Chapter 34: Return Home Part 2

"Be wary of your competitors. They will make the first move and defeat someone publicly known to be strong. They will try to intimidate you and provoke you with words. Do not let it get to you and remain calm. Like a predator stalking his prey, you must be patient and bide your time," Spook advised as the skull animated while it spoke. "Those people are sure to be arrogant and have superior strength among their peers to challenge you during your birthday celebration. If there are delegates from city-states and relatives from your clan coming to challenge you, they will bring their best to avoid losing face or honor."

"Do you sense any Hyperion? I don't want to use my spirit sense here and provoke someone if they detect it," Shu asked.

"There is one," Spook answered. "It lies to the east, still in the palace. It is among several others."

"One of the ambassadors, then. Might be from out of the country," Shu noted as he stared at the East Wing of the palace. "Must be a humanoid. Can I kill it?"

"No. It is much too powerful. In Mortal terms, it is at the strength of a Spirit Knight," Spook answered. "Each member of the main branch of your clan that has met the Great Ancestor should have a ring like mine. I can communicate between them and the rings on the Honorable Ancestors who are in the hidden chamber with the Great Ancestor. I will alert your father's ring first. The emperor should be sending people to quietly deal with the Hyperion."

"Good. Thank you," Shu said as Spook became still once more after a laugh.

Agemo sat on his bed and withdrew four types of elixir pills from his storage bag before gazing at the talisman in his pocket. It was the same talisman he bought at the auction in Kasara. While he was in the pocket dimension, the talisman kept making elixir pills full of dark, lightning, water, and ice spirit energy. He had been consuming the elixirs to master his technique faster. He would quickly get used to varying levels of spirit energy use when performing his techniques.

The dragon slept under the moonlight while Shu started eating the elixir pills and began refining them into his body. With each elixir pill, he felt stronger and could envision the technique in his mind, endlessly practicing it until the elixir pill was completely refined in his body. He opened his eyes and gazed at the fourth elixir pill. This pill contained the life force of the planet at a higher concentration level than directly absorbing it.

He ate the elixir pill, and the scorpion tattoo on his body glowed as the energy went straight into his spirit reactor, refining into spirit energy that his body could use as it flowed into his soul lake. Over the five years he trained in the pocket dimension, the life force of his planet had transformed the soul lake, with random pockets of blue-green mist emanating the same color as the planet's life force. Satisfied, he stopped his cultivation and went to sleep.

"Welcome. Welcome," Lu Xing greeted as the guests began arriving for the feast the following morning. "Please take a seat. Welcome. Thank you for coming to Lu Shu's thirteenth birthday."

"Welcome, please sit and enjoy the entertainment. The emperor and my brother will be arriving shortly," Lu Mei greeted as she showed them to their seats.

Of course, the ambassadors from other countries sat closer to the top of the steps in front of the palace, followed by the delegates from the city-states, and with the members of the Lu Clan at the end of the plaza toward the entrance. They all sat on the left side of the main plaza, to the right of the large table at the top of the plaza where Emperor Lu Yi would eat with his family in front of the palace at the top of the steps. The other side of the plaza consisted of the Yan Empire's ministers, generals, and representatives of various houses. Empress Rong was already sitting at the table of honor as she smiled and greeted the guests while waiting for her children and husband to arrive. There were just too many people to fit into the throne room, and the Lu Clan competition would also take place soon after.

"Remember, Lu Shu, to be respectful at all times. Only display your spirit force when you are challenged. There are many important people today and many more Practitioners," the emperor said as he and Lu Shu were in the throne room inside the palace behind the plaza. "The center of the plaza is where the competition will be. Don't worry, my mages will cast barriers so people in the seats will not be harmed. Remember, you must not kill anyone. I don't want to deal with my ministers who will argue about the deaths if you cause them. Do not bring your dragon and puppet into the fight. Leave them near your seat. Of course, make sure your puppet watches for any devious activities. I cannot interfere. You can only rely on yourself."

"Yes, father. I will do as you say," Shu nodded as he wore a gold shirt with black pants and gold-striped shoes.

"You're not wearing the imperial garments," Lu Yi noted, his eyes narrowing upon seeing Lu Shu's green jacket with metal-plated shoulder pads. "Ah, that's why. Of course, the symbol of the Overseer. That is sure to intimidate them. What is it like to have horns? I don't have any. What about the demon stone in your skull? Can you feel it when you touch your forehead?"

"The horns feel uncomfortable sometimes, but my hair usually covers them. As for the stone, I can only feel it when I press my forehead a little. Otherwise, my forehead seems as smooth as any other. It just feels like a part of me," Shu answered. "However, I feel an increased hunger for meat. I've been eating magical beast meat a lot lately. I seem to be unsatisfied with any other kind."

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"Carnivorous," Lu Yi laughed. "No doubt, your tastes will continue to change. Soon, it will not bother you to eat human meat when your demonic genes finally take over your body. Interesting. Well, we can't keep your guests waiting. Remember to smile politely and mind your manners while you eat. It is a pain, but we are royalty and must act with a certain etiquette during official occasions. Some people will be unhappy with their seating arrangements. Chief among them will be my brother and sister. They are bound to be the first to interrupt our feast. As for their children, you can do anything short of killing them. Oh, and no dismemberment. Your mother enjoys it too much and will not settle for just one limb getting cut. She is quite mad they changed the date of the competition to today and knows they can't wait until the feast is over. Frankly, she has never been more enticing."

"Uh, alright. I'll keep the dismemberment to a minimum, father," Lu Shu nodded nervously as the duo walked outside to the plaza.

"His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Lu Yi, has arrived! He is accompanied by Second Prince Lu Shu," one of the royal guards roared, causing everyone to stand and bow deeply when the father and son arrived and stood before their places.

"Long live Emperor Lu Yi! Long live the emperor! The Yan Dynasty is eternal!" everyone in the hall repeated five times until they sat down.

"HAHAHAHA! Welcome, friends and dear ones. Today is the celebration of the thirteenth year since my second son and third child, Lu Shu, was born. I thank you all for coming from such a long distance to join me in this special celebration. Now, let us feast and enjoy the entertainment," Lu Yi roared and clapped his hands.

"Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty," they all bowed, and the feast officially began. Servants and maids brought the food and drinks while dancers entered the hall and began their routines. Each dancer was a young beauty, causing several men to glance helplessly in their direction. Today, Lu Shu sat on his father's right, instead of Lu Xing who sat to Lu Shu's right, while the queen and Lu Mei sat on the emperor's left. Many ambassadors and delegates walked up to the table to toast with the emperor. The emperor allowed them to toast to Lu Shu but did not allow him to drink as he was a child and was going to compete in the competition.

Emperor Lu Yi and Empress Lu Rong faked smiles as they eyed their relatives at the end of the plaza. They wondered who would make the first move. Lu Shu didn't care as all he thought about was the magical beast meat in front of him. He ate in an orderly fashion with his chopsticks, putting pieces of meat into his mouth. Occasionally, he would drink water to wet his mouth before resuming his meal. Lu Xing shook his head at seeing his brother so at ease, and the two began to talk about Shu's travels while the puppet sat beneath his chair and the dragon leapt onto the table to eat the meat. No one dared to disrespect the dragon, as they were sacred in the Yan Empire. Especially the golden dragons, which were symbols of the empire.

"Honorable Ancestor," Lu Yi stood up in surprise as he saw Lu Feng. "What brings you here?"

"To congratulate your son, of course. He is my three or four times great-grandson and direct heir of my own person. I also bring a gift from the Great Ancestor. He gifts Prince Lu Shu with a Saint-level magical beast. This tiger cub is a Gold-Eyed Lightning Tiger. This tiger cub has no stripes yet, but they will be irregular, like tribal tattoos. As it matures, its tail will develop spikes with purple lightning crackling from them. It is ranked seven among tiger magical beasts, but there

is only one gold in color. You know how our clan loves gold. Happy birthday, Shu," Lu Feng smiled as he handed the cub to Lu Shu. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

"Aw! It's so cute. It's the size of a kitten," Lu Mei admired as the sleeping cub moved in Shu's arm. "I wanted one."

"You wanted something cute and got a Gold Radiant Phoenix, the second most powerful magical beast phoenix and second only to the Sacred Phoenix of legend," Lu Rong sighed. "You wanted it because it was cute and now it looks majestic. Tigers don't look cute as they mature. Sit down. You're drawing stares."

They all stood and bowed as Lu Feng laughed. He said he was leaving for a few years to visit his old student, Seto. He told them that the other ancestors were already in closed-door training and were not to be disturbed for at least a decade. Lu Yi nodded, and they all sat down as Lu Feng left. Everyone else in the plaza stared in shock as they watched the Spirit Sage leave. They did not expect to see one in the Yan Empire and wondered how many more were in hiding.

"Your Imperial Majesty, may I inquire as to who that esteemed Spirit Sage was?" one of his ministers asked as he stood and bowed politely, silencing the plaza as they also stared at the emperor's direction.

"HAHAHA! He was once known as Lu Feng, the same Lu Feng of legend who slaughtered one of the ten ancient clans and reduced them to only nine. He is one of my many ancestors who are currently in closed-door training. You must have heard about Spirit Sages before. They care little about Mortal Realm affairs and spend most of their time cultivating while isolated from the world," Lu Yi laughed, causing the people's hearts to seize as he implied there were more than one Spirit Sage within the Yan Empire.

Just having one Spirit Master made an empire or nation recognized. They were truly made speechless by the emperor's relaxed remark. Naturally, some city-states and ambassadors were disturbed as they had clearly underestimated the Lu Clan's might. After all, Lu Yi cared little about conquest. It was obvious such pacifist behavior would make other nations see him as a weak emperor. Not only did the Yan Empire have many Spirit Knights, but they also had several powerful hidden experts.

"HAHAHA! This is great news for our Yan Dynasty. It is sure to survive for thousands of years," the minister laughed, causing others to also laugh merrily while the rest laughed weakly.

"That ass. Of course he would make the first move," the empress whispered an hour later when one middle-aged man in fine robes stood up and bowed to the emperor.

"Brother, such a fine feast requires a higher level of entertainment," the man laughed as the hall grew silent once more. "It is unbefitting to show our esteemed guests entertainment of such low caliber."

"You dare say my dancers are inadequate, Lu Ce?" the emperor roared.

"Not at all, brother. I merely suggest that we begin the true entertainment. How about bouts of contest between the young Practitioners? Some of our guests would also like to test their own, I'm sure," Lu Ce smiled as the dancers quickly left the plaza and all eyes turned to the emperor to hear his decision.