novelMyriad Treasure Meet
| ← Ch.0287 | Ch.0289 → |
The Myriad Treasure Meet was one of the grandest and most important events within the capital.
Every ten years, powerful families and various powers would come together to participate in the meet, and usually, they would demonstrate their strengths in the view of the public.
In a sense, the meet was a place for the attending parties to show off their capabilities. If they could successfully prove their overwhelming strength in comparison to their competitors, these parties could reap massive benefits within the next decade.
Ou Yangming poked around a little and had caught wind of a surprising piece of info.
There was a high likelihood that the aristocratic families with the longest and oldest inheritance would not participate in the meet. Such families had included the Ni family of Changlong, and the He family of Linlang.
Apart from those two families, the other renowned aristocratic families within the two counties had paid an abnormal amount of attention and had invested a great deal of effort into the meet.
Ou Yangming was confused at first, but he soon realized the intent behind their decisions.
Should the beast tide remain unvanquished, and if the hundred-year cycle were to repeat itself, would that not mean that the Ni family and the He family's positions on the social ladder would remain unchanged? In that case, was there a need for the Ni and He families to expend any effort to participate in the event?
Regardless, Ou Yangming did not laze around during the next few days. This was especially true, as ever since his rank of Advanced Blacksmith was made known, he had gotten visits daily, from people wishing to improve their relations, and those who wanted him to forge equipment for them.
Moreover, all this had happened while Jin Shengjie and Wu Hongxi were still privately researching ways to create magic tools, and as such, their connection with Ou Yangming had yet to be revealed.
Had anyone learned that Ou Yangming had received the teachings of Master Wu Hongxi, the number of his daily visitors would no doubt increase exponentially.
Despite that, Ou Yangming did not accept any of his visitors' requests, regardless of their social status. Although his actions had angered most of his visitors, no one had dared to stir up trouble within the Yi Pavilion, and as such, things had proceeded peacefully. A few days later, it was finally time for the Myriad Treasure Meet to begin.
First thing in the morning, right after Ou Yangming had woken up, he was immediately led to the Yi Pavilion by Du Gaoge, who had been waiting by his side. A flirtatious smile hung on Bai Shixue's lips as she stood at the main hall, and upon Ouyang Ming's arrival, she sent him an enigmatic wink without an ounce of hesitation.
Ou Yangming's heart skipped a beat in response, and he mentally howled in pleasure...
Despite having mental power that was stronger than the ordinary individual, Ou Yangming had come close to breaking under Bai Shixue's charm. Had anyone else seen her, they would probably have the living daylights charmed out of them.
Fortunately, she was the young master of Yi Pavilion, and a Supreme Great Ancestor was living there. Had that not been the case, the peaceful days she experienced would never have existed in the first place.
By the time Ou Yangming had reached the scene, several people were already seated in the hall. Even after Ou Yangming had seated himself, several more people continued to pour into the hall.
After doing a headcount, Bai Shixue then stated with a smile, "To the masters present, you are all candidates that the Yi Pavilion or the head shopkeepers throughout the region have personally chosen." Bai Shixue paused for a moment before continuing with a courteous smile, "The Myriad Treasure Meet this time will depend on the efforts of all of you masters present."
"You're too kind, young master! We'll do our best!"
"Indeed, since it's the young master herself who's welcoming us, we'll put out all the stops this time."
The crowd clamored in support of her, but their gazes towards Bai Shixue was split between desire and evasion.
Even Ou Yangming, despite his strong mental power, had dared not to stare directly at Bai Shixue, let alone anyone else.
With the exception of elderly men who possessed a wealth of experience like Jin Shengjie, Bai Shixue's Body of Charm was capable of crushing the will of those who stood before her.
Bai Shixue smiled, and her gorgeous eyes flitted across the room before landing on Ou Yangming. Although she had darted her eyes away soon after, her actions had not escaped the eager eyes of the crowd that were trained on her.
An instant later, a majority of the crowd had shifted their gaze onto Ou Yangming. Nevertheless, not all of the gazes had the same intent behind them. There was confusion, there was disdain, and for some, there was even respect and awe.
Ou Yangming furrowed his brows as he mentally questioned himself, 'How did I end up drawing the attention of this beautiful and seductive woman? Her actions have only served to stir up more trouble for me... '
Although Ou Yangming was not afraid of the jealous glares directed at him, he would rather avoid any trouble if possible.
With a coy smile, Bai Shixue led the crowd out of the Yi Pavilion and onto the carriages that had been prepared beforehand. With that, they then went off into the distance.
The Myriad Treasure Meet was held in a massive building complex that had long since turned into a behemothian structure after thousands of years of development.
The building complex contained lounges for each of the major forces that participated in the meet, and the Yi Pavilion was no exception.
After getting off the carriages, Bai Shixue gave a curtsy to the crowd and stated, "Fellow masters, we have arrived at the Myriad Treasure Meet, and this is the Yi Pavilion's private lounge. Make yourself at home."
The crowd returned Bai Shixue's gesture, and once the formalities were over, they did not immediately head into the lounge. Instead, they had dispersed and began exploring the building complex in groups or alone.
Although Ou Yangming's understanding of the Myriad Treasure Meet was rather shallow, what he did know was that the building complex was a melting pot of various professions.
Within the building complex, blacksmiths could be found forging equipment, alchemists could be found refining pills, and better still, people of special professions such as runemasters might also appear.
In a sense, almost any one of a major profession could find an outlet for them to demonstrate their skills within the building.
As for the so-called Myriad Treasure Meet, in truth, it was an event to select the elites from each profession, and whichever party that had the highest number of elites would receive the greatest amount of honor.
As an Advanced Blacksmith who possessed incredible appraisal art, Ou Yangming was perfectly capable of heading to whichever place he preferred to show off his skills. Despite that, he did not proceed forward, and instead, he eyed the building complex before him curiously as he wondered when the Martial Arts Battle would begin.
Suddenly, someone approached him by the sides, and with a grin, asked, "I take that you're the Master Ou who was recommended by the head shopkeeper of Changlong?" Ou Yangming flinched slightly before turning around to look at the twenty-odd-year-old man who had spoken to him. There was a faint air of arrogance to the man as he declared, "The name's Shao Hongyi, I'm from Huangsha."
A bulb lit up within Ou Yangming's mind, and he immediately discerned Hongyi's intentions.
Earlier, when Bai Shixue had accidentally landed her gaze on him, Shao Hongyi was one of the few people who had glared at him with the greatest vehemence. Although there was a smile plastered across Shao Hongyi's face, Ou Yangming had seen through the anger and resentment that was welling up within Shao Hongyi.
Ou Yangming shook his head gently before sighing, "You've got the wrong person."
"What?" Shao Hongyi flinched and exclaimed in surprise.
With a serious expression, Ou Yangming then continued, "I already have a fiancée waiting for me, and I have no interest in matters pertaining to the young pavilion master. If you're interested in her, then do as you please."
Shao Hongyi was left tongue-tied. With a beet-red face, he stammered, "I-I... This... I don't understand what you're saying!" Ou Yangming gave Shao Hongyi an encouraging nod and said, "Give it your best! Haha..." With that, Ou Yangming then gave him one last nod before walking past him.
Shao Hongyi subconsciously gave way to Ou Yangming. Although he was gazing at Ou Yangming rather strangely, there was also a shred of relief found within his eyes.
On the other hand, Ou Yangming was mentally snickering. 'I don't care what plans Bai Shixue has in store for me, I will never get swept up in her mess. '
As the Myriad Treasure Meet was already underway, it was only natural for other people aside from those from the Yi Pavilion to be present within the building complex.
Ou Yangming wandered around aimlessly, when suddenly, he paused, as he had caught sight of a familiar figure from the corner of his eyes. Wang Leshui frantically ran up to him and chuckled bitterly."Master Ou, I've finally found you!"
Ou Yangming chuckled awkwardly. He had been so caught up in cultivating the path of equilibrium during the past couple of days that Wang Leshui had completely slipped his mind. No matter what reason he might have, abandoning someone out of the blue was still a shameful act.
"Haha, didn't you hear that I've been living in the Yi Pavilion during these past couples of days, Captain Wang?" Wang Leshui heaved a faint sigh as he commented, "I'm aware. That's the reason why I didn't bother you." After a brief pause, he then whispered, "The He family's great ancestor has already made his way into the capital in search of you, and you staying in the Yi Pavilion has provided you the perfect opportunity to escape his wrath."
Ou Yangming's heart skipped a beat as he exclaimed, "You've encountered him?"
Wang Leshui bitterly stated, "Thankfully, you have a keen intuition. Had you not acted the way you did, we would've been at a loss to deal with the situation!"
Ou Yangming nodded his head, but his mind was already on high alert.
Wang Leshui then continued, "Master Ou, seeing as it's the Myriad Treasure Meet today, you should do your best to show off your skills. The more attention you can draw, the better it is." He then continued in a soft voice, saying, "I believe that if you were to forge a magic tool on the spot, no one would dare to lay a finger on you anymore!"
Be it Li Xinfan or the Three Great Ancestors of the Ni family, they had all been issued a gag order. As such, technically speaking, Wang Leshui was most likely the only person who knew of Ou Yangming's true smithing prowess.
Ou Yangming shook his head and said, "No can do. I'm powerless here."
"How so?" Wang Leshui stared at him in disbelief.
Ou Yangming shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't have any materials on me, and it's impossible to forge magic tools with ordinary materials."
Wang Leshui was stunned, and he could not help but look disappointed. A moment later, he then sighed, "Fine then, just do your best, Master Ou."
Ou Yangming responded with a smile before proceeding into the building complex with his head held high.
A maelstrom of emotions welled up within Wang Leshui as he watched Ou Yangming enter the building. Although there were no unique materials to be found within the building complex, for some reason, Wang Leshui had a lingering feeling that the young man before him would still prevail, no matter how the situation opposed him.
'Maybe, just maybe', he thought, 'Something revolutionary will occur during this decade's Myriad Treasure Meet. '
Meanwhile, just as Ou Yangming and the others were making their way into the building complex, back in the Yi Pavilion's lounge, Bai Shixue knitted her eyebrows together as a sly smile formed on her gorgeous, peerless face."Did Master Ou really say that?"
"Yep!" A young servant frantically nodded her head as she stated without an ounce of hesitation, "Those are his exact words, Young Lady Bai!"
The smile on Bai Shixue's face remained unchanged, but her gaze had turned several times darker.
To think that there's someone who's capable of bypassing my charm at his age range. Huh, aside from his rank of an Advanced Blacksmith and appraiser, I wonder what else he's hiding?'
'The fact that the old geezer has allowed him to participate in the Martial Arts Battle alone is already exciting enough. '
The tips of her mouth curled up as Bai Shixue ordered, "Continue keeping tabs on him! Make sure to report everything to me, the sooner the better!"
"Yes, madam." The little servant girl immediately accepted her order. Despite that, she had kept her disappointment to herself. 'Why does Young Lady Bai treat Ou Yangming with such respect? Perhaps... ' She shook her head as she dared not finish the thought.
| ← Ch. 0287 | Ch. 0289 → |