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Chapter 58 - Chapter 58: The Hongmen Feast

"Alright." Tang Yuehua placed the comb on the dressing table and, looking at the carefully groomed Tang San in the mirror, said,

"Little birthday boy, it's your time to make an appearance. Don't keep the guests waiting too long."

At the dressing table, Tang San gazed at his radiant reflection in the mirror and smiled confidently.

"Indeed, the guests have been waiting for so long. The show must begin!"

In the banquet hall.

The nobles were seated with familiar faces, quietly chatting amongst themselves.

At some point, the sound of footsteps could be heard.

"Welcome, all the distinguished guests to attend Tang San's birthday celebration. Your presence has brought great honor to the Tang Clan."

Before his figure was seen, his voice had already been heard.

Everyone in the hall shifted their gaze to the entrance, eager to catch a glimpse of the famed Tang Clan leader.

A nine-year-old boy walked at the front of a group of five. He wore a festive red robe, and his long black hair was tied back with a red ribbon.

To his left were Yue Xuan's lord, Tang Yuehua, and the patriarch of the Power Clan, Titan. To his right were the master artisan, Lou Gao, and the patriarch of the Sensory Clan, Bai He.

Tang San's appearance immediately drew murmurs among the gathered nobles.

"Is this the nephew of Lady Yue? He carries himself well, but his looks are... just average."

"Looks aren't that important in a marriage. The most crucial thing is status and power."

"Marquis Ye, I recall you have a daughter, stunning in beauty, yet still without a match. What do you think of this Tang Clan leader?"

"..."

The topics of conversation among the nobles were all centered around marriage and matchmaking.

No surprise here, as Tang San's attire made him look just like a groom on his wedding day.

In a corner, Lin Rong observed the scene and thought to himself:

"Tang San shouldn't be making such a mistake. Could it be that he's considering a marriage alliance?"

"It's not impossible. A marriage alliance could bring Tang San nothing but benefits."

"Without the childhood bond with Xiao Wu from the original story, Tang San's personality would never be moved by a woman."

"With no love involved, only calculation, I wonder who the eventual bride will be?"

By Tang San's side, Bai He had been scanning the room, looking for someone.

"Where is he? Where is he?" Bai He circled the room, finally spotting Lin Rong sitting in the corner of the banquet hall.

"I've found him!"

Bai He squinted his eyes, his hands clenched tightly in his sleeves, a venomous rage building in his heart.

In the corner, Lin Rong noticed Bai He's gaze, but he made no indication of acknowledgment, too lazy to bother with a dying man.

With the birthday boy making his entrance, the birthday celebration quickly began.

However, most of the guests had come with one thing in mind—dark weapons. Tang San was well aware of this.

After a stick of incense, the celebration officially ended, transitioning to the main event of the day: the dark weapon demonstration.

Various dark weapons were presented by the Tang Clan disciples, placed on a massive square table:

Silent sleeve arrows, concealed crossbows, stomp crossbows, back-loading flower-shaped crossbows, Zhuge crossbows...

Lin Rong only took a glance at these dark weapons before shifting his gaze away.

He had thought that, with such an elaborate event, Tang San might unveil some truly remarkable weapons.

"I was overthinking it. Tang San wouldn't reveal his true strength to outsiders."

Each of the dark weapons was demonstrated by the Tang Clan disciples, showing off their usage and power, drawing gasps of amazement from the guests.

Although these nobles were all soul masters, their generations of luxury had led to neglect in soul power cultivation, meaning their levels were generally quite low.

Seeing the potency of the dark weapons, they felt both wary and eager, aware that these could threaten their lives.

This was exactly what Tang San had hoped to see.

He intended to use these nobles' hands to help establish the Tang Clan's reputation.

After the weapon demonstration, Tang San announced that the Tang Clan would auction off ten complete sets of dark weapons. The highest bidders would win the sets.

"Hunger marketing?"

Lin Rong shook his head, thinking:

"Impossible. Tang San couldn't understand such tactics. He's probably just unwilling to reveal too many of his weapons."

Time passed quickly.

After a heated bidding war, two of the sets of dark weapons were claimed by the royal family.

The Snowstar Prince took one, and Snow Qinghe claimed the other.

Lin Rong guessed that, at this very moment, Xue Renxue was probably thinking of hiring master craftsmen to reverse-engineer the weapon blueprints for mass production.

What she failed to consider was that if it were so easy, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School wouldn't be so willing to cooperate with Tang San.

Once the auction ended, the banquet was essentially over.

In the span of a few short moments, most of the nobles had already left.

After a little more time, with the royal family also having departed, only Lin Rong, Ning Fengzhi, and the two members of the Duoluo Clan—Duoluo Bo and Duoluo Yan—remained in the hall.

The atmosphere had become a bit eerie.

Ning Fengzhi, originally there for business talks with Tang San, suddenly recalled a quiet conversation with Bone Douluo, Gu Long, when he first entered the hall.

Thus, Ning Fengzhi gave a meaningful glance at the old steward, Yu Yuan, then stood up and addressed Tang San:

"Clan leader Tang, I just remembered some urgent matters that require my attention. Let's reschedule for another time."

After saying that, Ning Fengzhi led Ning Rongrong and Gu Long out of the banquet hall.

At this point, only Tang San and his group, along with Lin Rong, the old steward, Duoluo Bo, and Duoluo Yan, remained.

The situation was to Tang San's liking.

He immediately recognized that Duoluo Bo and Duoluo Yan were both poisoned, and he had the means to solve their problem.

This life-saving favor, combined with his expertise in poison, gave Tang San the confidence to bring Duoluo Bo under his influence.

At the same time, Tang San had learned from Bai He about the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng being in Lin Rong's possession.

Previously, at the meeting of the Four Great Families, Bai He had tried to discreetly inquire about the ginseng from Yang Wudi.

He learned that Lin Rong had not given the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng to Yang Wudi for alchemy.

This meant that the ginseng was likely still safely in Lin Rong's hands.

Recalling the records of the ginseng in the Xuantian Treasure Manual, Tang San felt an exhilarating surge of excitement.

What had once been a mythical treasure from legends was real and present in this world.

Perhaps, even the three great "Treasure Pools" from the legends were hidden somewhere in this world, waiting to be discovered.

Having only recently established the Tang Clan, and to maintain its reputation, Tang San generously decided not to forcefully take the ginseng. Instead, he planned to buy it back for a million Gold Soul Coins.

He was confident that, under the pressure of three Title Douluos, Lin Rong would make the right choice.

"Tang Clan Leader, the tea has gone cold. Don't you plan on changing it?"

Lin Rong, noticing that Tang San was lost in his fantasies, spoke up, breaking the tense silence in the room.

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