Chapter 156: There Shouldn’t Be Any Conflict

Chapter 156: Chapter 156: There Shouldn’t Be Any Conflict

"Common Magic is easy to guard against. Someone like you, Senior Brother, naturally seeks to win through the power of your magical Realm. But I’m not good at fighting, so I’m practicing some Side-door Techniques. If I run into a crisis, maybe I can catch my opponent off guard."

Liu Chen explained patiently. This was what he truly thought, though he figured he probably wouldn’t need to use such tactics under normal circumstances.

"That’s a good idea, Junior Brother."

Yang Haichen nodded. He understood this point quite well. Liu Chen was a Spirit Chef, after all. Back in Fire Dragon Valley, he hadn’t relied on his own Cultivation but on trading Spiritual Cuisine.

When it came to Cultivation, just three low-ranking members of the Fire Wolf Gang could have chased him until he was forced to flee in a sorry state.

"It can’t be helped. I can’t just expect others to spare my life when I run into danger."

Liu Chen shrugged. It was the truth. While Liu Chen wouldn’t normally let himself get into such a situation, who knew when an accident might happen? It was just like how his master had appeared out of nowhere.

When Liu Chen first arrived at Purple Bamboo Peak, he hadn’t intended to reveal his identity as a Spirit Chef. But his master had given him an Inner Sect Disciple Token, and he had directly taken an Inner Sect Disciple slot based on his status as a Spirit Chef. There was no way to hide it.

Therefore, Liu Chen could now only conceal his Realm and his proficiency with Magic. Of course, such efforts would surely not deceive his Master and Mistress. After all, though a bamboo forest separated them, Liu Chen’s own Spiritual Sense could cover the entire grove, let alone theirs.

"If they knew you were a Spirit Chef, that’s certainly a possibility."

Yang Haichen nodded slowly. A Second Grade Spirit Chef might not be considered rare among the major powers, but no faction would ever complain about having too many. In most situations, as long as Junior Brother Liu was willing to provide Spiritual Cuisine, his life would certainly not be in danger.

This all assumed he encountered sane Cultivators. If he were to run into Loose Cultivators who had been driven mad by their practice, or even deranged Evil Cultivators, then all bets would be off.

"Let’s not talk about that. Senior Brother, are you participating in the Great Xia Dynasty’s festival?"

Liu Chen didn’t want to continue the conversation. He had never even heard of the Great Xia Dynasty’s festival before, let alone considered participating in it.

But now, according to his master, he would definitely have to make the trip. That being the case, having a few more people traveling with him could save a lot of trouble.

"I am participating. To be precise, disciples from all Three Immortal Sects will be there. During the festival, the Great Xia Imperial City transforms into a massive Marketplace. It’s the grandest market event in the entire Cultivation Realm of the Great Xia Dynasty. Both the Three Immortal Sects and all the major Noble Families will be involved."

"In addition, there will be martial arts tournaments. A Steward will lead a team of disciples to attend. It’s the best way for us to project our influence within the Great Xia Dynasty."

Yang Haichen couldn’t help but glance at Liu Chen. He had originally thought that Junior Brother Liu wouldn’t participate in such an event, but from what he’d just said, it seemed he was planning on it.

"So that’s how it is. In that case, I won’t have to worry about the problems that could arise from traveling alone."

Liu Chen nodded. From the sound of it, all the great families would be making an appearance. Perhaps he could resolve the matter of his two junior sisters’ backgrounds in just one place.

"Will you need any help when the time comes, Junior Brother?"

Yang Haichen couldn’t help but ask. The Great Xia Royal Family, unlike the Ye Family, would never let Liu Chen become an Honored Guest Elder—that was determined by the very nature of the Royal Family. Yang Haichen was very curious about Liu Chen’s reason for going to the Great Xia Imperial City.

"My master wants me to resolve the issues with my two junior sisters’ family backgrounds, to clear the way for them to be formally accepted as disciples. It shouldn’t involve any conflict."

Liu Chen didn’t hide this fact. The formal acceptance ceremony would surely not be a secret, so there was no need to conceal his intentions. Hiding it would render the entire formality meaningless.

"I thought you had already been formally accepted as a disciple long ago, Junior Brother. I didn’t realize..."

Yang Haichen nodded. An event like this was a huge boon for both the Ye Family and the Great Xia Royal Family. Under normal circumstances, there was no way it would lead to conflict.

"It’s about time. I’m going to prepare the Spiritual Cuisine. Senior Brother, please take two portions back with you."

Liu Chen glanced at the sky; it was about time to prepare the Spiritual Cuisine. ’I’ll still have to rely on Senior Brother Yang in the future,’ he thought, ’so it’s no trouble to make two extra portions of Spiritual Cuisine.’

"Thank you, Junior Brother."

Yang Haichen didn’t stand on ceremony; he was long used to this. He figured it was better to have Jackal quickly complete the tasks Junior Brother Liu had arranged than to waste time with pleasantries.

After lunch, Liu Chen first circulated his Cultivation Technique once before bidding farewell to his two junior sisters. He then left the back of the mountain and headed toward the Hundred Affairs Hall.

Liu Chen had barely set foot inside the Hundred Affairs Hall’s grounds when Steward Lin emerged directly from a room to greet him. Never mind Liu Chen’s status—the revenue he had brought to the Hundred Affairs Hall was reason enough for Steward Lin to offer a personal welcome.

Signing a Spirit Contract also cost Spirit Stones, a fee borne by the indebted disciples. For the Hundred Affairs Hall, this income was pure profit.

Furthermore, there was the matter of the Xiao Family. Their Patriarch’s Token was in the hands of Purple Cloud Valley. Even if the Xiao Family bought the token back, they would be beholden to Purple Cloud Valley from then on. All of this constituted hidden revenue for the Hundred Affairs Hall.

"Young Friend Liu, you’ve arrived! Spirit Contract Jade Tokens have been arriving here one after another all morning. I was just waiting for you to come and confirm them."

Steward Lin led Liu Chen up toward the fourth floor. He explained that he had been quite surprised at first. The Spirit Contract Jade Tokens had been sent over from various other departments within Purple Cloud Valley. He’d initially thought it was going to be some troublesome affair, but upon closer inspection, he was surprised to see they were all for debts owed.

The smaller, miscellaneous debts added up to nearly 120,000 Spirit Stones. On top of that, there were two Spirit Contracts with amounts that seemed suspicious: Xie Xichen from the Law Enforcement Hall owed 200,000 Spirit Stones, and Ren Xunchun from Purple Bamboo Peak owed 230,000 Spirit Stones.

"I’m sorry for the trouble, Steward. Many of the disciples in Fire Dragon Valley didn’t bring Spirit Stones with them, hence all the IOUs."

Liu Chen said calmly. The only amounts that could be collected in the short term were those smaller, miscellaneous debts. Among the other senior brothers and sisters, the largest individual debt was only eight thousand Spirit Stones.

But the debts owed by Senior Brothers Xie Xichen and Ren Xunchun were no small sums. Forget collecting them anytime soon; if the debts could be recovered within twenty years, it would mean those two had excellent credit.

"Don’t be so modest. Without your Spiritual Cuisine, Purple Cloud Valley’s casualties would have been much higher. In the past, whenever one of the Three Immortal Sects gained a clear advantage, the other two would immediately team up to eliminate them. It was you who changed that dynamic with your Spiritual Cuisine trades."

Steward Lin shook his head. Both Thunder Mountain and Qingxu Hall had also purchased Spiritual Cuisine. Under those circumstances, they couldn’t very well eat his food and then immediately move to eliminate Purple Cloud Valley. This was what had led to the current situation in Fire Dragon Valley.

"These are the Spirit Contracts. Take a look, and if you find any are missing, a disciple from the Hundred Affairs Hall will go and confirm it."

"Thank you, Steward."

Liu Chen nodded, then picked up a Jade Token, infused it with Spiritual Power, and began to examine it carefully.