In the Z University library.
Tang Hao sat there, holding a novel in his hands and reading it with great interest.
Yan’er sat In front of him, focused on studying.
In the blink of an eye, it was almost the middle of the semester. For an ace student like Yan’er, she had to study hard and prepare for the midterm exam.
Tang Hao did not have much to do, so he accompanied her.
As he read his novel, his phone suddenly vibrated and a text message came in.
He picked it up and was surprised after reading it.
“Dear customer, the triennial exchange conference is about to begin. Octagon Alley sincerely invites you to attend this conference. If you are interested, please go to your local store and request an invitation.”
“Exchange conference? Octagon Alley?”
Tang Hao furrowed his brows.
He was no stranger to Octagon Alley. He had been there a few times and bought several things.
What was the exchange conference though?
He pondered for a moment, stood up, walked to a corner, and called Shabby Taoist Master.
“Exchange conference? Oh, that! It’s an event organized by Octagon Alley held once every three years. It can be considered a major event in Huaxia’s cultivation world.
“Many people will attend the event, including cultivation families and unaffiliated cultivators, as long as they have dealings with Octagon Alley.
“It’ll be a meetup followed by an auction of many nice things. You can go and take a look. Mao Mountain will also be sending a delegation to the event.”
After ending the call, Tang Hao pondered for a moment.
“Might as well go and take a look!”
Very soon, Tang Hao made up his mind.
In the evening, after having dinner with Yan’er and walking around the campus, Tang Hao sent her back to her dorm. Then, he drove to Octagon Alley.
After explaining the purpose of his visit, the storekeeper took out a vintage-looking invitation card.
Then, he took out a brush and ink, opened the invitation card, and wrote “Mr. Tang” on it.
“Here’s your invitation, Mr. Tang. On the day of the event, you can enter the venue with this card. Please remember that it is May 1st, in River Delta City. The address is written inside.”
The shopkeeper bowed and handed the invitation card over.
“Thank you!”
Tang Hao took the invitation card, briefly glanced at the contents, then left Octagon Alley.
Three days later, he drove to River Delta City.
He arrived at his destination at around five o’clock in the afternoon.
The conference was held at a villa in the suburbs. It was built in the Republic style and looked quite old.
After driving through the gate, he saw many cars parked in front of the villa, some of which were luxury sports cars.
He got out of the car and walked to the gate. A man in a traditional Chinese suit was standing there.
When he saw Tang Hao, he cupped his hands and greeted him as a fellow cultivator.
Tang Hao showed his invitation card and was ushered in.
He walked through the door, passed through the front hall, and arrived at the courtyard behind the villa.
Melodious music could be heard in the courtyard. Many people were dressed up and walking around. They gathered in twos and threes and chatted enthusiastically.
A quick count revealed that there were about seventy people.
“Mr. Tang, please make yourself at home!”
The person bowed and walked away.
Tang Hao walked into the courtyard. His arrival did not attract much attention. Some people looked at him, saw that it was a young man in his twenties, and turned away.
Tang Hao glanced around, but he did not find anyone familiar.
The Taoist masters, the heavenly masters, and the families from the Capital had not arrived yet.
He took a cup of liquor, walked to the side, and sat down.
“Have you heard? The entire Liu family has been crippled, and even the precious grandson of the Liu family has died! How tragic!”
Not far from him, someone whispered.
Then, there was a burst of exclamations.
“That can’t be! That’s the Liu Family we’re talking about!”
“Ha, it’s true! A few days ago, I was discussing business with the Qi family, and they mentioned it,” the person said in a low voice.
“Who did it? Has there been a new villain?”
“No! I heard from the Qi family that it was that half-step Perfected Person.”
“Perfected Person? Oh my god! is the Liu family crazy? They provoked a Perfected Person!”
“Who knows! Speaking of which, in the past three years, interesting things have been happening in Huaxia. I was nearly arrested in that operation by the Agency. That frightened me!”
“Yeah, these are interesting times! Oh, right, that operation should have something to do with that Perfected Person! I heard that it was him who turned the tide, killed the thirteen elite vampire and werewolf families, and brought glory to Huaxia.”
“That’s him alright! I wish I could meet this senior. He’s my idol! Too bad that I’ve never had the chance to meet him.”
Following that, the group of people sighed.
Tang Hao sat there with a strange expression on his face.
After a while, several more people came into the courtyard from the villa.
The person leading the group was a middle-aged man, followed closely by a young man.
“Hey! Ol’ Yuan, you’re here too!”
Immediately, many people came forward and greeted him.
The middle-aged man named Yuan started chatting with them, while the young man took a cup of liquor and walked around.
At that moment, Tang Hao finished his cup of liquor and stood up to take another cup. When he reached out his hand, he inadvertently revealed the blood jade bead on his wrist.
The young man happened to glance at it. His gaze was transfixed on the bead.
“Stop!”
Seeing that Tang Hao was about to leave, he shouted.
Tang Hao did not care and continued walking.
“F*ck! I told you to stop, you brat! Are you deaf?” The young man shouted annoyedly.
In an instant, the surroundings became quiet, and everyone turned around to look.
Tang Hao stopped and turned around. “Are you calling me?” He asked curiously.
“Nonsense! Who else would I be calling?” The young man’s tone was impolite.
Then, he pointed at Tang Hao’s wrist and shouted, “I want that thing. Name your price!” His gaze on the blood jade bead became eager.
He could tell that the blood jade bead was not a mundane item. It was most likely an Artifact.
In the modern cultivation world, Artifacts were extremely precious. Even he, the eldest grandson of the Yuan family, did not have one.
He did not recognize that kid. In other words, he was not from a cultivation family. There were only about a dozen cultivation families in Huaxia, and they were quite familiar with each other. He recognized all of them.
If he was not from a cultivation family, and he was not dressed in Taoist robes, then he must be an unaffiliated cultivator. He must have had a fortuitous encounter and tried to cultivate on his own.
Without a proper cultivation base or any background, unaffiliated cultivators were on the lowest rung in the cultivation world. What right did he have to own an Artifact?
Seeing that Tang Hao did not respond, he said, “Kid, I’m from the Yuan family!”
He sounded boastful and threatening.
“Yuan family? What’s that?” Tang Hao said.
The young man was surprised. “You don’t even know about my Yuan family?”
“Are you someone famous?”
“Haha!” The young man immediately burst into laughter.
‘This kid is really interesting! If he doesn’t even know about my Yuan family, he must be some complete rookie in the cultivation world!’
Around him, there was also a burst of laughter.
Those people looked at Tang Hao with contempt.
