After the call disconnected Red put his phone back in his pocket and took Eve's hand, walking towards the door to leave the castle. After exiting the castle, the car was still there where he parked it so he entered the driver's seat with Eve sitting beside him, and slowly drove away, heading towards the east part of the Arcadian City to the Eastside hotel.
They could have teleported directly to the hotel but there was still some time, just enough to drive there. Powerful cultivators in the empire usually didn't use cars as transportation. Most Martial Kings and Martial Emperors preferred to fly, and weaker cultivators could use flying mounts and flying ships.
But, not everyone was fortunate enough to have that form of transportation. One needed to at least be a Martial King to be able to fly freely.
Martial Emperors could also use teleportation and the range depended on their strength. Strongest Martial Emperors like Empress Aeriel could teleport for hundreds of kilometers but the energy consumption was quite high.
Flying ships were quite expensive and flying mounts were hard to tame so only rich and powerful were able to get them. The rest of the people still used cars for transportation.
Red didn't need to worry about any of this as he was countless times stronger than other Martial Emperor cultivators. He could teleport repeatedly for thousands of kilometers or just use his system to teleport him anywhere for free. But... there was no fun in teleporting.
'After this, I should look for a good flying mount. I can fly myself, but so what? Having a cool flying mount would be fun!'
[Host, this system can materialize any flying ship for you or you can create a mount with your chaos qi. As the progenitor you can create beings of chaos so creating a mount would be easy.]
'Damn... Isn't that too overpowered? I'll think about it later.'
Red stopped thinking about all this, turned on some music in the car, and continued driving.
......
Arriving near the Eastside hotel, Red was stunned. There were so many cars and people blocking the road so it was impossible to drive to the hotel. So much for arriving in style...
He found the nearest parking spot and exited the car with Eve. Taking her hand, he teleported directly at the entrance of the hotel.
At that moment, a big line of people formed in front of the hotel's entrance. Some were waiting in line to enter and some were there watching the show. There were even some reporters with cameras around. At that moment the people who were in front of the line saw two people spawning in front of them out of thin air. All who saw this gasped loudly...
"Martial Emperors! Look! There are Martial Emperors here!" One lady shouted in disbelief.
Seeing the appearance of the two who just arrived they were even more stunned. They never saw people who were this beautiful!
Red, who just arrived with Eve, looked around and he immediately saw that all eyes were already on them.
'Hmm... never mind, we still arrived in style.'
Red nodded to himself. Still succeeded even unintentionally, that was what real skill was all about!
[Host, maybe hurry up and enter the hotel, some ladies around already ruined their dresses while drooling at you.]
Red looked around and that was indeed the case. He hurriedly approached the entrance holding Eve's hand.
Eve didn't even look at anyone from start to finish. Her gaze was cold and indifferent when looking at anything or anyone except Red.
Guards in front of the hotel were petrified and didn't move at all even when Red stopped in front of them. It seemed he would need to address them first.
'Sigh...'
"Hello? We would like to enter."
Only then did they regain clarity and responded.
"Y-yes, this way, please!"
They didn't even ask their names! But one couldn't blame them. Who would dare to question Martial Emperors who just teleported there?
Entering the hotel they went straight for the grand hall that was now configured in a formal banquet layout.
......
The grand hall of this hotel was a massive, high-ceilinged hall with polished dark marble floors and tall, arched windows stretching along the walls. Several massive crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, brightly illuminating the entire room.
Dozens of round banquet tables were arranged in neat rows across the floor, covered in white tablecloths and surrounded by matching chairs. Each table was set with heavy silverware, glassware, and small floral centerpieces.
The room was packed with people dressed in formal evening wear. Men in tailored black suits and tuxedos, and women in elegant gowns. Small groups stood around talking near the tables, waiters wove through the tight spaces carrying trays of drinks, and a continuous hum of conversation filled the entire hall.
......
Walking in, Red and Eve immediately attracted the most attention. Conversations died and everyone who saw them was now looking at them in a daze.
'Sigh... These events are going to be a big problem in the future.'
"Big brother Red, you finally arrived!"
Just then, Red heard a voice calling him from the side. Turning around, he saw Edward, who was now approaching with a big smile on his face. Red smiled back and went for the hug as they usually greeted each other like this.
Edward was a young man in his 20s, tall and handsome with light blonde hair and blue eyes. Striking blond hair was a trait passed down through generations of his family.
"Eddy! Long time no see, buddy!"
"Hahaha! I knew you would come, the banquet was not in vain!"
"Of course I would come, after your family organized all this, how can I refuse?" Shaking his head, Red felt exasperated. "Come, let me introduce you to someone."
He turned and pointed at Eve who was holding his hand again after he stopped the hug. She was acting like a child not wanting to be separated for even a moment!
"Look, Eddy, this is my new wife, Eve Vaelanor."
"Eve, this is my friend, Edward Quinn."
Edward looked into Eve's eyes and was petrified with fear, like seeing a predator.
"Eve, my dear, be good." Red patted her head lovingly.
"Okay, darling.~" She instantly smiled again. She swore she didn't do this just to receive a head-pat. Definitely not!
Edward finally managed to take a breath. Looking at her while still trembling, he thought that this new sister-in-law was extremely beautiful, like a goddess who descended, but she was far too scary!
"N-nice to meet you, sister-in-law. I am Edward, Red's little brother." He didn't even dare to offer his hand for a handshake and bowed as if he had met his elder.
Red inwardly laughed at this.
"Hi. Eve." She slightly nodded and said only two words indifferently, introducing herself. If this had not been a friend of her darling - she wouldn't even have looked at him.
Red smiled. "Isn't she adorable?"
Edward shivered again. Adorable? Where? Otherworldly beautiful, yes. But adorable? He had an urgent urge to run away!
"B-big brother, come with me, my elders are waiting for you!" He hurriedly turned around and started leading the way.
Red chuckled at this and started following him slowly while holding Eve's hand. They headed upstairs towards a certain private room.
In a private room next to the ballroom, one could see members of all great families sitting and discussing around a table. Among them were 7 people from the Vaelanor Group - Catherine, Kevin, and 5 other directors. All of them were Martial King cultivators, the ones that Red promoted to Martial Kings at the company meeting.
Younger generations of the families were not qualified to attend the meeting in this room. The room was equipped with sound isolation arrays and strong qi barriers.
As soon as Red entered the room with Eve all 7 of them from the Vaelanor Group stood up and bowed deeply in unison.
"Greetings, Patriarch! Greetings, Madam!"
Red waved his hand calmly. "At ease, no need to bow."
When they stopped bowing Red looked at the other people at the table who had also already stood up to greet him.
They were patriarchs and elders from the Devure, Emyren, and Quinn families.
The first to greet him was an old man from the Devure family, their current Patriarch. The man looked like he was in his 70s or 80s even though he was actually hundreds of years old! His name was August Devure.
August Devure was an old man with a long gray beard and flowing gray hair. He looked straight out of a certain wizard movie franchise! Yet, a few lingering strands of red still caught the light, a testament to his family's natural red hair. He wore long gray robes that complemented his tall stature. Despite his height, he carried a gentle expression and exuded a warm, comforting aura of a kind elder.
For his age, he was expected to already pass his position as the Patriarch to one of his sons, but his sons left him disappointed. They were strong and talented, but they were always fighting against each other and were not very good people, so Patriarch Devure decided not to give the position to either of them!
He decided to pass his position to his most talented granddaughter, Scarlett Devure. She was the most talented member of the Devure family and was supposed to be the original host's fiancee, but that stupid guy decided to chase a girl who didn't like him back.
Even though this old man was hundreds of years old, he only had two sons and a few grandchildren. People in this world waited to reach higher realms of power before having children, that allowed their offspring to have more potential. At the same time, the stronger someone was, the harder it was to have children, making it a double-edged sword.
Red was interested to see how old this man was so he opened his status panel.
【 System Status 】
Name: August Devure
Age: 795
Appearance: 8.3/10
Height: 180 (5'11")
Cultivation: Martial King - 3rd Stage (Peak)
Race: Human
Physique: Human
Bloodline: Human
Favorability: 50
Loyalty: 80
════════════════════
Description:
The Patriarch of the Devure family. He was once severely wounded in battle and barely escaped alive. His cultivation stagnated and he is unable to progress further.
-See more.
════════════════════
'Hmm... Maybe I can find a chance to treat this old man's wounds later and help him to break through, giving him a chance to live a bit more.'
Red knew that the lifespan of a Martial King could reach 900-1,000 years at the 3rd stage, but this man was wounded in the past so he probably wouldn't live that long. He probably had only a few years left. Martial Emperors could live up to 10,000 years if they reached the peak, but even a 1st-stage Martial Emperor could live at least 5,000 years.
"Hohoho, nice to see you again, young Vaelanor! No, I should now call you Patriarch Vaelanor! This old man hasn't seen you in a while!" He approached with an enthusiastic smile on his face.
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[A/N: I hope you liked this chapter! If you have any suggestions, please comment.]