Swallowing the Stars: 100x Return for Teaching Apprentices

Chapter 96 The banquet begins

Qi Yuan thought the so-called gathering was just an internal gathering of members of the Blue Bay Star Region branch.

Even when Xing Zhan said he would introduce him to a few friends, he naturally assumed that they really were just 'a few friends'.

However, as the agreed date drew closer and guests arrived one after another, Qi Yuan was somewhat dumbfounded—

This isn't just a few friends; it's like they've summoned every family and power at the realm lord level or above in the entire Blue Bay Starfield!
Realm Lords, who are rarely seen in the outside world, have descended upon Red Leaf Star, a previously unknown 'rural place', in just one month.

Moreover, each realm lord is like a parent bringing their child to a banquet, accompanied by a group of stellar-level and planetary-level "half-grown boys".

Almost all of the more than one hundred realm lords in the Blue Bay Starfield, except for a few who were adventuring outside, were invited by Xing Zhan!
Add to that the young people they brought with them, and there are thousands of them!

Fortunately, Qi Yuan had made some preparations in advance, expanding and renovating the entire temple. In addition, the more than a thousand internal members of the Blue Bay Star Region branch whom he had met on Cloud Mist Island arrived one after another and helped to welcome and entertain them, so it did not seem too 'shameful'.

Until this day—

The long-awaited 'internal gathering' of the Blue Bay Starfield has finally begun.
A variety of delicacies, rare and exotic fruits, and fine wines and drinks were quickly prepared and arranged, with a team of waiters arranged by colleagues from the Ministry of Commerce ready to serve the guests.

Soon after, figures began to gather from the elegant villas around the sacred mountain or from the bustling cities of Red Leaf Star, all converging on the banquet hall.

Inside the main hall, Qi Yuan entrusted Saji and a group of his subordinates from the Martial Department to help with the reception, while he himself and the immortal master Xing Zhan went to the entrance of the main hall to wait and welcome the guests one by one.

"Haha, Minister Xing, it's been so long since we've met in person!"

A hearty laugh rang out, and a lean, middle-aged ape-man dressed in a magnificent purple robe, with his neck exposed and his hands covered in thick black hair, quickly descended from the air.

Behind him followed a series of 'little ape-men' with black or gray fur.

"Minister Xing, this must be our branch's new Director Qi Yuan." The middle-aged ape-man looked at Qi Yuan with a big smile.

"Haha, you old Qi, how many times have I told you, you're a branch manager, don't try to label me like that!"

The burly man in the golden robe laughed heartily, then introduced Qi Yuan, "Qi Yuan, this is Mr. Qi Sheng. Mr. Qi Sheng comes from the 'Angus' branch of the ape-man race."

Upon hearing this, Qi Yuan looked at the middle-aged ape-man, but his gaze was instantly drawn to the faint, earthy-yellow mountain-shaped mark between his eyebrows.

This middle-aged ape-man was actually a realm lord who had gained the recognition of the fundamental laws!

"Mr. Qi Sheng, hello, welcome to our Red Leaf Star." Qi Yuan greeted the middle-aged ape-man with a smile.

"Hello, Mr. Qi Yuan."

The middle-aged ape-man was surprisingly enthusiastic. "Haha, Mr. Qi Yuan, your surname is Qi, and mine is Qi too. What a rare coincidence! I'll definitely give you a chance to have a couple more drinks with me later!"

"Haha, no problem, Mr. Qi Sheng, please come in." Qi Yuan's first impression of this middle-aged ape-man wasn't bad.

"Then you all go ahead with your work, I'll go in first."

The middle-aged ape-man chuckled as he spoke, then led a group of 'little ape-men' behind him, and entered the main hall under the guidance of a servant.

"Qi Sheng's Angus clan is considered a fairly good branch among the ape-men, and there are even immortal beings in the clan."

After he left, Xing Zhan smiled and transmitted his voice to Qi Yuan, "And this Qi Sheng himself is also a peak Realm Lord who has been recognized by the Earth Origin Law. He can be considered one of the most likely Realm Lords in our Blue Bay Star Region to break through to Immortality."

"So that's how it is. No wonder Lord Xing Zhan was so polite to him." Qi Yuan suddenly realized.

……

Next, one after another, powerful realm lords who were rarely seen arrived, and Qi Yuan and Xing Zhan received them one by one.

With Xing Zhan's introduction, Qi Yuan gained a general understanding of these arriving realm lords and the forces behind them.

In particular, some of them were instructed by Xing Zhan to be given special attention.

For example, there's the 'Stuart' family, whose lineage spans over 100,000 epochs and has accumulated a vast fortune; there's the Xue Lan family, a clan with three realm lords; there are also those like Qi Sheng of the ape-man race, whose own strength is extremely powerful; and there are others who, although slightly weaker, have formed a merchant guild or organization with several realm lords working together for mutual support.
Some of these realm lords are members of the outer circle of major forces such as the Lanting Universe Kingdom, the Virtual Universe Company, or the Universe Mercenary Alliance, and have some impressive backgrounds.

Some realm lords have relationships that are either close or hostile.
In any case, the relationships between these world-lord families and forces are extremely complex, not as simple as Qi Yuan imagined.

As time went by, guests continued to arrive.

Finally, over a hundred realm lords from the Blue Bay Star Region, along with their entourages and some of their own people from the Blue Bay Star Region branch, a total of three to four thousand guests, had entered the banquet hall.

These guests, some with their family members and others with acquaintances, sat together and talked in hushed tones.

However, several of these guests did not look too good.
"Why isn't that Ninth Sister here yet? The banquet is about to start!"

Dillon Stuart, the current head of the Stuart family, looked towards the entrance of the hall with a hint of anxiety.

The banquet was about to begin, but the Ninth Girl, whom he valued most and wanted to bring along to make an appearance, was still nowhere to be seen among the outstanding clansmen and disciples he had brought with him.

I just sent her a message and received a reply. She said that some test had reached its final stage and asked us to come over first, saying she would arrive soon.

Now, she has even blocked receiving messages from the virtual universe, making her completely unreachable!
If it weren't for the fact that his wisp of world power could easily cover and detect Jiu Yatou's location, he would have thought that something had happened to her.

"The Pavilion of Destiny"

Dillon Stuart easily enveloped the hundred-meter-tall, nine-story treasure tower with a wisp of his world power, and clearly observed that each of the separate rooms within the tower was adorned with metal engravings. His own family's ninth daughter was engrossed in studying them in one of these secret rooms.

"Hehe, these little tests are quite interesting. Even with my consciousness, it would take me a long time to deduce them. I'm afraid even an ordinary star-level being would have a hard time figuring out the clues."

Even Dillon Stuart himself was slightly attracted the moment he saw the metal rune engraving.

"Hmm, this Ninth Girl is quite impressive; she's managed to do this much."

Although he was surprised, he still used a wisp of world power to transmit a message directly to the winged girl's ear:
"Ninth Girl, hurry over to the banquet hall, the banquet is about to begin!"

However, the winged girl whose telepathic communication had been interrupted showed obvious annoyance and grievance on her face:
"Oh, my ancestor, please, please don't interrupt me anymore! I'll figure it out soon, it'll be quick, it'll be quick!"

"You girl!"

Dillon Stuart frowned, about to reprimand him.

However, when he happened to turn his head and saw the black-haired youth standing with Xing Zhan in the center of the hall, his expression changed slightly.

"It seems this test was set up by Qi Yuan of Qiyuan Tower."

"To arrange this at this juncture, could there be some deeper meaning behind it?"

But then he suddenly changed his mind.

"Ninth Girl, you can continue. However, before the banquet ends, regardless of whether you can complete the test, you must come to the banquet hall first!"

Similarly, in another part of the banquet hall, the patriarch of the Xue Lan family, who was at the realm master level, was also slightly troubled by a similar matter.

"Grandpa, since I don't have any talent for cultivation anyway, I won't go to the banquet. Let's go back together after you're done."

Looking at the message from his most beloved junior, a hint of pain flashed in the eyes of the Xue Lan family patriarch.

Unlike many powerful figures who have numerous wives and concubines and countless children, this Old Ancestor Xuelan is an extremely loyal person when it comes to relationships.

During his long years of cultivation, he only had two wives.

His first wife was arranged by his elders when he was still very young, in a manner similar to a family marriage.

However, his wife died unexpectedly when he was only at the stellar level.

However, most of the direct descendants of the Xue Lan family today are descendants of him and his wife.

His second wife was a female companion he met in the same team while on a mission in the outer battlefield after he had become a world lord.

After the mission ended, the two, who had gone through countless life-and-death crises together, naturally came together.

But fate is cruel; not long after, during an adventure in a secret realm, his wife also tragically perished.

Fortunately, before his wife passed away, she had already given birth to a son for him.

And this child naturally became the spiritual sustenance of the deeply sentimental Old Ancestor Xuelan for a long time to come.

However, his son's cultivation aptitude was quite ordinary. Even with a lot of resources invested, he could only push him to the Domain Lord level.

After enduring hundreds of thousands of years of suffering, this parent and child could only helplessly perish before their lifespan came to an end.

Within a million years, the successive deaths of two close relatives naturally caused the old ancestor Xuelan great grief.

Therefore, when, tens of thousands of years later, a descendant suddenly appeared among the offspring of this parent and child who looked and acted very similarly to this parent and child, and whose aptitude was also just as ordinary, he naturally paid close attention to him immediately!
However, he was unaware that his well-intentioned concern had also placed a tremendous burden and pressure on this descendant.

After all, it's inevitable that an ordinary person receiving far more care and attention than others will arouse jealousy and alienation from those around them.
"Did you say something to Changfeng again? Why didn't he come with you?"

The old ancestor Xuelan whispered a reprimand to the group of juniors around him.

Meanwhile, the younger members of the Xue Lan family, who had suffered an undeserved calamity, looked completely innocent.

"No, Ancestor, we've been coughing for a long time, we've never said anything offensive to Uncle Changfeng!"

"Yes, Ancestor, we called him just now, but he didn't come on his own."

"Oh right, I think he said he was going to that 'Tales of Destiny' today."

"Ah, right, right, Ancestor, Uncle Changfeng went to the Qiyuan Tower!"

The chatter of the young people made Elder Xuelan slightly puzzled.

"The Pavilion of Destiny? What place is that?"

However, before he could investigate further, he heard the voice of the immortal god, Lord Xing Zhan, echoing from the high platform in the center of the banquet hall—

"Haha, welcome to all my old friends! Now I announce that our banquet is about to begin!"

"Officially begin!"

(End of this chapter)