The next day, Sage and Ling met with many of those in the Holy Flame Sect that they hadn’t seen for years. Besides Sage’s three roommates from so many years ago that were now his groomsmen, there was also the Alchemist Tang Deng. Sage had worked as an assistant for him while working to attain his very first profession badge. There were also the two Insect Tamers he’d learned how to use scent markers from, Pan Ping and Zeng Shui, both of them elders now. Most strikingly, he actually ran into the no-nonsense woman with scars on her throat. She greeted him with a nod and a gravelly, “Congratulations.”

Sage laughed and thanked Rocky before meeting with their mutual benefactor, Peak Master Zhen Zhen. Surprisingly, there had been two Peak Master’s in attendance at his wedding, Peak Master Zhen and Peak Master Lupeng. He had performed that feat of strength pushing open those magical gates in order to prove his ability to the Sect. With that display on record, it gave Peak Master Zhen a good reason to attend. She had secretly backed him years ago, but there was no official relationship between the two of them and so it would look unusual if a pair of random Outer Disciples could have a Peak Master attend their wedding. Of course, it wasn’t quite that bad, considering that Ling was already a Core Formation Cultivator while Sage was a Nascent Soul. Merely their cultivation made them both Elders now, but they had also been away for a long time.

By putting on a show as he had, Sage had earned a name for himself and given the Peak Master a good reason to show up. What surprised him was that a second Peak Master had attended. With two very important people around, he and Ling visited them as soon as they showed up at the second day of the banquet. Once they had spoken with the bride and groom, then they would be free to leave anytime they wished. This new couple weren’t wanting to inconvenience the highest ranked people in the Sect so they made sure to greet them first.

Once they’d got close to the two Peak Masters, they felt Qi stir in the air around them and recognized a technique to ensure they weren’t going to be overheard.

“Lang Sheng! You’ve finally shown your face once again. You’ve made quite a stir over the years. We’ve heard of some of your exploits even here in the Shihu Kingdom.”

Peak Master Zhen spoke as if she wasn’t very close with Sage, but the other Peak Master scoffed, “Hah, don’t pretend like you’re distant, Zhen. I know you’ve been working with him.”

The tall and wiry man had a light feathering of white hair, but the large veins upon his hands and forearms broke the image of a feeble old man. He stared down the lovely woman with his piercing black eyes and she saw the flecks of green in the iris, but she didn’t back down. She puffed up her chest and refused to share any information. Peak Master Lupeng laughed and then broke the stare, looking at Sage and Ling, “Hah, that was fun. She gets so protective of her chicks, but I don’t care about that. I just wanted to meet the inventor of our Steam Army. You’ve awakened an entirely new avenue of thought among my Security Department.”

Peak Master Zhen was a little annoyed at having been confronted so harshly as a joke, but she just turned her head away and let them chat. Sage was a bit surprised by this. He’d shared with them the Steam Engine and how to use it to make a flying airship, a self propelling tank, and a simple spear cannon. His correspondence with Peak Master Zhen had been sparing and covered important news from the Dou Kingdom, and had nothing to do with these inventions. It immediately made him curious about what they’d done with it since then.

Peak Master Lupeng saw the look in his eyes and dangled more tantalizing information in front of him, “Smiths have always been pushing to create more powerful devices. They try to work with even more important and valuable resources or to reach the level at which they can create a spirit to inhabit a true artifact. You, on the other hand, are working with the cheapest and weakest materials, trying to multiply their effect.”

Sage nodded his head, while Ling also seemed interested in this insight. She had a little twinkle in her eyes, the same one that Sage had seen often right before she figured out how to make lots of money.

“Most of the Master Blacksmiths that learned of your devices scoffed at them. Who cares if you can make machines for mortals to fight with rank threes?”

It can do more than fight rank threes. I suppose it’s a good thing I didn’t send back information on the Plate Cannon or the use of many harpoon launchers at the same time.

“But, then there were some who realized your brilliance. They have been trying to use your same style of thinking, but with higher level materials and devices. If you have time, you should stop by and see the Palace Tank.”

After dropping that little teaser, Peak Master Lupeng chuckled and took his leave. Peak Master Zhen glared at the old man as he walked away but she didn’t say anything else until he was completely out of the isolating area. Then she congratulated the couple wildly, “It is good to see you again. It’s a shame your talent was so average all those years ago or you would have been my disciple and you wouldn’t have had to go on the run.”

Sage was not fooled by her flattery. If not for all the accidents and disasters that he had run afoul of in search of power, he would have never got her attention in the first place. With greater talent would he still have had the incentive to take so many risks? If he’d been more protected would he have had to take such drastic measures that led to him becoming a beast? Would he have learned any Seals if he didn’t want to use them to hide his beast body?

She spoke more about how impressive he was and how great Ling’s business acumen was, but it was merely praise without substance. Even so, Sage still had a good opinion of the Peak Master as she’d helped him run for his life in the past. She was a spymaster after all, it was only a given that her social skills were filled with falsehoods.

Eventually, the meeting with the highest echelons ended and they spent a lot more time greeting all of those people from the Holy Flame Sect they hadn’t seen for years. Ling had many more friends and connections than he did. She was a business person after all and her relationships helped her be more successful. On the other hand, he had been a no talent weirdo in the past, with his first claim to fame being his many professions. Instead of reaching a high level in one, he’d dabbled in many. Most thought of him as a joke that couldn’t progress, but others found it entertaining to see his chest full of badges. Then, he’d turned that meager fame into notoriety when he’d gained the lower half of a snake and became a true freak show.

Now, he’d come back many years later. A powerful Nascent Soul that had successfully challenged the Strength Gate! There were many that attended the wedding to make a connection with a powerful person and he treated them politely, but didn’t make any promises. Ling on the other hand, used this as a springboard, suddenly forging many connections and passageways for the Prosperity Company to use in the future.

Our minds really do work differently.