Chapter 701 - Pre-Banquet

Two weeks later,

Inside an inn right in front of the banquet would be held, Alex was looking outside of his window from the very top floor.

"I wonder if there is going to be an action or something…" Alex sighed and recalled a certain story. "Normally, I would be asked to perform something before they start shaming me. Unfortunately, I don't really have a talent for poems and such… As for Alchemist, I doubt they are going to host an Alchemy Competition, considering it would take too long."

"You only need to slap their face and beat them brutally in the fighting, especially if that Eric Hinga goes to the stage. However, I heard that he is going to attend alongside two 8-Star Martial Saints, so it will be hard for us to kill them." A woman's voice resounded behind him as Anna made his appearance.

After some considerations, Alex chose not to have so many people accompanying him, especially when he realized that the war would happen in a few years. Only Anna, Leoz, and Neon ended up following him. Anya and Firia were holding the fort back in the forest.

"True enough. Well, I am here just to see the other geniuses and meet Song Jiaoren. If our situation is not complicated like this, I won't come to this banquet." He sighed.

"We have been killing monsters for so long, and Neon can finally release his strength as a 5-Star Martial Monarch. Luckily, he can catch up due to the fact it is easier for SR Spirits to level up than UR Spirits. So, you can ask him without hesitation if you need some information. He is a Ghost Spirit after all." Anna walked toward him and looked outside.

"Yeah. Leoz is also here to be my bodyguard." Alex nodded before furrowing his eyebrows.

"What are you watching?" Anna paused for a moment and grinned. "Are you searching for a scene where a man gets trampled by a carriage, which turns out to be a young master's carriage, and the man fights back and slaps the young master?"

"Oi, don't say it like that." Alex shrugged and pointed out his finger at a certain person walking toward the banquet hall.

"That is…" Anna was slightly surprised and found a familiar blonde guy followed by a few people and elders. "I see. That is Song Jiaoren."

Alex nodded. "Yeah. Our true target."

"Are you going to meet him with your mask?" Anna asked with an unsure tone. "I mean, your face is already all over the world, including this continent, because the Fire God Clan decided to spread the information about you. I think it is futile to put on your mask. I am sure that everyone will also recognize you."

"Yeah. There is no one who would put on a mask for a banquet like this except me. So, I think I won't put my mask on and never again." Alex nodded with a solemn expression.

"Do you need me to accompany you?"

"For what? If it's for other guys to hit on you and bring me troubles, I will go alone. It's not like I don't want you to accompany me, but our situation is a bit complicated." Alex let out a long sigh. "I don't want to get more enemies after this before solving the Fire God Clan."

"This is just my curiosity, but… When are you planning to attack the Fire God Clan?" Anna asked.

"When I reach 5-Star Martial Saints, I guess. If I don't have all of you, I will attack them only after I reach 8-Star Martial Saint. But it is far different when you are with me. All of you can reach 10-Star Martial Saints before I reach 8-Star Martial Saint. I feel like I am still useless." Alex sighed.

"If we don't have your system, we won't have that strength." Anna shrugged, even though the real reason was because they only regained the strength they sealed before becoming his Summoned Spirits.

After Song Jiaoren entered without much problem, it was Evelyn's turn to show up. She was followed by a few disciples behind her, but there were two extraordinary disciples. The first one was a female who seemed to be a master of a sword, while the other was a male. Without much thinking, Alex realized it was him, the one that pursued Evelyn.

Alex squinted his eyes, trying to see this man, albeit got slightly disappointed. He seemed to have a rash but scheming personality that could be taken advantage of.

He quickly ignored the man and smiled upon seeing Evelyn. "To think that little girl back then has grown."

"Fufu, Evelyn is one of the top beauties in this continent, you know. Many young men are waiting for her to grace them with her love before Evelyn's strength overtakes them." Anna chuckled.

"They won't have a chance after that." Alex shrugged. "I just wish for a man who has a genuine feeling for her. Nothing else."

"Then, why don't you take her as one of your wives?" Anna grinned, teasing Alex.

Alex didn't answer, or he refused to answer. Not even a word was coming out of his mouth until the next influences appeared.

"That is Snow White Mountain."

He immediately furrowed his eyebrows when he found a woman with light-blue hair. There was only one reason for him to have an interest in her. "I see. That female is the one who gets Letizia's Sacrificial Element. Does she know that her elders will sacrifice her later? In any case, I will make sure to ruin the ritual three years from now."

"You should probably meet Letizia while you are at it. After all, it has been a few years since she first locked up."

"Yeah." Alex nodded in agreement. "I will visit her first before I ruin their plan… Maybe plant my Space Mark, so I can forcefully save her if they decide to kill her."

"Noel is watching her, so she will inform you if something happens to her."

Alex nodded and watched the next group, led by a fierce young man. The first impression he gave was that of a ferocious beast. He never thought that someone from the Ancient Blue Family would be something like this.

"That is the current successor of Ancient Blue Family, Rio. He would be the first candidate to be the Family Head in a few years. Unlike the other influences, Ancient Blue Family let them become their successor as soon as they reached 1-Star Martial Saint." Anna introduced him.

"This Ancient Blue Family seems to be unique?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. Usually, the Ancient Blue Family would let their successor fight among themselves. This is to make sure that their next head will be strong and have some brains. However, there is also a lack of disciples because of this. There were many deaths every time this happened. That's why they always think about benefits first and somehow become easier to be controlled."

"Hmm… I think it is best for us to wait until that person becomes the family head then? After all, we can easily scare him. I can ask Song Jiaoren and Old Manness to persuade him altogether and have him concede." Alex smirked as if he had already formulated the plan in his head.

"It's up to you. However, it's better to wait and see first. The Ancient Blue Family is not stable right now, and it will be worse when they just elect a new head."

Alex nodded. "By the way, what is exactly the requirement to be their family head?"

"Simply reach 2-Star Martial Saint without getting killed," Anna said nonchalantly.

"I see." Alex closed his eyes. "After becoming the official successor, nobody can touch this person?"

"Yeah. He will be protected by the family, and anyone who wants to take revenge will experience worse than they can imagine." Anna nodded.

Alex thought that the trade with Song Jiaoren would determine how he can bribe the Ancient Blue Family. "Well, we can also have the Ancient Blue Family to act according to our will, such as inviting the Fire God Clan to make a big war only to find they are deserted by their ally, Ancient Blue Family. After that, we can thoroughly exterminate the Fire God Clan."

"Yeah. It will be a nice psychological attack as well, minimizing our loss."

He then took a look at another influence.

"That one is the only successor of Phantasm Sect. Their cultivation is unique since they can form their own weapon from their blood. This is a unique specialty only to their disciples. Of course, only Senior Disciples and Elders are qualified to learn the technique."

"That is truly unique. How is the strength of their weapon? If they are powerful…" Alex fell into silence.

"It is related to the strength of their soul, but it can be compared to rank 8 weapon if their strength is strong enough." Anna narrowed her eyes. "That's why we often sold our Abyss Soul Pills toward them directly, instead of Blackwade Clan, to maximize the profit. Of course, if the weapon is broken, they would suffer a terrible injury."

"They are a neutral influence, right?"

"Yeah. There is no big movement from them, especially toward the fight between us and the Fire God Clan."

Alex nodded with a solemn look and noticed a person behind him. She was wearing a big head with a veil hiding her look. However, Alex sensed familiarity in her.

Anna didn't realize this and said to Alex, breaking his curiosity. "They have come, so we should enter as well."

He nodded and recalled Anna back to the card as he walked toward the entrance.

Two guards were waiting in front of the banquet hall and quickly stopped him. "Halt! Who are you?"

They couldn't see Alex's face due to his mask, but they saw a white paper in his hand. Although the name was Seven Influences Banquet, they also invited a few small families and wanted to see if there was a hidden genius among them. The seven influences could recruit them if they took fancy of their strength.

That was why they realized Alex must be one of them. However, they found it rude to enter after the Seven Influences, making them think, who the hell are you?

Alex paid no attention and gave the invitation to them.

The guard took the invitation and checked whether it was a real invitation or not before letting him in.

A female maid bowed to him as she said, "Welcome, Esteemed Guest. I will guide you to the Banquet Hall."

Alex nodded and followed the maid. The hall itself was huge, considering they hosted so many people at once and would host a fighting competition. Yet, it was still filled with tables for the time being for the sake of the real banquet.

"I will lead you to your seat." The female maid stretched her hand, asking Alex to proceed to his right.

Of course, this type of action would invite much attention, especially Blackwade Clan's Song Jiaoren. Alex chose this timing because the Fire God Clan had yet to arrive. Hence, he quickly searched for Song Jiaoren and found them in the very front sitting alone at his table. There was an empty chair, but no one seemed to dare sit on that chair.

Only after realizing Alex had come, Song Jiaoren stretched his hand as if he was asking him to sit there.

Alex nodded and ignored the maid as he made his way toward Song Jiaoren. The other participants were stunned, making the room silence while the maid had cold feet.

There were two women that widened their eyes when they saw this mysterious masked man before many started realizing his identity.

Albeit, Alex had arrived and sat in front of Song Jiaoren.

This was the man that had been haunting the entire Heavenly Continent and his peaceful day, Song Jiaoren smiled inwardly as he wanted to see what he got. He cupped his hands politely and made a big smile. "We finally meet."

Alex nodded and took off his mask, revealing his handsome face along with his golden hair. He cupped his hands and smiled. "I have been looking forward to meeting you for the past few years."

*Hiss~!*