Chapter 888: Invitation
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Inside the new, broad, and quiet courtyard, Ou Yangming closed his eyes to recuperate. Peculiar air flows fluctuated slowly around him.
At this moment, he seemed to have assimilated into the universe. If one only sensed him without observing him, many cultivators would miss him.
This was an extremely shocking ability but unfortunately, nobody else was inside this courtyard, hence nobody was aware that he could achieve this.
All of a sudden, a faint fluctuation appeared in Ou Yangming’s heart as though a ripple was formed from a stone that was thrown into the water. Concurrently, a figure appeared in his mind.
Wu Xuning.
Ou Yangming curled his lips and curbed his thoughts. He awoke from the nearly in-depth meditation.
He opened his eyes and moved his ears slightly, which was when he heard faint footsteps.
Earlier on, Ou Yangming did not spread his mental power on purpose to sense his surroundings, but his mind and the universe were connected. Therefore, the young fellow knew when Wu Xuning entered the area. This was a wonderful ability and was almost a trait that was only possessed by Venerable Ones.
Nonetheless, Ou Yangming could not enter the mysterious state with a flash of thought like Venerable Ones could.
He must meditate and calm himself down completely to achieve it.
Even so, it would still be considered an amazing feat to others.
Ou Yangming slowly got up and arrived at the door. He flapped his sleeves gently, causing the door to open.
Judging from Wu Xuning’s footsteps, Ou Yangming was certain that he was heading toward the courtyard, thus he would not pretend to be reserved and ignore it.
Sure enough, Wu Xuning came into his sight after a brief moment. The Wu family’s young master was slightly stunned when he saw the young fellow coming out to welcome him. He immediately quickened his pace and asked, “Big Brother Yu, why did you come out?”
Ou Yangming grinned and answered, “You’re here so of course, I should come out.”
Wu Xuning could sense Ou Yangming’s joy by looking at the smile on his face. He could not help but wonder, ‘What exactly happened that made Big Brother Yu so happy?’
In actuality, although Ou Yangming was staying in the Wu residence, he was not so close to Wu Xuning that he would come outside to welcome him.
Ou Yangming was only elated from making a slight improvement in his cultivation after he shifted to a new courtyard, thus he became livelier than before.
He laughed and asked, “Brother Wu, why did you come here in such a hurry?”
“Big Brother Yu, someone’s looking for you outside,” Wu Xuning quickly answered. He paused for a while before he added, “The person said that he met you once in the Forest of Death.”
Ou Yangming was moved. He experienced many things in the Forest of Death but if anyone met him and would come to the Wu family at this time, there could only be one person.
“Su Tianqian…”
“Yes, it’s the Su family’s shopkeeper,” Wu Xuning noted in a deep voice, “Big Brother Yu, Shopkeeper Su isn’t a simple figure at all.”
OU Yangming smiled. “Anyone that was listed as the top 10 candidates on the Water Suspension Tablet wouldn’t be a simple figure.”
If Ou Yangming had not appeared out of nowhere, Su Tianqian would have been in the top 3. The shopkeeper was only second to the 2 clans with Venerable Ones in Huixun City, so how would anyone have the guts to belittle someone like him?
Wu Xuning nodded. “Big Brother Yu, Shopkeeper Su’s considered an almighty being in Huixun City. He’s only an Advanced Spiritualist, but the Su family’s Chamber of Commerce is unpredictable.” He hesitated for a while before he continues, “Besides, Su Tianqian’s very close to Pavilion Elder Xu Heran from the Beyond Heaven Pavilion, so they must be closely connected in many ways.”
Ou Yangming responded to him softly. He was familiar with the Beyond Heaven Pavilion.
It was an incredibly enormous force, which was not only highly influential in Zhangzhou but also Danzhou.
Even though Ou Yangming had not seen a Venerable One from the Beyond Heaven Pavilion, he could easily tell that they definitely had more than one Venerable One. If not, their foundation would have long been divided up by the other forces, and they could not have maintained such a scale.
Since Su Tianqian shared such a subtle relationship with the Beyond Heaven Pavilion and was a forthright person, it would not be surprising for him to thrive in Huixun City.
Ou Yangming nodded and asked in a deep voice, “Why is he looking for me?”
Wu Xuning fell silent for a brief moment before he answered, “He didn’t state his purpose of visit, but it might be related to the Su family’s Chamber of Commerce’s upcoming Auction Meet.”
Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows and looked at him in shock.
The young master explained sternly, “The Auction Meet held by the Su family’s Chamber of Commerce has always been one of the highlights in Huixun City, and it’ll be even more popular after each Hunting Meet. Hehe, Big Brother Yu, since you finished first in this year’s Hunting Meet, he’ll surely invite you to participate in the Auction Meet.”
“It’s an undeserved reputation.” Ou Yangming chuckled. He walked out of the courtyard and said conveniently, “Since the guest is here, I’ll go out to meet him.”
Wu Xuning nodded and was secretly delighted.
Since Ou Yangming said that, it meant that he no longer regarded Wu Xuning as an outsider. At the very least, he was somewhat speaking like a master.
It seemed like the Wu family and the Xue family’s efforts of fawning over Ou Yangming during this period were not in vain.
Ou Yangming arrived at the Wu residence’s main hall after a brief moment and saw Su Tianqian.
Shopkeeper Su had frightening abilities and status in Huixun City indeed because he was accompanied by Wu Xiaohuang himself in the main hall at the moment.
Moreover, despite being a top-grade Spiritualist, Wu Xiaohuang did not make himself seem superior when he spoke to Su Tianqian. Instead, he looked like he was conversing with an equal-ranked powerhouse with a similar status.
Ou Yangming was not the ignorant fellow that he was before. He looked around and instantly noticed the subtlety behind this.
Su Tianqian stood up as soon as he saw Ou Yangming enter the main hall. He laughed out loud and uttered, “Brother Yu, congratulations.”
Ou Yangming could not help but laugh. “I only won the first place in the Hunting Meet, and it’s not something worthy of your trip here to congratulate me, Brother Su.”
Shopkeeper Su chuckled and responded, “I wouldn’t have come if it was a normal first place but…” He continued seriously, “The fact that you submitted 2 top-grade ferocious beasts’ blood crystals makes this trip worthy.”
The title would be the same for anyone that finished first, but the values of the title would be entirely different depending on the number and qualities of the blood crystals submitted.
Sue Tianqian continued, “Brother Yu, you stirred up a sensation when you won first place in the Hunting Meet. Hehe, I asked around for a long time before I found out that you’re a guest of the Wu family and the Xue family, so I took the liberty of visiting you here. Please don’t blame me for this, Brother Yu.”
Wu Xiaohuang curled his lips. Indeed, things worked out like what he and Xue Yan had expected.
Given that a small figure who used to be a nobody suddenly finished first in the Hunting Meet, everyone would be curious about him.
Driven by curiosity or other reasons, people would surely do everything to find out Ou Yangming’s origin and would eventually publicize the reputations of the Wu family and the Xue family.
It had only been a few days since the Hunting Meet ended, but a figure like Su Tianqian had come to visit. This was only the beginning.
Ou Yangming waved his hand and smiled. “Brother Su, you’re being too polite.”
Su Tianqian slapped his forehead and laughed. “Ah, look at me babbling away. I forgot about what I actually came here for.” He turned his hand and retrieved 2 items from his sleeve.
One was a big red invitation while the other was a jade box.
“Brother Yu, this is a congratulatory gift that I prepared for you.” Su Tianqian handed the jade box to Ou Yangming first, then he held the invitation with both hands and expressed, “After half a month, the Su family’s Chamber of Commerce will be holding the most important auction this year, and I hope that you’ll honor us with your presence.”
Ou Yangming accepted the jade box but instead of opening it on the spot, he passed it to Wu Xuning, who was next to him.
Wu Xuning did not reject it at all. He took the box willingly with a cheerful smile.
Following that, Ou Yangming accepted the invitation from Su Tianqian with both hands as well. This time, he opened it up.
Inside the invitation, it was written that Yu Tianrui—the Hunting Meet’s winner—was invited to the Auction Meet, but some tiny words were also written on the side.
Ou Yangming was sharp-eyed, so he still saw the tiny words clearly.
They were the names of many precious items, and it was obvious that they were the items that would be auctioned during the Auction Meet.
The young fellow scanned the items briefly but stopped when he saw the last item’s name.
His face changed, and he uttered softly, “Heavenly Fire Ore…”
“What? A Heavenly Fire Ore…” Wu Xiaohuang looked like he was not bothered, but he had been observing the others carefully and listening to them closely.
Therefore, he could not help but shout when he heard Ou Yangming’s exclamation.
Similarly, Wu Xuning, who was holding the jade box like a log, was also surprised. He looked at Su Tianqian in disbelief.
A Heavenly Fire Ore was equivalent to the Cold Water Ore that Ou Yangming obtained from stone-gambling at the Beyond Heaven Pavilion in the past. They were both precious ores of the Five Elemental Ores.
Such an ore was certainly a supreme material desired by every blacksmith.
Normally, a powerhouse would keep material of this level and smith a piece of equipment for his or her own at a suitable time.
Money would no longer be the issue if one wanted to find this material in the circulating market; it would be up to one’s luck and character.
This was why Wu Xiaohuang and the others almost did not believe what they heard when they heard the words “Heavenly Fire Ore”. However, when they saw how shocked Ou Yangming was but how calm Su Tianqian was, they remembered that the shopkeeper would not joke about such a thing.
As expected, Su Tianqian nodded and said, “Yes, a Heavenly Fire Ore.”