Eve of the Elemental Festival

Although the palace is still the same palace, there are many more guests coming and going today compared to the day before and after.

Before even entering the inner room, Yuan Chen could already hear the earnest advice of some nobles.

"Your Highness Qiyana, you should not go against tradition. I mean, regarding the selection of a teacher, Yishuaoken has enough scholars to be your teachers."

"If you're willing to adjust your thinking a little, I believe no one in the Yishuaoken will be an obstacle to your ascension to the throne."

"You know, strangers are not trustworthy..."

A jumble of noises drifted from the palace, while Qiyana, sitting above, looked bored, staring at the plant-based nail polish on her nails, wondering when Yuan Chen would return.

"There seem to be an unusually large number of guests in the palace today." As Yuan Chen walked in, he looked at the nobles with a hint of amusedness that was hard to describe.

In contrast, upon seeing Yuan Chen return, the nobles' faces turned pale and then red, before they simply bid farewell to Qiyana and left.

Of course, as they passed by Yuan Chen, they couldn't help but let out a cold snort, expressing their irreconcilable enmity with him.

Once they were all gone, Yuan Chen finally relaxed.

Walking up to Qiyana, he casually asked, "What did they say?"

"Some meaningless nonsense." Qiyana's voice was full of contempt and indifference.

"These nobles are like my father. They fear, even hate, change. They're incredibly foolish; they even tried to persuade me to banish you..."

What a bunch of idiots! Don't they remember where they were before? When Sane was around, they were by Sane side. Now that they want to join me, they want to get rid of my people.

The voices were full of mockery—these nobles had clearly overestimated their value in Qiyana's eyes.

Gaining Qiyana's approval and recognition is a difficult thing.

Even this is incredibly difficult, let alone Qiyana's dependence—at least, so far, there might only be Yuan Chen.

"Speaking of which... your people have arrived?"

"Okay, come in."

Yuan Chen clapped his hands. Then, led by the palace guards, Mordas and Lupe came into Qiyana's view.

They were all acquaintances; they had met when Yuan Chen and Qiyana first met. However, compared to the last time, Qiyana's reputation and prestige were now far greater than before.

This time, Qiyana's attention was clearly not on Mordas and Lupe, but on Milio, who was pushing Lupe and whose eyes were full of curiosity.

Qiyana sensed something subtle about the boy.

Narrowing her eyes, Qiyana asked, "Is he your student?"

"I suppose so, but I didn't teach him anything particularly valuable," Yuan Chen said. "It's mostly his own talent."

"His own talent?" Upon hearing this, Qiyana's gaze became somewhat subtle. "It's not easy to get such a compliment from you..."

They exchanged a few brief words, mainly about Lupe's loyalty. As mentioned before, for any other member of the Alain family, the Lupe Family's past act of rebellion was intolerable.

But what did Qiyana think of that? She'd love to personally kick down the traditional gravesite.

And then there's King Yuen's side.

In the past, King Yuen would never have agreed to Lupe's act of ignoring legal prohibitions and forcibly leaving his place of exile to come to Yishuaoken.

But this time, perhaps because of Sane, King Yuen seemed uninterested, only saying a few words before tacitly approving Qiyana's overstepping of bounds.

Finally, the second day arrived.

Having just woken up, Yuan Chen clearly felt the difference that the festive atmosphere brought to Yishuaoken.

Looking down from Qiyana's high-rise residence, one can see a vast crowd arriving from afar at the four gates of Yishuaoken, walking along the Elemental Corridor and undergoing inspection by the Road Protector before entering Yishuaoken turn.

"It's time to go, Yuan Chen." Qiyana, now dressed in an elegant gown, emerged from the inner room and said enthusiastically, "This is my first time hosting! You better be on your best!"

"Certainly."

Nodding, Yuan Chen said, "Then I'll go prepare."

As he spoke, Yuan Chen turned and left, and a moment later he arrived at the village camp once again.

Although it was called a camp, it had actually turned into a bustling market, because people from all over Ixialia hadn't come empty-handed.

Besides personally witnessing the restoration, innovation, and Veil Technique protection that Ixialia, this is also one of the few opportunities they have in a year to exchange goods with other counties and regions.

Within minutes of entering the market, the colors and sounds from various regions of Yishuaoken were already dazzling.

Some mischievous children who came here with their elders ran around, while vendors, beauticians, fortune tellers, craftsmen... all sorts of people placed what they brought on the mats and began to enthusiastically hawk their wares.

Walking among them, Yuan Chen did not feel any crowding.

Because the Vydalian Robe made with extremely precise craftsmanship, even with Yuan Chen's intervention, the garment, which featured red and white patterns engraved with gold, was still vastly different from common fabrics.

When people saw Yuan Chen 'Yuan Chen clothes, even though his skin color and physical characteristics were different from what they expected of Yixialian, they still respectfully made way for him.

Wherever you are in Ixialia, from Yishuaoken to the small towns, villages, and villages on the frontier, there is one thing in common: absolute respect for Yuentar.

Upon arriving near the village, Yuan Chen immediately saw Mordas sitting on the ground, surrounded by several curious Ixialia children.

The Yixialian were not entirely unfamiliar with the Meat-toothed Beast -Meat-toothed Beast. But this familiarity only meant that they knew of its existence.

Under traditional guidance, people rarely have the opportunity to have detailed interactions with Meat-toothed Beast.

Not to mention the culture and customs of the Meat-toothed Beast.

The children weren't afraid; they simply stared curiously at the large, silver-gray cat with bandages wrapped around its face. In contrast, the adults beside them wore expressions of wariness and repulsion.

No one guided them; it was tradition that made them do this subconsciously.

To avoid affecting their business, the blacksmiths and the others deliberately kept their distance from the Meat-toothed Beast. Mordas could understand this; after all, if they were really together, the villagers probably wouldn't be able to do any business.

"How's business?"

Yuan Chen joked, "Quite a few kids are interested in you."

"The child has no money." Hearing Yuan Chen's words, Mordas sighed and said.

"Although I had heard about Ixialia's xenophobia before, I have hunted and traded in places where Meat-toothed Beast are not welcome. It's just that the price is a little higher and the profit is a little lower."

But I never imagined Ixialia would actually come to this... The blacksmith and the others were so easy to talk to when we were hunting together."

"Because the blacksmith comes from a remote mountain village on the border, where there isn't even a single law enforcer in the true sense," Yuan Chen said.

"If this were a county, someone like you, who clearly looks like an outsider, were discovered, would be exiled to the borders of Ixialia immediately."

"Alright... looks like we'll have to pack up early."

As he spoke, Mordas waved to the Fleshfang Hunter beside him. Then he stood up and looked at Yuan Chen, saying, "Next? Are you alone? Our offering isn't so easy to carry."

Before Mordas could finish speaking, at Yuan Chen's signal, some of the Road Protector had already prepared according to Qiyana's orders dispersed the surrounding crowd. After respectfully bowing to Yuan Chen with Ixialia salute, they began preparing for the transport of the offering.

As the Axiom Wheelblade gleamed Shimmer, the surrounding air and wind began to swirl around the wagon. Even so, the sheer weight of the Dragon Corpse still surprised the Road Protector.

But with their combined efforts, the dragon's corpse became much lighter, floating in the air and slowly moving forward under the guidance of the Pack Beast.

"At the central tower, someone will meet you there and escort him to the inner chamber," Yuan Chen instructed the Road Protector.

Then, Yuan Chen and Mordas went ahead to the interior of the central tower.

The Elemental Festival is about to begin, and a large crowd of spectators has already gathered here early on.

The audience was primarily composed of Yuentar. Commoners rarely had the opportunity to enter the inner area. This was because, in addition to the Royal Family, Yuentar, and nobles, a large number of elemental instructors and Element Apprentice had priority in attending the ceremony.

As an old acquaintance, Yuan Chen received many greetings from Yuentar. Although he had already met him yesterday, Mordas couldn't help but be a little surprised to see Yuan Chen's popularity again.

"I've noticed you always seem to blend in easily into unfamiliar places," Mordas remarked with some emotion as they made their way through the crowd to the waiting area for the tribute.

"Back in the village... yes, and us too, very few people could integrate into the Meat-toothed Beast tribe so quickly."

"It's not difficult; it just requires careful observation and understanding."

"Ha, you make it sound so easy." Hearing Yuan Chen's words, Mordas couldn't help but retort.

"If it were just the villagers, it wouldn't be so bad, but you saw those scholars just now. To be honest, just being around them made me feel extremely uncomfortable."

"Not feeling well?" Yuan Chen raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is there something wrong with you?"

"It's not so much because of anything, it's just that..."

Mordas gestured helplessly and said, "It's mainly because being with them makes me feel stupid..."

"Uh..." Upon hearing this, Yuan Chen could only say tactfully, "This might not be a misperception."