Indigo City, Beirut sat in the head seat, with Jason and eight others standing before him, and eleven others on either side.
"Lord of the Manor," Jason stepped forward and bowed.
Today marks the one-year anniversary of Jason becoming the city lord. This banquet is being held in the Indigo Prefecture, mainly for the palace lord, the city lord, and the Seven Star Fiend to meet each other, which is considered a tradition.
Beirut nodded. "Alright, everyone, please take your seats."
"Jason has just taken over as the new lord of Moonwheel City, and today is our first meeting. We should all get along well from now on." Beirut wasn't a talkative person, so his speech was a bit dry.
However, the nine city lords and the Seven Star Fiend were quite respectful, all raising their glasses.
What followed was a series of meaningless pleasantries. Clearly, none of the nine city lords were smooth talkers; the conversation was simply about understanding each other's situations and inquiring about their approximate cultivation progress.
Nine city lords, six men and three women.
Jason noticed the city lord of Aurore City. She was a red-haired woman, Jason heard that she was from the Saint-Nair Clan, one of the Eight Great Clans from the Fire Divine Plane. She seemed very out of place, and the other city lords around her were unwilling to communicate with her.
Another rather somber figure was the Mier City, a young man. Compared to the Aurore City, he was slightly more popular, especially towards Jason, since both were "people of Beirut."
The other six city lords were all under the command of the Blood Peak Sovereign, and they were clearly more familiar with each other. From their conversation, it seemed that some of them were comrades-in-arms on the Planar Battlefield.
The six men were relatively kinder to Jason and Mier City, but completely ignored Aurore City. Of course, the latter was also unwilling to engage in much communication; he was only there because of Beirut's influence.
The other eleven are all Seven Star Demons loyal to Beirut, including Berthali, who is making her first public appearance. Clearly, Berthali is more popular than Jason—female, unmarried Seven Star Demons are even rarer than Shura.
A divine sense from Beirut transmitted. "Jason, how's your cultivation going lately?"
"I'm roughly at the mid-level of Seven Star Fiend." Jason wasn't referring to the Sovereign Artifact and Soul Defense Divine Artifact, of course. After all, he was Beirut's subordinate, and frankly stating his strength was the best way to show his loyalty. "Is there anything I can do for the Lord?"
Beirut's expression remained unchanged, clearly indicating that he was only communicating with Jason through divine sense. "What could I possibly want? I just want to remind you to focus on your cultivation and not let worldly matters distract you. If you can reach the Asura level, you will be able to meet the Sovereign and become a true Sovereign's Emissary."
I truly have high hopes for you. Once you reach our level, associating with these Seven Star Fiend will be a complete waste of time.
"Beirut for your kind words, Lord Beirut. I will keep your teachings in mind."
The banquet lasted for two hours before it ended. During the banquet, Beirut allocated Jason a house in Indigo City, which was considered standard for a city lord.
Jason is temporarily staying at his residence in Indigo City. At this time, the ancestral rites of the Four Divine Beasts Clan should not have taken place yet, so he plans to pick up his wife and daughter later. In the meantime, he'll wander around Indigo City, hoping to find some materials needed to craft the Deathgod Golem.
Jason was somewhat excited by what Beirut had said to Jason earlier, especially the phrase "when we reach our level." Without the original story, Jason would naturally assume that Beirut was referring to the "Sovereign's Emissary" level. However, Beirut is actually a "Sovereign," which means that Beirut seems willing to give Jason a chance, a chance to obtain the status of a Sovereign Spark!
Fifty years later, Jason returned to the Skyrite Mountains.
"Linley went to Blood War Valley?" Jason was sharing his recent experiences with his wife and daughters when he first heard this news.
Monica had always treated Linley and Wharton like younger brothers, so she was very worried. "Yes, I've heard that even Seven Star Fiend frequently fall in Blood War Valley, and five- and Six-Star Fiend suffer heavy casualties almost every hundred years!"
Linley's Fire Clone, however, was quite relaxed. "My survival skills are pretty strong, I should be fine."
Bebe lay on the table, looking worried, and said, "Our boss is only a few hundred years old and still has a lot of potential. That Azure Dragon Clan Chief is really heartless."
Jason flicked Bebe on the head. "Sit up straight! You're already at the Deity-level, and you're still so unreliable!"
Bebe sat up abruptly.
Jason looked at Jenny: "Jenny, how's your understanding of those magic array diagrams I gave you before?"
Jenny shook her head. "I feel like I'm about to break through to the Deity-level, so I haven't spent too much time on magic arrays."
"It's alright, I'm not in a hurry," Jason reassured him.
Jason continued, "I'm planning to take Veronica and Monica to Moonwheel City. Would any of you be willing to come with me?"
"Huh? You're leaving!" Bebe glanced at Linley, knowing he couldn't go with them, and immediately wilted. Monica patted his head reassuringly.
Delia chuckled and said, "Why don't we go together?"
Linley looked at his wife, but was glared at by her.
Veronica didn't really feel a sense of belonging to this valley where the Yulan Branch lived, so she simply said, "Why don't we all go? It's no fun staying cooped up in this valley all the time."
Linley and Wharton hesitated; among the group present, they felt the strongest sense of belonging to the Baruch Clan.
Jason certainly didn't dare to make the decision. Although he didn't like the Four Divine Beasts Clan Four Divine Beasts Clan, he didn't dare to put on airs in front of them.
In the end, Delia made the decision. "Uncle Jason, why don't you go first? We'll come visit you after Linley's term in Blood War Valley ends."
Jason nodded. "Alright."
Jason stayed in the Skyrite Mountains for a month before leaving with Veronica and Monica, and of course, Olivier.
On the Metallic Airship, Jason and Veronica had a private cabin.
"Monica and Olivier are really together?" Jason asked.
Veronica nodded. "Olivier so stubborn, she's been thinking about Monica all these years, and our daughter seems to have finally been moved. I gave them a little push a while ago, and now it's kind of like when we were on the Yulan Continent, right after we left the Mist Valley."
As a father, Jason was already mentally prepared for his daughter's marriage, and besides, Monica was indeed not young anymore.
"Olivier —she's alright, at least she won't be fickle; her aptitude is also good, at the very least she's Seven Star Fiend." Jason had temporarily accepted the fact that his daughter was in a relationship.
As for the original story where Linley obtained a Overgod Token because of Olivier, Jason had already planned to take it away beforehand to make things cleaner.
Whether he gives it to Linley or Beirut, he can earn merit points—he felt he still needed to work hard to prove himself and try to obtain the Sovereign Spark.
Veronica asked, "So, Lord City Lord, what are your plans after this?"
"What else could I be planning? Taking you around. Oh, we need to give Monica and Olivier some time first. We'll go out after they've officially started dating."