Monarch Of Time

Chapter 1039 1039 A shaky heart (2)

Nodding his head, Shun Long stared at the riled-up Bai Longtian in silence. He could almost see the storm of emotions flickering through the youth's eyes as he waited for his answer.

At this point, however, Shun Long also understood that this was now Bai Longtian's heart demon— something that weighed heavily on his mind. If it wasn't dealt with properly, it was very likely that this would end up tormenting Bai Longtian even more in the upcoming days, and would almost certainly affect his future cultivation.

By then, forget about taking on any missions from Lunar Grave. If a heart demon was allowed to fester, Shun Long knew it could potentially cause qi deviation and even force Bai Longtian's cultivation to regress.

Pushing himself up from the polished wooden floor, Shun Long looked at the agitated 'middle-aged' man in front of him and answered seriously

''You worry too much, Longtian. Still, you are right. You are not Jiang Chen. You don't need my help to save your family. You are neither Mei'er, nor Xingyi, so why do I trust you as much as everyone else? Would I have accepted just about anyone who wanted to join me back in the Holy sect?''

Shun Long didn't even need to look at Bai Longtian to tell what his face looked like right now. He knew that his last question was precisely what the handsome youth had been worrying about when he brought up this issue. Why him?

''Because you are born with the Golden Buddha unique physique. That's why. Back then, you told me that a friend of your father's once divined your fate and said that your fortune lies with me, didn't you?

If anyone else came to me with that excuse, I'd have kicked them out right away. Even if that person was Jiang Chen, I wouldn't have accepted him had that been his reasoning. But you are different. You cultivate the Dao of the Buddha.''

Bai Longtian's eyes widened but Shun Long wasn't done yet. In the next moment, a faint golden light with a light blue hue covered his body, while his aura of a peak rank 8 Dao King burst outwards as he continued

''The Dao a person is suited to cultivate largely depends on their character. Naturally, there are always exceptions, but someone who cultivates the Dao of the Buddha, for example, is more inclined to believe in karmic ties and fate. Someone who cultivates the Dao of Light is usually more honest, instead. Of course, those things aren't absolute. That doesn't mean Jiang Chen is a demon in human form either, or that every Buddhist cultivator is good, but the Dao one cultivates in is largely dependent on their inclination and parts of their character, aside from just one's talent. Still, that's only part of the reason why I accepted you.''

Shun Long fell silent for a moment, allowing Bai Longtian to take everything in. The seated youth looked like he knew most of what Shun Long had just said, but parts of it were clearly new to him, too. After a moment of hesitation, however, he continued

''Then... why?''

''Because you were honest. Unlike Jiang Chen, Mei'er, or even Xingyi, we didn't have a connection. But you still came to me and were willing to risk your life alongside me. Why would I turn someone like you down?''

''Just... for that?'' Bai Longtian's voice had turned almost incredulous as he looked at the smiling youth in front of him.

He'd known Shun Long for years now, but he'd never expected that the reason behind their connection would be something so... mundane.

After all, how many people would Shun Long be able to call upon now throughout the entire central continent and have them follow him dutifully? Bai Longtian knew that he was talented and could even be considered a top-tier talent back in the Holy sect, but if he was compared to every genius of the central continent, he knew he was nothing much.

There were many others out there who were even more talented than him, and wouldn't bat an eye right now if Shun Long asked them to follow him. In fact, after he'd shown his talents in the 'City of Immortals', most of those geniuses would willingly throw themselves into the fire if it meant they could establish a good connection with him.

Someone who was even more talented than the heir of the Tianxuan dynasty... who would say no to someone like that? Forget about Sovereigns, this was someone who could probably surpass even Earth Immortals in the future!

Seeing how Bai Longtian was still hesitant and wanted to argue but couldn't find the words, Shun Long shook his head and continued, this time even firmer than before

''Enough. You've put your life on the line and even protected me when I was at my weakest. I trust you.''

Then, as his voice trailed off, Shun Long waved his right hand and smiled. A moment later, a purple-colored spatial rift enveloped the seated Bai Longtian—and before he could respond, he'd already vanished from the third floor of the shop.

...

The night passed quickly, and by the time the first rays of sunlight graced Amber Dawn, the entrance of the shop was already buzzing with activity.

When Fu Li opened the doors in the early morning, more than a dozen people were already gathered outside.

In less than a day, Alchemist Han's Pill Shop had already become one of the most talked-about places in the entire city.

The situation in Amber Dawn was even more intense than Shun Long had originally anticipated, too. The moment word began to spread that a new alchemy shop— helmed by a mysterious star-rank alchemist— had opened in the heart of the city, every Dao King and Dao Emperor who heard the news flocked to it from every direction.

Still, Shun Long didn't pay too much attention to the shop after the first couple of hours. After seeing that Fu Li and Lan Jinjing were handling everything with relative ease, a testament to how experienced the two heirs of the Floating Cloud sect were at dealing with people, Shun Long knew there was nothing to worry about.

As for any troublemakers, he wasn't worried about that either. Putting aside the fact that Liu Mei had left 2 of her undead knights to guard each floor before she left for her mission, Shun Long also noticed a few members of the city guard being the first to arrive, obviously there to make sure that things were in order.

Clearly, the importance the higher-ups of Amber Dawn placed on an alchemy shop run by a star-rank alchemist was evident here.

Still, with everything taken care of, Shun Long knew it was time to focus on his cultivation for the next few days, while Liu Mei and the others were away. It was time for him to break through to the peak of the Dao King realm!