The Extreme Alchemist of the Mighty Cauldron

Chapter 498: Chapter 498: Feast of Geniuses

On the nineteenth of July, the Crown Prince of Xuan Country hosted a banquet for the prodigies, inviting young geniuses from all over Xuan Country to participate.

As long as one was under the age of thirty and recognized as a genius, they were welcome to attend.

A month in advance, the Crown Prince’s manor sent out the first batch of invitations, personally handed over by experts from the manor to various influential forces within Xuan Country.

Half a month before the banquet, the second batch of invitations was sent out, with even more in number, including all the young talents with considerable reputation in Xuan Country.

Even if you are a Loose Cultivator, as long as you are extraordinary, talented, and well-known, you could still receive an invitation from the Crown Prince’s manor to attend the prodigy banquet.

Of course, these invitations were basically sent to already well-renowned geniuses. For those talents who were unknown, they did not have this opportunity, unless they approached the Crown Prince’s manor on their own, showcasing their own extraordinary aspects to earn the qualification to participate in this banquet.

In summary, the threshold for participation in the Prodigy Banquet held by the Crown Prince of Xuan Country isn’t high. In fact, it could be said that it’s quite low. Even if you hadn’t received an invitation, there was still a chance to participate.

Subsequently, prodigies from all over Xuan Country gathered in the capital city. Some were from remote areas and had started their journey to Xuan City half a month ago.

During this period, Xuan City was extraordinarily lively, with geniuses who were usually hard to come across now appearing in the city.

Even without any tempting promises at the banquet organized by the Crown Prince of Xuan Country, geniuses from all over would still come to attend.

Not for anything else, but because the title ‘Crown Prince’ alone is a golden label that everyone must show respect.

Xuan Country is not like Qian Country. In Qian Country, there’s more than one power that equals the royal family in strength. Although the royal family has the strongest control over Qian Country on the surface, the Li Family and the Purple Mist Sect both have strength enough to compete with the royal family.

But it’s completely different in Xuan Country. With its vast territory and a plethora of strong individuals, the political landscape in Xuan Country is extremely complicated, and there are countless leading powers.

However, both overtly and covertly, the strongest force in Xuan Country is undoubtedly the royal family, a point that no one argues.

In the history of Xuan Country, there was once a sect which held considerable power and tried to hold equal footing with the royal family of Xuan Country, attempting to break free from the control of the royal family.

As a result, it brought about significant trouble. The royal family of Xuan Country besieged it with a great army. Many royal experts collectively launched an attack and obliterated the renowned leading power in just three days, sparing only a handful of insignificant individuals.

After that incident, all the other powers in Xuan Country deeply experienced the terror and strength of the royal family. In Xuan Country, it’s best not to provoke the royal family or a disastrous calamity will occur. Unless one flees Xuan Country, no one can withstand the majesty of the royal family of Xuan Country.

The current Emperor of Xuan Country is the country’s strongest man in the true sense of the term, possessing remarkable martial prowess. As a young man, he once led a team of personal guards into the Hundred Beast Ferocious Mountain. After disappearing for over a month, when everyone thought that the young prince had died, he emerged alone from the Hundred Beast Ferocious Mountain covered in blood, dragging behind him a nearly dead Flood Dragon.

After that, the young Emperor of Xuan Country shocked the world. He defeated many princes with overwhelming force, suppressed all his peers at that time, and ascended to the throne of Xuan Country’s Emperor with an absolutely domineering attitude.

Now in his prime years, the Emperor of Xuan Country hasn’t made a move for more than a decade. No one knows how powerful he has become, and no one dares to challenge the royal family’s authority.

The current Crown Prince, although only twenty-five years old, already displays the grandeur the Emperor had at his age. Gifted to an incredible degree, superior in strength, and having defeated thirteen peers, he has made the heirs of several leading forces willingly concede their inferiority.

When people in Xuan Country talk about the current Crown Prince, only one word comes to mind – invincible.

However, this invincibility does not include strong individuals from the other two countries, let alone the fearsome prodigies from the Upper Three Countries.

The banquet organized by the Crown Prince of Xuan Country, which invites geniuses from all over Xuan Country, is a grand display of respect. Who would dare not give face? Who would dare not attend?

Therefore, even though the prodigy banquet may lack tempting promises, a considerable number of prodigies will rush to attend. Even a brief conversation with the current Crown Prince would be a great honor, something to be proud of.

Especially for this prodigy banquet, there would even be royal treasures on display, offering an enormous chance for great fortune. As such, even those talents who were initially reluctant to attend have all flocked to the capital city.

The Prodigy Banquet was nearing. The Crown Prince’s manor had already begun preparations, inviting the best chefs in Xuan Country and preparing an ample array of delicacies, it was a deluxe affair.

However, right up until the day before the Prodigy Banquet, no one knew what kind of royal treasure would appear. Some tried to gather information, but to no avail.

Security at the Crown Prince’s manor was extremely tight. Even within the manor, only a few of the Crown Prince’s confidants were privy to this information.

Before the Prodigy Banquet began, Fang Lin finally contacted Gongsun Xiao to express his intention to participate in the Prodigy Banquet.

Gongsun Xiao agreed readily. He would come to the Pill Alliance early the next morning and then proceed to the Crown Prince’s manor together.

Fang Lin didn’t particularly look forward to mingling with Gongsun Xiao. After all, being new here and unfamiliar with everyone, he had no idea what kind of person Gongsun Xiao was, or whether he had any ulterior motives.

However, if he didn’t take advantage of Gongsun Xiao’s connections, Fang Lin really didn’t have any other way to participate in the Prodigy Banquet. After all, he had been in Xuan City for too short a time to get to know anyone.

Fang Lin did consider finding Dugu Nian, but after considering a bit, he decided against it. Han Luoyun had told him not to have too much contact with the Dugu Family for the time being.

With no other choice, Fang Lin could only hitch a ride on Gongsun Xiao’s connections, using his relationship with him to enter the Crown Prince’s manor and attend the Prodigy Banquet.

Within the Pill Alliance of Xuan Country, there were also five people intending to attend the Prodigy Banquet. These five were all well-known young talents within the Pill Alliance of Xuan Country, each with Alchemy Tao skills far beyond their peers.

Fang Lin had met two of them before. They were indeed quite extraordinary, at least for ordinary people. From his perspective as a Pill Sovereign, those so-called Alchemy Tao prodigies were nothing remarkable.

Although he hadn’t been in the Pill Alliance of Xuan Country for long, Fang Lin had distinctly felt that he was being shunned by everybody.

More accurately, isolated.

Apart from Mo Ziming, nobody was willing to have any interaction with Fang Lin. Many even steered clear of Fang Lin, as if he were a bringer of calamity.

Mo Ziming told Fang Lin it was Master Qi who was stirring up trouble behind his back, intentionally excluding him and making him an outcast within the Pill Alliance.

Fang Lin didn’t really care, since he didn’t plan on being too involved with the Pill Alliance of Xuan Country in the first place.

Finally, the day of the Prodigy Banquet arrived. Early in the morning, the five prodigies from the Pill Alliance set off to the Crown Prince’s manor.

“Heh, stop looking. The Prodigy Banquet isn’t for bumpkins like you to attend. Gongsun Xiao was just saying things casually that day. Did you really think he would take you along?” Sun Kai sneered.