"Ashley, you are here too!" Raylan called out her name with a bitter smile as soon as he saw her. He
didn't look surprised at all though, for he had already anticipated that she would soon arrive with her
entourage.
"Look! Ashley has also come, and she seems to be here for this white-haired young man as well. Who
the hell is he?"
The surrounding warriors stared at them with great curiosity.
Meanwhile, Ashley approached Ricky amicably and greeted him, "Hey, Ricky! How have you been?"
"Hello, Ashley. I'm doing good," Ricky replied in a low voice before he turned to look back and forth at
Raylan and Ashley.
"What brings you two here?" he then asked them coldly. In any other case, these two could have been
his friends, but because they were here for the Five-element Flag, he and these two people were
enemies. Thus, he couldn't simply welcome them with open arms.
"Ricky, don't be so dramatic! I didn't come here to fight," Raylan answered with a faint smile. The
folding fan in his hand stirred restlessly as he continued, "Actually, I came here today to invite you to
visit my place. We are hoping that you would be interested in joining the water branch.
I believe that with your talent, you will undoubtedly rise to be the second holy son of our force in no
time at all."
"Whoa! No way!" The surrounding warriors could not help but gasp in astonishment.
How strong was this white-haired young man? Raylan didn't just invite him to join his force, he also
confidently declared that this strange man could become the second holy son among the disciples of
the water branch of the Five-element Sect.
They couldn't imagine what kind of genius this Ricky was that he could garner this much attention.
Hearing Raylan's words, Ricky raised one eyebrow and said slightly, "Really? Well, that is rather
tempting. I wonder how good the position of the second holy son is compared to your position."
"Of course, the two positions are equal. The holy son's status cannot be decided by time. As long as
you have the strength, you can become the vice leader of our branch," Raylan replied, laughing
mirthfully.
"Thank you very much." Ricky smiled at the compliment.
At this time, Ashley interjected with her own invitation for Ricky. "If you join my branch, Ricky, you can
be the holy son and the special one as well."
The surrounding warriors couldn't help but feel jealous when they heard that Ashley was also recruiting
Ricky.
"I'm afraid I can't refuse both of you, but I can't divide myself into two either!" answered Ricky,
shrugging his shoulders in exasperation.
"How about this? You two can go back first, while I think about it for a few more days. Don't worry. I
can't run away anyway.
But if you don't trust me, you can leave some of your people here to guard me."
Honestly, if Ashley and Raylan had invited him out of sincerity, he would have at least thought about it
seriously and accepted their offer to join the Five-element Sect. Unfortunately, he knew that their true
objective was the Five-element Flag.
Hearing Ricky's words, Raylan shook his head and responded, "Ha-ha! We're not in any hurry, so we
can just wait here for you. It's just a few days anyway."
Ashley also chimed in, "I'm not in a hurry either. I can wait."
Meanwhile, the Dragon Intent Grass hissed at their words and told Ricky telepathically, "It looks like
these two guys won't let you out of their sight! You have two choices here. You can either enter the
space to escape, or you can choose one force to join.
In fact, you should have noticed that instead of sending saints to attack you and steal the Five-element
Flag from you, the strong warriors of both sides have come to invite you to join the Five-element Sect.
Perhaps, they want you on their side too, and not just because of the Five-element Flag."
"Yes, that is possible. But I'm not sure about it," Ricky muttered doubtfully.
After he finished speaking to the Dragon Intent Grass, Ricky focused on Ashley and Raylan again.
He warned them with a stern frown, "Are you pressuring me? That's quite unbecoming of the famed
Five-element Sect."
"Oh, Ricky, please don't feel offended. You are a genius, after all, so we are pulling out all the stops to
get you. A genius like you means a lot to a force," Raylan consoled Ricky.
At this time, some warriors around began to notice something strange. "Well, it's not that simple!" one
of them shouted.
They didn't think there was such a genius who could force the Five-element Sect into letting him join
their ranks. Furthermore, it sounded like they were even desperate to have him join them!
"Maybe the Five-element Sect needs something from this young man,"
they speculated curiously.
At this time, Ashley took Ricky's attention when she threw a jade slip toward him. She said, "Ricky, if
you think my chips are not enough, you can check these."
And then she looked at Raylan with a sly smile and asked, "Is it okay with you if I lay my chips down for
Ricky? You aren't going to stop me. Right?"
"Of course not. We can invite geniuses using our unique abilities. I won't fault you for using what you
can to take advantage," Raylan said as he laughed sportingly.
"Ricky, I feel that Raylan seems to have grown more mature and less aggressive," the Dragon Intent
Grass remarked.
"If he wants me to go with him, then he really should be polite. For now, I'd like to see what Ashley has
in store for me as a bargaining chip. It must be something awesome if she thinks it can make me side
with her," Ricky said.
In the blink of an eye, he was transported into the jade slip.
While he perused the jade slip's contents, he made sure to keep a poker face. He was quiet for a while,
and his facial expression never betrayed what he felt at that moment.
After that, Ricky said directly, "Guys, I have decided to accept Ashley's proposal."
Everyone was shocked by what he just said, including Raylan.
Raylan's eyes sharpened with rage because he didn't understand why Ricky, who said that he still
needed time to consider, abruptly made the decision right then and there.
Were the chips in Ashley's jade slip that impressive?
"Ricky, what did you see for you to suddenly change your mind instantly?" the two girls and the Dragon
Intent Grass asked curiously through their telepathic links.
"The Wood Saint is the junior fellow apprentice of the wood branch's vice leader," Ricky answered
immediately.
"Oh, I got it. Now, it's a good choice for you to join in Ashley then," the Dragon Intent Grass said.
"That's right. Since the Wood Saint is with them, I believe that the wood branch can be regarded as an
ally. After all, we still have two years before the Misty South Palace start recruiting," Ricky said.
Meanwhile, Ashley didn't look surprised at all, for she had already expected Ricky's reaction.
She raised an eyebrow and glared at Raylan with disdain in her beautiful eyes. Of course, she was still
amazed that her uncle—the Wood Saint— actually knew Ricky, the once demi-spiritual emperor.
She naturally admired Ricky because of his talents, though they had starkly different views from the
very beginning.
"Ricky, I want to know what the wood branch offered you," said Raylan with a scowl. Then he
continued, "No matter what they offer, we are prepared to offer you double."
Meanwhile, the surrounding warriors became even more envious after hearing Raylan's offer. "I can't
believe it! That white-haired young man must be incredibly talented. And if this isn't about his talent,
what on earth is with him that the Five-element Sect want so much?" they exclaimed dubiously.
At this point, Ricky could only smile at Raylan since he didn't know what else to say. "I don't think you
can offer me anything that can change my mind, Raylan. After all, some things can't be bought by
cultivation resources or Treasures from Heaven and Earth."
"Really? Your words make me want to know even more. Besides, I still don't believe that we can't work
out a better deal," Raylan insisted.
"Fine! It looks like I have no other choice but to tell you the truth. The vice leader of the wood branch
said that if I join them, I will be permitted to marry Ashley," replied Ricky seriously.
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