62: The incident caused shock to all sides, and the head of the Lin family felt regret.

Meanwhile, in Dongshan Prefecture, East City, at the Wanlong Chamber of Commerce branch.

"Report!"

A loud but joyful voice suddenly rang out in the hall.

An elegant middle-aged man in green robes rushed in from outside with a Face full of ecstasy. He then laughed loudly at an old man with white hair and beard and a heroic Aura who was waiting anxiously in the hall:

"Haha! Chairman! Good news! Good news! Incredible news!"

"Just now, Zhou Feng, the Myriad Phenomena Tower Master, personally went to find Lin Yi, wanting to represent Wanxiang Tower to reconcile with him. In the end, he didn't even get to see Lin Yi's Face before being cursed at and driven out by him."

"Now, Wanxiang Tower and Lin Yi have completely fallen out, and there's no more room for reconciliation. As long as we are willing to pay the price this time to defeat the Zijing Merchant Guild, our Wanlong will surely be able to win Lin Yi over in one fell swoop!"

"Haha! That's a Genius who is almost certain to Breakthrough to the First Rank! Once the Chairman can bring him into our Wanlong, the headquarters will also be absolutely ecstatic when they hear the news. At that time, the Chairman will have achieved a peerless merit!"

"Haha! Good, good, good! It really is incredible news!"

Hearing the words of the elegant man in green, the heroic old man also burst into laughter:

"A Genius who is almost certain to Breakthrough to the First Rank is rare even in our Chu State Wanlong Chamber of Commerce headquarters, let alone among the many Wanlong branches in Qingzhou!"

"And compared to those First Rank geniuses in Chu State, what's more important is Lin Yi's identity as a Disciple of the Heavenly Mountain Sect."

"Because our Wanlong Chamber of Commerce is an external force, we are ostracized by various forces in Qingzhou, and our development has always been difficult."

"If we can recruit Lin Yi into Wanlong this time and then wait for him to achieve First Rank, the effect will probably be better than if our Wanlong Chamber of Commerce headquarters sent four or five more First-Rank Masters to settle in Qingzhou!"

"At all costs! We must win over Lin Yi this time at all costs!"

"Let's go! We're going to the Dongshan Martial Academy to see him right now!"

"Yes! Chairman!"

Upon hearing this, the elegant man in green also nodded heavily and then followed the heroic old man, quickly heading towards the Dongshan Martial Academy... Above the Zijing Merchant Guild branch in West City, Dongshan Prefecture.

"Skree!"

A bird's cry that seemed to pierce through metal and stone suddenly rang out high in the sky.

In the next moment, from a height of a thousand meters above the Zijing Merchant Guild, a golden light dove down like a meteor towards the seven-story Zijing Merchant Guild branch that crouched on the ground like a giant beast.

The golden light was incredibly fast, covering the distance of a thousand meters in less than two breaths. Finally, it landed in front of a beautiful woman in palace dress who was standing in a pavilion on the top floor of the Zijing Merchant Guild branch, looking down at the common people. It then transformed into a heroic messenger pigeon the size of a teal, with golden feathers all over its body.

"Huan'er, come!"

Looking at this golden messenger pigeon, the beautiful woman in palace dress smiled and beckoned it to her.

She first took out a purple Medicinal Pill from somewhere and fed it to the golden messenger pigeon. Then, amidst its cheerful cries, she removed the message tube tied to its leg, poured out a piece of letter paper, and began to read.

"What! Give Lin Yi a Saint-Grade contract, and additionally, the offer can be increased by up to fifty percent on top of the Saint-Grade contract based on Wanlong's quote."

"This... the headquarters is placing far too much importance on this Lin Yi!"

Seeing the contents of the letter, even though the beautiful woman in palace dress had been prepared, she couldn't help but be shocked at this moment.

A Saint-Grade contract was the highest level of contract the Zijing Merchant Guild could issue to external geniuses, one level higher than a Heaven-Grade contract.

Not to mention other benefits, the silver given every year alone was as high as ninety-six thousand taels.

If it were increased by another fifty percent, that would be one hundred and forty-four thousand taels of silver per year!

Adding other benefits, the Zijing Merchant Guild would probably spend over two hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver on Lin Yi alone every year.

Two hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver a year—what a terrifying amount of wealth? Even she, a Second-Rank Martial Artist, was almost turning green with envy.

"It seems the headquarters is really going all out. I reckon it's also because Lin Yi's progress is too fast, and the headquarters suspects he really has undergone a martial Enlightenment and truly achieved a Limit Breaking Realm Breakthrough in just over half a year."

"Otherwise, although a Genius who breaks through to the Limit Breaking Realm at fifteen is rare, a normal Saint-Grade contract would be enough. Why would it be worth such a huge investment?"

"But this is fine. Since the headquarters is willing to pay more, it just so happens to give me more confidence in the competition with Wanlong!"

The beautiful woman in palace dress murmured in a low voice, a terrifying glint of determination flashing in her eyes. Immediately after, she also hurried towards the Dongshan Martial Academy... Just like that, the two major forces began to make their moves.

Meanwhile, in the Prefecture City of Dongshan, as time passed, the storm caused by Lin Yi's Breakthrough to the Power Limit Breaking Realm was far from over... At the Lin Family in Dongshan Prefecture, outside a remote and quiet stone room, a middle-aged man in green robes arrived with a pale Face. Looking at the stone room door, he knelt down with a thud:

"Grandfather, Xianer has sinned. I have caused our Lin Family to miss an opportunity to turn the tide and change our destiny. I ask for Grandfather's punishment!"

"Xianer, what has happened?"

As soon as the middle-aged man in green finished speaking, an old and distant voice rang out in the void.

Immediately after—

"Rumble!"

Accompanied by the rumbling opening of the stone room door, a hunched old man with white hair and beard, looking very aged and sitting on a prayer mat in the stone room, appeared before the middle-aged man in green.

"Grandfather, Xianer has caused a great disaster this time!"

Looking at the old man's increasingly aged body, the middle-aged man in green couldn't help but cry out, his eyes revealing endless guilt and regret. He then slowly recounted:

"Just a few days ago, a Disciple from Dongshan Martial Academy named Lin Yi came to find me. He..."

"...That's how it happened. That Lin Yi has now achieved Limit Breaking. He will surely become a First Rank in the future and even has the potential to reach Realms beyond First Rank, completely saving our Lin Family."

"But Xianer was extremely foolish and personally threw away this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I ask for Grandfather's heavy punishment."

After speaking, the middle-aged man in green struck his head against the ground, prostrating himself and waiting for the storm of punishment to descend.

However, after a moment, the heavy punishment he imagined did not come. Only an aged sigh sounded in his ears:

"Sigh! It's fate! This time, heaven truly does not bless our Lin Family!"

"Otherwise, if that Lin Yi had been born five years earlier, with my health back then, you would have definitely told me about him. I would have stepped in to help him and formed a great Karma with him."

"It's just a pity, sigh! With my current body, even if I were in your place, the decision I would have made would probably be similar to yours."

"Forget it! Xianer, get up! Although you were at fault in this matter, in the end, you were still considering things for me and the Lin Family!"

"So, I won't punish you this time. Tomorrow, step down from the position of Family head yourself and let Hong'er take over!"

"As for Lin Yi, later you should personally take twenty thousand taels of silver to Dongshan Martial Academy to give to him and sincerely apologize."

"After all, regarding his parents' matter, although our Lin Family originally had no obligation to help him, I'm afraid he might be narrow-minded and thus hold a grudge against us."

"And our Lin Family is currently in a precarious situation; we really cannot afford to have another enemy with such limitless potential."

"Yes! Grandfather, Xianer will see to it later."

The middle-aged man in green nodded heavily, then gave a respectful bow and slowly withdrew.

Behind him, the hunched old man sighed as he watched his back, then with a rumble, closed the stone room door again... In the hall of the Wan Family in Dongshan Prefecture City, the Wan Family head Wan Hu and the eldest master of the Wan Family, Wan Hai, were gathered there.

"Whew! Father! You really are amazing!"

Looking at the information recorded on the paper in his hand, Wan Hai let out a heavy breath. Looking at Wan Hu, who sat like a fierce tiger, his Face was full of admiration:

"I really didn't expect Lin Yi's talent to be so much higher than we imagined!"

"Heavens! Limit Breaking at fifteen! I haven't seen such talent even after living in Dongshan Prefecture for decades. This is a peerless Prodigy who is guaranteed to become a First Rank!"

"Fortunately, when Yong'er had a grudge with Lin Yi, you, old man, had the Wisdom Eye to recognize Lin Yi's prowess."

"Otherwise, if we had followed our thoughts and deeply offended Lin Yi, we probably wouldn't even have to wait for the future; our Wan Family would be wiped out right now."

"But now, after that last incident, our Wan Family has not only turned hostility into friendship with Lin Yi but even established a slight connection."

"Father, do you think we should take this opportunity to congratulate him on his Breakthrough by sending him a heavy gift, so that our Wan Family's relationship with him can be closer, and ideally, we can strike up some friendship?"

"This way, our Wan Family might have a First-Rank Master to look after us in the future, hahahaha!"

"Look after my foot! You idiot!"

Hearing Wan Hai's words, Wan Hu was immediately so angry his beard and eyes twitched, and he scolded:

"Who do you think you are? You're worthy of striking up a friendship with the current Young Master Lin Yi?"

"You must know that Young Master Lin Yi is a Genius who will surely become a First Rank. Moreover, he is related to a peerless Prodigy like the cold chi sword Young Hero Jiang. He can even choose not to give Face to a First-Rank Master like the Myriad Phenomena Tower Master."

"Just because you're a mere manager of a second-rate Family in Dongshan Prefecture City, you want to build a relationship with him? I think you've been dreaming too much!"

"Go! Immediately order someone to prepare a normal gift for Young Master Lin Yi. Remember, not too expensive, but not too shabby either. It should roughly match our Wan Family's strength and status. Now get out!"

Wan Hu said irritably, spraying saliva all over Wan Hai's Face.

Wan Hai didn't dare to speak up and could only repeatedly say:

"Yes, yes, yes! Father, don't be angry. I'll go prepare it right away, I'll go prepare it right away!"

After speaking, Wan Hai hurriedly left in a dejected manner, fearing that if he stayed a step longer, he would be scolded again by Wan Hu.

Seeing his son's useless behavior, Wan Hu was so angry his scalp felt numb, but in the end, he could only sigh helplessly:

"Sigh! Truly a piece of trash!"