"And to all of you, I don’t need you to brave fire and water for me. As long as you can truly dedicate yourselves to serving the Nanyan Auction House, I will never let you down." Mu Hanyan made up his mind, and then addressed the several stewards, including Housekeeper Sun.
"Please rest assured, Young Master, we will definitely not let you down," Housekeeper Sun and the others all said with grave sincerity.
In the Holy Court Continent, what mattered most was strength, and Star Divination Masters were no exception. To enhance their strength, even Masters would sign indenture contracts. What was there for them to hesitate about?
Next, Mu Hanyan went over Qu Shanling’s Hand Formation in his mind again, made some modifications, and taught it to Qu Shanling. Qu the Godman was so delighted that he was dancing with joy, completely lacking the demeanor of a Great Sword Master.
Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the courtyard gate. A guard came to report but hesitated, fearing he might disturb Mu Nan and Master Qu among others. He lingered outside the door, peeking in.
"What’s happened?" Mu Nan asked.
"A merchant has arrived outside, claiming to have a Griffin Egg to auction and seeking Master Qu’s help to appraise it," the guard said.
"A Griffin!" Mu Nan and the others were all equally startled.
The Griffin was a top-tier Exotic Beast. Its might had already become legendary, with only the methods for taming them known to the Royal Families of various countries. They were exceedingly rare, and ordinary people would not even have the chance to see one. As for wild ones? It wasn’t something a common swordsman could capture.
That someone had obtained a Griffin Egg was an incredibly lucky stroke.
"Let’s go take a look," Mu Nan said, brimming with excitement. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ ɴovelfire.net
"I’ll take a look myself," Qu Shanling, having perfected his Hand Formation, was equally spirited. After all, for a god-man, what was most important was having a vast range of experiences. He didn’t want to miss this opportunity to broaden his horizons.
"Master Qu, are you sure you’re alright?" Mu Nan asked with concern, remembering how Qu had just been vomiting quite a bit of blood—there must have been a whole basin of it.
"It’s nothing, I’ll just need to replenish my strength," Qu Shanling replied as he pulled out a giant pork leg from his bosom and took another ferocious bite.
Mu Nan’s forehead broke out in a cold sweat, which he then silently wiped away.
Upon arriving at the main courtyard, they saw a large group of merchants and onlookers surrounding a man dressed like a swordsman, all asking curiously and excitedly about something.
The man appeared to be in his thirties, holding in his hand an oddly-patterned bird egg, speaking animatedly to the crowd about the origins of the egg.
After asking a nearby guard, Mu Hanyan learned that his name was Yang Hong, and what he held was, purportedly, the Griffin Egg.
According to him, he had accidentally entered the depths of the Longyan Mountain range while adventuring about a month ago and found the egg in a Griffin’s nest. At the time, the Griffin that was guarding the nest was engaged in battle with a Golden Horned Python. As the two top-tier Exotic Beasts fought furiously, he quietly sneaked into the Griffin’s nest and stole the Griffin Egg.
The onlooking crowd was full of curiosity and excitement, asking for details about the battle between the Griffin and Golden Horned Python. Yang Hong responded fluidly without any discrepancies, and where his story grew exciting, he gesticulated and jumped about, eliciting gasps of astonishment from his audience.
"Master Qu is here, Master Qu is here! Quickly ask Master Qu to appraise it for you. As long as it’s confirmed to be a Griffin Egg, you’re guaranteed a good price," someone shouted as they saw Qu Shanling step out.
The crowd quieted, bowing respectfully to Master Qu.
At this moment, of course, Qu Shanling had already stowed away the pork leg, standing with hands clasped behind his back, holding his head high and chest out with the air and bearing of someone profound, coupled with the Tenth Rank Great Swordsman cultivation and a pair of Divine Light-filled eyes that seemed to fathom the depths. It made people involuntarily feel a sense of awe, the very image of a transcendent sage.