The Female CEO's Personal Bodyguard

Jorren Jaramillo and Grayan Darlington exchanged glances and laughed together.

This kid is really something.

What he said wasn’t wrong at all; this kind of opportunity where two Master Refiners are together yet have nothing to do is indeed rare.

Jorren cheerfully agreed, ”Alright, since you’re interested, I’ll give you some guidance and see if you have talent in Artifact Refining. We’ll talk about other matters later.”

”I had promised to teach you the Floral Refining Technique before. Although circumstances have changed, I can’t go back on my word.”

Carson Flores clasped his hands in salute, ”Thank you, Elder.”

Jorren waved his hand, ”No need for formalities. Like they say, when it’s raining, it’s a good time to spank the kids; there’s nothing else to do anyway. Come on, since you said you have doubts, just state them, and I’ll clear them up for you.”

Carson then presented his queries. He hadn’t really practiced with his hands yet; everything related to Artifact Refining was still theoretical. However, clarifying all the doubts before actually doing it would naturally reduce many troubles.

The questions Carson raised were quite basic, and Jorren answered them casually, handing over an Earth Fire Ring to Carson.

”There’s Earth Fire in here. You can use this for practice; it’s more suitable for beginners...”

Carson didn’t stand on ceremony, thanked him, and started his refining practice.

After reaching an agreement with Jorren earlier, Carson looked at the Jade Slip he provided and went on to purchase quite a bit of refining materials. These were relatively low-level basic materials, perfect for practice.

In this special environment, Carson began his journey of learning Artifact Refining.

Day by day, Carson’s progress was remarkably fast.

Why not, when Carson had two top Master Refiners beside him?

Initially, it was just Jorren guiding Carson, but Grayan couldn’t resist joining in later because he was too bored.

Jorren looked at Grayan answering Carson’s questions and mocked, ”Even though Carson hasn’t formally apprenticed under me, we have a deal where I’ll teach him the Floral Refining Technique, so it’s reasonable for me to guide him. This has nothing to do with you, so why do you butt in?”

Grayan, hearing this, shrugged his hand, ”Then you do it?”

Jorren sneered, ”Of course, it was supposed to be me. What does it have to do with you?”

Grayan was initially prepared to back off, but upon hearing Jorren say this, he wasn’t happy.

”What kind of talk is that? Carson is not your disciple; if you can teach him, why can’t I?”

Jorren sneered, ”I’m teaching him the Floral Refining Technique; what are you teaching him, how to refine iron blocks?”

Grayan was angered by Jorren’s words, ”The Floral Refining Technique is just one method out of the Hundred Refinement Technique of your Star River Sect; it’s not some world-exclusive secret. What’s there to boast about?”

”It may not be an exclusive secret, but it’s still useful.”

Jorren made a gesture of invitation, ”Why don’t you teach him something even stronger?”

Grayan stared at Jorren for a few seconds and suddenly laughed, ”You’re trying to provoke me, eh?”

Jorren nodded, ”Yep, I’m provoking you. Stop babbling and say whether you’ll teach or not. If not, just move aside, because everything you know, I know too. There’s no need to split this favor with you.”

Jorren spoke frankly, and Grayan was put on the spot. Indeed, both of them were Master Refiners. Apart from the core refining method differences from their sects, their skills were similar and shared, with no major differences.

Grayan looked at Carson and sneered, ”I’ve watched him for days, and though he’s just starting, he’s nonetheless talented, teaching him some genuine skills wouldn’t diminish...”

Grayan turned to Carson, ”Carson, would you be willing to join my Skyfire Sect and learn our sect’s Absolute Skill, the Skyfire Refining Technique?”

Carson was slightly taken aback but quickly declined gently, ”I’m just passing through the Bitter Sea Immortal Domain and will soon depart, so joining a sect now would be meaningless. I appreciate your kind offer, Elder.”

Grayan frowned, yet before he could speak, Jorren began to taunt, ”You’re good at grabbing favors, huh? When I teach Carson the Floral Refining Technique, I just ask him not to spread it publicly, and I haven’t mentioned joining a sect, but you want him to enter the Skyfire Sect; why, to later get our Star River Sect’s refining techniques from him?”

”Grabbing favors like this feels quite disgusting. If you’re unwilling, just say so without doing all this.”

Jorren spared no effort in taunting Grayan, using words as sharp as arrows, wishing they could pierce Grayan a dozen times.

Grayan’s face flushed red with anger, ”I’m not after your Floral Refining Technique; only core disciples of our sect can learn the Skyfire Refining Technique. I’m offering him to formally join our sect as a formality, it’s not like I’m asking him to return to Skyfire Sect with me!”

Jorren smirked, ”Hehe!”

Jorren seemed to say nothing, yet it felt as though he’d said everything that could be offensive, thoroughly provoking Grayan.

”I know you’re just trying to provoke me and drag me into this. Fine, if you can teach him Floral Refining Technique, I can also instruct him in the Skyfire Refining Technique, as long as he doesn’t spread it. I can teach him, but if he fails to learn, he can’t blame me for being stingy!”

Jorren chuckled, gave a thumbs up, ”Magnanimous! Considering your teaching of the Skyfire Technique, I’ll split the three months of tutorial time with you. As for whether he learns it, that’s up to him!”

Grayan looked at Jorren’s smile, knowing his opponent had succeeded with his scheme, yet he didn’t mind, ”Fine, teach on, as we’re idle anyway. Three months later... we’ll talk then.”

Grayan was somewhat pessimistic about the future, perhaps because of this, he didn’t care about Jorren’s taunts and chose to pass the Skyfire Sect’s core method to Carson.

Carson hadn’t expected such a delightful surprise. Not only could he receive guidance from both Jorren and Grayan, he could learn their cherished core refining techniques.

What a win!

Carson mostly understood Grayan’s mentality; since everyone might die, teach him then—at least he won’t be mocked by his old rival Jorren for being stingy.

Still, Carson felt confident; if the Black Robed Man were to turn hostile, he and Kaelithra Nixon could rescue the two. He wondered how they would react in such a situation.

Carson respectfully clasped his hands and bowed to the two elders, ”Thank you both, although I can’t formally join the Star River Sect or Skyfire Sect, I appreciate your guidance and will regard you both as mentors. My future actions may not make you proud, but they surely won’t bring disgrace.”

Jorren stroked his beard and smiled, ”Good, that’s enough.”

After a pause, Jorren added, ”Earlier I mentioned Floral Refining Technique as part of our deal, so you don’t owe me a favor. Now, hearing what you said, not teaching you something genuine would feel unjust.”

”You go ahead and learn freely. Within this timeframe, learn as much as you can; I’ll teach what I can, it just depends on your ability to comprehend...”