After a few days of endless hustling and bustling, the Ximen Clan finally started their grand centennial
celebration. Thousands of guests noisily gathered, their chitchats filled with excitement.
The square where the ceremony was held was extremely packed and all kinds of performances were
ongoing. At the front of the square was a platform paved with red carpet which was specially built for
the honorable attendees. Bryant, his granddaughter, Shirley, and the elders of the Ximen Clan were
sitting on the platform. They were accepting blessings and gifts from various clans and major forces,
the royal family, several civil and military officials, and other guests.
Time flew by without anyone noticing due to the euphoric atmosphere brought about by the celebration.
Two hours into the celebration, a disciple of the Ximen Clan came up on the platform and announced
with a bow, "My Chief, the emperor is at the gate!"
However, instead of waiting at the gate for the Ximan Clan to properly welcome him, Alston had come
inside and walked along the main road leading to the square. He was escorted by two masters of the
Divine Stage, another nine masters of the Supernal Stage and some twenty spirit manipulators of the
Heavenly Stage.
Bryant stood up at once. He lifted his elegant robe and ran down the platform to welcome Alston. He
was followed by Shirley, the seniors, and the elders.
When everyone saw that Bryant was in a hurry, they realized that Alston was here. No other person in
this world could arouse such a whirlwind of chaos. The noisy square quieted down immediately. The
crowd parted automatically to make a path for Alston. Everyone echoed greetings of respect towards
the acting emperor.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" The whole square was suddenly filled with everyone's greetings.
Alston, on the other hand, marched on with ease. He wore a wide smile across his face as he waved
his hand towards the crowd. For the people who knew him little, he was as common as an old shoe,
but not the insidious, despicable and ruthless monster who tried to murder his own brother for the
throne and who used every way possible to get rid of those who disobeyed him.
As Alston pressed forward towards the platform, Bryant and Shirley met him at the middle of the
square, as well as all other seniors and elders from the Ximen Clan.
"Your Majesty!" Bryant stopped in front of Alston and respectfully bowed.
"Nice to meet you, Chief Bryant, Miss Shirley and all the elders! Please do not be nervous. I am here
today to congratulate your clan on your centennial celebration. There's no need to make such a scene,"
Alston said with a gentle smile, instructing Bryant to stand straight.
"Your Majesty, please follow me this way!" Bryant led Alston to the front of the square and up on the
platform.
After Alston and Bryant took their seats, the people from the Ximen Clan and Alston's escorts stood on
the opposite sides on the stand.
"Today marks the centennial celebration of the Ximen Clan. I prepared some special gifts for you.
Please kindly accept them!" Alston said and nodded to the guards who were standing on the sides.
A guard went down, and a moment later, more than a dozen guards carried several big boxes up on
the platform. The boxes were immediately opened to unravel heaps of gold, silver and jewelries inside.
Alston had heavily spent on these gifts.
"I am extremely flattered, Your Majesty! This is so generous of you! But please forgive me. I cannot
accept these extravagant gifts!" Bryant immediately stood up and cupped his hands to refuse Alston's
expensive presents.
"It's truly kind of you to say so. Please accept it, these are just some small gifts to show my great
respect to you and your clan! Might I add that I've also prepared several special gifts for Miss Shirley,"
Alston said as he glanced towards Shirley who was standing on the opposite side of the platform.
"Come here, Shirley." At once, Bryant nodded at Shirley when Alston mentioned her name.
Shirley immediately came forward and politely bowed to Alston. "It's already a great honor for the
Ximen Clan to have Your Majesty here today. I am not worthy of these special gifts!"
"Please do not refuse these gifts I picked especially for you, Miss Shirley. You will soon become my
concubine, so please do not be shy. I can give you anything you want even just for a smile!" Alston said
generously. He nodded at the guard to come forward again.
Another group of guards went up to the platform, and this time, they were holding several small boxes.
They stopped right in front of Shirley and opened the boxes for her to see. It turned out that there was a
piece of treasure inside each box. Each treasure was placed on the level of a middle grade Dark
Heaven Egg. Two pieces of treasure were the match of supreme grade Dark Heaven Egg.
For ordinary spirit manipulators, these treasures were valuable and incredibly rare to find. As a matter
of fact, the value of these treasures was far more than the value of the gold, silver, and jewelries in the
big boxes.
The people who saw these gifts grumbled and sighed enviably at Alston's generosity.
"Your Majesty, these gifts are far too expensive! We cannot accept these!" Bryant said, pretending to
be stunned at Alston's generosity and extravagance. But in fact, these treasures were nothing to the
Ximen Clan. Shirley had grown up in piles of these kinds of things.
"It's exceedingly kind of you to say that. I know these treasures are nothing to the Ximen Clan. So, I
also prepared an incredibly special gift for Miss Shirley." Alston clapped his hands as soon as he
finished his announcement.
A master at the Divine Stage immediately walked down the platform and ordered his men to clear up
an area. After that, he gathered his spirit and opened the Magic Spiritual Space. Then, he went in and
took out a Dark Heaven Insect at the first grade of the three-star level.
The appearance of the Dark Heaven Insect heightened the atmosphere on the square. People
immediately talked among themselves. They were surprised that they were able to see such a
spectacular thing in their lives.
"It took me two whole months to capture this creature at the Gehenna Border. I am going to give it to
you as a pet, Miss Shirley. Do you like it?" Alston said proudly, confident that Shirley would be thrilled at
this magnificent creature.
Shirley, on the other hand, just smiled faintly. Her face was nothing but a blank expression. As the
successor of the first clan in this empire, she had seen all kinds of treasures in her life. And for the first
time, the Dark Heaven Insect was the only thing she felt a little interested in. But she was aware that
there was a price she had to pay if she accepted it. Alston was expecting that she would accept his
marriage proposal and become one of his concubines. So, even if Alston presented thousands of Dark
Heaven Insects, it was impossible for her to show any delight at all.
"Shirley," Bryant murmured, instructing her to show her gratitude to the emperor.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I really appreciate your sincere kindness. I never expect so many gifts from
Your Majesty!" Shirley replied with all of the formalities she could muster.
"I am happy to hear that you like it. Oh, I want to ask something, if you don't mind? Can I have your
reply regarding marrying into the royal family now? I personally would like to give you a few more days
to think, but they have already prepared for the wedding ceremony. So, I want to know the answer as
soon as possible." Alston's words were very polite, but it was clear that he wanted to tell Bryant and
Shirley that today was their deadline.
"It's my honor to be favored by Your Majesty!" Shirley said with a polite nod.
As soon as the crowd heard her words, the whole square became loud again. It seemed that the
emperor was going to get what he wanted today.
A trace of a triumphant smile flashed in Alston's face. Today's agenda was going smoother than he had
thought. As the first clan, Bryant had the power to stand on the opposite side of the royal family, and
Alston had already prepared for it. But he was confident in Bryant's loyalty. Bryant had no reason to
refuse, and their clan would only be promoted by this marriage. Besides, he knew that Shirley really
appreciated him before, so he believed that Shirley would not refuse him.
"But I sincerely apologize, Your Majesty. I cannot marry you!" To Alston's great surprise, Shirley
suddenly turned the situation around and politely declined him.
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