The Magician of Cultivation

About a quarter of an hour after we sat down, an old man with neatly combed hair walked into the reception room with a smile on his face.

The old man was followed by a middle-aged man in his forties and a young man in his thirties.

The middle-aged man was wearing a dark blue magic robe with two gold leaves inlaid on his chest. He was obviously also a second-level junior magician.

However, his appearance did not attract much attention from the crowd. Instead, it was the young man next to him who made everyone stand up as soon as he appeared.

The young man's facial features were extremely hard, as if they were carved by a knife and an axe. His eyes were so sharp that people dared not look directly at him.

He was wearing a full body armor of black chain mail, with a scarlet cloak that almost reached the ground on his back, and a long one-handed sword hanging from his waist.

The young man held the hilt of the sword with one hand, letting the tip of the sword touch the floor. As he walked, the armor rubbed against each other, making a clicking sound.

"Song Chonglou from the Hongyu Chamber of Commerce..."

"It's him."

"It turned out to be him."

Many adventurers present had had dealings with the Ruby Merchant Guild.

They were naturally familiar with the powerful martial artists of the Hongyu Chamber of Commerce.

Song Chonglou, born into a famous fighter family in Xueyan Country, is at the pinnacle of martial arts and is known as the best person below the great martial artist.

It is said that this man once held an open martial arts competition in Xueyan City. For several months, no one of the same level could last more than five moves against him.

But we haven't heard from him in recent years, and everyone thought he had an accident.

"I didn't expect that he would join the Ruby Merchant Guild."

"With Song Chonglou here with us, this escort mission will surely be a lot easier."

"Yes, yes. It is said that Song Chonglou has the best chance of breaking through to the Great Martial Master level. He is also the only person in the kingdom who can be compared with Tan Lang, the leader of the Greedy Wolf Mercenary Group."

"Comparable to Tan Lang? Brother, you are exaggerating a bit."

"Yes, although Song Chonglou is strong, he is still far inferior to Tan Lang."

"It's, it's..."

"That's too much. Tan Lang is already at the peak of level 5. In terms of personal combat power alone, I'm afraid no one in the kingdom can match him."

The people around him all looked disbelieving, and the man who spoke at the beginning looked a little embarrassed.

"Hey, hey, I'm not talking about now, I'm talking about later."

His voice became smaller and smaller, and it was obvious that he didn't have much confidence.

"Tan Lang is so famous in Xueyan Country? Even here he has crazy fans."

Li Yu listened to the people around him talking in low voices and pondered in his heart.

He looked carefully at Song Chonglou, who was wearing armor, and shook his head slightly.

Although this person is strong, there is indeed a big gap between him and the murderous Tan Lang.

Song Chonglou had a blank expression on his face, as if he didn't hear anyone's comments.

It is indisputable that he is indeed not as good as Tan Lang.

Besides, Tan Lang has always been his idol and goal.

Seeing the noise in the conference hall, the old man frowned, but soon relaxed.

He coughed a few times to attract everyone's attention, then said with a smile, "Everyone, please be quiet."

"I am Zhu Zhi from the Liaocheng branch of the Hongyu Chamber of Commerce."

"Many of you present here are familiar faces to me, and many of you are cooperating with my chamber of commerce for the first time."

Zhu Zhi is a little plump and always has a friendly smile on his face, which makes him look very likable.

He bowed to the people around him and said with a smile: "First of all, on behalf of the Liaocheng branch of the Hongyu Chamber of Commerce, I would like to thank you all for your help."

"President Zhu, you are too kind."

"Yes, President Zhu is too polite."

"The Red Jade Chamber of Commerce has always paid generously, and we will benefit from it mutually."

Everyone returned the gift one after another.

Zhu Zhi nodded in satisfaction, his smile slowly faded, and he said in a deep voice: "But before the mission begins, there are some things we should make clear first."

"President Zhu, please feel free to speak up if you have anything to say."

"Yes, since we have accepted the task, we will definitely follow the employer's arrangements."

Someone in the crowd immediately spoke in a flattering manner.

This was not the first time they had cooperated with the Hongyu Chamber of Commerce, and the relationship between the two sides had always been pretty good.

Zhu Zhi nodded slightly to the others, and then continued:

"This mission is a long journey and will take about four months of sailing."

"Usually, I don't have any special requirements for you. You can do your own things, practice or participate in any entertainment activities on the airship."

"I only have three requests."

Zhu Zhi's voice gradually became serious, and everyone stopped making noise and listened attentively.

"First point: Everyone must be available at any time. No matter what you are doing, you must arrive at the assembly point within 1 minute after receiving our assembly order."

"Second point: When the airship passes through Yucheng and Pulancheng, no one is allowed to get off the airship."

"Third point: If we encounter danger on the road, you must go all out to ensure the absolute safety of our Hongyu Chamber of Commerce's people and goods."

When Zhu Zhi said this, a cold light flashed in his eyes and his tone became grim:

"I'll be frank with you. If any of these three points are not completed, I will report it to the Adventurer's Association and hold them accountable. At the same time, I will issue a bounty for your capture in the Jade Tower."

"If you want to quit, it's not too late. Once the mission begins, if you want to quit midway, don't blame me for being ruthless."

He glanced at everyone, his face still serious, "I'll give you three minutes to think about it."

Except for Li Yu and Yun Yi, two newly registered adventurers who were participating in an escort mission for the first time, everyone else present had experience.

The employers' requirements were basically the same, so no one raised any objections, and naturally no one quit.

Zhu Zhi waited patiently for 3 minutes, and when he saw that no one quit, he finally smiled again.

He smiled and said, "Okay, in that case, I won't say any more. Come on, serve the wine."

Immediately, the Chamber of Commerce’s service staff served wine to the more than 30 people present.

Zhu Zhi raised his glass and said loudly, "I wish our cooperation will be smooth and this trip will be successful. Cheers."

Then he drank it all in one gulp.

"cheers."

"cheers."

Everyone responded.

"Please feel free to eat and drink at this welcome banquet. I have something else to do, so I'll leave now."

"President Zhu, if you have something to do, go and do it first..."

"Yes, President Zhu is too polite."

After a few polite words, Zhu Zhi and the other two turned around and left.

As for everyone's food and daily life, the Chamber of Commerce's servants will take care of everything.

The banquet did not last too long. Everyone got to know each other, ate and drank a little, and then it ended hastily.

Soon, Li Yu, led by the Chamber of Commerce staff, came to a separate room on the third floor.

An hour later, accompanied by a loud roar, the "Will" airship slowly took off and flew towards the eastern sky.