1314 Why Don't You Work With Me Instead
'Should I go outside or wait for Brother Yuan's return?' Xiao Hua asked Yuan through divine sense.
'Go with them. We'll meet up in a bit.' Yuan quickly responded.
'Un.' Xiao Hua acknowledged.
Shortly after being summoned, all of the Exiles and their partners gathered right outside the manor.
As Players from the Ten Great Families stood before a little over 200 individuals, Xiong Lu spoke in a loud voice, "Fortunately for us, our target wandered into our crosshair and was spotted at Enchanted Bamboo Forest just a few minutes ago. I have already sent some people to delay the Asura Clan's Exile for as long as possible, so we need to move immediately."
"Delaying someone from the Asura Clan? Hah! Those people are probably long dead!" One of the Exiles there sneered out loud.
"I am aware of our opponent's strength, and I did not send a mere ten or hundred people. I called over a thousand people to delay her."
"Even ten thousand ordinary people would not be enough!" Another Exile shouted.
"That's why we need to stop chatting here and move already!" Xiong Lu exclaimed.
"Let's go!"
And without saying anything else, they began marching towards the Enchanted Bamboo Forest.
Fiery Queen subconsciously glanced at Xiao Hua, who had an overwhelming presence and stood out even though she was at the very end of the formation.
'Hmm? Where's her partner?' Fiery Queen raised an eyebrow when she could not see Xiao Yang anywhere in the crowd.
'Is he not here…? This is perfect…' A mysterious smile appeared on Fiery Queen's face as she approached Xiao Hua.
"Where is your partner?" Fiery Queen asked Xiao Hua a moment later.
"I don't know. He disappeared into thin air and hasn't returned since." Xiao Hua nonchalantly responded.
'So he logged off? I thought we told the recruiters to call everyone on the roster to make sure they are not offline…' Fiery Queen thought to herself.
'Oh well. This works perfectly for me.'
"Correct me if I am wrong, but your name is Tian Hua." Fiery Queen recalled the fake name Yuan had given them.
Xiao Hua calmly nodded, acknowledging it.
"What do you think of your partner, Xiao Yang?" Fiery Queen then asked.
"..."
After a brief moment of silence, Xiao Hua said, "He's weak and lacking in talent."
Fiery Queen's eyes flickered with excitement after hearing such an answer, and she quickly said, "In that case, why don't you work with me instead? I can assure you that I am both stronger and more talented than your current partner. After all, without the help of an Exile, I have managed to achieve Spirit Grandmaster by myself. If I have a powerful Exile like you by my side, I will definitely be able to help you achieve your goals."
Of course, she had spent an unimaginable amount of her family's fortune to purchase gold and treasures from other Players to reach such a point.
'How annoying…' Xiao Hua sighed inwardly.
However, Xiao Hua decided to play along for a bit.
"And how will you be able to help me achieve my goals?"
"For starters, my family is very rich, so money is of no issue. If you help me grow stronger, I will use that strength to help you. At the very least, I will be much more useful than your current partner."
"Let me think about it." Xiao Hua said with a desire to end their conversation there.
'What the fuck is there to think about? I am clearly better than that ordinary-looking bastard! If someone like him can reach peak Spirit Grandmaster with her help, I will definitely reach Spirit King before anyone else!' Fiery Queen cursed inwardly.
"Of course. Take as much time as you need." Fiery Queen said to Xiao Hua with a calm smile.
While the Ten Great Families had managed to find a few partnerless Exiles with the help of their current Exiles, she was not lucky enough to be chosen.
Fiery Queen didn't plan on taking an Exile from another Player at first, but when she saw the opportunity to do so, her nature made her act upon her greed.
Meanwhile, at Enchanted Bamboo Forest, Yuan was surrounded by Players.
"Player Yuan! Can I get a handshake?!"
"Player Yuan! Please sign my weapon!"
"Player Yuan! Let's party up for a bit!"
Yuan could tell that some of the Players there were genuine fans, but most of the people there had ulterior motives.
'Are they stalling me?' Yuan smiled inwardly at their pointless attempts. After all, he did not plan on running away.
'Since it will take them some time to arrive, I might as well entertain myself.' Yuan accepted one of the genuine fan's requests to sign their weapon.
After acquiring their weapon, he asked, "How would you like me to sign it?"
"I-I will leave that to you! I would appreciate it if your signature could last for a long time!" The young fan did not expect for Yuan to respond and was ecstatic when he accepted her sword.
"A long time, huh?" Yuan pondered for a moment before retrieving his Empyrean Overlord.
"Are you okay with me scratching your weapon?" he asked.
"I don't mind!"
"What's your name?"
"Ren Yun!"
The following moment, Yuan tossed the fan's sword into the air, and without hesitation, he swung at the sword, engraving the words 'To Ren Yun —Yuan' on one side of the sword's blade.
"Here you go." Yuan returned the sword to the baffled fan.
"Eh?" The fan looked at the perfectly written words with wide eyes.
'How did he write such clean words with a sword?'
"T-Thank you very much!" The fan eventually snapped out of her daze and bowed to him.
After a brief moment of silence, the other fans retrieved their weapons and began pleading for a signature as well.
"Player Yuan! Please sign my weapon too!"
"Mine too!"
Yuan proceeded to sign more weapons, only accepting the weapons from his genuine fans, leaving the others wondering why they were being ignored despite being closer to him.