Making Friends Far and Wide

Seeing Ye Long appear, Shen Hui spoke up at just the right moment. "Thank you for your kindness, everyone, but I really have no plans to join a faction for now."

Seeing this, the big clans were still unwilling to give up.

They immediately raised their offers again, promising Shen Hui even better terms.

But Shen Hui remained unmoved.

In the end, they stopped wasting time and went straight to find Qingxue instead.

The smaller factions were already trying to recruit her.

Shen Hui looked at Ye Long and gave him a polite smile. "Thank you."

Ye Long smiled. "It's nothing. I just said what you were about to say before you could."

"Congratulations, Brother Shen, on being the first to break the previous record. With strength like yours, it really is better to stand alone."

Ye Long looked at Shen Hui as he said this, his expression sincere.

"But when you're on your own, some things are bound to be inconvenient. How about we become friends?"

"If you ever need help, I can do what little I can."

As he spoke, Ye Long held out his hand.

Shen Hui had a good impression of him.

Ye Long was from the Ye Clan, with both influence and ability.

Having help like that would indeed make some things much more convenient.

At the very least, when it came to buying supplies, he could use Ye Long's connections to get things that weren't available on the market.

"Sure!"

Shen Hui held out his hand, ready to shake Ye Long's.

But suddenly, a fair little hand reached over and slapped Ye Long's hand aside.

Then it shook Shen Hui's hand instead.

A woman's sharp voice rang out. "Ye Long, that's not very sporting!"

"Didn't we agree that Shen Hui wouldn't join any faction?"

The one shaking Shen Hui's hand and speaking wasn't anyone else.

It was Xiao Xiangyan, who had invited Shen Hui earlier.

Ye Long and Xiao Xiangyan were clearly very familiar with each other.

He rolled his eyes at her.

"Xiangyan, did you hear me wrong? Which pig's ear did you hear me inviting Shen Hui to join a faction with? I was clearly just making friends with him."

Shen Hui watched the two of them bicker awkwardly.

At the same time, he felt Xiao Xiangyan's delicate, smooth little hand still holding his.

It was a rather novel experience.

"I don't care. I want to be friends with Shen Hui too."

As she spoke, Xiao Xiangyan smiled at Shen Hui.

It seemed she was asking if he agreed.

Shen Hui naturally had no objection.

"It's my honor to make both your acquaintances."

"Then, Brother Shen, I'm going to take a look over there. I won't keep you."

As Ye Long spoke, he looked toward where Qingxue was.

Shen Hui naturally understood what he meant.

Qingxue didn't plan to join a faction either, so she would definitely turn them down.

But there shouldn't be any problem with making friends.

For people like Shen Hui and the others, who had no family or background to rely on, it meant having one more path open to them.

For Ye Long and the others, making friends with someone highly talented would surely prove useful someday.

Xiao Xiangyan pointed over there too, indicating that she wanted to go as well.

Shen Hui nodded. "Go ahead."

The three of them exchanged contact information, and the other two left.

But the moment Ye Long and Xiao Xiangyan were gone, a crowd of people immediately surged toward Shen Hui.

They had all come to flatter and curry favor with him.

After all, given the strength Shen Hui had displayed, he was sure to rise to prominence in the future.

If they ingratiated themselves with him now, they might still have a chance.

But Shen Hui pushed them aside and slipped out through the crowd.

The rewards would be distributed to the students' cards all at once later.

The practical test was nearly over, and the crowd would disperse soon.

So Shen Hui planned to wait somewhere quiet until then.

But as Shen Hui wandered around aimlessly, a staff member found him.

"Shen Hui, come with me. I'll tell you about the Nascent World in a bit."

As soon as Shen Hui heard this, he followed.

But the staff member didn't take Shen Hui straight into the base.

Instead, they walked around, found Qingxue, and then found someone named Huang Jie.

Huang Jie was the one whose awakened world ranked below Qingxue's in size.

Shen Hui and Qingxue exchanged smiles, then looked toward Huang Jie.

Although Shen Hui didn't know him and they had never interacted, he still politely greeted him.

But Huang Jie looked at Shen Hui with disdain and didn't respond.

He seemed to look down on Shen Hui a little.

Shen Hui just smiled and said nothing.

Although many people wanted to curry favor with him, plenty of others still didn't think much of him.

The staff member led Shen Hui and the others into the base.

Shen Hui chatted with Qingxue.

"Did those factions try to recruit you? Did you turn them down?"

Qingxue shook her head. "No. I told them I wouldn't join. You did the same, didn't you?"

"If my world weren't so special, joining a faction wouldn't help much. Maybe I would have joined one."

Shen Hui said this jokingly.

"Tch. If I were you, I'd have joined ages ago. Maybe those factions could've found a way."

Then Qingxue asked Shen Hui:

"You became friends with Ye Long and Xiao Xiangyan, right?"

Shen Hui nodded. "Yeah. More friends mean more paths. They went to find you too, didn't they?"

Qingxue smiled and nodded, giving him a look that said she knew exactly what he meant.

"More friends mean more paths. They both seem quite polite too. They're not the sort to look down on everyone."

As the two of them talked, they soon entered the conference room inside the Training Base.

The people from the big clans had all left by then.

Only the city lord, Wang Xinhai, and Chi Yan, the World Association branch president, remained inside.

Shen Hui and the others knew Wang Xinhai, but they didn't know the branch president.

But her imposing presence and stunning figure immediately drew their eyes.

She was a great beauty no less striking than Qingxue, and she had an added air of maturity.

Wang Xinhai smiled at Shen Hui and the others. "You three, make yourselves comfortable."

Then he introduced Chi Yan.

"This is the World Association branch president for our region. Her name is Chi Yan. She provided the spots for the Nascent World this time."

Shen Hui and the others immediately greeted her. "Greetings, President Chi Yan."

Chi Yan looked at them, then finally settled her gaze on Shen Hui and gave him an approving look.

"You truly surprised us this time, especially you, Shen Hui."

Shen Hui replied, "Thank you for the praise, President. I was only using my abilities as I normally would."

Chi Yan smiled. "Good. Now, let me tell you about the Nascent World."

"There are ten spots for the Nascent World this time. Shen Hui and Qingxue earned theirs by placing in the top ten."

"Although Huang Jie placed outside the top ten, the other seven spots went to people from the big clans, who have some spots of their own."

"There was some conflict over them, so I set aside one spot for Huang Jie."

Huang Jie hurriedly said, "Thank you, President!"

"Next, I'll tell you about the situation inside the Nascent World and exactly when you'll be entering."