The county governmental office.
In the courtyard.
The man in the purple robe said, "From what Senior Brother said, this Jiang Yuan seems to be in quite the pickle!"
Li Hong nodded and said, "Indeed, he is in a serious predicament. His family assets exceed ten thousand taels of silver, and his father was killed by the chief of the Black Wind Tribe. This chief was once a discarded disciple of the outer sect of Lankesh Temple, and his cultivation was not inferior to mine."
"Nowadays, many people are eyeing his family's wealth. The only reason they have not acted yet is because they are not sure whether something has happened to Jiang Zhenyuan. These mere two thousand taels of silver are far from enough for my protection."
A moment later.
Jiang Yuan entered the courtyard, led by an attendant from the County Honour's residence.
"Greetings, County Honour!" said Jiang Yuan, making a fist in salute.
The next moment, Jiang Yuan's gaze was instantly drawn to a man in a purple robe.
He gave Jiang Yuan a feeling completely different from others.
It felt like he was at the center of a vortex, constantly exerting a force of attraction on his surroundings.
Around him, the branches of trees and blades of grass swayed subtly in his direction.
Jiang Yuan subconsciously checked the status panel of the man in the purple robe.
[Name]: Xu Xiao
[Realm]: Meridian Opening Realm First Level
[Innate Fate]: Exceptional Talent (Green), Wind Spirit Body (Green), Lucky Star (White)
[Exceptional Talent]: Outstanding Cultivation Talent, often advancing in cultivation much faster than ordinary people.
[Wind Spirit Body]: Possessing a physique attuned to the element of wind; naturally suited to cultivating any wind-based techniques.
[Lucky Star]: Often has better luck than ordinary people.
Meridian Opening Realm?
A shock ran through Jiang Yuan's heart.
What kind of realm was this?
Had he never heard of it? Could it be that the so-called existence of immortals that everyone talked about were cultivators at the Meridian Opening Realm?
Xu Xiao looked at Jiang Yuan with interest. This young man had acute senses. He had actually noticed the abnormality caused by his recent breakthrough, due to his unstable realm.
At the same time, a look of surprise flashed in Li Hong's eyes.
As soon as Jiang Yuan stepped into the courtyard, Li Hong noticed Jiang Yuan's Body Forging level.
Initial completion of Organ Refinement!
This was unbelievable!
About a month ago, he had glanced at Jiang Yuan. Back then, Jiang Yuan's qi was not strong; he only had the capabilities of the third level of the Body Forging Realm.
Unexpectedly, in just over a month, he had broken through to the fifth level of the Body Forging Realm, reaching the realm of initial completion of Organ Refinement.
It seemed the Jiang Family had a potential Qilin, but it was a pity that Jiang Zhenyuan died too early.
If he were still alive, it would not be a problem for Jiang Yuan to grow. There might even be hope for him to transcend worldliness in the future.
As he thought of this, a hint of regret flashed in his heart.
The man in the purple robe looked at Li Hong and laughed, transmitting his voice, "Is Senior Brother showing sympathy for talent?"
Li Hong nodded slightly, his voice was barely audible, "I plan to spare his life, as for the fortune of his future, that depends on himself."
He turned to Jiang Yuan and said, "May I know what request you have for me, Jiang Yuan, for you to have gifted me with two thousand taels of silver?"
Li Hong's words jolted Jiang Yuan from his thoughts.
He gathered his thoughts and shook his head, "I have no other requests, I only wish to give all my family's wealth to the County Honour. I hope that the County Honour will make this known to others."
Having said that, he walked to Li Hong and took out a stack of house and land deeds from his bosom.
"All the family properties, except for the deed to the Zhenyuan Escort Agency, are here. Please, County Honour, accept them."
Seeing the stack of house and land deeds in Jiang Yuan's hand, Li Hong's eyes suddenly sharpened as he looked at Jiang Yuan.
A few moments later, he slowly said, "Impressive. I did not expect someone of your age to be able to go to such lengths. I certainly underestimated you."
He let out a light breath and took out a jade bottle from his bosom.
"Since you are so generous, I will give you something in return. This jade bottle contains a top grade Organ Refining Pill, enough to help you smoothly complete the refining of your five organs and six viscera. As for your family property, I will gladly accept it."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan's heart was immediately filled with joy.
An Organ Refining Pill?
He never expected to gain such an unexpected benefit from this trip.
Something like an Organ Refining Pill was no ordinary item.
He had only ever heard of it, but had never seen it before.
This was a top-grade elixir, which could greatly aid in the refining of one's five organs and six viscera.
It was said that such an item could only be found in the hands of those lofty immortals.
He didn't expect that the County Honour had one, and even gave it to him.
In this case, he didn't lose anything in this matter, instead, he made a big profit.
To him, the value of the Organ Refining Pill was worth more than ten thousand taels of silver.
Jiang Yuan took the elixir and bowed in thanks, "Thank you, County Honour."
The man in the purple robe nearby grinned, "Senior Brother is certainly generous today."
Just then.
Another attendant arrived in a rush.
"Your Honour, Zhao Li seeks an audience."
Before Li Hong could even respond, the man in the purple robe immediately slammed the table and stood up.
"Zhao Li? Haha, the person I've been waiting for has arrived."
Li Hong also expressed his elation and said, "Quickly, invite him in."
The two, upon hearing of Zhao Li's arrival, instantly disregarded Jiang Yuan and looked towards the entrance of the courtyard with joyous expressions.
Jiang Yuan was extremely surprised at this point.
Zhao Li?
Could it be that he was the young heaven genius who has become renowned of late in the Dashun Prefecture?
It only took him two months to become an expert, possessing a unity of essence, breath, and spirit.
Such talent stunned the world.
He didn't expect him to come here today.
Thinking of the cultivation realm of that youth in the purple robe, a spark of revelation shot through Jiang Yuan's heart.
A moment later.
A young man with a childish face appeared in everyone's field of vision.
He was dressed in a green robe, with an arrogant look between his brows.
His Status Panel appeared instantly in Jiang Yuan's view.
[Name]: Zhao Li
[Realm]: Ninth Level of the Body Forging Realm
[Innate Fate]: Innate Spiritual Body (Blue), Body of Wood (Green), Vigorous Energy (White), Martial Arts Family (White)
[Innate Spiritual Body]: Unique physique, naturally acquainted with spiritual power, capable of naturally absorbing spiritual power.
[Body of Wood]: Practicing wood attribute techniques will yield twice the result with half the effort, making progress rapidly, but practicing gold attribute techniques can easily lead to demonic possession.
[Vigorous Energy]: Innately possesses abundant mental strength, requiring very little rest or sleep, with mental power somewhat greater than ordinary people.
[Martial Arts Family]: Born into a martial arts family, naturally has a stronger physique than ordinary people and is more adept at manipulating various weapons.
After reviewing his panel, Jiang Yuan felt somewhat disappointed.
He originally thought that Zhao Li, with such talent, must have a purple Innate Qi Luck like Gu Mo.
In such a case, he would have accumulated many strands of Luck Power, providing an opportunity for himself to take advantage of the situation.
But now it seems, he had overestimated him.
Zhao Li only had a blue level innate Qi Luck, and couldn't condense any Luck Power at all.
Based on the explanation in his panel, it was evident that his cultivation talent was nowhere near as strong as Gu Mo's.
Cultivators who practice swordsmanship techniques are almost invincible within the same realm.
Once Gu Mo forsakes his blade to practice swordsmanship, he might be even more powerful than what he had originally imagined.
With this thought, Jiang Yuan became more urgent inside.
Having someone with a talent superior to this renowned genius of Dashun Prefecture under his command, he must cultivate him well.
Upon seeing Li Hong and his companion, Zhao Li slightly cupped his fists and said, "Greetings to the County Honour and the Immortal."
The youth in purple said with a smile, "There's no need for such courtesy, before long we will be calling each other as brothers. You may call me Senior Brother Xu, and this is your Senior Brother Li."
"Senior Brother Xu, Senior Brother Li." Zhao Li slightly saluted, and the pride on his face was evident.
How could he not be prideful when those revered by everyone now treated him with such kindness?
At this moment, he was even more aware of his powerful talent.
If not for his profound talent, how could they be so close to him?
In the face of Zhao Li's respectful address, the two were elated.
The genius before them was completely different from them.
At the age of sixteen, he had already reached the ninth level of the Body Forging Realm. Transcending worldliness had become an inevitable occurrence for him.
Perhaps in a few years, Zhao Li's status will be such that they would be looking up to him.
Moreover, this gap would only widen with the passage of time.
Under such circumstances, how could they take Zhao Li's arrogance to heart?
In their minds, if they missed the opportunity now, it would be difficult for them to establish a relationship with Zhao Li in the future.
Such a cultivation talent could potentially become the true disciple of several Elders.
Just then, Zhao Li glanced at Jiang Yuan and asked, "And who is this?"
Li Hong laughed, "You wouldn't know him, this is Jiang Yuan, the only son of Jiang Zhenyuan, the wielder of the Wind Thunder Sword. He is considered a genius in Lin'an County. Perhaps he will become your junior brother one day."
Zhao Li took a closer look at Jiang Yuan.
After perceiving Jiang Yuan's Body Forging level, he immediately lost interest.
Being around the same age as him, yet only at the fifth stage of Body Forging with the level of Organ Refining, his talent was nowhere near his own level.
He instantly snubbed Jiang Yuan and paid no further attention to him.
Seeing this, Jiang Yuan no longer wished to linger around.
He put the jade bottle of elixir in his bag and said to Li Hong, "Thank you for your gift, County Honour. I will take my leave now."
Li Hong nodded and said, "I agreed to all your demands just now. Soon, my men will come to claim the properties of Zhenyuan Escort Agency. Then, the various forces within the city will understand."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan felt reassured at once.
In his observation today, Li Hong's status seemed to exceed his expectations.
With his protection right now, he should be safe.
What he was lacking at the moment was time, given more time.
None of this would be a problem.
With Jiang Yuan's departure, the two instantly put him out of their minds, and their enthusiasm for Zhao Li grew.