"This is a Golden Card with a storage limit of a million Spirit Stones. In the entire Jade City less than a thousand people have access to this card.
Reading that Patriarch Zhou wanted to transfer 500,000 spirit stones into your account, I upgraded your card to the highest possible level before transferring the required stones inside."
As Gao Zhen said those words, the staff reached the tray towards Yi Chen.
"Um...then what should I do with this other card??" Yi Chen asked doubtfully as he took out the red card from his robes.
"You may choose to keep it or give it back to us. Unlike the golden card, the red card has only one use, i.e. to store spirit stones.
However, with a golden card, you’ll have VIP access to the monthly and yearly auctions held by our Red Velvet Pavilion.
Not only that, with this golden card in hand, you’ll also be given a special 20% discount on all your future purchases from our guild as well."
Seeing the changes in Yi Chen’s expression as he carefully listened to her explanation made Gao Zhen realise that this was really Yi Chen’s first-time hearing about all these things.
When she realised this, her curiosity about his background increased greatly.
"So that’s how it is," Yi Chen nodded in understanding and decided to keep both the cards.
’I can use it when I don’t want to stand out in the future,’ he thought to himself as he kept the red card back inside his robe before finally taking the golden card from the tray.
He flipped the card to figure out how to use only to end up frowning after a moment.
An amused expression formed on Gao Zhen’s face when she saw Yi Chen’s antics and said, "Young Master Chen, once you infuse a drop of your blood on the card’s surface, it will be bound to you.
Once that’s done, you will freely be able to access the storage space inside."
"Ah, so that’s how it is!" Yi Chen exclaimed in realisation and immediately focused his attention on his thumb.
He was all fired up to bite the layer of skin on his thumb off to get some of his blood, but paused the very next moment.
Yi Chen: "..."
Gao Zhen: "???"
A frown appeared on Gao Zhen’s forehead when she saw Yi Chen just staring at his hand hesitantly.
"Is there a matter, Young Master?" she finally broke her silence
"Uhmm.... can you give me a pin to prick my thumb, please?"
He requested with an embarrassed expression.
"This..."
An expression of momentary confusion formed on Gao Zhen’s face, and the next moment she broke out in laughter.
Covering her mouth with her hand, she laughed until tears appeared in her eyes.
As for Yi Chen, seeing her reaction, his embarrassment only increased.
’Should I have just chewed my thumb’s skin off?’ he asked himself while glancing over his hand.
However, the answer once again came to him as a big ’no’.
It all looked so cool and heroic while reading it in those web novels, but when it was his turn to do it, he couldn’t help but chicken out.
’I’ll rather get cut by an enemy’s sword than tear my skin off with my own teeth...’
Just imagining him doing it sent a shiver down his spine.
As a result, he could only wait for Gao Zhen to calm down while trying to cope with his embarrassment.
It was only when Gao Zhen noticed Yi Chen sitting silently on the other side of the table that she forcibly calmed herself.
"Pardon my inappropriate behaviour, Young Master Chen. It was just too...unexpected,"
Holding her urge to break into another series of laughter, she said.
"In all my years as a cultivator, this is my first time seeing someone asking for a pin to prick their finger for blood.
Normally, we all just chew away the thumb’s layer and use the blood that comes out. Young Master Chen is indeed an unfathomable man,"
Gao Zhen finished her words with a playful smile. Her words sounded like praise but weren’t.
However, she didn’t allow Yi Chen the time to understand the underlying meaning and waved her hand towards the nearby staff.
"Bring a needle for Young Master Chen," she ordered.
"Y-Yes, Pavilion Manager," the staff member answered with an amused expression plastered on his face as he left the room.
It was clear that all this while he had been doing his best to keep himself from laughing.
Seeing this scene, Yi Chen could only sigh internally.
He was a simple man, and no man likes being embarrassed, especially in front of a woman.
’Since I’m already flooded in embarrassment, I might as well ride the wave with pride,’ Yi Chen decided to take action.
Raising his chin slightly up, he muttered as if it’s not him who’s wrong but the world.
"All those cultivators are just too barbaric! Why go to such lengths when just a prick from a small needle can get the work done?"
The next moment, he snorted and continued.
"They are all just too inconsiderate. No one wants their surroundings to be sprinkled with blood. Imagine the plight of the staff member who would have to clean it later on...
So, unlike how Manager Gao and others might perceive my actions, I consider it quite refined and something a cultivator should adhere to."
’Wow, that was really shameless...’ Yi Chen couldn’t help but praise his shamelessness.
A second later, he turned to check Gao Zhen’s reaction.
A thoughtful frown had appeared on her face.
’Time to hit the nail on the head then,’ Yi Chen thought with a smirk and asked.
"Manager Gao looks very refined herself, so I’m sure that my words would have also resonated with you. Right?
While it’s true that acting like the crowd is considered the norm, if one wants to create a change, they must stand out, even if it means getting embarrassed.
I’ve chosen to be that person and bring a change to this inelegant tradition."
By the time Yi Chen finished his words, his chin was high enough to ascend the realm.
"This..." Gao Zhen was out for words.
At first, she thought he was just being one of those men who were trying to cope with their embarrassment and humoured him by listening.
However, the more she listened, the more she realised how much sense his words made.
As a result, Yi Chen’s words were able to open a completely new way of thinking for her.
"Young Master Chen indeed has a profound way of thinking. No wonder Patriarch Zhou took a liking to you," Gao Zhen praised.
This time, there was no underlying meaning in her words as her impression of Yi Chen had increased by another level.
"Haha, I’m just a simple person who isn’t afraid to speak the truth," Yi Chen humbly added while grinning internally.
’Now this is how one overcomes embarrassment,’