When the banquet was in full swing and the room was filled with various young gentlemen, Kai was getting bored and the fat man was getting a little drunk.
Kai had already drained his second bottle of wine, and had managed to avoid several conversations. Sometimes people tried to approach him to get to know him, since no one knew where he was from, there were people who were curious. There was even a brave group of girls who took the initiative and approached him. But faced only with rather restrained answers in Kai's calm smile, they decided not to bother. He redirected all subsequent conversations to the fat man, and the latter vented for the two of them.
There were a lot of people making useful acquaintances at this banquet, so it wasn't strange that they were sometimes approached, even though Kai's aura was a bit strange and their behavior was generally loose. It seemed like these two were just here to drink, they weren't paying attention to anyone. Fatty decided to just go with the flow, he had enough emotions for the evening ahead of him.
At that moment some guy named Loyd came up again, luckily he was a nice enough guy, he and the fat man even started a conversation. Kai decided why not get some information from another source?
- I wonder what kind of official would be visiting the Lord's Mansion? - Kai asked casually.
- Hmm, I heard from my old man in confidence that there are some big events going on in the empire right now. I don't know what they're about, but they say that they're looking for talented people all over the empire. There's even talk that it might have something to do with the Shadow Sect! - That's what Loyd said.
- The Shadow Sect? They say it doesn't interfere in the internal affairs of the Empire, so why does it seem different now? - Asked Kai.
- Hmm, I don't know, it's quite a mysterious force, and not everyone from the Imperial family has crossed paths with the representatives of the Sect, maybe it's all rumors... But what's strange... - the guy paused, - You must have noticed that they gathered mostly the younger generation... And the official's visit must have something to do with it. But I couldn't think of a reason..." Loyd reasoned aloud.
- Maybe you have heard of similar actions in other regions of the Empire, not only in our western region? - Kai asked thoughtfully.
- Yes... Exactly... My brother is in the east now, and my father said that he sent a letter telling about something like that. He said they select talented young people there, but I don't know the details. - Loyd said, thinking back.
- Hmm, maybe they decided to do some kind of competition or something? If the Shadow Sect is involved, maybe it's a selection? - Kai asked.
- I don't know exactly, but they say that the Shadow Sect only selects masters from the Cloud Sphere, and you have to be no older than 17. We're all obviously not up to their standards..." Loyd said sadly.
At that moment, there was solemn music, and everyone stopped talking quickly. The large doors opened. They were opposite the entrance from which all the other guests had come. From there, a short and fat man with a goatee and another man who was dressed in a light blue robe slowly walked out. He had a long white beard and long gray hair neatly gathered into a bundle.
As they walked in, the two men chatted with each other. It could be seen that the short man was ingratiatingly constantly saying something, and trying to suck up to the sage-like man in every way possible.
Looking at all of this, Kai realized who was who without clarification. Obviously, the fat man with the goatee was Lord Flick, but the gray-haired man was probably an official of their capital.
Looking at the official, Kai realized that it was difficult for him to determine his exact cultivation level. But he could tell that he was definitely not stronger than a Cloud Sphere... He was most likely even at the beginning stage of the Cloud Sphere... Evaluating him.
At this moment, he relaxed a bit. He was confident that with a lightning fast attack, he would be able to kill Flick and leave here with at most a few injuries.
- Heaven favored me today. - Quietly said Kai smiling to himself and started looking at Lord Flick.
"Really? He's only in the middle of the Cultivator? And that's with his wealth and most likely an incredible amount of different pills and spiritual herbs? Yeah that man is just trash, tz..." - Kai contemptuously reasoned in his head.
"Now no wonder why his actions are so vile and the people in his domain are constantly suffering, what trash on the outside is trash on the inside..." - Kai continued to think and became more and more convinced that he had to send one vile soul to hell today.
At that moment the two men made their way to the table that stood on the dais and in the very center of the hall. It was planned so that they could be seen from anywhere in the room and would be the center of attention.
- Ahem, ahem. - Lord Flick coughed loudly.
- Well, welcome ladies and gentlemen! Greetings on behalf of the Lord of this Flaming Fox Mansion! - Lord Flick spoke solemnly.
- Today we are all solemnly gathered to welcome the distinguished guest from the Capital! He has arrived today to evaluate the potential of our young generation! Greetings to the honorable Mr. Feran! Slavishly praising the goat-bearded man and sat down at the table.
At that moment, Mr. Feran stood up and said in a loud but incredibly soothing voice:
- Greetings to all of you, young lords and the hope of our Empire, for you are our future, and on your strength depends what will happen to our lands when old men like me are gone. Hehe. - The man laughed dryly.
He seemed to put some energy into his voice so that it reached every corner of the banquet hall. Although he was only at the initial stage of the Cloud Sphere, he seemed to be an order of magnitude stronger than any Cultivator. Indeed, the difference between each sphere was huge... While Kai could kill anyone in his own sphere at the beginning stage of a Cultivator, he wouldn't be so sure about a Cloud Sphere master, and that was talking about the weakest of them, a peak or even a mid-stage Cloud Sphere master wasn't even worth mentioning... While Kai was thinking, the man continued to speak.
- Today, I am here to select a few people, for a tournament among the younger generation of our Empire! Recently, the Shadow Sect has expressed their desire to select a few of the strongest sprouts from the four Empires of our region! This selection is now taking place throughout the entire Lunar Luster Empire, and even more! Such selection is happening in the other three Empires as well! - The man solemnly announced.
- ''We are all extremely fortunate that the Shadow Sect will raise a few people from our younger generation. For believe me, those who are raised as their disciple will be stronger than any other master in the empires in the future. The Shadow Sect is an incredibly powerful force! - He continued to explain.
- So, today I will evaluate you, and if I find any worthy ones, you can come with me to the Capital for the tournament! But mark my words, my selection will be extremely strict! - The man said seriously.
- Mr. Feran, how will the selection be conducted? - Smiling with a subservient smile, Lord Flick asked.
- A demonstration of strength! Everyone who believes in their own strength, come to the center of the hall, state your name, age, and begin the demonstration of your strength! If you prove worthy, I will accept you! - Speaking loudly, Feran voiced out the rules.
At this moment, many young lords' eyes shone and their hearts blazed!
''Capital City! Shadow Sect! Did you hear Mr. Feran?!" - At this moment, enthusiastic discussions began to erupt throughout the hall. And the sparks of light competition that were hovering in the air before turned into a veritable conflagration!