Chapter 5: Back Home (Part 2)

Immediately afterward, Luo Zhan saw the Eagle Demon standing behind Guo Shier, and then Ku Mu standing there coldly. Luo Zhan felt a chill run down his spine—he never expected that this evil figure would return with Guo Shier. Not daring to neglect them, he hurried forward and said, “I greet you, seniors.”
Guo Shier, aware of Luo Zhan’s nervousness, said, “Uncle Luo, this is Master Ku Mu, this is Masteress Monier, and this is Uncle Zhu Juan.”
Ku Mu and the others merely nodded slightly without saying a word. Only the Eagle Demon stepped forward and asked, “Lao Luo, is the old master at home?”
Luo Zhan was surprised to find that he couldn’t gauge the Eagle Demon’s strength. He replied, “The old master is out; he hasn’t returned in half a year. Old Eagle, have you advanced?”
Guo Shier was secretly shocked. Calculating the time, Master Luo Jie must have gone to the Altar Secret Realm half a year ago. That meant they hadn’t returned—had something gone wrong?
The Eagle Demon smiled and said, “Yes, I’ve advanced to a Senior Great Talisman Warrior.”
Luo Zhan was shocked. In just over a year, this guy had jumped two ranks? That was absurd. He forced a smile and said, “Congratulations! Please… come inside the manor to rest.”
Guo Shier asked, “Since Master Luo Jie isn’t here, who’s in charge of the manor?”
Luo Zhan replied, “It’s managed by the old master’s disciple, Great Talismanist Qin Han. Please, come in!”
As soon as they entered the manor, a group of people rushed over. Guo Shier immediately shouted, “Baozi! Shitou! Chen Bing… Xiaohong!” Huo Bao and the other three were at the forefront.
Over the past year, the four of them had felt as if they had lost their souls. If Guo Shier died or went missing, they would be orphans with no home, forced to become inner-court Talisman Warriors or wandering ones. They had been worried about this constantly. Seeing Guo Shier return, they were all extremely excited.
Among the crowd, Guo Shier also spotted Tan Laoxi. That foul-mouthed guy stared at him with a resentful gaze, making Luo Zhan’s skin prickle.
Guo Shier stepped forward to talk with everyone, while Ku Mu and the others stood quietly aside, not disturbing him. Monier watched these professionals with a smile. Unlike Ku Mu, she secretly considered recruiting them. Zhu Juan had the same thought. The Intermediate Talisman Continent was far more brutal than the Lower Continent, with a severe shortage of population. So whenever they encountered a Lower Continent, they couldn’t help but want to seize its people.

Of course, with Guo Shieru around, they wouldn’t do such things to ruin the mood, but that didn’t mean they had no other plans. Monier came up with a good idea—she remained smiling and silent, but secretly observed everyone carefully. As a grand master at the sage level, she could instantly see through everyone’s potential and skill level, and she was surprised. Although these people didn’t have exceptional potential, they were still quite remarkable. Luo Jie held a high status in the Northern Talisman Gate, so the professionals he had gathered were certainly not inferior.

Kumu was too lazy to engage in small talk with others. He stood coldly to the side, looking utterly aloof, and no one dared approach him to talk.

Monier counted carefully and found quite a number of master-level Talisman Warriors as well as some Spellcasters. Overall, there were many people in the Talisman Warrior profession, but very few in the Spellcaster profession. This was different from their own continent, where Spellcasters were not so scarce. It seemed there were more people with potential in Talisman Warriors here.

Those with potential in Talisman Warriors were all combatants, and once trained to the sage level, their combat strength would be extremely formidable. Not only was Monier envious, but Zhu Juan was too—so he put aside his arrogance, became more amiable, and went over with a smile to greet everyone and chat with them.

The two ulterior-motived masters began to figure out how to lure these people away.

Kumu was different from them. So far, he hadn’t chosen anyone yet. His standards were simply too high. If he chose someone, he would stop at nothing to achieve his goal, just like how he had forced Guo Shieru to become his disciple. Fortunately, Guo Shieru wasn’t really a child; otherwise, he might have hated him for it.

Guo Shieru was surprised to find that Tan Laoxi hadn’t said a single curse word. To be precise, the guy hadn’t said a word at all—just watched everyone talk with a faint smile on his face, looking quite like a master, very different from his usual self. Yet, from the occasional glances he cast at Kumu, one could sense a deep-seated fear.

After chatting for a while, Qin Han arrived.

The brothers greeted each other briefly, and Qin Han invited everyone to the reception hall.

When they arrived in the reception hall, most people left, leaving only Qin Han, Luo Zhan, Xiao Feng, Yan Ge, and Huo Bao—four children. Tan Laoxi also shrank back inside, unsure what he was thinking.

The reception hall was still covered with thick animal skins, giving Guo Shieru a sense of being home. He said, “Senior brother, did the master leave any messages?”

Qin Han nodded and said, “The master said that if you come back and they haven’t arrived yet, you should wait as long as possible. If that’s not possible, at least leave behind the coordinates of your location… If possible, he will go there himself.”
Guo Shier was deeply moved inwardly. He knew his master was worried about him and said, “I’ll try to wait… Master, can we stay here for a longer time?” He despised himself for acting like a child, pretending to be innocent, and speaking in a coquettish tone just to achieve his goals.
Monier, who was already inclined to win him over, naturally agreed to stay longer. She had no resistance to Guo Shier’s requests at all and said, “Baby, it’s okay. Let’s stay for a longer time then.”
Zhu Juan thought the same way and also agreed. Only Kuumu kept a stern face and said nothing, though he didn’t show any opposition either.
Qin Han hadn’t noticed this when he was outside. Only after entering the reception hall did he realize he couldn’t discern Guo Shier’s professional level. He only had a vague feeling that Guo Shier might be very skilled. Uncertainly, he asked, “Shier, have you advanced again?” He had heard Luo Jie say that the kid had already reached master level.
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Yeah, I’ve advanced to Senior Grand Talismanist.”
Qin Han’s mouth dropped open; he didn’t even notice saliva almost dripping down. This was too shocking. After a long while, he awkwardly wiped his saliva with his sleeve and asked, “How did you do that?”
Monier suddenly interjected, “Baby went through the Path of Delusion and obtained talisman inheritance.”
Everyone pricked up their ears. Qin Han asked, “Path of Delusion? What is that?”
Zhu Juan immediately understood Monier’s meaning and said, “The Path of Delusion is divided into… the Talisman Path of Delusion and the Martial Talisman Path of Delusion—two paths… both are paths for inheritance and advancement. The further you go, the greater the benefits. For example, Xiao Ying was a Junior Grand Martial Talismanist when he took the Martial Talisman Path of Delusion. After progressing along it… he became a Senior Grand Martial Talismanist, and was almost at the level of a Mad Martial Master.”
Luo Zhan was shocked and said, “Eagle, you’ve advanced to Senior Grand Martial Talismanist?”
Eagle Demon wasn’t overly pleased. Having seen so many saint-level masters, he no longer thought being a senior master was anything special. He nodded and said, “Yes, it’s thanks to Shier. He secured a spot for me to walk the Path of Delusion. Heh, I was lucky enough to progress well, and now I’m stable at the level of Senior Grand Martial Talismanist.”

This is even more astonishing. I never thought the path for advancing in the spellcraft profession could be so convenient. Huo Bao raised his hand and asked, “Can anyone take this path?”
Zhu Juan smiled and said, “It’s not that easy. To take these two paths, one must be a member of our Chenxiao Sect. Moreover, two conditions must be met to have a chance of inheriting the skills.”
Seeing everyone staring at her, Zhu Juan smiled proudly, raised one finger, and said, “First, one must have potential. Ordinary people who enter the Path of Illusion will be thrown out…” She then raised a second finger and continued, “Second, there must be a quota… This quota can be obtained through sect points, by completing sect tasks, or by making significant contributions to the sect, all of which earn many points.”
Qin Han said, “I heard from my master… twelve is to go… to another continent? Not here… I still can’t understand what kind of place that is.”
Guo Shier explained, “It’s indeed hard to understand. Let me put it this way…” He took out a few spell bases and said, “This piece of talisman represents the continent we live on. The one next to it represents a secret realm, and the talisman next to that represents another continent… So there are three places in total. We can all reach this secret realm, which serves as a passage between them.”
“If continents are also ranked, our continent is the lowest rank, with the lowest level of spellcraft and martial arts. Here, the master level is already considered the top of the profession. On a continent one rank higher, what’s considered the top profession here is only at a medium level there.”
Everyone present listened with bright eyes. This reminded Guo Shier of his past life, when he was in a poor rural area and heard people talk about going to big cities, describing how wonderful they were. The same look of hope and longing appeared on everyone’s faces.
Guo Shier remembered a saying from his past life: “People strive for higher heights, while water flows downward.” That’s exactly the truth, especially in a place where strength means everything. No one can resist such temptation.
Finally, someone spoke up and asked, “Can we… join the Chenxiao Sect?”
Tan Laoxi could no longer hold back. He had repeated these words countless times in his mind, fearing any offensive words might anger this little master.
Guo Shier was initially stunned, then laughed and said, “Others can. As for you… it depends on my mood!”
Tan Laoxi opened his mouth to scold, but Guo Shier pointed at him and said, “Go ahead and try scolding me.”

Tan Laoxi was so scared that he quickly covered his mouth and kept shaking his head. Everyone couldn’t help but laugh. Ever since this guy came back with Luo Jie, his speech had remained as unpleasant as ever, and almost everyone in the manor disliked him. But he was quite skilled—after all, he was a master-level fighter. With his thick skin, it was hard for others to say anything to him. Seeing him suffer made everyone happy.
Zhu Juan worked hard for a long time before finally getting the result. He was also happy and said, “No problem, leave it to me!”
Monier snapped, “My baby hasn’t even spoken yet, why are you in such a hurry?”
Zhu Juan immediately looked distressed.