Chapter 274: Welcome banquet

To meet Xie Qing, the girls who had romantic relationships with him had to unite, despite personal conflicts and animosity based on feelings of rivalry.

They prepared for a long time and arranged the best reception, one that the Sect of Heavenly Sword had never seen before. Even Xie Qing, who was accustomed to luxurious banquets, was amazed.

"How do you like it?"

A beautiful female voice sounded. Xie Qing turned his head and smiled when he saw a beautiful girl with hair like sea waves and eyes like the clear sky.

It was Lyu Lyu. Dressed in a beautiful gown that matched her hair, she looked very elegant and was the epitome of "true innocent beauty."

"You look absolutely stunning, Lyu," Xie Qing said tenderly, taking the girl's hand and gently rubbing her palm.

"T-thank you."

Lyu Lyu smiled shyly, and her smile, like a medicine, made Xie Qing sigh in relief and feel as if he were about to ascend to the Heavens.

"And…" Xie Qing raised an eyebrow, infusing his Qi into Lyu Lyu's spiritual channels.

"Mmm!"

"Haha… you're at the peak of Soul Nascent!"

Xie Qing ignored Lyu Lyu's alluring moan and only expressed his admiration for her cultivation level, which had undergone so many changes in a relatively short time.

Hearing the sincere praise in her man's voice, Lyu Lyu also became happy and nodded excitedly.

"Yes! I cultivated diligently, and thanks to my zither, I am now a true cultivator at the peak of Soul Nascent!"

"Well done. To reach this level in such a short time… you're a genius!"

From the man's broad smile, one could tell how pleased he was when praising Lyu Lyu, and she accepted his praise with a bright smile.

Of course, as a fairly popular person, he had to spend time not only with Lyu Lyu. He socialized with many people, drinking, dancing, and the like.

Although it was rather immoral to enjoy oneself while most of the cultivators' military force was fighting against the devilish cultivators, Xie Qing did not care about this.

Anyway, they would be rewarded for it.

***

"Finally free."

Huang Jing glanced at Xie Qing and took a sip of wine.

"I'm quite popular, nothing to add," Xie Qing replied and sat down on a chair, sighing in relief: "Phew! I'm as tired as a dog, honestly… I've never liked such events."

"You'll have to. You wanted to become the sect master, right? That will also require a lot of time."

"No, I've changed my mind." Sёarᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Huh?"

Huang Jing raised an eyebrow, hearing Xie Qing's words. He couldn't believe that the always ambitious youth would say such a thing.

"Are you serious?" the man sighed and rubbed his brows: "Many plans will go down the drain… sigh!"

"My plans have always been long-term. Don't worry, I won't stop supporting you," Xie Qing replied casually and nudged Huang Jing with his elbow: "Right… head of the family?"

"Don't tease me, okay? I'm so tired of all this crap…"

"Come on. You're already at the fourth stage of Soul Nascent and have become the head of the family. That's impressive," Xie Qing replied with a carefree smile.

Indeed, Huang Jing, with Xie Qing's support during his absence, had become the head of the family. Thanks to Huang Jing's good character, intelligence, and the support of the main representative of the geniuses of this generation…

His father did not refuse his son and, after two years, passed on the position. And it seemed that the goal was achieved, but…

"Dude, I don't know what to do!" Huang Jing almost cried, leaning against the wall. He clutched his heart: "My wife is about to give birth to our second child! I hope this time it's a boy, otherwise, because of the stupid family rules, I won't be able to pass on my position in the future."

"Haha… ha… ha?"

Xie Qing laughed and then froze. He widened his eyes and then looked at Huang Jing in disbelief.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! You have children?!"

It seemed that his shocked cry attracted quite a bit of attention, but seeing that it was Xie Qing, everyone simply ignored it and returned to their business.

Huang Jing was no less puzzled. It seemed he did not understand the reason for Xie Qing's surprise.

"What? Why such a strong reaction?"

"Y-you… already have children?" Xie Qing asked in shock.

"Yeah, dude, she's one year old. She's so cute, haha, my little princess!"

It seemed that Huang Jing immediately became cheerful after his daughter was mentioned. He grinned and pulled out a portrait from his spatial ring, drawn by a skilled artist.

Resembling her father exactly, the girl had black hair, although it was curly. Her eyes, however, were yellow, just like Huang Jing's.

"Damn, she looks like you," Xie Qing marveled.

"What are you even surprised about, freak? She's my daughter, of course, she'll look like me," Huang Jing curled his lips and snatched the portrait from the man's hands: "Her name is Huang Bing. She was born with the ice spiritual attribute, hence the name."

"Yellow ice*? Dude, you're gross."

"…I can't even beat you up. You're annoying," Huang Jing was at a loss for words.

Xie Qing waved off the irritated Huang Jing. He still hadn't recovered from the shock that his friend had a family and even a daughter.

Although, considering that the heads of families must have children in case of sudden death… I guess it's not surprising.

"Where did Fan Lan go?" Xie Qing asked casually, sipping his wine.

"You mean the head of the Fan family?" Huang Jing added with a smirk and answered Xie Qing's question: "On the balcony, discussing business with a sect. She'll be back soon."

"Am I the only carefree one in our group?" Xie Qing said with a downcast look and wiped away non-existent tears.

"Yeah."

"…"

***

Xie Qing decided to take a walk and chat with other people, as Huang Jing was invited for a private conversation with some influential people to discuss business.

People rarely approached Xie Qing – mostly only high-ranking individuals, but even they were nervous when talking to him.

This was because, in their eyes, Xie Qing was nothing less than a monster who had surpassed the limits of the concept of a prodigy and become a Divine Transformation cultivator at the age of 27.

"Ah? It seems you're not having much fun."

As Xie Qing was casually strolling around, he was suddenly addressed by a gentle female voice. He turned his head and saw that it was Lu Yin and Li Yuilan, who were cheerfully waving at him.

"Bored?" Li Yuilan asked with a smile, using her usual soft voice.

"Um…"

Xie Qing smiled bitterly. He couldn't very well say that he hated such formalities, could he? After all, they had prepared this banquet for him, even though it had turned into an official gathering.

"It's fine, don't worry," Xie Qing replied, waving his hand dismissively.

"We just wanted a private banquet, just for ourselves, but…" Li Yuilan sighed and placed her hand on her cheek, saying with sadness in her voice, "The Sect Master and the others insisted that we should use this opportunity to boost the people's morale and showcase our achievements."

"I understand, don't worry."

Xie Qing waved his hand again. He wasn't particularly concerned about such matters; it didn't bother him.

"Shall we sit somewhere?" Lu Yin suggested.

"Ah? Sure."

Xie Qing nodded, and they took a table in the corner. A waiter brought them wine, poured it into their glasses, and then left with a bow.

"I heard about your adventures. I wanted to go to your barrier myself, but the Sect Master forbade it," Li Yuilan said with a pout.

"And rightly so," Xie Qing noted, swirling the liquid in his glass. He looked at Li Yuilan, "Your cultivation level has increased, that's true, but there's no need to take unnecessary risks. Even for me, with my cultivation level, it's dangerous there, let alone for you."

"I understand, but…"

"Enough, don't worry. If I needed help, I would have asked you," Xie Qing said with a smile, gently patting Li Yuilan's head.

"Pfft!"

The girl turned away in annoyance, looking displeased. Lu Yin, however, smiled carefreely.

***

The banquet ended on a pleasant note—not surprisingly, given the excellent security and the carefully vetted guests.

The banquet hall eventually emptied, and Xie Qing, having seen Huang Jing off, returned to his mansion.

"Welcome back, master!"

There, servants lined up on both sides of the entrance and respectfully bowed their heads. Xie Qing looked them over from head to toe and noticed that there were new servants, but the old, loyal ones were still there.

"Thank you for your welcome," he said briefly and smiled, looking ahead: "Mother. It's already late, you could have gone to sleep."

Standing there was a woman with facial features similar to his. Hearing his voice, she smiled gently.

"You're returning after a long time. How could I not greet you properly? Because of the banquet, we had to postpone our warm welcome."

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* The surname Huang, specifically in this case, means "yellow," and the name Bing (bīng) means ice.