Chapter 363: A Feast of Distinguished Guests
Translator: Flying Lines
Lin Xuefeng gasped in amazement.
He had the hunch that his speculation was correct, for he was standing before the Smiles of Beauties!
Who else could have such courage to invite guests and friends to feast here except the grandson of Blood King Ning Bugui?
Ordinary people cannot even think of entering this restaurant!
“It never occurs to me that my cousin Lin Xun should be acquainted with such an important person as Ning Meng. If he is in charge of our family in the future, it’s not unlikely that the Lin family can rise again under his leadership!”
Lin Xuefeng hurried to catch up with others as he kept thinking to himself.
Apparently, Lin Xun was more than a casual acquaintance of Ning Meng. His friendship with Ning could make everyone else feel envious.
For descendants of prestigious families, the level of cultivation was the most important and fundamental, but a wide circle of connections and relationships was also indispensable. For example, he could get numerous benefits for being a friend of Ning Meng, a young, powerful man with eminent family background.
If anyone intended to take unfair advantage of Lin Xun, they had to consider first if they could afford the cost of offending Ning Meng. And this was just the most obvious benefit.
There were huge potential benefits available to Lin Xun depending on how he used his interpersonal relationships.
Unsurprisingly, “benefit” was a matter of concern for Lin Xuefeng, which was utilitarian but also quite sensible.
In the circle of aristocratic men, one’s connections and relationships were always based on benefits and interests. A person whose status was much inferior was not even eligible to join the circle.
Just like Lin Xuefeng, he could never have the chance to say hello to Ning Meng without the introduction of his cousin Lin Xun!
Though they only met once, Lin Xuefeng could, when he got in trouble someday, turn to Ning Meng for help and got the support he needed by simply mentioning Lin Xun.
This was the power of human relations.
Lin Xuefeng knew that he needed Lin Xun’s introduction if he wanted to build a closer relationship with Ning Meng.
But Lin Xun’s close relation with Ning Meng was completely unexpected for him!
Lost in deep thought, Lin Xuefeng suddenly found himself inside the restaurant. He immediately pulled himself together, pushing all the distracting thoughts aside.
As for Lin Zhong and Zhu Laosan, they were ushered by several beautiful, well-mannered maids into another hall, which was particularly reserved for them to take a rest.
Lin Xuefeng was deeply impressed by the generosity of the host. Not only did he throw a dinner in Smiles of Beauties, but he prepared a hall for those servants of his guests!
All of this increased Lin Xuefeng’s curiosity and he was wondering who on earth host the dinner?
...
What a towering and magnificent building the Smiles of Beauties was! And look at its spectacular interiors!
The floor was covered in blue Spirit Sea Stone, each of which cost over one hundred gold coins. Walking on these glittering jewels was like walking on the azure sea shimmering in the sunlight.
And look at those fancy adornments! There were palace lanterns made by Golden Dragon Iron, window frames sculptured from Purplewood, and sets of table and chair carved and polished from a single piece of Black Cold Jade.
Every single piece of decorations, ranging from the carved beams to potted plants, was rare and expensive. This extremely lavish style was astonishing and haunting to everyone.
But the Smiles of Beauties was not just a simple restaurant with fancy adornments.
As a top-class entertainment venue in the Forbidden City, it had plenty of unique and remarkable features.
However, after being surprised for a while, Lin Xun stopped paying attention to these details, for they were nothing but pure decorative items.
Actually, he thought it was a waste to use all of these precious spiritual materials merely for decoration.
“Here we are.”
Ushered by Ning Meng, Lin Xun and other people reached the ninth floor of the restaurant, and they saw a hall called “Ninth Heaven Pavilion” standing alone.
There were over twenty people inside the hall and every one of them, male or female, looked charming and impressive.
They sat before a side table separately, drinking and talking with each other.
Besides, there were a few vacant seats. It was obvious that some guests were still on their way.
The appearance of new faces immediately attracted the eyes from all directions.
Ning Meng grinned as he gave Lin Xun a push, saying loudly, “Can you recognize this man, my friends?”“
“Lin Xun?”“
“Isn’t he the top one of the Bloodthirsty Camp? Who can forget him?”
“It’s Lin Xun! He shows up!”“
Exclamations of surprise arose in the hall.
A man said with a meaningful smile, “In the camp, nobody knew the real identity of Lin Xun. But recently it’s said that there is a “loneliest patriarch of an aristocratic family in the Forbidden city” living in the Heart-Cleansing Peak, one of the Seventy-two Mountains of Power and Influence. I guess Lin Xun isn’t that guy, is he?”
“Ha-ha!”
People laughed at hearing this.
Lin Xun looked around and found many attendees who looked familiar to him, such as Gong Ming and Ye Qi.
Besides, he could also recall the names of some other people present, though he rarely talked with them when they were in the Bloodthirsty Camp. It was not difficult to understand, for all the trainees were separated into different camps, and every single day some trainees would get eliminated. The intensity and cruelty of the cultivation life in the camp left them little chance to communicate with each other.
Nevertheless, mixed emotions still welled up inside Lin Xun. Two years had passed. He changed a lot, so did these people he knew.
But such changes were not surprising. When attending the camp, they were all in their teens, a period of rapid growth and change. Thus, two years was long enough to alter the look and temperament of these youths.
Lin Xun also noticed some strangers. He guessed they were either guests invited by Shi Yu or companions of other guests.
At this moment, Shi Yu, who had got up from his seat at the head of the table, walked towards Lin Xun with a big smile on his face, “Well, well, we didn’t know too much about each other two years ago, so today please allow me to make the introductions.”
Then he introduced Lin Xun to a plain-looking man who had sedate and calm temperament, saying, “This is Gong Ming from the famous Tumbler’s. I still remember how flustered I was when fighting against this guy with his Nine Ghostdoms Body-defense Cudgel! That was the first monthly test in the camp.”
Gong Ming rose to his feet and said with a hint of a smile, “It’s been so long, Lin Xun. We have some catching up to do later.”
Lin Xun smiled back to him, “Of course.”
“And this is Ye Qi......”
Shi Yu continued to introduce a short, stout young man but the latter interrupted him, saying, “No need for further introduction. Lin Xun has left a very deep impression on me.”
“Yeah, I also remember you were always talking about having another combat with me back then.”
Lin Xun smiled.
“That’s right!”
Ye Qi’s eyes lit up instantly, obviously itchy for a fight, “Hey, why don’t we have a good fight after the dinner?”
Shi Yu interrupted, “Let’s talk about this later. Listen, Lin Xun, this fatty is the son of Ye Zhankong, the King of East Sea. Their family is one of the most powerful and rich families in the East Sea Province and boasts innumerable natural treasures from the sea.”
“Bullshit. How can my family compare with your Keystone Business?”
Ye Qi rolled his eyes.
Shi Yu went on to introduce the rest to Lin Xun, with particular reference to their family background.
Lin Xun was unperturbed, but a short distance away, Lin Xuefeng was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t believe his ears!
Who would believe that the person who threw the dinner should be Shi Yu, the “Childe Shi” of the Keystone Business as well as the youngest son of the Fortune God Shi!
The Keystone Business alone could rival the seven high-class aristocratic families in terms of its influence and power.
Apparently, Lin Xun and Shi Yu were close as well!
Lin Xuefeng totally lost his composure as he got to know the identity of these attendees—there was the descendant of the Tumbler’s, the eldest son of the King of East Sea, as well as members from other noble families. All of them could be called “big shots” backed by well-known families in the Forbidden City or local powers reigning over different regions of the empire.
Lin Xuefeng, as the heir of Lin family in Northlight, was completely eclipsed by them.
No, they cannot even be placed on the same level.
Nowadays, the four collateral branches of Lin family had to unite together in order to be admitted as one of those second-rate noble families, and Lin family in Northlight alone does pale in comparison with other families.
Lin Xuefeng would not abase himself for this. But he was indeed shocked to find that Lin Xun was acquainted with most attendees at this feast!
So what if they were just nodding acquaintances? At least they were acquaintances. “I didn’t even have the chance to be introduced to them,” Lin Xuefeng thought.
It was only at this moment that he became fully aware of the powerful interpersonal connections Lin Xun had. No wonder he had the courage to take on the responsibilities of reviving the Lin family all alone!
While Lin Xuefeng felt lost, a harsh voice suddenly rang out in the hall, “Childe Shi, if you want to introduce all these guests one by one, when are you going to finish it?”
The words expressing a clear sense of dissatisfaction attracted people’s attention to the speaker, an arrogant young man in black.
Shi Yu gave a small frown, which was quickly replaced by a smile. He said to Lin Xun, “This is Song Chonghe from the Song family, which is one of the seven high-class aristocratic families in the Empire. In addition, Song Yi, the man who won the first place in this year’s Nation Test, is his clan cousin.”
But Song Chonghe responded in a cold manner, “Don’t bother to introduce me. I am here only because of Lady Bai (Bai Lingxi). I don’t care about anyone else.”
He sounded so rude and snobbish that some people frowned.
Lin Xun was also a little surprised as he didn’t expect that Shi Yu would invite such an arrogant man.
But Shi Yu just laughed out loud and said, “All right, it’s better to make the introductions when all my guests have arrived. Let’s take a seat now, Lin Xun.”
He led Lin Xun towards the head table on the left side. Apparently, Shi Yu didn’t want to stoop down to Song’s level by arguing with him.
To everyone’s surprise, Song Chonghe did not shut up, but sneered unhappily, “Childe Shi, I don’t think everyone here is eligible to sit at the head table.”
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