"Hello, my name is Su Qing. It’s a pleasure to meet you."

Su Qing said with a faint smile.

"This is Sister Xiaoling, Shangguan Muling. Her strength probably can’t compare to yours."

Xu Ningying introduced them.

But Shangguan Muling pouted and whispered in Xu Ningying’s ear, "Ningying, dear, is this a case of beauty being in the eye of the beholder? Stronger than me?"

Su Qing could only manage an awkward smile, as he had overheard them.

It would have been fine if he hadn’t heard, but now that he had, it was quite awkward. There was no good way to prove anything, nor was it his place to speak up.

"Not at all, not at all. My strength is just average. The Great Yu Dynasty is full of outstanding talents. I’m merely a beginner."

Su Qing explained.

He really didn’t want to become too famous.

"Don’t listen to him. This guy killed a Great Demon Fiend with just a few punches. I was scared just watching," Xu Ningying said, glaring at Su Qing.

"A Great Demon Fiend?" This time, Shangguan Muling was speechless. She stared at Su Qing as if he were a monster.

Great Demon Fiends were incredibly difficult to kill.

The key was that without Spiritual Qi, they were practically impossible to kill. But at the Gathering Spirit Level, the amount of Spiritual Qi one could use was truly minuscule.

It was practically gone after a single use.

Su Qing could only offer a faint smile. It was the truth; any more modesty would be disingenuous.

"All right, the Emperor has arrived."

"Silence."

A large man from the Demon-Extermination Bureau shouted in their direction.

That shout made Su Qing pause for a moment.

Because the voice was laced with a considerable amount of Energy similar to Spiritual Qi.

Xu Ningying and Shangguan Muling both adjusted their posture and looked toward a raised platform in the square.

Their position was already very close to the Emperor.

Su Qing saw the Emperor’s face.

He was rather ordinary, with no trace of Spiritual Qi, and looked to be in his forties.

THUMP THUMP THUMP~

After the Emperor arrived, drummers at the center began beating large drums.

They struck them nine times.

Afterward, the square fell completely silent, without a single whisper.

"My beloved officials, my loyal subjects, the Year of the Snake has passed, and the Year of the Horse is upon us. I wish you all a prosperous and successful Year of the Horse."

"Now, let the sacrificial ceremony to the heavens begin."

The Emperor spoke with a resonant voice, his eyes holding a kind of imperial dominance.

Although he didn’t shout, Su Qing was certain everyone present had heard him.

Immediately following, bells began to ring.

CLANG~

CLANG~

These were the five tones.

Then, the drums sounded.

THUMP~

THUMP~

Soon, a hundred instruments played in unison.

The music was magnificent and majestic, its sound seeming to soar to the heavens.

Su Qing felt goosebumps rise all over his body just from listening.

He had never heard such a magnificent symphony of a hundred instruments, one that created a sound powerful enough to shake the very sky.

But it wasn’t over yet.

Next, a group of people appeared before Su Qing in the open space in front of them.

They began to dance.

They moved with the music, each motion grand and dignified.

Every extension and swing of their arms was filled with rhythm.

’This is the sacrificial dance.’

Su Qing realized.

Not long after, the music and dancing stopped.

From an empty area to the side, a large procession of eunuchs and maids appeared, carrying steaming platters of food.

They placed everything in the area where the sacrificial dance had just taken place.

For half an hour, the procession continued without stopping.

There were tigers, pigs, deer, fish...

And a long serpent with a single horn?

There were also all sorts of snacks and desserts.

Su Qing couldn’t take it all in. As far as he could see, he couldn’t recognize what kind of animals had been prepared in such a way.

After everything had been brought out one after another, a Great Cauldron, four meters tall, was brought in.

The Emperor took a large, two-meter-long stick of incense that a eunuch had just lit.

After the Emperor placed the incense on the Tripod Cauldron, he shouted, "Sacrifice to the heavens, and worship."

The Emperor was the first to press his palms together and look up at the sky, his face exceptionally solemn.

Su Qing saw that Xu Ningying and the others were already following the Emperor’s actions.

Su Qing followed suit.

’This is worshiping the heavens.’

They bowed to the heavens, bending at the waist.

Across the vast square, the nearly synchronized movements were a magnificent spectacle.

"The sacrifice to the heavens is complete. Everyone, you may now offer incense."

"In half an hour, we will enter the banquet."

The Emperor left first.

But the people in the square went wild.

This did not include the members of the Demon-Extermination Bureau.

Xu Ningying pulled Su Qing directly to a spot away from the Great Cauldron.

"Offering incense... if you want to do it, just wait a bit. These influential families love this sort of thing the most."

"Including me, there are only thirty-seven people from the Demon-Extermination Bureau here."

"That gentleman from before is one of the supervisors at the Demon-Extermination Bureau. He’s in the Qi Cultivation Realm, you know."

"Much better than us Gathering Spirit folks."

Xu Ningying said from the side, her breath turning into mist in the cold air.

Su Qing watched as Shangguan Muling went to offer a stick of incense, and he asked curiously, "Aren’t you going to offer incense?"

"No. My family loves this stuff, but I’m not going to bother."

Xu Ningying shook her head.

Then, she pointed to a man with a clean-shaven face, a golden headdress, and a black and red ceremonial robe.

"That’s the person who sent people to assassinate you last month."

"He’s also from our Demon-Extermination Bureau. His name is Qianyun Yu."

"The young master of the Qianyun Trading Company, with a Four-Element Spirit Root."

Su Qing’s gaze sharpened as he looked over.

"Why would this guy want to kill me?"

Su Qing asked. At that moment, the man was offering incense, having been waiting in line with the crowd.

He seemed to notice their gazes and turned his head to look at Su Qing, who was standing with Xu Ningying.

There was no change in his expression before he turned back around.

His hands, however, were clenched tightly, betraying the calmness of his facade.

But Su Qing didn’t notice this small detail.

"It’s probably because I’ve been spending a lot of time with you," Xu Ningying said quietly.

"That incident started because of me, so I took action and taught their family a lesson."

"In the Demon-Extermination Bureau, Spirit Root is power."

"Realm is too."

"Qianyun Yu can’t compare to me in either regard, so he has less power than I do."

Su Qing nodded.

He didn’t want to dwell on the matter.

Because Su Qing could tell Qianyun Yu’s strength with a single glance.

He was equivalent to the First-Layer of Gathering Spirit. Too weak.

Su Qing could crush him with a single finger.

If it weren’t for the over ten thousand taels of silver, Su Qing would have definitely finished that guy off too.

But he had already taken the money. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

If this brat still didn’t know his place, Su Qing would show him what a bloodbath truly was.

Watching these nobles and dignitaries reveal satisfied smiles after offering their incense, Su Qing felt a sense of speechlessness.

’Immortals already exist in this world. It’s better to pray to them than to the heavens.’

’In a dynasty like this, even someone at the Gathering Spirit Realm should possess considerable combat strength.’

’If things like Demon Fiends didn’t exist, that is.’

"Come on, let’s go to the banquet."

"This banquet will last from now until evening."

Su Qing just nodded upon hearing this.

It was normal for a banquet to last all day, so he didn’t mind.

In a massive grand hall, Su Qing watched as numerous people entered for the banquet.

The hall was enormous, even larger than the most famous building from his past life.

"You’re here with me. The Demon-Extermination Bureau’s seats are usually quite close to the Emperor."

"But because of your status, you can’t be seated too close to him."

Su Qing nodded, indicating he understood.

’They’re afraid of assassins, after all.’

Su Qing understood.

Su Qing and Xu Ningying chose a spot and sat down.

Each person had their own seat, a soft cattail cushion, and an individual small wooden table.

Maids came forward one after another to serve the dishes.

Each guest was assigned their own maid, and there were also small stoves to keep the dishes warm.

"For the banquet, the Emperor usually eats together with everyone."

"After the Emperor leaves, the networking will begin. If you don’t want to socialize, you can just stay seated here. As long as you don’t move, no one will bother you."

After whispering these few words, Xu Ningying said no more.