Suddenly, the old man heard a suppressed laughter behind him. He turned around and saw Emperor Elyk looking away without an innocent expression. “You brat! So that’s why you did not say anything about this wine store’s secret! You badly want to see your old man make a fool of himself, huh?! See how I teach you a lesson after we got back to the imperial palace!” The old man’s amiable face warped as he raised his right hand as if he wanted to spank this son of his.
Emperor Elyk’s expression turned stiff and he immediately pacified the old man as he said. “Oh, come on, father! How could I do that? I was just too busy these past few days. How about we go to the second floor? Let me show you something incredible.” The emperor’s eyes flashed with imperceptible cunningness after saying those words. He could not wait to see his father’s reaction after seeing what the second floor has for him.
The old man felt that something was amiss, but he was also curious about what the second floor of the store would look like. If the first floor was already so great, then the second floor should be even more exaggerated, right?
Hmph!
“Watch how I beat you up later.” The old man muttered.
Emperor Elyk chuckled at his words. He then led his father upstairs, his eyes shining with eagerness.
The old man scanned everything around them as he walked up the stairs.
The wine store has a warm and tranquil atmosphere that made him feel incredibly great. It was as if he had regained his youthfulness.
’That chandelier looks very extravagant and I don’t even know what kind of crystals or precious gems it is made from. Crazy! Everything inside this wine store is a treasure!’ He exclaimed in his heart.
As the old man was observing the surroundings, he suddenly heard Emperor Elyk greeting someone with respect, so he focused his attention on the man in front of them.
“Greetings, Lord Ren Shuang.” Emperor Elyk said with a smile.
Ren Shuang remained silent and his eyes were still closed as if he had heard no one. The emperor was not offended at this since he was already used to Ren Shuang’s coldness and lack of expression. He then dragged his stunned father inside the second floor.
’What the heck?! That man… I can sense that he is on the verge of breaking through to the Nascent God Realm! His true essence is so vigorous and stable and he should have no problem if he wants to break through to the next realm, so why is he intentionally suppressing his breakthrough?’ He muttered as he allowed Emperor Elyk to drag him.
As the old man was deep in his thoughts, he suddenly felt that his slumbering true essence was slowly awakening.
Hm?
The old man closed his eyes and checked his dantian.
’How? I thought I would no longer be able to stimulate my true essence after that injury! This…’ He was so shocked that he failed to notice that everyone on the second floor was already looking at him.
Emperor Elyk poked his father’s shoulder lightly, making the old man abruptly open his eyes. His gaze was still unfocused since his attention was on the surroundings. “This! The true essence here is so thick!” He unconsciously said what was on his mind because of his shock.
Ehem! Ehem!
Emperor Elyk faked a cough to get his father’s attention.
“Elyk, you brat! Why did you not say that such a place exists in our Silver Wing Empire?! You goddamn bastard! I’ll beat you up really good!” The old man was prepared to beat up his son, but he suddenly discovered a sizable amount of crowd looking at them while suppressing their laughter.
The old man slowly retracted his fists. He then smiled at everyone as if nothing happened, but he was inwardly surprised. ’What the hell?! Everyone here is at least a 7th-rank Emperor realm expert! And the most surprising thing is that there are at least thirty of them here! Crazy!’
He scanned everyone inside the second floor and saw the familiar silhouette of a man with long silver hair. A little girl with short white hair can be seen sitting on his lap while sucking a bottle of milk.
Looking at this pair that looked like a typical father and daughter pair, the old man could still not believe that these two were already Nascent God Realm experts…
“Greetings, Wine Master Jiu. I brought my old man here since he wishes to see you. I hope you don’t mind.” Emperor Elyk said as he cupped his fists at the sitting Jiu Shen.
Jiu Shen nodded his head calmly and stared at the old man behind Emperor Elyk. “Old brat, you might want to take a look at those paintings. One of them might help you.” He said mysteriously.
’Old brat? He talks as if he’s so much older than me. I bet he is just a hundred years older than me.’ The old man chuckled in his heart when he heard Jiu Shen’s form of address.
“Wine Master Jiu, what do you mean these paintings on the wall could help me?” He asked in bewilderment.
Everyone inside the second floor was also bewildered, so they curiously waited for Jiu Shen’s response.
“You’ll know it if one of these paintings was meant for you…” Jiu Shen replied vaguely.
The old man was confused at his reply, but he still turned his gaze on the paintings pasted on the wall. Each painting looked plain and ordinary, but he felt that they contain something incomprehensible within.
The old man furrowed his eyebrows as he went closer to one of the paintings. It was a depiction of a towering mountain with tall trees and strong-looking savage beasts living on it.
The old man looked deeply at the painting as if he was fascinated by it. Among all the paintings on the second floor, this was the only one that made him feel a sense of connection.
“What’s wrong with him? He’s been standing in front of that painting for more than ten minutes already.”
“Quiet. He is in the state of enlightenment.” Jiu Shen muttered as he looked at the old man. His pair of golden eyes flashed with a hint of expectation.
