With the agreement reached and the contract finalized, the atmosphere between both sides became even more harmonious.
Jason Chen had a banquet prepared and warmly invited Leon Huang (Ian Song's public identity) to take a seat.
After several rounds of drinks and a variety of dishes...
Jason Chen asked with a hearty laugh, "Leon Huang, are you satisfied?"
"Very much so," Ian Song nodded.
"As long as you're satisfied, that's all that matters."
Jason Chen continued, "Young Master Huang, when will the pill exchange begin?"
"We can start right now," Ian Song replied. With a casual wave, two thousand fourth-grade Profound Pills and two thousand third-grade Breakthrough Pills appeared on the table.
Jason Chen and Shawn Xiao, the Twin Blades Saint, couldn't hide their joy; each picked up a large jade bottle to inspect.
Each jade bottle held a hundred pills—the blue bottles contained fourth-grade Profound Pills, and the milky white bottles held third-grade Breakthrough Pills.
After inspecting several bottles, the two men's faces lit up with undisguised joy: both types of pills were flawless in appearance and potency.
Even Shawn Xiao, the Twin Blades Saint and a master-level alchemist, admitted that he himself couldn't produce pills of such quality.
"Will all future pills be this perfect, Leon Huang?" Jason Chen asked excitedly.
"Of course," Ian Song nodded.
Jason Chen grew even more excited and immediately called for disciples to bring in Spirit Medicines: nine thousand sets for refining fourth-grade Profound Pills and five thousand for third-grade Breakthrough Pills—deliberately overpaying by a thousand sets of each.
Origin Return Sect truly had deep foundations—less than half an hour later, nine thousand sets for fourth-grade Profound Pills and five thousand for third-grade Breakthrough Pills were delivered, showing their impressive resources.
"Sect Master Chen, why is there an extra thousand sets of each?" Ian Song asked after checking.
Jason Chen explained, "To be honest, Leon Huang, the pills you've provided are the most perfect of their grade. Even if we gave two thousand extra sets, it'd still be worth it!"
"I see. Still, we did make an agreement, so let's stick to it."
With a wave of his hand, Ian Song took away eight thousand sets for fourth-grade Profound Pills and four thousand for third-grade Breakthrough Pills, leaving the surplus behind.
"Leon Huang, these extra materials are just a token of goodwill from Origin Return Sect. Please, you must accept them!" Jason Chen grew anxious when he saw Ian Song leave behind the surplus two thousand sets.
Ian Song understood Jason Chen's concern and smiled. "Don't worry, Sect Master Chen. From now on, every pill Pristine Way provides you will be just as perfect as these."
Seeing Ian Song truly wouldn't accept the extras, and having received his guarantee, Jason stopped insisting.
Still, as Ian Song was leaving, Jason gifted him a lavish present worth a million taels of silver.
After seeing Ian Song off, Jason Chen and Shawn Xiao, the Twin Blades Saint, met again in private.
Jason Chen asked, "Uncle Shawn, what's Leon Huang's real background? And those three masked men behind him—are they really Martial Saints?"
"I can't guess Leon Huang's origins," Shawn Xiao, the Twin Blades Saint, replied, shaking his head.
"Looks like we'll need to investigate Leon Huang thoroughly!" Jason Chen said seriously.
"No!"
Shawn Xiao, the Twin Blades Saint, raised his hand. "It's best not to investigate him. If he finds out, it'll only bring us trouble."
Jason Chen slapped his forehead in frustration. "Thank you for the reminder, Uncle Shawn. I was being foolish!"
Shawn Xiao, the Twin Blades Saint, mused, "This young man has three Martial Saints protecting him, plus a super alchemist behind the scenes. No sect in the South Domain can match that. So instead of investigating him, we should draw as close as possible—the more we do, the more benefits we'll gain!"
"You're absolutely right, Uncle Shawn. I'll make sure to build a good relationship with him," Jason Chen nodded firmly. He knew this was a rare opportunity: as long as Leon Huang delivered twenty thousand fourth-grade Profound Pills and ten thousand third-grade Breakthrough Pills every year, Origin Return Sect's overall strength would skyrocket.
After all, a sect's true strength comes down to the quality and number of its Grandmaster-level disciples.
...
Holy City, Elder Chu's courtyard.
Serena Xue stood anxiously before Elder Chu. She had just received the latest news: Leon Huang had safely returned to Pristine Way, and not only that, he'd led three experts to smash Sea Emperor Sect, Divine Moon Sect, and Sky-Net Gate.
He forced all three sects to surrender an entire state each.
If her guess was right, those three masked experts were the very Martial Saints she'd sent, but she couldn't figure out how Leon had managed to win them over.
"You messed up again?" Elder Chu said slowly, his tone eerily calm.
Serena Xue's heart skipped a beat. After serving Elder Chu for years, she knew her temperament perfectly—whenever Elder Chu spoke in that flat tone, it meant she was truly angry.
Thud!
Serena Xue dropped to her knees. "Master, it's all my fault. I've served you for years—please, just give me one more chance. This time, I swear I'll leave Leon Huang without a burial place and uproot Pristine Way Sect itself!"
Elder Chu said nothing.
Slash!
Suddenly, Serena drew a dagger and stabbed herself in the abdomen. Blood flowed from the wound, bright red, but she didn't dare use her cultivation to stop the bleeding.
Her face grew pale. "Master, I promise this is the last time. If I fail again, I'll die to atone!"
"Fine. For the sake of your years of service, I'll let it go this time. But remember—this is your last chance. Don't disappoint me!"
"Rest assured, Master. I won't let you down this time!"
...
Pristine Way Sect.
After returning, Ian went straight to Elder Shea's residence, carrying the contract he'd signed with Origin Return Sect.
Conrad Gu and Claire Lin were both present.
When Ian arrived, their reactions couldn't have been more different. Claire Lin warmly invited him to sit down and personally served him a cup of hot tea.
Conrad Gu, on the other hand, sneered and pointed out that several days had passed with no sign of progress.
Ian Song accepted the tea, thanked Claire Lin, took a sip, then pulled out the contract and placed it in front of Conrad Gu. "Uncle, this is the written agreement I signed with Origin Return Sect Master Jason Chen and Martial Saint Shawn Xiao, the Twin Blades Saint. Take a look."
Conrad Gu grabbed the contract instinctively, but as he read the contents, his expression froze. Then he shouted in disbelief, "Impossible! How could Origin Return Sect become a subordinate of Pristine Way Sect? This contract must be a forgery!"
"Let me see!"
Just then, Elder Shea arrived, reached out, and grabbed the contract. His face lit up with excitement as he declared, "This contract is indeed jointly signed by Origin Return Sect Master Jason Chen and Shawn Xiao, the Twin Blades Saint!"