Xue Ye's Invitation

"This..." Chen Xin thought for a moment, then said, "Fengzhi, that depends on Rongrong herself. If she doesn't want to go, you can't force her to attend Grand Mansion Academy."

"Sigh, Sword Uncle, if you keep this up, you'll spoil Rongrong rotten."

Ning Fengzhi shook his head helplessly and stopped dwelling on the matter.

Chen Xin raised a brow and said dismissively, "I watched Rongrong grow up. I just can't stand seeing her wronged."

Lu Yuan and Tang Wutong entered the hall, and countless eyes immediately turned toward them.

No one present had ever seen either of them before.

Ignoring the assessing gazes around them, Lu Yuan remained calm as he found a seat with Tang Wutong.

Before long, several nobles approached and struck up a conversation with Tang Wutong.

They appeared refined and courteous, but the lecherous gleam in their eyes was impossible to hide.

Tang Wutong's face filled with annoyance. She released a trace of a Super Douluo's aura, sending one useless noble stumbling back. After that, no one dared approach her again.

Prince Xue Xing had initially intended to go over as well, but when he sensed her powerful aura, he abandoned the idea rather than invite trouble for himself.

"Heh, a bunch of utterly useless trash..." Lu Yuan sneered inwardly.

Not long afterward, the birthday banquet began.

Six-year-old Ning Rongrong was led onto the stage by Ning Fengzhi.

"Today is my daughter's birthday. Thank you all, honored guests, for gracing this banquet with your presence."

Ning Fengzhi lowered his head to look at Ning Rongrong beside him and said gently, "Rongrong, hurry and thank the guests."

Ning Rongrong curtsied slightly and said in a crisp voice, "Thank you, uncles, for coming to my birthday banquet."

As soon as she finished speaking, the venue became lively.

"My little niece is so sensible."

"She's naturally gifted and intelligent. I heard her martial soul is the Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda, and that she awakened with innate soul power at rank nine. She'll surely achieve great things in the future."

"Yes, yes. She understands etiquette so well at such a young age. As expected of the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan."

The guests below discussed animatedly, with praise rising one after another.

After the round of compliments, people began leaving their seats one by one to present the birthday gifts they had prepared.

Lu Yuan had come this time as Tang Wutong's disciple, so naturally, he was the one who should present the gift.

What he gave was a thousand-year ginseng produced by the Icefire Yin Yang Well.

At the Icefire Yin Yang Well, it could only be considered an ordinary medicinal herb. After all, he could hardly give away a Qiluo Tulip the moment they met.

Yet the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan steward in charge of receiving gifts was still secretly startled.

A thousand-year ginseng of such quality was rarely seen.

Ning Fengzhi also noticed the steward's unusual expression. His gaze swept over Lu Yuan's gift, and his brows lifted slightly.

He patted Ning Rongrong's shoulder and said with a gentle smile, "Rongrong, the gift this big brother gave you is very precious. Hurry and thank him."

"Thank you, Big Brother," Ning Rongrong said sweetly.

Lu Yuan nodded slightly and returned to his seat.

Seeing this, Ning Rongrong blinked curiously at his departing figure.

The banquet proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Once most of the gifts had been received, Ning Fengzhi sent Ning Rongrong away and entrusted her to Gu Rong.

Ning Fengzhi had not held this birthday banquet merely to celebrate his daughter, who had awakened the Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda not long ago.

He was also using this grand banquet to maintain the clan's connections and observe the guests from every side.

Ning Fengzhi approached Tang Wutong and asked with a smile, "Headmaster Tang, forgive my presumptuousness, but may I ask where you are from?"

"What are your plans in acquiring Blue Tyrant Academy and renaming it Grand Mansion Academy?"

Tang Wutong blinked and replied evenly, "Clan Master Ning, I took over Blue Tyrant Academy only because I had just arrived in Heaven Dou City and had nowhere to stay for the time being."

"As for my origins, please forgive me, but it is not convenient for me to disclose them."

Ning Fengzhi did not press further, merely smiling slightly. "I see. I was presumptuous."

"Since Headmaster Tang has matters she cannot speak of, I won't ask any more."

"Since Headmaster Tang has come to Heaven Dou City, perhaps we can cooperate more often in the future."

"We'll talk about it later," Tang Wutong said.

Ning Fengzhi nodded with a smile, asked no further questions, and turned to leave.

The banquet lasted three or four hours.

The night grew deeper.

Many guests took their leave one after another.

Lu Yuan and Tang Wutong did not linger long at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan either.

The two returned to Grand Mansion Academy together.

Lu Yuan nestled in Tang Wutong's warm embrace. Facing the evening breeze blowing through the air, he looked up and said, "I have a feeling that before long, that old man Xue Ye will send someone to invite us to the imperial palace too."

"There are so many of these things. They're seriously annoying," Tang Wutong said with a troubled expression.

"Haha, once this passes, there won't be so many invitations," Lu Yuan said with a soft laugh.

Tang Wutong asked curiously, "Master, then tell me, what do you think Xue Ye will ask us?"

Lu Yuan rolled his eyes. "I'm not a prophet. How could I know what they want to ask?"

"He'll probably probe your attitude toward the imperial house and try to recruit you. Just don't agree to anything. You can ignore the rest."

"Oh," Tang Wutong replied softly.

Suddenly, she noticed an unusual sensation against a soft part of her body.

Her ears burned, and her pretty face instantly flushed crimson. She said coyly, "Master, what are you doing?"

"I'm thirsty. I want milk," Lu Yuan said shamelessly.

Tang Wutong grew even more bashful and muttered softly, "But I don't have any."

"I don't care!"

Lu Yuan tucked his head down and burrowed deeper into her embrace.

The next day.

Lu Yuan woke up from a night's sleep. As soon as he pushed open his door, he saw many soul masters gathered in the academy forest, discussing something in low voices.

Among the crowd, he spotted Dugu Bo as well.

When Dugu Bo saw Lu Yuan approaching, he immediately came forward. "Master, these are the craftsman soul masters I recruited in Heaven Dou City. Quite a few of them have even taken part in constructing some clans' buildings."

Lu Yuan smiled lightly. "Well done. You've put in a lot of effort."

Dugu Bo took more than a dozen blueprints from his robe and said, "Master, these are palace design proposals drawn by the craftsmen. Please choose one."

"If none of them suit your taste, just tell me what you have in mind, and I'll have them redraw the plans."

Lu Yuan accepted the blueprints and casually glanced through them.

His gaze landed on a design resembling the Winter Palace from Genshin Impact. He pulled it out at once. "This one. It's stately and grand—not bad."

"Understood. I'll instruct them to construct the palace according to the concept in this blueprint."

Dugu Bo answered with a smile and turned toward the craftsmen.

At that moment, Tang Wutong slowly walked over and said softly, "Master, just as you predicted."

"The dean of studies came to see me earlier. He said the Heaven Dou Imperial House sent an invitation, inviting me to visit the imperial palace tomorrow night."

Lu Yuan smiled faintly. "That's normal."

"After all, we never concealed the fact that you're a Titled Douluo. Even the academy's ordinary students know about it. Anyone with an interest could find out just by asking around."

"Now that old man Xue Ye knows your strength, how could he rest easy? He'll definitely want to meet you."