The exhibition center’s conference was being held in an enormous circular hall.
Overhead was a massive glass-domed ceiling. Below it, seats spread out in a fan shape. The Alliance had specially divided a small area for each race, with signs at the front clearly marking the names of the different races.
And at a time like this, the strength of each race could be seen at a glance.
The powerful races were assigned seats in the very center, which was also the most spacious area. It had the best view, the best environment, and the brightest lighting.
By contrast, the weaker small races could only squeeze into little corners along the edges. After an entire conference, sitting there, they might not even get a few shots from the cameras, let alone show their faces in front of the entire interstellar public.
And this was also the helpless reality of those small races.
There had always been voices in the interstellar world criticizing the Saint Clan for being too barbaric and extreme in how they practiced the rule of strength inside their own society.
Yet in truth, they themselves were also practicing the same concept of the strong devouring the weak at every moment.
This could be seen clearly from the seating arrangement at this conference.
Small races were not taken seriously and could only be squeezed into corners, while powerful races could sit calmly and comfortably in the spacious center.
Mansendis did not know where the seats belonging to the Saint Clan were.
And he did not need to know.
After entering, the silver-haired sovereign’s footsteps never paused. Mansendis walked straight toward the foremost and most spacious position.
Clearly, as far as the Saint Clan was concerned, they possessed both the strength and the confidence to believe that no race had the qualifications to sit ahead of them.
If there was?
Then they could conveniently compare strength on the spot.
Mansendis’s expression was indifferent. His golden eyes were like cold gemstones, and everyone around him was regarded as nothing in the silver-haired sovereign’s gaze.
Behind him, the expressions on the faces of those Saint Clan officers were colder and more solemn than the last.
Black military uniforms wrapped around tall, powerful bodies. The medals on their chests reflected a cold gleam beneath the light, just like the impression these Saint Clan members gave people.
Cold, hard, fierce, and carrying a razor-sharp edge.
They were like bloodstained blades that had long since been drawn from their sheaths, making people feel a bone-deep chill filled with killing intent.
An intense shock rushed straight at them.
Seeing it with their own eyes was completely different from merely reading online news about how violent and brutal the Saint Clan were.
The former was more concrete, and its impact was far stronger.
Looking across the entire conference hall, which race had an aura and bearing that could compare to this group of Saint Clan members?
After seeing the Saint Clan, then looking at the so-called elites of other races...
[You really don’t know until you compare them. Once you do, it’s terrifying. The gap is way too huge.]
[The Saint Clan’s women and men are both so handsome and cool. Even the old gentleman following beside the Saint Clan sovereign has such refined and kind-looking features. You can tell he must’ve been a beautiful man when he was young too.]
[What old gentleman? That’s the chief affairs officer of the Saint Clan palace. I heard he served four Saint Clan sovereigns, and before that, he was a general.]
[It’s over. They’re powerful and their looks are this high. I’m starting to feel like the Saint Clan might not be that bad after all...]
[The Saint Clan haven’t really done anything, have they? Usually, they stay in the Ninth Star Region and don’t bother with us at all.]
[The people saying the Saint Clan are bloody and brutal just keep dragging out those same few pictures over and over. But the problem is, who isn’t brutal on a battlefield?]
Although the people of every interstellar race did not say it aloud, deep down, more or less, they all possessed an instinct to worship strength.
And the Saint Clan, powerful to the point of wanton arrogance, undoubtedly struck everyone’s fantasies of the strong straight in the center.
They were instinctively drawn to the Saint Clan’s strength, and their gazes could not move away from them.
Even the livestream viewers watching through StarNet were like this, let alone the people present at the scene.
No one dared obstruct the Saint Clan’s path.
The races that had arrived early and already taken their seats also stood up one after another in the tense atmosphere around them, nodding to the Saint Clan in greeting.
At first glance, anyone who did not know better might have thought these people were all Mansendis’s subjects, rather than leaders of other races.
A rare harmony appeared inside the conference hall. Only, this harmony had been brought about by the Saint Clan, which made it somewhat ironic compared to the public opinion online.
Fortunately, the Alliance had not played tricks with such a small detail as seating.
The foremost and most spacious position truly had been arranged for the Saint Clan.
If any other race had sat there, it would more or less have caused controversy and dissatisfaction. But once Mansendis led the Saint Clan over and sat down there, not even the slightest questioning voice arose from the surroundings.
And only after the Saint Clan sat down did the other races dare sit as well.
It was also only after every race had taken their seats that Wen Yuzhi discovered the merfolk race was seated to their left.
Lottie waved at him. Wen Yuzhi also pressed his lips together and gave Lottie a gentle smile.
This scene was captured by the cameras and immediately placed on the livestream screen.
Lottie clutched her wildly pounding little heart and sighed mournfully. “Ah, tell me, how can such a sweet little cutie just happen to be the child of that Saint Clan tyrant?”
She did want to flirt, but with one twitch of his real father’s finger, she would instantly go from a lively fish to raw fish slices.
So even if the beauty was wonderful...
Wen Yuzhi had no idea about Lottie’s “distress.” He was sitting beside Mansendis. The other Saint Clan members were seated in the row behind them. Only he and his father sat in the very front.
Looking across the entire conference hall, this treatment was unique.
Although everyone already knew Wen Yuzhi was Mansendis’s child, when they truly saw the crown-wearing, exquisitely beautiful little beauty sitting obediently beside that Saint Clan tyrant, everyone still could not help feeling a wave of dazed unreality.
Anyone could see how much Mansendis loved and valued this child of his.
Even on such an important occasion, he still wanted to place the child beside him.
The silver-haired sovereign seemed to be using this method to declare to the entire interstellar world that this was his child, the beloved son Mansendis Salileno cherished most.
The shock brought by this silent expression was the greatest of all.
The Saint Clan, who had been silent for many years, had suddenly become active again recently.
It was not as if everyone had not been surprised by this. They had speculated about the Saint Clan’s motives, and they were curious about the change that had taken place within the Saint Clan. StarNet was filled with news about the Saint Clan almost every day.
Countless conspiracy theories had become popular on StarNet.
Yet only at this moment did everyone dazedly realize—
So the tyrant had gained a weakness too.
The people at the scene exchanged looks, while StarNet also began discussing it heatedly. The previous argument between the two sides was dug up once more.
This time, the face fans could finally fire back with righteous confidence.
Who said the relationship between father and son was bad?
The Saint Clan sovereign brought his own child with him wherever he went. Could that be called a bad relationship?!
Anti-fans: [That’s because they’re biological father and son. Didn’t you see how cold all the other Saint Clan members are?!]
However, just as they finished saying this, at the Saint Clan’s seats, the Saint Clan member said to be the chief affairs officer stood up.
According to the conference process, before the official meeting began, staff would deliver tea, water, snacks, and similar things. This was to prevent the representatives of each race from becoming thirsty or hungry halfway through if the meeting went on too long.
And now was precisely the time for tea and snacks to be delivered. Just as a staff member pushed a cart over to the Saint Clan’s side, Mond glanced over the things on the cart.
The old chief affairs officer frowned slightly and said to the staff member, “Thank you for your trouble, but there is no need to deliver anything else to the Saint Clan from now on. We have prepared our own meals.”
As he spoke, he gave an order to two Saint Clan officers.
Without another word, the two Saint Clan officers left their seats. When they returned, each of them was holding a tray.
On the trays were fruit, cakes, cookies, milk, and other things.
These exquisite foods were all placed in front of Wen Yuzhi.
Compared with the two or three tubes of nutrient solution and a serving of tea that everyone else had received, the food in front of Wen Yuzhi could truly be called varied and dazzling.
And one could tell at a glance that thought had been put into it. Those things were exactly what cubs of this age liked to eat most.
After Mond finished arranging everything, he saw the staff member beside them still had not left, so he smiled apologetically at the other person.
“I’m sorry. Our little highness does not like nutrient solutions, and we cannot confirm whether outside food is safe. Our king has only this one child, so we hope you can understand.”
Mond’s tone was very courteous and polite.
It was just that what he said...
Because he did not like nutrient solutions, they prepared such a huge pile of things?
Only now did everyone realize that the two Saint Clan officers had gone back to the warship to retrieve this food.
It was said that the Saint Clan had a cooking team specifically responsible for making meals for little highness, and right now, all of them were on the warship, waiting on standby at any moment.
Then looking at the “snacks” so numerous they could barely fit on the table in front of Wen Yuzhi, everyone could not help falling silent.
Lottie’s eyes widened even more. She turned her head to look at Haisena, her gaze as if saying, 'Look at the treatment their crown prince gets.'
Haisena raised a brow and smiled coldly.
'Then why don’t you mention that their crown prince is an obedient little sweetheart?'
With the cake placed before him, Wen Yuzhi took a bite himself, then used another clean spoon to scoop up a piece and offer it to Mansendis.
“Dad, you try some too.”
The silver-haired sovereign truly lowered his head and tasted it. After tasting it, Mansendis even very naturally raised a hand and rubbed the cub’s hair.
Wen Yuzhi also happily curved his brows and eyes, clearly very used to his father’s affection.
He also distributed the fruit and small cookies to the Saint Clan members behind him. His main point was that everyone should get a share.
This time, it was Haisena’s turn to stare at Lottie.
'Look how obedient their crown prince is!'
Lottie: “...”
Lottie felt this really could not be compared.
If it were her, not snatching things out of other people’s hands would already count as good behavior. Share things with others?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible!
And the warm, harmonious atmosphere on the Saint Clan’s side made everyone briefly suspect whether their eyes were playing tricks on them.
Was this truly the brutal and violent Saint Clan they knew?
When the Saint Clan’s little highness distributed the food, almost visibly, the expressions of these Saint Clan members softened.
Could this be called having no feelings?!
If even this counted as having no feelings, then those anti-fans really ought to go treat their eyes.
The anti-fans...
The anti-fans also fell silent.
Seeing this, Raymond An felt he had to stand up immediately.
Otherwise, the stage the Alliance had carefully planned would soon become the Saint Clan’s home field.
“Thank you all for coming.”
The moment Raymond An’s voice rang out from the podium, everyone understood that the conference had officially begun.
Everyone sat quietly in their assigned seats. They no longer walked around casually, nor did they whisper among themselves.
No matter what, as the highest organization maintaining interstellar order, although the Alliance had lost all face in this incident, its long-standing authority was still deeply engraved in the hearts of every interstellar race.
So everyone still gave the face that ought to be given.
Wen Yuzhi also sat back beside Mansendis.
Only, when his gaze swept over somewhere unintentionally, Wen Yuzhi saw a somewhat familiar face.
It was Xi Heyan.
The other person was still using that disguised face. Right now, he was sitting among the human race’s seats, very low-key, seemingly only attending as an attendant accompanying the princes and princesses of the Hoffmann royal family.
Emperor Bernard was seriously ill and unable to travel such a long distance to attend the conference. Therefore, this conference was being attended by his children in his place.
Unlike the Saint Clan’s powerful and eye-catching presence, the human race could now only be seated in a more remote position.
Although they had not yet been squeezed all the way to the end, compared with their glory twenty years ago, anyone with eyes could see that the human race seemed to be declining day by day under the leadership of the Hoffmann royal family.
One had to know that twenty years ago, when the Blackstone Legion still existed, the human race had also been qualified to sit in the center.
Now they could only shrink in a remote corner. The usually proud princes and princesses also felt somewhat unable to lift their heads, and the expressions on their faces were stiffer than the last.
...This really was karma.
Seeing this, a mocking coldness flashed through the eyes of an official behind them.
He then turned his head, only to see that their young master seemed to be looking in a certain direction.
He followed Xi Heyan’s gaze.
He discovered that Xi Heyan was looking precisely at the Saint Clan’s little highness.
Seeing this, the official sighed emotionally. “I never expected the Saint Clan sovereign to actually have a child. Judging by his posture, he also loves this youngest son quite deeply. In that case, the Saint Clan’s Salileno bloodline has once again gained continuity.”
This official was a diplomat. Out of professional habit, he almost immediately analyzed the Saint Clan’s future situation from the angle of Mansendis having a child.
Xi Heyan... listened absentmindedly.
But the moment his gaze met Wen Yuzhi’s, those dark eyes abruptly lit up.
Because the conference had already begun and the surroundings were completely quiet, Wen Yuzhi could not greet Xi Heyan openly, so the young man could only blink.
Seeing this scene, the corners of Xi Heyan’s lips also lifted slightly without his realizing it.
“Judging from the Saint Clan’s current situation, it is impossible for them to decline as those people imagined because of the Saint Clan sovereign’s worsening mental energy. Now that they have a third royal-blood, the Saint Clan may even usher in a period of prosperity...”
The official spoke until his mouth was almost dry. Yet when he raised his head, he found that his young master seemed to be in a very good mood, and there was even a smile in his eyes.
“???”
What happened?
...Could it be that what he had analyzed was very funny?
For a moment, the official was somewhat unable to make sense of it.
Xi Heyan explained, “It’s because your analysis was excellent. I feel I benefited greatly from hearing it.”
The official thought, Now that’s more like it!
But Xi Heyan, who had casually humored him, had already shifted his gaze back to the young man sitting in the center.
Perhaps because listening had become boring, Wen Yuzhi leaned slightly forward and lay against the table in front of him. He bent one arm and propped his cheek in his palm. A stretch of his fair arm peeked out from the flower-shaped cuff, and the snow-white soft flesh of his cheek puffed out slightly because of it.
This somewhat casual posture revealed the childishness that should belong to a young man his age, and...
Cuteness.
The viewers on StarNet had long since gone crazy taking screenshots of this scene.
Xi Heyan pressed the light-brain on his wrist. If the occasion had not been inappropriate, he would also have wanted to photograph this appearance of Wen Yuzhi and keep it.
He was currently sitting here with the help of the Damian family’s influence.
In the turmoil back then, the Damian family had lost its head and heir one after another, and the family’s power had also been attacked by Bernard. But a starving camel was still larger than a horse.
For all these years, Damian had kept a low profile on the capital star while continuously developing its influence outside.
They were all waiting for an opportunity to take revenge.
Xi Heyan had not had close contact with Damian over the years, but considering that his mother and maternal grandfather had been Damian’s heir and family head respectively, the purest blood of the Damian family naturally flowed in Xi Heyan’s veins as well.
In addition, they all shared the same target for revenge, so cooperation between them was inevitable.
Xi Heyan had been able to enter the military academy and conceal his identity with the help of the Damian family. Now that he wanted to participate in the conference, the Damian family had also arranged an attendant’s identity for him, allowing him to enter together with a diplomat who had once received Damian’s support.
Those princes and princesses did not know that sitting behind them was actually the son of Xi Shixiao, former commander of the Blackstone Legion.
...
Wen Yuzhi had previously held very high expectations for this conference.
But he had not expected the process of a conference to be so wordy. Raymond An had spent nearly ten minutes on formalities alone.
Wen Yuzhi was almost sleepy from listening.
He felt a little regretful. He thought sitting here was not as good as going back to play with Awu.
The other races’ representatives were very calm. After all, the larger the meeting, the wordier it tended to be.
They had long since grown used to it.
Otherwise, why would the Alliance provide tea and nutrient solutions?
Just when Wen Yuzhi was so sleepy he could barely hold on, Raymond An finally mentioned the incident that had happened a few days earlier.
When Wen Yuzhi heard this, his spirits immediately lifted, and he promptly sat up obediently again.
As if the person who had just been sleepy was not him at all.
Mansendis turned a blind eye to the cub’s little movements. Only, when he raised a hand to straighten the cub’s crown, the silver-haired sovereign also conveniently fixed the collar Wen Yuzhi had ruffled.
In the eyes of the livestream viewers, this scene was undoubtedly more evidence proving that the relationship between father and son was very good.
Anti-fans: “...”
Their faces hurt too much. At this point, they no longer wanted to speak.
