"Senior sister, everything is alright, it's just that the Xiaomi sect didn't even bother to send their elders as representatives. It's practically a slap into the palace chief's face." Shen frowned and replied to her with folded arms.
"Xiaomi sect...? Well, what can we do? It is the truth that we can't compare to them. Anyway, their young master, Xiao Luocheng is someone junior brother should look out for. *I would honestly feel much relieved if you wouldn't have been here*" She seemed slightly puzzled before replying to him, however, Shen had a bit of trouble hearing what she has said at the end.
As everyone took their seats, the banquet officially started and it didn't take too long before the elders from the other sects started looking bored. Shen could even overhear some disciples indiscreetly showing their contempt to the entire New Moon Profound Palace.
'To be honest, I expected it to be bad but I had no idea it would this bad! The royal family truly isn't held in high regard by even small sects of this city. Even if it's just a branch palace, it should still be respected by the others.' Shen was slightly surprised by the other sects' disciples behavior.
Soon enough, one of the elders suggested "exchanging pointers" and started a long ass speech about it.
'Why not just say, let's fight bitcheees! Fuck, I would make for a great elder!' While Shen was having fun talking with himself, one of the disciples already stood in the middle of the hall while looking towards the New Moon Profound Palace's disciples.
"Profound Heart Sect's disciple Xuan Yu, 16 years old. Would anyone be so kind to come up here and advise me?" The disciple said politely but his words were filled with hidden poison. The way he was talking slightly pissed Shen off.
'Only I can talk so politely while thinking of who to kill next!' Shen was waiting for one of the elders from his side to call out his name, however, to his surprise, all the elders started looking at each other with hesitant expressions. This time, even the palace's disciples started whispering among themselves since they expected the elders to proudly send Shen out but now they were hesitating for some kind of reason.
After a while of silence, the disciple waiting in the middle of the hall openly sneered.
"Shen!" Finally, it was Sikong Han who called out his name with a slightly troubled face and as he did so, the other elders turned towards him with shocked faces.
'Now I understand...They must have had a small talk regarding me and this banquet since they saw that this Xiao Luocheng came here today, they decided to keep me hidden. That might also be a reason why I am not sitting next to one of the elders, to avoid unnecessary attention. Still, it looks like this good guy Sikong understands my sense of loyalty and wants to release a lion from the cage, haha'
"Thank you for the opportunity, also, I believe the elder Sikong has made an excellent choice. When we treasure some things a bit too much, they might slip out of our grasp without us even noticing." As a good guy Shen was, before leaving, he took Sikong's side and indirectly supported his decision against the other elders.
Shen leaped in the middle of the hall with just one jump and landed a few meters in front of his opponent before taking out his Demonic fan.
"Shen...just Shen, 16 years old, at your service!" Shen said dramatically while unfolding his fan to hide his slightly sadistic smile behind it.
Xuan Yu immediately stopped smiling and his face got drained of its color when Shen leaked his profound strength to the surroundings, letting everyone know his strength.
This instantly caused a new commotion
"Since when did New Moon Profound Palace have someone so young at the 5th layer of Nascent Profound Realm?!"
"He still can't compare to young master Xiao Luocheng but I am afraid no one in the same age category is strong enough to challenge him on the stage.
While the other sects' disciples were frustrated by this change, the palace's disciples could finally smile proudly which only irritated others further.
"Does Profound Lung Sect's disciple Xuan Yu still wish to exchange pointers despite being at a disadvantage? Ah! I apologize, I meant Profound Heart Sect, I am ashamed...I haven't been here for a long time so I have a hard time remembering those small details." Shen closed his eyes and said with a friendly, almost innocent smile which would almost convince the others of his mistake being genuine, if only he didn't say "small details" making it the last straw for the Profound Heart Sect.
"W-What did you call us you arrogant punk?!!" Profound Heart Sect's side instantly lost it and everyone including the elders was fuming with rage.
The palace's elders and disciples were shocked seeing this Shen's new side.
"Our sect's history is something you can't even imagine! You just recently stopped walking on all four so stop being so arrogant!" One of the elders shouted at Shen which made a surprised expression appear on Shen's face.
"You all took it out of the context, I even apologize to everyone! I am the victim here!" Shen's shocked expression looked so genuine that the other sects started throwing Profound Heart Sect dubious looks.
"How about I limit my strength to that of the 2nd layer to show my sincerity?"
"I accept under these conditions." Xuan Yu accepted while gritting his teeth. Shen motioned for him to make the first move and that was the last straw for Xuan Yu who rushed forward, both of his hands were enveloped by purple profound energy. When he swung his arms, several purple lights got launched at Shen.
'It's been a while since I fought someone even weaker and tried not to kill them, I have to be extra careful' Shen unfolded his fan and just watched as the purple lights were getting closer.
*Bang!* Shen channeled a bit of his profound energy into his fan which released a violent wind in a gray shade that completely broke Xuan Yu's attack and sent his entire body flying across the entire hall.
"?! Haven't you said that you are going to limit your strength?!" Someone shouted at Shen.
"I did limit my strength! I am sure anyone with a speck of talent could tell that I haven't used my entire strength! It's not my fault!" Shen spread his arms and violently shook his head as if to completely deny any accusations towards him.
"X-Xuan Yu's profound veins got damaged" The one who went to check on Xuan Yu's status weakly said. Profound Heart Sect's disciples drew a sharp breath at hearing the news however when they wanted to put blame on Shen, he already said something else to make everyone angry.
"An elder previously mentioned that the younger disciples can challenge older ones, however, I am not too picky. I am living by the rule "age is but a number" so anyone within the same realm may challenge me, obviously, that rule doesn't apply to little girls, just in case anyone had some immoral thoughts!" Shen said and brought his folded fan to his lips while winking, further provoking everyone.