Meeting Gift

Xiao Ruobai was the first to react. He returned the greeting solemnly. “There’s no need to be so formal, Nephew Lingxiao.”

His tone was steady, but a trace of barely perceptible awkwardness flickered in his eyes. Even someone with as firm a heart as his felt dazed at being addressed by a Great Emperor in such a manner.

Fang Hanyu’s cool eyes shifted slightly, and she gave a small nod in return.

Fatty Wang’s reaction was even more pronounced. His eyes bulged, his mouth hung half open, and his cheeks flushed red. Clearly, the sudden elevation to the status of an elder had struck him hard.

He hurriedly clasped his hands, his voice wavering. “N-Nephew, you’re too polite…”

A trace of amusement passed through Ling Xi’s eyes, while Ye Lingxiao remained composed, maintaining the appropriate degree of respect.

This simple acknowledgment of their relationship immediately eased the atmosphere.

The bonds between them as fellow disciples had grown closer without anyone realizing it.

Gu Changge stood quietly to the side, taking everything in.

Only after everyone had finished exchanging greetings did he speak, his gaze settling on Ye Lingxiao.

“Since you’ve called me Grandmaster…”

Before he could finish, he casually swept a finger through the air before him.

A radiance blossomed from the void, rapidly condensing into a strange pearl the size of a dragon’s eye. It was perfectly round, and within it, nebulas seemed to swirl while the laws of the Dao were born and extinguished. The pearl hovered silently before Ye Lingxiao.

The instant it appeared, there were no earth-shaking phenomena. Yet everyone present felt the surrounding space-time subtly stagnate, as though even a strand of light had been quietly swallowed by it.

“Consider this a small gift from your Grandmaster.”

Gu Changge’s voice remained calm, but it carried a hint of recognition.

“Grow stronger as quickly as you can. The future of the Canglan Realm needs sturdier pillars.”

Ye Lingxiao’s mind shook violently. He respectfully accepted the seemingly unremarkable pearl with both hands.

It felt warm and smooth in his palm, yet weighed as heavily as ten thousand jun. An immense, desolate Dao aura—one that surpassed the limits of his understanding—faintly emanated from it.

Suppressing his urge to examine it immediately, he bowed deeply to Gu Changge once more.

“Your disciple’s disciple, Ye Lingxiao, thanks Grandmaster for this generous gift! I will never fail to live up to your expectations!”

“Ahem…”

A somewhat abrupt cough rang out.

Fatty Wang rubbed his hands together, then looked at Xiao Ruobai and Fang Hanyu with the expression of a junior uncle proudly showing his support for the newcomer.

“Well, Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, according to the rules, shouldn’t we, as his martial uncles, give our newly acknowledged nephew something as well?”

Xiao Ruobai and Fang Hanyu glanced at Fatty Wang before nodding.

After a brief moment of thought, Xiao Ruobai moved first.

With a calm expression, he raised his hand and took out a small jar carved from warm purple jade. Profound runic seals covered the mouth of the jar, yet wisps of an indescribable, pure Dao aura still drifted out, carrying the fragrance of tea that seemed capable of cleansing the soul and enlightening the mind.

Xiao Ruobai handed over the jade jar and said gently, “This is a little Enlightenment Tea I picked in my spare time. I hope you won’t find it lacking.”

Ye Lingxiao was just about to decline when Fang Hanyu moved as well.

She took out a plant sealed inside a transparent jade box. “Take this Undying Medicine.”

Ye Lingxiao held the pearl bestowed by his Grandmaster and then looked at the Enlightenment Tea and the Undying Medicine.

Even as the Canglan Emperor, with a will tempered to be as unyielding as stone, his pupils still contracted slightly.

The Enlightenment Tea!

As the Canglan Emperor, he naturally knew how precious this item was.

It was no ordinary spirit tea that merely increased one’s cultivation. It was a sacred object capable of helping one comprehend the Great Dao and break through the barriers of enlightenment!

Even in the relatively resource-rich Canglan Realm, true Enlightenment Tea had long since vanished. Only scattered records of it remained in the oldest of ancient texts. Yet the purity of the Dao aura and the spiritual fragrance in this jar far surpassed the faint remnant aura he had once sensed in an ancient ruin.

This was absolutely the finest of the finest. To any cultivator—especially someone at the Emperor Realm, who needed profound insight into the laws of Heaven and Earth with every step—it was a priceless treasure!

The Undying Medicine!

His gaze fell upon the plant sealed inside Fang Hanyu’s jade box.

Even through the seal, its vast and incomparably pure life force surged forth like an ocean, almost breaking out of the box.

A divine object of this level would drive countless ancient monsters nearing the end of their lifespans into a frenzy if it appeared in the world, unleashing a storm of bloodshed.

Either of these two treasures could serve as the supreme treasure of an immortal inheritance, worthy of provoking a war that would engulf the heavens.

Yet now, the two martial uncles had casually given them away as greeting gifts?

And that wasn’t all.

Fatty Wang scratched his head. His face revealed a conflicted expression—part heartache, part bold generosity. At last, as if he had made some great decision, he pulled a Death-Substitution Dao Puppet from his robes.

“Here, take this!” Fatty Wang stuffed the puppet into Ye Lingxiao’s hands and spoke in his usual carefree manner.

“This is a Death-Substitution Dao Puppet I spent a tremendous amount of effort making under our master’s guidance. No matter how severe your injuries are, as long as your soul hasn’t been destroyed on the spot and your true spirit hasn’t dispersed, this thing can die in your place once! It even works if a Great Emperor beats you half to death!”

His words were bold, but the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth and his tiny eyes fixed unwillingly on the puppet betrayed the bleeding pain in his heart.

He only had three of these things in total.

This…

Ye Lingxiao felt as though his understanding of the world had once again been violently overturned.

He had originally thought that the pearl bestowed by his master was already an act of grace akin to giving him a new life. He had never expected his senior and junior martial uncles’ “gifts” to be so lavish as well!

Were all of his master’s fellow disciples this outrageously wealthy?

Every casual gift was an against-heaven divine treasure. Any one of them could make cultivators throughout the heavens fight to the death.

These weren’t greeting gifts at all. They were practically half a treasury!

He wanted to refuse, but both his hands were already filled with treasures. The Undying Medicine in his arms continued to emit a rich vitality, and for a moment, he had no idea what to do.

To accept them would be too much; he would feel ashamed to receive such generosity. But to refuse them might hurt the feelings of the three martial uncles and damage the harmony within the sect.

Caught between acceptance and refusal, the usually composed face of this Great Emperor unexpectedly flushed with embarrassment. His eyes darted away, and he looked like a helpless young man who did not know what to do with himself.

Ling Xi watched everything unfold and could not help letting out a soft laugh. She stepped forward and gently patted Ye Lingxiao on the shoulder.

“Since they were given to you by your martial uncles, accept them with peace of mind.”

Ye Lingxiao finally came back to himself. He hurriedly steadied his mind and held the treasures carefully in both hands.

He bowed deeply to Xiao Ruobai, Fang Hanyu, and Fatty Wang, his voice respectful and touched.

“Thank you for your generous gifts, Senior Martial Uncle and Martial Uncles! I hardly deserve such treasures, but I will certainly keep them safe and will not fail to honor your kindness!”

Xiao Ruobai waved his hand and laughed heartily. “We’re family. No need to be so polite!”

Fang Hanyu’s expression softened, while Fatty Wang puffed out his chest, striving to put on the air of an elder saying, “It’s nothing. Your uncle loves you.”

Gu Changge watched the scene unfold. Deep in his eyes, there was a faint, nearly imperceptible change, as though his gaze had grown gentler.

He gave a slight nod. Everything that needed to be said had been said, and everything that needed to be arranged had been arranged.

“Let’s go.”

He turned around and took one step forward. The figures of everyone present seemed to merge into the light and shadows of the void, quietly fading away.

In the blink of an eye, only Ye Lingxiao remained standing there alone.