Du Fei toyed with a crystal-clear, refreshing jade bracelet in his hand.
However, he had a special intention for buying this jade bracelet.
Ever since Liu Shishi told him last time that she was almost stabbed by Du Fei, Du Fei had been thinking about adding some protection for Liu Shishi.
Although he was now immensely powerful, Du Fei couldn't guarantee he could be by Liu Shishi's side twenty-four hours a day.
If something like what happened last time occurred again, he would regret it terribly.
Du Fei was never one to procrastinate, so his first thought was to craft a protective artifact for Liu Shishi to ensure her safety.
Though it was to be a protective artifact, it needed to be worn long-term. Thus, after careful selection, Du Fei chose the jade bracelet he held.
It was translucent and vibrantly green. He believed that even as an ordinary gift, Liu Shishi would be very happy.
After fiddling with it for a while, Du Fei thoroughly understood the internal structure of the jade bracelet.
He began his work.
First, Du Fei had to transform the interior of the jade bracelet to be suitable for constructing a protective formation, but this was quite difficult.
Jade was originally very brittle, let alone Du Fei's intention to build a protective formation within it.
However, nothing is impossible for a willing heart.
Since he had chosen this jade bracelet, Du Fei put aside all other thoughts and focused on his work.
"Hoo."
It took more than three hours, and with immense effort, Du Fei finally managed to construct a protective formation within the jade bracelet.
From now on, as long as Liu Shishi wore this jade bracelet, she could withstand up to three attacks, even from a formidable expert like Fu Zhenting.
Furthermore, Du Fei had left a trace of his spiritual sense within the jade bracelet. If the bracelet was attacked, he would immediately detect it.
With Du Fei's speed, it would only take half a minute to traverse the entire Rong City.
This way, he could finally be at ease regarding Liu Shishi's safety.
...
"Grandpa."
Fang Chao entered his grandfather's study and found that apart from his grandfather, all the core members of the Fang family were present.
"Xiao Chao, in another half a month, the once-every-five-years Martial Arts Convention will be held. This time, I plan to send you to participate."
In the entire study, only Fang Chao's grandfather was seated, while everyone else stood in a line according to their status in the family.
As soon as Fang Chao's grandfather finished speaking, the expressions of everyone in the study changed dramatically.
The Martial Arts Convention mentioned by Fang Chao's grandfather was held by many martial arts families in China to nurture and motivate the younger generation.
The sole condition was that participants must be under thirty years old.
Although the convention did not stipulate cultivation levels, everyone who participated wanted to gain fame and bring honor to their family. Therefore, families would not send those with insufficient cultivation, to avoid embarrassing themselves.
"Father, although Xiao Chao is quite outstanding, his cultivation is still a bit behind A Feng. So, I think it would be better to send A Feng?"
Although Fang Chao's grandfather was still the head of the Fang family, the daily management of the family was almost entirely handled by the eldest uncle.
Coupled with the fact that the eldest uncle was outstanding in both cultivation and ability among the second generation, if nothing unexpected happened, he would undoubtedly be the next family head.
Like father, like son. The eldest uncle was second to none in the second generation, and his son, Fang Chao's cousin, was also the highest in cultivation among the younger generation.
According to custom, he should have been sent to participate in this Martial Arts Convention. Why did the elder suddenly change his mind?
Fang Chao's eldest uncle's gaze flickered towards Fang Chao's father, who stood at the very end of the line. He wondered what was going through his mind.
The happiest person among everyone was Fang Chao's father. In the second generation of the Fang family, his aptitude was mediocre, and his abilities were not outstanding. However, he had an excellent son.
Now, the elder actually nominated his son to participate in the Martial Arts Convention. Wasn't this indirectly stating that his son was a standout among the younger generation of the Fang family?
As for whether he could become the head of the Fang family many years later, Fang Chao's father dared not even dream of such a distant prospect.
As for the other second-generation members of the Fang family, their gazes were also constantly shifting between Fang Chao and his father.
Although they were all part of the same family, any change in power would lead to a redistribution of benefits.
Elder Fang turned his gaze to his eldest son. "I know you must be very unhappy with my decision."
"Father, I'm not, I just..."
Fang Chao's eldest uncle quickly began to explain.
But Elder Fang raised his hand and interrupted him.
"Xiao Chao has taken a Marrow Cleansing Pill and is now at the peak of the Hua Jin realm."
Elder Fang's words were like a bomb dropped in the study.
Immediately after, everyone looked at Fang Chao with extremely shocked eyes.
Fang Chao's eldest uncle's first reaction was that Elder Fang was too biased, giving such a precious item to Fang Chao instead of his own son, even though his son was more accomplished.
But then he realized that Fang Chao's Marrow Cleansing Pill was not given by Elder Fang at all. Because even as the head of the Fang family, Elder Fang could not obtain a Marrow Cleansing Pill unless he used one-third of the Fang family's assets.
It seemed that Fang Chao had encountered some fortunate encounter.
Marrow Cleansing Pill.
This name was well-known among cultivators.
However, despite its fame, due to the difficulty of its refinement and the rarity of the necessary medicinal ingredients, let alone in Rong City, even among the immortal cultivation families in the entire Southwest region, few could refine it.
Now, Fang Chao had somehow stumbled upon incredible luck and managed to take a Marrow Cleansing Pill, raising his cultivation to the peak of the Hua Jin realm.
This immediately caused everyone present from the Fang family to show envious expressions.
Since Fang Chao was now the foremost among the younger generation in terms of cultivation, it was no longer strange for Elder Fang to arrange for him to participate in the Martial Arts Convention.
"Xiao Chao and Xiao Feng are both members of the Fang family. I will not be biased towards either of them. Those who are capable shall ascend; this has always been my principle of doing things."
"If Xiao Feng can also obtain a Marrow Cleansing Pill before the Martial Arts Convention is held, then he can replace Xiao Chao."
Elder Fang said slowly.
However, everyone knew that this was utterly impossible. A Marrow Cleansing Pill could bring about a complete transformation for a young cultivator.
Those who had the ability to refine or obtain it would cherish it as a priceless treasure and would never give it away easily.
Fang Chao was the first person in the Fang family to take a Marrow Cleansing Pill since its inception.
This clearly showed how precious and rare the Marrow Cleansing Pill was.
"Alright, I called everyone here today to announce this matter. Now, except for Xiao Chao, everyone else can leave."
The members of the Fang family gradually left the study.
Before leaving, Fang Chao's father gave Fang Chao a thumbs-up, showing a proud expression.
Seeing this, Fang Chao couldn't help but curl his lips slightly.