Chapter 1437: Trading Hall

"Yes, that's exactly what I meant," the young woman said unhurriedly, not denying it. "Although you are qualified to join our Sky Roc Clan, you are ultimately human. Even if you pass the trials and tests, you cannot become our clan's Holy Master. However, fellow Daoist Han, you could, as a Holy Son, assist two of our Holy Sons in passing the trials. Of course, if you do so, I will not treat you unfairly. Not only can I allow you to merge with some True Kunpeng Essences, but I will also offer you a substantial reward."

Such a good offer, if presented to an ordinary person, would likely be immediately accepted with delight.

Han Li, however, remained silent, his eyes flickering.

The young woman did not press him; she simply sat quietly in her chair, gazing calmly at Han Li.

After a full tea-drinking period, Han Li spoke again.

"Senior, given that you are willing to let an outsider like me join your esteemed clan for the sake of the Holy Sons, this trial must be quite dangerous. Could you please explain it to me first? It's not too late for me to make a decision then."

"The trial is indeed very dangerous. Generally, the mortality rate for Holy Sons from various clans who participate is around 60 to 70 percent. A Holy Son's cultivation is typically at the Flying Spirit General level, which is equivalent to your clan's Nascent Soul stage. This time, our clan's Holy Master fell unexpectedly. The two Holy Sons are only at the initial Flying Spirit General stage and are not fully prepared. If they participate in the trial, they are almost certain to fail. Although I don't know much about your abilities, for you to have traveled alone from the human race across most of the Wind Elemental Continent to get here, your strength is definitely extraordinary. Even if the trial content is dangerous, it shouldn't be a problem for you." Although the young woman's initial assessment had some inaccuracies, her final judgment was correct.

"Only at the Flying Spirit General level?" Han Li asked cautiously, his eyes twitching slightly.

"Rest assured, sir, I would not deceive you," the young woman replied with a faint smile.

"I need some time to consider it," Han Li said after a moment's thought, finally making a decision. "This matter is of great importance, so it's only right that you deliberate. How about this: I'll give you three days. In three days, I will be here, awaiting your reply. During this period, you are free to move around the city. No one will disturb you. Also, my name is Jin Yue; you may remember it." The young woman spoke calmly, as if Han Li's response was already within her expectations.

Han Li naturally expressed his thanks and then, without hesitation, took his leave.

Watching Han Li walk out the door and disappear with a flicker of his figure, Jin Yue smiled faintly. She picked up a cup of spiritual tea from the table and took a light sip. "Grand Elder, are you truly letting him leave just like that?" A gray light flashed on one of the stone walls in the room, revealing two other Sky Roc clan members: one tall and one short.

"Why, what do you want me to do with him?" Jin Yue asked directly, glancing at the red-bearded elder who had spoken.

"Those wings have been infused with Kunpeng Feathers. Why must we allow an outsider to impersonate a Holy Son? Wouldn't it be better to forcibly keep the wings and have our own clan select another person to inherit the True Essence?" the tall, red-bearded elder said, lightly rubbing his hands.

"If it were truly that easy, would I have bothered to say so much to an outsider?" the young woman retorted impolitely, a cold smile playing on her lips. "I would have simply destroyed him and seized the wings then and there."

"Then, Grand Elder, what do you mean...?" The other person, a petite beautiful woman, saw that the red-bearded elder was about to speak again and quickly tugged his sleeve discreetly, speaking respectfully before him.

"Regarding knowledge of the human race, I believe no one else in the entire Sky Roc Clan can compare to me. Humans are different from our Flying Spirit Race. Their inherent strength is generally ordinary; most of their divine abilities come from the treasures they cultivate. Therefore, they can, through years of refinement, completely assimilate certain treasures to their will. Such treasures are not impossible to forcibly seize, but once acquired, the original owner's traces within the treasure are very difficult to remove quickly. Moreover, the treasure's power will be significantly reduced if it changes hands. I have carefully examined this person's wing-treasure; it is precisely this type of magical artifact. Furthermore, I have received news that the Holy Sons' Abyss Trial is imminent. We simply don't have time to seize the treasure and then hand it over to other clan members for re-refinement." Jin Yue mused for a moment before explaining a few more things.

"So that's how it is. But in that case, wouldn't our clan's True Holy Essence truly fall into the hands of an outsider? This is no small matter." The red-bearded elder continued to shake his head repeatedly.

"Elder Xu, are you being foolish?" the young woman said, her bright eyes flashing with crystalline light. "If our clan doesn't have a Holy Son pass the trial this time, our entire clan will be absorbed by other branches. Compared to that, the matter of the True Essence is trivial. Besides, to prevent this from happening, there are other remedial measures available."

"Haha, the Grand Elder's words are logical. Once this outsider helps us overcome this tribulation, a mere Flying Spirit General-level existence, whether he lives or dies, will be entirely up to us," the middle-aged beautiful woman said with a smile after a moment of surprise.

"Killing him is not an option. Even if he is an outsider, once he merges with the True Kunpeng Essence, he will truly be considered half a clan member. We, too, are bound by the Sky Roc Oath. Moreover, if he helps our clan overcome this great tribulation, he will be regarded as our benefactor. If unnecessary, it's better not to harm his life. We can simply place him under house arrest and prevent him from ever leaving the Sacred Domain." Jin Yue gazed coldly at the beautiful woman, speaking dispassionately.

"That would work too. Should we also inform the guards and send people to secretly follow this outsider? We wouldn't want him to suddenly run off in the next few days," the red-bearded elder suddenly suggested.

"Elder Xu, there's no need to worry. I made some minor adjustments to his wings just now. If he attempts to escape this city, I will know immediately." Jin Yue was completely unconcerned. "It seems we were overthinking things. The Grand Elder has considered everything thoroughly," the beautiful woman said with a smile, her eyes sparkling with a strange light.

"It's not entirely overthinking. Of our clan's five Grand Elders, only the three of us are currently in the clan. This matter concerns the clan's survival, so we three must agree before taking action. Otherwise, I wouldn't have sent a telepathic message en route to summon you two here. Elder Xu, do either of you have any other opinions?" The young woman stared at them, speaking slowly.

"No, Grand Elder, your method is perfectly sound," both the beautiful woman and the elder agreed in unison this time.

Hearing this, the young woman nodded.

From beginning to end, these three Sky Roc elders never once considered that Han Li might refuse.

This was understandable; in the eyes of the Grand Elder, as well as the elder and the beautiful woman, a mere Nascent Soul-stage outsider could not possibly refuse their demands.

Meanwhile, a hundred miles away from where the young woman and the others were, Han Li was flying at a low altitude, flapping his wings.

On the surface, his expression was normal, and he appeared to be observing the various buildings below with considerable interest.

Internally, however, his mind was in turmoil as he secretly pondered his predicament.

This time, he had inadvertently exposed his identity, and his situation was truly far from ideal.

With his extensive past experiences, he knew very well that no matter if he fulfilled the young woman's request or not, his fate would definitely not be good.

An outright refusal was certainly impossible.

As for the idea of immediately fleeing, it had crossed his mind several times since he left the young woman's residence.

But after his spiritual sense instinctively swept over the Wind-Lightning Wings on his back, Han Li could only offer a bitter smile.

The Sky Roc Clan's Grand Elder had openly planted a mark on his wings, ensuring that his movements within a certain area would be entirely under her control.

With his current cultivation, it wasn't impossible to forcibly erase this mark, but it would take at least several days. Such a long time would give the Grand Elder countless opportunities to catch up to him.

It seemed the only way was to propose conditions beforehand that would make the other party hesitate to act against him.

Otherwise, he would rather risk everything to escape than truly become an outsider's Holy Son.

As for what conditions to propose, he would need to first understand the general situation within the Sky Roc Clan before he could properly deliberate.

Fortunately, having cultivated until now, he had experienced countless risks. Even though he was currently in an inescapable situation, he did not panic excessively.

Han Li merely flew slowly while his mind raced with various thoughts.

For the next period, Han Li went to a tall stone house in the Sacred City, resembling a library.

He spent a full day and night there, poring through nearly half of the books, and only left with a tired expression.

Returning to his residence, Han Li stayed confined to his guest room until the early morning of the third day, when he calmly left once more. This time, his destination was precisely the Grand Exchange Hall he had intended to visit from the beginning.

This time, he encountered no further trouble on his journey.

After flying for a while, Han Li finally reached the outskirts of the Sacred City, standing before a peculiar building constructed against a mountain.

This building was situated right next to a steep mountain cliff, approximately a thousand zhang tall. A massive rectangular plaza extended directly out from the cliff face. At one end of the plaza, an arched stone gate, about a hundred zhang high, was dramatically carved into the mountain wall.

On either side of the colossal gate, more than a dozen fully armed guards stood in formation, while numerous Sky Roc people bustled in and out, creating a lively scene.

From a distance, Han Li observed for a moment, his eyes slightly narrowed, then with a movement of the wings on his back, he flew forward, enveloped in a ball of green light.

A guard at the gate glanced at Han Li, his expression suddenly changing, and he hastily bowed deeply to him.

Han Li gave a slight nod in return, then boldly flashed and flew into the enormous gate.

His eyes brightened at the sight of a vast, expansive space.

Beyond the colossal gate, another world seemed to unfold.

A long passage stretched out of sight, with towering, palace-like buildings tiered on both sides. Upon closer inspection, these buildings were divided into more than ten levels, each thirty zhang high, and every hundred zhang or so along each level, another hall entrance, over ten zhang high, appeared.

Countless Sky Roc individuals flew in and out, up and down, among these buildings. It seemed the hall entrances led to the Sky Roc people's trading areas.