Book 9, His Fame Shakes the World – Chapter 17, Stepping Onto the Stage
Yulan calendar, year 10009, April 12th. This was the day on which Wharton and Nina would be engaged at the imperial capital. One of the two lovers was the younger brother of a peak-stage Saint-level expert, while the other was the daughter of the Emperor. An engagement ceremony such as this would definitely be very well attended.
The nobles of the imperial capital who received invitation letters all felt extremely proud. Many common nobles weren’t qualified to be invited to this event; after all, if everyone was invited, the Count’s manor wouldn’t be able to hold all those people.
The Count’s manor was very festive today, and the outside of the manor was flooded with arriving carriages, which blocked off a large half of the Boulder Street. The guards and servants of the nobles weren’t qualified to enter the manor, and all had to wait outside. In total, there were thousands of guards and servants waiting outside.
An ocean of people!
Each carriage was gaudier and more lavish than the next, and each young noble lady was dressed more beautifully and was more mesmerizing than the last. The engagement ceremony banquet at the manor was definitely one of the imperial events of the highest caliber, and the people who came were all people of great status.
“Big bro, I still feel really uncomfortable wearing this.” Wharton had wasted quite a bit of his time in his room. He felt more nervous than he ever had before.
Linley laughed. “Enough, Wharton. You already look very handsome. Have some confidence!”
Wharton took a deep breath.
“Let’s go. Time to welcome the guests in the hall.” Linley laughingly lectured. “You can’t just keep on having Grandpa Hiri welcome the guests. For example, when his Imperial Majesty comes, how can you possibly not be out there to welcome him?”
Wharton and Linley entered the main hall, and as soon as they did, they breathed sharply. Good heavens. There were so many people there. What’s more, that was just a small portion of the nobles who would be present. Many senior personages hadn’t arrived yet.
“The imperial capital really is the imperial capital. There are far more nobles here than in Fenlai City.” Linley sighed.
In the past, Linley had participated in Alice and Kalan’s engagement ceremony. The number of people present that day clearly were far fewer than the number attending the ceremony today, and were clearly a much lower caliber of people as well.
The noble clans of a kingdom naturally were far fewer in number than the noble clans of an empire.
As soon as Linley and Wharton entered the main hall, they immediately became the center of attention. Wharton’s massive frame was simply too eye-catching, and many people went over there to greet him warmly.
“Wharton, come over here.” Housekeeper Hiri immediately called out to him.
Wharton immediately hastened over to the main door of the hall and began to greet each of the arriving guests. As for Linley, he filled a cup with wine, then casually walked to the center of the hall, occasionally clinking cups with the guests.
These nobles were very conscientious and didn’t try to get too close to Linley or bother him too much, only gently tipping their cups towards him from afar.
However…
Some of the young noble ladies had their eyes set on Linley. They knew that Linley was unmarried. A twenty-something year old peak-stage Saint-level expert…where would anyone find another man like this?
“What a headache.” Linley saw three separate young noble ladies begin to drift in his direction. Linley could only pretend not to have seen them.
When these three young noble ladies were a meter away from Linley…
“Whoosh.” A soft yet firm gust of wind suddenly pressed against their bodies. No matter what they tried, those three young noble ladies couldn’t move any closer towards Linley.
And then, Linley raised his cup, smiling faintly, before heading to a corner of the main hall and sitting down.
“Just then, Master Linley…” A golden-haired and golden-eyed beautiful young noble lady got excited. “What sort of amazing technique was that?”
The other two young noble ladies didn’t know either.
Not knowing wasn’t an issue. This didn’t impact Linley’s status in their heart. In fact, to the contrary; this made Linley seem all the more powerful and mysterious to them. Actually, what Linley had just used was just the simplest manipulations of the wind.
“Did you see Master Linley’s Dragonform transformation that day at the Colosseum? He seemed so wild and untamed. I was so excited.”
“He really is exciting. I like this type. Those men at school are all soft as cotton. None of them are extremely manly like him.”
Linley’s hearing was simply too good. Hearing what the young noble ladies were saying to each other, Linley felt a wave of resignation in his heart. They called his Dragonform transformation ‘wild and untamed’? And ‘extremely manly’?”
“His Imperial Majesty has arrived!”
The voice of the guest announcer at the main gates immediately increased in volume. He had clearly shouted using battle-qi, allowing all the guests in the hall to hear clearly.
The entire hall full of nobles fell silent as they all looked towards the gates. There were many nobles outside the hall as well. There were too many guests here today, and the hall simply couldn’t fit them all inside.
“Johann has arrived?” Linley stood up and left the hall.
“Milord.” The uniformed Gates called out towards Linley.
Today, all five of the Barker brothers were dressed in handsome matching uniforms. As they wandered around the manor, their massive size and frame made the hearts of the nobles quail. The nobles all secretly sighed…the Dragonblood Warrior clan lives up to its name. Even their guards were so incredible.
Emperor Johann was a sight to behold, as always. Holding the Empress’s hand, he was followed by a few bodyguards.
“Wharton.” Emperor Johann immediately picked out Wharton from the crowd. Seeing how handsome and strong Wharton looked, Johann nodded with satisfaction. “Not bad, not bad.”
Linley arrived.
“Your Imperial Majesty, come rest inside.” Linley laughed.
“Alright. We have much to discuss with you, Master Linley.” Emperor Johann said warmly. Immediately, the two of them entered the guest hall. As for the other nobles and ministers, they very conscientiously stepped aside for them.
So many of the nobles of the imperial capital had arrived today, but Linley hadn’t gone to welcome any of them. The nobles all felt that this was normal. A Saint-level expert, go welcome them? Was that possible?
“The Chairman of the Dawson Conglomerate has arrived!”
That high-pitched voice rang out again. The Chairman of the Dawson Conglomerate, one of the three major trading unions of the Yulan Continent. Although the Dawson Conglomerate didn’t actually possess any Saint-level experts, it still possessed astonishing economic power.
Even Emperor Johann stood up and said to Linley, “Monroe Dawson is one of Our good friends.”
Linley rose as well.
Yale was sure to have come alongside Monroe Dawson. Of course Linley would go welcome them.
“Haha…” The big-bellied Monroe Dawson made his way over, with Yale by his father’s side. Seeing Emperor Johann, Monroe Dawson immediately bowed slightly. “Monroe pays his respects to the mighty Emperor Johann.”
Emperor Johann smiled warmly. “Monroe, today, Linley is the master of this location. There’s no need for you to stand on too much courtesy with Us.”
“Master Linley and I have been friends for a long time. Only, I didn’t expect that in a few scant years, Master Linley had reached such a level of accomplishment. Haha…” Monroe Dawson laughed so hard his eyes turned into merry slits.
“Uncle Dawson, just call me Linley.” Linley smiled as he spoke. He and Yale were the best of bros. Naturally, he had to be respectful to Yale’s father.
“Wharton, come and greet Uncle Dawson.”