Yes, I became a god just by exercising.

Chapter 170 Has Kaldan Really Accepted a Godfather? A Family Dinner Overflowing with Joy

In the tranquil night, the warm candlelight in the banquet hall shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating the entire garden.

The members of the Augustus family all had their eyes fixed on Elder Cardan.

Frederick was arguably the most outstanding of the younger generation in the Augustus family, but at the same age, he was far inferior to Cardan in his prime.

Kaldan achieved demigod status at the age of twenty-six, and now, in his fifties, he is showing signs of stepping into the realm of angels.

Therefore, among the entire Augustus family, apart from the patriarch and the three angelic elders, Cardan was the one who had the most influence.

In addition, Cardan is cold and stern, and many of the younger generation are actually quite afraid of him.

This is the first time in all these years that everyone has seen Elder Cardan so panicked!
So, what exactly is in Elder Axo's recreated camera?
Even if it were some shameful secret, it wouldn't be enough to make a demigod like Kaldan lose his composure like this, would it?

Moreover, the Augustus family has always had a good family tradition, so it's impossible for them to do anything truly bad.
Xia Fa also became increasingly curious. To be honest, he didn't have a very good impression of Kaldan at first because Kaldan was initially cold and arrogant and didn't seem to think much of him.

However, after the last divination, he learned that Cardan's attitude towards him had completely changed, and he was even one of the elders who strongly recommended him to join the Augustus family.

Of course, Shafa was already used to it, because whether it was Glenn, Axor, or Cardan, they were all like that... initially arrogant and reserved, then for some reason, their attitude towards him changed drastically, even becoming very enthusiastic...

It's safe to say they truly are from the same family...

"Axo, I've never asked anyone for a favor in my life. I'm begging you this once. Please, have mercy on me, okay?"

Cardan surprisingly adopted a humble stance, adopting a tone of negotiation.

Axel chuckled and said:

"What are you doing, Cardan? This is a joyous occasion! When you said that, didn't you really have even a little hope that it would come true?"

Cardan opened his mouth silently, but ultimately sighed softly and lowered his head:

"To say there was no truth to it would be a lie, but... but I really was just saying it casually back then."

Axor laughed even more heartily. Having known Cardan since childhood, this was the first time he had been able to gain the upper hand and make Cardan suffer such a setback.

After all, Kardan was the first to sign a secret pact and receive praise from the patriarch when they were children, the first to become a demigod, and now, he's about to become the first angel.

He was outshone for over fifty years, and his family members compared him to Cardan for over fifty years.

Although Axel was easygoing and didn't care much about these things, how could he let go of a chance to show off?
The cryptic conversation between the two family elders did not diminish the interest of the others; on the contrary, it fueled their curiosity to an extreme degree, like a cat scratching a mouse.

Elder Cardan's aloofness and arrogance are well-known, and have even spread beyond the family. Everyone really wants to know what power could make Elder Cardan so flustered and at a loss.
Even the two angels, Charcus and Samuel, walked over with great interest, looking like they were waiting to see a good show.

Only the angel shrouded in black robes was absent, presumably preoccupied with something else.

Amidst the intense anticipation of the crowd, Yaxo finally raised the "reproduction camera" and pressed the button above it.

Click!

A blinding flash of white light, as intense as the moment magnesium powder burns violently, illuminated the entire garden.

Above the lawn, in the deep darkness of night, a photograph appeared in the air.

The photograph was enormous, as big as a table, but the angle was extremely strange, making it look as if the "reproduction camera" was placed in Axo's pocket, with the lens facing sideways toward Cardan beside him.

The Augustus family members present all understood the purpose of this treasure, so they didn't seem particularly surprised.

On the contrary, Xia Fa was quite curious when he saw such a treasure for the first time.

A refreshing breeze was blowing, and the photo actually started moving, giving Xia Fa the feeling that a movie was starting to play.

Of course, the scenes in the photos flashed by extremely quickly, and even the sounds were somewhat blurry, making them difficult to hear.

But since everyone was an extraordinary being, they still managed to roughly understand what was in the image.

Those appeared to be Elders Axor and Elder Cardan, walking along a street in Rum City on the first day of the Fog Carnival.

Then, Elder Axor said he wanted to recruit Shafa into the family, but Elder Cardan disagreed.

However, no one knew why Elder Cardan disagreed, as the scene was flashing too fast, and some even suspected that Elder Axor had deliberately cut it out.

Suddenly, the scene in the photo slowed down, or rather, returned to normal speed.

The camera was pointed directly at Elder Kaldan's left cheek, or more precisely, at his lower left jaw.

At that moment, Elder Cardan raised his hand with a haughty and arrogant air, stopping Axor who was trying to persuade him, indicating that Axor did not need to say anything more.

Then, Elder Cardan spoke slowly, his tone cold yet tinged with a hint of mockery and ridicule:
"Let's leave it at that. After all, this Xia Fa didn't sign a hegemonic talent contract. If he had, you wouldn't need to recommend him. He could even recognize me as his illegitimate son. I'm willing to recommend him into our family as his godson."

These words echoed from the photograph, reverberating throughout the tranquil garden.

Everyone was stunned; no one could believe what they had just heard.

Elder Cardan... why do you say that?
What exactly are they talking about?
But soon, many of the younger generation realized what was happening, their faces turning red as they tried to suppress their laughter.

Because everyone could see that Elder Cardan was just saying it casually back then, after all, no one in the entire Augu Kingdom had signed a hegemon-level secret pact for over a hundred years.

But he never expected that Xia Fa... would actually sign a hegemon-level secret contract, and it was even the Silver Throne among the hegemon-level secret contracts!

Unfortunately, his casual remark was recorded by the elders of Axo using a camera to recreate the scene...

Charcus, the angelic elder, also shook his head with a smile, looking at Axor and Cardan as if they were fooling around with young punks.

When Cardan saw his confident words being repeated, his expression froze completely.

After a long while, he sighed softly, as if he had resigned himself to his fate, but still gave Axel a reproachful look.

The look in his eyes clearly meant that since Axel was taking photos even while shopping with him, he had to admit defeat.

Yaxor, his face full of schadenfreude, burst into laughter, shaking the grass and trees.

"Hahahaha, everyone heard that, right? Everyone heard that, right! Cardan himself said that if Shafa signs a Hegemon-level secret contract, he's willing to be Shafa's illegitimate child! I didn't make that up, hahahahahaha!" Although no one knew why the two suddenly brought up the topic of illegitimate children, because Axo deliberately cut out Cardan's mention of his own illegitimate child...
However... these are indeed the words spoken by the aloof and arrogant elder, Cardan, and there is no doubt about them!

The camera, as a secret treasure, is not just about reproducing images; it even reproduces the aura of Kaldan, exactly the same as the current Kaldan's aura!
In a sense, this is also why it's impossible to fake something using a replica camera.

Charcus smiled and spoke. As the most powerful elder in the family and one of the three archangels of the Augustus family, he couldn't interfere at this moment. He simply spoke in a tone that was both instructive and sentimental:
"Kaldan, although you said that casually back then, what did I teach you before? Be careful with your words, be careful with your words. However, your arrogant nature does need to be tempered, haha."

Samuel had no interest in instructing the younger generation. This golden-haired, lion-mane-like angelic elder burst into laughter.

"A bet is a bet, Cardan. Everyone heard what you said back then, hahahaha. Actually, with the potential of the Silver Throne signatory of Xiafa, you'll feel like you're losing out if you treat him as your godson now, in a few years you won't feel like you're losing out."

It was only after this lion-like old man mentioned it that everyone remembered Shafana's "terrifying" record and achievements.

At the Elephant level, he killed the critically wounded and dying demigod-level supernatural creature, "Imprisonment Chains".

This was already incredibly outrageous, but after breaking through to the Whale level, he even finished off the critically injured and dying Angel-level supernatural creature, the "Black Abyss Worm"!
You know, that's an angel-level supernatural being!
No matter what kind of being it is, once it reaches the angel level, it becomes extremely difficult to kill!

Now that you mention it, it doesn't seem like Kaldan might actually be at a disadvantage calling Shafa "godfather"...

Kaldan sighed, turned his head, and looked at Shafa.

There was nothing he could do; both of the elder angels in the family had spoken, so he couldn't deny it even if he wanted to.

Xia Fa had no idea that Axor and Cardan had actually had such a conversation in private.

It's likely that Cardan was just saying it casually in private and didn't take it seriously at all.

But, incredibly, it actually happened...

However, Xia Fa felt that it was a bit awkward to have a middle-aged man in his fifties, especially one who was a demigod about to become an angel, as his godson.

Especially now that he's joined the Augustus family, they'll be seeing each other all the time, so it seems unnecessary to do this.

With this in mind, Xia Fa was about to speak up and tell Elder Cardan to let it go and not take it so seriously.

"Godfather... Godfather!"

But at that moment, Cardan gritted his teeth and, with great difficulty but also very quickly, squeezed out these words.

Xiafa: ...

Hey, aren't you yelling a little too fast?

After calling him "godfather," a rare hint of childlike embarrassment appeared on Cardan's usually icy pale face. He then vanished from the garden lawn in a flash.

Xia Fa felt a bit amused and exasperated, and shook his head.

Cardan shouted so fast that it was too late to stop him...

The younger generation of the Augustus family were all stunned.

They never expected that Elder Cardan... would actually call out!
He actually called Xia Fa "godfather"!
It must be said that Elder Cardan, though arrogant, was a man of his word and did what he said, and did not disgrace the men of the Augustus family.

After a brief silence, laughter that had been suppressed for so long finally erupted in the palace gardens.

"Hahahaha, that's hilarious!"

"Elder Cardan is a real man! He just called me that without hesitation! I can't even bring myself to say it."

"Shafa, now that you're the godfather of Elder Kaldan, you're two generations ahead of us, hahaha!"

"Be careful with your words and actions! You really should be careful with your words and actions. Grandpa Chalcos was right, hahaha!"

"You really made Elder Kaldan suffer a setback, Shafa!"

It's clear that no one has any ill will towards Cardan, but they are very happy to see this elder who usually looks down on others get his comeuppance.

At this moment, Axel smiled and greeted everyone, saying:
"Alright, alright, let's go into the banquet hall first, and we can eat and chat at the same time."

His reminder made the members of the Augustus family realize that it was indeed time to go into the banquet hall.

The main reason is that Xia Fa is the first person in the Augu Kingdom in the past hundred years to sign a hegemon-level secret contract, and the one he signed is the most domineering and powerful of all hegemon-level secret contracts, the "Silver Throne." Everyone has so many questions to ask.

Everyone returned to the banquet hall and took their seats.

The difference was that Xia Fa was invited to sit in the south-central part of the oval marble table, directly next to Yaxo.

Instead of sitting on the north side with the younger generation as before.

This indicates that his status within the family is very close to that of the elders.

As soon as everyone was seated, the lion-like old man, Elder Samuel, spoke in a booming voice:

“Xia Fa, I’m not just saying this after the fact. Actually, before we knew you had signed the Silver Throne, a top-tier secret contract, the patriarch had high hopes for you and was very willing to accept you.”

As soon as Samuel said this, the other family members all nodded in agreement.

Xia Fa, however, was somewhat puzzled:
"How to say?"

Samuel laughed without hesitation and said:
"Look at the hundred core members of the Augustus family here. Apart from you, is there anyone who isn't blond and blue-eyed?"

After his reminder, Xia Fa suddenly understood.

Yes, the Augustus family recruits several outsiders with the surname Augustus every year. These people, of course, are not like him; they can't be pure blond-haired and blue-eyed.

Over the past six hundred years, the total number of recruits must have been several thousand.

But at this family dinner, there wasn't a single person who wasn't blonde and blue-eyed!
Charcus then smiled kindly and said:
"Actually, many of us are descendants of foreigners recruited back then, but at least in recent decades, you are the only one who, as a recruited foreigner, has been able to directly attend our Augustus family's monthly banquet. Can you guess why?"

Xia Fa thought for a moment:
"Is it because..."

(End of this chapter)