As Nanlan Qianxue had predicted, the Elders of the Nine Suns Sect announced the very next day that the top ranker Nanlu Tianzi would be directly inducted into the Inner Sect.
They had truly wasted no time in doing so.
After all, the results of the Nine Suns Trial had never been a secret in the past years, and this year was no exception.
The longer they delayed this, the more others would gossip about how the top ranker of the Nine Suns Trial was an Outer Sect member. This would greatly undermine the efforts of the sect in trying to boost the reputation of the Inner Sect.
In fact, even inducting him into the Inner Sect immediately after the Nine Suns Trial was already too late, but there was nothing they could do about that by now.
There were no powerful influences within Bluenight City that were unaware of the date of the Nine Suns Trial.
By the end of the previous day, every influential person in Bluenight City had already learnt of just who the top rankers were.
Naturally, they also understood that this Nanlu Tianzi, despite not receiving the great support that Inner Sect members were entitled to, actually managed to pull ahead everyone else, clinching the top rank!
That meant beating out even the greatest genius that the Nine Suns Sect had seen in the past century, Nanlan Qianxue!
"How is it? Satisfied with your new accommodation?" Elder Diansheng asked with a gentle smile on his face.
"Very much so, thank you Elder Diansheng!" Lu Tianzi nodded in satisfaction.
Early this morning, Elder Diansheng had personally arrived at his doorstep to inform him that the sect had decided to directly induct him into the Inner Sect.
After which, Elder Diansheng had even personally showed him around the Inner Sect Grounds, as well as his new accommodation.
This new accommodation of his was indeed much better than his previous one, both in terms of area and World Origin Energy density.
"If you need anything else, you can contact me directly. Do you have a communication ring?" Elder Diansheng asked.
"No, I don't…" Lu Tianzi shook his head in embarrassment.
Even though he had obtained Hu Yuanbo's communication ring previously, Lu Tianzi had no intention of using it.
Who knew how many people had already recorded Hu Yuanbo's communication mark?
Lu Tianzi did not want to encounter a situation where a stranger contacted him and looked for Hu Yuanbo instead.
As for removing the communication mark in the communication ring, that was impossible for him.
Communication marks were different from the soul marks that spatial rings used.
When a soul mark was refined away, it would leave the spatial ring available for the new owner to place his own soul mark, claiming the spatial ring as his own.
But when a communication mark was forcefully removed from a communication ring, the entire communication ring would crumble into dust.
"As I thought," Elder Diansheng brought out a ring and handed it over to Lu Tianzi.
"This is…" Lu Tianzi looked at the communication ring in his hands. "Is this a benefit for Inner Sect members as well?"
"Hahaha! That is certainly not the case!" Elder Diansheng laughed heartily. "Take this as a personal gift from me. I have already recorded my own communication mark within it, so you will be able to contact me anytime you need."
"Thank you, Elder Diansheng!" Lu Tianzi could not help but to feel grateful, but at the same time his face revealed traces of hesitation.
"Is there something bothering you?" Elder Diansheng asked with a smile.
Contrary to Elder Jingren, Elder Diansheng was quite appreciative of this young talent. He believed that Lu Tianzi had only just started on his road of cultivation, and would be able to soar to much greater heights in the future.
In fact, Elder Diansheng was secretly hoping that there really was something bothering Lu Tianzi!
By helping Lu Tianzi resolve any issues that he was facing, Elder Diansheng would then be able to establish a better relationship between them.
At this moment, Lu Tianzi took out a jade slip from his spatial ring.
"I think it would be better if Elder sees it for yourself," Lu Tianzi handed it over to him.
"What is it?" Elder Diansheng asked curiously as he sank his perception into the jade slip.
When the information within the jade slip flowed into his mind, Elder Diansheng's countenance sank immediately.
"Is this information reliable?" Elder Diansheng asked with a trembling voice.
This trembling was not a result of fear. In fact, it was very much the complete opposite.
At this moment, Elder Diansheng was trying so hard to hold in his rage that his voice ended up trembling slightly!
"It is given to me by the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower. It should not be wrong," Lu Tianzi replied.
"This bastard…!" Elder Diansheng's tone was cold with suppressed anger, but Lu Tianzi naturally understood that the Elder's rage was not directed towards him. "Don't worry, I will look into this matter immediately. If it is true, I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer!"
"Then I will be relying on Elder for this!" Lu Tianzi nodded.
It was nearing noon by the time Elder Diansheng left, and Lu Tianzi similarly prepared to leave for the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower.
He had missed a day of work due to the Nine Suns Trial, and was intending to work harder today to make up for it. Even though the inscription tower had been quite understanding about his absence, Lu Tianzi still felt that the loss of income was quite a pity.
Donning his new Nine Dragons Flexible Armour under his clothes, Lu Tianzi was quite satisfied with how it was nicely hidden and did not impede his movements at all.
Even though he had not been in any sort of danger ever since entering Bluenight City, one could never be too careful.
When Lu Tianzi arrived at the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower, Yueya was the first to greet him at the front lobby.
"Tianzi! You are here!" Yueya ran up to him excitedly.
"Senior Yueya? What's wrong?" Lu Tianzi was surprised by the sudden greeting.
In fact, Lu Tianzi's status was now higher than Yueya's. The only reason he continued to refer to Yueya as his senior was because he was doing it out of habit.
Ever since Lu Tianzi had become an inscription master, the two of them had stopped working together, and Yueya had thus stopped waiting for him at the front lobby every day.
So the fact that Yueya was waiting for him here made him wonder.
"Congratulations, Tianzi! Your sins have been washed clean! Yay!" Yueya jumped around happily while scattering flower petals all over him.
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Lu Tianzi asked in confusion.
"Here! See for yourself!" Yueya immediately grabbed him by the hand and pulled him along.
They finally stopped when they arrived in front of the huge noticeboard in the front lobby, located right beside the front counter.
This was where information was relayed to the people who visited the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower, and usually consisted of changes in prices or general information like that.
But this time, there was a huge notice taking up almost the entire noticeboard.
- Important Notice -
In recent weeks, Inscription Master Nanlu Tianzi of the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower has been the victim of malicious rumours that targeted his integrity and character.
This has resulted in the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower temporarily imposing certain restrictions on the individual, but fortunately the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower has now uncovered the truth of the matter.
The Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower hereby declares that Inscription Master Nanlu Tianzi is completely innocent, and will now lift all previous sanctions placed onto him.
The Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower officially apologises to Inscription Master Nanlu Tianzi, and will now work together with him to bring to justice the perpetrators of the incident.
- End -
When Lu Tianzi was done reading the notice, he could not help but laugh in his heart.
This Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower sure was decisive!
Previously, they had wanted to stay clear of the matter so as to not be embroiled into the conflict involving the Nine Suns Sect and the Nanqing Family.
Yet right after he obtained the top rank in the Nine Suns Trial, they immediately came up with a notice like that.
The Nine Suns Trial seemed to have truly catapulted him forward in terms of status!
"Hehehe! Aren't you glad? I knew that your name will be cleared sooner or later! How can you be someone as bad as what the rumours say?" Yueya patted him on the back like the reliable senior that she was.
She naturally did not know that the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower had never truly penalised Lu Tianzi from the start.
"I sure am glad," Lu Tianzi smiled at this cute senior of his.
"Hehe! Anyway, Inscription Master Nanbai asked me to bring you to see him when you arrive. It should be related to this as well. Let's go, let's go!" Yueya excitedly pulled him along once again as they headed up to the higher storeys.
Before long, they had arrived at the private room where Inscription Master Nanbai was waiting.
"You may take your leave now," Inscription Master Nanbai gestured to Yueya.
"Yes, Inscription Master Nanbai…" Yueya's excited eyes immediately dimmed as she left the room in disappointment.
Lu Tianzi had to suppress his laughter when he saw this.
It was obvious that she had wanted to sit in and listen, but this matter was still too important for a defenceless fourteen year old like her to handle.
"First of all, congratulations on obtaining the top rank of the Nine Suns Trial," Inscription Master gestured for Lu Tianzi to take a seat. "I was surprised when you managed to withstand Nanqing Dingtian's pressure the other day, but this is still far beyond what I have expected!"
"Thank you, Inscription Master Nanbai. I barely managed to do so by luck," Lu Tianzi took his seat as instructed.
"Well, I believe you have learnt of the Inscription Tower's stand regarding the earlier matter by now?" Inscription Master Nanbai quickly moved into the main topic.
"Yes, I do," Lu Tianzi nodded.
"This is the difference in treatment that a change in one's status can bring about," Inscription Master Nanbai smiled, not intending to hide the reason at all.
"Now that you have earned the support of the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower, what do you intend to do next? Even if you decide to go against the Nanqing Family, the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower will still support you. But you should know that there will always be a limit to this support.
What the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower can do is to blacklist all members of the Nanqing Family, raising the price for them if they wish to employ our services. If they come knocking because of that, the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower will not back down. But if you expect the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower to storm the Nanqing Family in an all out war, all to bring out Nanqing Zhengxian for you to do as you wish, I have to tell you that it is impossible."
Inscription Master Nanbai was candid with Lu Tianzi, clearly stating the stand of the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower.
He believed that it would be better to be frank with Lu Tianzi about this matter.
Otherwise, if Lu Tianzi acted but failed to garner the full support that he had expected, the relationship between him and the inscription tower would end up suffering instead.
Lu Tianzi was naturally appreciative of this honesty.
If Inscription Master Nanbai had promised him the world instead, Lu Tianzi would definitely be doubtful about it. After all, all organisations worked on the concept of balancing costs and benefits.
"What does Inscription Master Nanbai suggest I do?" Lu Tianzi posed the question back to the elder.
"If you ask me…" Inscription Master Nanbai leaned back into his seat. "I will make full use of the notice sent out by the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower, letting out rumours that one of the culprits is from the Nanqing Family. However, I will not choose to blacklist them officially."
Lu Tianzi frowned when he heard that, "And what do I have to gain out of that?"
"Friendship," Inscription Master Nanbai answered readily.
"You might not see it at your current level. But friendship, especially with powerful influences, is something that is far more difficult to earn as compared to material gains. Nanqing Dingtian is not stupid. If he hears of rumours that his Nanqing Family has offended the top ranker of the Nine Suns Trial, he will definitely start investigating on his end. When he finally uncovers the fact that you knew the truth but decided not to openly reveal it, do you even need to worry that he will not send you gifts in gratitude?"
"I see," Lu Tianzi nodded in understanding after pondering over it for a few moments.
Indeed, this seemed to be the best decision for him right now.
By doing so, neither the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower nor the Nanqing Family would suffer from going against each other, and even Lu Tianzi would only stand to gain the friendship of both influences.
As for that Nanqing Zhengxian, he would have to see just how the Nanqing Family decides to deal with him.
If he actually went completely unpunished, then Lu Tianzi would have to deal with it accordingly at that time.
"Is it all right if I trouble Inscription Master Nanbai with this matter then?" Lu Tianzi asked.
Even though the plan was simply to start some rumours, it was not as simple as it seemed. Without tapping on the connections of the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower, it would be far too easy for other influences to trace the source back to Lu Tianzi.
That was exactly how Nanqing Zhengxian and Nancheng Wei got caught in the first place.
"Gladly," Inscription Master Nanbai agreed readily. "What about Nancheng Wei? And then there is still Nancheng Wei…"
"Don't worry," Lu Tianzi smiled confidently. "I have that part covered."