Chapter 1078 - The Rules
Chapter 1078 The Rules
“Sister Mengmeng.”
After entering the long corridor, Chen Chuan became a little restless again. He ran to Mengmeng and said, “Sister Mengmeng, this corridor in the garden looks so pretty. How about we take a picture here to mark this moment?”
“Oh, sure.”
Mengmeng had no choice but to comply with Chen Chuan. She took a photo with him in the corridor.
One minute later…
“Sister Mengmeng, this place also looks beautiful. Let’s take another picture.”
“Chen Chuan!”
Mengmeng’s face darkened. “Didn’t we just take one?”
Chen Chuan said in a wronged tone, “But the flowers here are different from the ones we saw just now.”
“Alas!”
Mengmeng sighed clearly and said, “I really don’t know what to do with you. But this shall be the last one!”
“Okay, Sister Mengmeng, it’s so nice of you. Let’s take our last picture.”
Chen Chuan became elated at once. After taking the last photo with Mengmeng, he was finally satisfied.
Seeing this, Zhang Han and Zi Yan simmered with laughter.
“Here we are.”
The exit of the corridor was ahead of them. They could see a huge square at the end of the corridor. The square was lined with more exquisite bouquets and other decorations. In the shape of a ring, it was as large as an open-air football field. The square was divided into different areas, and there were many tables in each area.
It was smaller than the square in the garden outside, and there were fewer people there. Many of the seats there were unoccupied. The people here were no more than about 3000.
Every time a group of people came in, they would attract the attention of many important figures who were already in the square.
When Zhang Han and the others went in, Yue Wuwei cast a layer of light-colored ripples with a stir of his mind, which instantly wrapped them in.
“Swish, swish, swish!”
Many appraising eyes flashed at them. Some were even probing with their soul sense.
On this occasion, it was not a good manner to probe with one’s soul sense. Nevertheless, there were always several heavyweight forces that wanted to find out who those strangers they hadn’t seen before were.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t find any clues.
Under everyone’s gaze, Zhang Han and the others walked to a big table on the right side with great ease. They sat in a circle. There were some fancier delicacies on the table.
“Wow! Sister Mengmeng, come on and dig in.”
Chen Chuan’s eyes lit up.
“You just ate so many snacks. How can you have room for more? You’re a real chowhound, aren’t you?” Mengmeng curled her lips.
After everyone sat down, they began to chat in low voices.
At the table opposite them sat Li Mu and his men.
“I’ve never seen these people before.”
Li Mu took a few glances at them, then beckoned to an elf behind him and asked, “Who are they?”
The female elf took out an electronic device and searched the data for a moment, then she shook her head and answered, “There are records about them. There may have been some errors with the data. Excuse me, I’ll report this to my superior.”
A short while later, the female elf came back.
She said, “They are qualified to enter the venue. But I’m not in the right place to disclose their identities.”
“Oh, fine,” Li Mu replied.
He then looked at the opposite table again.
After a while, he shook his head and muttered, “The Coming of Age Ceremony is about to start. It seems that Senior Zhang and the others won’t make it.”
“Young Master, if Senior Zhang didn’t come, would we really intervene in Nina’s affairs? After all, Hu Yuan is sitting on the other side. We have no odds against him,” said the man in white beside him.
“Of course we would,” Li Mu said without hesitation. “Nina is Mengmeng’s good friend. If they didn’t come and I just sat back and watch, I would not have been qualified to obtain Senior Zhang’s teaching. As for Hu Yuan, considering his high status, he probably doesn’t have the face to get violent himself on such an occasion. We shall take action accordingly.”
“Nina is only a friend of Senior Zhang’s daughter, not his friend. If we were to interfere, we would become the enemy of many people present. Even the King of Elves would…”
“No-no-no, this is something you don’t understand.” Li Mu smiled but did not explain.
He thought to himself, “If you had met Senior Zhang and his people, you would know that cozying up to Mengmeng is more effective than buttering Senior Zhang up. Sadly, I am not a female elf. I also want to be Mengmeng’s bestie. But since I’m the opposite sex, that won’t work for me.”
“If we are to make a move, I plan, well, to enter the arena myself. I’ll win the competition and become Nina’s fiance,” said Li Mu.
“Young Master, I knew it,” one of the women at his table teased, “you just want to flaunt that your skills in picking up girls are quite impressive. Why make it so high-sounding?”
“Cousin, don’t make fun of me. I have no feelings for Nina.” Li Mu said with a wry smile, “Compared to beauty, I value strength more. Women’s beauty will fade in the end. That’s not what I pursue. You should not blabber like that. If Mengmeng ever heard about the distorted story, she would be mad at me. Then, all my efforts would go wasted.”
“I’m just kidding. Look at how nervous you are.” The slender woman smiled and said, “I’m really curious now. What is Senior Zhang like? And what kind of person is that Mengmeng you’ve mentioned several times?”
“You’ll see them these days.” Li Mu slightly shook his head and said no more.
Not too far away from them sat members of the Tiger Talisman Royal Family. The dozens of tables around were all occupied. This was the place where most of the forces present had gathered.
The Tiger Talisman Royal Family and its allies had clearly sent quite many people here.
Hu Yuan, the representative of the Tiger Talisman Royal Family, was devoid of expression. He was sitting at the table in the center with folded arms and an aloof face. In contrast to his huge and beefy physique, many people around him somewhat looked like weak scholars.
“Uncle Yuan…”
With a trace of fawning expression on his face, Prince Hu Qi said in a low voice, “What do you think of my suggestion? We are strong here. Besides, the Elemental Elf Clan has offended us. With your status, you can just say the word and settle this matter. After I marry Nina, we can later find some random excuses to annex the entire Elemental Elves in the future. This is a good chance to kill multiple birds with one stone!”
His words didn’t cause Hu Yuan to show any bit of emotion on his face. He was even squinting as if a lion were taking a nap. He acted like he hadn’t heard Hu Qi’s words and simply ignored him as if he were air.
Hu Qi’s countenance didn’t alter at all.
He continued in an ingratiating tone, “Uncle Yuan, please consider it.”
“Hahaha.”
Beside him, one of Hu Qi’s cousins ridiculed, “I figure that you’re just afraid you can’t compete with some of the talents here. Don’t make excuses.”
“Yeah, I can’t win. But I still want to land Nina. I haven’t had the taste of an Elemental Elf Princess yet,” Hu Qi said honestly.
“You don’t have any talents, but you always want to pick up women with a strong background. You are surely one of a kind,” his cousin chuckled and scoffed.
Hu Qi didn’t even try to deny or anything either. He just curled his lip and sat behind Hu Yuan without another word.
In the Sea Central Star Area, many people said that Hu Qi was a good-for-nothing.
He knew how others thought of him. Still, he had never objected to it.
“So what if I’m a good-for-nothing? I’ve got money as well as power. With these two means, I can still have everything I want.”
To Hu Qi’s surprise, his cousin should agree with his idea.
His cousin remarked, “Uncle Yuan, although Hu Qi is rather unreliable, arrogant, and debauched, the idea he proposed is still doable. We can slowly gobble up the Elemental Elf Clan by starting with the marriage with Nina. The members of her clan are all the best candidates for Pair Cultivation.”
His words did not make Hu Yuan show any expression either.
However, they were all used to Hu Yuan’s aloofness, so they did not say anything more and planned to watch the ceremony first.
Most people there were conversing through the Designated Voice-transmitting Technique or had soundproofing energy covers around to keep their conversations private.
Therefore, the whole venue was relatively quiet.
It was the case until the King of Elves and his subordinates appeared on the main road leading to the palace inside.
At once, all the soundproof covers disappeared. And many looked over at them.
The King of Elves stood in front of the palace. He was wearing a crown and holding a wand in his hand. Then, he lifted his wand a bit.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz!”
The waves of energy converged on each venue from all directions. In addition to the central square, the other eight squares also rose into the air at the same time.
It was as if numerous branches were holding the squares in midair.
In the end, a huge circular field came into being.
It looked like the Bird’s Nest in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, only this one was many times larger. All the tables in the central square were floating at a low altitude, where the view was the best.
Rays of sunset glow cascaded.
“Welcome to the Coming of Age Ceremony of our Elemental Elf Clan’s Seventh Princess, Nina.”
There were about 100,000 people on the scene. When the King of Elves’s ethereal voice rang out, many people cheered.
Meanwhile, the King of Elves, with more than a thousand elves behind him, slowly walked to the center of the square. A stone platform slowly rose as if it was a stage.
“I hereby announce that Nina’s Coming of Age Ceremony officially begins.”
“Sacrificial offering!”
The more than a thousand members of the Elf Clan raised their hands at the same time and started chanting something that others could not understand.
As they chanted, wisps of light green energy rose from various plants in the surroundings and eventually condensed into the shadow of a giant totem in the sky.
It was the Elemental Divine Tree.
The huge tree expanded in all directions, emitting a bright green glow.
“Nina the seventh princess, please enter the venue!”
The King of Elves was dressed luxuriously. His majestic voice swept through the field.
As soon as he finished speaking, silence fell on the field.
Everyone knew that the most important moment had arrived.
Before entering the venue, according to the Elf Clan’s tradition, Nina would worship the Elemental Divine Tree to obtain its blessing. This process would take half an hour.
Under many people’s gazes, beams of colorful light formed a floating corridor that connected with Nina’s palace.
Dressed in a long white dress and wearing a small crown, Nina, with her long hair fluttering in the wind, slowly glided down the corridor constituted by colorful light and headed for the shadow of the Elemental Divine Tree.
“Wow, Nina is so beautiful.”
Mengmeng’s eyes sparkled slightly.
“No, my daughter is the most beautiful girl,” Zhang Han said with a smile.
“Who is more beautiful, Mummy or me?” Mengmeng looked over her shoulder and posed the death-dealing question.
Zhang Han immediately fell silent.
“Girl, don’t set your daddy up anymore.”
“Of course, your mother is more beautiful,” Zhang Han replied bluntly.
“Humph!”
“That’s why you are as beautiful as your mother,” Zhang Han added.
“Daddy, you’re so slick,” Mengmeng gleefully rolled her eyes at Zhang Han and commented. Then, she turned to look at Nina as well.
This scene was quite amazing to Liu Jiaran, Liang Mengqi, and the others.
“It’s Elf Princess Nina.”
The nearly 100,000 people on the scene were also engaged in hot discussions.
“Nina is indeed the prettiest female elf. She is really attractive.”
“How gorgeous she is! It’s a pity that she, in the prime of her life, has to pick a man as her fiance today.”
“According to the tradition of the Elf Clan, her fiance will have her in bed tonight.” Some in the crowds who also knew about the Elemental Elf Clan’s traditions showed a strange look on their faces.
They wanted to taste the graceful beauty themselves, but they didn’t have the strength to be her fiance.
However, if one was in a high enough position, he would still have a good chance. That was the case for Hu Qi. At this time, he was eyeing Nina’s figure.
He swallowed and said, “She is the woman I will definitely land.”
Li Mu said with emotion from the side, “Nina’s really dressed up. She looks prettier than usual. The competition today should be fierce. Senior Zhang and his people haven’t arrived yet. I wonder if I can keep the matter in check. Alas.”
Then, he heaved with a sigh and took a look at Hu Yuan, who was resting with his eyes closed. At once, he felt stressed.
“Sacrificial offering!”
“Blessing!”
“Chanting!”
With the instructions of the King of Elves, the Coming of Age Ceremony proceeded as planned.
Each process took about half an hour.
There were a total of nine processes, which cost nearly five hours. However, none of the audience was bored. On the contrary, they watched the ceremony with great interest.
After all the processes had been carried out, the exciting part came.
“The Coming of Age Ceremony is over.”
Standing in front of the stone platform, the King of Elves slowly declared, “Not long ago, I made an announcement, which said that Nina, the seventh princess of our clan, would pick her fiance at her Coming of Age Ceremony. Now the ceremony is over, the next part is the selection of…”
“Swoosh!”
At this moment, Hu Yuan suddenly snapped his eyes open.
His overwhelming aura outpowered the auras of all the people present.
He looked straight at the King of Elves, who abruptly broke off, and said in a calm tone, “No need to go through the trouble. Hu Qi will be Nina’s fiance.”
“Hiss!”
Hu Qi gasped with exultation when he heard this.
“Sure enough, Uncle Yuan liked my idea!
“Hahaha!”
He was so happy that he almost threw his head back and laughed out loud.
In his opinion, since Uncle Yuan had made the request, the matter was basically settled.
“This…”
The handsome King of Elves put on a somber look.
“Your Majesty!”
Mo Wen, who was standing behind him, turned pale with shock.
“Hu Qi?
“You want that loser to be Nina’s fiance? Are you kidding me?”
He really wanted to ask if the Tiger Talisman Royal Family had come just to humiliate the Elemental Elf Clan with that loser.
The 100,000 people present burst into an uproar.
“What! Hu Yuan really made the request?”
“Isn’t he too overbearing?”
“Hu Qi? Him? Come on. in normal competition, I can smack him to death with one punch.”
“If Hu Qi really gets to be the fiance, then Princess Nina’s future is ruined.”
“…”
At that moment, even Nina revealed a trace of anger on her face.
But she didn’t say anything. She was waiting for her father to show his stance on this.
The eyes of the King of Elves were undecided.
He wanted to say no. But in the face of the mighty Hu Yuan, his heart trembled with fear.
“Your Majesty!”
Mo Wen said loudly, “According to our clan’s traditional rules…”
“Huh?”
Cold light flickered in Hu Yuan’s eyes.
The overwhelming pressure he emitted made Mo Wen unable to speak at all. Mo Wen almost collapsed to the ground.
As a Yuan Ying Realm Early-Stage cultivator, Mo Wen was far inferior to Hu Yuan, a Yuan Ying Realm Last-Stage cultivator.
“Hiss…”
The King of Elves took a deep breath and eyed Mo Wen coldly.
He then remarked, “Traditions and rules can be altered.”
After that, he looked at Hu Yuan and plastered a smile on his face.
With a fist-hold salute, he said, “I am indebted to the Tiger Talisman Royal Family’s friendship. Brother Yuan, since you’ve made this proposal in person, I reckon it is workable.”
“Rumble!”
Like a bolt from the blue, those words directly struck Nina’s heart.
“Why? Why do this to me?”
She could not understand why her father had abandoned her so thoroughly.
Even though he was to choose a fiance for her, if he prudently made the choice, Nina would consider it understandable. After all, this matter concerned the entire Elemental Elf Clan.
But the candidate was Hu Qi, a notoriously lecherous loafer. However, her father had actually agreed to let him marry her!
“Hahaha, great!”
Hu Qi roared with laughter. Without another word, he stood up and made to go up to the stage.
At this moment, all the others were silent. They were very surprised by how readily the King of Elves agreed.
That caught them off guard.
Moreover, Hu Yuan had closed his eyes for a long time. After he suddenly opened his eyes, his fierce aura swept through the place, which was rather forbidding.
He was one of the strongest cultivators present. Even if some wanted to object, they had to think it over.
Besides, many forces on the scene that were on par with the Tiger Talisman Royal Family remained silent. Now that they did not say anything, the others dared not to oppose the idea on their initiative.
Just like that, everyone was waiting for others to object first. Thus, the silence dragged on.
Hu Qi was about to go on the stage.
At the moment, Zhang Han also was about to say something.
However, just then, Li Mu couldn’t sit back anymore.
He stood up and said, “Since it’s a tradition, then it must be abided by. If this matter is decided just like that, then what’s the point of inviting us here?”
Li Mu was talking to the King of Elves. As for Hu Yuan, whether in terms of seniority or strength, he was several ranks higher than Li Mu.
At the end of the day, Li Mu was not qualified to stand up to Hu Yuan. He was under a lot of pressure. However, he had no choice but to raise the objection. Hence, he made the King of Elves the target.
As soon as Li Mu finished speaking, many people present flashed their eyes at him.
“Does he want to compete for Nina as well?”
Regarding this, Hu Yuan slightly narrowed his eyes and did not even spare Li Mu a glance.
The King of Elves furrowed his brows and said, “I invited everyone here to attend the Coming of Age Ceremony of my daughter. That is the main reason why I spread the news. We elemental elves have always refrained from engaging in disputes with others. Young Master Li, now you’ve raised the objection, why don’t you ask Brother Yuan yourself if he is willing to make this an open competition.”
The King of Elves directly threw the hot potato to Hu Yuan.
Li Mu was angry inwardly.
“You’re so crafty and devious. Don’t you know how to make rules for your own clan?”
Yet, to the King of Elves’ astonishment, Hu Yuan did not want to spare his feelings at all. He said plainly, “Why asking me about the rules of your clan?”
“Swish!”
The King of Elves’ countenance changed slightly. He gazed at Hu Yuan with a somewhat bemused look.
“The decision is yours. I am only recommending Hu Qi to be Nina’s fiance. You don’t want to accept my recommendation?” Hu Yuan’s eyes narrowed as he stared the King of Elves straight in the eye.
“Of course I’d like that.” The King of Elves inhaled and nodded toward Hu Yuan.
He was totally submissive in front of Hu Yuan. The tens of thousands of people around all sighed with emotion.
“Isn’t the King of Elves too cowardly?”
“What a wuss he is!”
Mu Xue slammed the table and said angrily, “How can such a person become the King of Elves?”
“Even though his clan is no match for the Tiger Talisman Royal Family, he shouldn’t have been like this.” Zi Yan knitted her brows. Her impression of the King of Elves instantly became negative.
“He isn’t good enough to be the king of a clan,” Lisa said with a cold face.
She was the master of the Black White Palace. Although she didn’t usually attend to the affairs, she still had to guide it in the macroscopic sense. Sometimes, when her clansmen were bullied by other magnates, she would personally attack their bases. Her title as one of the top three strongest magnates in the King’s Domain was certainly warranted.
But after seeing the decision of this King of Elves, she just wanted to scoff at him. “As a mother who also has a daughter, I say what you’ve done has truly gone too far.”
As if she was experiencing this herself, Lisa was a little infuriated.
Yue Wuwei shook his head with resignation.
“People can be very different.”
At this moment, after hearing what the King of Elves said, Mo Wen quivered behind the king, feeling wronged and incensed.
“Your Majesty, please…”
Mo Wen took a deep breath, knowing that he had to remind the king again that he shall not lose the dignity of a king!
“You shut up!”
The King of Elves suddenly turned around and shot a cold look at Mo Wen. “When is it your turn to tell me what to do?”
“Rumble!”
Mo Wen trembled all over. He looked at the King of Elves in a daze.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
As if he didn’t know what to say, he cupped his hands before his chest and backed away. Suddenly, he seemed to have aged several years.
Among all the people present, he was the one who understood the King of Elves relatively well. “His Majesty only made the decision for the sake of the entire clan. However, is his decision correct?
“Has the many harsh years caused the King of Elves to lose his edge?
“Alas…”
Mo Wen sighed deeply in his head and then looked at Nina, who was floating in the air. Her face was perfectly serene, as though she had long gone numb.
“Your Majesty.”
Zhong An from the Silver-winged Hall opened his mouth and spoke, “I think it’s best not to break the rules.”