“THE SECOND PRINCE HAS ARRIVED!!”
The announcer at the hall entrance bellowed out, drawing everyone inside attention.
Xi Shen walked on the red carpet from the carriage and entered the large hall.
He immediately felt several thousand gazes on him, and his feet faltered unnoticeably but he continued to walk.
He knew that there would be a lot of people here, but imagining it and actually being here in person to experience it was different.
However, his face was neutral and he moved as calmly as he could towards the end of the hall.
“Greetings to the second prince!!”
Xi Shen almost had his heart leaped out of his mouth when the crowd of people suddenly shouted a greeting.
He wondered if they had practiced this before he came, they did it so in sync.
Little Snow was walking next to him as well while holding his hand. Though she wasn’t used to so many people looking at her, she was more curious than nervous.
She would glance around at the various people to the right and left of her, who met her gaze with curious looks as well. Her senses could tell some of these people were extremely strong.
With so many high-level experts here in this one hall, the pressure accumulated was completely terrifying.
And having all of these pairs of eyes on him, Xi Shen's hands had somewhat become clammy with sweat as he held Little Snow's hand.
‘Why am I so nervous, it’s not like these people were more powerful than the cultivators in my past life? This isn’t like me, I should calm down. These people’s probing gaze shouldn’t be able to faze me.’
As Xi Shen told himself that he looked a the end of the hall.
There he saw a long table with a feast spread out on it.
Around the table were his mother and Li Ling smiling at him, along with the Empress, his father, and the other concubines.
His uncle Li Xue who looked like a younger version of his father and his older cousin Li Sun, who wore a smile while looking like a mortal scholar, was there as well.
The way the table was set up was his father was at the center with his mother and the Empress on both sides of him. His uncle and his cousin were in a higher position than his five mothers-in-law.
His mother’s status was not like the other concubines, hence her ability to sit next to his father.
But there was obviously someone missing, his brother Fu Wei.
‘Well this is convenient, he must still be in his seclusion. I'll sneak away from this party and visit him when I have time. I’ll find an isolated location to inspect that pill furnace, as well. I’ve been so cautious not to reveal it, that I didn’t even check up on it since it entered my storage ring.’
As Xi Shen thought that he walked along the red carpet. He was halfway to reaching the end of the hall when a voice was heard in his head.
‘Where is your demeanor of a prince? Your movements are awkward and stiff. You’re a total embarrassment. You better not make me lose face in front of so many people during your Coming of Age celebration.’
Xi Shen’s eyes gleamed with annoyance as he looked at his father who was casually resting his chin on his fist.
‘Old man, who are you calling an embarrassment?’
Li Shu’s expression didn’t change but a hint of amusement appeared in his eyes.
‘I’m stating what I’m seeing. Relax your shoulders and slow down the pace of your steps. There are tell-tale signs that show you're too nervous right now.’
Xi Shen can’t see himself so maybe his father was right, he indeed feeling a bit nervous.
Following his father's words, Xi Shen relaxed his tense shoulders, and his hurried steps to get out of this situation slowed down a bit to become even and firm.
With those simple changes, his bearing became different. Along with looking the part of a prince, Xi Shen now held the bearing of one.
His steps were slow and leisurely, while his entire body was relaxed.
‘That’s slightly better. A prince need not worry about making others wait on him, always have a calm and compose demeanor in all settings. Didn’t your mother teach you these things?’
‘Why don’t you come over and ask her? Your always busy cultivating, you should visit her sometime, she misses you.’
Xi Shen came up to the small steps that led up to the table.
‘...Did she say that?’
‘If it’s not obvious to you, why not ask her, she’s right next to you.’
Xi Shen came to the empty chair next to his mother, and before he sat down he shot a look at his father on her left. Little Snow had gone to sit beside Li Ling who looked rather happy to see her.
Xi Shen heard his father’s sigh in his ears before he said, ‘It’s a lot more complicated than that Shen’er. We’ll talk about this later.’
Li Shu then stood up and addressed the numerous people in the crowd, “With this, I now announce the start of my son’s Coming of Age celebration. Thank you all for coming here, there’s wine and food to go around as well entertainment, but before all of that my son will be performing a song.”
Li Shu then turned to Xi Shen who had plopped a grape-like fruit into his mouth, before saying, “Shen’er.”
Being called upon after just sitting down caused the grape-like fruit accidentally slip down his throat.
Xi Shen resist the urge to cough up a storm as he stood up and went to a clearing next to the table.
All eyes watched him as he took a seat on a golden chair that a servant had brought him.
After Xi Shen sat down, he had a view that allowed him to overlook the entire crowd.
He saw numerous faces of people he didn’t know, but from their attire, some of them were of noble families and the various Academies.
Not only the elders of these institutions and families, but those of the younger generation were here in this room as well.
Xi Shen didn’t see people like Bai Luo, who were the patriarchs of their respective clans. Instead, they sent their sons or daughters here to represent them.
Lin Dong of the Lin Clan, Sua Yuming of the Sua Clan, Bai Huang Fu of the Bai Clan, Sun Hua of the Sun Clan, Zhong Shirong of the Zhong Clan, and Ming Shiming of the Ming Clan.
These are the main representations of the Seven Major Clans, here at his birthday party.
Xi Shen also saw Bai Xiaofung. Lihua and the others were standing together with him.
There were few young faces he didn’t recognize but knew they were young geniuses from the various Academies that were invited. Possibly a few of them were Chosens.
This was more like a gathering of the top talents on the Maple Continent more than anything.
As Xi Shen's eyes swept across the hall full of familiar and unfamiliar faces, his gaze paused on someone quite familiar.
It was Ling Tian, he was actually here with Ling Xia next to him.
There eyes locked for a brief moment, but Ling Tian’s expression was indifferent, almost aloof even. He didn’t even try to hide it.
Xi Shen turn his gaze from him and finished his overlook of the crowd.
After, he let out a breath of air as he took out his zither.
The people in the crowd had various expressions ranging from mild interest to curiosity. But they did well to hide the skepticism and mockery they were all feeling.
Of course, news of Xi Shen becoming a Soul Cultivator has spread, so him doing a song as an opening act for his Coming of Age celebration was something to be expected. But it was so non-cultivation like that they still found it rather weird, some even amusing.
They remembered what Fu Wei did during his display of skill, and to this day people would bring it up. A look of wonder and admiration would glossed over the eyes and face as they retell the events.
Even people who weren’t their spoke of it in vivid detail as if they were.
What Fu Wei had done was challenged his cousin and the sword genius Ling Tian to a two on one handicap match, right here in this hall.
His presence was overbearing and arrogant, but no one looked down at him for a as acting. Instead, they praise him for it, calling him a dragon among snakes.
At the time Fu Wei’s reputation was more renowned than the two, and it was then that the undisputed number one genius of the Maple Continent was said to be Fu Wei.
In the handicap match Fu Wei lived up to that reputation and defeated them quite easily, displaying his Li Clan’s famous Six Petal Plum Blossom Bloodline ability.
However, at this time the three of them were merely Meridian Opening Realm Cultivators, about to break into the Sea Expansion Realm. Fu Wei was said to have a pure bloodline making him unlock the Li Clan’s Plum Blossom at a very early age.
It was even a deviant of the normal golden plum blossom, making the entire Li Clan turn upside down when it was first discovered. Even ancestors of the Li Clan who had been long forgotten showed up to see the mutation of Fu Wei’s plum blossom.
It was because of this that Fu Wei had actually been able to defeat the two of them.
As time went on Ling Tian and Li Sun made progress in their cultivation and the gap between them closed.
Now they were known to be on the same level from the Sea Expansion Realm onwards. Though Fu Wei’s fame for defeating them was still in everyone’s mind and would become one of many epic tales told to later generations.
Now compare that to what Xi Shen was doing and one could see that his performance extremely lackluster.
Xi Shen laid the zither on his lap and plucked one of it’s string.
The first note of the Lonely Willow Leaf echoed out.
But despite what everyone thought, they still remained silent as Xi Shen display his skill with the zither.
Meanwhile, in the outside world, a huge ship appeared over the continent. This was followed by many more.
The citizens who were celebrating Xi Shen’s Coming of Age all stop what they were doing and stared up in the sky utterly dumbstruck.
The fleet of ships moved towards the Imperial City of the Maple Continent.
Li Shu’s gaze moved to the ceiling as if he could see the outside world to observe the ships.
Before Xi Shen could start his song, a voice echoed out across the entire Imperial City.
“We of the Star Bound Continent have come to congratulate the second prince of the Maple Continent on his birthday and Coming of Age!!”
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