The Fourth-Grade Divine Rune Yi Tianyun inscribed was of the simplest kind, and a miniaturized version at that, so creating it was very easy and took little time. However, regardless of how quickly it was made, it was still a Fourth-Grade Divine Rune. Even those who knew nothing about drawing Divine Runes could recognize it as such.

One could tell from the effect alone that it was, indeed, a Fourth-Grade Divine Rune! In truth, as long as someone could inscribe a Fourth-Grade Divine Rune—no matter how shoddy or useless—they could be called a Fourth-Grade Divine Rune Master.

This was why Elder Xuan had said that restoring the Flying Array would require a top-tier Divine Rune Master. A novice Divine Rune Master and an advanced one were on two completely different levels.

Steward Liu and the others were dumbfounded. They had completely misjudged the situation, especially Steward Liu, who had even vowed to eat the table. Well, now the table was right in front of him. The only question was whether he would actually eat it.

"Well? Is it a Fourth-Grade Divine Rune? Are you ready to eat the table now?" Yi Tianyun asked, watching him coolly.

Steward Liu’s expression turned grim. He didn’t want to eat the table in the slightest—not because he couldn’t bite through it, but because it was just too humiliating! There weren’t many people present, just the few of them, but eating it in their presence was already a great disgrace.

"Ahem, I was blind and failed to recognize a great master. Please, forgive me... I can offer you a grand gift as an apology. Please forgive my earlier mistake." Steward Liu apologized with extreme sincerity, though he was mostly just mortified.

Who could have guessed he was actually a Fourth-Grade Divine Rune Master? Just like that, Yi Tianyun’s status skyrocketed! In terms of rank, he was now far above them. Especially given his youth, his potential was astonishing. He was very likely to become a true Divine Rune Master in the future. A figure like that was the kind of genius that even Fourth-Grade factions would fight to recruit.

"Eat the table." Yi Tianyun’s voice was dangerously low. "Some words, once spoken, carry a price. Besides, you said it yourself before. For the sake of the Zhu Family, one must be willing to make sacrifices. Or do you not want my help?"

"This..."

Steward Liu froze. If Yi Tianyun refused to help, the Zhu Family would be finished this time. They had already lost so many times in a row; if this continued, the Zhu Family would have no standing left. Although they could still stay here, their status and resource allocation would be drastically reduced to almost nothing.

"Elder Yi, please be the bigger person and overlook his offense," Steward Huang chimed in from the side. "Steward Liu just felt that given your youth, it was truly unlikely that you could be a Fourth-Grade Divine Rune Master. It was our mistake."

"This is no longer a matter of misjudgment. You were looking down on me!" Yi Tianyun said in a heavy tone. "I told you the truth, and you accused me of joking? Do you think I would joke about Elder Zhu’s freedom? I don’t want to repeat myself. Had this been any other Fourth-Grade Divine Rune Master, I guarantee your words would have made them turn and leave immediately!"

Steward Liu fell silent for a moment, his brow furrowed as if he were contemplating something.

"Fine, I’ll eat!" Steward Liu picked up a piece of the wooden table and began to gnaw on it. For a cultivator at the Core Formation Stage, not only was his physique tough, but his teeth were also incredibly strong. Chewing up a wooden table was not an issue.

He chomped on it as if it were a crispy rice cracker, eating it with a surprisingly loud crunch. He quickly swallowed the small piece of wood, his heart overflowing with humiliation.

Yi Tianyun felt no pity whatsoever. Once someone crossed a line, he had no qualms about delivering a harsh lesson. Their attitude, in particular, had really pissed him off.

Beside them, Zhu Yuwei and Zhu Yuxuan couldn’t help but laugh. They felt that Steward Liu got what he deserved for being so arrogant. A wave of satisfaction washed over them; the stewards’ earlier words had made them give up on them completely.

"Is that enough?" Steward Liu said in a heavy tone.

"That’s enough. You can go and make preparations. Just notify me when you’re ready," Yi Tianyun said nonchalantly.

"No problem!" Steward Liu ground his teeth, then immediately walked out with Steward Huang.

"Ding! Quest accepted: ’Place in the top three of the Divine Rune Competition and rescue the two sisters.’ Completion Reward: 1,000,000 EXP, one spin on the Enhanced Lottery Wheel, +5,000 Divine Rune Mastery Proficiency, +100 Favorability with Zhu Yuwei and Zhu Yuxuan!"

The sudden appearance of a small quest made his eyes light up. ’I didn’t expect to be able to accept a quest here.’

Once they were a good distance away, Steward Liu said angrily, "That bastard actually made me eat a table! If he weren’t a Fourth-Grade Divine Rune Master, I would’ve strung him up and beaten him to death!" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Who knew he was actually a Fourth-Grade Divine Rune Master? No wonder he’s an elder in the Merak Sect. It looks like the Merak Sect wasn’t being foolish; he really has the skills..." Steward Huang said with a puzzled expression. "That Merak Sect is really full of hidden dragons. How did someone like him pop up out of nowhere?"

"Whatever. As long as he’s a Fourth-Grade Divine Rune Master, that’s all that matters," Steward Liu said hatefully. "It would be best if he fails to get into the top three. That way, he’ll have to help us again, and those two sisters won’t escape our grasp!"

"Let’s hope so. A sect full of nouveau riche acting so arrogant in our presence!" Steward Huang was also inwardly seething.

Just then, a figure flashed through a dark corner before opening a door and stepping inside.

"Elder Yi, where did you just go?" Zhu Yuwei asked in confusion when she saw Yi Tianyun enter.

"Nowhere important, just went for a walk." Yi Tianyun had, in fact, just snuck out to listen in on them. ’Just as I thought,’ he mused, ’they’re up to no good.’

’I could have just taken the sisters by force, but I don’t want to resort to killing so casually. Although they’re divided into several branches, if one Star Pavilion is attacked, the others will immediately come to its aid.’

’Even if they dislike the branch controlled by the Zhu Family, they would still have to come to its aid, if only to save face. A branch of the Star Pavilion is still the Star Pavilion. This is exactly why, despite possessing countless treasures, no faction dares to casually attack it.’

For now, Yi Tianyun didn’t want to attract any major trouble for the Merak Sect. Heaven only knew what kind of experts were in the Star Pavilion, so it was best to be cautious. The only reason he had dared to be so overbearing was that their situation had pushed them into a corner. He held their lifeline in his hands, so they didn’t dare to act out. It was also a way for him to vent the sisters’ anger for them.

"Elder Yi, thank you so much for your help... As long as I can regain my freedom, I don’t even need to join the Merak Sect. I would be willing to work for the Merak Sect for the rest of my life," Zhu Yuxuan said, dropping into a deep curtsy, her voice full of gratitude.

Zhu Yuwei also dropped into a curtsy, expressing her gratitude to Yi Tianyun.

"Please, there’s no need for that. I meant what I said: you will join the Merak Sect. You two sisters are both highly skilled. It would be our loss if you didn’t join," Yi Tianyun said with a smile. "There’s no need to discuss it further; it’s settled. Once we secure a top-three spot, you won’t owe the Star Pavilion anything anymore."

"Yes, by doing this, we will have done everything that could be expected of us. The Star Pavilion treated us well in the past, but we’ve done our part. We won’t owe them anything anymore!" A resolute light flashed in the sisters’ eyes. They were not ungrateful people, but they could no longer bear how the Star Pavilion was treating them now. After this one last time, they would leave for good.

They then exchanged a glance and nodded before speaking in unison, "From now on, we two sisters will wholeheartedly serve Elder Yi and obey only Elder Yi’s commands! We are willing to give everything for Elder Yi, without a single regret!"

Their words stunned Yi Tianyun. ’This isn’t what I had in mind at all!’