334: Prove your strength

Zhengqi Tower stood a thousand feet tall. Liu Xuan carefully counted exactly ninety-nine floors. With its flying eaves, bracket sets, and rising phenomena, it was practically an immortal palace.

Countless Beast Taming Sect Disciples flew through it; the lower the floor, the more Disciples there were, while few people entered or exited the top floor.

Besides Cultivators, all sorts of Yao Beasts were flying about in a vast variety of strange shapes and sizes, leaving Liu Xuan dazzled.

Unlike the Yao Beasts in Feiyu City back then, the ones here seemed to understand the rules better; they queued up obediently when entering or leaving and didn't make random noises, making for a much more pleasant sight.

'I heard True Lord Haoran hails from the Yaoguang Demon Saint lineage. This lineage advocates for order between superiors and inferiors, following the heavens, and the unity of man and nature, similar to Confucianism. It is indeed so!'

The Beast Taming Sect's greatest characteristic is controlling Yao Beasts, focusing on fierce combat, yet the Yaoguang Demon Saint lineage is an outlier among them. I wonder how much of this Noble Spirit is real and how much is fake?

While Liu Xuan was lost in thought, the sisters An Yunxi and An Yunmiao flew down from the top floor side by side.

An Yunmiao's red robes fluttered, her figure proud, and her Aura like that of a noble goddess from the heavens. An Yunxi, on the other hand, had changed into a green-and-white dharma robe, looking as pure as a little white flower in spring.

The mature beauty, the cute girl, and sisters to boot—the whole set! Even with Liu Xuan's mental fortitude, he was momentarily dazed.

If it weren't for the fact that they had a Nascent Soul True Lord for an old man, Liu Xuan didn't know if he could restrain himself from committing a crime.

"Junior Brother Liu! You came so quickly. I knew you would definitely come to see me, but my sister didn't believe it!" An Yunxi flew to Liu Xuan's side, her small face full of joy. After speaking, she gave her sister a proud, sidelong glance.

An Yunmiao glanced at her foolish younger sister, then looked down at Liu Xuan from above, saying indifferently:

"Mediocre strength, but quite the guts!"

"If you beg me now, perhaps I'll put in a few good words for you later so that Father might spare your life."

Liu Xuan smiled slightly and immediately gave a respectful bow. "I beg Senior Sister to help this junior!"

"If Senior Sister puts in a good word, then should you have any orders in the future, I, Liu Xuan, will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

"You..."

An Yunmiao was stunned for a moment, then said crossly, "As expected of a shameless person from a small place, lacking any integrity of a Cultivator."

Liu Xuan shook his head in rebuttal. "Eldest Senior Sister, you are mistaken. To yield to an enemy is to lack integrity. You and I are fellow disciples; how can asking for help from one's own people be considered shameless or lacking integrity?"

"You certainly have many fallacies!" An Yunmiao maintained her indifferent tone. "I hope you still have this many fallacies in front of my father later!"

Because Liu Xuan was simply too handsome, An Yunmiao was somewhat indulgent toward him; this was intentional on her part.

But her father, True Lord Haoran, wouldn't care how handsome he was. This visit seemed like an audience, but it was actually an interrogation.

It was a fact that Liu Xuan had deceived An Yunxi, and An Yunmiao knew very well why her father had summoned him.

She planned to step in at a critical moment later to save Liu Xuan and then keep him by her side as eye candy to look at when she was bored.

An Yunmiao's ambitions lay in the Great Dao, and she had no intention of finding a Dao Companion. However, appreciating beauty was a form of cultivation in itself. Even if she couldn't use him, looking was fine!

An Yunxi didn't have so many hidden thoughts. She tugged on Liu Xuan's sleeve and comforted him, "If Sister won't help you, I will. Father dotes on me the most; he definitely won't hurt you!"

"Do I not know whether Junior Brother lied or not? Father just has some misunderstandings about you."

An Yunxi had already told her father and sister many times that Liu Xuan had never lied to her, but she didn't understand why the two of them just wouldn't listen.

"Stop dawdling, Father is waiting!" With a wave of her hand, An Yunmiao led the two toward the top floor.

The Great Hall on the top floor.

The room was filled with calligraphy scrolls written in the most complex Seal Script. Various Concepts intertwined, making the Aura extremely chaotic.

Besides the calligraphy scrolls, there were countless Talisman lines of various Ranks and effects, encompassing everything.

Liu Xuan found the most Advanced parts difficult to understand; they likely involved the fourth-Rank level.

Having received the System's Legacy of a top-tier Second-rank Talisman Master, Liu Xuan automatically promoted to a Low Grade Third-rank Talisman Master after advancing to the Golden Core stage.

Although he couldn't understand these runes, he could still tell what level they belonged to.

Based on a simple analysis of these Talisman lines, True Lord Haoran was most likely a Top-tier Third-rank Talisman Master currently in the process of advancing to the fourth Rank, with a small possibility that he was already a Low Grade Fourth-rank Talisman Master, though at most just recently promoted.

"Yunxi says you are a Talisman Master. I wonder what specific level you are at?"

A gentle voice rang out. Liu Xuan looked up through the scrolls and saw a middle-aged man standing ahead with his hands behind his back.

The man wore a white Confucian robe and had a refined temperament. He emitted no Aura, looking just like an ordinary schoolteacher.

"Disciple Liu Xuan pays his respects to True Lord Haoran!"

"To answer the True Monarch, this Disciple is currently a Medium Grade Second-rank Talisman Master, but I have already begun studying High Grade second-Rank Talismans."

True Lord Haoran had no Aura or pressure, yet Liu Xuan felt like his student-self meeting a teacher, naturally feeling a sense of respect.

While Liu Xuan was saluting, True Lord Haoran was also sizing him up, nodding inwardly.

He cultivated the Haoran Zhengqi Art. Generally, when a Foundation Establishment Cultivator met him, if they harbored evil thoughts, they would inevitably act timid and ashamed. Those with poor Heart-Nature might even kneel and beg for mercy, weeping bitterly.

Liu Xuan's performance was unexpectedly good. This heartfelt respect and his neither humble nor arrogant attitude were better than even many academy students.

"Medium Grade Second-Rank!"

"I heard you only achieved Foundation Establishment a few years ago?"

True Lord Haoran slowly walked toward Liu Xuan. His tone was gentle, as if just chatting between friends.

In truth, given True Lord Haoran's status, even if Liu Xuan had deceived his daughter An Yunxi, he wouldn't bother meeting him; he could have just sent a Disciple to handle it.

What sparked his interest in Liu Xuan was the intelligence sent by his Disciples not long ago, which stated that Liu Xuan was a Genius Alchemist, Talisman Master, Artifact Refiner, and Formation Master, as well as a Sword Cultivator.

An all-around talent! This piqued his interest, and after a careful investigation, he was even more shocked.

Liu Xuan was no ordinary Genius. At fifty years old, he was already a Second-Rank Alchemist, Second-rank Talisman Master, Second-Rank Artifact Refiner, and Second-rank Formation Master, reaching a level that even he found exaggerated.

To see if it was true or false, he had summoned Liu Xuan.

"That's correct. This Disciple indeed broke through to Foundation Establishment only a few years ago. However, I have a bit of talent in the Dao of Talismans. If not for the limitations of my cultivation, being a High Grade Second-rank Talisman Master would be no difficulty at all."

Liu Xuan wasn't being intentionally humble. Drawing Talismans required the support of cultivation and magic power. This Incarnation of his was only at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, so he could only draw Medium Grade second-Rank Talismans at most.

"Oh?" True Lord Haoran revealed a smile of interest. "No difficulty in being a High Grade Second-rank Talisman Master... It's been a long time since I've seen such a confident young man!"

"Come, prove your strength to me!"

With a wave of his sleeve, a desk instantly appeared before Liu Xuan, complete with a full set of Talisman-drawing tools.