"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.
"Good evening, Patriarch Devure, it has been a long time." Red responded with a smile.
Red had quite a good impression of this old man. The man was friends with his late grandfather and always helped their family in need. The reason why the Vaelanor family could still stand strong has mostly to do with this old man.
"This old man came here as soon as I heard the news! I'm still in disbelief about what I heard earlier! Congratulations on promoting your family to the 1st-ranked position of our 4 great families. They also told me that you have reached the Martial Emperor realm. Is this true?"
The old man asked with a happy smile on his face, it seemed that he didn't mind that his family lost the 1st position at all. It could be seen that he was very happy to receive this good news, but he was still a bit skeptical about it. Who in the Arcadian City didn't hear words at least once that the young master of the Vaelanor family was a waste?
Nevertheless, even if the words about him being a Martial Emperor were false, his family still became the 1st-ranked family and that deserves some credit! With 2 3rd-stage Martial Kings and 5 2nd-stage Martial Kings, it was truly the strongest force under the Imperial Clan.
This old man could have fought to keep the position of the 1st family, as he reached the peak of 3rd stage and he was naturally stronger than two freshly promoted 3rd stage Martial Kings, but he didn't care about this at all. He was happy to give this position to the Vaelanor family and this would also help his descendants as they have grown complacent and too arrogant over the years.
"Yes, old man, I am indeed a Martial Emperor now and will release my aura later once I greet everyone."
Red could feel that the old man couldn't easily believe it but he didn't mind at all. It was normal to doubt this news.
"Okay, then excuse me, Patriarch Vaelanor, this old man will sit down and let you greet others."
Patriarch August Devure turned around and went back to sit in his seat.
After that, the next person who approached Red was a tall man who looked like he was in his 40s. This man was quite handsome with striking blonde hair and blue eyes. He looked like an older version of his friend - Edward, and he was actually his father - Richard Quinn, the current patriarch of the Quinn family, a 2nd-stage Martial King.
"Good evening, Patriarch Vaelanor, I am honored that you spared time from your busy schedule to grace this banquet with your presence."
Patriarch Quinn had a big smile on his face in stark contrast to the expression he wore when they met in the past, but Red didn't mind it much.
"Greetings, Patriarch Quinn, it's my honor to be here. I was quite surprised that your family took the trouble to organize this banquet in my honor. I'm very grateful."
"Hahahaha! No trouble, no trouble at all! It's what we should do as friends and family! Congratulations on taking the 1st-ranked position among our 4 great families!"
Patriarch Quinn was feeling a bit down earlier since his family dropped to the 4th rank, but thinking about it more deeply - wasn't this a great thing? His son was the best friend and a little brother to this Patriarch Vaelanor and now, even though they dropped a position in ranking, they have stronger connections and they are now even stronger than before as a family.
Also, thinking about a long rivalry between Vaelanor and Emyren families, he felt that it was only a matter of time before the Emyren family dropped below them in ranking as they couldn't possibly compete against the Vaelanor family anymore!
Vaelanor and Emyren families were rivals for many years and now it was expected of the Vaelanor family to beat them in many fields which would weaken the Emyren family.
"Thank you for your kind praises, Patriarch Quinn, let our families prosper together even more in the future!"
"Hahahahaha! Well said, Patriarch Vaelanor. I will excuse myself for now and let's drink to our heart's content later!"
Saying that, he turned around and walked back to his seat, elated that the greetings went smoothly.
The last person that came forward to greet Red was the patriarch of the Emyren family - Harold Emyren. He looked to be in his 50s, with black hair and stern eyebrows. But he didn't look very intimidating provided that he was short with a big, round belly. He currently had a weird expression on his face as he didn't like this turn of events at all!
Just a day ago, when he received news of the death of the previous Patriarch Vaelanor, he was planning to find a chance to get rid of the next heir - Red. He wasn't in a hurry as he thought of Red as only a waste of space who could be easily erased. He also had planted many spies in the Vaelanor Group and even three of the company directors were his spies.
He previously tried to assassinate the previous patriarch of the Vaelanor family but was stopped and harshly reprimanded by the patriarch of the Devure family, as the previous Patriarch Vaelanor had strong friendship with the Devure family. Nevertheless, he didn't believe that the Devure family would care for the next heir who was a waste!
But... Today everything had changed! Vaelanor family somehow got seven Martial Kings! Two of which were in the 3rd Stage, equal to himself! And if that was not enough, all of his spies disappeared suddenly today, unable to be reached. Only the three directors were still available but they cut all contact with him from earlier today!
Red had no knowledge of any of this. Even if he knew, he wouldn't care. When he used his chaos qi to put all company directors under control earlier, those three company directors who were spies became absolutely loyal to him, and they probably erased other spies under them by themselves.
Red still had a small feeling that there were some spies placed by the Emyren family so he made sure to control all directors earlier.
"Good evening, Patriarch Vaelanor. Let me be straightforward with you. I'll have you know that I don't accept any of this, and the barbaric way of sending your people unannounced to our family estate to declare your family position without a formal meeting is shameful for the family of your standing!"
His voice was strict and displeased. He was acting as if reprimanding a junior. Even though the Vaelanor family now had a bit more strength than his Emyren family, he wasn't afraid. If the Vaelanor family didn't display two 3rd stage Martial Kings, he would even consider going into an all-out war with them!
Even then, he was not afraid as he strongly believed that the Vaelanor family wouldn't dare to go to war with them as they would lose more than they would gain. As for the information that the new Patriarch Vaelanor was a Martial Emperor? Heh. Sorry, but he would never believe such ridiculous news!
"How dare you!?" Catherine and Kevin immediately stood up and roared! Kevin even started releasing his aura and King's might, ready to fight at any moment! The whole room trembled from the force.
Red raised his hand to stop them, and Kevin immediately retracted his aura. He would follow all possible commands from his Patriarch.
"Kneel." Red said indifferently, without any anger on his face.
In that instant, Patriarch Emyren felt as if the whole world was placed on his shoulders. He yelped and fell to his knees in horror, he couldn't even look up. Everyone else was fine as Red only targeted Patriarch Emyren with his aura, others couldn't even feel it. But the sight before them was enough to shock them.
Red looked down at Patriarch Emyren, wondering if he should just erase this bug. In the end, he decided otherwise. He had an urge to kill him on the spot but he knew that it was because of his chaos bloodline. He wouldn't allow anything to control his urges, not even his own bloodline. It could change his character, it could make him arrogant, but he wouldn't let it dictate his decisions.
"I will spare your life just this once. Next time you speak to me in that tone, I will erase you. Be sure of that." Red retracted his aura after saying that.
"Huff... Huff... Huff... Y-yes." The Patriarch Emyren was still struggling to breathe.
Now he truly believed the news that was spreading. Red Vaelanor has reached the Martial Emperor realm! He knew that he was just a step away from dying just moments ago.
Red held Eve's small hand in his and turned around to face others as if nothing happened.
"Everyone, let me introduce you to someone. This is my wife, Eve Vaelanor."
Everyone was stunned. Wait, what just happened!? Are you going to ignore this just like that!? And, wife? When? We weren't invited? They had so many questions but couldn't voice them out of shock.
The first one to come out of his daze was naturally Patriarch Devure. The old man calmly walked towards them and said.
"Nice to meet you, Madam Vaelanor. I wish you a lifetime of joy and happiness in your marriage!"
Eve just nodded, she couldn't just ignore this man as he seemed to have a good relationship with her darling. Patriarch Devure didn't mind at all, he turned towards Red and continued...
"So when are you going to marry my granddaughter? Did you forget that you two are engaged?"
He couldn't wait to marry off his granddaughter now! From the previous exchange between Red and Patriarch Emyren, as an old and experienced man, he naturally understood what happened. A Martial Emperor! What a good grandson-in-law! So what if he was already married? Strong men will naturally have more than one wife.
Now it was Red's turn to be stunned. This old man doesn't waste any words, right? He just said that he got married and the old man is even faster to marry off his granddaughter now!?
Eve, however, didn't like what she heard at all. She looked at Patriarch Devure with a cold gaze and dead eyes. She would have already killed this man if he didn't have a good relationship with her darling!
Patriarch Devure was instantly terrified, his thoughts stopped and he stood frozen as a deer caught in the headlights. He even felt his old wounds resurfacing just from that stare!
Red hurriedly patted Eve's head before she killed the old man with her stare. He knew that anyone who looked into Eve's eyes would feel like a bug stared at by a dragon.
"Eve, dear, calm down. The old man didn't mean anything bad."
He also made sure to send his sincere feelings of care through their soul connection. He couldn't have this girl going berserk! She couldn't harm him but what about these people? What about this world? What about all of the realms above? She could destroy everything if she wished! Luckily, it seemed his wife had a very good control over her powers.
Eve diverted her gaze from the old man and finally smiled. She changed her demeanor so fast sometimes that Red was wondering if she only acted to receive head-pats! But now he felt her feelings through their connection. She was really jealous and possessive! Extremely so! This level of obsession was definitely not healthy but Red still couldn't help but smile widely.
[Host! There is definitely something wrong with you! Do you like dangerous, possessive, psychopathic women so much?]
'Hahahahaha, she is adorable. And so what? I'm immortal anyway. HAHAHAHA...'
[......]
[By the way, Host. You might as well accept this old man's offer and take his granddaughter. She is actually very talented and beautiful. She is also present at this banquet.]
'Hmm. I'll need to meet her myself first before I decide. I won't accept just anyone.'
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[A/N: I hope you liked this chapter! If you have any suggestions, please comment.]