Old Sir Tie smiled as he looked at Hong Yu.
He was smiling, and not a single trace of energy escaped him.
But under his profound gaze, Hong Yu felt completely exposed, with nowhere to hide.
Hong Yu had experienced this feeling just a short while ago. It was nearly identical to the sensation he got from Yuan Cang, the man who called himself the Sect Leader of the Guiyuan Sect.
Facing Old Sir Tie, Hong Yu's turbulent emotions unexpectedly cald.
A brilliant, sunny smile appeared on his pale, refined face. Hong Yu took half a step back.
He clasped his hands and bowed deeply to Old Sir Tie. "This junior, Hong Yu, greets you, Senior! I wish you boundless fortune and a long life! This is a gift I prepared. It was put together in a hurry, so I hope Senior will accept it!"
As he spoke, Hong Yu presented a brand-new, hand-copied book with both hands.
In truth, ever since receiving the invitation from Tie Tongtian, Hong Yu had been wondering what kind of gift to bring.
He had no real connection with this Old Sir Tie, nor was he deeply involved with the Tie Family.
But considering Tie Tongtian had generously given him the *Primordial Gang Fighting Technique* and the Seven-Scented Ganoderma Grass, he couldn't be too discourteous. A gift was a must!
After much thought, Hong Yu finally decided to hand-copy a portion of the *Initial Understanding of the Dao of Artifacts*!
For one, the *Initial Understanding of the Dao of Artifacts* was an Artifact Refining Secret Technique created by the master of the Profound Celestial Tower. Even a tiny fraction of it would be considered a supre to of Artifact Refining in the Qin Kingdom.
Secondly, since the Tie Family was known as the number one comrce association in the Qin Kingdom, ordinary Treasures would hardly catch their eye.
Furthermore, he had also heard that their main business was the forging and selling of Primordial Weapons.
Coincidentally, the *Initial Understanding of the Dao of Artifacts* was of great help to the Artifact Dao, which was why he had chosen such a gift!
"Huh? That looks like sothing that was just copied. What's written inside?"
"Not sure."
"Judging by how new it looks, Hong Yu must have just copied it himself. Giving sothing he copied himself to Old Sir Tie... is he trying to get himself in trouble?"
'This old coot... Of all the tis to show up, he had to pick now and ruin my perfect chance to kill Hong Yu...'
Xue De's face was as dark as water, and he could barely suppress the chilling killing intent he felt for Hong Yu.
But with Old Sir Tie present—an old-school powerhouse who was a generation senior to even Sect Leader Yuan Cang—Xue De didn't dare to overstep his bounds in the slightest.
Seeing Old Sir Tie's sowhat ambiguous attitude toward Hong Yu earlier had already left Xue De extrely agitated, and he was trying to figure out how to find another chance to take Hong Yu's life.
And of all things, Hong Yu had to pull out sothing like this as a birthday gift at this very mont!
Gazing at the fresh handwriting, a flash of ecstatic, grim delight flickered in Xue De's eyes. 'He who courts death shall find it. Hong Yu, oh, Hong Yu, to openly present sothing like this as a birthday gift... you're clearly insulting the Tie Family. This ti, you're dead for sure!'
Under everyone's gaze, Old Sir Tie also paused for a mont.
Looking into Hong Yu's clear and sincere eyes, he faltered slightly, his expression growing a bit more serious as he accepted the hand-copied *Initial Understanding of the Dao of Artifacts*.
When he read the first page, Old Sir Tie frowned, an obvious hint of disdain on his face.
When he turned to the second page, the disdain vanished, and his brow furrowed even deeper.
By the third page, his calm and peaceful expression was gone, replaced by a look of astonishnt.
He began flipping through the pages faster and faster, the expressions on his face growing more and more dramatic—from initial disdain to focus, then to gravity, astonishnt, shock, awe, speechlessness, and disbelief... until finally, he was completely and utterly shaken.
SNAP!
He forcefully shut the book and clutched it carefully to his chest.
He looked at Hong Yu with grave intensity.
Suddenly, in front of everyone, Old Sir Tie—a man whose seniority surpassed even that of Guiyuan Sect's Leader Yuan Cang and the Qin Kingdom's current King, Qin Feng—bowed deeply to Hong Yu. "Thank you, young friend, for such a generous gift!"
"Senior, please rise! You are my elder, and Brother Tie is my friend. I cannot accept such a great honor!" Hong Yu quickly helped Old Sir Tie up.
Old Sir Tie ignored the gasps of shock and astonishnt from the crowd.
He took Hong Yu's hand, his calm gaze suddenly turning sharp as he swept his eyes over everyone present.
His gaze lingered on Xue De for a mont.
A voice, tinged with the weight of ages, ca from the old man who could make the Qin Kingdom tremble with a stomp of his foot. "From this day forward, little brother Hong Yu is a cherished young friend of I, Tie. I don't care what his status is outside, nor do I care who he might have offended. However, if anyone dares to bully my little brother Hong Yu, using their greater age or strength against him, they will be making an enemy of I, Tie!"
"I don't care what power or background you have backing you. If you dare to touch little brother Hong Yu, you'd better first consider whether you can withstand the wrath of my Iron Soldier Pavilion!"
Old Sir Tie's sudden declaration was like a depth charge dropped into the crowd, setting off a wave of exclamations.
"Good heavens, what in the world did Hong Yu give Old Sir Tie?"
"Could it be so kind of Ancient Secret Technique? Or a Treasure Map?"
"With Old Sir Tie's words, Hong Yu can basically do whatever he wants in the Qin Kingdom from now on..."
"How could this happen? Why? This... this doesn't make any sense..."
Xue De stared in utter disbelief at Hong Yu, who was being shielded by Old Sir Tie. His expression shifted rapidly.
His face went from pale to livid, and he was finally unable to contain his killing intent and rage. "Old Sir Tie, this Hong Yu is an enemy of my Guiyuan Sect. By openly sheltering him like this, are you declaring your intention to oppose my Guiyuan Sect?"
Old Sir Tie shot him a glance and snorted coldly. "Who do you think you are? Even if Wang Ba were standing before , he would have to respectfully address as 'Senior'. If you want to claim the Tie Family is opposing your Guiyuan Sect, have Yuan Cang co and say it to my face. As for you, you don't have the right!"
"You... you..."
Xue De was consud by fury, his expression turning utterly foul.
For Old Sir Tie to berate him like this in front of so many people made Xue De feel as if he had lost all face, suffering an intolerable humiliation.
But with Old Sir Tie's status and power on full display, he didn't even have the courage to retaliate.
And so, Xue De directed all his resentnt and humiliation onto Hong Yu.
Staring at Hong Yu with a gaze as cold and venomous as a viper's, Xue De ground his teeth and sent a voice transmission: "Hong Yu, don't celebrate too soon. Just you wait. Unless you leave the Qin Kingdom, I will personally end you and make you wish you were dead..."
"I'll be waiting. But the next ti we et, it's anyone's guess who will live and who will die!"
Hong Yu retorted, neither servile nor overbearing.
"You..."
Xue De trembled all over, the veins on his forehead throbbing with rage. He desperately wished he could pull out a Primordial Weapon and dice Hong Yu into a million pieces right then and there.
But the mont he t Old Sir Tie's frigid glare, he deflated like a punctured ball. Annoyed, he turned to leave. Before he could even step out of the side hall, a middle-aged man in a Python Robe walked toward him, glanced at him, and said flatly, "Take your man and leave through the back door."
"Fuck, your Tie Family goes too far! I'm leaving, and you're telling to use the back door?" Xue De exploded in rage.
The middle-aged man in the Python Robe shook his head and sighed. "You people from the Guiyuan Sect truly are a bunch of self-righteous fools. Take a look at yourself. If you still think you should leave through the main entrance, I won't stop you!"
"Hm?"
Xue De looked down.
His clothes had long since been blasted apart. Tattered strips of cloth hung from his body, which was charred black. He looked worse than a street beggar.
If he really were to walk out the main entrance like this, the humiliation would be unbearable.
At this thought...
Xue De grabbed Huo Yan and scurried out the back door in utter disgrace.
Hearing the waves of laughter behind him, the disheveled Xue De's face turned ashen and grim. He squeezed the words out from between his teeth, one by one: "Hong Yu... I will make you wish you were dead."
After the farce, Old Sir Tie's birthday celebration naturally continued as planned.
Fortunately, ever since Wang Ba had beco its Commander, the Guiyuan Sect had acted tyrannically, offending many experts and factions.
Thus, after Xue De and his companion left, the atmosphere at the feast actually improved considerably.
However, the star of today's banquet slowly shifted from Old Sir Tie to Hong Yu.
This young man, who had been in the Qin Kingdom for just over half a year, seed destined for an extraordinary and legendary path from the mont he first set foot in Qin Royal City.
Less than ten days after arriving in Qin Royal City, he had seized the championship of the Young Spiritual Craftsman Competition in a stunning, eye-popping fashion!
Not long after, he represented the Royal Family in the Celestial Essence Secret Realm trial.
News had even spread that within the Celestial Essence Secret Realm, this young man had slain three of the Blood Killing Tower's top assassins and had even forced Zheng Tian to sacrifice a Blood Killing Tower expert just to cleverly snatch the top spot.
If it were only these accomplishnts, Hong Yu's legend would not have reached its current heights.
The most significant event, of course, was on the day of his return, when he defeated Blood the First—a young genius on par with Zheng Tian—with a single glance!
He had beco the youngest Marquis in the history of the Qin Kingdom!
After that, just when everyone thought his legend had peaked, he once again shocked them at the Tie Family banquet by withstanding the Primordial Core Realm expert Xue De with his own Celestial Soul Realm cultivation.
Although he didn't achieve the legendary feat of the Eight Desolates Old Demon, who had killed a Primordial Core Realm expert while still in the Celestial Soul Realm...
...the shock from today's battle was in no way inferior.
This was because Hong Yu was only at the Mid-stage Celestial Soul Realm, and because he had only just turned seventeen...
Faced with such a genius with a limitless future, who wouldn't want to build so kind of connection with him?
Unfortunately, throughout the banquet, Old Sir Tie kept Hong Yu by his side, doting on him even more than his own grandson.
This left the father and son pair, Tie Heng and Tie Tongtian—who had been raised under Old Sir Tie's "spare the rod, spoil the child" philosophy—feeling rather mournful.
The crowd could only sigh in resignation, planning to seek Hong Yu out after the banquet ended.
But the mont the banquet concluded, Old Sir Tie impatiently dragged Hong Yu away from the hall.
This left everyone bewildered, while they inwardly cursed with great resentnt and disdain: 'Shaless old codger! At his age, hogging a young man like that. I hope he works himself to death!'
「In reality...」
Old Sir Tie had actually brought Hong Yu to the Tie Family's Forbidden Land.
He pointed to a massive treasury ahead, activated a chanism, and ushered Hong Yu inside. "Young friend Hong Yu, this is my Tie Family's treasury, containing several centuries of our collection. You may choose any Treasure you like from within."
"Don't be polite with this old man. After you've chosen your Treasure, I have another important matter to entrust to you!" Old Sir Tie said frankly.
Hong Yu paused, then nodded and entered the treasury.
As he sifted through them, the dazzling array of Treasures left him overwheld. Unsure what to choose, he asked Little One in his mind.
And the response he received was...
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