The banquet that followed became a stage for the top-tier geniuses of the major powers. Most of these prodigies were smooth operators — socially adept and always eager to stir things up. One after another, they pushed the atmosphere of the banquet to ever greater heights.
Jiang Chen, however, remained conspicuously low-key, watching everything with a detached eye from the sidelines.
Yan Zhenhuai, on the other hand, managed to hold his own in these circles. Quite a few geniuses from various powers were fairly accepting of him.
After all, even though Yan Zhenhuai belonged to the Yan family, his talent was unquestionably among the top rank of the younger generation in the Eternal Sacred Kingdom.
The Yan family might have been on a downward slope, but Yan Zhenhuai himself had been on a steady rise.
Yan Qingsang, meanwhile, had absolutely no interest in joining the festivities. He sat next to Jiang Chen, the two of them chatting freely, and found that quite enjoyable enough.
The banquet drew to a close amid the lively atmosphere.
Jiang Chen prepared to leave with Yan Qingsang. To be honest, if not for not wanting to appear rude, he would have departed long ago.
"Young friend, might I trouble you to stay a moment?"
Jiang Chen had just stepped out of the Xiahou family's gates when he heard a voice call from behind. Without turning around, he recognized it as Ziche Min's.
This Ziche Min was an elder of great stature, so Jiang Chen did not put on airs. He stopped and smiled. "Lord Ziche, were you calling for me?"
"Haha, no need for such formality, young friend. I still have many questions lingering in my mind from the earlier alchemy exchange. I wonder if you might grace me with a bit of your time?"
Jiang Chen exchanged a glance with Yan Qingsang. Yan Qingsang gave him a nudge. "Go on, Brother Shao Yuan. Lord Ziche is an esteemed elder. If you could receive his guidance and become his disciple, your future would be boundless."
Yan Qingsang's words were half-joking, but half-sincere. If Jiang Chen built a good relationship with Ziche Min, the Yan family would certainly stand to benefit.
At the very least, the Yan family could count on Ziche Min's help down the road. Should they ever run into trouble, they might be able to seek aid from the Eternal Sacred Land.
This was precisely the sort of calculation Yan Qingsang was fond of making.
Ziche Min watched Yan Qingsang scurry off and understood what the young man was thinking. He simply smiled and said nothing. Only after Yan Qingsang had disappeared did he turn to Jiang Chen. "Young friend, please."
"After you, Lord Ziche." Jiang Chen remained impeccably courteous.
Around the corner, they came upon a wide open space where a grand beast-drawn carriage stood waiting. Four magnificent Spirit Beasts pulled an opulent chariot and cabin, forming a perfect beast-drawn palanquin.
"Please, step inside." Ziche Min gestured for Jiang Chen to enter.
With a shout, the carriage soared into the sky, shooting up toward the clouds. In the blink of an eye, it vanished from sight.
Not long after the carriage disappeared, a handful of young geniuses below stared up at the fading shadow in the sky and sighed. "I think I just saw Lord Ziche Min inviting that adopted outsider from the Yan family."
"Could it be that outsider is about to get incredibly lucky? To be personally invited by Lord Ziche Min — his future must be limitless."
Their tones dripped with envy.
Clearly, they were deeply jealous of the invitation from Ziche Min. Who was Ziche Min? He was a titan of the Eternal Sacred Land, a grandmaster of alchemy.
Such a man wielded immense power across the entire Eternal Sacred Kingdom.
To be personally taken notice of and carried away by Lord Ziche Min — how heaven-defying could one possibly be?
"It's not that strange, really. The Yan family managed to take first place in the alchemy exchange and win six hundred million Heavenly Spirit Stones all thanks to that adopted outsider, didn't they?"
"What I'm curious about is — where on earth did this outsider come from? Had any of you heard of him before?"
"Not a chance. That outsider, wasn't he brought back from the Blue Smoke Island domain by Yan Qingsang?"
"Someone like that? How could a simpleton like Yan Qingsang have possibly recruited him? The rumors must be wrong."
"Who knows. The Myriad Abyss Islands — strange things always happen there. You get used to it."
"Heh, I get the feeling that kid is shrouded in mystery. The Yan family probably isn't good enough for him. He might just be using them as a stepping stone. Now that a grandmaster from the Eternal Sacred Land has taken a fancy to him, once he rises to prominence, do you really think he'll stick around to sink with the Yan family?"
The group chattered back and forth, but every word dripped with envy for the treatment Jiang Chen had received.
Inside the beast-drawn carriage, Jiang Chen sat in perfect calm.
For every question Ziche Min asked, he gave a measured answer — nothing more. He offered no unnecessary words and asked no questions of his own.
It wasn't that Jiang Chen was putting on an act of mystery. He simply understood the principle that the more one speaks, the more one errs. His dealings with Ziche Min had been too few to gauge the man's style, and he had no intention of speaking out of turn.