Ancestor Sui Bian pinched his brow, looking deeply troubled: “But look how many people are behind me. Everyone has come from far away. If the reward is too small, it would be inappropriate.”

Tu Zhen Yue nearly choked on old blood and slowly raised one finger. Ancestor Sui Bian guessed: “One thousand spirit jade per person?”

“Ten. Ten!” Tu Zhen Yue wished he could press his mouth to Sui Bian’s ear and roar the words straight into his skull.

Yu Zhao could only shake her head. She remembered Tu Zhen Yue outside Lingyin Sect: so high-spirited and stern. Now his face was iron green and his temper blazing, the bearing of a clan head gone. The ancestor’s talent for infuriating others was on full display.

“Ten?” Sui Bian ignored Tu Zhen Yue’s thoughts and shook his head repeatedly: “Ten will not do. Ten is far too little.” Then his voice paused; his gaze slid to the other patriarchs behind Tu Zhen Yue. He stroked his chin and mused: “If it were ten from each clan, that would not be impossible to consider.”

This time the other patriarchs could not keep composure. There were more than three hundred people present. Ten spirit jade per person totaled over three thousand spirit jade, which was not a small expense even for them. The several patriarchs who had been hiding in the back and pretending to be invisible stopped posturing and began to bargain. Ancestor Sui Bian remained firm: ten spirit jade from each clan, not a single clan less. If they refused, then there was only war.

War was absolutely out of the question. The Grand Alliance selection was imminent; any mishap at this critical moment would affect their families’ prosperity for centuries. The Eight Great Clans were forced to pinch their noses and accept Ancestor Sui Bian’s terms.

It must be said, dragging others into the water cannot save oneself, but it does make the heart feel better. That was exactly how Tu Zhen Yue felt now. Watching the others pull out spirit jade with ugly faces, the old blood stuck in his chest suddenly went down.

“We are leaving.” After paying the compensation, the Eight Great Clans wanted neither to see Ancestor Sui Bian nor to linger in this sorrowful place; they left at once. As they departed, Jin Yuan and several others let their gaze fall on Yu Zhao, half intentional and half not. Yu Zhao pretended not to notice and happily accepted her portion of spirit jade from the ancestor.

Yes, when the ancestor did his counting, he had included her as well as the tied-up Yan Yi and the others. Everyone got a share. Many of the cultivators who had come to help could hardly believe it when they received their spirit jade. They had come ready to kill one for a fair trade and two for a profit, yet they had not lifted a finger from start to finish and were still walking away with a grand gift bag. Where else in the world could one find such a stroke of luck?

Quite a few, before leaving, told Ancestor Sui Bian and Old Black Daoist to contact them again if there was ever such a good thing in the future. They would come. Ancestor Sui Bian agreed eagerly and saw people off with a beaming smile. To guard against a sneak attack from the Eight Great Clans, he also pressed a Jade Talisman into every departing hand; if it lit up, they were to crush it and be instantly returned to Four Seas City.

Even so, many people did not leave. Some were cultivators who had ascended from the Self Refinement Realm, while others had their own purposes. To beef up his momentum, Ancestor Sui Bian had called in everyone he could, including quite a few of his old flames. Inviting the gods is easy; sending them away is hard. Now it was his turn to suffer.

On the other side, once the crisis passed, Huang Zhong lifted the seal on the Light Screen and let the others out. Regaining their freedom, Tie Gu and the rest did not go question Ancestor Sui Bian and Old Black Daoist about what had happened, but ringed Yu Zhao in a tight circle instead. Because of the height difference, Yu Zhao had to tip her head back to look up at the gathering of seniors.

She had only just started to say “senior” when Qian Si’s delighted cry cut her off: “Wow, so tiny!”

The other elders immediately joined in: “Yu Zhao, is your name Yu Zhao? How old are you?” “Did the Five Elements Dao Sect secretly develop some sort of beauty-and-youth pill? How is everyone so fresh and pretty?” “Tsk, why is this child so short? Did Sui Bian and Old Black Daoist forget to feed her?” A dozen voices overlapped; Yu Zhao could not wedge a word in. Someone crouched to pat her head and all order collapsed. Everyone wanted to get close to this junior from the cultivation world, and in an instant the comrades of a moment ago were scrapping with one another. Perhaps because they kept Yu Zhao’s presence in mind, they showed great restraint; none of the scuffles spilled onto her.

When Ling Long and Old Black Daoist arrived, they saw Tie Gu as though bracing an iron tower, holding Yu Zhao high with one hand while he fended off others’ attempts to snatch her with the other. Across the crowd, Old Black Daoist’s and Ling Long’s eyes met Yu Zhao’s; they could clearly see the helplessness and embarrassment in her gaze.

Old Black Daoist burst into laughter so hard he was nearly breathless, one step short of rolling on the ground. In the end, it was senior Ling Long who rescued Yu Zhao from the scrum, letting her feet touch the earth again and restoring her scattered dignity.

That evening, the cultivators of the cultivation world, led by Huang Zhong, hosted a banquet in Four Seas City to entertain the guests who had stayed. The Seven Mists Guild’s guildmaster and elders were among them. Through conversation they learned who the others were and were shocked without exception. They had known these people would not be simple, yet they had still underestimated Ancestor Sui Bian’s reach, and their regard for the cultivation world rose accordingly.

Sensing the subtle shift in Guildmaster Chang Deng’s attitude, Huang Zhong could not help feeling excited. The cultivation faction had once ranked near the top within the Seven Mists Guild; otherwise Huang Zhong would not have been an elder. But for the last few centuries, with no one ascending, their strength had declined, leaving them barely middle-tier. Some had even proposed stripping Huang Zhong of his elder’s seat. What happened today served as a display of the cultivation world’s strength and made the Seven Mists Guild think twice before looking down on them.

The banquet ended with everyone holding different thoughts. Yu Zhao did not go to pay formal respects to the seniors from the cultivation world. First, it was too late for anything so formal. Second, Elder Qun Fang had sent for her.

The last part of breaking the Storage Bracelet had been shelved earlier for lack of time. Now that the Earth Clan had retreated and would not dare return soon, Elder Qun Fang planned to finish breaking the Storage Bracelet’s final Restriction Ward here in the Seven Mists Realm. Yu Zhao offered heartfelt thanks. Pinching the bracelet between two fingers, Elder Qun Fang let out a cold chuckle: “No need to thank me. Someone else will be paying this debt.”

Yu Zhao silently offered three breaths of repentance to the ancestor, then nodded obediently and answered in a soft voice: “You are right, elder.”

Elder Qun Fang smiled in satisfaction.