Jiu Shen’s cold and indifferent voice was like a clap of thunder that reverberated in Qi Hongtian’s heart. His face was drained of all colors when he heard those cold words, making his wrinkled face look like a corpse.
Master Fengzi frowned at Jiu Shen’s flat refusal. It was as if the latter didn’t even place the supreme elder of their Alchemy Hall in his eyes. Although he felt dejected in his heart, he didn’t dare voice out any sound of displeasure since Jiu Shen indeed had the ability to act like this. They have also heard about the events that had happened yesterday in his store, so how could they not know that aside from Jiu Shen’s identity as an Alchemy Saint, there was a huge possibility that he was also an expert in cultivation. Just the thought of it alone made his heart tremble in agitation.
Tempering one’s spiritual power was already a very difficult road, but Jiu Shen was actually an expert in cultivation as well, so how could Master Fengzi be not shock at his power?
The system created a perfect physical body for Jiu Shen, and it was something that goes against the heaven’s will. It even exceeded the Immortal Physique of the legends! Jiu Shen’s Seamless Deity Physique was a supreme physique that was perfect for cultivation, spiritual power, and even body refining! With an all-rounded supreme physique, his future would certainly be limitless, not to mention that he has an experience of countless eons during his past life. The only problem was that he had not yet found ways to improve his cultivation other than eating the Fruit of Cultivation.
Sigh!
“I apologize for my behavior Wine Master Jiu. I was just excited to see someone capable of refining an Immortal Pill. I’ve only seen it recorded in an ancient stone fragment that I’ve chanced upon during my younger years. I didn’t know that I would get to see it with my own two eyes in this lifetime of mine.” Qi Hongtian sighed and bowed to Jiu Shen with an apologetic look, but the excitement in his murky eyes was still evident. He was an alchemy maniac since his younger years, so everything related to alchemy excites him so much. That was also why he had reacted on impulse earlier and even disregarded his image just to take Jiu Shen as his master.
In the alchemy world, age was but a number, and the true seniority lies in one’s ability to concoct high-level pills. So the higher the level of pill one can concoct, the greater the respect one could get from the alchemists regardless of their age.
Jiu Shen waved his right hand and shook his head lightly. “Alchemy is but a hobby of mine and among all the things I’ve studied, my alchemy refinement is the absolute weakest.” His voice was calm and devoid of any ripples as if he was merely stating something ordinary, but his words was like a bolt of tribulation lightning smiting the two old man’s hearts.
What Jiu Shen said was actually true. His attainments in the field of alchemy refinement was indeed nothing worthy in the Primordial God Realm. However, he didn’t know that he was a genius in the art of alchemy. He had only used several years to achieve the identity of an Alchemy Immortal in his past life which would normally take others several thousands of years or even millions of years, but he didn’t even treat his alchemy skills seriously since his heart was only devoted to the way of the sword.
Qi Hongtian and Master Fengzi forced out a broken smile, making this pair of old men look like they had swallowed a fly.
’If alchemy refining is just your hobby, then what will happen if you train it seriously?’ Master Fengzi thought in his heart bitterly. He had studied alchemy for several dozens of years, but his attainments was nowhere near Jiu Shen who only treated alchemy as a hobby. It was truly depressing…
Even Qi Hongtian felt a sense of loss in his heart. This was a huge blow to him since he had devoted all his time to alchemy, but his centuries of bitter self-studying and alchemy research was not even worth mentioning in Jiu Shen’s eyes.
’I’ve decided. I’ll take him as my master even if he refuses me. I will do everything just to get his acceptance.’ Qi Hongtian muttered resolutely in his heart. The light in his cloudy eyes flickered with a flash of resolve, and the dying passion in his heart was stoked by Jiu Shen’s presence.
“Wine Master Jiu, I truly like to discuss the art of alchemy with you, but after speaking with you briefly, I realized that my centuries of expertise isn’t even worth the knowledge you have. This time, I will enjoy Wine Master Jiu’s wine and drink away my sorrows.” Qi Hongtian chuckled bitterly as he bowed lightly at Jiu Shen before he went to search for a table for himself and Master Fengzi. Just that, the first floor was now fully occupied since there were a lot more customers present due to the massive changes in Jiu Shen’s store.
“Theia, bring them upstairs.” Jiu Shen’s calm voice echoed inside the store, stunning the customers inside. How could they not know the identity of this man? Right after Jiu Shen spoke, all the customers immediately thought about his words.
“Yes, master!” Theia responded right away and immediately brought the two stunned old men upstairs.
“The second floor is actually open for business?”
“I didn’t hear wrongly, right? The second floor is open for business…”
“What could possibly be there? If the first floor is already this amazing, then what about the second floor?”
Even Liu Mengdi, this young patriarch of the Liu Family was curious about how the second floor of Jiu Shen’s store looked like.
“Wine Master Jiu, are there any requirements needed before we can have the chance to go to the second floor?” Liu Mengdi stood up and cupped his fist at Jiu Shen respectfully. He was among the first batch of customers of The Immortal’s Wine, so he was somewhat familiar with Jiu Shen’s personality.
At this moment, Jiu Shen was already communicating with the system to confirm this. The second floor was indeed more luxurious than the first floor, so there should be prerequisites before someone can go upstairs.
– Ding!
– Host, the second floor is only accessible for those with cultivation at the 7th-rank Emperor and above. Those with VIP Cards can similarly go up regardless of their age.
After getting the system’s confirmation, Jiu Shen glanced at the customers with a calm look and replied. “Only those with cultivations at the 7th-rank Emperor realm and above can go to the second floor.”
Everyone felt slightly dejected when they heard his words, but they could only sigh in their hearts since it was already a normal occurrence in the cultivation world for there to be a segregation between the weak and the strong. Just that, they still felt a bit sad to be unable to see the second floor. However, this also made them even more determined to cultivate properly.
To think that these people felt more motivated to cultivate seriously just to have the qualification to go to the second floor…
Liu Mengdi and the other young scions clenched their fists tightly with determined gazes.
The customers of Jiu Shen had already experienced the wondrous effects of drinking his wine, and they had even advanced in their cultivation by leaps and bounds, so how could they not be eager to know what was within the second floor?
Jiu Shen felt amused in his heart when he saw their faces. Although he didn’t know what they were thinking, he could still faintly guess what was on their minds just from their expressions alone. He couldn’t blame them though since the wines sold in his store were indeed precious and it could be said that they were even comparable to high-level pills.
Just then, Jiu Shen’s eyes narrowed as he felt another strong presence coming to the store, but this time, he knew who it was.
Outside Jiu Shen’s store was a line-up of more than several dozens of soldiers. Each of them wore rigid and ferocious expressions as they surveyed the surroundings with wary gazes. Although it was peaceful here, these soldiers were trained to never let their guards down in any kind of environment.
Leading these soldiers were five individuals dressed in embroidered robes. They were the four guardians of the Silver Wing Empire and the emperor, Emperor Elyk Silveria II.
The emperor was stunned when he saw the changes of the store and he could not help but let out a hearty laugh that stunned the several dozen stern-looking soldiers behind him.
“Hahaha! To think that after just a day, Wine Master Jiu’s store has already changed so much!” Emperor Elyk jumped off his mount and landed gracefully on the ground. He was excited to see the changes inside after seeing the majestic exterior of the store.
The emperor’s loud laughter was of course heard by everyone inside the store, and they abruptly stood up in surprise.
This was their emperor! The man who had singlehandedly faced off with a huge dragon just to protect his empire and his people!
“His Majesty is actually here? My god!”
“I didn’t know that even His Majesty is one of Wine Master Jiu’s customers. Truly surprising!”
Right after the emperor went inside the store, he didn’t even have the time to utter his exclamation when he heard the respectful greetings from the customers.
“We greet you, Your Majesty!”
“We greet you, Your Majesty!”
Everyone except Jiu Shen bowed at the emperor with reverence. Even Xiao Hua and the other three looked at the emperor with curiosity.
Emperor Elyk felt somewhat stunned by everyone’s reverential gazes, and he felt gratified in his heart to have such people as the citizens of his empire. He gestured for everyone to take a seat and smiled at them lightly. “Take your seats, everyone. I’m only here to visit Wine Master Jiu, so no need to bother with formalities.”
The customers bowed deeply at him before they went back to what they were previously doing, but everyone was now a bit more conscious with their actions with the emperor’s presence inside.
Emperor Elyk walked towards Jiu Shen with a smile on his face. After arriving in front of the latter, he immediately cupped his fists respectfully. The emperor’s respectful attitude towards Jiu Shen instantly garnered surprised exclamations from everyone inside the store.
“Wine Master Jiu, I’m not late, right?” The emperor’s voice was jovial and friendly, but his tone still carried a dignified presence.
Jiu Shen shook his head lightly and replied in a calm voice. “You’re late, but that doesn’t matter as long as you brought what I asked you to bring.”
Emperor Elyk smiled at his response and chuckled heartily. “Of course! I wouldn’t dare go against my words, Wine Master Jiu. Hahaha!”
Why is this old brat so chummy today? His head wasn’t hammered, right?
Jiu Shen muttered in his heart as he looked at the laughing Emperor Elyk.
