An awkward atmosphere spread through the Taihuang Hall.
Old Ancestor Taihuang sat in the seat of honor, his eyes lowered to the floor. His face remained calm, but inside, a storm was raging.
It was no wonder. A junior he had never once taken seriously had transformed in the blink of an eye, advanced to the Jie Realm, and become a martial powerhouse standing at the pinnacle of the world, just like him.
And only moments ago, he had been trying to swindle him out of his belongings. In Jiang Yan's eyes, all that behavior must have made him look like a clown.
If Jiang Yan had merely been an Extremity Realm martial artist—even at the peak of that realm, a forbidden prodigy, a formidable figure with every chance of reaching the Jie Realm—Old Ancestor Taihuang still would not have taken him seriously.
In his eyes, all beneath the Jie Realm were ants. His words were like the might of heaven, and whoever heard them had to obey.
A Jie Realm divine weapon belonged to the virtuous. If Jiang Yan's cultivation was insufficient, then he was unworthy of it—and Old Ancestor Taihuang was the most suitable person to wield it.
But all of that had turned to bubbles the moment Jiang Yan revealed his cultivation.
"Fellow Daoist Jiang... I was too presumptuous earlier!"
Half a quarter-hour later, Old Ancestor Taihuang finally moved. He swept his right hand, and a glittering golden object flew toward Jiang Yan, hovering before him.
"This is Solar Gold Essence, a treasure rarely found in this world. It contains abundant Solar True Flame and can be used to forge weapons or as an array material. It is priceless. Please accept it, Fellow Daoist Jiang."
No one could insult a Jie Realm cultivator—even one who had only