"Men, escort Saint Lord Andrew, Madam, and Young Master to their seats!"

"Next!"

"The Twilight Glow Sect Master brings three disciples to attend the Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony! Presenting a congratulatory gift of one Heaven and Earth-Tier secret technique and one Heaven and Earth-Tier treasured sword!"

Alex still did not open his eyes, saying faintly. "Decline."

The Twilight Glow Sect Master and his disciples were also directly led into the venue.

"The Moon Brilliance Sect Master, Renis, brings his sect’s disciples to attend the Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony!"

"Presenting a congratulatory gift of ten Star-Moon Tricolor Stones!"

Alex opened his eyes, pondered briefly, and said faintly. "Accept."

This Renis was one of the Sect Masters who had helped capture the Thunder Ghost King last night.

Because of that incident, he already owed him a minor favor. Coupled with ten Star-Moon Tricolor Stones, it could be considered full of sincerity, and meeting him once would not hurt.

Receiving Alex’s instruction, Julian immediately said respectfully. "Sect Master Renis, please proceed to the cave dwelling behind the venue."

"The Saint Lord has words to speak with you."

"Men, lead the way for Sect Master Renis!"

Watching two young disciples lead Renis toward the back of the venue, the several people who had just entered instantly revealed looks of envy.

"Sigh, Sect Master Renis is truly ruthless! To actually take out half of his own sect’s sacred relics as a congratulatory gift! No wonder he has the fortune to personally meet Saint Lord Alex, while we can only eat at the banquet inside."

Harboring an excited heart, Renis arrived at the cave dwelling. Elara had already poured a cup of tea for him at the guest seat opposite.

Alex stood up, cupped his fists with a faint smile. "Sect Master Renis, thank you for coming to my Hale family to support me, for today’s sentiment and last night’s favor, I will definitely repay you in the future."

"Saint Lord Alex, what are you saying?" Renis hurriedly waved his hand, feeling overwhelmingly flattered.

"To be able to handle matters for Saint Lord Alex is my good fortune! Right, for this trip, I specifically brought ten Star-Moon Tricolor Stones from my Moon Brilliance Sect to gift to you. A minor trinket, not worth mentioning, merely a token of my meager sincerity."

Alex smiled faintly. "The Star-Moon Tricolor Stone is your Moon Brilliance Sect’s ultimate guarding treasure. How could it be a minor trinket? Sect Master Renis need not be overly modest."

"Please sit down first and have a cup of tea."

"Good, thank you, Saint Lord Alex!"

Immediately, Renis sat opposite Alex, his heart pounding with excitement and nervous anticipation.

He picked up the teacup and took a sip, but did not pay attention to the temperature. It was so hot he could not help but gasp in a breath of cold air repeatedly.

Subsequently, Renis set the teacup down and said somewhat bashfully. "Saint Lord Alex, I have a matter to ask of you, I wonder if you..."

"Ah, Sect Master Renis, my apologies. I still have to receive a few other Saint Lords here." Seeing Renis open his mouth to ask for a favor, Alex immediately stood up and cupped his fists.

"During the grand ceremony, affairs are complicated and numerous. For any lack of hospitality, I sincerely hope you can forgive me."

"Later, after the Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony concludes, I will absolutely go and drink three thousand cups with you!"

"Elara, see our guest out!"

The moment Alex issued the eviction order, Elara immediately stepped forward. "Sect Master Renis, please!"

Under the rapid-fire teamwork of the two echoing each other, Renis fundamentally could not get a word in edgewise.

By the time he snapped back to his senses, he had already been invited outside the cave dwelling.

Standing outside, although Renis felt slightly unreconciled, he was still in a great mood and smiled with joy.

"No matter what, I still got to see Saint Lord Alex today, and it was a private audience! Relying purely on this reputation, whatever matter my Moon Brilliance Sect wants to handle in the future will be easily accomplished with just a wave of the hand."

"As for that minor favor I wanted to ask, it is fundamentally not worth mentioning! Hahaha, a worthwhile trip, truly a worthwhile trip!"

After sending Renis away, Alex wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Phew, that was close. I almost added more trouble for myself."

As he drank his tea, he said faintly. "Elara, do you not think the masters of these sects are a bit too shameless? They just come to attend a Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony, casually prepare some meager gifts, and then expect me to handle matters for them?"

Elara cleaned up the tea that Renis had drunk from, her expression slightly complicated.

Ten Star-Moon Tricolor Stones were invaluable treasures that were priceless and unmarketable. How was that a meager gift?

She pondered for a moment and said weakly. "Saint Lord, Elara believes that if you do not wish to handle matters for these Sect Masters and Saint Lords, then you should not accept their gifts, lest it give people cause for gossip..."

"On what grounds?" Alex raised an eyebrow, replying without a second thought.

"They offered these gifts of their own accord, and it’s not like I went and robbed them. On what grounds can I not accept them?"

"Uh..." Elara said weakly. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"But I feel that since you accepted their gifts, you should handle matters for them..."

"I only agreed to accept the gift, not to handle matters. Why should I help?" Alex asked with a smile of interest.

"Elara, then tell me, what should I do? I do not want to help with the favor, but I still want the gift. Me giving them the opportunity to present a gift, in a certain sense, is already a kind of grace, is it not?"

Elara’s expression was slightly complicated, momentarily speechless.

The Saint Lord’s words were truly both domineering and shamelessly brazen.

Alex sat back down in the grand armchair, continuing to let Julian call out names in order.

After skipping over a dozen or so insignificant people who did not need to be met, someone who finally interested him arrived.

"The Hundred Beasts Sect Master, Brook, brings his sect’s disciples to attend the Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony!"