The show was over and Kevin with his group were shown to the second floor. With the corner of his eye Kevin observed the few years younger boy casually climbing the stairs with the weapon on his shoulder even though he almost died under the weight of the same weapon a couple years ago.
“How far have you gotten?” Kevin curiously asked, “How many formations are currently left?”
From the first glance he couldn’t see any, but they were put by the great master Shaw, so one could never be sure. Leo’s answer still surprised him so much he almost tripped.
“They began to turn off one after another right when I arrived to the Dreadlands. My guess is that they were reliant on the natural Qi in the air and you know … there was none. The last formation was forcefully removed around a year ago, so from then on I’m carrying the Cleaver as it is.”
“That means your condition …” Kevin didn’t know how to politely ask about it when there were others around, but Leo didn’t care much.
He said, “I wanted to see your father about that, but from what I understand it’s not that easy.”
“Sigh, yes, he’s really busy.” Kevin sighed in regret while Leo ‘knowingly’ nodded.
When they arrived at the table, there was already tableware and chairs for ten people. After everyone sat down, Kevin began the introductions.
“The eight people here are all from the main aristocratic families, therefore I’d like to apologize if they seem slightly snobbish at first.” Kevin said and one of the guys, a tall and muscular youth, the one who kept ridiculing Leo earlier about the ‘fish story’, snorted, “They are good people and actually quite talented. Harold is from the famous Stevenson family and he’s the oldest one here – don’t bother with his attitude, he’s probably more curious than arrogant.”
Harold snorted again and Kevin ignored it as always, “Claude Hubert, his younger sister Alice. Fan Yun, yes from the famous Fan family. Those two sitting at the opposite sides are actually twin brothers, Francis and Fabien Roche. They might seem rather hostile to each other in public, but not many know they train together really hard and support each other as much as possible. And these two lovely ladies sitting to my right are the Adams sisters – Luna is the one in the red jacket and Emma in the yellow, well …”
“Ok ... and you’re Leo.” The girl who sat next to Leo interrupted., “How was it in the mortal realm? Tell us?”
“Alice, seriously?” Her brother, Claude, was immediately annoyed by his little sister, but she ignored him and continued to stare at the guest.
Leo didn’t really know what to say – apart from the short visit to the Golden city he had always been in one or another mortal realm. And currently he had slight difficulties to think – the four young ladies were rather pretty and he would’ve gladly washed them either separately or all at the same time. Especially that back haired Alice – most likely she was a bit older than him, but well developed and her fragrance made the boy feel somewhat dizzy.
“Let me rephrase that.” Seeing Leo was struggling, Kevin decided to help out, “What have you been up to for the past couple of years. What was all that about the realm without Qi?”
“Well, you see … our sect master sent an expedition to find this rare alchemy ingredient and there was only one mortal realm to our knowledge who had it …” Leo truthfully told the story from the beginning.
He didn’t dwell on the unpleasant events like his own sect mates killing each other, but as it turns out he had quite an adventure. Others soon softened up to him, apart from Harold that is, but Leo simply ignored him.
The part with all males being enslaved by women was met with loud cheers from the four girls, but soon the guys were rewarded after Claude asked what Leo’s main duties were. When Leo replied that washing the owners and cooking, the guys whistled in satisfaction while the girls blushed, but Claude’s grin immediately changed into a painful expression when Alice stomped his foot under the table.
“It’s not as fun as you think.” Leo shrugged seeing the reaction and somewhat dampened the mood, “I was lucky – most men were kept as livestock. They were not eaten, of course, but the conditions were similar.”
“No wonder the Heavens punished the realm and took the Qi away.” Francis said with a sigh and the rest nodded in agreement.
“Not quite.” Leo said and pointed at the jade jar besides him, “I think there were few creatures who could either absorb or produce Qi in Dreadlands. Like the big, old animals we slayed or these bugs.”
“Bugs? May I have a look?” Alice curiously asked.
“Sure.” Leo shrugged and pushed the jar closer to her.
“This time she’s actually curious.” Kevin commented, “The Hubert family is one of the cornerstones of the science of alchemy in the Golden city.”
“What do you mean ‘this time’?!” Alice angrily retorted, but the next moment got slightly disappointed, “Dark-crimson horned beetles? They are not common, but not that rare. You could’ve spared yourself the trouble and bought a couple in our alchemy shops or maybe on in an auction, you know?”
Actually Leo didn’t know, but he also didn’t know the next part.
“Alice, Leo comes from a mortal realm himself. He is not allowed to trade here in order to not break the balance in his home world. That’s the law.” Alice’s brother Claude explained and suddenly a bunch of questions Leo had for the past two years were answered just like that.
“Excuse me, young master Leo!” Suddenly one of the waiters rushed over and said, “Master Jamie asked if it is alright with you if we served the mortal dragon to the other guests as well.”
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Completely baffled by the question Leo instinctively nodded. He kind of thought that even though the snake was big, it might be barely enough for the ten of them. Obviously he was still thinking by the standards of Dreadlands where he could easily eat a deer and feel hungry afterwards.
A short while later appetizers were brought, but Leo continued with his rather captivating story. The only one who pretended to not care was Harold, but contrary to him Alice’s eyes were like shining stars listening and fantasizing about her one day traveling realms as well.
There were two more listeners, albeit on the third floor. George Cilin and Fan Lia laughed to tears following Leo’s tale and while most at his own table were more or less doubting about the genuineness of the story, they had spent enough time with the boy and knew he most likely didn’t invent a thing. On the contrary – he’ll probably omitted the sad parts of the savage world he just came from.
What neither table noticed was how one after another more and more people flew over and took spots directly on the fourth floor. At some point it became even more crowded there compared to the other three floors, but the present were all cream of the crop among the inhabitants of the Golden city.
When Leo was about to finish the story, a deep, sonorous voice reverberated through the restaurant.
“Greetings, dear guests!” The person said and Leo overheard few guests whispering to each other ‘that’s the king!’.
“Some of you were lucky to be already here and some of you were invited abruptly. You see, initially as the special of the day we intended to serve the rank seven river bull, but unexpectedly one of the Jamie’s apprentices returned with a surprise. Dear guests, Let me present you – the water dragon from Dreadlands mortal realm that was slain by our seedling! Don’t look down on it just because it originated from a lower realm. My estimation is that the beast we would call a giant snake was at least five to six thousand years old! And the experts in your ranks know what it means!”
At Leo’s table there were no such experts, therefore everyone instantly turned to Kevin.
“Don’t ask me!” He said defensively, “My guess is it’ll be much tastier. I have no clue what the king actually meant. We can all ask at home afterwards.”
“Damn it!” Suddenly Fabien cursed apparently remembering something.
And while the rest glanced at him in confusion, Francis explained, “He’s angry his father is probably here.”
“So is yours!” His twin retorted, but the group’s laughter was interrupted by waiters bringing over the main dish.
For a while the ‘King’s kitchen’ was filled with silence that got occasionally interrupted by a moan of pleasure. Leo had to agree – there was still a long way to go for him to ever reach this level of cooking. In fact, compared to the snake’s steak he was currently eating, the previously divine turtle stew seemed like a peasant’s dinner.
Nevertheless, after most people were done, Jamie came over and asked, “How was it?”
Of course, it’s impossible to describe with words something this godly and, truth to be said, he had heard all the possible compliments in the world, therefore he immediately rephrased the question, “How would you have cooked it?”
Leo thought for a moment and stupefied everyone right after.
“I’d roast it.” He said. Then seeing the awkward looking expressions around the table explained, “You see, we were high in snowy mountains and there were limited resources. But as spices I would’ve used … hmm … from the top of my head … I would’ve made a paste from pine seeds, juniper berries and maybe some roots if I was able to dig up anything useful. It would’ve been great if there were some lingonberries, but I’m not sure if they grew that high up … That part of the world is rather barren, you know ...”
Surprisingly Jamie didn’t make fun of him or object, but only patted Leo’s shoulder and said, “You’re on the right path. Keep practicing.”
Then he put the iron crown on the table and said, “I’d suggest you exchange it for something more convenient. The storage space this thing has is relatively large, but it’s incredibly inconvenient to use. Alright! Back to work! See you around, kids!”
“Well? How does it feel to become a celebrity?” Alice asked with a smirk and, seeing Leo’s confusion, explained, “Before you even entered the restaurant you attracted the attention from half the city. And now everyone knows you’re Jamie’s apprentice who’s capable of killing a five thousand year old snake. Yes, it’s from a mortal realm, but that’s still a feat!”
“I call bullsh*t!” Harold finally couldn’t take it anymore.
Tonight the whole attention was on the country bumpkin even though he was the second strongest from the group. It was still fine when the girls flocked around Kevin – even Harold had to be weary of him despite being a whole cultivation level higher, but this was a random nobody! And even his stories were full of sh*t and boring!
“Harold!” Alice was upset, although not surprised.
“What, Harold?” The youth snorted in return, “So what if he brought back a giant snake? There is no proof he even killed it! And remember – he came from a realm where the women are the strong gender after living there for years! He has no clue what a real man’s punch feels like!”
“What did you say?” Luna’s nostrils suddenly inflated. Her sister was similarly angered because even if they were slightly weaker than the present boys, it was not by much.
“Ok, ok! Calm down, everyone!” Kevin said with a wide smile. He actually was genuinely surprised it took so long for Harold to explode and there was only one solution to this.
“We had a great time and we tasted amazing dishes. What would you say if we stretched our bones a little?” He asked Leo.
Seeing the guest’s confusion, Alice rushed to explain, “He suggests for you and Harold to spar. Actually, what cultivation stage are you at?”
“I’m … I’m only at the Qi gathering stage.” Leo said with a sigh.
While there was a reason for it, these guys were the geniuses of the Golden city and in comparison he was just a hillbilly. Truth to be said he was surprised with how friendly they were despite his origins – it was hard to say how he would’ve turned out if he was born here in one of the aristocratic families.
“Oh? Great!” Kevin grinned expecting this answer, “Me too! Don’t look at me like that – I’m still the strongest of the group. We all hold back the cultivation stages on purpose, remember? This is not a mortal realm! Becoming a Nascent souls stage expert is an everyday occurrence, that is why every single youth you’ll meet around here is aiming for the immortality.”
“Kevin’s right.” Claude agreed, “Even though he’s the youngest one – he is the strongest. And we all would’ve preferred to stay for a year or preferably – two longer at the Qi gathering stage. Especially Harold – not a day goes by he’s not angry at himself for being too rash.”
“Alright, enough blabbing!” Harold interrupted, “Let’s go to the Combat division. It’s possible to find there an expert to watch over us even at this time of the day.
“I have a better idea!” Alice jumped in, “Let’s go to our place! We have a great arena and surely one of elders …”
“No. Not gonna happen.” Her older brother immediately disagreed, “You just want to hear more stories from our guest!”
After a quick argument between the two siblings it was decided to go to the Combat division after all. Alice pouted, but most, even Leo, thought it was cute and that made the girl even more grumpy.