A certain field within the Summerfield kingdom.
"Looks like he left."
A young man in light yellow robes sighed in relief as he addressed the middle-aged man next to him.
The middle-aged man also had light yellow robes . He didn't seem like he had heard the young man's statement as he stared at the sky with a deep frown appearing on his face.
"We need to tell master about this," the middle-aged man said as he went to a round stone table that had numerous glyphs and runes inscribed on it.
At the center of the table was a cylindrical purple crystal that had been fitted perfectly to a round spacing below it that had other glyphs and runes connecting with those on the rest of the table.
"Was he someone from the Spiritual temperance sect?" the middle aged man muttered in worry as he made a few seals that lit up the ancient glyphs and runes on the table which then proceeded to light up the purple crystal at the center.
….
"Master Yang Qing we welcome you to our humble kingdom," said a middle-aged man who was cupping his fists at Yang Qing in greeting in the middle of an empty street.
The middle-aged man was in black robes that were gilded at the sleeves and the hem of the robe. He had a genial warm smile on his face as he welcomed Yang Qing.
He had a mildly rotund build with an average height. He had neatly trimmed light brown hair and a goatee along with round amber eyes that made him seem like a lively person which added a bit of enthusiasm to the welcome he was giving Yang Qing.
This middle-aged man was the current king of the Summerfield kingdom and also the point person Yang Qing had been in communication with to arrange the joint evaluation.
Yang Qing had already made his way to the center of the capital where he caught sight of the King and a procession of people waiting for him. From their auras and demeanor, they all looked to be people of status and power within the Summerfield kingdom.
"Greetings king Jia Yanyu, sorry for imposing on you suddenly like this. I hope you don't mind."
Yang Qing cupped his fists in apology as he offered a polite smile for springing up the whole thing on them without a few days' notice. It couldn't be helped since Lei Weiyuan had sprung up the evaluations on him earlier today before he had time to plan the whole thing well.
"No need for that master Yang Qing. It's my kingdom's honor to be able to be of help to the Order. Most of us were able to develop to where we are because the Order is around to shield us from the dangerous storms," said King Jia Yanyu.
"I'm deeply thankful for your magnanimity, your majesty. Also, Instructor Shaoqing sends his greetings and said if you have time you should go visit him. He has found a few variant seeds that would interest you."
King Jia Yanyu's eyes immediately lit up at Yang Qing's statement.
"As expected of a close friend of Instructor Shaoqing," thought Yang Qing as he took in the Summerfield king's reaction.
Instructor Shaoqing was a herbology and alchemy instructor at the Institute. Yang Qing was able to communicate with King Jia Yanyu thanks to him.
The two had struck a friendship when the king came as a quota student while the instructor had also been a student himself at the time.
The king despite coming from a rank 4 kingdom had shown enough talent in herbology to be noticed, It was to the point that some of his classes were altered so he could take them together with the students of the Order. It was a form of acknowledgment from the instructors of his talents.
From the brief comments instructor Shaoqing made to Yang Qing as they were talking, he said the king had a natural gift for the care and handling of spiritual plants.
However, King Jia Yanyu didn't put as much effort into it. He had a herbologist's body but a merchant's heart and mind. His time at the institute was spent forming friendly connections with the students from the Order and other students who came in via the quota system.
Such qualities made him a good king but it also meant he would never completely excavate his potential when it came to his natural talents in herbology.
…
"He is already an instructor now, huh," King Jia Yanyu said as a nostalgic look appeared on his face.
His gaze turned distant as if turning back in time and then turned it towards the procession at his back, more specifically a line-up of four young men and three daughters.
Yang Qing followed the trail of his gaze as it fell on the seven young people with matching beauties. Their facial features had a faint resemblance to each other and to the king too especially the light brown hair.
"Must be his kids," thought Yang Qing as he made a silent offhanded note that their beauty was the one thing they definitely didn't get from the king.
"The kingdom is already proceeding well, it might not be bad to let go of the reigns and let them lead it to the next stage while I disappear into the background. The fields might be a fitting retirement," King Jia Yanyu silently muttered to himself as he ruefully smiled.
"Master Yang Qing, you can tell him I'll make sure to visit him soon. My schedule may become freer in the near future," King Jia Yanyu said as he pulled his thoughts back.
A few of the siblings at his back had their eyes flash in excitement at his statement.
"I will do that, your majesty…now about the venue?" Yang Qing gently asked trying to steer the conversation toward his goal.
Time wasn't on his side as it is. He had a mountain of evaluations to finish and a ceremony to prepare for. His body faintly shivered at the thought of how packed his upcoming days would be especially after his ceremony. He would have an induction to go through which came with a mountain of procedures, the entrance examination he had to prepare for, and a domain expert to watch out for, both within the Order and out.
He absentmindedly exhaled a sigh of defeat as he blindly followed the king. Those brief few seconds of lamentation had made him miss the King's words.
He only vaguely heard the word courtyard and the king started moving while his body reflexively followed.
A few minutes later, they arrived outside of the entrance of a courtyard with the name 'Dreaming sunset court'. Just the entrance alone spoke volumes of the court's stature. The entrance walls had been inlaid with sunglow jade which refreshed and soothed the spirits of all those who passed through.
Yang Qing could also detect that the qi in there was just as gentle and was abundant enough to match the blessed grounds of any top-tier rank 4 organization.
The buildings within the court had a simple elegance to them which highlighted a oneness with nature rather than standing out from it. They were all made of some spiritual wood with their design and positioning made categorically to fit the arrangement of plants around them.
Yang Qing was guided into one of the building halls that had ample space and was fitted with sound cancellation and spiritual qi drawing arrays.
"Master Yang Qing you can conduct the evaluations here. I will leave one of my children here to offer any assistance should you need it and the servants will also be here to bring you refreshments should you need it.
I hope the arrangement is to your liking," King Jia Yanyu said as he politely welcomed Yang Qing to the hall.
Yang Qing's eyes flashed with an imperceptible glow when the words refreshment was mentioned.
Saves me the awkwardness of asking for food. I wonder which self-serving cultivator spread the notion that cultivators don't need food just spiritual qi is enough. That venom caused more damage than any war ever did.
"Many thanks your majesty, the arrangement is just perfect," Yang Qing warmly said as he even went to the lengths of personally shaking the king's hands with enthusiasm, which came as a surprise to him.
But as an old fox, the surprise lasted only for a brief second before he reacted so smoothly that it made it seem like the two were long-lost brothers who had just met.
The King and his procession left a few minutes later after arranging a few things. His eldest son was the child he had decided would be assisting him.
Yang Qing didn't say much about the arrangement as he figured the child left behind was the one he was grooming to take after him and hoped he could form a connection with Yang Qing. One can never have too many friends. Yang Qing didn't mind as he agreed with that notion too, especially in the commission of their duties. Having friends all over the continent made their work light.
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