The Era of Gods

Chapter 93 - 93 The Woman Who Affects the Speed of My Sword Drawing

Uncle Lin Zhangdong and third younger brother Lin Haolin stood at the manor’s main gate to receive guests. Whenever a flying car descended and they saw acquaintances arriving, both would step forward to greet them.

Many of the arriving guests did not match their status, but today, all who came were considered guests.

As scions of the well-known True God family of Dongning City celebrating a major birthday, though it was not as grandiose as the ancestral celebrations, it still attracted much attention. Many from the four branches of the Lin Family and heads of various industries came, making the event quite large.

As Lin Xiao arrived, he could hear melodious music from afar, not from the Main World but filled with the flavor of Different Domain, resonant and joyful, fitting the current atmosphere.

Entering through the back door of the manor, he could see a group of Little Spirits dancing on a stage set up on the lawn from afar. They had not invited a band or orchestra from the Main World. Around the stage, invited ladies and gentlemen were forming small groups chatting leisurely.

Such small gatherings were scattered throughout the manor at the moment.

But the truly influential guests were not here; they were inside the manor.

Lin Xiao, curious, looked around when suddenly he heard his mother Jin Yunzhu’s gentle voice:

Son, come to the inner hall.”

He hurried over and saw his mother, looking more beautiful than usual in a claret-colored evening dress, waving him over. She took his hand and said:

“The banquet is about to start; don’t wander off. Follow me later.”

As she spoke, she took out a delicate gift box and put it in his hand, saying:

“I have prepared your grandpa’s gift. Have you thought of a congratulatory message? Look one up online if not.”

Uh, I have prepared one.”

“That’s good, head to the inner hall now. It’s been a long time since you’ve seen your cousins. Chat with them if you get a chance.”

“Okay!”

Today, all he needed to do was listen to his mother.

Upon entering the inner hall, the first thing he saw was a retro crystal chandelier hanging from the spacious ceiling, with ornate murals along its edges spreading out towards the dome.

Below was a marble floor so clean it could reflect the dome above, the light reflecting and casting splendid luminescence.

Grandfather’s manor was purely in the style of the Main World, and unlike his mother’s meticulous care, there were no Supernatural Powers in the manor, nor any beautiful plants imported from the Different Domain.

About a dozen handsome young men and beautiful women in elegant attire stood in pairs or groups on the mirror-like marble, chatting softly. Lin Xiao’s arrival caught the attention of two men chatting nearby, one of whom had blue hair and, upon seeing him, showed a slight surprise before turning back and saying loudly:

“Who do we have here? If it isn’t little Lin Xiao, long time no see!”

Lin Xiao gave the two men a slight nod and a bow, saying:

“Brother Zhen, Brother Le.”

Their movements and etiquette were flawless; the two men scrutinized him for several seconds before gruffly nodding in acknowledgment.

These two were not from the fourth branch but from the main branch, and their relationship with Lin Xiao was obviously not good, as shown by their interaction.

Their voices drew the attention of others. A tall and beautiful woman from a small group of three men and two women on the other side of the hall suddenly waved to him:

“Lin Xiao, come here.”

His eyes lit up; he nodded to the two men, said:

“Please excuse me for a moment.”

Then he strode over to the group of five, stood in front of them, and greeted them one by one:

“Brother Kun, Sister Wei, Sister Lin Yue, Brother Zhu, Brother Ye.”

The five had varying reactions to his call. The two beautiful sisters were quite amiable, while the other three were somewhat cold, merely grunting as a form of acknowledgment.

Lin Xiao did not take offense, simply continuing with a smile, though inside he felt a bit of disdain.

Although their personal relations were poor, they should have united against other families, or at least pretended to do so, he thought. Their lack of social intelligence was disappointing.

The relations between Lin Xiao and his cousins were not very good.

Ultimately, it was because his grandparents doted excessively on his youngest uncle, Lin Xiao’s father, allotting him more resources than the other brothers. Along with his father’s own ambition, his strength had now surpassed his two uncles, leading to a mix of envy and jealousy, naturally resulting in poor relations.

Lin Xiao could not really comment on this. As a direct beneficiary, anything he said would sound ungrateful.

Fortunately, his relations with his two female cousins were not too strained. After all, being female, they would marry out and not concern themselves with these messy affairs.

Moreover, he sometimes wondered if he had a Talent for attracting women, as girls seemed to like him from a young age, especially when he was a good-looking boy. His mother liked dressing him in girls’ clothes and skirts, making him quite popular among the women in the family.

Perhaps this was another reason his male cousins disliked him.

Upon Lin Xiao’s arrival, his three male cousins wore unhappy expressions. He shrugged it off without a word, and the tall Lin Wei said:

“Don’t mind them, they are not as mature as they should be at their age.”

“How did you do on your end-of-term exams?” she inquired.

“Not bad.”

“Given your usual performance, not being eliminated from the end-of-term exams is indeed ‘not bad’.”

His oldest cousin, Lin Kun, with arms crossed, remarked:

“Not being eliminated in your first year of high school, at least you haven’t disgraced our Lin Family.”

“What big brother says is true.”

At that moment, Lin Zhu, the second son of his second uncle, joined in and said:

“There’s no mediocrity in our Lin Family’s direct line. Look at brother Kun; he ranked top thirty in the whole school and made it directly into the elite class.”

“Hmm hmm,” Lin Xiao nodded continuously, appearing to be earnest.

“Let’s look at Lin Xiao as well, back then he was also…”

Here they go again, Lin Xiao sighed in his heart. Sure enough, just like before, they always had to put on an act in front of him and take the opportunity to scold him.

At this moment, he wondered if his mother, Jin Yunzhu, was doing the same thing, engaging in open and secret fights with his two sisters-in-law?

To use that term was a bit imprecise, or rather, it was scheming and calculating.

Gently pressing his finger against his forehead, he let the words go in one ear and out the other—it was just as well to take it as the wind by his ear.

Fortunately, this time his two cousins were by his side. They did not talk long before his eldest cousin, Lin Wei, stepped in to block them, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Next, they simply ignored the three of them and walked to the side to chat. They talked not only about his affairs but also about what was going on with them at school.

Both cousins were high school seniors and, with the support of their clan, had already accumulated more than five points of Divinity. Like him, they were not in a hurry to condense Godhood and chose instead to continue accumulating.

Time passed unconsciously, and suddenly, Lin Xiao heard a noisy commotion by his ear. He turned back and saw a crowd of young men and women surrounding a figure dressed in red entering the hall.

It was an extremely beautiful woman with waterfall-like hair piled up to reveal a slender, creamy-white neck that could unsettle the hearts of men, and a bright red mermaid dress trailing on the ground, wrapping her tali and graceful figure. Her eyes were bright like stars, with pupils of a faint rosy hue, giving off a seductive and compelling color, but her temperament was the complete opposite of her seductive appearance, noble and awe-inspiring, making people want to look and yet not dare to stare directly at her.

“Such a beautiful girl!”

The speaker was Lin Wei, who, even as a woman herself, was attracted to the newcomer’s figure and beauty. She patted Lin Xiao on the shoulder and asked:

“Do you know who she is?”

He shook his head outright:

“How would 1 know if I’ve never seen her before?”

“She is a relative from Grandma’s side, named Shen Yuexin, and is here to offer birthday wishes on behalf of Grandma’s family.”

“What do you think, isn’t she beautiful?”

Lin Xiao’s second cousin, Lin Yue, asked from the side.

“Beautiful!”

Lin Xiao honestly replied.

The eldest cousin covered her mouth and asked:

“Then do you like her?”

Lin Xiao shook his head:

“I don’t like her.”

The two women asked in surprise:

“Why?”

Why…could Lin Xiao say that just by looking at this woman’s appearance, temperament, and the entourage surrounding her, she was not going to be easily subdued? Moreover, where would he find the time for romance? It would seriously affect his growth rate, and the three years of high school were crucial for him.

At that moment, Lin Xiao suddenly remembered a line from his previous life and joked with a smile:

“Because women only affect the speed at which I draw my sword.”

“Smack!”

A forceful smack on the back of his head made him lower his head. Turning back, he saw his mother, Jin Yunzhu, with her delicate face puffed up, glaring fiercely at him with her large, mascara-filled eyes. His two cousins were covering their mouths, barely holding back their laughter.

“What did you just say?”

His mother stood with her hands on her hips, looking very angry.

Lin Xiao rubbed his head and quickly stepped forward to hold his mother’s hand and shook it:

“I didn’t say anything, Mom, you must have heard it wrong.”

“Hmph, say nonsense like that again and I’ll beat you so hard even I won’t recognize you.”

“But you are my mom.”

Lin Xiao was speechless, wisely choosing to only complain in his heart, not daring to utter a word out loud as he hugged her arm, rocking it to appease her, while his two cousins laughed till they couldn’t close their mouths.

Half an hour later, Jin Yunzhu, now cheered up by her son, led him to the back hall. The banquet was about to start, his father, Lin Zhangdong, along with his great-uncle and second uncle, were greeting the last of the distinguished guests on behalf of grandfather. Many earlier guests had already taken their seats, and Lin Xiao saw the strikingly beautiful woman he had noticed earlier seated at the top table.

Normally, the younger generation would not have the status to sit there, Lin Xiao himself could only sit at Rank 3, but she had the right because she was representing Grandma’s family.

Lin Xiao found the table assigned to the fourth family branch and took a seat. Looking back, he saw his mother sitting at a Rank 2 table, appearing small but exquisite. She was with his great-aunt and second aunt and it seemed they had started arguing again, but this time his mother appeared confident and unbowed.

Indeed, even beautiful women are still women, and even the most beautiful goddesses have their troubles.

Speaking of which, Grandpa’s birthday banquet was very much in the style of Ancient HuaXia, a pure birthday celebration with crowds of guests partaking in a feast.

Lin Xiao knew that many of the ancient clans in the HuaXia District had such traditions. Even if the young people liked Western-style dance banquets when they were young, they would inevitably shift their preferences as they aged.

Of course, after the formal dinner, there would also be a family banquet, and outside there would be an evening gala, but only the internal members of the Clan would partake in the family banquet. The gifts his mother had prepared for him would also be presented at that time, and it would also be the time for the younger generation to show themselves in front of Grandpa.

More than ten minutes later, as Lin Xiao was chatting with his cousins, he suddenly felt a strong presence approaching, followed by enthusiastic applause as his grandparents walked in escorted by their children.

When his eyes fell on Grandpa at that moment, he felt a sharp pain in his eyes and a momentary daze that made him involuntarily lower his head, not daring to look directly.

So powerful!

Lin Xiao’s first thought was that this was no ordinary High-Level Demigod, was Grandpa about to ascend to Divinity?

He had seen plenty of High-Level Demigods, with most of his school’s headteachers at that level, but none had ever made him feel this intensely.

With that sensation…

Lin Xiao’s eyes were exceptionally bright; he longed and looked forward to the day he could command such authority..