The Salvatore Family

At the Salvatore family grounds.

A stately old man was looking at the Contact Stone Armour talisman over and over again. His gaze was aloof and indifferent, "He changed the ink recipe from ten grams of Iron flow grass to twenty grams and reduced the sand from the green eagle to three grams. He also inscribed the marking for 'rebound'. A little trick, not worth mentioning."

Although the man said it to sound easy, he knew it was not so. He handed it back to the retainer beside Elijah. He turned to the middle-aged man that was drinking a glass of wine.

"Did you call me for a tier-2 talisman, Elijah? I was in the middle of a very important experiment." He did not attempt to mince words with this new head of the Salvatore family.

"Of course not, Craftsman Brook, Look at this." Elijah motioned to Gabe and he presented the blood-red talisman with dark red markings.

It took everything Craftsman Brook had to prevent his hands from shaking. This tier-4 talisman was something else, he could feel the expertise in the crafting. He looked at the talisman carefully itching to study it and learn more skills.

"So, Craftsman Brook. How is this one?" 

"It is a tier-4 talisman. The Blood Body talisman. It is an explosion talisman that should be activated with blood. Not bad."

Elijah chuckled, swirling the liquid in his cup. "As expected of Craftsman Brook. This tier-4 talisman is nothing in your eyes."

"Young people don't know the immensity of heaven and earth. Even though it is a tier-4 talisman, its marking is not stable enough and this would affect the activation of the talisman. The ink is also not the best for this talisman. Back then I crafted the Blood body talisman, I would prefer to use the blood of a two tails Hornet Beetle a binding force in the ink. Young people, these days are always in a hurry."

Elijah chucked, "Sorry for calling you out for this little thing. Please return to your experiment."

Craftsman Brook stood up and left not looking back at the talisman as if they were in truth nothing of importance. 

The wine glass in Elijah's hands was crushed. Gabe looked down and he dared not breath

"How dare he look down on me? He is just a retainer of the Salvatore family? How dare you all look down on me?"

Gabe just bowed his head even deeper. Craftsman Brooke was more than a retainer of the Salvatore family.

When Jeremy Salvatore, the former head of the Salvatore family who suddenly went missing, was once in a dire situation, craftsman Brooke had saved him. The action had left Craftsman Brooke severely injured and in return, Jeremy offered him a post of a retainer.

Having spent many years in the Salvatore family as a retainer, he was well-qualified and had a much-respected status. His attainment in the Dao of Talismans was also high, he was the only person in the town who could craft a tier-4 talisman. Having rubbed shoulders with Jeremy Salvatore, he had zero regards for Elijah Salvatore.

"This talisman craftsman. What do you know about him?" Elijah calmed down a little to ask.

"Sir, he came to town not long ago. According to him, his master died and sent him here. He is an early-stage Dao Flowering Cultivator with an innate Spatial Dao seed. He also has a shop."

"Why have you invited him!?" Elijah snapped. What if some other family snatches him first?

Gabe hesitated. "Sir, his shop is at the seventh Alley."

Elijah bristled, his eyes almost turning red in anger, "So?"

Gabe swallowed, "The old master said..."

"The Old master? I said nobody should mention him in this house! Take him away."

Two guards stepped forward and dragged Gabe away. Furious, Elijah smashed the table.

A low chuckle came from the walls. It was the young man that Raizel had met at the Dead Forest. He watched to the seat in the room like he was taking a leisurely stroll in his courtyard.

"I have let you see such a sight, Young master Austin!" The angry Elijah was nowhere to be seen. He had an awkward and flattering smile on his face.

"Don't worry. It is only natural that disobedient servants be punished. I am done with my mission in Sein city. I came to pick up the goods and be on my way." 

"This..."

"Are they not yet ready?" Austin's eyes narrowed and his eyes began to fashion a reddish hue within. 

He was just a late-stage Dao budding Cultivator but yet his pressure made Austin, a Dao Flowering cultivator unable to move.

There are eight cultivation realms for those born with a Dao seed in Terra. Dao Imbibition, Dao Budding, Dao Flowering, Dao Tribulation, Dao Master, Dao Lord, Dao Transcendence, Dao Origin. Each realm of cultivation is a massive dividing line, a near insurmountable chasm. 

However, Austin crossed this divide like it was nothing, suppressing a Dao Flowering Cultivator till he couldn't breathe.

"Just give me a few hours. I will provide the girls at once." Elijah managed to speak out.

The pressure was gone in an instant. His bright blue eyes looked innocent as he murmured, "You should have said that sooner."

_____

"Where are you always running off? You will be leaving tomorrow morning. Let me take you out today. Lunch is on me." John's speed was not any less than Wren as he stubbornly stuck with him.

Wren leapt on a fence, John was next to him. Went down a corner and again he was at his heels.

Wren stopped, panting a little. He guessed it was stupid of him to run against someone in a higher stage.

"Thanks for your offer. I have already had lunch." Wren said.

"You are lying. What are you hiding? Is someone bullying?" His eyes were warm with concern and Wren felt a little guilty. 

He shifted his eyes awkwardly, "It is a little shop, I go there to cultivate and help around sometimes...You can come along if you want but don't make noise. Mister Raizel don't like noise and his shop is in the seventh alley so if you don't want to come..." After confessing, he felt a little better so he good-naturally teased his friend.

John snorted, "Like I am afraid of anything. I am going to be a hero, enlightening the heathens and destroying the demonic cultivators."

"Why? Did they do anything to you?" A young man asked them. He looked kind and handsome but yet Wren felt cold sweat.

John narrowed his eyes. He drew himself to his full height which towered over the young man. He could not stand looking down on his dream, he moved to respond when Wren covered his mouth. He turned his furious eyes at him and he ignored him.

"Sorry, Sir. Please don't mind him."

Austin looked at the boy, a hint of interest in his eyes. "I don't mind him at all. I am just interested in what he has to say."

He moved back a little with John, holding his hand tight. Even John knew by now, something was up. He stopped struggling and followed Wren's directive.

Wren smiled faintly. "Sir, we would love to entertain you however our master is already expecting us back." He cupped his fist and leapt up with his fastest speed with John hurriedly following him after him.

Austin's eyes were bright with interest. He was just wandering about when he heard the two boys discussing. He did not expect to meet such a little gem. The boy was still young, how could he hide the fear that flashed in his eyes?

He rubbed his chin. He was sure the young boy had never seen him before. his cultivation level was too low to determine how strong he was. It had to be an astonishing treasure or the young boy was extremely perceptive. Either way, he wins.

A smile was on his face as he followed them. He watched them enter an alley and he laughed. What master? The little brats must be lying. 

As he moved to enter the alley, He felt incomparable heat like he was within a furnace and was about to be burnt to ashes. 

He used a heaven ranked speed skill and his body became like a cane and flew into the air. He furrowed his brows, panting heavily.

This was the warning signal of a formation.

Even now he had left the environment of the formation, he was still feeling extremely hot as if all the blood in his body was about to boil and bubble.

He brought the pill bottle of the Snow and Ice pill and swallowed the entire bottle.

Feeling his entire temperature go down to normal, he sighed relief. He did not imagine that simply following two boys would lead to him discovering such a powerful formation in this little town. He needed to report this.

He returned to the ground and left for home but this time he had two shadows beneath his feet.