Chapter 60: Ancient Phoenix Feather

In the main hall of the Tian Shi Manor.

The fragrance of tea permeated the air as Lord Tian Shi and Gao Ziqi, along with Tian Tian, engaged in a pleasant conversation. Gao Ziqi had only heard of Lord Tian Shi but had never met him; both had long admired each other by reputation.

After a brief conversation, they gained a superficial understanding of each other's character and conduct, confirming whether they matched the rumors. Only then did they delve into the core of the matter.

"Princess Tian Tian has been raised in luxury and has seen all the splendid landscapes. However, living a comfortable life makes one unaware of the suffering of the common people. These days, she has finally settled down to focus on learning the zither from me. Naturally, I must take her to experience the scenery of this large city, so she can understand how the people here live and what she should do as a princess in the future!" Gao Ziqi said, slowly standing up and smiling. "We just arrived today, so I'm greeting you, Lord Tian Shi, as the host. I hope you will turn a blind eye and not send anyone to secretly protect us. If anyone asks about our whereabouts, please say you don't know. Is that acceptable?"

"Of course, with Mr. Gao here, why would I do anything unnecessary? Rest assured, I will keep it to myself!" Lord Tian Shi understood Gao Ziqi's meaning: regardless of whether the Tian family had instructed him to secretly protect them, he should not do so, and if anyone from the Tian family asked, he would cover for them.

"That's good. We won't stay any longer. We'll take our leave now. If you ever visit Youzhou, you can find Ziyan for tea and chess, and for me, only for drinking and playing the zither!" Gao Ziqi grinned, picked up his ancient zither, and turned to leave.

"Ha ha, that's fine!" Lord Tian Shi laughed heartily and stood up to see them off.

Tian Tian bowed to Lord Tian Shi and said, "Lord Tian Shi, please stay. I'll be on my way!"

"He he, Mr. Gao, Princess Tian, take care!" Lord Tian Shi smiled warmly and watched them until they disappeared from his sight.

"Gao Ziqi is truly a remarkable person. The experts sent by the Tian family to secretly protect Princess Tian Tian were all misled by his zither music and lost track of her. Now that he has come to my territory, he even wants me to cover for him. Well, I'll do him a favor. Meng Ziyang and Gao Ziqi are worth befriending..." Lord Tian Shi smiled and thought to himself.

"Xiao Feng, who else needs to see me?" Lord Tian Shi took a deep breath. Every day, he had to meet many people and handle many affairs.

"A nameless young man from Shilong City, accompanied by three ghost immortals, says he has a letter from General Shi and wants to see Lord Tian Shi!" A seemingly frail man stepped forward.

"Oh? General Shi is always cautious and never acts rashly. If he has done this, there must be something important. Bring the young man to see me!" Lord Tian Shi paused, speaking calmly.

"Yes!" The frail man retreated.

Xu Daoyan, who was sitting in a side hall, was immediately informed, "Young man, Lord Tian Shi wants to see you. Follow me!"

"Alright!" Xu Daoyan sighed in relief. He had waited for an hour, which wasn't too long. When Qin Han, Bai Shi, and Zhang Chao wanted to follow him, the warrior leading the way said sternly, "Young man, don't you know the rules? Lord Tian Shi only wants to see you alone. The others should wait in the side hall."

Xu Daoyan frowned, thinking, "What a big ego. If it weren't for General Shi's face, I wouldn't want to see him!"

"Master, go ahead. We'll wait for you here!" Bai Shi quickly said.

"Alright, wait for me. I'll be back soon!" Xu Daoyan didn't want to cause trouble for General Shi, so he followed the warrior.

A moment later, he arrived at the main hall. The first thing he noticed was how large it was!

The entire hall was built from ancient massive stones, simple and unadorned but grand.

A plaque hung above the door, with the words "Tian Shi" inscribed. The characters were powerful, each stroke feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds, the force within the words almost suffocating Xu Daoyan!

These two characters concealed a lethal aura, capable of slaying ghosts and gods. It was fortunate that the three of them did not come, or they would have been severely injured, if not killed.

The divine aura hidden in these two characters was extremely powerful, making Xu Daoyan feel a deep sense of respect. The characters reflected the person, and just these two words made Xu Daoyan feel a profound respect!

He entered the main hall.

A white-haired old man sat on a stone chair, dressed simply and neatly, with not a single flaw to be found.

"Xu Daoyan, I greet you, Lord Tian Shi." Xu Daoyan bowed.

"He he, Xu Daoyan? Are you from the Xu family of the peasant clan?" Lord Tian Shi's eyes flickered. This surname was much more significant than the Tian family. The patriarch of the Xu family of the peasant clan was revered even by the evil emperor of the Nine States Divine Dynasty, while the Tian family was one of the great families governing the Nine States.

"I come from Lishi Village and am not from the Xu family of the peasant clan. My mother just said I am surnamed Xu." Xu Daoyan answered truthfully, taking out the letter from General Shi and presenting it with both hands. "This is the letter General Shi asked me to deliver to Lord Tian Shi for your personal review!"

Lord Tian Shi stood up, towering at ten feet tall, with long arms and a broad back. His every movement exuded a grand presence. He took the letter from Xu Daoyan, opened it, and his pupils flashed with light. He laughed, "Ha ha, well done, young man! You actually killed the youngest son of the Xiong tribe's king. Excellent! Bring me his body!"

Xu Daoyan immediately took the body from his spatial ring. The golden armor still shone, but the life had been extinguished.

"Good, indeed the bloodline of the Xiong tribe. There's no mistake. This is a great achievement. Tell me, what do you want, Daoyan?" Lord Tian Shi smiled and asked.

"I? Actually, I want to become stronger so I can protect my family." Xu Daoyan had initially been resistant to Lord Tian Shi and felt somewhat uneasy and nervous, but he found the conversation with him to be very warm.

"Since you are still young, it wouldn't be appropriate to appoint you as a general. I will grant you a token, the Tian Shi Token. In the six hundred cities under the jurisdiction of Tian Shi City, you can use this token to select a hundred strong warriors to serve you temporarily. Moreover, in the six hundred cities, the merchants will treat you as if I were present. Are you satisfied with this?" Lord Tian Shi took out an ancient stone token, which looked very imposing.

Xu Daoyan nodded and said seriously, "I know General Shi asked me to find Lord Tian Shi for a reason. I will follow your arrangements."

"He he, good boy. Do you have anything from the young lord of the Xiong tribe? Hand it all to me. I will remove the aura from it, or the other side will find you!" Lord Tian Shi smiled warmly.

Xu Daoyan blushed and handed the ring to Lord Tian Shi, saying, "Is this not considered keeping the spoils of war?"

"Ha ha, not at all. He was killed by you, so everything he had belongs to you!" Lord Tian Shi erased all the aura of the Xiong tribe's young lord from the ring and stripped off his armor. "This is called the Yellow Dragon Armor, an excellent earth-grade weapon, very precious. Keep it, but it is inferior to your current armor. You can reward it to your subordinates!"

"Understood!" Xu Daoyan was very happy. He had long wanted to do this.

"Besides, is there anything else you want? Your contribution is significant. Apart from killing the young lord of the Xiong tribe and beheading a thousand Xiong tribe members, you also removed a group of troublemakers from the army. You can ask for anything you want." Lord Tian Shi looked at Xu Daoyan with great fondness, seeing him as a promising young talent who could be cultivated into a great person.

"Actually, I don't know what I can ask for. I just want my mother to be safe and for me to become stronger. Beyond that, I don't seem to need anything else." Xu Daoyan was very troubled, thinking for a long time and realizing he didn't really need anything.

Lord Tian Shi sighed lightly and said, "Since that's the case, I will give you a heavenly material. It may not be very valuable, but keep it. When you need to enhance your excellent human-grade weapon in the future, you can use it!"

As he spoke, Lord Tian Shi took out an ancient phoenix feather, a feather that had undergone countless temperings from an incredibly powerful ancient phoenix.

Xu Daoyan did not hesitate and accepted it. He indeed needed such a thing for future preparation.

"Thank you, Lord Tian Shi. May I ask you one more question?" Xu Daoyan was very happy, knowing this was a rare opportunity.

"Oh, please ask." Lord Tian Shi looked at Xu Daoyan, feeling a genuine sense of anticipation.

Xu Daoyan took out the strange egg from the ring and asked, "I spent over 200 million to buy this from the Shilong Chamber of Commerce. They said it's a strange egg that can hatch an incredible mythical beast, but they couldn't see its mysteries. I want to ask Lord Tian Shi what's inside and how to hatch this strange egg!"

Lord Tian Shi took the strange egg, his expression filled with amazement. "I didn't expect such a strange beast to fall into your hands!"

Xu Daoyan's heart raced, feeling very excited. He hadn't expected the strange egg to impress Lord Tian Shi, indicating it must be something extraordinary.

"Lord Tian Shi, what do you mean?" Xu Daoyan was full of curiosity.

"This strange beast is naturally prone to being beaten. If you want to hatch it, you must beat it every day and drop your own blood to nurture it. Once it hatches, it will recognize you as its master." Lord Tian Shi smiled, and with a slight movement of his hand, a crack appeared on the eggshell. He looked at Xu Daoyan and said, "Come, drop your own blood!"

Xu Daoyan quickly bit his fingertip and dropped blood onto the cracked eggshell, which soon healed.

However, it was clear that Lord Tian Shi's silent strike had been absorbed by the eggshell, accelerating its hatching time.

Xu Daoyan was also very excited, wondering what kind of strange beast, naturally prone to being beaten, would hatch from the egg.

---

End of