Chapter 345: Banquet Begins

The rumors about a new Sovereign Beast having appeared spread across the capital as fast as a wildfire.

Everyone was curious as to what the purpose of this Sovereign Beast was. At the same time, the upper echelons of the capital suddenly heard that the Emperor was hosting a banquet the following day in honor of this Sovereign Beast.

They suddenly all were immensely busy trying to pull all their connections in an attempt toat getting an invitation.

The Emperor was aware of this, but he had already decided that the only ones who were invited to the banquet were all members of the Vermillion Bird Clan.

The geniuses of the Vermilion Bird Clan, alongside the pPrinces, were all entering the Ascended's Realm. As such, it was better to get to know one another before entering the ancient realm.

While the capital was in an uproar, even the palace was filled with gossip. The many members of the Vermilion Bird Clan were filled with curiosity towards this other Sovereign Beast.

While some of them felt pure curiosity, some felt rivalry, and even some felt hostility.

Xue Wei was being regarded highly by the Emperor. Although he was a Sovereign Beast, so were the other members of the Vermilion Bird Clan, but they were not treated the same way. Even the geniuses rarely saw the Emperor, but now he was hosting a banquet for this foreigner. This made some jealous.

While the palace and the capital were abuzz with emotions, Xue Wei was casual in the rooms that had been prepared for them. He relaxed and calmed down.

For once, he did not cultivate. Instead, he focused on his mental state, and he slept from the middle of the day until the following morning.

As he woke up, he left the sleeping chamber and entered the living rooms where he stopped in his tracks, slightly stunned by what he saw.

Inside the living room were Hei Gou, Luoluo, Lin Xiao, Bai Tianyi, and Xue Fu. All of them looking helpless as a large group of people were fussing about them. They were plastering different fabrics to their bodies, cutting the materials, and creating clothes that were of high quality.

When these people saw Xue Wei, their eyes shone with excitement, and they flocked to him as if they were seeing their most respected ancestor.

"Lord Sovereign, please allow us to prepare some garments for you," one of the people said with reverence in his voice. "We have been tasked with preparing you and your companions for tonight's banquet."

Xue Wei nodded his head. Primordial Beasts made all the fabrics they had brought; it was not like the clothes they were currently wearing, which were from Fierce Beasts.

"I see you like red," the man said as he looked at Xue Wei, who was wearing a white and red robe. Xue Wei did not care too much about the clothes he wore, but he felt that red was suitable since it could hide the color of blood.

Black was also suitable, but Hei Gou was always wearing black robes with golden or silver embroideries, and it seemed that he cared a lot about his appearance, so Xue Wei did not mind letting him have the black clothes.

Bai Tianyi was always wearing white clothes. It matched his white hair, and it seemed that he preferred this color.

Luoluo was usually wearing purple dresses, and Lin Xiao was often wearing blue robes.

Even Xue Fu had a color of her own, a magenta-colored dress.

They looked quite colorful as the entire group walked together, but none of them cared. They each had gotten a specialized attachment to the color they wore and would usually pick clothes of that color.

These tailors were all Primordial Beasts who excelled in creating different silks, and they knew their fabrics better than anyone else.

Xue Wei knew that the Emperor had offered to make clothes for them for the sake of them not embarrassing themselves at the banquet, so he did not reject the offer.

The majority of the day was spent in the rooms. The many tailors created a beautiful and extravagant robe for Xue Wei. It was crimson like the sunset with golden embroideries.

After finishing his clothes, they quickly began creating clothes for the others, and by the time they had completed every single piece of clothing, it was time for them to change their clothes and head towards the banquet.

A eunuch had come to fetch them, so they quickly changed their clothes and followed behind him.

This eunuch was the same who had led Xue Wei away from the study room before. He was the most trusted eunuch by the Emperor's side, so seeing him humbly leading the way for a bunch of youngsters made all the servants gossip in the palace. They could instantly guess that one of the people in this group was the famed Sovereign Beast that had appeared out of nowhere.

Xue Wei ignored everyone around him and looked forward with solemn eyes. He knew that although the Emperor was supportive of him, the other Vermilion Birds might not be. They were, after all, young. Having grown up as the hegemons of an entire continent, they might even have turned arrogant.

Soon they arrived at a massive dining hall where tables were placed in an u-shape. The place that connected the two long sides were raised above the ground, and there were three seats there.

"Sir Sovereign, your friends have been placed amongst the princes," the eunuch said politely as he gestured towards some seats on one of the long sides of the table where a group of experts was already seated.

Xue Wei nodded his head in approval. This was already showing a fair deal of respect towards him, so he did not want to fuss about them not being seating together.

Rubbing Luoluo's head, Xue Wei said gently, "listen to the others, and don't act up. We are guests here."

Luoluo pouted slightly, but she still nodded her head obediently as she and the others were greeted by another eunuch who showed them the way towards their seats.

The moment their seats were revealed, everyone in the hall quieted down, and their eyes gleamed with dissatisfaction.

The companions of Xue Wei were not Sovereign Beasts. Although the two spirits held a rather high rank, the human and two Primordial Beasts should not even be allowed within the banquet in the eyes of many.

Even more, disbelief was shown on their faces when they saw that the eunuch who was leading Xue Wei to his seat went to the three raised seats and placed him on the one on the right side.

However, before they had the time to say anything, a guard said, "The Emperor is arriving. The First Prince is arriving."

Everyone suddenly quieted down and stood up to greet them. Xue Wei and his friends also stood up, but while all the others kneeled down, his friends merely bowed slightly, while Xue Wei only cupped his fists.

"Outrageous!" one of the youngsters suddenly called out with anger, his voice was iembued with Qi, and his strength was at the Heavenly Knight rank. Alongside the Qi was also a bloodline pressure that struck Hei Gou and Xue Fu hard, making them tremble in fear and almost collapse on the floor, was it not for Xue Wei quickly using his own bloodline pressure to fight against this young genius.

"What do you think you are doing?" Xue Wei asked with a low and dangerous voice. Although the Emperor had shown him a great favor and was treating him immensely well, he was not going to overlook it if they tried bullying his friends.

The Emperor also frowned. He could not act against his clan's junior, but he was slightly annoyed when he saw the actions this youngster had made. It was losing face for the Vermilion Bird Clan.

"How dare you not kneel in front of his majesty the Emperor?!" the genius did not back down but continued to press forward. He was feeling quite confident because hierarchy was important amongst the members of the Demon Phoenix Continent. Unfortunately, he had forgotten that Xue Wei was a foreigner.

"The Emperor has not said anything, yet you are acting like this? Is this not the act of not putting the Emperor in your eyes, trying to climb all over his head?"

Xue Wei's voice was calm and casual. Although the words were harsh and cut straight to the bone, making the genius feel fear from the bottom of his heart, Xue Wei even had a slight smile on his lips.

"Enough about this," the Emperor sighed just as he saw that the genius was about to lose control of himself, and he shook his head in disappointment.

Even their geniuses, although they had the best resources, had never faced hardships, so they were arrogant and unable to deal with real setbacks.

When he looked at Xue Wei, there was a bit of fondness. The like that an elder had towards their own sons or grandsons, and he was clearly appreciative towards this youngster, not at all trying to hide it either.

Everyone within the hall could sense that the Emperor was looking differently at Xue Wei, that there was some sort of connection between them, and this puzzled all present, including Xue Wei. Even if the Emperor was looking at him favorably, should it be this prominent?

Was it perhaps because of his uncle, Xiao Lei?

Although Xue Wei was close to guessing the truth, he was still a bit away from it.

The reason that the Emperor was kind towards him, and treated him like one would their grandson, was because of his mother, Xiao Wu.

But considering that Xue Wei did not even know the name of his mother, he couldn't guess that this Emperor knew her.

After sensing that the Emperor was immensely gentle towards Xue Wei, the genius who had yelled at him earlier suddenly felt frightened.

If the Emperor even allowed Xue Wei to not kneel for him, also extending to his friends, then this young unknown Sovereign Beast would quicklyfast become a much more important being in the court.

The princes were also all in deep thought. Currently, it looked as if the First Prince would become the Crown Prince, but if they could get the support of Xue Wei, perhaps it would be possible for them to seize the throne.

It was not only the princes seated who thought about this, but the First Prince also realized that this unknown person who had appeared out of nowhere could shake his foundations.

A cold flash appeared in his eyes, but it vanished as soon as it had appeared. The gentle and soft smile on his lips was ever present.

If no one knew better, they would think that he was amiable and gentle, not at all concerned with the battle that was happening for the throne.

While Xue Wei did not know him very well, the other princes knew him, and they understood that this was the calm before the storm.

Some of the princes even started to think that they should give up on Xue Wei, as he was doomed to die in the hands of the First Prince.

The First Prince was the oldest of them all; he was also the most ruthless and the one that had the best talent for cultivation, already being a seventh layered Ordinary Saint.

When they reached the upper seats, the Emperor sat in the middle, next to Xue Wei, and the First Prince sat on the other side.

The Emperor was aware of his oldest son's appearance, and behavior was not always as it seemed, and he sighed internally. He had hoped that this son of his would appreciate Xue Wei, but it appeared that he was not willing to risk his position and wanted to get rid of Xue Wei.

A cold gleam appeared in the eyes of the Emperor. Although the First Prince was his son, he had many sons, while Xue Wei was all that was left of Xiao Wu.

If his son left Xue Wei alone, then things would be fine. If not, he would not be polite.