Chapter 68 – Departure Fee?

Yang Ye was slightly surprised by Master Zhang’s sudden decision to take Xiao Yu’er as his disciple, but he quickly came to an understanding. Master Zhang had probably done so because of him, or perhaps it was because of that ‘master’ of his that stood behind him. When he thought up to here, Yang Ye felt every more curious towards this so-called master of his. Because not only were the elders of the Sword Sect extremely fearful of his so-called master, even a Earth Talisman Master was so fearful of his ‘master’.

Could it be that he’s a Spirit Talisman Master? Or perhaps a Heaven Talisman Master?

Right when Yang Ye was contemplating, Master Zhang who’d left moment ago had returned once more with two sets of dark golden robed and two small boxes. Master Zhang placed the robes and boxes on the stone table before he gazed at Yang Ye and Xiao Yu’er and said, “This is the uniform and badge of our association. Remember, if you lose your badge, then you must get a placement as soon as possible, otherwise, the association and the Grand Qin Empire won’t recognize your identity as a Talisman Master!”

As soon as Master Zhang finished speaking, Xiao Yu’er hurriedly walked forward and opened the box that belonged to her, and she exclaimed with shock when she saw the small and round badge within the box, and. After that, she raised her head and gazed at Master Zhang as she said, “Master, this is the badge of a Grade Two Talisman Master, but I….”

She really wanted to ask if her Master was mistaken, but out of respect for Master Zhang, she hadn’t spoken these words.

Meanwhile, Yang Ye had opened his box as well. The badge within the box was round, around the size of two thumbs, and the front of the badge was inscribed with four ‘一’ characters.

When he saw these four characters for the number one, Yang Ye was slightly surprised because this was the badge for a Grade Four Talisman Master.

Moreover, it just so happened that he heard Xiao Yu’er at this moment, so he gazed at Master Zhang with a puzzled expression.

When he noticed their puzzled expressions, Master Zhang said with a smile, “I didn’t make a mistake. Young Brother Yang is a Grade Four Talisman Master, and you’re a Grade Two Talisman Master, Yu’er.”

When he noticed their expressions become even more puzzled, Master Zhang explained once more. “According to the rules of the association, during the tests for those beneath the rank of Earth Talisman Master, if the examinee crafted a mid-grade talisman, then the examiner possesses the authority to raise the examinee’s ranking by a grade!”

“Then what about someone that crafts a high-grade Talisman?” asked Yang Ye. Since crafting a mid-grade talisman allowed one to be raised by one rank, then it caused him to feel slightly depressed because the treatment he received from crafting two high-grade talismans was actually the same as crafting mid-grade talismans.

When he heard Yang Ye, Master Zhang smiled bitterly and said, “Logically speaking, Young Brother Yang is entirely capable of becoming a Grade Five Talisman Master because even some Earth Talisman Masters are probably unable to compare to Young Brother Yang in terms of technique. The reason I only raised Young Brother Yang’s rank by two grades is that I only possess the authority to give a raise of two ranks. If Young Brother Yang wants the badge of a Grade Five Talisman Master, then I send an application to the association’s headquarters. But it would probably take some time!”

When he heard this, Yang Ye said, “Thank you for your good intentions, Master Zhang. Grade Four or Grade Five isn’t much different in my opinion, so I won’t trouble Master Yang. Right, I still have affairs to attend to, so I’ll be bidding my farewells first!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Ye cupped his hands to Master Zhang, and then he turned around and walked towards the entrance. After he obtained the identity of a Talisman Master, Yang Ye naturally didn’t want to stay here, and all he wanted was to rush back to Southpeace City.

When she saw Yang Ye turn around and leave, Xiao Yu’er hurriedly placed the clothes and badge into her spatial ring, and then she bowed to Master Zhang and said, “Master, Yu’er is going to send Brother Yang off!”

As soon as she finished speaking, she didn’t even wait for Master Zhang’s reply before hurriedly chasing after Yang Ye.

Master Zhang seemed to have thought of something when he saw Xiao Yu’er running off in a rush, and a brilliant smile appeared on his face. He said in a low voice, “If the two of them become a pair, then wouldn’t Master Lin and I become relatives? If I’m able to form a relationship with Master Lin, then wouldn’t it be extremely easy for me to enter the headquarters in the future?”

When he spoke up to here, Master Zhang’s smile grew even more brilliant.

He laughed on the spot for a long time before he seemed to have thought of something, and he suddenly slapped himself on the head with his right hand. He hurriedly ran out and he said while running, “Master Lin’s disciple appeared in this branch, so I have to quickly send news of this back to the headquarters. Master Lin has probably not left the headquarters to return to the Sword Sect….”

……

Outside the entrance, Xiao Yu’er caught up to Yang Ye, whereas, Yang Ye felt slightly helpless when he saw her catch up to him. Even though he really wanted to rush back to Southpeace City, since she’d chased after him, it wasn’t nice for him to just turn around and leave.

“Young Miss Xiao, do you need something?” asked Yang Ye.

Xiao Yu’er bowed to Yang Ye, and then she said with a serious expression, “Brother Yang, thank you for everything.”

If it wasn’t for Yang Ye, then not to mention being taken as a disciple by Master Zhang, it was very likely that she would have failed during the test. So, she truly felt grateful towards Yang Ye.

“Young Miss Xiao, there’s no need for that. It was nothing. Moreover, if Young Miss Xiao didn’t help me get in earlier, then not to mention taking the test, I wouldn’t even have been able to enter!” Yang Ye spoke with a smile. In Yang Ye’s opinion, all of this was truly a trivial matter. Of course, it was because he had a good impression of Xiao Yu’er that he’d done all of it.

Xiao Yu’er shook her head and said seriously, “Perhaps Brother Yang’s guidance from before was nothing to Brother Yang, but it was like the grace of rebirth! Right, Brother Yang Ye, you can call me Yu’er in the future, it feels rather distant to be addressed as Young Miss Xiao.”

Xiao Yu’er was very clearly aware of how precious the methods and techniques Yang Ye taught her earlier were, and it was obvious from the fact that her Master disregarded all shame and recorded it down with a notebook!

Yang Ye raised his head to determine the time, and he noticed the sky was already gradually turning dark. So, he immediately felt unwilling to continue talking, and he said, “Miss Yu’er, I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll be bidding my farewells first.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Ye left with swift strides. After he obtained the identity of a Talisman Master, Yang Ye was truly unwilling to waste even a bit of time. After all, the later he was, then the greater the danger his mother and young sister would be in!

Xiao Yu’er chased after Yang Ye again, and then she withdrew a jade ornament from her pocket and said, “Brother Yang, after you’ve finished dealing with your affairs, I hope you can pay a visit to my Xiao Clan so that I can thank you properly!”

Xiao Yu’er was able to discern hat Yang Ye really had affairs to deal with, so she abandoned all thoughts of asking Yang Ye to visit her Xiao Clan now.

Yang Ye didn’t refuse. He received it and thanked her before he walked swiftly towards the distance. However, he hadn’t even taken a few steps when he was stopped by Zhang Heng who was guarding the entrance earlier.

“Kid, do you not know the rules?” Zhang Heng’s brows raised as he spoke.

“The rules?” Yang Ye frowned as he asked this question. He’d just come to the Talisman Master’s Association, so how could he be aware of any rules?

When he heard Yang Ye, Zhang Heng sneered and said, “Kid, have you not heard of entrance fees and departure fees? You have to pay a fee to enter, so you naturally have to pay a fee when you leave. Don’t waste your breath, hand it over quickly.”

Even though Xiao Yu’er was still at the side, he wasn’t afraid at all. After all, he belonged to the Talisman Master’s Association, so the Xiao Clan wouldn’t form enmity with him. Of course, if Xiao Yu’er succeeded in passing the test and became a Talisman Master, then he would absolutely not offend Xiao Yu’er. But unfortunately, Xiao Yu’er hadn’t succeeded.

Zhang Heng thought in this way. Why did he think in this way? Because all Talisman Masters that passed the test would be wearing the uniform of Talisman Masters and the Talisman Master’s Badge when they left the association. Actually, his way of thinking wasn’t wrong, but an unforeseen event had occurred this time.

Because he had affairs to deal with at home, Yang Ye didn’t have the mood to change his clothes at all. On the other hand, for the sake of bidding farewell to Yang Ye, Xiao Yu’er hadn’t changed her clothes and put on the badge as well. So, the young man thought that they’d both failed.

When he heard Zhang Heng, Yang Ye’s eyes narrowed, and he said, “Are these the rules of the Talisman Master’s Association or your own rules?”

Earlier, Zhang Heng refused to allow him to enter because he didn’t give Zhang Heng anything. Even though Yang Ye was displeased by this, he’d never thought of taking revenge for such a trivial matter. However, he’d never expected that this fellow before him had actually come to look for trouble with him again, and this caused Yang Ye to be slightly infuriated.

When he heard Yang Ye, a cold glow flashed in Zhang Heng’s eyes, and he said in a ghastly tone, “Kid, don’t worry about whose rule it is. I’ll only ask you a single question, are you going to hand it over or not?”

Yang Ye was just about to say something when Xiao Yu’er had already arrived before the two of them. There was no need for her to ask about anything before she knew what had happened, and she didn’t waste her breath and handed two Energy Stones to the young man before she said, “I’ll pay for him!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Yu’er turned around to look at Yang Ye, and she said with a gentle voice, “Big Brother Yang, you go handle your affairs. There’s no need to waste your time for such trivial matters!”

When he thought about his mother and younger sister, Yang Ye suppressed the rage in his heart, and then he nodded to Xiao Yu’er before he turned around and left.

Right when Yang Ye hadn’t even taken two steps, Zhang Heng spoke once more. “Stop right there!”