Chapter 21

Jiang Chen didn't expect that his casual words would have such a significant effect. The banquet, which was originally filled with lively conversations, suddenly fell silent.

Countless pairs of eyes turned to Jiang Chen in unison.

All those present were powerful figures from the Eastern Kingdom, and they all knew that Longteng Marquis had always wanted to obtain the semi-spiritual land in Jiang Han Marquis's possession, trying every means to take it over.

Judging from the situation, was Jiang Chen about to tear off the mask and openly challenge Longteng Marquis?

However, Jiang Chen, the main character, had a rather thick-skinned appearance. He pulled out a chair and sat down with a bold posture, glancing at Dongfang Zhiruo and muttering, "It seems you haven't been slacking off these few days. If you keep this up, you'll definitely make it through the sixteenth birthday hurdle."

Clang, bang...

There were three or four people at the scene who, upon hearing these words, lost their grip on their wine glasses, which fell to the ground due to the shock of Jiang Chen's words.

This made those who didn't know Jiang Chen feel compelled to secretly ask their neighbors, "Whose young marquis is this? He's really too fierce."

This was the beloved princess of the current emperor.

Moreover, next to the princess, there was a long princess, Gouyu, whose face was already starting to darken.

Seeing Princess Gouyu's face, which was so dark it seemed to be dripping with water, few of the onlookers dared to cast their eyes in this direction.

Everyone knew that Princess Gouyu was a cultivation genius of the Eastern Kingdom and a powerful figure with significant influence.

Not to mention other things, just the fact that she was the chief organizer of the Qianlong Examination, which of the marquises present would dare to offend her?

Jiang Chen, however, seemed to be oblivious to the fact that he was sitting in the most prominent area and had become the focus of everyone's attention.

After sitting down, Jiang Chen's peripheral vision had already observed almost everyone at the banquet. To his surprise, there were a few old acquaintances.

For example, the third hall master of the Alchemist Hall, and the Tian Shui Marquis who had slapped himself that day.

It was clear that the Tian Shui Marquis was being very low-key today. In the past, the Tian Shui Marquis family would always be the first to target the Jiang family.

However, today, both the Tian Shui Marquis himself and his descendants were unusually low-key.

Obviously, the incident at the Jiang Han Marquis's residence that day still left the Tian Shui Marquis with lingering fear. Although he himself didn't step forward, he still felt relieved to see others targeting the Jiang family.

These people didn't know about the agreement between Jiang Chen and Dongfang Lu, so they had no qualms about suppressing the Jiang family.

Sure enough, just as Jiang Chen was about to ask Dongfang Zhiruo about her recent situation, several marquises' descendants walked over to their table in unison.

The first one was Bai Zhenyun, the descendant of the Baihu Marquis.

"Jiang Chen, do you know what day it is today?" Bai Zhenyun said with a look of righteous indignation. "Today is Miss Long Juxue's sixteenth birthday. You actually said this is a messy place! I order you to apologize!"

"And me! Hong Tiantong, in the name of the Zhuque Marquis's descendant, I order you to apologize to the host and the guests present!" Hong Tiantong, who usually incited others to take the lead, today took the initiative to act.

Clearly, in such a situation, Hong Tiantong didn't want Bai Zhenyun to have the advantage in courting Long Juxue.

These two had significant backgrounds.

The Eastern Kingdom had 108 marquises, each with varying strengths. However, there were four major marquises who always ranked in the top four, regardless of how the kingdom changed.

Longteng Marquis first, Baihu Marquis second, Zhuque Marquis third, and Xuanwu Marquis fourth!

The descendants of these four major marquises, along with a few other high-ranking marquises' descendants, formed a menacing encirclement around Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen remained calm, glancing at Hong Tiantong with a leisurely look and asked lightly, "Are you giving me an order?"

"You can think of it that way," Hong Tiantong said proudly.

"Oh..." Jiang Chen lightly patted his forehead, smiling faintly at Princess Gouyu, "Princess Gouyu, is this person from your royal family? Have I mistaken my memory? Do marquises have the right to order each other? I seem to remember that only the royal family has the power to command marquises!"

He lazily glanced at Hong Tiantong and said with a smile, "Descendant of the Zhuque Marquis, right? When did you change your surname to Dongfang? Such a big event, why didn't you inform the world in advance? It would have given us some mental preparation!"

The originally aggressive Hong Tiantong was left speechless by this light-hearted counter-question, standing there like a statue, dumbfounded.

"And you, Bai Zhenyun, right? If I'm not mistaken, this is the third time you've provoked me. I didn't want to take you seriously before. But today, you say this isn't a messy place, and you're jumping around. Are you blind? Can't you see the princess sitting here? Do you even understand the etiquette of marquises? Shouting in front of the princess, do you have any sense of hierarchy?"

"And you few, what do you want? Following these two fools to make a fool of yourselves, are you trying to tell everyone here that you no longer need to hide your rebellious intentions?"

Jiang Chen's rapid-fire words left these young people speechless, their faces red with embarrassment, their minds blank, and they had no idea how to respond.

Bai Zhenyun was so angry that he was shaking, "You... Jiang Chen... You're spouting nonsense!"

"Is your mother not spouting nonsense? If your mother isn't spouting nonsense, where did you crawl out from? Did your father pick you up from the street?" When it came to verbal sparring, Jiang Chen had a million years of experience in his past life, and his sharp tongue could curse the heavens and the earth.

These few were not even worth mentioning.

Dongfang Zhiruo, however, didn't understand this part and gently tugged at Jiang Chen's sleeve, looking naturally cute, "Brother Jiang Chen, does it matter if he was picked up, and does it have anything to do with his mother spouting nonsense?"

"Ah..." Jiang Chen was stunned by this question, stammering, "This is not suitable for children. You'll understand when you get married and have children."

Even Princess Gouyu, who was puzzled at first, thinking Jiang Chen's curses were nonsensical, suddenly remembered the scene of a woman giving birth...

Wasn't that a vivid example of spouting nonsense?

At this thought, Gouyu's gaze almost turned murderous. This despicable Jiang Chen, if Ruo'er mixed with him, she would be corrupted sooner or later!

Seeing Bai Zhenyun and Hong Tiantong standing there like wooden statues, she was furious and slammed the table, "What do you have to say? Do you still care about the dignity of marquises?"

Seeing Princess Gouyu's anger, the atmosphere at the scene became tense.

This was not just any person. Often, Princess Gouyu's attitude represented that of the emperor!

Just as the situation became awkward, the hall echoed with Longteng Marquis's characteristic hearty laughter, "Everyone, please calm down. It's a rare occasion to have so many distinguished guests, and it's also my daughter's sixteenth birthday. I invited everyone here for two reasons: to celebrate my daughter's birthday and to share a great piece of news."

"Oh? Marquis, what great news? You've been keeping it a secret."

"Yes, Marquis, please tell us, we can't wait."

"Ha ha, everyone is so eager, I must have been too tight-lipped. I'll share it now. This is a great event for our Eastern Kingdom. My daughter Juxue, due to her innate Qingluan body, has been chosen by a great figure from the Ziyang Sect and has been personally appointed as a disciple. After the Qianlong Examination, he will personally come to welcome my daughter to the Ziyang Sect for cultivation!"

"What? The Ziyang Sect? That's one of the four major sects of our sixteen kingdoms!"

"A great figure, usually a top figure in the sect! I didn't expect that my niece Juxue would have such a fortune, truly a cause for celebration!"

"An innate Qingluan body, that's extraordinary!"

"Such a great event should be celebrated by all! Congratulations, Marquis, the Longteng Marquis's residence is truly a place of boundless wealth and boundless prospects!"

"Congratulations, congratulations!"

For a moment, various flatteries flowed like a river, endless.

Long Zhaofeng was in high spirits; he had been preparing for this day for a long time. He was not surprised by the scene.

"Actually, when my daughter was born, she was already chosen by this great figure from the Ziyang Sect as a disciple. However, I am a low-key person, and considering my daughter's growth, I didn't want to make it too public. Now that my daughter has reached the age of sixteen, there's no need to keep it a secret anymore."

Long Zhaofeng's words were filled with arrogance.

In reality, he was anything but low-key. If this could be called low-key, there would be nothing in the world that could be called high-profile.

Back then, it wasn't that Long Zhaofeng was hiding it; he simply didn't dare to say it.

When Long Juxue was born, a strange phenomenon occurred in the sky, with a divine rainbow appearing, and a phoenix dancing within it, causing all the birds in the world to bow in reverence, which lasted for a long time.

A great figure from the Ziyang Sect, upon hearing of this phenomenon, deduced that the Longteng Marquis's residence had produced an innate Qingluan body. He, who hadn't left the sect for hundreds of years, immediately rushed to the Longteng Marquis's residence and established a master-disciple relationship with Long Juxue.

However, there is no absolute perfection in the world. The innate Qingluan body has a congenital Yin Qingluan curse, which, if not resolved, would prevent the person from living past thirty, and all their talents would be in vain.

In recent days, Long Zhaofeng had tried every possible method and finally resolved the Qingluan curse in Long Juxue's body. Thus, the Qingluan body was free from any future troubles.

At the same time, the great figure from the Ziyang Sect sent a message, stating that he would formally welcome Long Juxue into the sect in half a year.

Upon receiving confirmation, Long Zhaofeng's first thought was to announce it to the world!

Such a good opportunity to show off, Long Zhaofeng would never miss. As a result, almost all the major marquises and high-ranking officials in the court received invitations from the Longteng Marquis's residence.

Even the powerful Princess Gouyu was no exception.

At this moment, Long Juxue stood beside her father like a proud phoenix, shining brightly, making people dare not look directly at her. Her eyes were filled with restraint and pride.

An innate Qingluan body, even in a hidden sect like the Ziyang Sect, was a very rare talent. She had every reason to be proud.

Bai Zhenyun and Hong Tiantong looked at Long Juxue with longing and admiration.

Jiang Chen finally understood what the great news mentioned in the invitation from the Longteng Marquis was about.

"An innate Qingluan body?" Jiang Chen searched his memory, recalling that in the secular cultivation world, there were indeed various so-called innate bodies.

However, in cultivation, even with excellent talent, if one lacks the corresponding character, there are many examples of not progressing far on the path of cultivation.

To be honest, even with an innate Qingluan body, from Jiang Chen's perspective, it wasn't something to be overly impressed by.

In his past life, he had seen too many top geniuses. Among the top geniuses in the various realms, how many truly grew up to their full potential?