After showing off his strength a few times to the many guards and attendants of the City Lord’s manor, Sage finally got a meeting with the man. He gave him a bow, though it wasn’t that low after noticing that the City Lord was not a Nascent Soul. Since the man wasn’t a Nascent Soul, then he’d attained his position through his connections, but Sage had no idea who this man’s backer was.

“Greetings, City Lord. I had heard you were an impressive individual before, and now I can confirm it with my own eyes.”

The City Lord returned the bow and he mirrored the polite niceties, “I’m nothing much in comparison to your strength. To what do I owe the honor?”

Sage smiled, both to show a friendly face to the City Lord and also at his very subtle insult which the City Lord gracefully deflected with a bit of self deprecation. This was good, as it meant he wasn’t dealing with an arrogant blowhard. To show a bit more sincerity after that little character test, Sage saluted the City Lord with a clasped fist and gave him a deeper bow, “It is good to see how forthright you are. I am very pleased to meet the City Lord. I need your assistance in contacting a high level cultivator of the Cult of the Woodlord. I have a business proposition for them. If you facilitate, I can offer you a generous prize in return.”

The City Lord noticed the change in demeanor and he reached out to pull Sage back up from his bow.

“It must be your lucky day, as I have a cousin who is an Elder in the Cult of the Woodlord. Since you’ve made such a generous offer, I will do my best to help fulfill your request. I must warn you, I can not guarantee their response.”

“Don’t you worry. All you need to do is get me a meeting with them, whether or not they accept my offer is not up to you, Sir.”

He took the City Lord’s hand, shaking it and then passing him a Storage Bag completely filled with Spirit Stones. Such a sum would have been massive to him in the past, but now he dared to use a million Spirit Stones as a bribe to get a meeting.

“Please use these to ensure I can meet with someone important enough to make deals with a Nascent Soul, and then consider the rest as my gift to you.”

Sage was hoping that since this City Lord was honorable, he could show his sincerity up front and also give the man a big incentive to do the job properly. If the man wasn’t honorable he could just get him a meeting with some generic member of the Cult. Sage wasn’t worried about whether the man would keep the money without arranging a meeting, because he didn’t think that Daggerguard City’s defensive array was enough to stop him. On the other hand there was a chance the City Lord would go to immediately look up Sage’s background and if he was weak enough then the City Lord might also be tempted to take the money and do nothing.

“Such a generous man. Don’t you worry, I’ll ask my cousin to arrange a meeting with one of the higher ups.”

They started another round of polite compliments, and Sage did not volunteer to leave. He was even bold enough to ask to borrow one of the City Lord’s rooms to stay in. He acted a little thick skinned, inviting himself to stay in order to put a little more pressure on the City Lord to fulfill his promise. The City Lord didn’t dare to decline such a simple request from a Nascent Soul, especially considering the manor was immense and had dozens of empty rooms.

Sage continued to thicken his skin and stayed in the City Lord’s manor for over a week before there was finally some news as to a meeting. He wasn’t sure if the City Lord was stalling or if he was just inefficient. Eventually though, he was given a message that he would get his meeting in two weeks. Sage accepted the message and closed the door back up to his room. He didn’t give the City Lord a chance to send him off. Waiting patiently for a few weeks was extremely simple for a cultivator, time which he could spend training. Eventually the day came and the meeting was held in the City Lord’s manor.

“Lang Sheng. This is High Elder Shi Wen. It was not easy to meet with him, so I hope you can cherish this opportunity.”

The person described as High Elder Shi Wen was not a young person. Despite being in the higher stages of the fifth rank, the man was still old and gray. His back even had a slight hunch in it, showing how late in his life the man was. Since a Core Formation Cultivator could live near five thousand years, it showed just how ancient the fellow was. Sage guessed this was a man who was important because of his experience and had probably been stuck in his cultivation for a very long time. Understanding of the laws was not something with a direct path and once a person was stuck for a long enough time they would be likely to give up on uselessly trying to improve themselves and instead focus on leaving behind a legacy or finding other ways to contribute. There was a limit to how strong they could get by improving their mastery with their weapons and techniques. It would take greater and greater effort to continue to make any improvement. Worse yet, even the weakest Nascent Soul would be able to give them an extremely hard time.

It was just far more efficient to focus on other things where their great cultivation would help them become experts and important figures in no time. With a superhuman physique and mind, they were so much better at any job than a mortal. Most Sects and Clans were filled with these old and experienced cultivators that helped these large organizations manage all their assets and train the next generation.

Sage started off by thanking the City Lord and then immediately he turned his gaze to the High Elder, “I have some important business to discuss with you.”

He sent the City Lord an apologetic smile, “Forgive me. I’d like to discuss some important information with the High Elder.”

The City Lord’s eyes flashed with a trace of annoyance, but he didn’t speak out against him. The man nodded and left the room leaving Sage alone with the Cult’s High Elder. Sage stepped closer and used his Windscreen technique to block out any eavesdroppers. This move caught the attention of the High Elder and the old man immediately got a little interested. He’d only agreed to this meeting because the City Lord had promised to reward him with two hundred thousand Spirit Stones. It was just a quick little meeting, and what if there was actually a deal to be made?

“Greetings, High Lord. I am here to make a very confidential deal with the Cult of the Woodlord. I want to trade knowledge of the Arborist trade for my services as a Gardener.”

“Gardener? Arborist? Who the hell are you?”