“Master Jude, why is he here?”

Susan Grant was taken aback at these words.

Among the eight realmen of the The Grant Family, Master Jack was the leader. Although Master Jude did not bear the surname Grant, he had been adopted by Samuel Grant’s father since childhood, growing up together with Samuel Grant, traveling far and wide by his side. They were as close as brothers. Now, having already reached the rank of ninth-grade realman and with great prospects of advancing to Sage, his status in the The Grant Family was anything but ordinary.

However, Master Jude had never been close to Susan Grant’s father, nor did he approve of Susan Grant marrying Charles Baker, so he and Susan Grant had almost no interaction. Even when Susan Grant’s father was alive, he had never visited East Sage Garden. No one knew why he had come this time, and even waited in the parlor for half a day.

“This Master Jude—could he also be here to ask us for that Saint Blade Token?”

Charles Baker curled his lips and said.

Susan Grant shook her head and said, “He’s a dignified realman—what use would he have for a mere scholar-grade Saint Blade Token?

Besides, Master Jude is exceptionally gifted in cultivation, but his literary talent is extremely poor. He’s the type who falls asleep at the sight of an essay. When he advanced to scholar and realman, it was all by sheer luck and coincidence that he barely managed to get a high grade. If not for that, he would have become a Sage long ago.

With his level of literary skill, even if you gave him the Saint Blade Token, it would be useless. He certainly wouldn’t come to ask for it.”

“Then what is he here for?”

Charles Baker asked in confusion.

“There’s no point in guessing. Let’s go in and see for ourselves.”

As Susan Grant spoke, she strode toward the parlor.

As soon as the two entered the parlor, they saw an elderly man in his fifties or sixties come out to greet them. As soon as he saw them, he boomed, “Boy from the Bai family, I want to buy half a line of your poetry. Name your price.”

Chapter 10: The Sacred Beast Token

When Master Jude was young, he and Samuel Grant had braved life and death together countless times, narrowly escaping death on many occasions, which left him with a chronic bone pain that could never be cured.

Some time ago, Master Jude found an ancient prescription that could cure this bone pain. He had already gathered most of the herbs, except for one top-grade scholar-level herb called Sanyang Flower. He had only managed to obtain a Sanyang Flower Sacred Herb Token.

However, to extract the Sanyang Flower from the Sacred Herb Token, a matching top-grade essay was required. Master Jude had only this one Sanyang Flower Sacred Herb Token and dared not use it carelessly. He had asked many acquaintances for help, but none were confident they could write a matching top-grade essay.

If the essay was lacking, the result might be a second-grade or first-grade Yang Flower, which would not suit the prescription.

Because someone in the Scholar’s Garden had heard Charles Baker’s line, “Live as splendid as summer flowers, die as serene as autumn leaves,” they recommended Master Jude seek out Charles Baker to open the Sanyang Flower. With just that half-line, “Live as splendid as summer flowers,” it was certain the Sanyang Flower could be drawn forth. So Master Jude hurried over to find Charles Baker.

In this world, aside from works inscribed on the Sacred Dao Stele, which cannot be reused, all other essays can be used repeatedly. However, only the owner of the essay can use it; it’s useless to others even if they know it.

“Boy from the Bai family, state your terms—whatever you want.”

Master Jude was eager to obtain the Sanyang Flower and couldn’t wait for Charles Baker to help him draw it out.

Charles Baker didn’t mind helping Master Jude, but doing it for free was out of the question. Even if he didn’t care about the reward, if he set this precedent, others would come to him for help all the time, which would be troublesome.

If he didn’t take a reward from Master Jude but did from others, he might end up resented for his efforts.

As Charles Baker hesitated over what price to set—one that Master Jude could accept, but not so low as to seem careless—Susan Grant spoke up first.

“Realman, you are our elder. As juniors, it’s only right for us to help. There’s no need for a reward. Don’t you have a token for the ninth floor of the Scholar’s Secret Technique Pavilion? Could you lend it to us for a while?

Charles Baker has just advanced to scholar and doesn’t have any suitable techniques yet. It would be perfect to borrow your token for a look.”

Susan Grant said.

The The Grant Family’s techniques were all stored in the Secret Technique Pavilion. Ordinary disciples could freely enter the first three floors, but those only held lower third-grade techniques. To go higher, one had to contribute to the family and obtain a token for the corresponding floor.

Moreover, the tokens were single-use; each could only be used once. The ninth-floor token in Master Jude’s possession was the highest grade, containing the The Grant Family’s most secret techniques. However, since it was only for the Scholar’s Secret Technique Pavilion, it was of little use to Master Jude himself, so Susan Grant dared to ask for it.

Master Jude’s eyes rolled, and he quickly said, “No, no, the ninth-floor Secret Technique Pavilion token is extremely precious. How can I trade it for just one top-grade Sacred Herb Token? This deal can’t be done. You’d better ask for something else.”

“We don’t lack anything else. We hope you’ll grant this favor, Realman.”

Susan Grant said.