Nero sat cross-legged on his bed meditating as usual when a knock sounded on his door.
"Brother Nero the feast has begun, it's time to go." Galen's voice followed afterward.
Nero took in a deep breath to calm himself, he found it irritating to be interrupted when cultivating.
"I'll be right there." He said, after calming his mind.
"Brother Nero this is no good. I was charged by the Great Elder to bring you with me to the feast. I'm afraid I can't leave here without you."
Nero took in another deep breath to calm himself before standing up from the bed and opening the door.
"Ah, brother Nero you're already prepared. Shall we go now?" Galen said with a warm smile on his face. Nero only nodded and followed Galen to where the feast was held.
In a large lavishly decorated hall, many crowds of people almost running into a hundred filled the entire hall, and many more still trooped in one after the other. But unlike before, this hall was greatly guarded and the people that came were thoroughly scrutinized. Back when Amaya was abducted, it was at a grand scale feast like this that it was done, however, things were different now.
Among these crowds of people were highly acknowledged martial artists from different strong backgrounds that came bearing many gifts to welcome the Princess. Many young martial artists who sought the hand of the Princess used this as an opportunity to win her over.
Amaya sat on the high seat for the honored guests of the bouquet. She wore a purple dress that slightly exposed her shoulders and legs revealing her white and flawless skin. Her long black hair draped down her shoulders, and her eyes sparkled like they could captivate the soul. As Amaya sat there, she gave off the feeling of something ethereal. Sitting beside her was the Great Elder Aito. As these young martial artists presented their gifts, their throats couldn't help but spasm as they gulped down their saliva; this was truly a beauty that could bring the fall of nations! They threw meaningful glances at her but she only smiled. Although it didn't seem rude they could all sense the contempt behind that smile.
Old man Aito laughed inwardly as he received those gifts. With the absence of the State Master, he was the master of this occasion. Beside him were two empty seats, these were for Nero and Prince Galen. An hour ago, the feast had started and everyone was here except Nero. Amaya had told them that he might be cultivating in his room so they decided to leave him to round up his cultivation as distracting him might cause a backlash.
Like this, half an hour passed and Nero still wasn't here. To Aito, tonight wasn't only going to be a feast in honor of the return of the Princess but to unveil the Gandor Kingdom's young hero who rescued the Princess. Now that one seat was vacant, everyone wonder just who they were expecting. Was it the State? Aito finally charged Galen to bring Nero here by all means, and now a quarter of an hour had passed and there was still no sign of them!
Despite all this, Aito remained calm and received the gifts with a warm smile. Aito's smile grew even wider when he saw Galen walk into the hall and Nero followed closely behind him. Everyone turned their gazes towards them. They all knew who the Royal Prince of the Gandor kingdom was, but this other fellow was unknown. Some people thought of him as a personal bodyguard to the Prince but from the way he casually walked with his hand behind his back, they started to have doubts.
Aito laughed heartily when Nero appeared. He stood up from his seat and brought Nero to one of the seats beside him. Accurately, Nero's seat was directly beside Amaya. Seeing this fellow take a seat among the honored guests of this feast, everyone started to murmur and whisper. Seeing the current state of things, Aito smiled.
Clearing his throat, he spoke loud and clear. "On behalf of the State Master, I thank everyone for honoring our invitation on such short notice. We are here to honor the return of the Princess who was abducted by those barbarians six months ago, and to also honor the one who rescued her from their clutches… Nero! The esteemed guest of the Gandor kingdom!"
As Aito's words fell, many people threw up the wine in their hands especially those young martial artists who came to seek the Princess's hand in marriage. This caused an uproar in the bouquet hall. There were four seats at the honored guest table. One belonged to the Great Elder, one belonged to the Royal Prince, and one belonged to the Royal Princess. Did this mean that the last one belonged to the esteemed guest? And was this esteemed guest the fellow that walked in with the Royal Prince?
As many people thought this, the murmuring increased. The feast had barely started but had reached this climax. Without further ado, Aito swiped the spatial ring on his finger and a brilliant light illuminated the bouquet hall. As the light dimmed, a crystal box and a sheathed sword were revealed. Looking at the sword, everyone present sucked in a cold breath.
Low-class Profound grade sword!
The sword hadn't yet been unsheathed but its grade had already been seen through by those old martial artists. At this point, the bouquet had reached its climax! A profound grade sword was actually gifted to this fellow! A profound grade treasure can even make those top old martial artists seethe with greed, and now it was casually gifted to a total stranger! No one dared to believe the reason was that he had rescued the Princess. One had to remember that the Princess was abducted in her home under the protection of many martial artists whose least cultivation was at the Early Divine Sea Realm. And now a mere Late-stage Foundation Establishment Realm martial artist posed to be the one who rescued the Princess, who herself was at the Early Divine Sea Realm a boundary higher than he was.