Spirit Cultivation

Everyone looked at the sky to check where loud roar came from and saw an enormous beast flying towards them at a lightning speed.

When the flying beast was only about 500 meters above them, they managed to discern the origins of the beast.

"It's the Emperor's Flood Dragon Spirit Beast!" Someone from the crowd remarked. "The Royal Family came!"

Inside the Clan's floral garden, many guests were talking to each other, and Liu Xiaobei was greeting everyone with his wife Mu Lan. When a loud roar resounded in the air, almost all of the guests looked up at the sky.

Liu Xiaobei frowned when he saw it was an azure Flying Dragon heading towards them and didn't even show signs of stopping. According to rules, everyone had to land on the ground and dismiss their Spirit Beast before they can enter the Liu Clan's territory.

Bam!

The ground trembled as the Flood Dragon landed and gazed at everyone with its sharp azure eyes. An invisible pressure invaded anyone who dared to look into them.

"Enough, we are here as guests, don't be naughty," A grating voice entered their ears, and only then did the dragon close its eyes, turning around.

The Flood Dragon laid on the ground and a robust man in an azure robe dropped down from its back. The next to land was a veiled young lady accompanied by a confident-looking young man, both wearing the same azure clothes.

When the Clan Leaders saw the veiled lady, they already knew their plans were ruined. The Emperor only had one daughter and seeing her here, they cursed under their breaths. It was well known that she was the number one beauty throughout the country. Although not many people saw her face, just from her eyes, one could tell she was very beautiful.

"Zhen Shang, I didn't expect you would come personally. Your Flood Dragon is still as majestic as I remember," Liu Xiaobei greeted the Emperor with a smile.

"How could I miss such a gathering. It's such a rare occasion to meet all of you geezers," The Emperor answered with a smile, looking pleased with the flattery. Everyone knew the Flood Dragon was his most prideful possession.

"And this should be your son and daughter, Zhen Ping and Zhen Shan. To reach peak Grandmaster Stage at such a young age, they really are a pair of geniuses," Liu Xiaobei praised.

Zhen Ping, the young prince straightened his back and turned his expression into "Of course I'm perfect" face.

Many young women in the garden looked at him with shining eyes. Why bother with Liu Xuefeng when a man like Zhen Ping came?

The Emperor only glanced at his son and said, "Okay, okay, we can stop with the flattery. How about we go ahead with the ceremony? I don't think anyone else is coming. We came quite late."

"Then I shall invite everyone to the Spirit Awakening Hall. There are tables full of food waiting," Liu Xiaobei replied, inviting everyone.

As they were all walking towards the hall, many greeted the Emperor, but he didn't say much, only nodded. There was a clear difference in treatment between Liu Xiaobei and the others. 

While the guests were in the garden, Xuefeng was already waiting inside the Spirit Awakening Hall. He was waiting with everyone taking part in the ceremony, but the sight of it was hilarious to everyone.

This year, there were exactly fifty kids who were mostly around ten years old and every kid was surrounding Xuefeng. As he was much taller than everyone, he looked like a shepherd with his sheep.

There was a limit to the number of people who could fit in the Spirit Awakening Hall so only high ranked elders or managers, as well as the parents of the participants, were seated by the tables. As always, after the ceremony, there would be a giant feast for everyone involved.

"Our Young master really does look like a big brother right now. Our children must be so nervous, but with Young master around them, they might relax a bit. Look how nice he is, he is playing with them and patting their heads," One mother commented as she watched her son on the stage. 

"Yeah, I thought that he was quite distant from people, but look at his smiling face. I wonder if he will inherit his parents' talent. That would be a blessing to our Liu Clan." Another gossiping auntie said.

"It would be nice, but what if he doesn't? With so many guests coming, it would be so embarrassing to our clan. Hopefully, some of our kids will shine today."

While they were talking to each other, Xuefeng was busy answering many kids' questions.

"Big brother, why are you so old? I thought only small kids can take part in the ceremony." 

"It's because I was ill since I was little. I couldn't play with the kids around my age. But now that I've recovered, I decided to join you in the fun. Are you happy?" Xuefeng answered with a playful smile.

"Yeah, we are less scared with big brother here." One bold small girl nodded as she grabbed his hand happily.

"There is nothing to be scared of here, we are going to start a new journey in our lives today," Xuefeng assured as he patted her head.

"Big brother, is it true that when we are strong enough, we can fly in the sky?" The small girl asked dreamily. 

"Yeah, but to do that you have to work hard on your cultivation," Xuefeng replied. "What's your name?" 

"My name is Liu Mei."

"You are indeed a beautiful little flower." Xuefeng complemented and then proposed, "Let's make a deal. When I'm powerful enough and learn how to fly, I will come back and fly with you in the sky, okay?"

"Pinky promise?" She jumped excited and extended her pinky finger.

"Pinky promise," He grabbed her pinky with his and shook it. "But you have to work hard until I come back, okay?"

"Okay!" Liu Mei agreed.

At this time, people who were gathered in the hall stopped talking and stood up from their chairs.

Surprised by the sudden silence Xuefeng turned around to see many new guests coming inside through the doors.

He only recognized his parents and Manager Wu, the rest were unknown to him. But, the more he looked, the more shocked he became because, behind the group of older men, he saw a group of ten or more beauties, talking to each other as they walked. Inside the group, there was also a handsome young man with his chin high up in the sky as he was enjoying praises from the young women around him.

'Where did they get so many beauties from,' Xuefeng wondered.

He knew that cultivation could be comparable to the best skincare product on Earth, but he didn't think that it would be true.

The guests all sat around the Clan Leader's main table as they looked around the hall. For some of these ladies, it was the first time they left their respective clans, so they were somewhat excited. When the Emperor and Clan Leaders sat down, only then did everyone else sat as well.

The Spirit Awakening Ceremony event could be considered a gathering of elites now, rather than the normal ceremony. Clan Leader Liu Xiaobei clapped his hands and several maids came out from the side doors, bringing out countless dishes and wine. The main event turned into a sideshow when a large number of powerhouses met.

Standing up, Liu Xiaobei greeted, "I welcome everyone who came to our humble clan today to witness the Spirit Awakening of our young clansmen. You are free to eat and drink while we entertain you. We will be opening the Spirit Treasury for the participants today, so for the safety of everyone I decided to use my Shadow Guards in this event."

As soon as he finished his speech, various dark shadows started appearing all around the hall. After a few seconds, about a hundred black-masked cultivators were stationed in every corner.

Seeing this, the Emperor frowned for a moment but soon returned to his half-smiling expression.

It was naturally an impressive display of power. 

Many clan leaders didn't mind. They thought it was understandable as the Spirit Treasury was really precious for every Clan. If anyone sneaked inside and stole rare Spirit Artefacts, it would be a big loss to a Clan.

When Liu Xiaobei sat down, he gestured to Elder Ming who stood on the stage with all the kids and Xuefeng. Seeing that, Elder Ming cleared his throat and started checking if everyone on the list was present.