Thirty li outside Heyuan City, Anyang Town.
Inside an exquisitely furnished manor, a dozen or so young men were drinking heartily in the main hall.
These Young Masters were all prominent heirs and elites from families large and small within Heyuan City. Li Ming had invited them to this banquet under the pretext of celebrating his breakthrough in cultivation.
"Gentlemen, come, let us raise a cup to Young Master Li and congratulate him on breaking through to the middle stage of Xiantian!" The first square-faced young man seated below Li Ming was surnamed Yang. He was Yang He, the Yang Family's seventh young master, a Ninth Stage Houtian Martial Artist and Li Ming's cousin.
"To Young Master Li!"
"Congratulations, Young Master Li."
"Congratulations!"
"..."
Everyone chimed in. There were over thirty respectable families of varying sizes in Heyuan County, but the Li and Yang Families were by far the most powerful. Many families depended on these two great clans to survive, practically their vassals, so naturally they did not dare show any disrespect.
Li Ming smiled as he raised his cup in return, though his smile was somewhat forced.
On the surface, this banquet was a gathering of young masters from various families, called in the name of celebrating his breakthrough. In truth, it was also a meeting to declare their positions amid the current situation.
There were thirty-two families, yet fewer than half had come.
The people each family ought to have sent were either heirs who would inherit the family business or talented elites with decent cultivation. Yet this time, most of the heirs had declined with one excuse or another.
If Li Ming had not had other plans, he would likely have stormed out long ago.
*A pack of rats who can't see the situation clearly—fence-sitters! If