Inside the restaurant, Murong Yuan returned to his seat and continued accompanying Deputy Head Zhou Ming from the Operations Department. Before he could even get started on a topic, a woman dressed like an assistant quickly approached him and whispered, "Chief Yaoguang has arrived."

The moment those words were spoken, Zhou Ming’s face lit up with delight. He turned to Murong Yuan with a broad smile. "Little Yuan, earlier I heard people say your Murong family had managed to establish ties with the Purple Firmament Institute’s chief, and I didn’t quite believe it. Now it seems I underestimated you. Come, come, let’s go downstairs and welcome him."

"The Purple Firmament Institute’s chief?" Murong Yuan froze for a moment, then barely managed to suppress the joy surging across his face. He came?! That major figure who is currently extremely favored by the hall masters, deputy hall masters, and even Sect Master Zhao himself actually came?!

Murong Yuan immediately stood up. "It’s also thanks to the Purple Firmament Institute's chief honoring us with his presence—"

Before he could finish, Zhou Ming grabbed him and hurried outside. It wasn't just the two of them. Apparently, quite a few people in the banquet hall had received the news. One after another, they rose to their feet.

In an instant, dozens of people stood up in the spacious hall, moving toward the entrance like a tide. Most of them were distinguished guests seated at the front tables. Those sitting farther back did not even have the qualifications to stand up and squeeze over.

On one of the sides of the banquet hall, Xie Yi'er and Xie Yushi, the protagonists of the evening, were discussing something. Seeing this scene, they both froze for a moment. Immediately, a lavishly dressed woman beside them urged them, "Why are you still standing there? Chief Yaoguang has arrived. Hurry to the entrance to welcome him. Given the difference in your status, are you really going to make him come over to congratulate you instead?"

Xie Yi'er and Xie Yushi quickly stood up and followed the river of people moving toward the entrance. Several bright-smiling young women gathered around them, faces full of envy. "Senior Sister Xie, I never thought you would really manage to invite Chief Yaoguang. Do you have any idea of how high the Purple Firmament Institute’s profits are right now? Every month, it brings in hundreds of thousands of spirit stones. Even an ordinary artifact refiner earns nearly ten spirit stones a year. It’s simply unimaginable! Even employees in the Energy Department, who everyone envies, only earn one spirit stone a year."

"The Purple Firmament Institute achieved all this entirely because of Chief Yaoguang. Without him, they’d still be relying on sect subsidies to survive."

"I heard Chief Yaoguang is very young. Is that true? Sister Xie, could you let me sit beside him later? I’d even be willing to pour tea and serve drinks..."

Various young women continued speaking one after another.

Xie Yushi was still composed, but when Xie Yi'er looked at them...

Every one of them was young and beautiful, barely in their early twenties. More importantly, they weren't lacking in talent nor in strength. Not a single one was below the fourth realm of qi refinement. That was the fourth realm of qi refinement, not body refinement!

They were all cultivators with genuine talent. If they could reach the sixth realm of qi refinement before turning thirty and transform their bodies into innate bodies, they would become as pure and charming as eighteen- or nineteen-year-old girls, and maintain that youthful vitality for forty or fifty years. That was the advantage of qi refinement. And now, all these people were clustering around her, simply to get a chance to show their faces in front of Yaoguang...

"I..." Xie Yi'er opened her mouth, wanting to explain something, but she truly did not know how to say it.

Suddenly, someone up front called out, "Make way, make way. Don’t crowd the entrance and block the path. Please return to your seats first."

His words were immediately echoed by several people of status. "That’s right, go back to your seats first. Don’t cause trouble."

"Maintain order."

The crowd stirred, and people gradually retreated. Even Xie Yushi and Xie Yi'er, the hosts of the banquet, were pushed aside. She could only stand within the crowd, watching as Yaoguang, surrounded by Xie Yushu, the Murong family head, and several other major figures whom even the Murong family head had to curry favor with, walked straight toward the main seats.

Clearly, she was the host of this banquet, yet at this moment, not a single gaze lingered on her. Soon, everyone took their seats, and the banquet officially began.

Xie Yushu, Murong Yuan, and the others deliberately invited Yaoguang to be the first to take the stage and give a speech. Even though he merely said a few brief words, thunderous applause erupted from below.

Only after Yaoguang stepped down did Xie Yi'er and Xie Yushi, the two protagonists, finally get a chance to go on stage and show their faces. But when the two of them spoke on stage, they realized that aside from ordinary guests, all the influential figures had their attention fixed on Yaoguang and had already begun drinking and socializing. It was as if the two of them were performers on stage.

After stepping down, they barely had time to rest before Xie Yushu, Murong Yun, and even Murong Hua, the senior brother from the Murong family who was interested in matchmaking, hurried over together.

"Quick, Yi'er, let’s go propose a toast to Chief Yaoguang." Murong Hua’s face was filled with excitement.

Because at this moment, merely having the qualifications to toast the Purple Firmament Institute's chief already represented status and standing. If they went any later, Yaoguang would likely stand up, say a single line about toasting everyone present, and be done with it.

Under the urging and pulling of others, Xie Yi'er and Xie Yushi finally reached Yaoguang. The others knew that Yaoguang had come out of regard for the Xie family, and naturally gave them face.

"Congratulations on entering the Nine Cauldrons Sect. I hope you can achieve success in your cultivation as soon as possible, and even advance to the main branch to contend for the ranks of protector and true disciple." Yaoguang smiled and offered them his congratulations.

At the same time, Kong Xuan, who was standing beside him, took out two boxes. Seeing the long, slender packaging of the boxes, someone in the crowd could not help but cry out in shock. "These are the Purple Firmament Institute’s own Purple Firmament Type 12 flying swords."

As soon as those words were spoken, a wave of commotion rippled through the crowd.

"The Purple Firmament Type 12 flying swords are said to have reached third-generation performance. They’re among the most advanced low-grade spirit swords in the world today. At present, they’re supplied exclusively to the Warfare Hall. Other people can’t buy them even if they want to."

"My god, this set of flying swords has a standard price of four hundred spirit stones. On the open market, people are offering more than five hundred spirit stones for them."

"Two spirit artifact flying swords... This gift is far too valuable. Even if our Shao family sold everything they owned, we couldn’t afford it..."

All kinds of murmurs and exclamations rose continuously from the crowd. Xie Yi'er looked at Yaoguang, who had instructed Kong Xuan to deliver such a generous gift, and felt somewhat dazed.

That was a full four hundred spirit stones as a gift! Yaoguang gave it away just like that. From this, one could see how lucrative the Purple Firmament Institute had become under his control, and just how wealthy he now was.

"This... Chief Yaoguang, this gift is far too valuable..." Xie Yushu hurried forward.

"It’s only a token of goodwill. In the Artifact-Nurturing World, we received no small amount of care from your family." Yaoguang smiled and said, "Accept it."

Xie Yushu understood at once. The two flying swords were, before anything else, a congratulatory gift for Xie Yi'er and Xie Yushi on their admission into the Nine Cauldrons Sect. At the same time, they likely counted as compensation for the Su family formally taking over the Artifact-Nurturing World from the Xie family. From this day onward, the Artifact-Nurturing World would completely become the Su family’s private domain.

"Congratulations." Kong Xuan stepped forward and handed the two sword cases to Xie Yi'er and Xie Yushi.

Seeing that Xie Yushu no longer refused, Xie Yushi happily accepted them and offered her heartfelt thanks. Xie Yi'er, however, glanced at Kong Xuan. In just a few short months, Kong Xuan had already reached the fifth realm of body refinement. He was not far behind her anymore. At this rate, within one or two years, he would likely become a high-tier body cultivator.

And her? The spirit stones at home had already been exhausted to support their entry into the Nine Cauldrons Sect. Forget one or two years; whether she could become a high-tier body cultivator in three to five years, or even seven or eight, was still a huge question. The gap between them would inevitably grow larger.

In the end, it all came down to different choices. If she had listened to Xie Yushu back then and stayed by Yaoguang’s side, now this kind of glory would not have fallen to Kong Xuan.

In the end, under everyone’s gaze, she still accepted the sword case and replied with a bitter ache in her heart, "Thank you."

Yaoguang did not stay until the end of the banquet. After receiving a message, he left early. On one hand, he truly had matters to attend to back in Longxiang City. On the other hand, this banquet had made him realize that he had already stepped beyond the ordinary social tier.

If compared to how things had been back in Tiannan, even if his standing had not yet reached the level of Governor Wei Kongming or the local power Yue Nanxing, his influence was likely no less than what Su Chiming had possessed at the height of his wealth.

That was without announcing to the public that his mastery of artifact refinement had already reached the grandmaster tier. Otherwise, standing on equal footing with a side branch sect master like Zhao Siliang would not be out of the question.

By comparison, the Xie family and the Murong family were, at most, part of the wealthy class with assets in the hundreds of millions. Perhaps, one or two of the family members held posts within the Nine Cauldrons Sect, but they would be low-level supervisors at most, only slightly better off than ordinary disciples.

Shaking his head, Yaoguang stopped dwelling on it and returned to the Purple Firmament Institute.

Inside the Purple Firmament Institute, Sect Master Zhao Siliang, Warfare Hall Master Zhao He, Elder Zhang Jianlin, Chief Artifact Refiner He Renzhi, Logistics Hall Master Wu Xunzhen, and Xiang Tianheng, who held both the role of deputy hall master of the Artifact Refinement Hall from the Crimson City and that of head of the Flying Sword Department, had already been touring the institute under the guidance of Yun Lai, Wei Yan, Lu Yuan, and some others.

Yaoguang had received word of Sect Master Zhao Siliang’s inspection while still at the banquet, which was why he had hurried back.

When the two sides met, Yaoguang had not yet spoken before Zhao Siliang stepped forward, grasped both his hands, and said, "My sincere apologies for coming so abruptly without prior notice. I hope Chief Yaoguang will forgive us."

"Not at all. Sect Master Zhao’s inspection of the Purple Firmament Institute brings great honor to all of us here. We’re delighted. How could we possibly have any complaints?" Yaoguang replied politely.

Zhao Siliang then introduced the people beside him one by one. Naturally, the key figure was Xiang Tianheng, the deputy hall master from the main branch's Artifact Refinement Hall.

As Xiang Tianheng sensed the aura emanating from Yaoguang, he greeted him with a broad smile. "Chief Yaoguang choosing our Nine Cauldrons Sect is a tremendous honor for us. Please rest assured, any reasonable request you make will be met with the full support of the entire sect."

As he spoke, he gestured toward a young-looking woman in a purple gown behind him. "This is Zi Qiangwei, an array master I specially brought from the main branch. After learning that all the Star Gates in your native world were damaged, the sect arranged for her to lead a team here to repair and recalibrate the Star Gate directly connected to your world. In the future, as long as the timing window is suitable, Chief Yaoguang will be able to travel back and forth whenever you feel homesick."

After that, he took out a document. "Additionally, the Nine Cauldrons Sect fully recognizes Chief Yaoguang’s ownership of the Artifact-Nurturing World. From this day forward, that world will be named after you and called the Yaoguang World. Chief Yaoguang will be its first world master."