Chapter 654 - 205: Attending the Banquet, a Show of Force

Despite his words, no one dared to step forward.

A few drops of cold sweat trickled down the old butler’s forehead.

He saw a figure flash before him, and then a heavy blow struck his chest, sending him to the ground in agony.

Shen Bai lifted his foot and pressed it onto the old butler’s face. "Just now, I saw the disdain in your expression. You seem quite disrespectful. Am I wrong?"

The old butler felt his head spin, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "Shen Bai, don’t get ahead of yourself. This is the Marquis’s house banquet. For humiliating us like this, we will have the Marquis demand justice for us."

Shen Bai looked at Ding Quan and said, "Cut off his head. Place it on the table. Let’s see just how justice will be demanded."

As soon as these words were spoken, the old butler felt a terrifying killing intent radiating from Shen Bai, and his entire body began to tremble.

’He’d actually dare to kill me.’

The thought surfaced in the old butler’s mind, and he was instantly gripped by fear.

Just then, the sound of footsteps rang out.

Shen Bai looked in the direction of the footsteps and saw a stocky, middle-aged man with an incredibly grim expression slowly walk up to him.

Flanking the middle-aged man on both sides were squads of soldiers clad in armor.

When the man reached Shen Bai, he said sternly, "Lord Shen, if one of my household servants has done something wrong, you could have spoken to me about it. There was no need to resort to violence."

"’This Marquis?’"

Shen Bai glanced mockingly at the Marquis of Ren De. "So you are the Marquis of Ren De?"

The Marquis of Ren De nodded, confirming his identity.

Shen Bai pointed to the old butler under his foot. "He showed me disdain and even insulted me. I want to cut off his head. What’s wrong with that?"

The Marquis of Ren De narrowed his eyes. "Lord Shen, how about you do me a small favor? I will be sure to punish him severely."

The moment Shen Bai arrived today, he had put on an immediate show of force.

But the Marquis of Ren De knew in his heart that this incident was likely inseparable from the old butler.

Though he came from the battlefield, his mind was sharp and perceptive. He knew his old butler was accustomed to being respected and probably couldn’t endure such humiliation.

Therefore, what just happened was most likely the old butler’s fault.

But if Shen Bai really beheaded the old butler in front of everyone, what would become of his own prestige?

Shen Bai and the Marquis of Ren De stared at each other for a few moments, and a long silence fell between them.

After a moment, Shen Bai laughed aloud, kicked the old butler away, and said,

"Since the Marquis has put it that way, I will grant you this favor."

The Marquis of Ren De pointed to a nearby table. "Lord Shen and our brothers from the Observatory, please, take your seats."

Shen Bai didn’t stand on ceremony. Without another word to the Marquis of Ren De, he walked over to a different table.

This table was filled with older individuals, each of them exuding an exceptionally powerful aura.

And from their attire, most of them looked like Jianghu People.

Furthermore, they were all wary of one another, as if they weren’t allies.

As Shen Bai approached them, the people at the table grew vigilant.

The Marquis of Ren De frowned but did not stop him.

Ding Quan and the others exchanged glances, then took seats in all four corners of the courtyard, effectively surrounding it.

Shen Bai stopped in front of the table. "I’ll sit here. Everyone, make some room."

Two people looked at each other, then made space for Shen Bai.

Shen Bai casually pulled over a stool and sat right in the middle.

Seeing this, the Marquis of Ren De turned to attend to the banquet, but his mind was racing with various thoughts.

He hadn’t originally intended to invite Shen Bai. But just this morning, Wen Jing had suddenly sought him out and told him to invite Shen Bai to this house banquet, saying it was related to Xinhua Academy’s upcoming plans.

He didn’t know what the plan was, but the matter had already been discussed, so he had no way to refuse and could only comply.

Now, he could only hope that Wen Jing wouldn’t go too far and reveal too many clues—or that any clues revealed would have nothing to do with him.

’It would be even better if Shen Bai killed Wen Jing.’

’Even if it meant losing the support of those Demonic Forces, he could always pledge allegiance to the Great Yue Country.’

’It would be for the best, as long as those Demonic Forces were no longer there to meddle.’

「...」

Shen Bai watched the Marquis of Ren De leave, then turned his attention to the people around his table.

When Shen Bai’s gaze fell upon them, some lowered their heads, while another portion met his gaze unflinchingly.

Among the latter were three individuals.

An old man, a middle-aged man, and a voluptuous young woman.

Shen Bai gave them a cursory glance and already knew their identities.

Lingyun Dao had five major powers in total, and these three were the leaders of three of them.

The three powers that were not on friendly terms with the Observatory.

The Observatory had portraits of them in its intelligence files, so Shen Bai recognized them at a glance.

Shen Bai raised his hand, poured a cup of wine, then lifted it and set it back down. "The food isn’t here yet, but we can still have a drink to whet our appetites. Why isn’t anyone else touching their cups?"

As soon as Shen Bai said this, many people immediately raised their cups.

Though they were not close to the Observatory, the man sitting before them was its Daoist Si—one of the most powerful figures in all of Lingyun Dao.

They dared not offend him.

Only the Sect Leaders of the three major powers did not raise their cups.

Shen Bai downed the wine in one gulp, set his cup on the table, and asked coolly, "Why aren’t the three of you drinking?"