Prince Xin watched the cheering crowd with a faint, self-satisfied smile.
In truth, cultivators had once frequently appeared among noble and wealthy families. But for some unknown reason, they had gradually withdrawn from the mortal world, becoming little more than legends. Even as a member of the royal family, this was Prince Xin’s first time meeting a true cultivator.
The old Taoist’s display of magic had stunned the entire gathering, making Prince Xin feel immensely proud.
What Prince Xin didn’t know was that cultivators had frequently appeared in the mortal world before the Ascension Assembly emerged in the cultivation world.
During that time, rogue cultivators who had lost hope of reaching Foundation Establishment and low-level cultivators from cultivation families would abandon their path to enjoy mortal luxuries. But after the Ascension Assembly was established, cultivators gained hope of breaking through to Foundation Establishment through competition. Naturally, they all retreated to remote mountains to focus on cultivation, rarely appearing in the mortal world anymore.
Of course, exceptions existed—like Yu Zitong, who couldn’t maintain his cultivation heart and fell into depravity while tempering himself in the mortal world. But such cultivators were few. Even those who became retainers for wealthy families would go to great lengths to conceal their identities.
After all, for a cultivator to serve mortals was considered deeply shameful in the cultivation world.
Thus, while many cultivators existed in the mortal world, few were willing to associate with nobility. Those who did become honored guests of powerful families had their identities tightly concealed to avoid mockery from fellow cultivators.
The spectators here had never encountered other cultivators before, so they regarded the old Taoist’s exquisite flame manipulation as something divine!
Amid the crowd’s awe-filled gazes, the white-haired old Taoist returned to the hall with a hint of pride.
Those who hadn’t been tested yet eagerly crowded around, calling him “Immortal Master” and begging him to check their spiritual roots.
The old Taoist, still energetic, examined each remaining person without refusal.
Unfortunately, none of them—including Elder Hua’s and Qin Yan’s juniors—possessed spiritual roots. They were all ordinary mortals.
This news disheartened the newly examined group, who dejectedly moved away from the old Taoist.
It seemed spiritual roots weren’t so easily obtained!
This made the fat youth “Tong Jing’s” spiritual roots appear even more precious. Others looked at him with immense envy, while the father and son standing beside the old Taoist grinned from ear to ear.
Han Li watched calmly as Qin Yan returned with the disheartened Qin family young masters and misses, looking somewhat embarrassed when he saw Han Li.
“I still don’t accept it! Why should that good-for-nothing have spiritual roots while we don’t? Any of us is a hundred times better than him!” one of the petite Qin misses grumbled discontentedly.
“Enough! Stop this nonsense! You simply don’t have the fate for it—what’s there to complain about?” Qin Yan frowned and scolded the girl before sitting down.
The words made the famously fiery Qin miss pout, her face still full of indignation.
Elder Hua also approached with his young companions and wordlessly sat beside Qin Yan.
The two elders looked at each other and simultaneously smiled wryly, sharing the air of fellow sufferers.
“Brother Qin, it seems Fat Tong is about to rise dramatically!” Elder Hua said jokingly.
“Ahem! That’s only natural. He produced a good son who immediately gained an immortal master as backing!” Qin Yan sighed, sounding somewhat helpless.
“But…”
Elder Hua and Qin Yan continued chatting while simultaneously keeping an eye on Immortal Master Wu and Prince Xin’s movements.
Seeing that all the guests’ juniors had been tested, Prince Xin turned and whispered instructions to a maid beside him.
The maid immediately exited through a side door, presumably on some assignment.
Prince Xin then turned back, coughed lightly, and said with a smile, “Now, to celebrate my beloved concubine’s recovery and my son and Nephew Tong becoming disciples of Immortal Master Wu, let us all celebrate properly!”
With these words, he clapped his hands twice without hesitation.
*Clap!* *Clap!*
As the applause echoed, pairs of neatly dressed servants and maids entered through the main hall doors carrying black lacquer trays laden with delicacies and fine wine.
They expertly arranged the dishes on every table and filled each wine cup with pink, nectar-like wine, quickly filling the hall with the aromas of food and alcohol.
“Come, let me propose a toast to everyone first!” Prince Xin said loudly, raising a cup brought by an attendant.
“To the Prince!”
…
The hall’s atmosphere immediately warmed as everyone drank with Prince Xin.
Soon, guests were toasting and chatting merrily.
The banquet had officially begun!
Prince Xin and his concubine Qing’er moved among the tables, chatting and laughing with close friends without any royal airs.
No wonder Prince Xin enjoyed such a good reputation among Qin Yan and others!
Immortal Master Wu didn’t join the banquet. He had slipped away unnoticed when Prince Xin raised his toast, disappointing many who had hoped to curry favor with him during the feast.
But on second thought, this was natural—how could a living immortal enjoy food and drink like mere mortals?
Accepting this, the guests set aside their hopes and truly began to enjoy the banquet.
When the feast reached its midpoint, Prince Xin even summoned a troupe of palace dancers who performed elegant dances, lifting the atmosphere to its peak.
Just then, a white-robed young man about twenty years old emerged in the hall. Elegant and slender, with refined manners and graceful bearing, he perfectly matched most young girls’ ideal image of a lover.
“Ming’er, come meet your uncles!” Prince Xin called out happily when he saw the youth.
By coincidence, Prince Xin had arrived at Qin Yan’s table. The elegant young man approached with a smile.
“Greetings to both uncles!” the youth said courteously.
“Please, no need for such formality, Young Prince!” Qin Yan and Elder Hua quickly stood to return the courtesy, not daring to presume superiority.
“Now, you two are his elders—it’s only proper for Ming’er to pay his respects. Why so distant?” Prince Xin said somewhat displeased.
Qin Yan and Elder Hua exchanged slightly awkward glances.
While this was true in principle, how could they truly treat royalty as their junior?
But both were shrewd old foxes. They deftly changed the subject and introduced their juniors to the exceptionally forthright prince—a rare opportunity for their young ones to gain recognition.
Naturally, Han Li was included in Qin Yan’s introductions.
When introducing Han Li, Prince Xin’s eyes lit up as he meaningfully examined Han Li several times with a faint, knowing smile. Clearly, he knew something about the rumors.
This made Qin Yan’s recently faded embarrassment return to his face.
“Ming’er, come greet Brother Han!”
For some reason, Prince Xin cheerfully had the young prince acknowledge Han Li.
The young prince approached and very politely called out “Brother Han” while cupping his hands in greeting, his face always maintaining a gentle expression.
The elegant young prince’s every movement fascinated several young ladies nearby, leaving them utterly captivated!
On the surface, Han Li returned the greeting with flustered awkwardness, appearing nervous and stunned. But internally, stormy waves crashed—he could no longer maintain his calm.
When the young prince approached to greet him, he gave Han Li the same dangerous feeling as the estate steward had, though much less intense. But it was undoubtedly the same type of dangerous sensation.
“What’s going on?” Han Li wondered in alarm, falling into deep confusion.
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