Chapter 201: Humans Who Care About Face

In the eyes of the sea race, the League of Blades needed their help to barely hold off the Nine Gods' claim to one-third of the world. As for the Nine Gods, they lacked the awe-inspiring presence of the Supreme Saint from the past. Even if the League of Blades were destroyed, it would pose no threat to the sea race. At worst, they could simply stop doing business on land. If the sea race took a dislike to the Nine Gods, they could plunder or leave as they pleased. In comparison, the sea race had more respect for the Eight Tribes who 'relied' on humans, as the individual strength of the Eight Tribes was far greater than that of humans.

To put it bluntly, the sea race fundamentally viewed all humans as scum, whether it was the League of Blades or the Nine Gods. This naturally made them feel superior when dealing with humans.

Xue Zhiyu said cautiously, "The same goes for these dispatched sea race merchant caravans. They are particularly fond of showing off. You need to be careful. While they wouldn't dare to be disrespectful in the hall, if they hear about your status as a prince consort, they might want to provoke you. Just ignore them."

"Right, right, don't pay attention!" Xuecai added from the side, "Those stinky fish and shrimp can only stay in the water. Once they come ashore, they become quite abnormal and aggressive. If you pay attention to them, you'll get beaten to death!"

"Don't worry, don't worry," Old Wang said nonchalantly. "I'm so handsome; maybe the sea race needs a prince consort too."

Xue Zhiyu frowned, and Xuecai rolled her eyes: "This guy is getting cocky again!"

...

The banquet was set up in the grand hall of the palace.

Beside each pillar supporting the hall stood long tables carved from fragrant wood, adorned with finely arranged fruits and fresh delicacies, silver cutlery, and a few unique appetizers specific to the Ice Spirit Kingdom, looking quite impressive.

Xue Zhiyu and her sister, along with Wang Feng, arrived just in time.

Xue Zhiyu wore a sky-blue, low-cut evening gown that, in this pristine white world, resembled the blue sky paired with white clouds, exuding a natural charm.

Her slender, S-shaped figure and the golden crown atop her head immediately left everyone speechless upon her appearance. To be honest, it wasn't just Aota and his group whose eyes were glued to her; even Old Wang, who had seen Xue Zhiyu change first, was momentarily stunned by her beauty.

Usually, Xue Zhiyu was considered beautiful but lacked the maturity of Dage, seeming too young. But that was because of the ‘uniform’ of the Ice Spirit Holy Sanctuary. Now, dressed in this evening gown, it was clear that her figure had matured... Oh, perhaps Oscar's words weren't entirely without merit. Being a savior didn't seem so bad after all...

The sea people hadn't arrived yet, but all the representatives from Ice Spirit were already present. Xue Zhiyu and Wang Feng entered the hall together, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Snow Cangbai, standing at the top of the hall, stood up laughing, his eyes filled with admiration and affection for his beloved daughter: "Zhiyu, come to me!"

Xue Zhiyu smiled and walked forward, and Old Wang was about to follow from behind when he was politely stopped by a guard beside him. The guard said courteously, "Mr. Wang Feng, there is a seating arrangement. Your seat is over here."

Old Wang followed the guard's finger and saw that it was at the end of the banquet, closest to the entrance of the hall. This clearly wasn't the guard's decision.

He had been lost in the appreciation of Xue Zhiyu's exquisite figure, but now reality snapped him back. Old Wang swallowed hard... It was obvious that his future father-in-law really didn't like him, placing him in such a position. Even if not considering his status as the princess's boyfriend, just as a genius rune master from the Holy Sanctuary, he shouldn't be treated with such disdain.

Someone with a temper might have walked out, but Wang Feng maintained his composure and went to sit down.

Southerners are indeed spineless, the guard thought, though his face remained respectful. Just as he was about to turn and leave, Wang Feng called out, "Hey, brother guard."

The guard turned back with a smile, "Is there anything you need, Mr. Wang Feng?"

"Is the food on my table the same as on the others?"

"Ah?" The guard opened his mouth: "Y-Yes."

"Good!" Old Wang was immediately relieved. Today, he had been busy with Xue Zhiyu and the others trying on formal wear, and he hadn't even had lunch. The roasted meat in Bingling was quite good, and the state banquet would certainly be of higher quality. Moreover, sitting at the back where few people noticed him, he could eat to his heart's content. Today, he was in for a treat.

As princesses, Xue Zhiyu and Xuecai were definitely going to accompany His Majesty. The seats for the seven heroes were also near the front, while those closer to Old Wang included Aota, Tatashi, and Jina. This group formed their own little circle, whispering and exchanging words in low voices.

"The sea people haven't arrived yet. Didn't they say 7 PM sharp? It's already almost 7:15!" Aota was a bit annoyed. In fact, he had been in a bad mood all day, sulking: "To make us and His Majesty wait for them, these stinky fish and shrimp sure have a lot of nerve..."

Just as he was grumbling, an announcement came from outside the hall: "Special Envoy Rakufu of the Whale Clan and President Hagen of the Sea Star Trading Company, presenting gifts, request an audience!"

The noisy hall instantly fell silent. Xue Cangbai nodded slightly: "Please bring them in."

The palace doors were opened, and two sea men dressed in elaborate robes led a group into the hall with quick steps.

The first man was over two meters tall, with a large head, broad shoulders, and a thick waist. He had a few white whiskers on his face, giving him a very imposing appearance—typical characteristics of the whale clan, indicating exceptional intelligence.

The sea man walking beside him looked more like a 'normal human' in terms of build, but his hairstyle was rather peculiar, resembling a five-pointed star as if styled with gel...

The group that followed them was far more complex. Some were petite with lively eyes, while others were exceptionally tall and seemed slightly clumsy. They carried several large chests.

The grand hall was silent, and all eyes were on them. As this group entered, the whale clan envoy, Lakfor, bowed from a distance to Xue Cangbai atop the dais, laughing as he walked and said, "Apologies, apologies for being half an hour late. Your Majesty's palace is truly unique, making one want to linger and admire it, which caused the delay. Please forgive me!"

Though he claimed to be seeking forgiveness, the envoy’s manner was exaggerated, his voice louder than Xue Cangbai’s, clearly not taking the Ice Spirit royal family’s authority seriously.

Xue Cangbai smiled faintly, "Envoy, you are a guest from afar, and your journey must have been tiring. A slight delay is of no consequence."

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Here is a small gift for you." Lakfor smiled and gestured behind him, "Bring them over."

Clank, clank, clank...

As the chests were moved, they made various sounds—clanking or rustling—indicating their immense weight. The strongmen behind the envoy placed them on the ground and opened them.

The first chest was filled with goose-egg-sized pearls, some white, some colorful, all smooth and flawless without a single blemish.

The second chest, the largest, contained a full load of gold and silver ore. In the Nine Heavens Continent, there were no gold or silver coins, but this material served as a form of hard currency. After all, the most commonly used materials in runes and arrays, such as mithril and mythril, were refined from these ores, and the ore in this chest was of the highest quality, with extremely high gold content. A chest this full was incredibly valuable.

There were also third, fourth... a total of over a dozen large chests. Some contained sea clan specialties, like beautiful corals, while others were directly filled with money. These dozen chests, though seemingly few, were worth at least several million euros, though their value in the ocean was unknown.

Old Wang was practically drooling, having long known that the Sea Clan and Ice Spirit were wealthy, but to see such extravagance in a casual gift made him feel as if his imagination had been limited by poverty.

Xue Cangbai glanced at Wang Feng with intent, noticing how his eyes sparkled as he stared at the dozen or so chests. He smiled faintly.

This fellow’s talent in runes had even earned endless praise from Zhebie, truly making him a talent that stirred Xue Cangbai’s heart. While it was reluctant to offer him a princess, greed made things easier. The Ice Spirit Kingdom was never short of money, and there were plenty of ways to make him happily give up the princess. If they could secure such a talent with money, it would be a fortunate event for the Ice Spirit Kingdom. Had he known this earlier, he wouldn’t have deliberately seated him at the end.

At this moment, he naturally wouldn’t reveal his thoughts. Xue Cangbai smiled and ordered the gifts to be accepted. Then he clapped his hands, and immediately two guards rushed in from outside the hall, carrying two cages about half a meter tall, which they carefully placed on the ground.

Xue Cangbai instructed someone to remove the black cloth covering the cages, revealing two adorable little creatures to everyone.

They were entirely snow-white, with the upper bodies of cute children, their faces slightly fearful, while their lower bodies resembled ghostly flames, allowing them to float naturally in mid-air.

"Two snow imps less than a hundred days old!" The eyes of the merchant guild’s president, Hagen, lit up.

The snow imps of the Ice Spirit Kingdom were a unique marvel on the continent, renowned powerful ice and snow elemental soul beasts. Adult snow imps could never be subdued by humans or other races like the Sea Clan, but young ones could. Taming such a young snow imp and forming a master-servant contract with it from a young age would provide a significant boost to a strong individual once it matured. They were extremely precious and not something that could be easily obtained with money.

Rarity makes things valuable, and such items were also incredibly expensive among the nobility of the Sea Clan, often reserved for tribute.

"Two snow imps less than a hundred days old, their value goes without saying," Xue Cangbai said with a smile. "One is for the envoy's personal use, and the other is a gift for Mr. Hagen. May the friendship between our Ice Spirit Kingdom and the Sea Clan grow as robustly as these snow imps, under our mutual care and nurturing."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Both were overjoyed. In terms of value, the dozen or so chests they had carried before were valuable, but items like the Supreme Snow Demon were not something that could be bought with money. Often, such items were only available through bounty tasks or special missions issued by the Holy Sanctuary, which could be a bottomless pit of expenses.

Humans love to save face and always try to show off their strength; it’s profitable!

One gift gave Ice Spirit enough face, while the return gift provided ample benefits to the sea folk. Everyone got what they wanted, and all were pleased.

For the caravan, besides making money, they needed to collect some rare treasures to present to the royal family for protection.

The atmosphere in the grand hall instantly became more relaxed. With Snow Cangbai's call of "Let the feast begin," palace maids and servers began to bring out the dishes one after another, like a flowing stream of delicacies.

Musicians around the hall also started playing. The music of Ice Spirit was very different from that of Aurora City. Here, the music was light and ethereal, a kind of bell-like percussion, accompanying the graceful ice dance performed by a dozen barefoot women in the center of the hall, which was quite characteristic of Ice Spirit.

Lakufu and Hagen sat together at a table below Snow Cangbai's left side, chatting and laughing with him. At this moment, Snow Cangbai had just introduced them to heroes like Zhebie.

Lakufu showed little interest in the music and dance but was very interested in these heroes. He smiled and said, "I have long heard that Ice Spirit Kingdom values martial prowess, and its warriors are unparalleled. Today, seeing the spirit and courage of these heroes, I can see that the reputation is well-deserved. Coincidentally, among those who accompanied us, there are several young sea warriors. I wonder if any of you would be interested in a friendly match?"

As soon as Lakufu finished speaking, a tall and muscular sea warrior stood up: "I am Shark Da of the Sea Shark Clan. I am willing to learn from the brave warriors of Ice Spirit Kingdom and add excitement to the banquet for His Majesty and the envoys. Which hero would like to grant me this honor?"

Zhebie and the others remained silent, clearly unwilling to lower themselves. Snow Cangbai smiled slightly: "Sea Shark Clan warriors are renowned for their innate strength and bravery. However, being on land, they might be at a disadvantage when facing our warriors."

Lakfu laughed heartily and said, "Your Majesty is overthinking it. Our sea race has recently obtained a miraculous potion that can restore our warriors to about seventy or eighty percent of their strength in a short time. With this potion's assistance, there will surely be an exciting battle between your brave warriors and ours. Please do not hesitate to give us guidance!"

Old Wang was taken aback. There was such a thing, and he didn't know about it?

Although Abuda and the others were somewhat annoyed, they would not act without the king's signal. The arrogance of the sea race had been growing for quite some time, and only those at the level of a Sea General could match human heroes.

Suddenly, someone from the lower seats shouted, "To deal with an unknown nobody, why should my master step in? I'll teach you a lesson!"

Badeluo had already rushed out, unable to contain himself any longer. Why should his master step in when he could handle it?

Sharku frowned and asked, "Who are you? What qualifies you to challenge me?"

Abuda Zhebie smiled and said, "This is my disciple Badeluo, one of the top young warriors in our Ice Spirit Kingdom. You are around the same age, so it's a good opportunity to spar. However, this is the palace, so let's keep it a friendly competition."

Sharku hesitated for a moment, then Lakfu laughed and said, "Mr. Zhebie is the first hero of Ice Spirit. Your disciple must certainly represent a certain level of skill. Since it's a friendly competition, Sharku, there's no need for the potion. Just play along with the young man."

"Yes!"

The sea race, burdened by the curse of the Supreme Saint, has been continuously weakening over the past two hundred years. While it doesn't significantly affect their physical strength, it primarily restrains the core essence of the sea race—arcane magic. Everyone is well aware of this.

"I won't take advantage of you either. No soul power, just brute strength, let's arm wrestle!" Badeluo was not the least bit afraid; he had great confidence in his own strength.

Shark smiled proudly, "Shorty, if you can push me, you win."

Badeluo rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward, his bull-like eyes wide open. He slapped his thick hands together forcefully and then extended them to interlock fingers with the other man, pressing against each other.

"Come on!"

Both men were massive giants. Now, with their arms locked, their muscles bulged. Sea Sharks were second only to the Giant Whales in strength, and they were slightly larger than Badeluo, but their demeanor was clearly much more relaxed.

The people of Linwinter also enjoyed such games. Badeluo often wrestled with his tribesmen and knew the tricks well. As soon as their fingers interlocked, he didn't wait for the start signal and unleashed all his strength at once.

However, the Sea Shark warrior remained completely still. Badeluo's face turned beet red as he roared in frustration, trying to push the other man over. Tatashi and the others cheered him on, and Xuecai was almost standing up to shout encouragement.

Old Wang, however, remained calm and collected. Sigh, still so young. The human advantage lies in the combination of physical strength and soul power. If it were just physical strength, humans would be at the slave level. This had been proven centuries ago. How could they forget? It felt like the other side was setting a trap, and unfortunately, Badeluo, this hot-headed youth, fell for it without any hesitation.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before the cheers turned sour. Badeluo's massive body began to lean backward as the other man started to exert his strength. With a roar, Badeluo's mountain-like frame was forcibly lifted off the ground, spinning two or three times in the air before landing with a loud thud several meters away.

Old Wang sipped his wine contentedly. In terms of physical strength, the Mahoragas ranked first, the Giant Whales second, the Beast Race's Kungmong third, and the Sea Sharks followed closely behind.

Instantly, the people of the Sea Star Guild burst into cheers, and the merman warrior known as Shark Big held his head high, extremely proud.

"Come, give our merman hero a cup of wine!" Lakfu said with a smile. The reason for all this show wasn't just to put on a facade; merchants seek profit, and he had come here to discuss a major deal with Bingle. Recently, the demand for high-quality soul crystals had suddenly increased, and he needed to take the initiative in negotiations!

Shark Big picked up a jug of wine and drank it in large gulps, then casually threw away the empty jug. "Anyone else!"

Abudazhebie and Donghuang Yigu both frowned slightly. Badeluo had set a bad precedent; if the other side couldn't use arcane magic and they couldn't use soul power, they would be at a significant disadvantage. But they couldn't afford to lose face on their home turf.

Xue Zhiyu stood up, "The strength of the Sea Shark Clan ranks among the top five in the Nine Heavens World, truly living up to its reputation. However, we from Bingle also have warriors with innate divine strength. Jina, go and learn from him, but take it easy!"

"Yes, Princess!" Jina stood up.

Old Wang was enjoying the feast, finding the royal palace's delicacies even more delicious than the 'small canteen' at the Holy Sanctuary, and best of all, it was free and plentiful. Suddenly, he heard a voice nearby—it was Jina from the neighboring seat.

"Wow, is Jina going to fight? Can she handle it?" Old Wang asked excitedly, stuffing meat into his mouth.

Tatashi, seated beside him, looked at him with a hint of exasperation, "Try to act a bit better. Didn't you see the merfolk mocking us? And you're still eating!"

Tassia, with her gentle nature, said, "It's fine. Jina is our strongest in terms of physical strength."

Jina walked to the center of the grand hall and stopped about three meters in front of Shark.

"Girl?"

Shark was taken aback, his face twisted with disdain. "I don't fight women, let alone a little girl!"

"Afraid of getting beaten?" Jina retorted, letting out a mocking laugh as she tore off her red cloak, revealing a figure that could only be described as 'stunning.'

Without the cloak to conceal her, it became clear that beneath the short armor, what was revealed was not sensuality but a 'terrifying' contrast to her doll-like face.

This was a woman with muscles...

And not just any muscles, but ones so developed that even Old Wang felt a twinge of shame.

Her biceps were bulging, and her thighs were so solid and thick that Old Wang couldn't help but think of an enhanced version of Chun-Li.

"Stop stalling, do you dare to fight!" With her cloak off, Jina exuded wildness, clenching her fists tightly, the sound of cracking knuckles echoing through the hall.