Chapter 435

Chapter 435: Chapter 435

Alex did not try to interrupt.

After a long while, the old man finally spoke.

"Good, you concealed it very well."

"Master Sylra..."

"Let this old man be quiet for a while."

Alex stopped.

Sylra placed the basket on a nearby table, then turned toward the courtyard, a young disciple was struggling to carry a stack of bowls past him, the old man reached out, took half the stack, and followed the child toward the tables without looking back.

Nerin hurried after him.

Alex watched his retreating figure.

He had considered many possible reactions before revealing the truth, seeing the old man like this still made him uncomfortable.

On Broken Sword Peak, Sylra had treated him sincerely, Alex could tell the difference between someone flattering him for benefits and someone genuinely pleased because his disciple had done well.

But the things he had concealed were also real.

There was no sentence he could say that would make the old man smile again.

Aya remained beside him.

After a while, she looked up.

"Then when you gave me the Sword Heart..."

Alex turned toward her.

"I deliberately left it for you, you already knew that."

"I know, I meant..."

She seemed unable to decide how to finish.

Alex could guess what she wanted to ask, back then, he had only intended to reward her for bringing food and wine, yet she followed him to Broken Sword Peak and attracted a whole crowd of elders along with her.

He had nearly lost every peaceful day he had been enjoying.

"The identity I used was borrowed," Alex said.

"The Sword Heart was truly meant for you."

Aya looked at him silently.

"You brought food and wine to me for a month, I was not planning to take everything for free."

"Just because of that?"

"There were other reasons for not taking the Sword Heart myself, as for why I left it for you, that was the reason."

Aya lowered her gaze.

After a moment, she asked, "Then did you expect anything from me afterward?"

Alex’s mouth twitched slightly.

"If I had wanted to recruit someone into the Hale family, I would have said so directly."

He had enough trouble looking after his own disciples, why would he go through so much effort to make this girl owe him a favor?

Aya was quiet for a while.

Then she nodded.

"I will still return to Broken Sword Peak."

"Of course, your master is there."

She glanced toward Sylra, who was now sitting among several young disciples, his face was still visibly displeased.

Aya picked up the basket he had left behind.

"Next time you come to the peak, do not call yourself Taryn again."

"Alright."

"And do not change your face."

"I heard you."

She finally looked directly at him.

"Then I will remember that, Alex."

She carried the fish toward the kitchens.

Alex watched her leave, then glanced at Sylra, the old man still refused to look at him.

However, he had handed the cooking over to Aya.

At least on this matter, Alex could put his heart at ease.

When Alex entered the main hall, the people nearest him began rising.

He raised his hand.

"Sit down, the food has been served, what are you all standing for?"

Everyone hurriedly sat.

Alex took his place at the main table, Pearl leaped onto his lap, turned around twice, and curled up.

This little fellow had adapted faster than anyone else.

Cedric placed a stack of records beside Alex.

"Saint Lord, after checking the family members, there are still several matters that need arranging, the spiritual fields, the branch families, the resources for the next assessment..."

"Tomorrow."

Cedric paused.

Alex took out a storage treasure and placed it before him.

"The Heavenly Dao Alliance accumulated quite a few things over the years, take this and sort through it tomorrow as well."

Cedric probed it with his Divine Sense, his hand shook.

"This..."

"Eat first."

Cedric opened his mouth, looked at the storage treasure again, then finally put it away.

"Yes!"

At a nearby table, one of the younger disciples heard the mention of the assessment and looked troubled, after hesitating for a long while, he gathered his courage.

"Saint Lord, now that you have become a Heavenly God, will the family assessment still be held?"

Alex looked at him.

"Why would it not be held?"

The disciple lowered his head.

"I thought..."

"You thought that since the Saint Lord has become a Heavenly God, you could stop cultivating and spend every day eating and sleeping?"

Several young disciples at the surrounding tables suddenly became very interested in the food before them.

Alex narrowed his eyes.

It seemed this little fellow was not the only one with that thought.

"First Elder, the next assessment will proceed as usual."

"Yes!"

"The rewards for the top disciples can be increased."

The younger disciples immediately raised their heads.

Seeing how fast their expressions changed, Alex could not help but laugh, these brats truly had ability when it came to calculating benefits.

Tobias began reminding them that better rewards meant greater expectations, Lucas and Julian quietly discussed how much their cultivation needed to improve before the next assessment.

Isolde passed a dish to the person beside her, Aurelia poured wine.

Further away, Roland was speaking with Adrian, asking about the younger disciples.

Sylra accepted a bowl from Aya and began eating, though he still had not said another word to Alex.

The hall gradually filled with conversation.

Elara placed a bowl of soup before Alex, seeing the records occupying the table, she moved them aside.

"Saint Lord, this is freshly prepared."

Alex looked at the familiar porcelain bowl, steam rose from it, carrying a fragrance he had tasted many times before.

He picked up the spoon and took a mouthful.

Elara watched him expectantly.

All around, the Hale family was talking, laughing, arguing over matters that seemed extremely important to them, a child had secretly taken a sip of wine and was coughing so fiercely that the adults beside him could not stop laughing, Cedric was still discussing tomorrow’s arrangements with Adrian between mouthfuls of food.

Pearl’s tail brushed against Alex’s wrist.

Looking at this scene, Alex felt that all the effort he had spent advancing his cultivation had finally produced a result he was satisfied with.

When he first arrived in this world, he had only wanted to survive the fate arranged for him and the Hale family, as the family grew stronger, those familiar people became something he could no longer casually leave behind.

He had thought about this before, but when he saw the Holy Land reduced to ruins, he understood how unbearable that loss was.

Fortunately, they were here again.

The First Elder was still worrying about the family’s affairs.

The juniors were still thinking about rewards.

Elara was still standing beside him, afraid the soup did not suit his taste.

"Saint Lord?"

Alex returned to his senses.

Elara looked at the bowl in his hand.

"Is the taste not right?"

He lowered his head and found that he had already finished it.

"The taste is good."

Alex held out the empty bowl.

"Bring me another."