324: Chapter 324 Meetings and Gift Giving

"It is much better than I expected."

Inside the room, Zhang Huaiyuan waved his hand, dispersing the layers of images filling the sky.

"The civilizations hinted at by those directors have appeared with warriors whose strength and equipment far exceed normal standards in several important matches; clearly, they are foreign aid sent by them."

"However... this cannot really be considered breaking the rules."

Zhang Huaiyuan let out a soft breath.

Since everything followed the procedures, he was happy to do a favor.

"For those forces whose shares were squeezed out, let's compensate them slightly with some props."

He glanced at the reward repository; the Association had already sent everything over.

It even included several treasures personally crafted by the Tower Master, which were of immense value.

"Statue of Liberty, how is the situation outside?"

Having a rough idea in his mind, Zhang Huaiyuan stood up, stretched his limbs, and asked lazily.

"My Lord, the Ascension Battlefield will end in 11 days. The vast majority of civilizations have withdrawn from the battlefield, and the leaderboard rankings have stabilized."

Statue of Liberty pushed the door open, handed over a specially made drink for restoring cellular activity, and smiled slightly:

"In addition, representatives from eighty-three forces are waiting outside the palace, hoping to have an audience with you, My Lord."

"So many?"

Zhang Huaiyuan's expression froze. He had thought many people would come to find him, but he hadn't expected this many.

"In fact, the original number was more than ten times this, but most civilizations below Level 5 could not withstand the pressure when they saw so many representatives from higher civilizations, so they left early."

"My Lord, do you intend to see them, or should I tell them all to go back?"

"Sync the view of the entrance to me."

Zhang Huaiyuan said after a moment of contemplation.

The next moment, a phantom scene appeared in his mind.

He saw that many extraordinary beings at the entrance were gathered in twos and threes; they seemed harmonious on the surface, but looking at their positioning, one could faintly discern a sense of confrontation.

"Senior Sister Fang, Senior Talix... Huh, Scholar Buli is here too..."

Zhang Huaiyuan's gaze suddenly paused as he saw several familiar figures.

"It really is... Forget it, then I will see them. Statue of Liberty, have your subordinates take these few to the reception hall to wait, and you handle the rest for me."

Zhang Huaiyuan shook his head helplessly.

As a Scholar, he preferred researching complex problems over such interpersonal interactions.

His ideal method would be for those people to leave their benefits and requests; he would accept what he deemed feasible and reject what was not.

"Leave it to me, My Lord."

Statue of Liberty said with a smile.

She had originally planned to remind him of the little tricks the others were playing, but since the Lord had entrusted the authority to her, it was no longer necessary.

The Lord did not need to waste energy on these trivial personnel matters.

"Hmm."

Zhang Huaiyuan nodded and took out a cleaning mecha from his storage device to wear.

In just a moment, it was refreshed under the action of micro-nanoparticles.

After changing into a comfortable casual outfit, Zhang Huaiyuan walked toward the reception hall.

From afar, he could hear a group of people whispering and chatting.

He pushed the door open and greeted them with a slightly apologetic smile:

"Senior Sister Fang, Senior Talix, Scholar Buli, apologies for keeping you waiting."

In his words, he did not mention the higher-status Fifth Prince, Elder Mo, and others at all, but no one present felt anything was wrong. Instead, they all stood up immediately and said enthusiastically:

"We have long heard of your reputation, Special Envoy. You are the most outstanding genius in the Sea of Time for ten thousand epochs, and in the academic competition, you turned the tide single-handedly and defeated the incarnation of the gods. Seeing you today, you truly live up to your name."

"Fifth Prince, you flatter me."

Zhang Huaiyuan shook his head slightly, met the embarrassed and apologetic gazes of Talix and Fang Qingran nearby, gave a light chuckle, and signaled that it was fine.

He naturally understood that since both were within their clans, many things were beyond their control.

On the other hand, Brie Dawn, who was nearby, acted like an old friend; he walked up and looked Zhang Huaiyuan up and down for a while, then said with satisfaction:

"As expected, my judgment was correct. It was worth me selling everything I had to bring you to the Association back then."

"Senior Brie's kindness, this junior has always kept it in mind."

Zhang Huaiyuan said with a humble expression upon hearing this.

Since seeing the cruelty of the Ascension Battlefield, he still felt grateful to this senior who, although he had swindled him out of quite a bit of money, had indeed brought him to the Association's stage.

"It's just a small matter; it's all due to your own excellent talent. This time, I just thought it had been a long time, and I happened to be invited by my old friend, Elder Geru of the 'Space Guardian' clan, to come and see you on the way."

Hearing Zhang Huaiyuan's words, the smile on Brie Dawn's face grew wider.

He had originally not wanted to waste a favor on such a small matter.

However, somehow, he had been informed that he was in debt for a full 80 billion again, even though he had already paid it off!

At the time, he had been getting quite a few materials from the 'Space Guardian' clan, and since the time for payment was approaching, he couldn't investigate the situation in time and had to agree to their conditions first.

Fortunately, he hadn't misjudged this kid.

"Special Envoy, I am the Mountain Master of Demon Cloud Mountain, Moshan. Please forgive me for the presumptuous intrusion, hehe..."

On the other side, a black-faced man, who had deliberately adjusted his height to about two meters, greeted him somewhat awkwardly.

He swept his eyes over the various forces present.

He was the only one alone, without bringing any personnel who had old ties with the other party, so he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.

"Senior Moshan, you are too polite. I must thank you for the time your Demon Cloud Mountain sent people to help me resolve the trouble with the Destiny Chamber of Commerce."

Zhang Huaiyuan returned the greeting politely.

He had Statue of Liberty check, and found that although Demon Cloud Mountain was overbearing in its actions, it was not as excessive as he had heard on the Gate of Boundlessness; it was within the normal range, so he had invited them in.

"That's just a small matter. The Destiny Chamber of Commerce has always acted overbearingly; we should be the ones thanking the Special Envoy for giving us a chance to dampen their arrogance."

As a powerhouse of the Sixth Realm, Moshan kept his posture extremely low, and his words were full of sycophancy.

"But in the end, this is just borrowing the Association's name to bully others. When encountering an opponent who doesn't buy it, only one's own strength is reliable."

Zhang Huaiyuan sighed inwardly and suddenly lost interest in small talk. He smiled and got straight to the point:

"I wonder if you all have any important business for visiting me specifically?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression became slightly serious. Everyone knew what it was about, but such things were not easy to bring up on the table.

They had originally thought the other party would meet everyone privately, but they hadn't expected...

"Special Envoy."

The Fifth Prince of the Silver Splendor Empire reacted the fastest, stood up, and cupped his hands:

"I often hear from my seventh sister that you took good care of her in the Association and the academic competition. As her brother, I have always wanted to find an opportunity to express my gratitude in person. Hearing that the Special Envoy had arrived in Shanhai City today, I shamelessly came to thank you. It is a small token of my appreciation; I hope the Special Envoy will not refuse it."

As he spoke, he smiled and took out a storage bracelet, handing it over.

Zhang Huaiyuan swept his gaze over it and immediately knew the value.

The total value was over 230 billion time coins, and many of the rare materials among them were priceless.

This 'care fee' was truly expensive.

"Special Envoy, my intention is the same as the Fifth Prince's: to thank you for your care of my nephew Talix during the competition..."

Elder Mo saw this and immediately followed suit.

"Oh no, what should I say?"

Moshan, who was on the side, became anxious immediately.

They had the shallowest relationship with Zhang Huaiyuan; he couldn't just make something up.

"Damn it, think, you blockhead!"