to inspect my origin-symbol in whatever way you want while being inside mercenary-city and being treated as a honorable-guest, my master wouldn't have to worry about a thing since I’d be always right next to him while you—your highness—would get what you want. Meanwhile your subjects would be free to enter a human city to trade or explore while being safe, and my people would no longer need to venture into your territory and risk their lives! is that option okay with you—your highness?” Lin asked once again after explaining his point of view and this time the eyes of Mu Jianhong flashed when he looked towards the boy in an entirely different light and thought to himself : 'It looks like my previous judgment on my disciple's intellect has been way off.' Meanwhile Hongtian felt a shudder on the lower part of her spine when she looked at the great-sage... sky-queen felt like this Lin has some sort of "depth" to him... a depth which she couldn't fathom in the beginning and that would’ve been a huge mistake if the situation continued any further where she’s underestimating him! for a moment there... the redhead felt like this kid isn't just a boy but some titan which could swallow her whole in a heartbeat. “You can not only fly but also you outrun Lantian for fifteen minutes, you can use a long-range ability which a spirit-cultivator in the high-stages of the tyrant-realm or tyrannical-beast would be gravely-wounded by it! do you think that this queen is shameless enough to bring those beasts who’re a few generations your senior to be tossed-around by you? you little monster. That idea of yours, the one about trading... what’s in it for me and my kin? the way I see it, your mercenary-guild would be the only ones really profiting from this exchange. Meanwhile my followers would be working for your guild for free, us bringing spirit-resources, materials, and medicinal-ingredients to your door!” Hongtian gave Lin a shake of her head and seemed to be refusing his suggestion however... sky-queen is just trying to get more from this deal. If this trade is really going to really happen? then... she has to ask for more benefits.

“Your highness. The creator made us all different not because one of us is better than the other, he made us different because... if we’re all the same? then... there's no point in us living this life to enjoy it and life would lose its purpose. Each and every creature is bound to have both advantages and disadvantages from the moment of its birth, that's the wisdom of our creation in the first place... by interacting with one another we experience the true and higher meaning of life! I believe that I'm not yet knowledgeable enough to explain the shortcomings of each and every race, since I myself am born less than seven yours ago however... I can say that we humans have the unique ability and capability to create and invent better than most of the other races in spirit-world. Like I said before... my beast-companions like to eat different kinds of meat and different types of meals that are made to taste different every time—if possible, I believe that this certain detail is applicable on most of your subjects and followers plus each and every demonic-beast within your territory and the entirety of beast-mountains! if mercenary-city could offer them the opportunity to eat the same meat but cooked in many different ways? then... their deep love for experiencing new things would be satisfied and—at least—their hate towards the chef who cooked that meal would become less, that attitude might rub-off on the rest of us humans with time—at least those who live in mercenary-city would be hated less. That’s just a simple example I made by pointing a single characteristic, if some demonic-beast owns a precious ore or raw jewel which it can't work it like an experienced craftsman from my city? then... for a reasonable price that demonic-beast could make that craftsman work for it, that would certainly satisfy some ego and vent some old frustrations for that demonic-beast and lessen the hate your kin hold towards the humankind a bit—at least momentarily. Creating spirit-pills when they have sufficient medicinal-ingredients, creating spirit-tools and spirit-equipment when there’s a need for them, creating spirit-formations, talismans, hiring mercenaries, etc. If some demonic-beast wants to experience fighting a spirit-cultivator? then... a gladiator from the fighting-arena can accommodate its wish, they both could fight under a set of rules that it feels suitable for itself to gain experience for an affordable-price. You—your highness—already knows that when fighting a human spirit-cultivator who’s using spirit-tools or spirit-equipment could demonstrate different types of spirit-energy despite not having the natural-affinity for most of these elements, plus how difficult it’s for a demonic-beast to rely just on its talent and superior physique to overcome a spirit-cultivator in the same realm who’s relying on the help of spirit-tools and equipment. These are... just some examples about the advantages for demonic-beasts from this deal, within the other categories there’s even more to say and the sky is the limit! if you—your highness—give it a shot? then... you might be surprised a few years in the future when you discover spirit-cultivators paying their friends of the demonic-beasts a visit within beast-mountains, or... demonic-beasts paying their friends of the spirit-cultivators a visit. Who knows? maybe in the future our mercenary-guild would publish escort-missions where demonic-beasts would be accompanied by spirit-cultivators while taking a tour within whatever city they wish to visit within the human-domain! we just need to diligently work on breaking these mental-chains—which are shackling the minds of the inhabitants of this spirit-world—and limiting their potential. Isn't that idea... revolutionary and great! us all living together in harmony despite our differences yet... solving every kind of problem that might occur or surface during our journey of life according to the fair rules of our existence! without looking at the color or shape of those in dispute, we just judge fairly without racism clouding our judgment. As for me being slightly difficult to deal with, you—your highness—already have the advantage of numbers... an easy opponent isn’t a challenge, and having the fun of the challenge itself could sometimes overshadow the prize itself! your highness... everyday juniors from the demonic-beasts would get the opportunity to test their abilities against me then relax afterwards no-matter the result be that a win or a loss, meanwhile I would get to rest in the case of my loss or... in-case I manage to survive the whole duration of this challenge. My life would be described as... wake-up, fight, fight, and fight some more until I complete the quota of that day then... I get to rest, cultivate, or lick my wounds until the time of my next fights! even monsters like me could be toppled by ants because of exhaustion, and no-matter what kind of precious concoction or remedy I use to heal my wounds... some injuries would linger persistently and accumulate over time. Certainly there would be some sort of satisfaction for some of your kin when seeing me having to fight despite being weak, exhausted, and wounded beyond immediate-repair,” Lin spoke patiently and tried to give this sky-queen a quick peek at the world from his point of view yet... his words caused these two seniors to shiver! simply because... such "lofty-aspirations" shouldn't come from a young boy who’s still so tender and green behind the ears! “The gain you—your highness—would personally gain from this deal is... the long-term exclusive and preferential-treatment you and your followers would receive within our city and inside our territory, better discounts and the priority when choosing any of our products in-case there’s any healthy-competition with other demonic-beasts from other territories or spirit-cultivators from wherever as long as the city-rules aren't being contradicted or broken during the deal. That doesn't mean I'm asking for your kin and followers to trust in us spirit-cultivators, the hearts of men is such a complicated topic—which I can't vouch for or bear the responsibilities of what some people might do. Still... we can restrain these nasty habits of the humankind by taking it slow in the beginning, while restricting the evil-ones and the opportunistic-individuals with strict-rules, rules—which they wouldn't find any loopholes within them to ruin this holy-venture! after matters begin to calm and the next generation from both sides grow-up being naturally used to seeing spirit-cultivators and demonic-beasts living in some harmony... once the younger-generation see the bleakness and cruelty of the spirit-world outside mercenary-city where there’s an ongoing, silly, and pointless struggle... these juniors would certainly come to understand how great the society they were born in is. Your—your highness’—name, sky-queen Hongtian would be forever remembered as... the farsighted-individual who gave these juniors the chance to actually see the true beauty of life! the one who contributed greatly in creating this "little-oasis" for their generation and the ones to follow after it, an oasis that you specifically created for every single one of them. Hopefully, this revolutionary-idea would spread around spirit-world one day to become the normal and natural sight and scene on every continent... it’d mean that this very chaotic world would cease its advance on the path of complete destruction, its inhabitants would cease their nasty attitude of going at one another's throat for very stupid reasons and misguided impulses! only the useless among us let their emotions get the best of them, that's what... I truly think.” This time Lin noticed how Hongtian's mouth gaped slightly and her—oh so perfect—chest rose and fell erratically when the beauty in red looked at him in disbelief while he spoke about his ideals... Mu Jianhong was smiling ever so proudly and his big smile wouldn't get any wider than it already is! his big and strong arm around the boy's neck tightened slightly and he gave his last-disciple a strong kiss on the cheek then stood-up and raised the boy to his level just to hug him again... this old man never had a dao-companion or a partner to have children of his own that’s why his disciples have always been his kids and family yet... this little-one did grow-up much to the liking of the city-lord and from the first day the great-sage managed to seize and take a large and high-quality place for his own within the heart of this white-sovereign mercenary! while looking towards this beautiful little-girl from the ten kingly-beasts... Mu Jianhong felt so relaxed despite knowing that her next decision would decide the fate of millions and millions from both factions... simply because this white-haired elder is so assured that sky-queen would miss a great opportunity to carve her name in the history-tomes with widest of fonts if she decided to refuse this offer from his last-disciple.

“You make it sound very simple indeed, however... it isn't that easily-accomplishable goal.” Finally the beauty in red-dress seemed to agree with suggestion from this boy yet... Hongtian couldn't see it actually happen without some sacrifices and compromises from both sides! “Your highness sky-queen. With all due respect, nothing within the rank of "revolutionary" is... ever "easy" if that option isn't clear enough? then... we can use the time of your attempt to win me over from my stubborn-master and treat it as... a small-sized trial before the great project and the bigger plans come to light, this place isn't suitable for you and master to discuss such important and critical matters. Master—after your permission and consent, I believe that it isn't a polite gesture from us to keep her highness sky-queen standing at our doors without properly inviting her inside our city as one of our most respected guests.” Lin nodded to agree to Hongtian's last words then the boy politely placed his master in a very high position because this old man is the person who’s truly in-charge and waited for Mu Jianhong to decide what he should do next.

“My sweet Lin'er is already such a nice and considerate disciple, how could master ever refuse your request when you're being so polite?" Feeling warm inside and the urgent need to care and pamper the kid who thoughtfully gave him his due respect in front of this charming little-girl who’s just a brat from the ten kingly-beasts... the city-lord hugged the great-sage who wasn't affected like... at all despite being in the presence of sky-queen Hongtian—which isn't an easy feat for any genius to do—especially for the arrogant young fellows who’re undergoing their puberty or barely less than twenty or slightly older! not only is Hongtian strong but also she’s beautiful and naturally-seductive yet... Lin spoke long and unhurriedly while keeping his eyes where they should remain without being distracted by her charming body or gestures or trying to sneak any peeks—which gained him more trust from sky-queen—who’s someone who’s very famous for hating any male who’d try to lust after her body, “Her majesty sky-queen Hongtian has come to visit our mercenary-city, every blue-king mercenary and higher-ranked individuals inside the city are to quickly come in person to welcome her highness, that's a direct order to all mercenaries... those who wish to disobey better surrender themselves to the disciplinary-hall immediately! otherwise you'd be dealt-with personally by this Jianhong, humph. A white-rank feast is to be prepared at the conference-hall immediately to welcome our guest, those who attempt to shame our mercenary-guild in front of our esteemed-guest better surrender themselves to the disciplinary-hall.” After thundering these orders one after another... city-lord and white-sovereign mercenary Mu Jianhong gave sky-queen Hongtian a welcoming smile and gestured with his open hand for her to enter the city whenever she likes while his other hand kept holding Lin up-close to his wide-chest! honestly... the sight of the boy being still wearing his childish-looking silk-pajamas when he’s paired-with the white-haired elder's large physique could be easily mistaken for some grandfather that’s carrying his dear grandson by any stranger. Lin immediately sensed how mercenary-city has become hectic despite the existence of the layer of white-clouds that’s blocking his sight... from the upper-parts of the white-tower that’s above the layer of white-clouds the boy noticed how one individual after another began to fly towards the three of them... they’re wearing blue, purple, and white-armor! the majority of these mercenaries are in blue-armor and the ratio of their gender is about seven to three in favor of males... the purple-armored individuals amount to only twenty-three individuals... this time most of these purple-emperor mercenaries are females... there’s fifteen females and eight men in that group. The white-armored individuals are five... three of them are men plus two females when Mu Jianhong is added then there’s six spirit-sovereigns in this mercenary-city which is... freaking a lot! yet... all of these mercenaries did seem to be obviously very confused about this high-profile reception from the city-lord and leader of this mercenary-city... especially when this reception is given to a member of the ten kingly-beasts. Yes... sky-queen’s identity and her social-status is nothing to scoff at however... Hongtian isn't one of the beast-emperors! she’s not an ally of their mercenary-guild either... in-fact it’d be perfectly reasonable if she’s called an enemy of every mercenary within this city.

“Greetings Master. Your highness sky-queen. Welcome to mercenary-city.” One of the five people in white-armor gave Lin—which is still being tightly hugged by Mu Jianhong's arm—a fleeting-glance that’s full of confusion before bowing deeply and reverently towards Mu Jianhong then... after straightening his waist and cupping his fist towards Hongtian while nodding slightly that man went to stand to the side next to the city-lord and looked at the boy... that white-sovereign mercenary does have the simplest of looks and his skin is very dark in color to the degree that it almost seemed to reflect a glow of purple color under sunlight! his hair is braided in a very unique hairstyle but he isn't a bulky and muscular man like Jianhong however... his muscles are very symmetrical in both size and shape. Seeing this spirit-sovereign looking at him with such curious eyes... the great-sage decided to tease him and winked towards the dark-skinned man! that white-sovereign mercenary immediately smiled in amusement which revealed a set of perfectly white teeth.

“Greetings Master. Your highness sky-queen. Welcome to mercenary-city.” This time it was another white-armored person who bowed towards Mu Jianhong and called him master however... it was a lady this time which seemed to be in the middle-ages yet Lin doubted if her looks match her true age! that white-sovereign mercenary is indeed very beautiful but... in the presence of Hongtian she’s been fairly outshone by her superior looks and might be called "mediocre" at best. Like the dark-skinned man before her that middle-aged woman went to stand next to the city-lord towards the right however... the line of her sight and her curious eyes betrayed her intentions! that woman ignored their guest—sky-queen—and kept looking towards Lin... in her opinion this boy is an intriguing-mystery and an unfitting piece of a puzzle simply because... his existence within this situation makes him stick-out like a sore thumb. The other three sovereigns only cupped their fists towards Mu Jianhong and greeted him by calling him senior Mu somewhat respectfully before giving this sky-queen their greetings... the three of them didn't stand next to the city-lord and his two disciples... they choose to stand ahead of the three white-sovereigns to face Lin and the old man plus the two others! then it became the turn of purple-armored group to give their respects... four men and eight women called Mu Jianhong master while bowing deeply before standing next to the two sovereigns on Lin's side after slightly bowing towards sky-queen Hongtian who silently accepted these polite gestures and greeting... apparently all of these men and women are going to be the boy's senior-disciples. The rest of the purple-emperor mercenaries kneeled on a single knee while greeting the white-haired elder by calling him sovereign Jianhong then... they would stand back up and bow slightly while cupping their fists to greet Hongtian before standing on the other side and silently face the great-sage, his master, and his senior-disciple brothers and sisters however... the majority of those on the opposite line were looking directly towards Lin while being apparently very confused and silently questioning the reason of his existence in this situation to begin with! more so questioning his identity and his relation to sovereign Jianhong. 'Just who exactly is this brat?' That’s the common thought that roamed the heads of these mercenaries from both sides during these moments. Finally it became the blue-kings’ turn to give their respect... once again that group got split almost in half between both sides where most of them belonged to Mu Jianhong's faction because they’re the disciples of that city-lord... the boy just rolled his eyes towards the white-sovereign mercenary who’s currently carrying him and thought : 'Just how large is his appetite for disciples?' While watching these men and women in blue-armor only bow then stand on his side of the two lines then... the rest of the blue-king mercenaries kneel on a single knee towards his master before bowing a bit deeper than purple-emperor mercenaries when they greeting sky-queen Hongtian... the great-sage gained some surface-information about the power-distribution within mercenary-guild and the cold-struggle for authority between these two factions when he noticed the people on the opposite side of his master’s line standing on the same level and facing their direction and looking towards them with some veiled-arrogance and power-hungry gazes within their eyes.

“Mercenary-city and mercenary-guild welcomes you, your highness... please.” Mu Jianhong noticed that the lines on the two sides are in perfect order despite all the hidden-daggers... all in all such an entourage of kings, emperors, and spirit-sovereigns should be giving more than sufficient respect to this guest of theirs! the city-lord shifted Lin’s position from the right-arm to the left-arm then gestured with his opened right-hand invitingly towards the white-tower and walked side-by-side next to Hongtian all the way towards the conference-hall where the white-rank feast is held. The rest of the mercenaries on the two columns followed behind the white-haired elder and the redhead orderly pair by pair where the white-sovereign mercenaries are ahead of the two lines behind the city-lord and their guest... followed by purple-emperor mercenaries in the middle then... blue-king mercenaries at the very rear of this very powerful group of people! most of the males in this group who have been struggling earlier in holding their eyes from straying while facing sky-queen Hongtian... took advantage of this rare opportunity while walking directly behind the number one enchantress of this era and stole a few hidden-glances at her sublime back-view whenever the chance was ripe for them to do so.

Way below the thick-layer of white clouds... mercenary-city was entirely a stir with conversations about this unexpected visit from one of the ten kingly-beasts... countless eyes were directed towards the center of mercenary-city at the white-tower where the conference-hall is located and where this rare white-rank feast are going to be held... the staff of servants that’s responsible for serving the meal during this banquet are cyan-warlord mercenaries!

Inside the conference-hall of the white tower... Mu Jianhong sat at the center-table next to sky-queen Hongtian... their position is at the center of this conference-hall at the highest seat of honor... Lin being right next to him on the left and beauty in red-dress on the right! at a forty-five degrees angle on the boy’s left-hand-side there’s a long table where the five white-sovereign mercenaries are sitting just a single step below the city-lord's table... towards the left-hand-side of that group of five there’s the long and curved-table where the rest of the purple-emperor mercenaries are seated a couple steps lower than the white-sovereign mercenaries and a couple steps higher than the rest of the few hundred blue-king mercenaries whose circular-table completes the circle. A circle where the attendees of this feast could see others who share their rank by simply looking left or right... or look slightly up to see others directly above them in rank... or partially-see or not see at all those who surpass them by more than one rank! however... all eyes are either on Lin or sky-queen Hongtian... those looking towards the boy were mostly his senior-disciple brothers and sisters or... curious women from the other faction who’re slightly intrigued by his cute-looks and uncommon eye-color... the rest are gossip-loving individuals who just love these moment where they get to formulate their own deductions in this occasion these deductions are about Lin’s relation with sovereign Jianhong. Meanwhile the majority of those who’re currently looking at sky-queen Hongtian discreetly are lust-full men and women... they’re secretly admiring the redhead’s charm and beauty while inwardly sighing to themselves after comparing this woman to other women which they tasted before! most of the cyan-armored staff were looking directly at their own toes while serving the different tables like a group of mutes. Yet... none of the attendees was courageous enough to start eating despite their tables being arranged perfectly.

“A toast to our guest. Sky-queen Hongtian... whom on her honor we gathered to welcome her as our guest. May her beauty, wisdom, and cultivation soon reach the pinnacle... and beyond. Everyone... please enjoy yourselves.” After nodding once towards the rest of the staff a cyan-warlord mercenary arrived in front of the city-lord’s table and kneeled on a single knee then cupped his fist... afterwards Mu Jianhong gestured him to leave and that man quickly, orderly, and silently took the cyan-armored staff towards the door of the conference-hall before closing the gigantic gate-like doors behind them quietly! once these weakling spirit-lords left... the white-haired elder gestured once again and a spirit-formation covered the floor, walls, and ceiling of the conference-hall then... the muscular old man stood up and raised a golden goblet that’s covered in many colorful and different-sized gems... clearly that golden goblet is full of very fragrant red wine. Instead of talking... Mu Jianhong surprised his guests and the attendees when he patted the boy's shoulder... everyone within the conference-hall immediately understood this gesture... clearly the city-lord is giving that kid the permission to speak in his place! the great-sage looked towards his master and noticed the encouraging-look within the old-man’s aged-eyes... a look that’s clearly urging and hoping for him to be brave in this situation. After raising an eyebrow since he’s being clearly underestimated... Lin smiled because he isn't afraid or timid about speaking in front of a much bigger crowd than this! however... to speak to such a crowd—which clearly sees him no-different from a little-brat that still have the scent of fresh of breast-milk on him—might affect the prestige and image of his master and his senior-disciple brothers and sisters... after shrugging in surrender the boy spoke both loudly and formally in a tone of voice that’s befitting these occasions while augmenting his voice with a fusion of the different types of energy that he can already use to give an authoritative feel to this moment and even-out the erratic-mood. Despite seeming like a normal and polite toast that might be heard within any aristocratic or royal gathering... these words were in-fact so heavy to the degree where they rattled the strong souls of many within this gathering! almost everyone within the conference-hall felt like there’s a dragon-breath of hell-fire from is scorching their speeding-hearts... before these kings, emperors, and sovereigns could control their unstable hearts they noticed how sovereign Jianhong is already emptying his chalice all at once with sky-queen Hongtian who graced them with a faint and quick smile before doing the same like their city-lord and boldly emptying her silver-cup. The combination of the great-sage's strong and heavy words and the smile from the beauty in red-dress... caused a deep and long-lasting emotional-effect on more than few blue and purple-armored mercenaries in this gathering... after being nudged-awake by the people next to them... when this group wanted to drink the toast... some of them spilled some drops of wine or splashed more than a few drops on their armor! a few blue-king mercenaries were so mesmerized by the smile that they failed to grip their glass of wine... their fingertips pushed the glass instead and the result was their wooden table and the silk sheets on-top of it being drenched in wine... the few who embarrassed themselves quickly grabbed another glass of wine then drank while avoiding looking straight towards Hongtian. Still... the majority of blue-king and purple-emperor mercenaries kept looking towards Lin and glaring at him! why? simply because... this brat is the one who started this... farce. But... this damned boy kept eating slowly and peacefully while ignoring them—which is even more annoying—meanwhile sovereign Jianhong just laughed when the great-sage told him that he's already being targeted and frowned-upon by most of the attendees of this banquet.

“Everyone. I believe that I awe all of you... an explanation. Certainly most of you are asking yourselves two questions right now, I wonder if I’m right when I say that these questions are... who? and... why?” Mu Jianhong patted Lin's back gently once the city-lord noticed how this gathering is becoming a little bit... restless! the white-haired elder spoke and almost everyone nodded except for sky-queen Hongtian who silently ate bits and pieces from the different plates in-front of her while drowning most of what she ate with cup after cup of different kinds of wine! After smiling very widely the white-sovereign mercenary continued to say : “This is... mine, Mu Jianhong's final and close-doors disciple! he’s Tai Lin. Go-on Lin’er, give your respect to your senior-disciple brothers and sisters. Remember that everyone in this hall is your respected senior, you’d be relying on their help and assistance if you ever wish to reach the pinnacle of cultivation someday.” After introducing the boy... Mu Jianhong gestured for the great-sage to once again take the stage! however... this time those who frowned-upon Lin before from the non-Jianhong faction—a faction that completely consists of the disciples of this city-lord—became surprised after knowing the identity of this little-brat. Meanwhile... Lin's senior-disciple brothers and sisters became very confused after learning about the identity of that mysterious kid... why? simply because... their respected master is someone who never took a disciple that’s below the realm of spirit-tyrant ever before!

“Tai Lin has seen senior-disciple brothers and sisters. Tai Lin has seen his seniors from mercenary-guild. Please take good care of me in the future, it’s my honor being the junior of so many mighty seniors.” Lin cupped his fist and bowed once very politely towards every direction.

“Congratulations master. I'm sure that junior-disciple brother Lin would soon grow-up into a splendid powerhouse. My name is Zi Yun, I’m master’s first-disciple.” The dark-skinned man cupped his fist and returned the boy’s gesture by winking towards him.

“Sigh. Here I was wondering whether or not he's your son, it turns-out that he's another one of my junior-disciples, brother... no disrespect but, I’m glad that you’re going to be the last of master's disciples! tsk, tsk, tsk... I’m not going lose hope on finding a proper wife for you, master... one day in the future you’re going to get married. You too! junior-disciple brother Lin, you should help me in convincing master Jianhong to get married and have a family. If you do that? then... you're going to be always welcome by this big-sister Mingxia, whenever someone tries to bully you... humph! just mention my name and they’ll scram in no time at all, junior-disciple brother Lin... remember my name well. Because if you forget it? then... humph! I’d pinch your cute-cheeks until they swell to double their size, am I making myself clear? good, good, good... I'm master’s second—and favorite—disciple. My name is Yi Mingxia but you can call me big-sister Mingxia, no need for formalities between us brothers and sisters.” The other white-sovereign mercenary who’s also a disciple of Mu Jianhong clicked her tongue and seemed to be reprimanding her master instead of being happy for him receiving another disciple—after all, the old man already have too many disciples—and the great-sage noticed how his master kept ignoring this middle-aged woman and acted like he didn’t hear anything she said at all... simply because he's used to that "unique" attitude of hers! his second-disciple Mingxia just worries about him—also nags—too much... Lin just smiled and nodded to agree with what this big-sister Mingxia just said and the white-sovereign mercenary replied by giving him a silent and satisfied smile then a nod in return.

Afterwards one by one the rest of the boy's senior-disciple brothers and sisters became acquainted with him after a quick and polite introduction... the mood within the conference-hall gradually became lighter when some random conversations and exchanges of words happened between the two factions! yet... the great-sage noticed how sky-queen Hongtian was being estranged and neglected from any of these conversations... mercenaries simply spoke with mercenaries while she drank her time away in boredom. “Seniors. Master Jianhong still hasn't given the answer to the second question... why? please master... enlighten us with your wisdom.” First Lin raised his voice an octave or two higher then... the boy quickly clasped both of his palms to express his apology for interrupting a lot of ongoing conversations between these seniors after seeing many of them frown at him... again! however... when the great-sage reminded these people that they forgot about another topic—that should be of their interest to begin with—they didn't seem that much displeased with him anymore and twisted their necks to look towards the city-lord who smiled then nodded.

“Why is her majesty sky-queen Hongtian... visiting us? honestly, it’s to take my cute Lin’er away. Hehehe. Now, now... Mingxia. Hold your horses, there's still more to this... interesting story,” Mu Jianhong spoke and the crowd listened with rapt attention... when the white-sovereign mercenary said the reason of Hongtian’s visit Yi Mingxia was instantly up on her feet and looking toward the beauty in red-dress like a... mother-hen protecting her chicks! after snickering once he witnessed the expected attitude from his second-disciple... the white-haired elder gestured for his hot-blooded disciple to calm down, “Both of us already agreed that... seniors should stay-out from this matter and let juniors from both sides handle their affairs however, the terms of the agreement hasn't been clearly outlined... just yet. Now, since it’s going to be handled by juniors we—as the seniors from both sides—need to play the role of supervisors, and... to provide a safe and contained location for our juniors to settle their dispute! I think we made the right decision.” Mu Jianhong continued to speak once again and the majority of people from the two factions nodded their heads to imply that they approve of this method where juniors deciding the outcome... simply because... doing so would limit the total damage of the confrontation to a really low and endurable-limits! when juniors clash the aftermath is practically incomparable to when grown-ups lock horns... that’s why after hearing that the rules of the event is yet to be determined... almost all the attendees of this gathering knew that their role here is because they need to decide and agree on what rules to implement and what rules to scratch from the list. When the city-lord mentioned that final point even the most slow-witted amongst this gathering immediately understood what part they need to play. “Since it’s out of the question for my Lin’er to leave mercenary-city in such a vulnerable-state without me being with him then... the location we handle this clash between the juniors has to be within our mercenary-city where we can supervise them without neglecting our duty towards the citizens and employers, and... where we can guarantee the safety of these juniors from both sides. Let’s hear your suggestions?” The white-sovereign mercenary pushed another plate of delicious tasting meat closer towards Lin while saying these reasons... the gentle-gaze this white-haired elder gave the boy while doing so is practically no-different from a loving grandfather that’s dealing with one of his beloved and obedient grandchildren.

“The fighting-arena! of course it has to be there... the main fighting-arena is right next to the white-tower and the venue could contain biggest capacity of people to make a great audience for this event.” The blue-king mercenary who said that "bright" suggestion became so surprised after discovering that some of his close-friends kept rolling their eyes towards him or giving him helpless looks... their eyes seemed to be saying : 'Idiot! nobody would mistake you for a mute if you keep your mouth shut, that "explanation" of yours was... completely unrequired. Simply because everyone here already knows, in these sorts of situations it’s not our place to make suggestions but you, you big moron just had to willingly throw yourself between the jaws of these seniors to mold you however they want according to their need and to help them succeed in their greater-scheme of things.' And that blue-king sovereign suddenly paled in the face and shrunk himself in his seat as if doing so would make him invisible from the eyes of others! still... the people in that gathering mostly ignored him and politely nodded towards the city-lord so that he may continue.

“Exactly. The next problem on our list is that... this dispute between the juniors isn't going to be decided within a single confrontation! there’s likely going to be more than one fight every single day, more likely to happen in other fighting-arenas and venues. It’d take as long as her majesty sky-queen Hongtian decide that anymore would be her bullying a junior through the use of many other juniors however, before that specific term is decided by her in this deal... we need to assure her majesty that her subjects, kin, and the many followers who belong to her territory are given the following guarantees. The first-guarantee is, proper accommodations during their stay within our mercenary-city—as long as they're paying the fair price for it—and reasonable protection against harassment or mistreatment from different establishments and businesses just like any other visitor that’s visiting mercenary-city. Second-guarantee is, permission to freely enter and leave mercenary-city as long as her followers don't commit any kind of crime that requires them to be fined a certain amount of spirit-resources to fix the damage that’s been done, punished by imprisonment, or... a harsher sentence! third-guarantee is, permission for the followers of her majesty to freely and fairly deal with our different stores and establishments where they can buy and sell their products for normal and reasonable prices. Fourth-guarantee is, permission for her followers to fight within the fighting-arenas according to rules that are suitable for the ones who plan to fight without being coerced, forced to fight, or... being included in shady or unfair deals! before any fights to the death happen agreements between three different ranks of supervisors from the demonic-beast and spirit-cultivator’s faction has to undergo—at least—three checks from mercenary-guild where both participants of the postponed fight to the death need to explain their reasons to three different pairs of seniors from both factions before the fight happen.” Mu Jianhong spoke some terms and the people within this gathering opened their eyes widely from shock! why? simply because... listening to these terms felt like it’s no-different from surrendering their mercenary-city to sky-queen Hongtian or letting everything they built be taken-over by the "bloody" beasts.

“Sovereign Jianhong. If we’re supposed to make room for demonic-beasts within our own city? then... where would our people go? it’s unsafe! for generations now... all of us lost mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, relatives, and friends. It’s impossible for us to believe that our people would just accept these orders? I know that this "arrangement" is going to just be for a predetermined period of time but, I'm sure that all hell would break-loose once both sides meet in the streets of our city... all it would take is some smartass to begin exchanging the "gifts" of insult. No army or city-guard would be capable of stopping that "carnage" from happening, restoring order within the city would be a dream within a dream! even if we personally manage to suppress the masses with force after intervening by ourselves... it wouldn't stop both sides from trying underhanded means while being undercover.” One of the purple-emperor mercenaries cupped her fist and spoke frankly... her words resonated with what everyone already knows that it would be the result.

“Indeed. That's why we need to let the two factions meet where it’s useless to throw insults, because all everybody does there is just that... throw insults! the same fighting-arena—which Lin would be having his challenges—is going to become the only location where both sides meet. The other times a demonic-beast meet a human or spirit-cultivator, it’d be a relationship between a client and an owner of some business that’s doing his job of making profit or... a client hiring an expert craftsman to create something for a price! you tell me then... what happens when any of you find-out that the owner of some business-establishment is intentionally making it difficult for you? easy right! you simply report that person and some supervisors of our guild would do their job of inspecting the incident before changing the "corrupt" individual with another person who have enough "professionalism" and better "dedication" towards the cause of making sweet profit. I suggest that we empty the southern-parts of our mercenary-city, if we blockade and outline the area our "guests" could stay and only allow humans to run their business within that area to enter, leave, or stay if they’re willing to do their duty of serving different kinds of guests while receiving the profit of their work with enough dignity to keep their heads up! there’s no shame at all when people do their job however, just like how our people aren't allowed to make it difficult or be rude towards any of our guests... the same goes for our guests. The responsibility of making sure that everything stays that way, falls on the shoulders of her majesty sky-queen and her respected followers! it’s their job to ensure that.” Mu Jianhong remembered what Lin said to Hongtian once before and admired the farsightedness of his last-disciple... the city-lord explained to this gathering how to prevent the so-called "chaos" from spreading within the streets of their mercenary-city without having to make a lot for effort or waste time trying to prevent it from happening! just by separating the two factions on different sides of the city and controlling the location where they meeting... gives them the breathing-space and the options of choice to supervise the contact within several areas on the southern-parts of mercenary city and restrict both sides almost to the degree of suppressing them. Then allowing both sides one location where it’s a free area which they can almost go all-out and vent some feelings on each other whenever they want but... words are wind in the end, the white-haired elder already placed some huge difficulties in the path of the "vindictive" haters... it requires two stages of supervisions and checks where six seniors from each faction needs to revise and check the over-all situation before allowing any parties from both sides to fight to the death within the fighting-arena! meanwhile normal fights according to fair rules could happen after a couple of thorough checks and some capable referee to stop things from going too far or before that... sure the majority of battle to the death lovers would get bored during all these intentionally-slow procedures and fight normal fights within the fighting-arena according to much safer terms since it’s going to be this "troublesome" and "cumbersome" to fight to the death in front of a great audience to witness it happen. Honestly—after these restrictions get implemented—it’d be a lot easier for both combatants to meet outside mercenary-city somewhere in the open fields and... have at it to their heart’s content until one party is cold and motionless! however... even if it does happen... that would have nothing to do with the people of mercenary-guild and wouldn’t affect their agreement with sky-queen Hongtian... unless such an incident happens inside mercenary-city that is. This time... this gathering that’s made-up from the strongest mercenaries couldn't see any loopholes in that plan or difficulty in achieving it without losing control of the citizens of their city! looking through the lens and the point of view where profit is estimated... some merchants already travel the whole world just to deal with the devil, Buddha, beast, barbarian, elf, dwarf, human, beast-kin, sea-kin, evil-race, etc. While looking towards sky-queen Hongtian... these mercenaries mistakenly thought that these terms were decided by the redhead beauty to protect her followers when they enter mercenary-city.

“Certainly you all understand that the materials, spirit-resources, and medicinal-ingredients the followers of her majesty bring to our city would mostly be rare in rank or... higher—which the market around this area of the continent is hungry and in urgent need for them—since and the demand is already higher than the supply then... it’s already guaranteed that it’s going to be a win-win deal for both of our factions! that's why there’s going to be a unified-agreement between both sides on the prices of these merchandise... everything has to be reasonably priced plus, the business-venues within the souther-parts of our city are going to offer an unanimous-discount of twenty-percent to their clients. The total-number of clients visiting these businesses daily would be just that... "enormous" and since the profits of these establishment are practically guaranteed then... owners who disagree to our terms could either sell their establishments or... exchange them with other owners of establishments on a different part of the city who’re willing to serve our dear guests in this hot, smelly, and crowded south. Under no circumstances... nobody—be that a mortal human or spirit-cultivator—stays within the southern-part of the city amongst our guests without giving their work a hundred-percent of their effort! make sure that our mercenary-guild would always keep a group that holds supervision authority over these establishments plus another group that’s responsible for collecting feedback from random clients of each business establishment on a regular-basis to confirm that these establishments maintain a top-quality service within their establishment to satisfy every client.” This time the white-sovereign mercenary said what Lin transmitted to him through the ability of soul-link then Mu Jianhong smirked when he noticed how the majority of this gathering nodded in approval... judging by the look in their eyes... most of these spirit-kings and emperors are already calculating the worth of the treasures and imagining the wealth within the territory of sky-queen Hongtian falling into their lap... most of them don't mind the "small details" of this deal anymore.

Hongtian gave Lin a fleeting side-glance before faintly smiling because the words Jianhong just said did seem to be phrased in the same style which belongs to this boy judging by what happened earlier when the kid tried to convince her... not to mention that this redheaded beauty sensed the ripple of the weak soul-force from the boy when he used his ability to send a transmission to his master! maybe if sky-queen was sitting slightly further like the rest of white-sovereign mercenaries? then... she wouldn't have sensed anything at all.

“Master. Besides us giving them the safety of our mercenary-city we offer them its services fairly without letting any troubles disturb them during their stay, shouldn't her majesty tell us her terms on this deal? I do believe that we already took more than a step back to express the genuineness of our faction. What do our side stand to gain from it? do our people get to be allowed within her majesty’s territory? or something else... maybe.” Yi Mingxia was smiling towards Hongtian however... Lin was feeling one-hundred percent sure that his big-sister Mingxia wants nothing more than the opportunity to freely drag this arrogant and prideful sky-queen from her perfect red hair and use it like a mob to clean every corner of this conference-hall with it! it’d feel much better for the boy’s senior-disciple sister if it’s the beauty’s face that’s getting rubbed-against the floor though.

“Your junior-disciple brother Lin was the one who offered to give me this leverage and your master respects the choice of his last and closed-doors disciple. Later after I return to my palace I’m going to give this matter some deep thoughts before deciding on what to do next but, in-case I agree then... our stock of the medicinal-ingredients, materials, and spirit-resources has to be checked and calculated, then that list has to be sent to your faction before your side gives a rough estimation of the different prices and send us back the answer, once the prices for everything is agreed-upon and the ones responsible for guarding, supervising, and collecting the feedback from the customers visiting the business-establishments within the southern-part of your mercenary-city are ready to welcome my kin, and those responsible for protecting the rights of my subjects and followers within the fighting-arena are decided. Only then... might you hear about some of my conditions, both loud and clear! it’s been a pleasure joining everyone in this banquet for a drink, and... see you later, Lin son of Tai... whatever. You better be ready to face a lot of juniors from my territory or... these little critters would smite you! your master and all of your senior-disciple brothers and sisters over here wouldn't be able to hold me from having you when you lose, you can win as many times as you can but... all it’d take for me to have you is a single loss.” Knowing that she already prolonged her stay within this boring gathering... sky-queen Hongtian gave Yi Mingxia a careless side-glance before silencing that tigress with a similarly careless answer since the beauty in red-dress could already clearly sense everything that’s going inside the head of this female spirit-sovereign... somehow! the redhead confirmed her prior conclusions when her answer caused the corner of Mingxia's eye and mouth twitch—which is much to Hongtian's pleasure, immediately standing from her seat and cupping her fist towards the people on the lower tables... sky-queen gave this gathering a fleeting glance without looking at anyone in particular before smiling towards Lin like a charming vixen then gave him this unique threat of hers. Most of those mercenaries thought that this redhead is just teasing the kid... really! some of them wished if they could swap places with the boy.

“But... I'm still too, too young to be had!” The great-sage decided to pay this naughty and beautiful woman back because... she’s causing him unnecessary-trouble by flirting with him in-front of her mindless-admirers! that’s the most dangerous and annoying weapon of any beauty indeed... Lin puckered his lips and said these words in a pure, frightened... almost panicked tone of voice just to tease this seductress.

“Y-y-...you! humph, humph.” Hongtian blushed fiercely after being struck-with this sudden embarrassment when the boy retorted her words and made it seem like... she’s some villain that’s making unreasonable advancements on him while he’s a pure, weak, and helpless little thing that’s trying to protect his innocence with all his power despite his great fear! sky-queen kept opening and closing her small and adorable mouth while being at a complete loss of words and glared down at the great-sage... the beauty in red-dress was experiencing speechless-disbelief after witnessing the courage of this Tai Lin who dared to not only retort but also tease her in front of a crowd. The redhead harrumphed twice while thinking to herself : 'Little stinky brat! you like to play dirty? this queen is going to show you dirty, let’s see how you dare talk back after fighting juniors from my territory every single day until you drop.' Hongtian gritted her pearly-teeth yet held herself from acting against the boy or saying anything to him... his tongue is too venomous and too filthy that she might dirty herself if she does so! meanwhile the senior mercenaries in this gathering were just like sky-queen... they became dazed from shock after hearing the great-sage’s bold and slightly dirty joke. When these lust-full men and women got enchanted by the smile that Hongtian directed towards Lin and heard her words—which could be understood that way or, the other!—they really envied the boy greatly! yet... this brave-kid proved himself to them that he’s an "experienced-player" and a "frightening-contender" for the hand of the woman of their dreams when he dared to tease her to her face. Especially when the great-sage managed to win such a "reaction" from the "main-target" of this "wolf-pack" it means that Lin have managed to invade the thoughts of Hongtian by painting himself a target of venting her frustrations... many experienced "old-hands" in this "game" already know that... there’s many different ways of being the "interest" of somebody! the common-grounds between the different methods is... being under the "spotlight" and within the thoughts of the "person of interest" the more central that spotlight is the more chances they have in winning the heart of that person of interest in the end judging by the "capability" and "adaptability" of the contender.

“Keh... bffft... bwahahah. Damn... my sides hurt! perfect, just perfect. Little-brother that was... spot-on! spot-on indeed. Hahahaha... you really made my day, well played Lin, really well played.” Yi Mingxia felt like her sides are almost about to explode when she tried to hold her laughter in... not only did Lin's joke vent the anger of his big-sister after she had this "doll" act all high and mighty like a bitch in front of someone stronger than her—like Yi Mingxia—but also what her little-brother said froze Hongtian's bird-brain and dazed her! which made her look like a complete idiot that’s about to die from pure embarrassment after seemingly forgetting how to speak for a short while... while bursting into a fit of uproarious laughter Mingxia kept giving the boy a double thumbs-up gesture... maybe the waist of this white-sovereign mercenary is failing her because her upper-body kept leaning back to dangerous angels during her laughter.

Knowing that staying here in this place among this gathering any second longer would only bring more shame and embarrassment to herself... sky-queen Hongtian glared at the great-sage one last time before storming-out from the conference-hall while chewing on her lower lip! clearly this kingly-beast is intent on having her revenge on Lin... long before the beauty in red-dress decided to leave... the city-lord had already removed the spirit-formation and left the doors wide open. The white-haired elder watched Hongtian fly away and out from the territory of mercenary-city towards the direction south with an amused expression on his face and a mysterious look filling his old and wizened-eyes... then the white-sovereign mercenary looked down towards his last and closed-doors disciple and did like Yi Mingxia already did before him... Mu Jianhong gave the boy the thumbs-up gesture! then... the whole conference-hall became a cacophony of men and women chanting praise after witnessing the courage and balls of the great-sage by hurling jokes at him before laughing without care for seniority.

Yi Mingxia changed her seat and sat right next to Lin and even took the boy under her wing before hugging and kissing his cheek while feeling excited and pleased... the topic of conversation between the two quickly excited many within this gathering to listen to them with curiosity! why? simply because... despite being very approachable... sovereign Mingxia is still a spirit-sovereign in the end.

“This meeting is considered done-with, everyone is free to go back and do their thing... there’s no need for anyone to waste time by keeping this old man with your good company. You all gave me enough face by attending this gathering, you all have my heartfelt thanks.” Mu Jianhong said these polite words while looking towards the great-sage who "clicked" with the city-lord’s first and second-disciples more than well.

“No way!”

“Get out of here!”

“I Don’t believe it!”

“Senior brothers and sisters. I'm not lying, I really am not! isn't there already instruments and tools to test and confirm bone-age? just bring one and I’m more than willing to prove it... humph. If you're interested in having a few rounds of bets? then... I don't mind cleaning you up, taking your treasures all for my own would be... lovely. Say what? Do you dare?” Lin shrugged and acted like he’s feeling hurt since these senior mercenaries who call themselves his senior-disciple brothers and sisters don’t believe him... afterwards the boy smiled ever so slyly before giving his disbelieving senior-disciple brothers and sisters an annoyingly-haughty look! everything was done intentionally to rile-up these kings, emperors, and pair of spirit-sovereigns into falling in his trap.

“Don't you all say that I never warned you and let you be led by the nose, Lin'er didn't lie about his age but... I’m sure that he isn't planning to bet on that topic.” Mu Jianhong smiled and slightly shook his head when he noticed how Lin calmly sought to ensnare his senior-disciple brothers and sisters in his trap like an experienced hunter... the city-lord ruffled the boy's dark hair and spoke these words while giving this gathering of mercenaries a knowing-look—which caused them to have their eyes brighten and glow brightly after remembering how the great-sage seemed to be pushing them softly towards gambling—a simple action that’s sufficient to douse the state of overexcitement within the gathering.

“Master! don't spoil the fun by exposing crucial-details in the wrong time, it just ruins everything. Tsk, erasing the excitement with a few words... so, so cruel!” Lin slumped his shoulders then sighed helplessly while shaking his head.

“Alright then, I’ll try and observe in silence. Just... keep it as healthy as possible! you know what I mean, they’re still your brothers and sisters. Cleaning their pockets would be—cough—unfair, good first-impression.” Mu Jianhong smiled ruefully and crossed his arms then kept quiet after throwing a lot of hints between the few lines that he just said.

“So. Who’s in for some "healthy" gambling with this little-brother?” The boy rubbed his palms and asked while revealing an exaggerated-smile on his cutely-immature and adorable face.

Yi Mingxia immediately snorted before giving the great-sage her tongue then quickly turned to leave the conference-hall while thinking : 'What a joke! if the warning from master isn't enough? then... this sovereign better go smash her head with tofu. Little naughty thing dares to have eyes on my pockets during our first meeting! humph, humph, humph... see how this big-sister would fix you up.'

“Wait! everyone, wait. At least consider giving this little-brother some "perfunctory" welcome-gifts, help a brother out will you...” This time the great-sage almost wanted to curse-at and beat-up his own master! since the muscular old thing ruined such a perfect chance where Lin could’ve earned a lot of spirit-resources! at the end of his words the boy sounded almost desperate and suffocating.

Zi Yun just smirked while looking towards his junior-disciple brother before patting the great-sage's shoulder in a sympathetic-gesture before leaving without giving Lin a single spirit or mortal-coin... this first-disciple of Mu Jianhong seemed terribly amused after meeting such an interesting little-brother! one after another the audience trickled-away from the conference-hall... and the boy watched in silence while being depressed almost to the degree of crying. Whenever the great-sage looked towards this white-haired elder who’s peacefully enjoying food and drinks while flexing his exaggeratedly muscular-physique from time to time unashamedly after ruining his disciple’s fun... Lin would feel this deeply intense urge to call Kai over and offer him one of his soul-bodies in-exchange for the talking-raccoon beating-up this human-gorilla halfway to death! but... the boy knows that it would be pointless doing so since the opportunity of digging-into the deep-pockets of a few spirit-sovereigns and a lot of spirit-emperors plus lots and lots of spirit-kings is... gone... sadly forever.

“Lin'er... don't be sad, you already have enough wealth, what do you need more for anyway?” Mu Jianhong felt like his heart is experiencing a "melt-down" when he witnessed the sorry look within the boy's pair of golden-eyes... somewhat... the city-lord felt a brief tingling on his skin and his instincts warned him of danger! however... that feeling of being endangered quickly disappeared... somehow... the white-sovereign mercenary inwardly uttered a sigh of relief afterwards.

“No use crying over spilt milk... I guess.” After shrugging the emotions of regret off his body... the great-sage began stuffing his mouth with food after saying that in an attempt to forget all about it. Now that he remembers... ever since he woke-up Lin never felt like his stomach is full despite eating... a lot... of times! “Heh. Now you noticed it... huh! right before you passed the gate-trial your final acupoint was opened, soon after it successfully connected with the rest of the already opened acupoints within the group of lesser body-refining acupoints on your body. Your qi-vitality is now normally circulating between the lesser body-refining acupoints inside your body but, the amount of blood that you lost in the phenomenon of blood-bath was... really insane! just the fact that you could finish the trial while being in that state is... amazing. Master is really feeling very proud of you right now, eat-up and rest as long as you want, there’s no hurry... it’d be a while before that little-girl Hongtian return. However, Lin’er beware... after what you said to her in front of such a big crowd, she really seemed even more eager to have you. I bet she'd spank you for days and nights to wash-away that shame. Hahaha...” Mu Jianhong informed the great-sage of why his physical-body is in such a weird state then the topic drifted towards some frightening facts and Lin almost choked on the food in his mouth when that "spanking" was mentioned! the boy really does have some "bad" memories in that area... his butt is suddenly feeling slightly... "itchy" after remembering how embarrassing it felt to receive that punishment.