"Halt!" exclaimed a guardsman standing in front of the Kiu Clan's gate.

"State your name and reason as to why you are here!"

'Quite a strict clan aren't they,' though Silver as he stopped in front of a muscular yet old looking guard.

"I was given this if I was ever to come visit from Kiu Thao," replied Silver while grabbing a red token out from his robe pocket with the word 'Kiu' imprinted onto it. He then showed the token to the guard.

"A-aaah, I'm sorry for being rude to such a distinguished guest!" the guard shuddered, staring at the red token in trepidation.

"Please follow me, I will inform a messenger that sir . . .?"

"Silver."

"Yes! I will get the messenger to inform young master Kiu Thao that you are here to visit. I hope you would excuse my rude behaviour, Sir Silver"

"You are doing your job. Actually you are quite nice compared to some guards I've met."

"Thank you for your compliment, Sir Silver."

"En."

"Hello Silver! I'm surprised to able meet you again so soon," exclaimed Yong Satay, walking towards Silver who was still facing the old guard.

Oddly enough, Yong Satay was around the vicinity and basically wandered around the clan in a slump. As he wandered around, he began tapping on many trees as he could see while dragging a dreary rain cloud above his head. By the time he reached the front gates, Yong Satay noticed a familiar person speaking to the guard who then sent a messenger out. Quickly stopping the messenger, Yong Satay took on the task to bring Silver to Kiu Thao.

"Yong Satay, I've decided to drop by to kill some time. Is Kiu Thao here?" inquired Silver. He could sense that Yong Satay was feeling rather low but chose not to bother about it. From his guess, it could be related to that Bu Keng fellow and Yong Satay's sister, Yong Dango.

"Yes, young master Kiu Thao is here and had already finished their business," informed Yong Satay.

"I will guide you to him right now."

"En," nodded Silver, inspecting the bruises on Yong Satay's body.

'It seems he is secretly revealing his bruises. This man is quite sturdy to be even bruised. How can he bested by both Bu Keng and his sister. What an odd fellow . . . is he an M?'

"We're here!" announced Yong Satay, both stopping in front of a large courtyard.

"Wait here, I'll go inform master."

Nodding his head, Silver stood in front of the courtyard biding his time. A few minutes later, Yong Satay came out, bowing slightly, asking Silver to follow him.

Strolling through a narrow corridor, passing the courtyard outside, they headed into a large room filled with antiques of all sorts. Close to the entrance a scroll hung in the front, depicting a painted woman clad in the blackest flame and the bluest of ice holding her sword at eight demonic looking beings. Of course, the demon-like appearances were just a representation of the human-like demonic emperors.

Standing across the painting was Kiu Thao, admiring the woman with a fervent gaze. Yong Satay bowed once more, leaving those two within the large room. A brief awkward silence pervaded the room as Silver stood there, the corner of his right eye slightly twitching.

'Seems like Jing Shi has a very . . . devout follower,' thought Silver, gazing at the infatuated Kiu Thao.

'However, this scene is incredibly intriguing.'

After ten minutes of long awkward silence, Kiu Thao heaved a sigh, turning his head at Silver's direction while curving his lips upward into a warm smile.

"Sir Silver, I'm glad you can make it today," beamed Kiu Thao, pacing himself to Silver.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"How did your exam go for the Alchemy Division?"

"Hmm, it went by faster than I thought. I'm currently waiting for the results," replied Silver.

"You have passed?"

"From what the grandmasters told me, yes. They gave me a temporary badge."

"G-g-grandmaster??? Gu Rain or Shui Guiying?"

"Both actually."

"WHAT!? You were able to have these otherworldly grandmasters come personally? Please show me the badge."

"En, I can't say much about the whole happenings. They both enjoyed what I've done during the three rounds," nodded Silver, taking out a black cauldron shaped badge out with Alchemy Division in gold lettering embedded into it.

"I've seen these before . . . Only those with higher than excellent qualities in the field of alchemy can acquire this unique badge!" Kiu Thao shivered as he slowly inched his face closer to inspect the badge.

'I must give Yong Satay some praise for saving such an astounding alchemist! It seems I'll double his resources, no… if I can get this genius to help us, I'll just give him four times the resources but I have to make it discreet. Can't have him become too arrogant like Bu Keng has become.'

"I know we have just met, but I would like to know if you would like to become an esteemed guest for the Kiu Clan?" asked Kiu Thao. Cold sweat ran down his back as he directly into Silver's brown eyes. He was well aware how proud an alchemist could be.

"Your group is one of the first few I met who helped me out today, so I wouldn't mind becoming an esteemed guest but what benefits does that give me?" inquired Silver, raising his right eyebrow. Of course he didn't care about the resources due to his unique cultivation technique but still pretended to be concerned of the benefits. For him, nothing can benefit him more than finding a natural place filled with void qi but his main objective is to have a "chat" to the Nihility Clan exiles.

"Yes, as an esteemed guest you have a lot more freedom than those who are within the clan. We ask for guidance and you can obtain ample resources for your field of expertise. Sadly, we are not allowed to let you see our martial art and cultivation manuals but you can use our library to read many subjects pertaining the clan's history, the city and other fields that are known throughout Blue Dream City and Desolate Tundra Continent. Although our library isn't much but our clan salvaged many ancient textbooks that can be read but they are written in the olden language."

"To return the favor for saving me, I would become your esteemed guest," smiled Silver, nodding at the fumbling Kiu Thao.

"As long as you do not betray my trust. I do not mean the whole Kiu Clan, but you. If you can do this, then all will be well. You can call me Brother Silver if you're willing."

"Ahh . . . Yes, Brother Silver," nodded Kiu Thao, shuddering inwardly at the light warning he received. Usually if he would hear from others, he'll berate them publicly but for some odd reasons his intuition told him not to. If he ever did pull such a stunt on this new brother of his, something bad would come to him and maybe his clan. It was best to proceed with caution and go along with his new brother's whims.

"Let's head to the main hall of our clan, I must have you registered as an esteemed guest."

Silver nodded at Kiu Thao and followed him out of the large room. They strolled pass the courtyard and onto a well built trail leading to the main hall. Many clan members stopped their training or leisurely activities to gawk at Silver, whispering among themselves.

"Who is that following young master?"

"Young master has invited someone?"

"What a handsome man, I hope he becomes a part of our clan. I would love to have a night with him."

"He seems strong, I want to fight him."

"Kiu Char Siu, shut up. You can't even beat your younger sister."

" . . . but she just turned one this month!"

"Hmph, you're so weak that you still wouldn't be able to beat one year old her!"

Hearing all the nonsense from the clansmen, Silver just tuned them out just in case he heard something he shouldn't be hearing. Following Kiu Thao, they stopped in front of a large building with a sign that showed "Kiu Clan's Main Hall".

"This is our main hall where we do the important procedures, clan meetings and other such. We'll have to meet my father, who's the patriarch, to approve your status as an esteemed guest. Just a fair warning, our clan is rather strict. Ever since a group of spies, pretending to be our clan members, plotted to destroy us many years ago. Since then, we administer strict guidelines when it comes to newer members marrying into the clan and every guest we have invited."

"Hm, seems like a lot has happened for your clan but it's alright, I have nothing to hide," said Silver keep calm and relaxed demeanor.

'Even if my father wanted to find something on you, he wouldn't be able to. I couldn't either using the clan's special intelligence team,' thought Kiu Thao, controlling his urge to sigh.

"We're here, I'll speak to my father about you," informed Kiu Thao after leaving Silver in the empty main hall.

'Usually the main hall is always bustling with people,' thought Silver, observing the surrounding area with his divine sense.

'Secret guards, trained rather well and even a few elders hidden amongst the shadows. It seems like they're well guarded against any new guest invited into their clan. This clan is rather organized, I wonder what happened back then to make them feel so guarded against newcomers.'

Looking at the east corridor of the hall, Silver noticed Kiu Thao coming out with a sullen expression.

"Let's go, the patriarch would like to meet you," monotoned Kiu Thao as he sulked inwardly.

"En."

With Kiu Thao leading the way, Silver followed behind. Not long after, the elders hidden in shadows exited their positions and silently followed them. Every single one kept their distance, cautiously ensuring their presence wouldn't alert them. However, unknown to them, their presence had already been found by Silver since he first stepped into the main hall.