Han Xuanji looked at Ling Cang's slightly uneasy face and said in a calm tone:
"Brother Ling, you're too kind."
The path of spiritual practice is filled with different experiences and encounters; there's no need to belittle yourself.
He spoke sincerely, without a trace of condescension.
Ling Cang was taken aback upon hearing this, then bowed deeply to him without saying anything more.
Some things, if said too much, just seem pretentious.
He turned and led the two away, his back looking more relaxed than when he arrived.
Besides them, there were several familiar figures.
Among them are Gu Changfeng, a descendant of the Saint Venerable, who had some minor conflicts with Han Xuanji before; Chi Yuan, a disciple of the Saint Venerable and the fifth person representing the Sacred Court this time; and his friend Liu Wanxu.
These people, to varying degrees, harbored some kind of grudge against him.
Gu Changfeng stood at the edge of the crowd, his once arrogant face now filled with unease and anxiety.
Chi Yuan beside him was in no better shape; his moon-white robe remained spotless, but his hands, tucked into his sleeves, trembled slightly.
Liu Wanxu stood half a step behind Chi Yuan, a smile plastered on his face, but the smile seemed to carry a hint of bitterness.
Behind the three were several familiar faces, all of whom were cultivators who had clashed with Han Xuanji in the Nine Mysteries Saint Realm or the Shifang Immortal Domain back then.
Han Xuanji glanced over, somewhat surprised.
Gu Changfeng is a descendant of the Saint Venerable Wangdao, Chi Yuan is a disciple of the Saint Venerable Haoxuan. Both of them have Saint Venerable behind them. Logically speaking, even if they had a grudge before, they shouldn't be acting like this, right?
He subconsciously activated the system's detection function, and several pieces of information surfaced in his mind.
[ Gu Changfeng: Eternal True God Perfection, a direct descendant of the Gu Household, and a descendant of the Saint Venerable Wangdao. He recently received a secret order from his Lineage to repair his relationship with Han Xuanji at all costs. If he fails to gain Han Xuanji's forgiveness, he will be marginalized by the Lineage.]
[ Chi Yuan: Eternal True God Perfection, personally instructed by the Saint Venerable Haoxuan. Upon receiving his master's solemn order, he must immediately apologize to Han Xuanji and seek reconciliation, without the slightest negligence. If Han Xuanji refuses, his value will be reassessed.]
After reading these messages, Han Xuanji understood somewhat.
Only then did he belatedly realize that his identity was truly different from before.
During the selection battle, he was just a promising prodigy, a disciple of the Holy Lord.
The performance was stunning, but it seemed to be within a reasonable range, at most representing the face of the Holy Venerable Tianming lineage.
He won the Dragon Terrace Sacred Banquet and instantly became a saint, with the Immeasurable Saint Emperor personally expressing his approval.
Some things have quietly changed.
The Immeasurable Saint Emperor is Top-Tier Saint King and a Saint Emperor of the highest rank. As long as he doesn't act recklessly, he practically has absolute power within the Sacred Court.
It takes the combined efforts of the four Saint Venerable to barely maintain balance, but now two of the four Saint Venerable have sided with the Saint Emperor. The Holy Venerable Tianming is Han Xuanji's grandmaster, while the Saint Venerable Poxiao is a staunch supporter of the Saint Emperor.
Saint Venerable Wangdao or the Saint Venerable Haoxuan still possessed any semblance of clarity, they would have known that the tide had turned irreversibly.
The next era belongs to Han Xuanji.
All they can do is maintain good relations, or at least avoid becoming enemies.
The first step in establishing good relations was to have those who had previously clashed with Han Xuanji personally apologize.
If Han Xuanji does not forgive them, then these people will be abandoned without hesitation.
Chi Yuan stepped forward and bowed deeply to Han Xuanji. His voice was somewhat hoarse, but he tried his best to maintain sincerity:
" Young Venerable Han, I offended you a lot back then. It was Chi Yuan who was blind and did not recognize your True Person."
I have come today to apologize, and I hope that Young Venerable Han be magnanimous and not hold it against me.
After he finished speaking, he took out a jade box from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.
"This is the Taihao Hundred Saints Pill, personally refined by my master Saint Venerable Haoxuan. Although it is not a rare item, its advantage lies in its ability to strengthen the foundation and cultivate the essence, which is of some benefit to the Sage Realm Stage."
My teacher said, "Consider this a congratulatory gift for Young Venerable Han, as a small token of my apology."
Gu Changfeng also hurriedly stepped forward, bowing even lower than Chi Yuan, his tone even carrying a hint of pleading:
" Young Venerable Han, I was out of my mind back then. I listened to the slander of petty people and offended Young Venerable."
Mr. Gu realized his mistake; he truly realized his mistake.
This is an Eternal Saint Artifact crafted from an Eternal Jade Marrow Heart. Wearing it can nourish the soul and should be of some use to the Young Venerable's current soul cultivation.
Please, Young Venerable, accept this.
He held a pure white jade pendant above his head, his fingers trembling slightly.
Looking at the two people's postures and then at the results of the system's investigation, Han Xuanji felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.
He and Chi Yuan did indeed have a history of conflict, from the Ten Directions Immortal Hall to the Arbitration Sacred Hall, the other party repeatedly caused him trouble.
But upon closer reflection, those matters weren't particularly big or small, and he had long since stopped caring about them.
If these people hadn't gathered around today, he almost wouldn't have remembered.
As for Gu Changfeng, he had almost no recollection of him.
That incident back then is nothing to mention.
On the contrary, it brought him a lot of benefits; he should be thanking the other party.
However, if I really don't accept this gift, that would be truly harming the person, which wouldn't be as bad as it seems.
Han Xuanji took the jade box and jade pendant, casually put them into her sleeve, and said in a calm tone:
What's past is past; there's no need to bring it up again.
Chi Yuan and Gu Changfeng looked up almost simultaneously, their faces filled with disbelief.
They had prepared themselves to be harassed, humiliated, or even kicked out.
The words of Saint Venerable Haoxuan and Saint Venerable Wangdao were very clear: if Han Xuanji did not forgive them, there was no need for them to return.
But Han Xuanji just brushed it off so lightly?
What a kind person!
They were blind and wronged the "great philanthropist" Han Xuanji.
Chi Yuan's apple bobbed, and his eyes even felt a little sore.
He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but in the end he only bowed deeply again, his voice filled with barely suppressed gratitude:
"Thank you, Young Venerable Han. I, Chi Yuan, will remember you for the rest of my life."
Liu Wanxu also stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting, the bitterness on his face now transformed into genuine admiration.
He was initially worried that Han Xuanji take the opportunity to teach them a lesson, after all, Han Xuanji Ten Thousand Immortals Association back in the Shifang Immortal Domain.
But now it seems that Han Xuanji didn't take that matter seriously at all.
This magnanimity won him over completely.
This scene, witnessed by the onlookers, caused quite a stir.
Zhou Yuan was completely dumbfounded.
What happened?
He soon realized that something extraordinary seemed to have happened during his seclusion.
At this point, he disregarded his pride and asked a nearby cultivator for advice.
I just found out what happened while I was in seclusion.
All we can say is, "The world has changed in Nine Mysteries City."
The good news is that this person now bears the surname Han.
Many of the patriarchs and elders of the local forces in Nine Mysteries City recognized Chi Yuan and Gu Changfeng.
Saint Venerable and descendants of the Saint Venerable are beings they could never hope to reach under normal circumstances.
At this moment, the two of them were as humble as juniors who had done something wrong in front of Han Xuanji, and Han Xuanji's casual remark made them feel as if they had been granted a pardon.
what does that mean?
This means that Han Xuanji's status was far more exaggerated than they had imagined.
"Quickly, go back and investigate. Has anyone in our clan offended Young Venerable Han or anyone close to him?"
"That guy who had that argument with Young Venerable Han's disciple before? Quickly prepare gifts and go apologize!"
"We must not neglect Young Venerable Han's disciples and old friends in the future. We should befriend them if possible, and absolutely not offend them."
Similar whispers rose and fell among the crowd.
The leaders of those forces had different thoughts, but they all had one thing in common: from now on, the people around Han Xuanji would be the ones that Nine Mysteries City should not provoke.
That evening, Mo Chenxiao hosted a grand banquet in Nine Mysteries City.
The Nine Mysteries Palace was brightly lit, and various forces from all over the city came to offer their congratulations.
Han Xuanji sat in the main seat and helped Mo Chenxiao deal with several rounds of events before using the excuse of adjusting his breathing to retreat back to the Dustless Palace.