Chapter 167 Value Of Favor
(A/N: Give me power stones, and I'll teach you the ways of a Jedi— I mean a cultivator. Join us on discord and ask AJ (short for Authorized Jedi) about it. He can surely help you reach new heights.
Link: discord.gg/SC9HNKVj5e
)
"Does young master Li want to help me?" Grandmaster Huili said.
Hearing this, Li Huang was taken aback for a moment but soon understood that his words gave the grandmaster the wrong impression. He tried to clear this misunderstanding before grandmaster Huili got offended.
'Even my grandpa wouldn't say that he can help the grandmaster; how could I?' Li Huang thought. He was prideful of his talent and achievements but not delusional.
"It's a misunderstanding. I doubt that I could be of help to you, grandmaster." Li Huang said and shook his head. After a few seconds, he continued.
"In fact, I would be more of a burden." Li Huang said and laughed a little.
Hearing him, grandmaster Huili couldn't help but agree. It was something obvious to her that at this point, no other formation master was much of help to her; Li Huang couldn't be much different. Even so, there was still something unanswered.
"… Then what do you have to gain with this request?" Grandmaster Huili asked. She couldn't understand the reason behind Li Huang's request.
'Wouldn't it be better for him to curry favor with me?' She thought. Having the opportunity to gain favor from her is something that has rarely happened, so for him to ask for so little in return was mind-boggling.
To grandmaster Huili, Li Huang was wasting this opportunity, which could only mean that he had an ulterior motive for this action. Selflessness didn't exist outside of the tales, and even the most selfless acts stemmed from a desire; a father saving his child's life while sacrificing his life is derived from his love, soldiers taking a dagger to heart to protect their liege stemmed from loyalty. What she was trying to decipher was the reason for Li Huang's actions as she didn't know what could be the outcome of this seemingly small action in the grand scheme of the things in the continent or the whole world.
Who could be sure that the Li family wouldn't use this to show the continent that their young master has a close relationship with the Tianteng organization? There might be a price for this kind of publicity that she and the organization are unwilling to pay, and it simply would be easier to give Li Huang some treasures and be done with it. She might be young, but she wasn't ignorant in these matters, as the elders of the Tianteng organization took their time in meticulously teaching her.
Li Huang was not unfamiliar with these things as he had seen them in the Heavenly sword sect over the years, so it wasn't hard for him to discern most of what grandmaster Huili had in her mind. It was natural that anybody else would try to gain favors in this situation, but those favors had no use to Li Huang. What use could a few treasures have to him when he can buy ten of them if he desired? If he was not in the position he is today, he might have jumped on the opportunity to get a few treasures from grandmaster Huili, but now that he has gained a lot of spirit stones from grandpa Long, he no longer feels the need for it.
"…Grandmaster Huili, as you know, the [Eternal Wail Trial] had a lot of surprises for us this year. One of the reasons we made it out is my limited knowledge of the formations." He said. The [Eternal Wail Trial] taught him a lot, and one of those things was the value of the formations. If he didn't have the [Peeping eye of heaven], he would have faced death more and even perished there. In his eyes, this chance to see how a grandmaster in the art of the formations works is the most priceless thing he could gain in return for the schematics.
"I could have been in serious problem in the defensive formation of your manor if it wasn't for that." Li Huang casually said.
"This meeting helps me see how the best formation master in the world works and that can give me a few insights to improve my knowledge of the formations." He finished with this. He knew that honesty was the best approach in this situation, so he went for it.
'I can even gain more with the peeping eye of heaven.' Li Huang thought to himself. He was honest, but anything absolute is harmful, so he was ninety percent honest.
Grandmaster Huili looked at Li Huang for a few seconds to see if she could find any sign of dishonesty in his features, but she didn't find anything. Either way, She wasn't naive enough to accept this without one more push.
"I see. So young master Li wants to learn from this experience?" She asked.
"Yes, It is as the grandmaster has said." Li Huang nodded and said.
"I have no problem with this request…" Grandmaster Huili said, and Li Huang was about to thank her when she continued.
"…But this meeting has to happen in secret." She finished. She didn't want Li Huang or the Li family to gain publicity from this meeting. With this, she would eliminate that issue and see if Li Huang was looking for knowledge or if there was something else hidden in his simple request.
"Thank you for accepting my request, grandmaster." Li Huang said and cupped his fists. He had a slight smile on his face as he said so because he could understand the meaning behind grandmaster Huili's words. He would also be ecstatic if this meeting happened in secret as it could start many rumors, but he couldn't outright suggest it as it could be interpreted as him not wanting to be seen with the 'grandmaster'. But now that she said it herself, he had no reason to deny it.
Hearing his answer, grandmaster Huili relaxed a bit. She might have studied these matters in the organization, but she doesn't have the experience of someone in this situation, so it was a bit stressful for her when she was thinking about the possible schemes.
"Here are the schematics, grandmaster." Li Huang took out the schematics from one of the rings in his hands and gave them to grandmaster Huili. Although he had a storage ring that could rule them all, he had to keep up appearances and have a few rings on his fingers to appear convincing when he took an impossible amount of items out of his main storage ring.
Taking the schematics, grandmaster Huili skimmed through them with the precision of a grandmaster and found nothing out of the ordinary on the surface level. Nodding, she spoke again.
"Good, I will check them in more depth soon." Grandmaster Huili said when she was sure that Li Huang's schematics were authentic.
Li Huang nodded as he knew that even having the schematics doesn't make it that much easier to recreate something. He would know this better as he had tried to understand these schematics to no avail.
"We can work on the recreation of those rings after the auctions are finished; what do you think, young master Li? Is the time good for you?" Grandmaster Huili asked. She gave a vague time frame to Li Huang, but there wasn't a malicious reason behind it, she didn't have much planned after this auction, and she would work on artifacts all day, so she thought that it could be an excellent time to work on these schematics too.
This answer could offend the majority of the people as one could interpret it without the knowledge of grandmaster Huili's habits. Still, to Li Huang, who needed work as a victim after this auction, it was perfect as he could take care of these matters without any of them interfering with each other.
"It's perfect for me as I can also let the sect know that I'll be traveling a bit to gain experience." Li Huang said in a way that reassured grandmaster Huili that he is going to keep this matter a secret even from the Heavenly sword sect.
"You can contact me with this formation when you are traveling." Grandmaster Huili nodded and said with a smile that was hidden behind her mask.
Taking the contact formation from grandmaster Huili, Li Huang was soon on his way to their temporary residents.
"It's perfect for me as I can also let the sect know that I'll be traveling a bit to gain experience." Li Huang said in a way that reassured grandmaster Huili that he is going to keep this matter a secret even from the Heavenly sword sect.
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