Liu Zhen's decades of wandering cultivation had yielded considerable rewards.
After calming down, he had come up with several ideas.
Going to the Liu family of his own accord now would come across as petty and small-minded, lacking any real vision, and the method of revenge would be far too crude and old-fashioned.
So Liu Zhen chose a different approach.
Of course, this approach would require the help of Jiang Chen and the Peerless Great Emperor.
Since Jiang Chen had already decided to back Liu Zhen, he naturally had no objection to lending a hand. After learning of Liu Zhen's plan, he thought it was a sound idea.
……
Minister Wu of the Military Department of the Zhu Tang Empire had not been living comfortably lately. The shrew at home — his wife — was emotionally volatile every single day, making him reluctant to return to his own household.
One day, after his wife finally left to visit her parents' home, Minister Wu enjoyed a rare moment of peace and sat contentedly in his residence, savoring the quiet.
Suddenly, he felt a soft breeze brush past his ear. In the next instant, a figure had appeared right beside him.
"What the—" Minister Wu was about to cry out when someone sealed his mute acupoint.
A young man stood beside him with a faint smirk. "Minister Wu, don't be alarmed. I'm simply here to deliver an invitation."
"An invitation? Who are you?" Minister Wu's mute acupoint was released. After clearing his throat, he managed to ask.
"You don't need to know who I am. The invitation explains everything clearly. Tomorrow at noon, the finest establishment in Chitang City — the Drunken Immortal Tower, the Heaven-numbered private room. Minister Wu, you must be there. Otherwise, next time I come to visit, I may not be delivering an invitation, but a death warrant."
The young man flashed a sinister smile. "You know I mean what I say. The invitation has all the details. Take a careful look, Minister Wu."
With that, the young man's figure flickered and vanished like a breeze.
Minister Wu stood frozen, trembling from head to toe. This was the residence of a dignified minister! The security was supposed to be impenetrable — yet someone had broken in without making a single sound.
Who on earth... who on earth was this person?
He hurriedly opened the invitation and studied it carefully. The invitation was quite polite — it merely invited him to a banquet at the Drunken Immortal Tower, with the time and location stated with perfect clarity.
However, there was also a veiled implication at the end: if he did not attend, the consequences would likely exceed even Minister Wu's wildest expectations.
If he did attend, the host guaranteed that there would be absolutely no ill intent — in fact, there would be a great surprise awaiting him.
Minister Wu was far from the only one to receive such an invitation. Many other high-ranking officials in the court had received them as well — the method of delivery was remarkably consistent, and the content was equally uniform.
The sender of the invitations identified himself as Liu Zhen.
Back in his day, Liu Zhen had been virtually unknown in Chitang City. In the eyes of the court's high-ranking officials, Liu Zhen had been nobody at all.
So who exactly this Liu Zhen was, not a single person had the faintest idea.
However, given the manner in which these invitations had been delivered, none of them dared refuse the banquet. After all, the messenger had been far too terrifying.
And so, the Drunken Immortal Pavilion was thrown into a buzz of excitement. At noon that day, a great many prominent officials from the court appeared at the Heaven-tier private rooms.
There were a full thirty or forty people, all influential figures of the court.
When these high-ranking officials ran into one another, there was a certain amount of awkwardness. But what everyone was most curious about was, who on earth was this Liu Zhen?
Yet, once the banquet began, they learned the answer almost immediately.
Of course, Liu Zhen himself was not the frightening one. What was frightening were the people standing beside him.
As host, Liu Zhen was exceedingly polite. Other than introducing himself, he made not a single overstep during the entire banquet.
Once the feast was underway, Liu Zhen repeatedly rose to offer toasts. Halfway through, he even presented each guest with a generous gift.
To eat well and walk away with gifts — that was precisely the lifestyle these court officials were accustomed to. As the evening wore on, everyone's stiffness faded and they gradually loosened up.
By the end, the atmosphere was thoroughly warm and convivial.
They had finally figured it out: this Liu Zhen had made his fortune out in the wider world. Now, having returned home in glory, he had staged this grand affair to curry favor with these officials of the Chitang Empire.
None of them had cared for the way the invitation had been delivered, but they were more than willing to listen to Liu Zhen's courteous words at the table.
After all, when you've eaten someone's food and accepted their gifts, you ought to show them a measure of face, shouldn't you?
And just like that, the banquet broke up amid a cheerful atmosphere.
Such banquets continued for three or four straight days, held every day and attended by roughly the same crowd each time. Only the menu changed from one evening to the next.
Before long, Liu Zhen's name had spread throughout the court and beyond.