Back to the present.
The silence in the banquet hall hung heavy, punctuated only by the clinking of a stray spoon against a bowl.
"Everyone on your feet." Cao Meng commanded.
Then, like a pebble dropped into a still pond, a voice shattered the quietude. It was a voice low and silken, yet possessed of an edge that seemed to slice through the air itself.
Heads snapped towards the source. Elder Hua and those closest to Su Yen bolted upright, a tense tremor rippling through their shoulders.
The Cao clan followed suit, their expressions a mix of awe and anticipation. They knew that voice, knew the weight of power it carried. Who dared remain seated when the Emperor himself graced their gathering?
Cao Meng, her own breath caught in her throat, surveyed the stunned crowd. "Yes," she repeated, her voice echoing against the gilded walls, "the Emperor has arrived."
A hush fell, deeper and more profound than before. On the dais, where the celebratory food had gone untouched, sat a young man dressed in immaculate white. But as eyes sought his face, they encountered a curious emptiness. It was as if they were staring into a vortex of blinding light, a blade so keen it threatened to sever their very sight.
A mere glance was enough to send shivers down spines and prickle skin with goosebumps. Heads bowed, gazes averted, hearts hammered against ribs. Cao Meng's words, uttered with forced composure, were the only anchor in this storm of unutterable awe and crippling fear.
The power they had once attributed solely to the Cao clan, shrouded in whispers and veiled in secrecy, suddenly seemed laughably inadequate. Here, in this singular figure, sat an entity of immeasurable, monstrous strength. The room thrummed with it, a silent symphony of absolute dominion.
And so, with trembling knees and bowed heads, they rose. For before this Emperor, respect was not a choice, but a desperate, instinctive need.
All the clans that attacked both the Cao clan and the Celestial Heaven stores were already sweating bullets. How should they react in front of such power?
When the distance between them was not much, they could still harbor the thought of fighting back or revenge.
But when the distance was vast, they couldn't even see the end; what was left was total submission.
Everyone in the banquet held their breath with their heads lowered, both friends and enemies. The terrifying sword intent coming out of Su Yen had already pushed them to the brink of falling into the abyss.
For a couple of minutes, no one spoke. Everyone held their breath with various thoughts running through their minds.
The Xiao clan, although didn't have any enmity with the Cao clan and the power behind them, still, they were intimidated by the vast power difference.
As for the city lord, his expression was unsightly. His heart was pounding heavily against his chest. In front of such existence, what would the Prefecture Envoy amount to?
It was like squashing an egg against a rock.
'My clan is doomed....' He screamed in his heart.
As for Su Yen, he looked at the old man speaking. "Well done. Be on your feet." His voice was not loud but echoed in the minds of everyone present.
"Take your seat, everyone." He commanded.
Slowly, everyone took their seats with racing hearts. They wanted to look at him but dared not when they felt the pricking sharp sensation on their skin.
"I've been in the city for the past couple of weeks, and I can say, I now understand a thing or two about the city." Su Yen began slowly.
His voice was the only symphony in the air. Even breathing was controlled to the bare minimum.
"I didn't plan on meddling in the city affairs if things had gone according to plan. But human greediness....." His voice trailed off, and everyone listening had their hearts jump to their throats.
"I'm the sect leader of the Celestial Heavenly Sect. And those stores belong to my sect. Our aim was to make the lives of the people of this city better, but I was wrong."
"Some people want it like that. I can understand their greediness and their pettiness. But there are lines that must not be crossed, and some of the clans crossed it already."
"With the destruction of those clans, I thought you will all have learned your lesson. Once again, I was wrong." He paused and let his words sink into their brains.
"This time around, they get more confidence and dare to attack my store and place of dwelling."
With that statement, everyone in the hall felt that their throats were about to be sliced by a terrifying sharp sword. It gave them an illusion that if they moved their neck an inch, it would slice it into two.
A tense atmosphere gripped the air, and even breathing was now difficult. The younger generation was on the verge of a mental breakdown. They came with their parents to enjoy the banquet, but now, it had turned into a bloody battlefield.
Even the powerful clans, they have never heard of anyone this powerful that could kill a person without even making a move.
Xiao Guiyin rolled her eyes in their sockets and looked at her husband from the corner of her eyes. She saw her husband was also trembling with filled beads of sweat.
She wanted to berate him for bringing their children into such a dangerous gathering but didn't have the heart to do it. She knew it was
not his fault. Who would have known such a monster was lying low in their city.
Su Yen knew what was going on in the minds of everyone present, and that was what he wanted. His people have perfectly blended into the mainland with a lot of them spreading to other cities.
Therefore, they don't need to lay low any longer.
Suddenly, he raised his head looked at the roof. However, he was not looking at the roof but the night sky. He detected the new arrival of a Core Refining expert.
Though he was surprised slightly, he regained his composure and said.
"Since you have arrived. Why don't you enter and join the banquet."