Chapter 2: The Great and Small Worlds (Part 2)

Luo Jie put forward many demands. Punishing the initiators and some of those who carried out the attack on Beifu Gate was the top priority. Mi Zhong and Mi Zhengji neither dared nor could object.
Next was the release of all those who had been captured. Of course, they wouldn’t be relocated back; instead, substantial compensation would be given to allow them to stay where they were. These tasks were assigned to Li Ran’s subordinates, with the professionals from the hiring association overseeing their execution.
One condition after another was imposed, forcing Mi Zhengji to reluctantly agree.
With Li Ran, this powerful figure, sitting in the hall, neither Mi Zhengji nor Mi Zhong dared think of resisting. Their opponent was far too strong—provoking them could result in the destruction of their entire clan, a consequence no one could bear. The pressure was immense, leaving the clan elders in the hall barely able to breathe.
As the negotiations progressed, demands for various compensations arose. Guo Shier also submitted a list, prepared with the help of the old man Shuai. The sheer quantity of materials required was enough to enable him to advance to the eighth-tier altar. Even Guo Shier was stunned, but he didn’t hesitate and asked the old man Shuai to add the materials needed for the ninth-tier altar as well. He would never miss such a rare opportunity.
Seeing the list of materials, Mi Zhengji nearly fainted—it was terrifying. Not only Guo Shier but others had also submitted lists, and the total amount of materials required would bankrupt the Gu Mi clan.
At this point, Mi Zhengji and Mi Zhong had no choice but to reluctantly agree. Refusing would mean the destruction of their clan. To preserve their lineage, they had to grit their teeth and accept it.
Mi Zhong was forced to hand over the materials he had collected. As the most powerful elder of the Gu Mi clan, he possessed a large amount of material intended for his own advancement. Now, he had no choice but to give it all up.
Guo Shier knew this was the best outcome. If he sought full revenge, those who had been captured would suffer greatly. The people of the Gu Mi clan might not be able to defeat them, but they could easily kill those captured to vent their anger.
Although Luo Jie and the others wanted to exterminate every member of the Gu Mi clan, they knew it was impossible to kill all the people from the continent. Even if they killed the clan’s leaders, the number remained terrifying. After all, they weren’t cold-blooded animals and couldn’t commit such mass killings.

So, after killing the direct responsible person, it was time to discuss compensation. First, those who were captured needed to be taken care of, with each of them receiving substantial compensation. Guo Shier and the others also prepared a list, and only then did things come to an end. Since Luo Jie controlled all the ancient master-level experts of the Gu Mi family, his orders were carried out firmly.

Guo Shier and the others temporarily settled in Gu Mi City. The Gu Mi family provided a huge manor, and Li Ran also moved in. Guo Shier chose a delicate small building, Li Ran selected another nearby one, and Luo Jie and the others also picked their own residences.

There was much work to be done, and Guo Shier knew he couldn’t leave for now and would have to live in Gu Mi City for a long time. He wanted to communicate with Li Ran again, but to his surprise, that guy left quietly, leaving Guo Shier a jade talisman, saying he would be away for a while but would return soon to pick up some things.

Upon learning of another expert who surpassed the ninth-tier altar, Li Ran immediately headed to the Employment Association. He had founded this association but had always operated behind the scenes. Now that he had the chance to leave, he had to handle many matters and retrieve some items he had stored.

Li Ran also had a business association in a continent far away from here. Some things in the small world were extremely valuable in the larger world, and he didn’t want to return empty-handed.

Guo Shier practiced diligently every day. He needed to level up quickly to have a chance of survival in the larger world. He knew it would be extremely difficult to reach the eighth or even ninth-tier altar quickly, so the best approach was to progress step by step, leveling up as much as possible at each stage.

Since Li Ran left, Guo Shier had been practicing with Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan, mainly by consuming soul pearls and refining them with soul scriptures. By combining these two methods, the souls of the three of them grew rapidly, and soon Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan entered seclusion to level up. As for Nan You, he started preparing to level up once he entered the manor. Chen Tianyao followed Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan to handle various follow-up tasks.

The Gu Mi family kept sending large amounts of materials, with several large talisman storage bags arriving every three to five days. The old man was overjoyed, busy organizing various rare materials. He had already gathered enough to reach the fifth-tier altar. What made Guo Shier truly extraordinary was that his soul faced no bottlenecks during leveling up. With the soul pearls he plundered and the soul scriptures, as long as he had enough materials, reaching the ninth-tier altar was just a matter of time.

The only thing Guo Shier was unsure about was whether he would have enough time to advance. Seeing Li Ran’s urgent attitude, he knew he wouldn’t stay in this small world for long. A year later, Guo Shier advanced to the fifth-tier altar. Two years later, he reached the sixth-tier altar. Ying Mo, Luo Zhan, and Nan You all advanced to the third-tier altar. Chen Tianyao had already been sent out to handle matters. Over the course of three years, Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan killed many of the main culprits from the Gu Mi family and successfully advanced to the eighth-tier altar. During this time, Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan strongly supported some ordinary families, becoming the de facto rulers of the Gu Mi family and doing everything possible to weaken them. Mi Zhengji and Mi Chong could only watch helplessly; they dared not resist and could only wait. If Luo Jie found an excuse, he would kill them without hesitation. By the fourth year, the Luo family founded by Luo Jie began to develop on a large scale. The continents occupied by the Gu Mi family were highly suitable for soul growth, so many talented infants emerged within the Luo family. Relying on the Hiring Association, Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan began to cultivate the next generation of disciples intensively. That year, Li Ran finally returned to Gu Mi City. He brought with him his subordinates—over 200 altar-level experts and more than 30,000 high-level great sage masters, all elites among professionals. He told Guo Shier that these people would stay on the Gu Mi continent to assist Luo Jie and the others and would never leave again. It was only then that Luo Jie took action against the Gu Mi family, killing all its high-ranking members in one go. Guo Shier didn’t interfere at all in these matters; Luo Jie controlled everything related to the family, while he focused solely on his cultivation. One day, Guo Shier, Li Ran, Ying Mo, and Luo Zhan went to the council hall to find Luo Jie. Guo Shier said, “Master, I’m about to leave here with Brother Li Ran soon. Master… will you come with us?” Luo Jie remained silent for a moment before saying, “The master doesn’t want to go anywhere. I’ll just stay here.” He had also discussed sacrificing to the stars with Guo Shier over the years but hadn’t made up his mind whether to go or not until now, when he finally expressed his decision clearly. Guo Shier asked, “Master, don’t you want to see the outside world?” Luo Jie replied, “Shier, I’m old… I’ve killed enough people. I don’t want to venture out anymore. I’ll just stay at home. Nanshan, if you want, go with Shier.” Qi Nanshan shook his head smilingly and said, “Elder, I’m still used to being with you. Hehe, I’m your follower after all.”

Luo Jie didn’t insist either and said, “Shier, go ahead. Your master won’t accompany you.”
Nan You hesitated for a moment before saying, “Shier, I’ll stay here too. After all these years of adventuring with you all, I feel very tired. It’s good here…” He was now Luo Jie’s right-hand assistant, governing several continents with great power, and didn’t want to take any more risks.
Chen Tianyao was similar to Nan You; this time he wasn’t in the council hall either but had gone to another continent on business.
Guo Shier asked, “Uncle Eagle Demon, Uncle Luo, are you coming with me or staying?” Although he knew both of them would choose to follow him, he still had to ask.
Eagle Demon said, “I’ve already made up my mind. There’s no need to ask me.”
Luo Zhan nodded and said, “There’s no need to ask me either. Hehe, I’ll definitely go with Shier.” He and Eagle Demon were different from others—they had followed Guo Shier since he was very young and had stayed by his side to this day, just like the relationship between Qi Nan Shan and Luo Jie; Qi Nan Shan would never give up following Luo Jie either.
The hall was filled with a sense of sadness at parting. Guo Shier knew well that leaving here this time, he might never see his master Luo Jie or Grandpa Nan Shan again. Luo Jie forced a smile and said, “Shier, take care of yourself. If you can’t get out, come back… This place is your home…”
Guo Shier remained silent for a long time before saying, “Master, Grandpa Nan Shan, take care of yourselves.”
Luo Jie stood up and went over to Guo Shier. Just like when he was young, he gently touched his head and sighed, “You’ve grown up now. It’s time to walk your own path… You no longer need your master’s guidance. You’ve been the best disciple I’ve ever had, and I’ve doted on you the most. From now on… you’ll have to rely on yourself.” With a sigh, his figure gradually disappeared.
Qi Nan Shan smiled and said, “Kid, stay a few more days. I’ll have someone bring you some things. If things outside aren’t satisfactory, come back to Grandpa Nan Shan. Hehe, even if you cause chaos outside, as long as you come back, Grandpa will take care of you!” He reached out and pulled out a handful of beads, adding, “You’ve been cultivating these days, so you probably don’t have any offerings left, right? These sealed offerings are for you… They’re all fine Spirit Beasts.”
Guo Shier bowed respectfully and said, “Thank you, Grandpa Nan Shan.”
Qi Nan Shan smiled and said, “Don’t be polite with Grandpa…” With that, he also vanished. Like Luo Jie, he couldn’t bear to watch Guo Shier leave, so he simply stepped aside first, otherwise he would have felt too heartbroken.

When Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan left, they both nodded at Li Ran, but neither of them spoke to him and simply teleported away.
Li Ran sighed, “You seem to have a deep bond with them…”
Guo Shier sighed and said, “Master Luo Jie… was the first person to take me into the world of talismans. I was only eight years old at that time.”
Li Ran said, “I remember his rank was quite low back then.”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly, “Master rank… Hehe, I thought… that was the highest rank for talisman practitioners.”
Li Ran laughed loudly, “If I had shown you my current level back then, you would have been terrified, right? Haha. But… when I tasted the braised pork ribs you cooked… tsk tsk, it really was different.”
Guo Shier’s face turned red instantly. He said, “Brother Li Ran, you’re too good at pretending.”
Li Ran shook his head. “It’s not that I’m pretending. It’s just that your strength is too weak to tell the difference.”
Guo Shier and Li Ran returned to the small building. Guo Shier asked, “Brother Li Ran, is everything ready?”
Li Ran nodded. “Mm, basically everything is ready. This is for you… I no longer need it. It’s some rare materials, mostly needed to advance to the ninth-level altar.” He handed over two large talisman storage bags.
Guo Shier was overjoyed. He was exactly short of some of these materials and no longer had time to collect them. After putting the talisman storage bags into the altar, the old man took a quick look and exclaimed in delight. Some materials could never be found without luck and opportunity. He had been worried about this, only to have it solved right away.
After thanking him, Guo Shier said, “Before leaving, I need to find a few people and say goodbye to them.”
Li Ran asked curiously, “Who are they?”