Evening descended.
The entire Royal Palace was brightly lit, with countless maids arranging the immaculately polished, exquisite tableware in perfect order.
Meanwhile, at the palace’s parking area, carriages of the city’s elite guests had already filled the space early on, arriving for the banquet.
These well-dressed men and women, in small groups, chatted leisurely, discussing tonight’s dinner banquet.
"I’ve heard that His Majesty the King and Lord Li Zun went to the border to welcome an important guest."
"I’ve also heard that news, but who could this guest be with such a background that would cause His Majesty and the Martial Saint to make such a grand gesture?"
"Could it be a visiting king from another country?"
"I don’t think so! Even the most distinguished kings wouldn’t make our King this anxious!"
"Alright, we could guess all day and still not figure it out, better to just wait until His Majesty returns. The answer will naturally become clear then."
"Exactly!"
The crowd nodded in agreement.
Then someone said with a laugh, "However, there’s another rare event today. I don’t know if everyone has heard! Our Princess Lina killed a gluttonous behemoth from the Poisonous Mist Swamp, completing her coming-of-age feat!"
Many of the less well-informed guests were taken aback upon hearing this.
"I really hadn’t heard about that, but it’s not too surprising that our Princess Lina, at such a young age and already a Magician controlling mysterious powers, completed her coming-of-age feat!"
"That’s secondary, the key point is our Princess Lina also brought back a powerful Samurai from the Poisonous Mist Swamp!" a middle-aged man with meticulously slicked-back hair, dressed in a tailcoat, said with a tone of ridicule.
"Brought back a powerful Samurai?" The surrounding crowd was somewhat astonished.
"That’s right! I heard that upon his return, this so-called powerful Samurai encountered Lord Yage and he actually had the audacity to boast in front of him, saying something like the Martial Saint wasn’t even worthy to carry his shoes!"
As soon as these words were spoken,
everyone around was stunned, then burst into snickering laughter.
"What arrogance!"
"Exactly, such remarks can only come from bumpkins who know nothing of the world!"
"To speak like that in front of Lord Yage, the beloved disciple of the Martial Saint Li Zun—it’s like asking for death!"
"What happened next?" someone inquired.
The well-groomed nobleman sneered, "If it weren’t for the arrival of the Crown Princess in the nick of time, I reckon Lord Yage would have taught this so-called warrior a lesson right then and there!"
The crowd nodded their heads in agreement, then someone couldn’t help but lament.
"Our Princess Lina is usually so capable, just sometimes too naive! Surely she’s been hoodwinked by someone with ulterior motives!"
"Indeed! Compared with the Crown Princess, our Princess Lina still has some growing up to do!"
As everyone was sharing their thoughts,
Princess Lina, now dressed in an evening gown, appeared in the banquet hall.
Her arrival immediately caused a slight stir in the room.
The young men all showed a hint of excitement and then approached, wanting to offer her the customary hand-kiss greeting.
But today, Lina declined this greeting ritual, and then slightly turned to the side, as if waiting for someone’s appearance.
All the nobles couldn’t help but turn their gaze towards her.
Soon,
a young man with extraordinary poise, wearing incredibly unique clothing, black pupils, and black hair, walked in through the parted curtains.
The appearance of this youth caused a momentary stir among the attendees.
In this capital city, only about two to three hundred people could enter this banquet hall, so they were all quite familiar with each other.
Yet the face of this youth was very unfamiliar.
At that moment, those with quick reactions were shocked and began to guess Xue An’s identity, leading to hushed discussions among them.
"This must be the strong samurai that Princess Lina brought back from outside!"
"Without a doubt! It must be him!"
"Tsk, he looks quite good, but judging by that presence and his physique, he could hardly be a formidable samurai!" someone said, shaking their head with disdain.
"Hehe, have you not figured it out? Our Princess Lina has just come of age, the time when a young girl’s heart begins to yearn, and this youth is rather handsome. Perhaps he’s a little lover she met outside!" someone said with a sly expression.
In no time, the place was buzzing with all kinds of speculation and gossip.
But not one person thought Xue An could be any sort of strong samurai.
Lina, feeling somewhat apologetic, whispered to Xue An, "Mr. Xue, I’m sorry about these people. Please don’t take it to heart!"
Xue An just smiled indifferently.
Of course, he wouldn’t take these people’s chatter seriously.
In his eyes, the so-called nobility were just a joke.
Nothing more than a group of wastrels who only knew how to use their power and position to lord it over others and indulge in their privileges.
It wasn’t just these people; even those ancient noble families that had carried on for thousands of years in the depths of the Starry Sky, or the Noble families with the Ancient Bloodline, Xue An had never taken them seriously.
In his opinion, what nonsense nobility, let’s see if they can even withstand one punch from me first.
However, this "private conversation" between Lina and Xue An only further confirmed the idle speculations of this group of nobles.
Many began to point fingers and whisper about Xue An.
Whereas the noble young lords who had long harbored feelings for Lina all turned ashen-faced.
To these self-important young lords, Princess Lina was a noble rose.
But this flower was meant for only one of their own, not to be duped by some mysterious stranger.
Therefore, it wasn’t long before a blond youth stepped forward, first bowing elegantly to Lina, and then speaking in their distinct noble accent.
"Your Highness, first of all, congratulation on your coming of age. However, I must say this man must have ulterior motives for approaching you, and I urge you to not be deceived by him!"
Lina’s expression darkened slightly upon seeing the blond youth, "Thank you for your concern, Baron Bis, but Mr. Xue is my most honored friend, and I will not allow you to disparage him like that!"
"But Your Highness, I am doing this for your own good..."
"That won’t be necessary!"
Baron Bis was left at a loss for words, his eyelids twitching madly.
In his mind, the reason the usually gentle Princess Lina had changed was all because of Xue An.
Hence, under such humiliation and anger, he fiercely ripped off his left glove and threw it in front of Xue An.
"Man, I demand a duel with you!"
This action immediately captured the attention of everyone present.
And when many saw the glove thrown onto the ground, their expressions changed slightly.
For in the kingdom of Tek, to throw one’s left glove in front of someone else is considered a great insult.
Once done, it signifies the start of a duel to the death.