The Almighty Ring

“You wish to meet the grandmaster?” Bai Wanli exclaimed. Even though he knew that Jiang Fei would only present himself to them with a purpose, he would never expect Jiang Fei to want to meet the grandmaster of the Snow Mountain Sect.

“Yes. I have something interesting… things that I know he would have an eye for,” said Jiang Fei with a suggestive grin.

“Mhm… This is not a trivial matter. Even though I am the sect leader but anything related to the grandmaster is out of my reach. I could relay the message but it all comes down to the grandmaster himself,” said Bai Wanli bitterly. The last thing he wanted to do was to reject Jiang Fei’s request but it was hard for him to get involved with Level 5 masters.

“I’m counting on you,” Jiang Fei smiled and bowed slightly. Bai Wanli excused himself to talk to the grandmaster while leaving Jiang Fei in the hands of the other masters of the sect. After an hour or so, Bai Wanli returned with a smile.

“How did it go?” Jiang Fei stopped his boring conversation with the other masters and quickly asked Bai Wanli.

“Brother Jiang Fei. It seems that you’re popular enough person to garner the grandmaster’s attention. He agreed to meet you and wishes me to take you to him now,” said Bai Wanli. Jiang Fei was thrilled. It would be extremely awkward for him if the grandmaster would reject to have an audience with him.

“You have my thanks, sect leader Bai!” said Jiang Fei as he bowed lower this time. Jiang Fei wanted to say: “I owe you big time,” but he was afraid Bai Wanli might take it to the heart and would return to Jiang Fei with a request. He was grateful but not too much to that extent.

The party went out of the guest room and towards the mountains. In about half an hour, they arrived deep into the mountains. To be specific, it was almost at the peak of the Snow Mountain as everything was already covered in snow. The temperature dropped to almost freezing temperature, not to mention the thick blanket of snow that piled up on the ground.

“The grandmaster is just right ahead. This is where I take my leave,” said Bai Wanli as they reached the top. Not far from where they stood was the cave that the grandmaster was living in.

“Sect leader Bai won’t be joining us?” Ariel asked.

“Mhm. The grandmaster does not like crowds. We would never disturb the grandmaster if it’s not for urgent matters. Even though he allowed me to fetch brother Jiang Fei, he did not give me permission to enter his domains,” said Bai Wanli as he bowed apologetically. Even though the Level 5 grandmaster was of Snow Mountain Sect, the man was approaching his 200th years. Bai Wanli was several generations younger than he was. It was only natural for the grandmaster to be cold towards anyone.

“Thank you for all your troubles,” said Jiang Fei before he proceeded to the cave. He held no fear to any Level 5 fighters, especially since he had fought and survived many other Level 5 Metahumans. Moreover, he had Sylphy and Ariel with him. To be honest, the fear and respect he once had for other Level 5 Metahumans were gone.

The inside of the cave was large and even housed larger cavities. As they went deeper, the temperature began to rise back up. It seemed that the many tunnels served as insulation.

“Not bad. Here I thought that the man would be training in harsh conditions! Looks like he was rather enjoying this place!” Sylphy commented as she clung to Jiang Fei.

“Haha! Baby doll, do you really think that all Level 5 masters would subject themselves to harsh training like the Shaolin monks?”

The voice echoed all over the caverns. Deep husky laughter filled the cavern after he was done teasing Sylphy. Jiang Fei was not surprised since he did come into the cave knowingly. As a matter of fact, the Level 5 grandmaster did not bother to hide his presence. By the time Jiang Fei was halfway through the cave, both of them could already feel each other’s presence.

“Great senior, this one greets you!” said Jiang Fei.

“Walk a little further! I’m right here waiting for you!” the voice replied. Judging from the volume and direction, they were already very close to each other.

As soon as Jiang Fei took a step forward, Ariel pulled Jiang Fei closer to her and whispered, “this person is very strong. Besides sister Bella, I don’t think neither of us could defeat him.”

Jiang Fei arched an eyebrow. He did not expect the old grandmaster of the Snow Mountain sect to be that strong. Isabella was only so strong because of the Core of Life enabling her to deploy her Domain ability for as long as she wanted to. It seemed that this old grandmaster was just as strong as Isabella.

Even so, Jiang Fei did not falter. He was full confidence that his own Domain ability would triumph over any other Level 5 masters. Even if the grandmaster was stronger than Isabella, Jiang Fei could still defeat him in a one-on-one battle. However, there was a condition. Jiang Fei would have to be the first one to act. If he was able to deploy his Domain, the enemy would definitely be weakened and Jiang Fei could defeat him even though he was only at the Pinnacle stage of Level 4. However, if the enemy got to him first, being killed instantly was probably the only outcome.

Half a minute later, Jiang Fei and the others reached the end of the caverns.

“What the hell…?” Jiang Fei gasped. The deep, husky voice of a man had given him the impression that the grandmaster was an older, muscular tall man with muscle honed to perfection. The little guy that was standing in front of him was not exactly the person Jiang Fei had imagined meeting with! He was so small, perhaps half of Jiang Fei’s height even. One could even mistake him for a dwarf! Not only was he short, he was also… wider than normal humans. To be honest, he would look like an oil barrel! A small, fat oil barrel!

“What’s wrong boy? Hahaha! Disappointed at what you see?” said the grandmaster when he saw the stunned expression on Jiang Fei’s face.

The man had a cheerful, happy-go-lucky look even though he was already 200 years old. His hair draped down from his neck, all discolored and pale like the snow outside the cave. Even so, he had a chubby cheeks, the same kind of which babies would have! When he saw Jiang Fei, he laughed jubilantly that his eyes were so narrowed that it formed a line!

“Urgh… I… Greetings, Grandmaster…” Jiang Fei awkwardly greet the grandmaster. He was completely caught off guard with his looks and did not know how to respond to his question.

“At ease, boy. My name is Bai Shien. How is Master Zhuge?” Bai Shien asked whilst laughed louder at Jiang Fei’s awkward demeanor.

“My master is well…”

Jiang Fei was slightly nervous talking about Zhuge Shanzhen in front of other Level 5 master. However, it seemed that the fictional persona was still playing its part well enough to fool the others.

“Do send my regards to the master. I do wish to meet with him. I have lived long enough and it would be rude for me not to greet another such as myself,” said Bai Shien.

“I will! I will!” Jiang Fei nodded profusely. Sylphy, who was standing a few feet away, was stifling her laughter. She knew everything about Jiang Fei and naturally about the fictional persona.

“Hohohohoho! What a festive meeting. Shall we get down to business? I hear you have something that I would have an eye for,” said Bai Shien. The man was eager to know what was the thing that Jiang Fei was offering. It was only expected since the boy came from a mysterious sect that was unheard of.

“With all due respect, it is nothing but a toy for the grandmaster. Nevertheless, here it is!” said Jiang Fei as he opened his palm and showed the few dart tips that were only coated in Valium.