The three mages of the Celestial Master Order were now the focus of everyone's attention, and Xing Yan was no exception. Naturally, he had witnessed the exchange between Zhang Yuner and Bao Chuxiong.
Only then did Xing Yan remember his own position. He hurriedly took Qiong Rong by the hand, squeezed out of the crowd, and approached them.
Once before them, Xing Yan bowed with clasped hands.
"Zhang Xingyan of the Shangqing Palace greets my fellow Daoists of the Celestial Master Order. I witnessed your talisman spells just now. Truly marvelous-they left me breathless with admiration!"
Seeing Xing Yan salute them, Lin Xu and his two companions offered brief bows in return. Compared with Xing Yan's warmth, however, their response was rather chilly. Lin Xu said:
"You flatter us, Hall Master Zhang. In fact, I ought to congratulate you."
"Why?"
"You have been in the Shangqing Palace for only three or four months, yet they already value you enough to send you out to take sole charge of matters. That certainly deserves congratulations."
"Ah, hardly! You make too much of me, Brother Lin."
Though he exchanged polite words, Xing Yan felt puzzled.
He barely knew Lin Xu and his companions, yet from the way Lin Xu spoke, they seemed to know quite a lot about him.
While he was still wondering, Lin Xu continued:
"Hall Master Zhang entered the Shangqing Palace in the third month, then left Horseshoe Mountain at the end of that month to assume his post as hall master of the Four Seas Hall on Mount Luofu. Subtracting the month spent traveling, you have only been in the Shangqing Palace for a little over two months. To be entrusted with such an important task after so little time, you must surely have mastered the exquisite Daoist arts