Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

The talismanic seal instantly turned to ash, and a relaxed look appeared on Daoist Ming Yuan's face.

"Brother Long Yi, it's all up to you now," Ming Yuan murmured to himself internally.

…

…

After spending three sleepless days in the Scripture Pavilion, Yi Chen felt like he was about to mold over, his head dizzy from perusing the vast sea of various scriptures.

"It really is better outside," Yi Chen sighed.

Little Miao, hidden in Yi Chen's embrace, poked out its little cat head and nodded vigorously in agreement.

Those three days were terrifying. Every time it tried to steal a moment of laziness, a large hand would pick it up, demanding:

"At your age, how can you sleep so comfortably?"

"If a spirit beast doesn't learn, it would forever remain a mere furry beast with horns and claws."

"This is the Scripture Pavilion of Dragon Tiger Mountain, how many spirit beasts have the fortune to browse such books here?"

"If it weren't for me teaching you to recognize words early on, would you have this fortune?"

"You're a big kid now, you should be grateful."

"At your age, if you don't strive, do you expect me to do it for you?"

These rapid-fire words echoed like demonic sounds in Little Miao's ears, making it tremble at the thought now.

"Pepe Miao, let's go eat," Yi Chen said, petting Little Miao's head before heading straight for the dining hall of Dragon Tiger Mountain's outer court.

The reason he didn't go to the dining hall frequented by many inner sect disciples was naturally because he didn't want to socialize.

He didn't fancy having a meal only to be approached by five people for a chat or ten people asking for guidance.

In the territory of Dragon Tiger Mountain, he couldn't be too harsh; thus, the outer court was the best choice.

After a swift journey, Yi Chen soon arrived at the dining hall.

Using his silver token, he ordered a whole table of dishes and began to feast heartily.

The outer court of Dragon Tiger Mountain naturally had its culinary perks, with standard meals free of charge. If one wanted better, private meals, that would cost extra.

While Yi Chen was burying his head in his extravagant meal, he was secretly listening for snippets of conversation from the surrounding crowds, when the gossip at the next table caught his attention.

"Brother, have you heard? It's said that Brother Long Yi sought Princess Qingzhu's smile, so two days ago he used great mana to make ten acres of azaleas bloom overnight, picking them to present to the princess."

"Heh, Brother, you're late to the news. Brother Long Yi sought help, and yesterday directly made a hundred acres of azaleas bloom, picking them to present to the princess. It's unclear which brother will win the lady's favor."

Yi Chen: "… It's even started escalating."

Just as Yi Chen was internally sighing, a handsome and spirited young daoist with a smile on his face approached him.

"I never imagined the Taoist would come hide away in the dining hall of the external court, now that the Daoist is quite the personage here in Dragon Tiger Mountain."

"I am Zhang Hu, and I have the honor of meeting Brother Yi Taoist."

"Heh heh, finally, he's here," Yi Chen smiled inwardly. The person he was waiting for had finally arrived.

He wasn't in the Scripture Pavilion for three days just to look at books; he was waiting for someone.

Waiting for someone to clear their mind, to thoroughly think things through.

And to test that person's patience, which would allow him to ask for a better price.

The strife among Dragon Tiger Mountain's notable disciples was easy enough to find out about; he couldn't believe no one would have a crooked idea.

"Hiding away is naturally in order to meet those who truly desire to meet me, those who recognize value," Yi Chen said quietly.

"Although secluded, this place can't hide from those determined to find me, but I didn't expect brother to find me so quickly."

At these words, Zhang Hu's pupils abruptly contracted.

"And if no one came looking for our friend here? Wouldn't that mean our friend had wasted his efforts on an empty errand?"

"Everything is a matter of fate; how can we force it? If I'm lucky, it's a blessing; if I'm not, it's simply fate."

"Those who come looking for me are the ones fated to do so."

"It's not like I can chase the mountain if it won't come to me. That would devalue it, and that kind of money isn't worth making." Discover exclusive tales on empire

"Brother, may I have a word with you in private?" Zhang Hu said gravely.

A short while later, after having a tea-time chat, Zhang Hu walked out of a mountain hollow grimacing in pain.

Yi Chen, on the other hand, had a beaming smile on his face.

"Rest assured, brother, my services come highly recommended," Yi Chen assured.

"Tomorrow we shall have our duel at Heavenly Pillar Peak; we will fight it out for three hundred rounds. After which, you may have your epiphany and seek seclusion, and leave the rest to me," Yi Chen plotted.

"I shall follow the Taoist's instructions to the letter," Zhang Hu said, then vanished from the mountain path in a blur.

Yi Chen then chuckled to himself.

Inside his storage ring, neatly stacked, lay two ingots worth twenty thousand taels of silver and two bottles of Peiyuan Dan used for rearing spirit beasts.

One wouldn't realize how little money they had until coming to Dragon Tiger Mountain. Zhang Hu, with the most potential to vie for the position of second generation Taoist in his family, was naturally extremely wealthy; even Yi Chen hadn't expected to extract such a fortune under his negotiation skills.

But after giving it some thought, Yi Chen understood.

In a large company's internal affairs, the different departments would be more desperate to see their rivals fail than their actual competitors from other companies.

Splurging some money to embarrass an old rival always seemed like a deal worth making.