''Welcome! My name is Ying Gui and this is the head of my guards Zou Qiang. I am very happy that you accepted the mission. Haha, I wasn't sure if someone would really accept it in time!''

Ying Gui didn't lose a single moment as he introduced both himself and the head of his guards with a passionate expression as he looked at Shun Long, while gesturing for him to enter his courtyard at the same time.

Although Ying Gui knew that protection missions like this were popular among the outer disciples of the Holy sect, what he had said was also true. He had to leave for Yanzhu city right away, and he wasn't certain if an outer disciple of the Holy sect would accept the mission in time.

If he wasn't lucky enough, he could only leave 3 days later with only the power of his normal guards.

Nodding his head, Shun Long looked at the smiling Ying Gui before he took out his golden-colored token that he had placed in his robes and showed it to him, as he introduced himself

''My name is Shun Long, and I am a disciple of the Holy sect.''

After he finished his simple introduction, Shun Long stopped looking at Ying Gui and turned his gaze towards the giant Zou Qiang who was standing behind him and was staring at him with the same frown on his face.

Noticing that Shun Long hadn't entered his courtyard and was looking at his head of guards instead, Ying Gui turned around and stared at the man behind him before he asked with the same professional smile of a merchant that he always used

''Zou Qiang, is everything okay?''

Zou Qiang shook his head after hearing his boss' voice, before answering with a serious look

''No problem boss.''

''Haha, that's good. Young master Shun Long, how about you enter my courtyard for a drink?''

Although Shun Long didn't have a problem having a drink with Yin Gui, he wasn't really in the mood to drink after seeing Zou Qiang's gaze. Despite having said that there was no problem, how could Shun Long not realize that this head of guards was clearly looking at him as if he was staring at an ant?

With just a glance, he quickly realized, that the reason behind this was his cultivation that was at the early rank 3 of the Nascent Soul.

Of course, Shun Long wouldn't hide his cultivation this time, since there was simply no reason to do so.

However, after seeing the frown that turned into a gaze of contempt and utter disregard from the peak rank 5 Nascent Soul cultivator behind Ying Gui a moment later, there was no way that he would simply accept Ying Gui's offer to drink together.

Thus, he shook his head before he responded with his usual cold voice

''No need. Let me know when you plan to leave for Yanzhu city instead.''

Ying Gui immediately noticed the tense atmosphere between the 2 men, and after turning around to shoot a stern glance towards Zou Qiang, not understanding why his head of guards was trying to antagonize a disciple of the Holy sect, he looked at Shun Long with the same smile on his face before he replied

''I was simply waiting for young master Shun Long to join our group so we could leave. Since you are here, we can leave right away!''

Turning around, Ying Gui looked at Zou Qiang before he ordered seriously, his usual easy-going smile having already disappeared from his face

''Gather the guards in front of the inn. We are leaving for Yanzhu right away!''

What Ying Gui had said to Shun Long was the truth. He had been waiting for a disciple of the Holy sect to join them before they left for Yanzhu city. Since Shun Long had now joined his group, why would Ying Gui wait any longer? Especially since it was obvious that Shun Long wasn't willing to waste any time chatting.

Zou Qiang simply shook his head before he left his boss' courtyard and headed elsewhere inside the inn.

Even though his boss couldn't ascertain Shun Long's exact cultivation since he was just at the rank 1 of the Spirit realm and could only understand that the young man in front of him had simply entered the Nascent Soul, how could Zou Qiang not realize that this outer disciple of the Holy sect was merely an early rank 3 Nascent Soul stage cultivator?

Although he didn't know how someone like that had passed the Holy sect's test as even the weakest outer disciples had a cultivation at the peak of rank 3 in the Nascent Soul, Zou Qiang simply accepted his bad luck realizing that they would have no extra protection during this journey.

He and his team would simply have to face all any danger that showed up without any help.

If there was time, Zou Qiang would have told Ying Gui to simply send Shun Long back and wait for some other disciple of the Holy sect to accept the mission, but he knew that something like that wasn't possible for 2 reasons.

Firstly, today was already the third and final day that his boss was willing for anyone who accepted the mission to show up, and if no one eventually did, they would still leave the Holy sect by themselves. Thus, even if his boss actually rejected Shun Long's help, it would just be Zou Qiang and his team in the end.

As for the second reason, Zou Qiang already knew that the Holy sect would never accept anyone questioning the capabilities of its disciples. The only way for someone to reject the help of a disciple of the Holy sect would be to cancel the mission, but canceling the missions wasn't free.

To ask for the help of an outer disciple, Zou Qiang knew that his boss had to pay a certain fee to the Holy sect, and using that fee, the sect would reward the disciples who completed the mission.

But if Ying Gui really canceled the mission, he would still have to pay half of the fee. The only way to reject Shun Long, would be if another outer disciple of the Holy sect showed up for the same mission.

In that case, Ying Gui would be able to choose between the 2 disciples.

Shaking his head, the giant 2.5m tall giant cursed his bad luck of getting the weakest outer disciple of the Holy sect, as he went to gather his team.

10 minutes later, Shun Long who had already walked to the entrance of the 'Blue Heaven inn' saw 14 men walking behind Zou Qiang, as they all stared at him and Ying Gui who was standing next to him.