New direction

Xia Qingyue immediately returned to her room after her small encounter with Shen.

"Master, what do you think?" She suddenly asked aloud despite being the only one in the room.

"I doubt he harbors any bad intentions towards your family" Suddenly, a young woman appeared out of nowhere and replied to her.

"...What about the sudden increase of his strength? I could sense that he wasn't hiding it unless he has even higher cultivation than me which is..." Qingyue didn't seem to be convinced out of her personal reasons but she let it go and asked for her master's opinion on this matter. The idea of Shen having even higher cultivation than her seemed even more unbelievable to her.

"That...he was truly just first layer of Nascent Profound Realm, however...unless he had an artifact that allowed him to partially hide his real strength, I don't know what to think of it." She explained and completely threw away any idea of him having higher cultivation than her.

"Is the master trying to say that he just broke through 3 layers right in front of my eyes?" Qingyue asked in a doubtful tone.

"That's impossible" She shook her head and dismissed her disciple's idea.

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Shen was finally done selling half of his cores to Hongyi and currently, they were engaging in some small talk. Upon discovering that Shen is much stronger than he first seemed to be, Hongyi intended to strengthen their connection. Furthermore, he could be even stronger than what he has shown right now.

"It truly makes me wonder how can mister Shen not be affiliated with any of the sects. With mister Shen's strength and age, he would be able to join almost any sect he wishes." Hongyi said with a light laugh.

[New quest: Travel to New Moon City and join New Moon Profound Palace which was set up by the imperial family. You may use regular entrance examination or make use of your connections. Further instructions will be given upon joining.]

'Is this the quest that will get me closer to imperial family?' Shen asked just to be sure even though it was a place set up by the imperial family.

[Yes, master]

"Haha, I was actually considering joining a sect for some time already. I enjoyed my freedom but it is hard to form friendships or brotherhoods when you are traveling everywhere alone." Shen said before taking a sip of tea with a melancholic expression.

"I see, I can totally sympathize with mister Shen. What is the sect the mister Shen is interested in? Mister Shen would probably be welcomed in any bigger city, however, joining one of the four major sects right off the bat might be impossible"

"Actually, I was thinking of making my name at New Moon City by joining New Moon Profound Palace to serve the imperial family. I have been brought up in this nation and I want to do something for it in return" Shen once again looked melancholic to evoke Hongyi's sympathy but the moment he heard New Moon Profound Palace, his face brightened.

"Mister Shen actually wants to join New Moon Profound Palace with his kind of talent?! If only more people were loyal as the mister Shen...Actually, I have some connections in New Moon City and even though I have no doubt in the mister Shen passing the examination, it would be much faster for one of the elders to look at mister Shen personally. With mister Shen's talent, they will wholeheartedly welcome you, I just need to pull a few strings to force their attention towards mister Shen. How about it, mister Shen?" Hongyi seemed pleasantly surprised by Shen's commitment to his nation.

'I can't believe I have suspected him even for a second...Such a loyal young man would be extremely valuable anywhere he would go' Hongyi thought, feeling slightly guilty.

"Lord Xia would actually be willing to do this for me? I can just go through the regular examination in case it would cost lord Xia a high price." Shen asked with widened eyes, "touched" by Hongyi's words.

"Nonsense, they will even thank me personally for sending someone of your talents to them, haha" Hongyi laughed while stroking his beard.

"Haha then I will put my trust in lord Xia, and please, just call me Shen, no need to be so formal."

"Alright, Shen, you may also call me Hongyi"

Shen wanted to refuse because of the age difference, however, Hongyi insisted.

"Shen, you have excellent talent, you show no signs of arrogance, instead, what I feel from you is indisputable confidence. Even when my daughter frankly revealed her suspicion, your posture hasn't changed one bit, and instead of getting offended, you have taken the high ground and treated it as a joke...I will be honest, I wouldn't mind having someone like you as my son-in-law, haha" Suddenly, Hongyi complimented him out of nowhere as if he started speaking out his real thoughts for the first time.

'Oi, oi...please don't drag me in that direction'

"You are too kind, you just don't know me long enough to notice my flaws, however, I thank you for your nice words. As for the matter of son-in-law...unless you have hidden some illegitimate daughter inside these walls, I doubt it is possible. I am not exactly interested in Yuanba if you won't mind me saying it so frankly." Shen replied with a friendly smile and his words, caused Hongyi to laugh.

"I will make contact with someone from New Moon Profound Palace as soon as possible."

Shen nodded his head and excused himself out. Shen told him that he would come back within a week's time to sell the last batch of the cores. He would also use this week to stop causing the chaos around the city since he felt like he was walking a tightrope, especially with Xia Qingyue's suspicion.

He would use this week to hunt profound beasts, the only downside was finding them. Ultimately, there were much more humans around than profound beasts, that's also one of the reasons why Shen decided to gather Death Energy through them...because it was more efficient.

'Now that I think about it I don't have any weapon yet. There are several weapons to choose from in the shop, however, they are quite expensive, at least when they aren't swords or spears. What I am looking for is something like gloves with claws or perhaps...a fan' Shen thought as he was slowly leaving the city while browsing the shop.