An Interesting Boy

Seeing his son was so perceptive, Chu Yuntian said no more and turned to greet a few acquaintances.

Chu Yan led Xu Xiaoyan and Xu Xiaoyu toward a few small round tables at the edge of the hall. That area was close to the buffet, making it convenient to get food, and the location was not particularly conspicuous.

Xu Xiaoyan followed him closely the entire way. Only after sitting down beside him did she whisper, "Brother Yan, that Vice Pagoda Master from earlier is really beautiful."

"Mm." Chu Yan nodded.

"And she looks so young, not at all like..." Xu Xiaoyan lowered her voice as if afraid of being overheard, then continued, "Not at all like someone who has lived for a long time."

Chu Yan's lips curled slightly at her phrasing. "When soul power cultivation reaches a high level, it can indeed delay aging and preserve one's appearance. At a level like the Pagoda Master's, it's not strange for her appearance to remain at any age."

"Then will you be like that in the future, Brother Yan?" Xu Xiaoyan asked, tilting her head.

"Probably," Chu Yan replied casually.

"Then I have to work hard at my cultivation too!" Xu Xiaoyan clenched her small fist and said earnestly, "I don't want Brother Yan to look twenty while I look sixty in the future."

Chu Yan: "..."

Beside them, Xu Xiaoyu was just taking a sip from his water glass. Upon hearing this, he nearly choked. He set the glass down, coughed hard twice, and shot his sister a fierce glare. What was all this nonsense? She was only a six-year-old girl, yet her thoughts were already drifting so far ahead.

Chu Yan didn't mind; he simply reached out and gently pressed down on the top of Xu Xiaoyan's head, smoothing back a stray tuft of hair that was sticking up.

The banquet officially began shortly after.

The hall was filled with the scent of food and wine. Guests sat in small groups, whispering and clinking glasses, while servers wove between the tables with trays, refilling drinks.

Leng Yaozhu sat at the head table, holding a thin-walled white porcelain teacup. She didn't drink much, occasionally exchanging a few words with the high-ranking members of the Spirit Pagoda beside her, but mostly she just sat quietly, her gaze sweeping calmly over the crowd in the hall.

She had seen too many occasions like this.

Family heads brought their juniors, trying every means to show their faces before the powerful, hoping for a glance or to have their names remembered so they could secure more resources or protection for their families.

Her gaze swept over one young face after another. Some sat stiffly in nervousness, some straightened their backs in an attempt to appear mature, and others glanced frequently in her direction before hurriedly looking away.

They were all just children who hadn't yet learned how to hide their thoughts.

Leng Yaozhu took a sip of her tea. The warm floral brew slid down her throat, light and slightly sweet—it was a flavor she liked.

She was about to withdraw her gaze when she suddenly paused slightly.

At a corner table on the edge of the hall sat a small round table.

Three children were seated there—two boys and a girl, all quite young. The little girl with light blue twin tails was enthusiastically stuffing a piece of pastry into her mouth, her cheeks bulging like a little hamster. The blue-haired boy sitting opposite her watched her with a helpless expression, seemingly saying something.

But that wasn't the reason she paused.

What made her eyes narrow slightly was the boy sitting between the two children.

The boy wore a moon-white brocade robe and sat in a very relaxed posture. He didn't deliberately straighten his back, nor did he look around. He was quietly eating a piece of roasted meat from the plate in front of him, his movements unhurried, his chewing composed.

The sense of unease, tension, and desire to perform that permeated the other children around him was completely absent from him.

This state was entirely mismatched with his age.

Leng Yaozhu had seen many geniuses; she had seen plenty of children who grew up in the spotlight, but those children were either too flamboyant or precociously cynical.

Yet, the calm demeanor radiating from this boy felt more like a confidence rooted in his very bones—he didn't need to perform for anyone, nor did he need to prove anything to anyone.

Leng Yaozhu's gaze lingered on him for two extra seconds, then she curiously shifted her sight slightly upward, sliding past his moon-white collar, skimming over the light blue pendant at his throat, and finally landing on the extremely faint aura surrounding him.

She saw a thread of silver, extremely faint and thin.

That thread was condensed from the mental power fluctuations radiating from the boy's body. Only someone with extremely high mental power cultivation could capture it at close range, and at her level, she naturally saw it clearly.

But it was precisely because she saw it clearly that her brows twitched ever so slightly.

Spirit Connection Realm.

A child of about six years old had actually reached the Spirit Connection Realm in mental power.

Moreover, although that silver thread was slender, its texture was solid, its edges smooth, and it lacked any scattered burrs. This indicated that his mental power wasn't a false high spurred by external objects, but a solid, genuine Spirit Connection Realm accumulated step by step through his own efforts.

This was rare indeed. She just wondered if he possessed a mental-type Martial Soul.

Usually, only children with mental-type Martial Souls or extremely high-grade mutated Martial Souls could reach this level at such a young age.

If she remembered correctly, not even those genius soul masters on the Youth Genius Ranking who were called monsters had reached this standard at his age.

She did know of a few who had reached the Spirit Connection Realm at seven.

As for this boy, she had never seen him on any priority training list, though that was normal; judging by his appearance, he should have only awakened his Martial Soul recently.

Leng Yaozhu's thoughts didn't dwell on this for too long. She simply tucked this detail away in her mind, then lifted her teacup and continued to gaze calmly across the hall.

There was no need to initiate a conversation until the right time.

If she, with her status, were to walk over and ask questions, it would only bring unnecessary attention to the child, pushing a stranger into the spotlight before so many people—which might not be a good thing.

Chu Yan, however, was unaware that he had been scrutinized by that Limit Douluo for three seconds.

He was focused on the piece of Century-Old Earth Dragon Meat in front of him, which was roasted to perfection. The meat was firm and chewy, sprinkled with fine salt and spices, and fragrant with every bite.

Xu Xiaoyan had already finished three small cakes and was reaching with her chopsticks for the honey-glazed meat skewers further away, while Xu Xiaoyu sat on the other side with a look of helplessness that clearly read, "Why do I have such a sister?"

"Brother Yan, try this!" Xu Xiaoyan struggled to reach a skewer and offered it to Chu Yan like a treasure.

Chu Yan took it and bit down. It tasted good—the meat was tender and smooth, with the sweet fragrance of honey.

"Delicious," he commented objectively.

"I told you so!" Having received his approval, Xu Xiaoyan's eyes curved into crescents as she turned back to fish out another piece.

Halfway through the banquet, the atmosphere in the hall gradually began to relax.

The initial tension caused by the presence of a Limit Douluo was slowly diluted by conversation and laughter as round after round of dishes were served.

Heads of familiar noble families began to move about, offering toasts to one another, and the younger generation was no longer as constrained as they had been upon entering. The bolder ones had already begun weaving through the buffet area at the long tables, searching for their favorite desserts.

Xu Xiaoyu was pulled away by a few youths from familiar families to chat. Before leaving, he gave a quick instruction to "keep an eye on Xiaoyan and don't let her eat too many sweets" before being dragged off.

"Brother Chu Yan, how much longer do you think that Vice Pagoda Master Leng will stay?" Xu Xiaoyan asked, her words muffled as she ate.

"I'm not sure."

Chu Yan shook his head and continued, "She should be leaving once the banquet ends."

"Oh..." Xu Xiaoyan seemed somewhat disappointed. She tilted her head in thought before adding, "So she just came here to have a meal and leave? That's so boring."

"The schedules of important figures aren't meant for leisure," Chu Yan explained offhandedly, then continued:

"Her coming to East Sea City is most likely for other business; she's just using this occasion to make an appearance and show support for the East Sea Spirit Pagoda."