Chapter 17 - The Banquet

While Yu Shan was checking everyone out, the lights all over the garden suddenly dimmed. Only the lightings on the stage at the front most part of the garden was unaffected. In fact, that area got even brighter as more lights were turned on and focused on there.

Because of this, everyone in the garden slowly lowered their voices and went silent. They all looked towards the stage in anticipation.

A few seconds later, the fourth prince suddenly walked on stage.

Yun Ling, Yu Shan, Crown Prince, and the people around them turned their attention towards him.

The fourth prince stood at the center of the stage. He was nervous and anxious but more than that, he felt excited. He had finally gotten to speak in front of such a huge crowd. All of them were geniuses all over the empire at that! Normally, these kinds of events would be delegated by the emperor to his older brother, the crown prince, but now, it was finally his time to shine.

Though he longed to be in the spotlight, now that he had finally gotten it, his entire body felt cold. His palms were sweaty and if one were to look carefully, they would notice his hands were shaking a bit. His skin was also tingling. He could feel everyone's gaze focused solely on him.

He had spoken in public a few times before but it was nowhere near this scale. Not even during his first time giving a speech did he feel like this. Only now.

Closing his eyes, he took a quick but deep breath. He calmed down a little bit but the nervousness was still there. However, that was enough. He had finally managed to gather some courage.

He looked towards the crowd and smiled. "Everyone, I am truly grateful to you all for coming tonight. I know you didn't come here for the banquet or to give this little prince a face. You all came here for one thing only— the Golden Dragon Election. Nevertheless, I am still grateful, for because of this, I've managed to gather almost all the geniuses in the empire in this one garden. With your presence, tonight will be one of the greatest banquet ever hosted not only in the capital but in the entire empire. All of this is only made possible because of you, that's why thank you."

The fourth prince slightly bowed towards the crowd, earning him a round of applause. When he heard the sound of their claps, most of his nervousness went away.

"With that said, since this is a banquet, it is customary to have food. I know you came here for news regarding the Golden Dragon Election so I can at least tell you this first. There will be some major changes in the Golden Dragon Election right now compared to the ones before it..." he paused.

Murmurs arose from the audience after hearing that particular piece of information from the fourth prince. Quite a lot of them have been looking through records of the past competitions of the Golden Dragon Election so they'd know what to expect when they finally participated in the Golden Dragon Election themselves. However, if what the fourth prince said was true, then all their studying would probably be of little use.

The fourth prince smiled and continued, "...as for what those changes are, I'll tell you guys later. For now, let us eat first. I'm sure some of you guys are already hungry since you've been waiting here for a while already. Worry not, I've prepared only the best dishes that will suit geniuses of high caliber like you so please enjoy the food." The fourth prince turned towards the side. "Serve the food."

The lights suddenly went bright after the fourth prince finished speaking. He came down the stage and was immediately greeted by his close followers. While they were talking, the servants he had borrowed from his father, the emperor, had started serving foods at each table all the while the people were talking while waiting for their food.

Yun Ling examined the crown prince and asked, "There are major changes in the Golden Dragon Election? Crown Prince, do you know about this?"

Yun Ling was curious. Even though he was arrogant and fully believes that he was going to win the Golden Dragon Election, he didn't dare be negligent. Like others, he had studied the past Golden Dragon Elections and even asked his father and grandfather questions regarding the Golden Dragon Election they had participated in the past.

"I think he knows. Would you care to tell us, Crown Prince?" Yu Shan added when he heard Yun Ling's question towards the crown prince. He too had looked up the previous Golden Dragon Elections for reference.

The crown prince glanced at them and simply said, "You're right. I, do know. My father already told me a while ago, however, it's not my place to tell. You two should just wait for my little brother's announcement later on."

Yun Ling no longer asked. If the crown prince didn't want to tell, then there was nothing he could do. That was unless he wanted to resort to using force. But that would be incredibly stupid if he fights the crown prince just because of that.

"Papa, I'm hungry," Yun Xia tugged the corner of Yun Ling's clothes and said silently.

"Just wait a little bit Xiaxia, the servants are now serving food." Yun Ling smiled at her as he gently caressed her hair.

"Hm." Yun Xia nodded. Earlier, she was really excited when her father said they were going to a party. She thought there were going to be many children around since it was a party. She was even looking forward to playing with children her age. It turns out she was the only kid around. She was disappointed, bored, and hungry. Now, she just wanted to go home. She didn't say that to her father though. She just opted to listen to the adults talk to entertain herself, however, she got bored with it soon after.

Well, at least, she was able to spend more time with her father. Normally during this time, her father would be cultivating diligently in his room in order to prepare himself for some competition in the future. She didn't understand much, she just knew that her father was going to participate in some competition and that she must cheer for him.