Looking at the exquisite yellow pavilion ahead, Li Yan knew they had arrived at the place for the assessment.
Places like this were usually not established too far from the mountain gate or entrance tower. Otherwise, would that not mean letting outsiders enter the other party's core territory?
Sure enough, when the two reached the exquisite yellow pavilion, the gray-robed elder ignored the guards at the entrance and led Li Yan directly into the first floor.
Among those guards was someone whose cultivation was comparable to the elder's. That man immediately nodded and smiled at the gray-robed elder in greeting, his attitude exceedingly friendly, while the elder merely gave a slight nod in return.
Li Yan knew this was because the gray-robed elder was a grandmaster of the Dao of alchemy. Even when such people encountered non-alchemy cultivators whose cultivation exceeded theirs, the latter would still treat them with great courtesy.
That was also why Li Yan had chosen this identity to enter. Later on, he needed to possess "a skill of his own" here before he could more easily gain some authority.
Otherwise, if he merely served as an ordinary clerk or receptionist at the headquarters, transferring to another post would likely require far more effort.
The first floor of the entire pavilion was empty at the moment. Li Yan guessed that this was simply a place for daily assessments or receiving visiting guests. He had probably arrived too early today.
Thus, no one else had come before him. In particular, assessments like his were probably not held every day, while visiting guests were the true regulars here.
Yet this was ultimately the headquarters of a trading company. How could it be like the shops out front, with customers constantly coming and going?
The gray-robed elder soon brought Li