Zhen Shi could only scratch his head helplessly as he stared down at the aftermath of the primordial chaos base's actions. Feeling rather uncomfortable he decided to leave as soon as possible.

As such, under the gaze of the remaining cultivators, he quickly ran across the remaining half of the Bridge.

Besides pausing for a moment to increase the intensity of and push aside the Soul Destruction Stage Pressure in the last few steps, he completed the remaining half of the Bridge Trial in a single instant!

To Zhen Shi's surprise, all the cultivators grimaced in embarrassment as their mental confidence collapsed on the spot, 'Brother can you at least pretend that the trial is difficult? It's okay to destroy God Caishen's pride, but we have our own pride as well, you know?'

Now realizing his mistake, Zhen Shi could only force a grin as he crossed the bridge back to the other side.

However, noticing that there was no longer any soul pressure on the Bridge for his return trip, Zhen Shi was a bit confused, 'Could it be broken?'

But he simply assumed that the Bridge Trial only worked in one direction and put the matter aside...

As he walked back, Elder Hao Lei was thinking, 'So this young fellow wasn't bragging at all! He was indeed speaking the truth. In fact, he was underestimating his own capabilities! To think that he would be one of the few to receive a personal divine blessing! I have to make sure that he gains a good impression of the Lyon Family!'

As such, Hao Lei was the first to walk over to him with a smile of satisfaction, "Congratulations Fellow Daoist Zhen Shi! Who would've thought that besides being a talented formation master, you were also a skilled archer that gained the acceptance of the gods! This old Daoist feels powerless in the face of your talent! Who would have thought that you are a true dragon amongst men!"

Myne visibly grimaced at Hao Lei's choice of words as he was reminded of a certain unpleasant incident due to a certain 'dragon', but thankfully no one seemed to notice his facial expression.

Hao Lei continued with a laugh, "All of us are truly fortunate to have witnessed the rare sight of a god's shadow granting a personal divine blessing! Not to mention the fact that you are now one of the few talented prodigies with a personal divine blessing! After all, even God Caishen's divine manifestations were," and coughed awkwardly, "helpless in front of you!"

But, despite Elder Hao Lei's praise, Zhen Shi didn't know whether to laugh or cry!

'Divine Blessing my ass!'

He hadn't received any type of blessing since all of it had been gobbled up by the primordial chaos base!

In fact, he still wasn't sure if that sphere of divine aether launched by the god's shadow had been an attack of rage, instead of an actual divine blessing!

But... he had no intention of correcting them.

Zhen Shi knew that the people who received Personal Divine Blessings were treated differently than most and would quickly gain the interest of the public...

This was because any person who could gain the acceptance of a god had great potential and showed rapid improvement in their cultivation and chosen class!

Thus, his even more rare situation of successfully summoning a god shadow, and yet not receiving a divine blessing, would be even more attention-grabbing!

As such, even though he hadn't gained a divine blessing, it would be best to not correct them…

After all, he wasn't an attention seeker! He preferred to maintain as much of a low-profile as possible!

Unaware of Zhen Shi's thoughts, Hao Lei continued to grin in satisfaction and would occasionally turn to look at Shu Yi with smugness and confidence in his victory.

And as expected, Shu Yi's face was now the epitome of failure as he kept turning his head between Samuel and Zhen Shi, as if comparing the two of them.

Even Samuel was wallowing in self-pity. While he was still rather unhappy about Zhen Shi's success, he mostly regretted being as pompous and prideful as he had before.

After all, Zhen Shi was now a character on par with the Crown Prince and the Healing Princess!

As such, intending to make amends, Samuel and the few cultivators who could bring themselves to stand up, hurriedly got up from the ground and came over to congratulate Zhen Shi.

With polite smiles, they began to speak about how his future success was set in stone, how happy his family and master would be, how Zhen Shi had to take care of them in the future, and so on...

Zhen Shi simply forced another polite smile in reply.

Finally, Samuel walked over and politely spoke out, "Brother Zhen Shi congratulations! But, now that you have exceeded the previous record holder, Crown Prince Tristram, he just might turn up to challenge you. Honorably or dishonorably! After all, the entire kingdom knows about the prince's temperament."

'Is that so...'

Thankful for some actual advice, Zhen Shi politely replied, "I'll remember to keep Brother Samuel's words in mind."

As Samuel walked away with a respectful bow, he was already making plans to work harder and try to catch up to Zhen Shi.

It was now Elder Shu Yi's turn to walk over. He had initially been planning on inviting Zhen Shi over to the Turnbull family, but under the vigilant look of Hao Lei, he could only leave after a few words of congratulations.

Now that the polite congratulations were over with, Hao Lei turned to Zhen Shi and said, "Fellow Daoists, come let me take you to the actual market hall," and began to guide them over the wooden bridge on to the Island.

But while they were walking along, Myne and Vivienne suddenly established a common mental link with Zhen Shi, and Myne asked worriedly, "Bro, did you actually get a divine blessing?"

Zhen Shi calmly sent back, "Hmm? Nope, I didn't actually get it. My... uhh... Special Physique didn't agree with it and gobbled it all up. Why? Is there a problem?"

Myne and Vivienne visibly relaxed at his answer.

Vivienne sent back cryptically, 'That's good. We'll explain later in private..."

Zhen Shi was rather curious as to what was going on but decided to be patient and nodded in acceptance.

By now they had almost finished crossing the wooden bridge and were only a single step away from the Island in the lake. And then they took the final step forwards.

Zhen Shi felt as if he had passed through some sort of invisible membrane, and immediately concluded that it was the Island Composite Formation! As such, he quickly activated to analyze it.

Instantly, the Island formation became visible revealing a silver glass-like dome that covered the entire Island! But seeing the required price of [500 OP] in order to analyze it, he could only give up...

And so, Zhen Shi shifted his concentration towards the Island itself which lay before them in all its glory. The wind passed softly through the land causing the trees in the forest to rustle about. There were strange unusual trees and plants of various colors, all of which Zhen Shi could easily identify.

The soft wind would break off the weaker leaves and cause them to colorfully dance about in the wind.

Zhen Shi inhaled the smell of the various flowers and walked forwards, delighting in this explosion of natural beauty.

Just visible above this forest of wonderment, was the awe-inspiring golden pagoda that seemed to look down on the entire Island.

But suddenly... *Cough*!

Myne turned to Zhen Shi with a victorious grin and asked, "So... did Bro get enticed by the bewitching formation again? Hmm?"

Zhen Shi was speechless, but with a light golden hue in his right eye, he immediately began to point out at several locations saying, "The formation centers are over there, there and--"

But Myne hurriedly stopped him with an unhappy frown, "Geez! Fine, Fine. You don't have to show off all the time."

Zhen Shi grinned in victory, and Vivienne, unable to hold herself back, laughed at this situation. The sudden sound of their laughter caused Hao Lei who too had been entranced in the beauty of nature to finally wake up.

Having just shaken off the effects of the formation, he embarrassedly looked at the trio who seemed to be completely fine and spoke out, "The junior generation indeed surpasses the old! I apologize for inadvertently getting enraptured in our own formation. We put it up to provide a calm and beautiful backdrop for the customers, but it seems it might have been a bit too well done," with a calm laugh.

Zhen Shi and the rest hurriedly spoke out saying that there was no need for an apology.

Hao Lei smiled in return and began to lead the trio through the forest and along a clear path towards the entrance to the Item Hall.

But suddenly Elder Hao Lei paused with a frown. After a moment's pause, he turned to the trio with an apologetic face, "My apologies. A problem seems to have come up and all the elders of the Lyon Family are being summoned for an important meeting. Thus, I'll have to leave now."

Noticing their inquisitive faces, he began to speak in explanation, "The Lyon and Turnbull market hall is a multi-branched market hall that is jointly managed by the Lyon and Turnbull families.

The founding ancestors were very good friends who started this venture together. But with continuous generations struggling for power, the relationship between the two families has deteriorated. Our market hall is only a small branch, and yet, the competition is already very fierce.

In order to solve this problem, the founding ancestors put forth a competition for the younger generation, where they competed based on their appraisal skills and knowledge of various items. The winning family would gain majority control over all decisions in the respective market hall for the next century!"

Hao Lei grimaced while tightening his fist, "That Shu Yi and his Turnbull family! Seeing their obvious loss under Josef Turnbull, they must've had him arrested under some false crime in order to gain a better chance at victory! Now they are suggesting the invitation of external experts in order to solve the matter when they have the best appraiser in the kingdom under their payroll!"

Myne's face went pale as he heard about this matter, while Zhen Shi and Vivienne had to struggle to hold back from laughing.

Hao Lei, however, continued speaking with ignorance, "I already notified my niece, who will arrive shortly to guide you. And now, I'll be taking my leave, fellow Daoists," and bowed before walking away.

Now alone, Zhen Shi couldn't help but rub it into Myne by saying, "So, bro of mine, I must admit that the scrying crystal is indeed powerful! Perhaps... a bit too much!" while laughing.

Myne could only scowl unhappily, as Vivienne also spoke with a smile, "Hubby, your old habits don't seem to be going too well with the present."

Whoosh!

But Myne was saved from this situation, as a figure of yellow and white suddenly dashed towards them from the side.

The figure grabbed onto Myne's hand tightly and spoke out pitifully, "Big Brother our Lyon family is in trouble because you went and got Josef Turnbull arrested. So you HAVE to help us solve this problem to our advantage!"

Zhen Shi observed this new arrival that had appeared so suddenly...

She was a very beautiful young girl with shoulder-length purplish-black hair. She was dressed in an embroidered dress of yellow and white lace which showed off her young figure.

However, Vivienne seemed to be about to go into full-on devil mode, and so, Myne quickly pulled back his hand and turned to Vivienne, embarrassed and fearful of her reaction...

Noticing the tender situation, Zhen Shi hurriedly jumped in to save his brother.

He quickly grabbed the girl's hand in place of Myne, and spoke with a suave grin, "Pretty Lady, don't bother this heartless brother of mine. He isn't moved by any woman besides his wife beside him. I'm afraid you'll have to make do with myself and allow me to solve your problems in his place..."

The girl's face instantly reddened in embarrassment.

When she first arrived, she had immediately recognized Myne who was responsible for sending Josef into the kingdom jail. As such, seeing an opportunity to help out the Lyon family, considering these fellow student's abilities and their mysterious master about whom she had heard from Hao Lei, she had acted without thinking.

Now realizing that she had grabbed onto a married man in front of his wife, she was deeply embarrassed.

Still, she hurriedly freed herself from Zhen Shi's hand and bowed elegantly, "My deepest apologies, elder brother Myne and elder sister Vivienne. I, Laura Lyon, acted without thought and I hope you can forgive me... But, this Zhen Shi also grabbed onto my poor hand!"

Now turning to Zhen Shi pitifully, she spoke out while nursing her 'injured' hand, "So how will we be going over this matter? Will you be taking responsibility? Or will you pay for my mental damages?"

Vivienne couldn't help but giggle at this sight, as it reminded her of Zhen Shi's scheme to force her to give him a spatial treasure.

Zhen Shi was flabbergasted. 'FUCK! Is this a blackmailing gold digger in the guise of a pretty flower? Is she actually trying to scheme this handsome and scholarly self?'

But he quickly formulated a plan and sent mentally to Myne, "Bro, quickly hand me the scrying crystal with the recording of this girl holding onto your hand. I'll just use it to blackmail her and get her off my back."

But Myne quickly sent back, "Hell no! Vivienne is already on MY back! I'm staying out of this!"

Zhen Shi grimaced as the expected backup failed to deliver, and Myne suddenly began to act like a pig teammate.

Nevertheless, he quickly figured out a second solution and began to grin devilishly.

He wagged his index finger in Laura's face confidently, and spoke out, "Laura, Laura... you are a bit too young to make ME pay. How about we forget this matter since our actions cancel out each other? After all, you just manhandled and assaulted a married man in front of his wife! I'm sure you know that nobody likes a homewrecker! And I happen to have pretty good evidence... " while quickly bringing out the scrying crystal that Myne had flicked over to him back in the Market Street.

Honestly, this was a used scrying crystal and only contained the recording that had put Josef Turnbull in jail! It had nothing to do with Laura 'assaulting' a married man!

Zhen Shi was simply making a gamble hoping that Laura knew about the manner in which Myne had handled Josef and would assume he had done something similar.

It was now Laura's turn to be flabbergasted. She had been brought up as a student of business, with the motto of making a profit in every move. But, for the first time ever, even she was helpless!

In the face of the evidence stored in a simple scrying crystal, her schemes were utterly useless!

She could only assume this situation was due to the wise teachings of this Mysterious Master, Myrden!

However, if Zhen Shi had heard that assumption, he would've vomited blood for three days and three nights. Fortunately, he didn't.

Helpless against the power of the scrying crystal, Laura bowed in defeat and spoke, "Very well. It will be as Elder Brother Zhen Shi says."

But almost immediately she raised her head with a smile and shining eyes, "Either way, you did say you would solve our problem in Elder brother Myne's stead, right? As a genius archer and formation master with a personal divine blessing from the gods, I hope that Elder Brother Zhen Shi will stay true to his words!"

Hearing these words, Zhen Shi could only smile helplessly as he began to wonder, 'Shit. I was almost schemed by this lady, but I still have to find a way to help her? Aiya! I'm too kind and soft-hearted for my own good…'

Myne and Vivienne couldn't help but grin at the sight of his helpless face...

Laura ignored all of them, and spoke out with a smile, "Well, before the matter of the appraisal competition that you now HAVE to help us with, you must've come here to purchase some items, right? Just tell me and I'll ensure that you get the best of the best. Since you're helping our family I'll do my best to provide them for the lowest prices possible."

Immediately, Myne and Vivienne walked forwards with a nod and handed out two pieces of paper.

Laura quickly went over the lists and replied with a smile, "No problem. All of these materials are available. Some might be a bit rare, but I'll make sure that we handle it."

She turned over to Vivienne and asked curiously, "Even these various types of insects. But why exactly do you need them?"

But since Vivienne only smiled mysteriously, Laura continued, "As for the pill furnace, it would be best if sister Vivienne came along with me later to choose one."

Vivienne spoke with a nod, "Very well. But I'll be expecting you to treat me to a meal afterward, for trying to steal my husband."

Laura blushed in shame but nodded with a smile nevertheless.

Now with all their requests handled, Laura called out to Zhen Shi, "Elder Brother Zhen Shi, aren't you going to buy anything?"

Zhen Shi paused in thought for a moment and replied slowly, "Well... I do need something, but it might be a bit too difficult for you to handle..."

Laura frowned, "Well if you tell me, I might be able to help. Our Market Hall is seldom unable to satisfy a customer. Even if it was difficult, what organization would refuse to have a personally divine blessed genius owe them a favor?" and said.

Zhen Shi nodded thankfully, causing Laura to smile in pride and confidence.

But her smile vanished almost immediately, as Zhen Shi continued with an almost 'embarrassed' face and said, "Well, if you are so sure, then I can be free of worries. What I need you to help me with is... INSIDE MY PANTS!"

Laura was flabbergasted.

Thinking that Zhen Shi was just joking around, she spoke out with her face red in anger, "You--You lecherous wolf! How dare you be so dirty-minded in front of a young lady like myself? Now, you MUST pay me for mental damages!"

But Zhen Shi frowned in 'confusion'. With an 'innocent' face, he simply reached into his trouser pocket and brought out a rolled-up scroll of paper, and asked, "What are you talking about? This is just a list of all the books I need your help with. It was simply inside my pants pocket..."

And with a devilish grin, he continued, "How dare you say I'm lecherous! You're the one who is lecherous and thinking unnecessary things! "

Laura was speechless. But she quickly retorted back, "You're joking, right? Do you think I'll actually fall for that...?"

And noticing a hole in Zhen Shi's logic, she asked back, "That was just a scheming trick you played on me! Tell me, why would you think that it would be difficult for our market hall to get you a few books?"

Zhen Shi smiled and simply unfurled the roll of paper, letting it fall down to the ground and reveal itself to be nearly 3 meters in length!

He explained 'innocently', "The number of books I need is simply too much! Not to mention the wide variety of subjects those books cover. Thus, I was worried that such an order would be too much for you to handle..."

Unable to argue with that logic, Laura was now beginning to doubt herself, 'Could Elder Brother Zhen Shi actually be innocent? Could I actually be the lecherous and lewd-minded one? Mother, please forgive this unfilial daughter!"

But, suddenly, Zhen Shi pointed at the lengthy book list that was reaching the ground, with his free hand and stated matter-of-factly, "It's pretty 'long' isn't it?"

Laura: "..."

Myne and Vivienne were finally unable to hold back and broke out in laughter at this ridiculous situation.