"Old Lu, why did you suddenly decide to throw a banquet? And even invite so many people."
Zhang Zhiwei looked at Lu Jin, his eyes squinting in a smile as he scrutinized him.
As the unrivaled peak of his generation and the current Heavenly Master, he noticed that this old friend seemed to have let something go.
He appeared completely at ease, which made Zhang Zhiwei quite curious.
"Hey! Old Zhang, didn’t I already tell you? I accepted a good disciple on behalf of the sect, and I’m happy! Come, come, come, come in and sit."
Lu Jin beamed with joy as he welcomed Zhang Zhiwei and the disciple following behind him inside.
Meanwhile, every table and chair in the courtyard, big and small, was filled with people.
There were also the heads of the other great families, Lü Ci of the Lü Family and Wang Ai of the Wang Family.
"Old Lü, what do you think Lu Jin is holding this banquet for?"
Leaning on a cane, Wang Ai glanced at Wang Bing, who was happily drinking, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Isn’t it just that he passed down that technique? But inviting this many people really isn’t like him."
With a vicious look on his face, Lü Ci curled his lips into a chilling smile, having guessed a possibility.
"You think he might be planning to..."
"Could that be real?"
Wang Ai also had a similar guess, but that rumor from back then never sounded real.
Even the Gao Family, who had remained hidden since aligning with the state, had sent someone.
But it wasn’t the head of the Gao Family who came,
It was Gao Lian, the director of the Northeast Region, who had clearly come not only on behalf of the Gao Family but also represented the company.
He was now chatting with his daughter on his phone while keeping his ears perked for the surrounding conversations.
After all, it was rare to gather so many different-powered individuals at once—and they were all capable ones.
Though they trusted the Lu Family’s competence, the company still worried that if too many came, and suddenly a “brilliant idea guy” popped up, it would be trouble.
Then there were the other members of the Ten Elders.
The Northeast Shaman Granny Guan Shihua and the Sect of Techniques’ leader Chen Jinkui came alone and sat at the same table as Wang Ai and Lü Ci.
After glancing at Wang Ai, Guan Shihua seemed a little absent-minded.
She knew that back then, the Wang Family had gotten hold of that strange technique, which also elevated the Feng Family, and since then, her Exorcist Shamans had little desire to head south.
After all, that sorcery was a hard counter to the Exorcist Shamans—it wasn’t clear when the immortal spirits they had worshiped for generations might be ripped away.
By then, they wouldn’t even know where to cry.
Among the two “Mighty Heroes,” Na Ruhuo of the Ancient Suction Pavilion and Ding Dao’an, the current second-in-command of Quanzhen’s All-True Sect, sat together chatting happily.
After all, Ding Dao’an was a true All-True member; he had only joined to make the elders target him harder, so he could improve better.
Meanwhile, Na Ruhuo’s younger brother was drinking and chatting with Xu Si, the new director of the North China Region.
The newly inducted Ten Elder Feng Zhenghao was chatting with Huang Ninger, the president of the recently merged Seeking Truth Society.
Others included members from the Fire Virtue Sect, Quanzhen Dragon Gate, the Zhuge Family, the Liu Family from Western Hunan, and even shamans from Liangshan and Gu Masters from Qinghe.
It could be said that every known sect and family had gathered here.
Regardless of distance, they had all brought their most talented disciples—if not to make connections, then at least to gain some worldly experience.
Ideally, they might even get a chance to make a name for themselves in the circle.
When they saw Lu Jin and the Heavenly Master walk in, everyone paused and stood up, coming forward to greet them.
"Greetings, Heavenly Master, greetings, Master Lu."
"Heavenly Master, blessings upon you~ Master Lu, blessings upon you~"
…
Flattering and enthusiastic greetings filled the air.
Even putting aside those smaller sects, even rising stars like the Feng Family and the reclusive Zhuge Family had come to show their faces.
After all, who else had as much influence as Lu Jin?
To be able to invite a heavyweight like Heavenly Master Zhang, and even get all the renowned sects from across the country to show up just for his sake—how many people could really pull that off?
Sure, all these sects had the money to host their own banquets, but not one of them could execute something on the scale Lu Jin just did.
And the reason for this banquet was simply because Lu Jin had taken in a disciple capable of learning the Reverse Life Triple!
He had used up so much social capital, all just to pave the way for his disciple!
What an extravagant and wasteful move that was!
Just what kind of genius could give Lu Jin such confidence?
After all, many of the younger generation from the attending sects had once taken a free medicinal bath at the Lu Family, but not a single one of them had managed to learn Reverse Life Triple. They truly couldn’t understand why Lu Jin would go this far.
Of course, the younger attendees couldn't help but feel a little envy—if they had been able to learn it back then, would they be the main character of today?
But the older generation, as well as the young leaders of the various sects, sensed something different.
They all suspected that this banquet carried a deeper meaning—could it be that Lu Jin was planning something major?
Was the real purpose of the banquet to draw more support for his descendants?
No one here truly believed that Lu Jin had gone to all this trouble just for something so minor.
As Lu Jin watched everyone’s actions, a memory of a banquet from many years ago flashed before his eyes.
Back then, it was the Heavenly Master and the head of Trinity Mystic Sect who walked into the Lu Family Grand Banquet.
Now, it was the Heavenly Master and he himself, a remnant of the Trinity Mystic Sect, walking into the Lu Family Grand Banquet he was hosting.
This moment mirrored that moment from the past.
Zhang Zhiwei also realized this.
He instinctively glanced behind him at Zhang Lingyu, who looked like a transcendent immortal, completely out of step with the rest of the Heavenly Master Residence.
His heart skipped a beat.
Damn it! That old Lu bastard was going for revenge!
After all, Lu Jin had been wandering around like an old fisherman these past few days, getting “lost” everywhere, constantly talking about that genius disciple he had taken in.
Then he had sent invitation letters to every sect, asking them to bring their disciples to the Lu Family Grand Banquet.
This was clearly a reenactment of the Lu Family Grand Banquet from back in the day!
And his disciple Zhang Lingyu was still restrained by the Yin Five Thunders caused by that Wu Gensheng, and had yet to face his true self.
Though Zhang Zhiwei had confidence that his disciple wouldn’t lose to anyone of the same generation, this new disciple of Lu Jin’s—whom he had hyped to the heavens—made him feel just a little less certain.
Good grief, it had been nearly a hundred years, and old Lu still wanted to get back at him for that slap.
Tch, such a petty guy—just because I showed off your upper elixir field in front of everyone, did you really have to hold a grudge this long?
After silently grumbling about Lu Jin, Zhang Zhiwei took his seat as well.
"Thank you all for attending this banquet for the sake of this old man. Please treat this place like your own home and enjoy yourselves as much as you can! Now then, let the banquet begin!"
With Lu Jin’s announcement, the Lu Family Grand Banquet officially began.
And just then, a figure entered.
A splash of pink.
It was the very person Lu Jin had been “getting lost” over the whole country for!
The heir to the Reverse Life Triple!
The so-called super genius—Luo Huan!
In an instant, all eyes turned toward her.