I Was Forced to Marry a “Trash” Cultivator, But She Turned Out to Be a Reborn Empress!

Chapter 244: Gifts from All Sides, Fame Soars

On the road back to the Listening Bamboo Pavilion, Ai Xiao followed exactly three paces behind Shen Xian. His eyes burned with a fervor that bordered on religious fanaticism.

He opened his mouth to speak, hesitated, and then closed it again. Finally, unable to contain the torrent of emotions in his chest, he spoke, his voice trembling.

“Master Wang! That… that Resonance Smelting technique you displayed… it was godlike!”

Ai Xiao rubbed his calloused fingertips together unconsciously, as if the phantom heat of those three thousand six hundred fire threads still danced between them.

“Ordinary refiners control fire with brute force, suppressing the material until it yields. But you… you commanded the flames as if they were extensions of your own nervous system. You penetrated every lattice node with surgical precision. Such exquisite skill… I fear even the Elders of the Hundred Arts Sect would be left choking on your dust!”

Overcome with emotion, he suddenly stopped in the middle of the street. He clasped his hands together and bowed deeply, his posture rigid with respect.

“To witness such grandmaster-level refining with my own eyes is a blessing I must have cultivated over three lifetimes! If I could learn even ten percent of your skill in this life, I would die without regret!”

After days of observing Shen Xian, Ai Xiao’s hesitation had vanished. He had resolved to follow this man into the abyss if necessary. The urge to formally beg for apprenticeship again clawed at his throat.

Shen Xian glanced sideways.

The usually rough, unruly middle-aged man was now red-eyed, his large hands gripping the hem of his robes as if trying to physically restrain his awe.

“Go back and continue refining,” Shen Xian said, his tone flat. He offered no promises, no mentorship.

Yet, Ai Xiao showed no disappointment. He nodded vigorously, his fighting spirit blazing brighter than before.

To the side, Qiu Ruoli watched the exchange in silence. A strange glint flickered in her beautiful eyes.

Staring at Shen Xian’s straight, unyielding back, she felt a complex emotion stirring. This man was a villain, a demonic cultivator… yet she couldn’t deny he possessed a magnetic, almost terrifying charisma.

Three days after the preliminary competition.

A long, winding queue had formed outside the gates of the Listening Bamboo Pavilion.

Shen Xian stood by the window of his study, looking down at the bustling crowd. The corner of his mouth hooked upward in a faint, calculating smile.

Influence is a net. The wider you cast it, the more fish you catch.

He idly rotated a porcelain teacup in his hand. “They say the Hundred Arts Sect isn’t the strongest in terms of martial power, yet they elevated the Immortal Art Sacred Land to the forefront of the Ten Great Sacred Lands purely through connections.”

“If they can do it, why can’t I? These people bringing gifts… they look like sycophants, but in reality, they are chess pieces waiting to be placed.”

“Master Wang,” Ai Xiao hurried into the room, his face flushed with the excitement of a gatekeeper for a king. “Manager Zhou from the Azure Nether Chamber of Commerce requests an audience. He has brought ten pounds of Star Pattern Steel and a bottle of fourth-rank spirit beast essence blood.”

Shen Xian raised an eyebrow.

The Azure Nether Chamber of Commerce was one of the city’s three economic pillars and the largest shareholder behind the local branch of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. Its president was the very same Pavilion Master who had watched the competition.

“Let him in.”

Manager Zhou was a wiry man with eyes that darted around like an abacus counting beads. As soon as he crossed the threshold, he bowed deeply.

“Master Wang! I have heard so much about you. Your fire control technique at the assembly was nothing short of miraculous!”

“Manager Zhou is too kind,” Shen Xian replied with practiced modesty.

Manager Zhou rubbed his hands together, his gaze sharp. He saw youth, talent, and immense potential. Befriending such a prodigy now was an investment that would yield massive dividends later.

Remembering the Pavilion Master’s specific instructions, he respectfully presented a Storage Bag with both hands.

“A small token of our appreciation. Please, do not stand on ceremony.”

Shen Xian swept the bag with his Divine Sense. Aside from the high-quality Star Pattern Steel and the potent beast blood, there was a jade tablet glowing with soft light.

A VIP token.

Holding this, the commission fee for anything he sold through the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion would drop to a mere one percent.

Shen Xian nodded, acknowledging the true value of the gift. “Manager Zhou is thoughtful.”

“With Master Wang’s heaven-defying talent, these trifles are hardly worthy,” Zhou waved his hand dismissively. “We only hope that when you refine your next masterpiece, you will consider the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion as your premier partner.”

That was the hook.

Shen Xian’s stunning debut meant every faction in the city wanted a piece of him. The Pavilion was moving fast to secure exclusive rights.

“Naturally,” Shen Xian smiled. “We are friends now, are we not?”

After seeing Manager Zhou out, the floodgates opened.

Shen Xian received visitor after visitor. Some brought rare spirit herbs, others exotic ores. Some even brought veiled beauties, offering them as “maids” or “concubines.”

Shen Xian rejected no one. He accepted the gifts, the materials, and the gestures with the serene detachment of a saint accepting offerings.

“The individual value is low, but the variety is excellent,” Shen Xian murmured later, tossing a chunk of fire-attribute ore in his hand. “Sand piles up to form a pagoda. These will be useful.”

Ai Xiao stood in the corner, tallying the inventory. His heart swelled with pride. This is a true Master. Even the haughtiest powers in the city must bow before him. My choice was correct!

He stole a glance at Shen Xian, his desire to be a true disciple burning hotter than ever.

Qiu Ruoli leaned against the doorframe, her expression cold but her mind racing.

This evil cultivator knows how to play the game, she thought. In just a few days, he has spun a web of influence that would take others decades to build. He navigates these social waters with the grace of a seasoned Grandmaster.

By evening, the last visitor had departed.

Shen Xian sat in his study, reviewing the day’s harvest.

“Twenty pounds of Star Pattern Steel, three bottles of fourth-rank essence blood, five high-grade fire ores…” Ai Xiao read from the list, his voice trembling at the sheer wealth accumulated in a single afternoon.

Shen Xian selected a portion of the materials and pushed them across the desk.

“Take these. Use them to practice your hand.”

They were mid-grade materials—useless to Shen Xian now, but treasures to Ai Xiao. Since the man had been working tirelessly as an unpaid assistant, a reward was in order.

Ai Xiao’s head snapped up. “Master, I… I cannot.”

He was here to learn. The fact that Shen Xian allowed him to watch and didn’t charge him fees was already a grace. How could he take payment?

“Take them,” Shen Xian said, his smile faint but commanding. “Consider it your wage.”

Ai Xiao wanted to refuse again, but seeing the unyielding look in Shen Xian’s eyes, he swallowed his protest.

He cupped his fists, bowing so low his forehead nearly touched the floor. “Master’s generosity… Ai Xiao could die ten thousand times and not repay it!”

With that, he grabbed the materials and rushed out, diving straight into the refining room to pour his gratitude into his work.

Night fell, blanketing the city in silence.

Shen Xian stood alone in the courtyard, hands clasped behind his back, gazing up at the starlit sky.

These gift-givers, these smiling managers… they were merely stones in the road.

He would use them. He would gather intelligence, hoard resources, and build his power.

His goal had never changed. It was always there, looming in the distance like a dark mountain.

The Ice Soul Immortal Sect.

A demonic sect guarded by a Body Integration True Venerable.

Heh.

One day, Shen Xian vowed silently, his eyes reflecting the cold starlight, I will burn it all to ash.

Meanwhile, in the teahouses and taverns of Azure Nether City, the legend of “Master Wang” was spreading like wildfire.

“Did you hear? Master Wang accepted a gift from the Azure Nether Chamber of Commerce!”

“That’s nothing! I saw the steward of the City Lord’s Manor waiting in line!”

“Who is this Master Wang? Where did he come from?”

“Does it matter? Anyone who can make the major powers scramble like dogs is someone we need to know,” a cultivator whispered into his wine cup.

“Tomorrow,” another declared, eyes gleaming with greed and ambition, “I will prepare a heavy gift. I must visit the Listening Bamboo Pavilion!”

The night deepened, but the undercurrents of Azure Nether City were only just beginning to churn.