Confidence? None Whatsoever!

The Ouyang Lineage was so poor they had to beg for food.

Treasures? Right now, the Ouyang Lineage's greatest treasure is their younger sister.

But Ouyang Ming wasn't shameless enough to give his sister away to someone else. Besides, sister, you're not good enough for Brother Xinghe!

Faced with the relentless pressure from the Wang and Liu families, Ouyang Ming was at a loss.

"Hehe, actually, the Ouyang Lineage's gift has already been sent."

Chu Xinghe suddenly spoke, and his words stunned everyone present.

Even the Grand Elder looked at Chu Xinghe with an incredulous expression.

The Wang and Liu families were clearly trying to make things difficult for the Ouyang Lineage, since they had just suffered a major embarrassment and wanted to see the Ouyang Lineage make a fool of themselves.

"Elder, the Ouyang Lineage is a thousand-year-old clan. Our Vast Heaven Sect invited the entire Ouyang Lineage to come, which shows our utmost sincerity. Is there any better gift in this world than sincerity?"

Chu Xinghe spoke with a smile.

Upon hearing this, the Grand Elder smiled.

Although he knew perfectly well that Chu Xinghe was deliberately helping the Ouyang Lineage, there was absolutely nothing wrong with what he said.

Sincerity is the greatest gift in the world. Unlike the Wang and Liu families, it's one thing for you to offer treasures— the Vast Heaven Sect doesn't care about the value of the gifts—but what are your brats trying to do by jumping out like this?

The Grand Elder smiled, and the other members of the Vast Heaven Sect around him also smiled.

Everyone knows that Chu Xinghe is helping the Ouyang Lineage out of an awkward situation.

Take a look!

This is the character and magnanimity of Senior Brother Xinghe.

Given the Ouyang Lineage's current state of decline, how could they possibly have any gifts?

Doesn't this person deserve sympathy?

Doesn't she deserve pity?

But the Wang and Liu families are still being so aggressive. It's bad enough that you've already lost face, but you want to make others lose face too?

That's utterly insidious.

It has to be Senior Brother Xinghe, he's so kind and righteous!

Ouyang Ming looked at Chu Xinghe with gratitude in his eyes. He knew, of course, that what Brother Xinghe had just said was to help him.

Ouyang Ling's eyes were filled with murderous intent as she looked at her brother...

The Wang and Liu families were practically spitting blood by now.

Could you have been less blatant in your favoritism towards the Ouyang Lineage?

When the three families came together, the Wang and Liu families both thought the opportunity was on their side, and the Ouyang Lineage was just there to make up the numbers.

Would the Vast Heaven Sect have lost their minds and chosen the Ouyang Lineage?

But now both families suddenly feel that something is not quite right.

What happened to being a mere participant?

Is it really okay for you to be so biased towards the Ouyang Lineage?

The banquet was generally pleasant, except for a slightly unpleasant ending.

After the Ouyang Lineage finished eating, they even took out bags to pack up the leftovers. The Vast Heaven Sect didn't mind; they said, "Go ahead and pack it up. At most, our Spirit Crane Palace's livestock will be too hungry to sleep tonight."

The Wang and Liu families were furious; the Ouyang Lineage had gone too far!

They even wanted to pack up our leftovers, so the Wang and Liu families got angry and just sat down and started eating.

As a result, two disciples from the Liu Lineage and three disciples from the Wang Lineage fainted on the spot.

Do you think you're members of the Ouyang Lineage?

After the banquet ended and everyone left, the Grand Elder kept Chu Xinghe behind.

"Xinghe... you value the Ouyang Lineage highly!"

"To be honest, Elder, it is!"

"I will report this matter to the sect leader. However, the Ouyang Lineage has fallen to such a state. If they want to rise again..." The elder did not say anything more, only telling Chu Xinghe that the sect leader would personally examine the three families in the Haotian Grand Hall three days later. If the Ouyang Lineage wanted to stand out, they could not rely on their appetite alone.

After returning to his residence with Senior Brother Feng, Chu Xinghe tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

In the real battle three days from now, do the Ouyang Lineage have a chance of winning?

What chance do they have of winning?! Unless it's a contest of eating steamed buns!

If the Ouyang Lineage could utterly crush the Wang and Liu families, how could they compare to the forging and imbuing of spirit weapons?

Are the Ouyang siblings' abilities really reliable?

Chu Xinghe felt this question was unnecessary. If their technology were even slightly reliable, would he need to hire them?

Or... let's drug the Wang and Liu families!

Did they poison both of them to death at the Spirit Crane Palace?

Taixing. The Grand Elder's alchemy skills are too strong. Spirit Crane Palace may not have many other things, but it has plenty of medicine. He'll definitely be able to save people.

This road is blocked!

Chu Xinghe racked his brains, and at the same time, he admired the Grand Elder immensely.

The behind-the-scenes manipulation is incredibly difficult, yet the Grand Elder has managed to operate with unwavering composure for so many years. That alone is something I should learn from.

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, Chu Xinghe went to have breakfast with Senior Brother Feng...

But today's cafeteria was different. A group of bewildered fellow students, holding plates, told Chu Xinghe that there was no breakfast left.

The Ouyang Lineage arrived before dawn.

A group of people started eating in the cafeteria, and after finishing breakfast there, they blocked the kitchen to eat.

The twenty-odd cooks were stirring so hard that sparks were flying from the stoves, but they still couldn't keep up with the Ouyang Lineage's eating pace.

I heard that the pigs in the livestock shed at the Spirit Crane Palace were squealing loudly from hunger last night.

Senior Brother Feng, wiping away tears, went to the kitchen to make arrangements: we're hiring cooks today, twice the usual number...

Chu Xinghe then sought out the cold-blooded assassin Ouyang Ming.

"Thank you so much, Brother Xinghe, for yesterday... slurp slurp..." Half a bowl of cold noodles was downed.

"Ouyang, the sect leader will personally examine the three families in three days. I wonder if the Ouyang Lineage is confident?" Chu Xinghe was now trying his luck, as if he had nothing to lose.

"Confidence? Absolutely not!"

Chu Xinghe: "???"

Brother Ouyang... can't you at least put on a brave face for me?

What does it mean that you answered so decisively that you had absolutely no confidence?

"The Ouyang Lineage, a thousand-year-old clan, doesn't they have any heritage or foundation?"

"If anyone else asked, I would definitely say yes, but Brother Xinghe treated me with sincerity, and I must repay him with sincerity. The Ouyang Lineage is now so poor that we can't even afford underwear, let alone a foundation. We suffered from famine in the first two years, and we even had to sell the tools we used to forge spiritual weapons. I'm sorry to have troubled you, Brother Xinghe."

Chu Xinghe's vision went black...

But then again, isn't this exactly what I wanted?

If the Ouyang Lineage were to actually join the Vast Heaven Sect, let's not even talk about whether the pigs in the livestock shed would agree; just tell me, would it be safe to entrust them with the tasks of refining spiritual weapons and imbuing them with spirits?

With the Ouyang Lineage, how could I possibly lose!

Chu Xinghe left the cafeteria. It was one thing that he hadn't been able to eat breakfast, but the Ouyang Lineage's strength was truly heaven-defying.

So in the end, I was the one who bore the brunt of it all.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

During those three days, Chu Xinghe was having hallucinations.

Could it be that Ouyang Ming is hiding his true strength, waiting to play dumb and then suddenly become a powerful force to be reckoned with?

Don't underestimate a young person's potential.

Forget it... the Ouyang Lineage is truly poor...

Haotian Palace, Haotian Grand Hall.

The elders of all the palaces of the Vast Heaven Sect gathered here, with Sect Gu Mingchao sitting at the head of the table.

The three families then stepped forward in turn to pay their respects.

"Alright, enough with the nonsense. You all know perfectly well why we invited you three to our Vast Heaven Sect. If you join our Vast Heaven Sect, we will support you at all costs, just to create the strongest spiritual weapon family in the world."

Gu Mingchao's words made the Wang and Liu families' eyes light up.

No one doubted Gu Mingchao's words, and the Vast Heaven Sect definitely had the strength to back it up.

As for Ouyang Ming, he remained calm... extremely calm, a calmness that made Chu Xinghe, standing to the side, feel as if he were seeing himself in him.

Sure enough... when you have absolutely no desire to win and no fighting spirit whatsoever, nothing can shake your resolve.

"Now the three of you can state your demands."

Gu Mingchao waved his hand, signaling the three families to speak.

"Sect Master, let me speak first. My Liu Lineage started with spirit weapons. Although it hasn't been around for long, our development has been quite smooth. If we can join the Vast Heaven Sect, we can rival the major spirit weapon families in the world within ten years. As for resources, the Liu Lineage hopes to receive at least 150,000 high-grade spirit stones every year."

While Liu Dezhu was speaking, he secretly glanced at Gu Mingchao. When Gu Mingchao heard the number 150,000, he showed no reaction whatsoever, indicating that Gu Mingchao did not care about this number.

As expected of the Vast Heaven Sect, their strength is truly formidable.

150,000 high-grade spirit stones are enough to support the annual operation of a large sect.

"Sect Master, if the Wang Lineage joins the Vast Heaven Sect, they can rank among the top ten families of spirit weapons in the world within ten years, and the sect only needs to contribute 130,000 high-grade spirit stones each year."

After Wang Tieshan finished speaking, Liu Dezhu glared at him!

Roll it up! Just roll it up for me!

Wang Tieshan, that despicable old dog, deliberately let me speak first, he was just waiting for me here.

Gu Mingchao remained silent, his gaze fixed on Ouyang Ming.

"Sect Master, if the Ouyang Lineage can join the Vast Heaven Sect, we can't guarantee the timeline, but we will do our utmost. As for spirit stones, we need at least a million high-grade spirit stones every year."

Good heavens!

When Ouyang Ming said this, not only the others, but even Chu Xinghe was stunned.

The two families in front of him were arguing back and forth, and Chu Xinghe even thought that Ouyang Ming would say that as long as Vast Heaven Sect provided meals, it would be fine.

With this alone, wouldn't it bankrupt those two companies?

But to everyone's surprise, Ouyang Ming did the opposite, making no promises whatsoever and immediately demanding a million high-grade spirit stones?

"Ouyang Ming, do you know that even large sects rarely consume that many spirit stones in a year?"

The Grand Elder couldn't help but speak up.

"Reporting to the Grand Elder, the Ouyang Lineage has never skimped on the inheritance of spiritual weapons. The Ouyang Lineage only produces the best spiritual weapons and only creates the most perfect spirit enchantments. And good things are never cheap."

Upon hearing Ouyang Ming's words, everyone couldn't help but nod in agreement.

The Ouyang Lineage's peak era was not only due to their excellent craftsmanship, but also their immense wealth.

However, the Ouyang Lineage's prestige is justified. Of the ten divine swords of the Vast Heaven Sect, six were crafted by the ancestors of the Ouyang Lineage. The Ouyang Lineage has forged countless peerless divine weapons, and their spirit-enchanted weapons are ridiculously powerful.

"The Vast Heaven Sect isn't unable to afford a million spirit stones, but the Ouyang Lineage needs to show me you're worth that price."

Gu Mingchao spoke, looking at Ouyang Ming with anticipation.

But Chu Xinghe had no expectations whatsoever...

Soon, the entrance exams began.

The Liu Lineage was the first to make a move, with Liu Lineage family head, Liu Dezhu, personally taking charge. He wanted to forge a long sword, a top-grade spiritual weapon!

It has to be said that Liu Dezhu, that old guy, is quite skilled. After a series of operations that Chu Xinghe couldn't quite understand, he forged a long sword that shimmered with a ghostly light.

And the quality of this spiritual weapon even reached the highest level.

Spiritual weapons are divided into five grades: mortal, spiritual, supreme, holy, and divine.

The Vast Heaven Sect's ten divine swords are all of the divine grade, but the Heaven-Supporting Sword surpasses the divine grade.

As for the Haotian Sword Casket... that's a super-grade item, not in this category.

Given how easily Liu Dezhu can create top-tier items, it's not impossible that he could occasionally create holy-grade items if he were to break through his current limitations.

Then Wang Tieshan of the Wang Lineage took action. The Wang Lineage's crafting skills were inferior to the Liu Lineage's, but their Spirit Attachment Art were Liu Lineage.

Wang Tieshan personally crafted a spirit weapon longsword that was close to the highest grade. Then, with the blessing of the Spirit Enchantment Technique, the spirit weapon surpassed its grade and successfully entered the category of the highest grade.

Gu Mingchao looked at Wang Tieshan with obvious satisfaction, and the surrounding elders also nodded in agreement.

Finally, it was the Ouyang Lineage's turn.

Ouyang Ming: "Um... Patriarch Liu Lineage, could I borrow your tools and materials?"

The audience. "???"