The arrival of the Grand Elder and the Xian Sword Sect elders at Ash Crown City was like a storm sweeping through calm waters.
The news spread through the Smoldering Rock rchant Union before the entourage had even fully landed, and by the ti the elders set foot in the city, the entire Union was in an uproar.
Overseer Zhai, who had already been on edge for days while hosting Lin Mu and his companions, was pale and trembling. His hands shook as he adjusted his robes for the tenth ti, his heart pounding like a war drum.
He was utterly terrified of making a mistake before such exalted figures.
The na of Grand Elder Huo was one that did not rely resound in the Silent Lotus World, but reached far beyond.
Cultivators across the Immortal Court knew of the One Eyed Sword Lord, a man whose sword could cleave through nations if provoked, whose stern discipline had shaped generations of sword cultivators, and whose every word was like a decree of heaven itself.
For Overseer Zhai to be the one who had to stand in front of such a man was almost unbearable.
When Grand Elder Huo finally arrived, with a dozen Xian Sword Sect elders at his back, the atmosphere of the Union changed completely. The guards who normally stood proud and confident at the gates now stood stiff as statues, bowing so low their foreheads nearly touched the ground.
rchants froze mid-conversation, their voices stuttering as awe silenced their tongues. Even the cultivators hired as escorts for the Union’s caravans lowered their heads, not daring to breathe loudly.
Overseer Zhai stepped forward to welco them, but his knees almost gave way. His words trembled as he stamred out his greeting, beads of sweat trickling down his temples despite the cooling arrays keeping the temperature at a comfortable 20 Celsius.
He had never imagined that in his lifeti he would be in the presence of the One Eyed Sword Lord himself.
Yet before he could completely disgrace himself, the sound of rushing steps filled the courtyard. The chairman of the Smoldering Rock rchant Union, a man of wide stature and commanding presence, arrived in person.
His arrival was like a mountain stabilizing a crumbling cliff, for everyone who served beneath him imdiately cald a fraction. Though the chairman’s face was also flushed with both anxiety and anticipation as he personally bowed before the Grand Elder.
"Grand Elder Huo, it is this humble one’s greatest honor to welco you to our Union," the chairman said, his voice steady but his hands betraying the faintest tremor.
He laid on complints with all the skill of a seasoned rchant, praising the Grand Elder’s deeds, recounting tales of his battles, and even quoting sayings attributed to him. It was a stream of flattery, polished to perfection, designed to ease the arrival of soone far beyond their station.
But Grand Elder Huo’s face did not shift an inch.
His one eye, sharp as a sword’s edge, simply scanned the crowd without so much as a flicker of interest. His bearing was like an unmovable mountain, unshaken by wealth, status, or any attempt to please him.
To the chairman, this felt like staring at a wall of steel, a reminder that no matter how much influence the Smoldering Rock rchant Union had in the Silent Lotus World, it was still dust before the majesty of the Xian Sword Sect’s Grand Elder.
For a mont, tension hung so thick in the air that even breathing felt like a cri.
Then Lin Mu walked into the courtyard.
The shift was instant.
Grand Elder Huo’s expression transford. The stern, immovable façade lted into a broad smile. His one eye glead with warmth and pride, and he strode forward with surprising energy for a man of his years. Without hesitation, he clasped Lin Mu’s shoulders, then pulled him into an embrace that drew audible gasps from the crowd.
"Lin Mu! You did well," Grand Elder Huo said, his voice booming with unrestrained joy.
The chairman of the Smoldering Rock rchant Union almost forgot to breathe. His eyes widened so much that they nearly bulged out of his skull.
His mind reeled.
To see the Grand Elder treat anyone with such affection was shocking enough, but to see him embrace Lin Mu like a treasured junior... it was beyond belief. The words of Lady Kang echoed in his mind, her warnings about Lin Mu’s significance, her subtle hints that this young man was not to be asured by ordinary ans.
At the ti, the chairman had thought she was being cautious. Now he realized that she had, if anything, undersold it.
The other mbers of the rchant union were utterly floored. So of them, who had previously regarded Lin Mu as a mysterious yet still approachable guest, now stared at him as though he were a living legend. Whispers spread rapidly through the crowd, their voices trembling with disbelief.
"So Lady Kang was right all along..." one elder rchant whispered.
"He... he is soone who can make the One Eyed Sword Lord smile?" another muttered, unable to keep his voice from shaking.
"By the heavens... who exactly is Lin Mu?"
The atmosphere shifted from awe to reverence. rchants who had been standing straight now bowed unconsciously toward Lin Mu. So even lowered their gazes completely, not daring to look at him directly anymore.
The chairman himself felt sweat drip down his back, but now it was not from fear of failure. It was from the overwhelming realization that his Union was entertaining soone who stood at the center of a storm far beyond their scope.
And yet, rather than fear, he felt a growing sense of relief. If Lady Kang had tied their Union’s future to Lin Mu, then they had chosen correctly.
As for Overseer Zhai, he nearly fainted.
The trembling in his legs grew worse, and he barely held himself upright. His earlier nervousness at being in Grand Elder Huo’s presence now seed laughably small compared to the sheer weight of Lin Mu’s significance.
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