Strongest Businessman of the Cultivation World

Under the hawkish gaze of the Chakra Sage Ancestor of the Nian Clan, the Contract was signed successfully.

Though everything seemed to have gone smoothly, it only happened because of the Judgment Feather of the Heavenly Horse. When Ikasa thought back to the awe and respect shown by the Tribe Leaders towards a simple feather, he could not help but grow curious about it.

Luckily, he had the most authoritative elder, the ancestor of the Nian Clan, to address his curiosity. He would be a fool if he did not take this chance to uncover some mysteries.

'As Confucius said, "He who asks a question is a fool for a moment, but he who does not ask questions is a fool for lifetime."'

Ikasa thought and turned to the Elderly man. He had many questions but he started with a simple one.

"Elder, what does being judged to be 'worthy' means? What am I worthy of?"

"Trust."

One word resounded in the hall. The old man had not opened his eyes but his lips verbalized the answer.

Ikasa was taken aback by the simple but powerful reply.

As a person who had navigated the business world, he knew how important this single word was. It was hard to earn but easy to lose.

Yet, this single feather had earned him the trust of the Nian Clan.

Ikasa knew how significant of a feat it was.

People who have been burnt once find it hard to believe in the warmth of the flames. The current Nian Clan was like those people.

Ikasa had seen the deep prejudice and skepticism shown by the Nian Clan towards merchants. Even he himself had experienced it first hand when he first met the Tribe Leaders.

However, the Feather of Judgment helped absolve him of their prejudices.

Ikasa once again stroked the silky smooth feather. He was reminded why he had rushed to pick up the feather in the first place.

It was a feather from a beast at the least in the Nascent Soul Stage! The cultivation base was comparable to the Spirit Assimilation stage of humans!

Ikasa was sure that anything made from this feather would turn out to be an incredible Spiritual Weapon. That brought him to the next question.

"Elder, would it be okay if I forge this feather into a weapon?"

Ikasa's suggestion drew gasps from the other Tribe Leaders. They couldn't imagine such a sacrilegious thought about an object they considered sacred.

Still, they had no right to butt in as the Heavenly Horse had bestowed the feather upon Ikasa. They could only keep their mouth shut and listen to the Ancestor's reply.

"You don't know the real use of the feather do you?"

The Ancestor asked, slightly amused. He did not wait for the answer as the brief moment of silence had told him all he needed to know.

"This feather symbolizes the trust Heavenly horse has placed in you. I say trust because with this feather, you can summon the Heavenly Horse to aid or protect you!"

Ikasa quickly placed the feather back in his storage. His eyes were shining with light upon hearing the use of the feather. This was as good as having the backing of an Undying Soul!

The Chakra Sage was amused even more by Ikasa's actions. He slightly shook his head and warned,"The Feather is only useful within the territory of the Heavenly Horse i.e. the Elm City and the Daruka Forest. If you enter another Guardian Beasts territory, the Heavenly Horse cannot help you."

These limitations poured a cold water on Ikasa's ambitions. However, he was relieved because the forests surrounding the three Tier-3 Cities of Deciduous County were also extensions of the Daruka Forest.

It meant that he would be under the Heavenly Horse's protection when he was in Birch City too.

Suddenly, he had a thought.

'Since one guardian beast trusts me, shouldn't the other guardian beasts also find me worthy of trust?'

A greedy thought rose in his mind when Ikasa thought about being able to summon an army of Nascent Soul Stage Beasts!

To bring this idea to fruition, Ikasa first had to know who or what the other Guardian beasts were and where he could find them.

'In the first place what were the Guardian Beasts? Why were they called such?'

Before Ikasa came to the Nian Clan or even met the Heavenly Horse, he was not concerned about their origins. He only became concerned when the Beast easily searched through his memories. His intense hatred for the old man from the hologram, his supposed creator, also alarmed him.

This was when Ikasa was reminded of the mural he saw on the obelisk. A huge tornado that looked like the Heavenly Horse was blowing through the cities, destroying them.

'Could the Tornado be formed by the Heavenly Horse? Or did the Horse suppress the Tornado?'

He had numerous guesses about the identity of the Guardian Beasts but why guess when he could get the answer from the old man before him.

"Sage Ma, what exactly are the Guardian beasts? Are they somehow related to the natural disasters?"

The old man was startled by the inference drawn by Ikasa. He smiled and nodded.

"As you know there are Eight Guardian Beasts. What you do not know is that each one of those beasts is a Transcendent Creature…."

"Transcendent Creature?!"

Ikasa jumped up with surprise. When one said Transcendent, it meant they had transcended the laws of Birth and Death! As long as they had the will to live, they would not die.

They were truly immortal in a sense!

Even Ikasa, a tiny scribe from the Tier-3 City had heard of them. Now, he had obtained a favor from this mythological existence. Except for the Absolutes, who could he not offend in the world?

An arrogant smile formed on his lips but he quickly regained his rationality. Wasting an important card like this on a small power like the Mu Family would be like using a WMD to kill a mosquito.

The old elder gave Ikasa a few breaths to calm his emotions. When he had learned of the reality of these Guardian Beasts he had also been similarly shocked and excited.

The Ancestor would have actually wondered if Ikasa was sane had he not displayed such a reaction full of awe for those beings at the top.

Seeing Ikasa settle down, the old Ancestor continued from where he was interrupted.

"As I was saying, each of the Guardian Beasts is a Transcendent Creature who is suppressing a disaster."

Ikasa had gotten over his excitement by now. After listening to the Old Ancestor, he was reminded of his guesses.

'So my second guess was correct. After all, people would not worship the beasts if they brought them harm.'

Ikasa inferred from the explanation offered by the Ancestor of the Nian Clan. He listened carefully as the Elder began to list the Eight Totems of Calamity and the Guardian Beasts suppressing them.

"Totem of Tornado guarded by the Heavenly Horse."

"Totem of Earthquake guarded by the Celestial Bull."

"Totem of Haze guarded by the Nine-Tailed Fox."

"Totem of Drought guarded by the Fire Dragon."

"Totem of Volcano guarded by the Sun Lion."

"Totem of Landslide guarded by the Mountain Digging Pangolin."

"Totem of Rainstorm guarded by the Dragon Turtle."

"Totem of Blizzard guarded by the Ice Phoenix."

After naming the all eight totems and the guardian beasts, the Chakra Sage took a deep and long breath. Ikasa also had time to process the information.

Then the Ancestor dropped a piece of news that blew Ikasa's mind.

"The Guardian Beasts are constantly absorbing the Energy from these Totems. A point comes when they can no longer maintain sanity and they undergo a shedding of their body and are reborn as new born beasts. When they do, they approach the people they have judged to be worthy of their trust."

This meant that while Ikasa was under the protection of the Heavenly Horse for now, there may come a time when he had to protect the newly born Heavenly Horse from the covetous eyes as well!