The banquet came to a close, with everyone reciting the poem recited by Han Cai. As they looked towards the sky, people murmured lines like, "as your bright tiny spark, lights the traveler in the dark."
Even the emperor was heard reciting a few lines of the poem, "when blazing sun is gone when nothing shines upon."
After the banquet, many sought to find Han Cai and interact with this scholar cultivator, but he had vanished. Unbeknownst to them, he had snuck out of the banquet and returned to his mansion to rest with his butler, Yongnian.
Meanwhile, in the royal palace, Emperor Yao was seen walking toward the back of the palace. This area was restricted, and no one was allowed to enter except for the emperor. Hidden abodes were scattered throughout the area, and the emperor walked into the one located in the center.
Upon entering, he bowed at the door. A gruff voice from inside said, "come in." The emperor walked in to find an old man sitting in a meditative posture, eyes closed. This man was none other than the past emperor, Liang, and also Emperor Yao's father. Emperor Liang's features were aged and worn, but his eyes still sparkled with wisdom and authority, and he exuded a sense of calm and power.
Past Emperor Liang asked, "What brings you here?"
Emperor Yao answered, "I just came across a disciple of the Sky Soaring Sect. His cultivation might not be higher than core formation, but I felt he was able to manipulate the law somehow."
Liang frowned, "This shouldn't be possible. Are you sure he manipulated the laws himself?"
Emperor Yao nodded and recounted everything that had occurred during the banquet.
After some thought, Liang asked, "Will he be joining the next banquet? I will need to see him and his master too."
Emperor Yao answered, "The next banquet was supposed to be in a week when other nation's guests will be joining. His master is in the city, but I don't think his master will be joining."
Past Emperor Liang spoke, "Throw the banquet sooner; make it grander. Tell them I am coming out of seclusion and wanted to meet my subjects, and after hearing about so many talents in the tournament, I wanted to meet all the talents. Since I am joining the banquet personally, they all will have to give me face, so his master would certainly join."
Emperor Yao hesitated and spoke, "If his master joins, Mother might create problems for him during the banquet."
"Why would she create problems for him?"
"A spirit embryo elder from my concubine Lan's family was visiting the Yin. He disappeared without any clue, and his soul flame in the ancestor hall of their family was extinguished."
The past emperor frowned and asked, "Tell me everything in detail."
Emperor Yao told Emperor Liang all the details, including the events at Ravenfall city, the involvement of the Sky Soaring Sect and the Jedi family, and the disappearance of the elder.
After hearing this, past Emperor Liang's frown deepened. "They have a disciple that can manipulate laws, and they were able to kill a cultivator of spirit embryo realm. It is very suspicious."
After some more thinking, past Emperor Liang spoke again, "Let your mother create problems for them in the banquet. Invite her to sit with me."
Present Emperor Yao asked, "Is it wise to offend them if we do not know the whole details?"
Past Emperor Liang answered, "It is not you that is offending them but your mother. You can just send your mother away. We will just try to test their reaction and how they take it. If they have the backing of immortals, they will not sit back. But if they don't have any backing, they will just apologize to her. You can always mend the relationship since it is not you who will be creating trouble for them. As long as it is verbal and no one dies, I don't think they will hold it against the royal family."
Emperor Yao considered his father's words and agreed to the plan. He decided to organize the grand banquet, inviting the disciple and his master from the Sky Soaring Sect, as well as his mother, to test their reactions.
The next day after the tournament, the whole capital of Yin country was abuzz. Everywhere one went, people were talking about the events of the day before. Some people were discussing the talented prince who had the talent in very rare spatial techniques, while others talked about how the future of the Li family was bright with two talented young members.
Many also talked about the poetry recited by the disciple of the Sky Soaring Sect. Many people could be heard reciting it; scholars were writing it down, pleasure places had escorts singing and dancing to the poem, and many musicians were trying to create music for it.
When Han Cai came out of his room, Yongnian informed him that every aristocratic and noble family had invited him to a banquet in their homes. Han Cai was not particularly interested in visiting anyone, but then he saw that there were invitations from the princes of the royal family too.
Prince Tian had sent a special invitation for a young cultivators' meeting he was arranging, which was going to occur two days later. Han Cai considered this invite while walking back to his room. He went back to his room to get some updates from his other subordinate, Xiaoyun. Xiaoyun told him how the capital was abuzz with his poem.
Han Cai mused, "So the prince is inviting me because of my scholarly talent? Or is it because he wants me to be part of his faction? Seems he really liked my poetry. Since my poetry is being appreciated so much, maybe next time I should recite 'Humpty Dumpty' to wow them." Then he gave up on the idea; he shouldn't show off his literary genius to the world so much, as it might attract unnecessary attention.
After thinking about it for a while, Han Cai decided he would accept Prince Tian's invitation; he might get some entertainment there.
Two days later, Han Cai was ready to visit the royal palace again, but this time he was wearing scholarly clothes.
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Gifts are always appreciated, but golden tickets and power stones matter a lot too.
If we reach 1000 power stones, I will release a supplementary chapter.
If we reach 1000 golden tickets, I will release five supplementary chapters.
Thank You
