Chapter 537: Opening an Altar to Expound the Scriptures

"This gift from the Cao family is rather heavy!" Ye Yuan looked at Cao Zheng, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Cao Zheng's mouth twitched, and he forced a smile: "Brother Ye, you flatter me! For your esteemed father's wedding, our Cao family, as a member of Wufang City, naturally had to prepare something presentable."

Ye Yuan nodded slightly and handed the slip of paper to Xu Zihui: "Brother Zihui, I cannot accept such a heavy gift from the Cao family. You'd better present it directly to the old master."

Xu Zihui had been listening to their exchange, somewhat baffled.

What Cao Zheng had handed over seemed to be a contract. Could it be that the Cao family was directly gifting a piece of property to the City Lord's Mansion?

Such a gift was indeed substantial.

Puzzled, he took the contract from Ye Yuan and glanced at it, then shuddered, nearly dropping the slip.

Xu Zihui looked from Cao Zheng to Ye Yuan, his shock beyond measure.

The document in his hand was indeed a contract, but it was no ordinary property of the Cao family—it was the Linlang Pavilion, renowned throughout the entire Northern Domain!

This was the Cao family's largest and most valuable asset!

But more importantly, the Linlang Pavilion housed the Thousand Questions Wall!

The significance of the Thousand Questions Wall to the Cao family could not be measured in spirit crystals.

It was the foundation of the Cao family, the very root of their survival!

Without the Thousand Questions Wall, the Cao family would be just an ordinary alchemy clan, no different from the Ren family.

Moreover, without the Thousand Questions Wall, the Cao family could never rival the City Lord and would soon be thoroughly suppressed.

Had Cao Zheng lost his mind? Otherwise, why would he use such a thing as a wedding gift?

"This... this..." Xu Zihui wanted to say something but didn't know how.

Cao Zheng cast a deep glance at Ye Yuan, then turned and announced loudly to everyone: "Ladies and gentlemen, today, on the occasion of the City Lord's daughter's wedding, our Cao family presents the Linlang Pavilion as a gift. From this day forward, the Thousand Questions Wall officially belongs to the City Lord's Mansion!"

The muscles on Cao Zheng's face twitched, but he said firmly: "The Thousand Questions Wall has never been the Cao family's private property; it belongs to all alchemists of the Boundless Domain. The Cao family has long kept it as its own, and we owe everyone an apology! As the holy land of alchemy in the Boundless Domain, Wufang City should have the City Lord's Mansion manage the Thousand Questions Wall!"

After speaking, Cao Zheng seemed to have aged considerably.

He had given away the Cao family's millennia of effort, a tremendous ordeal for him.

Even Ye Yuan hadn't expected Cao Zheng to have such boldness, directly gifting the Linlang Pavilion to the City Lord's Mansion.

The Thousand Questions Wall posed no real challenge to Ye Yuan.

But when he had challenged it, he had deeply appreciated its power.

Although he had only answered the last twenty questions, each one represented an extremely high standard.

The crystallization of wisdom from alchemy masters of the Boundless Domain over thousands of years was no empty reputation.

Cao Zheng's words left all the martial artists present utterly stunned.

"What! The Cao family is actually willing to hand over the Thousand Questions Wall to the City Lord's Mansion? This... why?"

"This is an earth-shattering event in the alchemy world of the Boundless Domain! Without the Thousand Questions Wall, how can the Cao family compete with the City Lord's Mansion?"

"Could this Cao Zheng be an impostor? This is no joke!"

Everyone speculated about the meaning behind Cao Zheng's move, but no one guessed that he was actually afraid of the young man before them!

Though some had gleaned clues from Ye Yuan's challenge of the Thousand Questions Wall, they still found it hard to connect such a major event to Ye Yuan.

This was a mad act!

What exactly was Cao Zheng afraid of?

Cao Zheng had been secretly contending with Ren Xingchun for so long—how could he suddenly make such a move?

Ye Yuan looked at Cao Zheng and felt a hint of admiration for his boldness.

Such a resolve to cut off one's own arm was not something everyone possessed.

"Since Patriarch Cao is so generous, the City Lord's Mansion will not be stingy either! Starting tomorrow, I will open an altar at the Linlang Pavilion to expound the scriptures for five consecutive days. All alchemists are welcome to attend!" Ye Yuan suddenly announced loudly.

"What? That young man is going to open an altar to expound the scriptures? Who is he? So arrogant!"

"Are you an idiot? That's the City Lord's grandson. A few days ago, he challenged the twenty questions on the seventh floor of the Thousand Questions Wall and answered them all correctly!"

"No way? He looks only seventeen or eighteen. How can he have such profound alchemical knowledge?"

"Hey, I don't know about that! But don't underestimate him just because he's young. I've heard a rumor that the City Lord issued a self-criticism edict because of this grandson of his... Maybe the Cao family's move is also because of him!"

"This... how is that possible? A seventeen-year-old boy wielding such immense influence?"

"I'm just repeating what I've heard. Believe it or not. But in my opinion, it's very likely!"

...

Ye Yuan's words caused an uproar among the crowd. The Thousand Questions Wall had changed hands, and the one opening an altar to expound the scriptures was not the City Lord, but his grandson!

Ye Yuan's extraordinary feats had mostly circulated among the upper echelons of the Boundless Domain.

Ordinary martial artists and alchemists knew very little about Ye Yuan.

But from the occasional rumors, it was clear that this young man was no ordinary person.

However, opening an altar to expound the scriptures was not something just anyone dared to do. Having made such a promise before so many people, could Ye Yuan deliver?

Some believed he could, but the vast majority did not.

A seventeen-year-old claiming to expound the scriptures was nothing short of a joke.

Many believed that in a few days, the City Lord would replace Ye Yuan and give the lectures himself.

With the Thousand Questions Wall changing hands, it would make sense for the City Lord to open an altar.

Ye Yuan's credentials were too shallow; he simply couldn't command the scene.

Ye Yuan had his reasons for doing this.

With the Gale Realm eyeing them covetously, any improvement, however small, in the alchemists of the Boundless Domain would be beneficial.

Thus, he was willing to spend five days expounding the scriptures, hoping that some alchemists might benefit greatly.

On the other hand, since the City Lord's Mansion had taken over the Thousand Questions Wall, they needed to show some goodwill to win over the alchemists.

Ye Yuan didn't care much for old man Ren Xingchun, but he had another idea.

He had taken on the role of the next City Lord for Ye Hang!

With him around, Ye Hang would surely break through to the Alchemy Emperor realm within ten years. No one was more suitable to take over Wufang City.

His father had endured humiliation for so many years; it was time to hold his head high!