The entire upper realm was in chaos, especially the Li family estate. The gates were flooded with visiting guests and delegations from across the immortal realm. Even common cultivators with gifts had arrived to show their respects to the holy child.
A crowd of people stood near the entrance, discussing the arrivals.
"Rui Kunfang is here to present a gift for the holy child!"
"The Holy Lands representative is here with a bottle of spirit jade!"
"I present a marine spear from the eastern kingdoms!"
"We offer treasure maps of supreme-grade treasures!"
Everyone had come to curry as much favor as possible with the Li family. Two guards walked past carrying the most precious gifts, including the special attire Li Fang Ren was supposed to wear for the celebration.
"Be careful with that one. It has the attires young lord is going to wear today," one guard said.
"So many clans and families are here just trying to get favors from our young master," the other guard replied shaking his head.
"What are you so happy about anyway?"
"I'm just sharing in the glory of serving under such a talented individual."
"Well, our divine lord has been absolutely awesome since birth. There's no doubt about it."
Inside the compound, Li Fang Ren was chatting with Ling Feng happy to finally be out of seclusion.
"If they ever force me to go into seclusion again, I'm disowning the family name."
Ling Feng smiled slightly at his dramatic declaration.
"Rather than missing food, I think not being able to bathe is the bigger problem. You were starting to smell after a few months."
"Exactly! Finally someone understands," Li Fang Ren said emphatically. "But wait, why are you here anyway?"
"The head sent me to get you. You didn't inform anyone that you were leaving the seclusion house."
"Uh..umm." he realized he'd messed up.
What should I do? Let's just get out of here before anyone catches me.
He suddenly stood up and ran off without explaining. Ling Feng sighed and ran after him, knowing better than to let him out of her sight.
As they were running through the estate grounds, they came across a commotion near the marketplace. A girl dressed in fine clothes from a major clan was fighting with two common vendors. Her arrogant attitude was clear from the way she was throwing her power around.
"Hey you, why are you bullying them?" Li Fang Ren called out while stopping the fight.
The girl turned to him with an expression of pure disdain.
"It's my method of teaching them their place. You don't interrupt in my affairs."
"This is our territory, so I do have the right to interrupt this."
"Do you even know which clan I'm from? You should think twice before challenging me," she said arrogantly.
"Does that matter? This place belongs to the Li family, and I'm saying what you're doing is wrong."
The two of them immediately started fist fighting right there in the marketplace. Ling Feng followed behind, watching from a distance. She'd recognized the girl immediately—Tang Yuha from the Tang family—and knew she couldn't just interrupt a fight between two major clan members.
Li Fang Ren led her away from the crowd, running toward a distant mountain to continue their fight in private.
"You... stop right there!" Yuha shouted, chasing after him.
"Oh, you can actually keep up with my speed? You don't seem to be some ordinary girl."
"I won't let you go like that! You started this, so you finish it!" Yuha responded.
"Sigh, I was just trying to help some commoners and it turned into such a mess," Li Fang Ren said, hearing the distant sound of fireworks from behind.
The banquet for his birthday had begun back at the estate.
"It started, huh? I should go quick or that old man will chew me out."
Without any warning, Li Fang Ren suddenly changed direction and hit the back of Yuha's neck with a strike, making her lose consciousness. She fell to the ground limply.
"Sorry, I can't play anymore. Maybe next time," he said while running off toward the estate at full speed.
After a few hours of preparation, Li Fang Ren had dressed up in his formal attire and made his way straight to the main banquet hall.
An announcer's voice rang out loudly across the hall.
"The Tang family presents one thousand top-grade weapons, supreme artifacts, and legacy scrolls!"
The crowd erupted in shock at the sheer generosity of the gifts.
"Whoa, such expensive and valuable gifts just for a birthday celebration!"
"Well, the Tang family and Li family have been connected since generations. Such generosity is expected."
Two girls entered the hall together, walking with commanding presence. One of them was Tang Yuha, and both of them looked stunning and charismatic.
"Why is that girl making such a face? Shouldn't she be happy?"
"Heh, didn't you hear? She's going to be engaged to the young master today!"
"Hmm, she should be grateful to even get a chance to meet someone as talented as him. A genius like that is only born once a millennium."
"Haha, kids will be kids. Let them sort out their feelings."
Tang Soma, the lady and sister accompanying Tang Yuha, spoke to her with amusement.
"We were late because you ran off to who knows where. Try that again and you'll be grounded for seclusion."
Yuha pouted. "If I find that kid, I will gouge his eyes out! What was he even thinking, hitting me like that?"
"But you were the one passed out with designs drawn all over your face. Hahaha, whoever that person was, they at least had no ill intentions toward you."
"Sister, are you on his side or mine?"
Before Yuha could respond, a young boy from another clan approached her.
"Miss Yuha, how are you? It's been such a long time since we've seen each other," he said politely.
Yuha looked at him with confusion, unable to remember who he was at all.
"Um... who are you exactly?"
As soon as the boy started introducing himself Yuha cut him off with a vague response.
"Ah yes, hello, hello, nice to see you again."
She walked past him without even waiting for him to finish talking. Soma shook her head at her sister's rudeness.
"Aren't you being a bit impolite?"
"I can't even remember the faces of all the clansmen, so how am I supposed to know random people?" Yuha replied.
Li Juntian entered the hall and gave the traditional pleasantries and opening speech for the celebration. The crowd was already excited beyond measure to finally see the youth who had accomplished such extraordinary things at such a young age.
"Hehe, quite a spirited audience we have today," Li Juntian said with a smile.
Someone from the crowd suddenly called out.
"But where is the holy child? Shouldn't the young master be here to greet his guests?"
Li Juntian's expression faltered.
"That... well, he should be here any moment now," he said, clearly having no idea where his grandson actually was.
Just then, Li Fang Ren jumped from somewhere high above and landed directly on the throne where Li Juntian was supposed to sit. The impact shattered the chair completely, sending pieces flying everywhere.
"Here is the main character of today's celebration. Sorry for the entrance."
Li Juntian whispered to his grandson with thinly veiled anger.
"What the hell were you doing? We've been trying to keep everyone happy and you just disappear? Everyone's been asking about you."
Oooo, he's really mad.
From across the hall, Yuha's eyes suddenly went wide as she recognized the boy. She immediately stood up and screamed.
"You... you're that guy!"
Li Fang Ren saw her and his heart sank.
Shit, why is this girl here too? How did she even end up at the birthday celebration? I have to get out of this situation quickly.
He walked over to where she was standing trying to act innocent.
"Have we met before?"
"Huh? Did you forget me already, or are you lying?" Yuha demanded her eyes flashing with anger.
"Are you sure it was me? Like, really sure? I mean, there are plenty of people who look similar."
She thought for a second and uncertainty crossed her face.
"Maybe you're right... that guy did have different clothes on."
Dumb girl, she already forgot my face. Thank god the technique I learned to make my face less recognizable actually worked.
Li Juntian approached both of them.
"Although you two have already met before today, I still want to formally introduce you both. This girl is Tang Yuha from the Tang clan, and she is your fiancée. Despite her looks and attitude, she's actually a year older than you," he said calmly.
Li Fang Ren's eyes went wide.
"Eh... whaaaaaa?"
Yuha's expression was equally shocked. This wasn't how either of them expected things to go.
Wasn't I supposed to be some holy child with no obligations? Why am I being trapped in an arranged marriage now.
He quickly reached out to Ling Feng through telepathy.
"Hey you, come here and save me from this situation!"
Ling Feng's response came.
"How am I supposed to help with this? I'm not even of noble birth. That would make things worse, not better."
"Just say something, anything! Say that we've already promised to marry each other or something," Li Fang Ren pleaded.
"I must decline that offer. I actually want to leave this party alive if you don't mind."
"You damn traitor," Li Fang Ren muttered.
The crowd immediately started congratulating Li Fang Ren as soon as the engagement was announced by Juntian. Everyone clapped and cheered for the blessed union of two powerful families.
But then a young man suddenly stood up from the crowd, voice booming across the hall.
"I do not approve of such a marriage!"
The hall went silent instantly. Everyone turned to look at the man who dared to object. It was Jin Yan from the Jin clan and his face was flushed with jealousy and anger.
A ray of hope.
He walked over to Jin Yan with a smile.
"You see, I could just make you the villain here for the words you just said. But I admire your courage, so how about we settle this properly?"
"Hmph, what right do you have to marry her if you're so weak?" Jin Yan challenged.
"Then let's duel. That's the standard procedure for such matters, isn't it?"
"Huh? Why would we need a duel?" Jin Yan asked confused.
"Isn't that the standard procedure for wife-napping? Since you object, you should be willing to fight for her honor," Li Fang Ren said with a slight grin.
Many members of the Li clan who had come out of seclusion to witness the first Zeroth Principle user in decades gathered around to watch the duel.
The fight started immediately. Jin Yan launched a series of rapid attacks with his sword, moving with speed. Fang Ren evaded each attack effortlessly, movements flowing like water. Jin Yan pushed harder, desperation creeping into his movements as he realized he couldn't land a single hit on the young prodigy. With one final desperate strike, Jin Yan unleashed his strongest attack, a technique that created massive energy waves throughout the hall. Li Fang Ren dodged it, but then deliberately fell to the ground and began coughing fake blood making it look like he'd taken serious damage.
After the fake blood pills did their work a minister rushed over to Jin Yan in concern.
"Sir Jin, how could you do such a thing to the young master?"
Jin Yan's face went pale as he realized what everyone thought had happened.
"He's faking it! He's not actually injured. I didn't even hit him!" Jin Yan said loudly.
But no one believed him. They'd all seen Li Fang Ren fall and cough blood. Jin Yan himself was confused because he knew his final attack had missed completely, but the young master was clearly playing dead.
"I... I regret to say this, but under these circumstances, the engagement should be nullified," Li Fang Ren said coughing more fake blood.
Li Juntian understood what was happening. He nodded to Tang Yuha.
Yuha came running over to where Li Fang Ren was lying on the ground.
"Ren, even if you have a paralyzed body from your injury, I am going to marry you anyway. Hehe."
Damn old man.
Just as the situation seemed to stabilize, the doors to the banquet hall burst open. Members of the Qilin clan, recognizable by their distinctive horns, emerged into the hall. They had been invited by Yunling, who had given them information about Li Fang Ren's physique not being normal - that it had actually broken through the heavenly restrictions.
Sigh, more bullshit is being added to my head because of that girl!!