Chapter 819: Invited to a Banquet

"Brother Chang, what guidance do you have?" Ye Liuyun saw his smile and felt the guy had no good intentions.

"The Prince's Mansion is holding a birthday banquet for the Princess tonight; many local young talents will attend. Young Master Ye, aren't you going to join?" Chang Wanshan asked.

"Huh? The Princess's birthday?" Ye Liuyun couldn't figure it out, wondering what this guy was up to.

The Princess's birthday—she herself didn't invite Ye Liuyun, so how did this guy manage to get an invitation for him?

Liang Xinyu hadn't intended to invite Ye Liuyun either, after all they weren't very familiar.

But since Chang Wanshan mentioned it, she couldn't refuse; she said, "My memory's terrible—busy with the Ghost Butterfly matter, I forgot to invite Young Master Ye to the banquet. Later I'll have someone deliver the invitation to Young Master Ye's residence."

"In that case, thank the Princess for the invitation!"

Ye Liuyun also thought that those who could attend the Prince's Mansion Princess's birthday banquet must include some top talents.

He wanted to see what level the local talents were, so he readily agreed.

As for whatever scheme Chang Wanshan wanted to play, he didn't bother to think about it.

After Ye Liuyun left, Liang Xinyu expressed dissatisfaction toward Chang Wanshan.

"I hadn't even thought of inviting him; why did you bring up the banquet?"

"I just think every banquet is the same local crowd, boring. Since it's your birthday, I wanted a fresh face to add some fun!" Chang Wanshan explained.

The Princess heard that and said nothing further. She understood that Chang Wanshan wanted to use the chance to embarrass Ye Liuyun.

Tonight's banquet was special. It was prepared by his Father King to recruit personal guards, so the banquet included a martial contest.

However, he didn't warn Ye Liuyun. Whether Ye Liuyun would embarrass himself depended on his own strength, which had little to do with her.

After returning, Ye Liuyun didn't think much, greeted Qiong Qi, and went to practice with Xuan Kong Shi.

Not long after he returned, the Princess also sent someone to deliver the banquet invitation to him.

Until the banquet was about to start, he finished his cultivation and rushed to the Prince's Mansion.

He intended to go see these people's strength, so he hurried back immediately.

He didn't want this boring banquet to waste his cultivation time.

So after arriving, he just found a secluded spot, sat down, poured his own drink, assessed everyone's strength, and didn't join the crowd.

The Princess wasn't present, likely waiting for the finale. Chang Wanshan had arrived early and was chatting with a group of youngsters.

When he saw Ye Liuyun, he began pointing at him and commenting with the people around him.

Ye Liuyun didn't care about him, thinking he wouldn't act out at the Princess's banquet.

"There are still some truly strong talented individuals!" Ye Liuyun noticed two young men with relatively strong bloodlines and True Essence.

One was boisterous, sitting in the front row, constantly eating and drinking. Another was more low-key, seated in the back row, eyes closed, as if cultivating.

"Hey, brother, you look unfamiliar—also here for the contest?" a fat man at the neighboring seat, holding a wine cup, leaned over to chat with Ye Liuyun.

"My name is Wei Donglai; they call me Wei Pangzi. You don't mind me sitting here, right?" he said familiarly, striking up conversation with Ye Liuyun.

Ye Liuyun's Golden Pupil scanned and found that Wei Pangzi's strength was also decent, but he was deliberately concealing his realm.

He originally possessed the Yin Yang Jiu Zhong realm, but displayed only the Yin Yang Seventh Layer.

"Please. I'm Ye Liuyun, not a local." Ye Liuyun invited him to sit and gave a brief self-introduction.

Wei Pangzi was unreserved, directly picking up Ye Liuyun's wine flask and pouring it into his own cup.

"What contest did you just mention? Isn't this the Princess's birthday banquet?" Ye Liuyun was puzzled when he said "participate in a contest."

"You don't know?" Wei Pangzi stared at Ye Liuyun as if looking at a monster.

Then he laughed, "No wonder you, with a Yin Yang Liu Chong realm, are also attending the banquet!"

Ye Liuyun also noticed that most of the young people here were in the later stages of the Yin-Yang Realm.

Those with a realm as low as his were truly only himself.

Seeing Ye Liuyun looking bewildered, Wei Pangzi immediately began explaining.

"This banquet is actually the Prince selecting a few personal guards for the Princess, to accompany her into the Sect for cultivation. So a contest is inevitable."

"No wonder!" Ye Liuyun glanced again at Chang Wanshan, noticing that not only he, but also the people around him, wore mocking smiles toward Ye Liuyun.

Wei Pangzi added, "But if you don't want to be a guard for the Princess and don't make a move, it shouldn't be a problem!"

Yet when Wei Pangzi followed Ye Liuyun's gaze toward Chang Wanshan and the others, he said worriedly, "Looks like you're about to get into trouble!"

"They count as trouble?" Ye Liuyun withdrew his gaze, sneering at Chang Wanshan and his companions.

Those people not only had low realms, but also average True Essence Quality, bloodlines, and Soul strength.

"Ha ha, although their personal strength is mediocre, their families are quite influential!" Wei Pangzi was subtly warning Ye Liuyun not to provoke this group.

Ye Liuyun understood his meaning, toasted him with a drink, and then asked about the local talents.

"Brother Wei, actually I came just to see the local talents' flair. I wonder which masters will be among tonight's youths?"

"Masters? Besides the two you just saw, there are indeed a few more," Wei Pangzi said.

"This fat guy's not simple; even when I observed others, he noticed them!" Ye Liuyun thought to himself.

Yet he said politely, "Please, Brother Wei, tell me more!"

Wei Pangzi, also a talkative person, immediately launched into a nonstop story for Ye Liuyun.

"The one who devours food, named Hou Yuan, is a strength-type Martial Cultivator. The one in the second row pretending to cultivate is named Ning Tiande, whose footwork is extremely strange."

"There are also a few absent ones who are the strongest. One sword master named Qiao Yunhai; a woman adept at seductive arts named Su Manning; and a hulking Monster Beast Cang Yuan, called Yuan Datou, who is a lunatic..."

"Monster Beast too?" Ye Liuyun was a bit surprised.

"Yes! We have several Monster Beast families here, also quite powerful."

Wei Pangzi talked while drinking, quickly finishing the wine on Ye Liuyun's table.

While no one noticed, he swapped the wine from a neighboring table onto his own.

The room, previously filled with scattered small talk, suddenly fell silent.

A slender woman in a blue long dress slowly walked in.

Everyone's gaze was fixed on her.