Engagement

On the day of the engagement ceremony, the Earl Mansion was decorated with lanterns and banners, while traffic outside was packed. Carriages alone nearly blocked more than half of Fushi Road.

Each carriage was more luxurious than the last, and the noble ladies and young misses competed in splendor, each more eye-catching than the next.

An engagement banquet at the Earl Mansion was undoubtedly one of the highest-class gatherings among the nobility. Everyone who came was someone of status, and many ordinary nobles were not even qualified to receive an invitation.

This made the nobles in the imperial capital who had received invitations feel extremely proud.

His Majesty Emperor Joanne of the O'Brien Empire had arrived.

Munro Dawson, president of the Dawson Chamber of Commerce, had arrived.

The Rock Sword Saint Haydson had arrived.

Two Saint Realm experts from the War God Sect had arrived.

The elite figures of the imperial capital had gathered here.

Jade was the Empire's Left Prime Minister, so naturally he had received an invitation.

Liewen had received one as well.

He had kept a low profile during this time, but everyone in the imperial capital knew that he was staying at the Daryl Family estate.

"Let's go. It will be a good chance to get acquainted with Linley."

Liewen set out together with Lena and Kuhn.

"Left Prime Minister Jade, arrived—"

"Young Master Kailan, arrived—"

"White-Clad Light Saint Lord Liewen, arrived—"

When he announced the last guest, the attendant greeting visitors at the entrance to the front courtyard raised his voice considerably.

As Liewen entered the Earl Mansion's main hall, he could clearly feel countless gazes settling upon him.

Everyone present was a noble, and all of them had seen the images from the Memory Crystal Ball.

In truth, during this period in Chiyan City, the White-Clad Light Saint's reputation had been overshadowed by Linley and Olivier.

After all, Liewen rarely showed himself, and not many commoners had personally seen that Memory Crystal Ball.

Linley and Olivier's battle, however, had taken place before eighty thousand spectators in the arena. Naturally, its influence was different.

Furthermore, most people did not understand the division of strength among Saint Realm experts. They did not know that Liewen and Useno were stronger than the current Linley, Olivier, and Haydson.

"Haha, Mr. Liewen, you've come as well!"

His Majesty Joanne walked toward Liewen, and Linley came forward to greet him too.

"Master Linley, Mr. Liewen, you two haven't met before, have you?" Joanne was very enthusiastic, intending to introduce Liewen and Linley to each other.

"By a fortunate coincidence, I met Brother Linley once before," Liewen said with a smile.

"Indeed. Though I only learned Mr. Liewen's name afterward." Linley also recalled that fleeting glimpse on the Yulan River that day.

"Wharton, come over quickly!" Linley called out to Wharton.

Wharton hurried over with Nina and greeted Liewen.

"A talented man and a beautiful woman. Not bad, not bad." Liewen smiled.

"Linley, Wharton, let me introduce two people to you as well." As he spoke, Liewen looked at Kuhn behind him.

"This is Kuhn."

Liewen held Lena's hand. "This is Lena. They are both descendants of the Bo Lei Clan of Tiger-Striped Warriors."

"Tiger-Striped Warriors!"

Linley and Wharton were both startled.

"Barker, you all come over too!" Linley called over Barker and his four brothers.

Barker and the other four were also dressed in handsome matching uniforms today. When they heard that Kuhn and Lena were from the Bo Lei Clan, their eyes widened like bronze bells.

As members of the Four Ultimate Warrior Families, they had all once been incomparably glorious and had all endured long periods of decline. There was a strange sense of closeness between them.

Kuhn chatted with Linley and the others, while little Lena held Liewen's hand and tilted her head up curiously at the several mountain-like men before her.

Whether it was Wharton or Barker and his four brothers, all of them were over two meters tall and powerfully built. In Lena's eyes, they were no different from little mountains.

"Your Dragonblood Warriors and Undying Warriors have risen again. As for our Bo Lei Clan, who knows when another Tiger-Striped Warrior will appear?" Kuhn sighed.

Neither his nor Lena's bloodline was sufficiently pure. The only reason he had managed to train his body to the 8th level was because of the clan's secret technique.

The degree of decline differed among the Four Ultimate Warriors. By Hogg's generation, the Dragonblood Warriors had needed to sell off clan property just to get by.

The Undying Warriors had even lost their inherited battle qi manual. If Hise had not obtained a copy from Amanda, Barker and his four brothers would not have been able to become Undying Warriors.

The Bo Lei Clan had developed a secret technique and was relatively better off, but no Tiger-Striped Warrior had appeared in a very long time. Nor had they passed down a method of awakening their bloodline like Drink Living Dragon Blood.

Kuhn's expression changed, and he smiled at Lena. "The future of our Bo Lei Clan may have to rely on Lena."

Linley and the others could not help looking toward Lena.

Little Lena grew somewhat nervous under their gazes and gripped Liewen's hand tightly.

Kuhn said, "Lena has excellent magical talent. Her light-element affinity is super-grade, and her spiritual essence is sixty-five times that of children her age. I plan to send her to the Yulan Empire to study magic."

Linley and the others were all shocked upon hearing this.

"Little Lena's spiritual essence is even higher than yours was back then, big brother!" Wharton teased Linley.

"You brat!" Linley laughed and scolded him.

Everyone chatted merrily.

Haydson and the two Saint Realm experts from the War God Sect also came over to greet Liewen.

Laymen watched the excitement, while experts saw the true skill. Saint Realm experts like them, famous for many years, could see Liewen's strength.

Anyone capable of defeating Useno was certainly a second-tier Saint Realm expert. Across the entire Yulan Continent, only a dozen or so Saint Realm experts had reached that level.

Haydson was praised by ordinary people as the number one Saint Realm expert, but in the eyes of true Saint Realm masters, he was merely a junior.

Those second-tier and even first-tier Saint Realm experts rarely appeared before the public for various reasons, and they did not care about such empty reputations.

Liewen also exchanged a few casual words with Haydson and the other two.

The two Saint Realm experts from the War God Sect felt somewhat conflicted.

They knew that the War God had once considered summoning Liewen and bringing him into his faction, but after hearing that Liewen planned to go to the Yulan Empire, he had abandoned the idea.

The Yulan Empire and the O'Brien Empire were rivals, while the War God and the Yulan Empire's Deity-level expert, the High Priest, had fought each other for many years.

Today, they had come mainly to present congratulations on behalf of the War God and to summon Linley.

The engagement ceremony went smoothly, and Hodan arrived not long afterward.

Because Linley's magical beasts, Bebe and Heilu, had both reached the Saint Realm, he came to inform them about the Four Supreme Planes and the Seven Divine Planes.

Linley also learned from Hodan that the ancestors of his Baruch Clan had all gone to Hell, one of the Four Supreme Planes.

Hodan advised Linley to follow his ancestors to the Higher Planes' Hell, but Linley, Bebe, and Heilu all chose to remain on the Yulan Continent.

Wine cups clinked, and hosts and guests alike enjoyed themselves.

By evening, the engagement banquet, which had begun at noon, gradually came to an end, and the guests left one after another.

Before Liewen departed, Linley came to see him off.

"Linley, I'm staying at the Daryl Family estate on Fushi Road. When you have time another day, come exchange cultivation insights with me." Liewen smiled.

"Alright. I will await Mr. Liewen's visit." Linley readily agreed.

After returning to the Daryl Family estate, Liewen cultivated diligently as usual. The difference was that he occasionally went to the Earl Mansion to spar and exchange insights with Linley.

Ten days after Wharton's engagement banquet, in the Earl Mansion courtyard where Linley lived.

Linley's body was covered in dark cyan Dragonblood Battle Qi. The battle qi rolled like clouds and mist, protecting Linley.

Liewen was also in Linley's courtyard. Looking at the dark cyan battle qi covering Linley's body, he said with a smile.

"Brother Linley, your Pulse Guard is becoming more and more proficient. Aside from insufficient battle qi, you are already no weaker than Haydson."