The king and his family

The bells sounded and the doors opened. On the far side, at the main entrance, Rain could see people pouring in. Parent dressed in fancy clothes combined with kids who were given the best clothes in whatever part of the kingdom they lived in. Even compared to their parents, they would be extravagantly dressed and had an absurd amount of make up in. Rain had noticed make up on the other concubine's children as well. The children were the ones most affected by the event.

They all sought to prove themselves. Their parents had most definitely reminded them to show respect and whatever charm the possessed to try to catch the attention of either the prince of princesses. This is also why the girls were a little scantily clad for their age. The goal was to raise whatever position they were in using their kids. That was how people advanced in this day and age. The time when the strong weren't leagues ahead had long since passed.

The families gathered inside the hall. Ones at higher positions of power stood closer to the throne, but none stood too close. Rain and the others were closest, off diagonally to the side of the throne, but they still weren't close. As the hall filled, women stepped out to go behind their children. Eventually, Rain was the only one without a parent behind them. Not that he cared in the slightest, though this did signify and show those who didn't know what he looked like, his status. Most likely, they knew of his existence but not his looks.

Rain saw more than one coug *cough* ped *cough* woman, eye him. He had just reached that level of looks, though he did his best show that he was the unagreeable little problem child that someone had probably spread rumors about. He could definitely surmise as much by the surprised expressions the maids would give him whenever they met him for the first time. They seemed unnaturally inclined to believe he was a c*nt.

This was further proved by the disapproving glances sent his way by almost everyone other than the pedos. Rain had given up trying to classify them otherwise. Even his mother, the yandere herself, didn't consider his young body sexually. Come on people.

However, he wasn't the main attraction. No where near it. Though he had the looks to get some glasses, the families weren't interested beyond them. Strength, or potential strength, was more attractive. Everyone there knew of the slim chances they had of attracting the king's children's attention. However, getting with a concubine's child wasn't bad either. Surely, after all formalities were finished, the dukes and barons would send their kids over to meet with the children to try to curry favor. They had a much better chance.

All the children were between 9-10. This was because nobody wanted to have kids before the king had his first. Rain imagined the fuck fest that must have gone on as soon as it was revealed that the king's wife was pregnant. Nobody wanted to have kids under that number either, because after the king Shuzhen died, there were inevitably no kids to be had. It was common knowledge the king wasn't having any relationship with his other wife.

All in all, this was a battleground. Just operating on a different scale and subject matter than any war. Everyone trying to get with someone even just slightly more powerful than themselves and using their kids to do it.

However, now wasn't the time to muse on this. The main attraction was entering.

The first thing Rain noticed was the black hair. Now he knew where he had inherited it. Out of a chamber, from the opposite side that Rain entered a man walked in. Standing tall, with a robust body and a sword by his side, Mo Xuanqing walked. Rather than a suit, he wore extravagant robes that signified his status as a member of the 5 families and the king of a nation. He walked alone, but he had a commanding presence and his eyes missed nothing. His eyes weren't black like Rain's but rather an emerald green. His aura pressured those to kneel, though it wasn't perhaps kingly. More like, a difference in power, that made you want to kneel. A predator and a prey. Rain had no doubt, that if he wielded that sword here, despite the relatively strong auras of the dukes, he would slaughter everyone here.

Except for her.

Behind the king, not by his side like most wives would enter, she walked. Her hair, unlike Hui's which shone like electricity, was dull and cold like ice. Her eyes as well showed her indifference, as if everything before her was futile before her cold aura that shone just as prominently as the king. As expected of the sister of the king of the Middle Kingdom and a member of the Liu family. They were on another level, signified by the fact that she wasn't the patriarch and was still just as strong as the king of one of the families who was supposed to be on equal ground with them. This was the reason everyone regarded them as the true power of the Heavens.

She was beautiful, in a numbing way. She had long legs, ones she didn't care about exposing as her ice blue dress that she was dressed in had a slit in it. She didn't wear heels and just walked barefoot, but Rain surmised that they would've just frozen as he looked at the floor's reaction to her steps. Perhaps her dress was originally a different color as well. She emitted an aura that screamed, do not approach and Rain could tell by the reaction of the people in the room, nobody would. She seemed both haughty and indifferent.

Rather, they would prefer to focus on the one's who were walking in after her, the main attractions.

A boy who looked about 11, Mo Fang, walked inside. His eyes were fixated originally on the ice cold beauty in front of him, something Rain guessed that only he and the strong people in the room didn't miss, but the quickly switched as he acknowledged the crowd in a polite matter.

He had black hair, like his father and Rain. This was something that Rain had noticed that was unique to the three of them so far. He gave off an intellectual vibe, one that makes you think he is serious about his studies, if not for the fact that he had a sword strapped to his waist, albeit smaller and less fancy. He also stood tall for his age and Rain could see why people admired him, he looked like the embodiment of a suitable successor.

Behind him, as a final entrance, two children walked. Mo Na and Mo Enlai. They were shorter than Mo Fang, and looked their young age of 9. At least, in Rain's eyes. He had the advantage of being mentally older so he could see them as young. One of them was a young boy with brown hair. He smiled confidently and arrogantly at the crowd as he spread his arms, as if telling them to shower him with praise.

Nobody was looking at him, however, well Rain did for a second then he lost interest. Everybody looked instead at the fairy beside him. She was a young girl with a serious expression that nobody seemed to care about. They were all too fixated on her looks. Dressed in a red dress, the only one that Rain had seen tonight that didn't look uncomfortable revealing, she had long, flowing pink hair and pink eyes, with a lithe figure that would make a lolicon drool. Her bones were all perfectly aligned to extenuate her figure and she looked like a little pink angel.

The pink hair and eyes came from a physique known as Living Briar. Her affinity with nature was quite high, and she had an ingrained technique that allowed her to create briars and control them. She had already got a reputation as a thorn princess, and though she didn't have a sword, her movements were enough to show that she trained in it.

The crowd stared, especially the children. Rain didn't care that much though, he had already decided to avoid them both. The girl already had his respect for not showing up arrogantly like her brother and instead trying to be serious to represent her family. He honestly pitied her for the pressure that he could see was already being put upon her. If she had even slightly underwhelming talent, she would be used as a tool, the stress must be getting to her. Yet still tried to be perfect, though, to be honest, she looked a bit bored as well.

Perfection was boring after all. Rain knew it from looking in the mirror.

However, they couldn't stare forever as the king sat on his throne and his wife and children surrounded him. He adjusted his position and crossed one leg across the other in an L shape as he put and arm up to support his head.

"Now... let's begin."