The Era of Gods

The dinner party didn’t entail much to discuss; after all, there were too many guests, and the main point was the feast.

Lin Xiao sat quietly and ate in silence until his grandfather left the seat; only then did he quietly leave for the family banquet within the manor.

As the term ‘family banquet’ implies, naturally, only family members were qualified to attend, and only the most direct relatives could enter, such as his three uncles and their descendants, along with the direct relatives from other branches who had come to celebrate the birthday. However, Lin Xiao was surprised to find that the woman who had dazzled him earlier was also there, whispering quietly by his grandmother’s side.

At the same time, he noticed a very handsome young man sitting beside his grandmother, whose pupils emanated a faint golden light, drawing people’s attention. Lin Xiao recognized him at a glance as Lin Xu, the youngest son of his second great-uncle Lin Zhanghong and his most beloved son, who was about the same age as Lin Xiao, seemingly also in the first year of high school.

However, he did not study in Dongning City but went directly to the top school in the provincial capital, and his current strength was unknown.

It is said that he was not the offspring of the second great-uncle and his current wife but the child born from the union between the second great-uncle and a native goddess. As the direct descendant of two True Gods, he was born with an omen and started with four points of Divinity after Opening the Divine Realm. He was truly the darling of the heavens.

Such a darling of the heavens was the center of attention wherever they went, and even at this occasion, he had the right to sit at the same table as the elders, eliciting widespread envy.

Lin Xiao noticed that many of his male and female cousins, while chatting idly to one another, couldn’t help but cast frequent glances in that direction, whether at Lin Xu or the woman.

“A beauty in the eye of the beholder, a perfect match for a gentleman indeed!”

Not just them, even the usually proud Lin Xu couldn’t help but look at Shen Yuexin from time to time, seeming somewhat smitten.

Of course, Lin Xiao was no exception, standing quietly in a corner, occasionally casting a glance.

However, he had no intentions, merely admiring. In his past life, as an experienced driver, he had always looked at beautiful women openly and directly, rather than sneaking peeks like the other cousins.

Perhaps Shen Yuexin noticed his unabashedly intense gaze, as she looked back, her wine-red pupils locking onto his for a long moment, as if expecting to shame the young man into retracting his gaze as she had done to others in the past.

Then, to her surprise, not only did he not back down, but he also blinked his eyes.

Is he flirting with me?

No, that’s not it, she noticed that his gaze was clear, carrying nothing but pure admiration, devoid of the lecherous intent seen in some others’ eyes. Her anger subsided, and she smiled slightly as she withdrew her gaze.

Lin Xiao shrugged and withdrew his gaze as well, not continuing to look on. To do so would be offensive.

Just then, he heard an argument that could not be contained emanating from a table by the window two seats away. When he inclined his ear to listen, the voices grew softer. Looking up, he saw his eldest cousin Lin Kun standing at the table, glaring furiously at two…

He didn’t know from which branch these cousins were, rarely seen and unrecognizable to Lin Xiao, while Lin Kun’s girlfriend was just by his side.

This girl was not a common girlfriend, for she must have been acknowledged by his eldest uncle’s family; otherwise, she couldn’t have been brought into the family banquet.

Hearing their low voices argue, Lin Xiao understood the cause of the dispute.

Lin Kun was sitting here with his girlfriend, and whether it was out of love or something else, these two started making trouble to sit here, thus the dispute arose.

Unexpectedly to him, quite a few people nearby heard the argument, including the Lin brothers, Lin Zhu and Lin Ye from the second uncle’s table, but though they evidently heard, they pretended not to notice, chatting away on the other side. Had it not been for their glances that kept stealing over, one might have genuinely believed they had seen nothing.

His eldest cousin, Lin Wei, and Lin Yue were chatting with other girls on another side and didn’t notice the commotion, while young people from the other branches in the vicinity showed expressions of looking forward to the drama.

Lin Xiao frowned, and right at that moment, one of the young men pointed insultingly at Lin Kun’s chest. Sighing, Lin Xiao stood up and walked briskly over.

The sound of his footsteps made the young man subconsciously turn around. Seeing Lin Xiao walking straight toward him, staring intently, he didn’t speak, just looked at him.

After a careful sweep over Lin Xiao, his eyes lit up as if he remembered something and he said disdainfully:

“Are you here to stand up for your cousin?”

Lin Xiao didn’t answer his question, but instead said:

ii

No, I’m just reminding you to be sure you want to start arguing in front of so many elders and guests?”

“What of it?”

The young man instinctively looked back at the hall where his grandfather and the others sat, their gaze drawn by the disturbance. The power of a High-Level Demigod meant even the softest voice could be heard.

The young man suddenly lost his nerve, regardless of the mere glance without any expression from them, he really didn’t dare to escalate matters.

He glared at Lin Xiao fiercely before retreating with his companion.

“Is that Hao Lin’s boy?’

ii

Admiration flashed in his grandfather’s eyes as he inquired.

His father, sitting below, immediately stood up to answer:

“Yes, my son, Lin Xiao.”

“Not bad.”

On the side, his eldest and second uncles’ eyebrows twitched slightly, but there was no change in their faces or eyes.

It was just a minor incident and didn’t attract much attention; even his mother was too busy with her covert competition with her sisters-in-law.

However, Shen Yuexin noticed, giving him a particular look.

Lin Kun looked at Lin Xiao with a complex expression, having not expected that the last one to stand up for him would be this cousin, whom he had always looked down upon. His mouth twitched a few times, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he stayed silent, though his girlfriend thanked Lin Xiao.

Returning to his seat and after about ten minutes, suddenly his eldest uncle’s voice rang out:

“Children, today is your grandfather’s big birthday celebration. Do you have anything to say to your grandfather?”

This was the blessing ceremony, and also a chance for the younger generation to make an impression in front of their grandfather, with good performances usually being rewarded.

The first to step forward without hesitation was the eldest son of the eldest uncle, Lin Kun, who advanced with a girlfriend bearing an exquisitely wrapped gift box. After a rather insipid string of congratulatory words, each received a red envelope from Grandfather as a reciprocal gift.

Then came the two sons of the second elder uncle to offer their congratulations, similarly each receiving a red envelope.

Finally, it was Lin Xiao’s turn. Holding a gift box prepared by his mother, he stepped forward and bowed respectfully:

“Grandson wishes Grandfather’s radiance to match the sun and the moon, never to age!”

The congratulations were all sourced online, nothing novel—everyone was more or less the same, and Grandfather wasn’t really looking to hear those words; it was mainly a formality.

Grandfather observed Lin Xiao with a pleasant demeanor and, after listening, nodded and suddenly asked:

“Grandfather remembers you just graduated from your first year of high school. How were your grades?”

“Top three in my year.”

“Hmm, not bad!”

Grandfather nodded again, pulled a red envelope from his chest pocket, handed it over, and said:

“Keep it up, the future of the family depends on you youngsters.”

“Thankyou, Grandfather!”

What followed was a succession of young people from other branches of the family coming forward to offer their blessings. Once all the younger generation had finished their salutations, Shen Yuexin, seated next to Grandma, also stood. Seeing this, Lin Xu stood up as well. Shen Yuexin glanced at him, and with a slight smile, he said:

“Just in time, 1 intend to offer birthday congratulations to great-uncle on behalf of my mother and father. Together?”

Shen Yuexin hesitated for a moment, not rejecting his offer; Lin Xu was secretly delighted as he moved forward to stand beside her. A handsome man and a beautiful woman made a striking pair, and Lin Xiao could clearly feel the envy of his cousins around him.

Shen Yuexin presented her gift and spoke crisply:

“Yuexin wishes for Uncle Grandfather to be as enduring as the moon, as ascending as the sun, as long-lived as the southern mountains, without flaw or fracture, as prosperous as the pine and cypress, never lacking or needing.”

“Lin Xu wishes for Great-Uncle’s tree of life to always be green, the water of life to forever flow, for health and happiness, and for the glow of spring to blossom eternally!”

“Good!”

Grandfather was very pleased as he took the gifts from them and handed each a red envelope, then said to Shen Yuexin:

“When you go back, give my regards to the Old Patriarch.”

“Yuexin will surely deliver the message.”

As he looked at Lin Xu, Grandfather paused for a moment, his gaze swept over his descendants with a hint of disappointment, but he nevertheless smiled and said:

“I heard that when you were at the provincial First Middle School…”

Grandfather stopped speaking abruptly as he looked up towards the outdoors. While everyone was puzzled, suddenly an earth-shattering boom was heard from the sky, followed by a great commotion at the door. Lin Xiao, who happened to be sitting by the window, looked out to see a huge golden vortex appear out of nowhere above the estate, with streams of gold light pouring out incessantly.

In just a moment, the golden light filled the sky, quickly coalescing into a figure with a twisted lower half connected to the vortex, and an upper body that was that of a gigantic humanoid shape, radiating a deep blue mist. It looked like the Lamp God from the legends.

The moment that Lamp God appeared, a powerful pressure descended from the heavens. Lin Xiao, his face filled with horror, steadied himself against the table; this was actually the true body of a Demigod.

As soon as the Demigod made its presence known, beams of dazzling golden light shone from its pupils, sweeping over the manor, before it rapidly descended and hovered above the place.

At this moment, everyone in the hall was stunned by the development. Grandfather, surrounded by people, came to the doorway and looked up at the Demigod of the Lamp hovering in the sky. He sensed that it was a being not inferior to a High-Level Demigod.

Everyone watched the suddenly arrived Lamp God with amazement and uncertainty, but only Lin Xu remained composed. He glanced at Shen Yuexin, who was supporting Grandma nearby, and the corners of his mouth slightly lifted in an imperceptible smile.

At that moment, the eldest uncle stepped out of the crowd and gave a respectful gesture toward the Demigod in the air, saying:

“This is the Lin Family Fortress. May 1 ask who you are?”

Instead of answering his question, the Lamp God’s gaze swept across everyone who came out, answering with an unrelated statement:

“Federal citizen Lin Xu, citizen number txwd544i57********, you have a package to collect. Please check it!”

All eyes turned towards Lin Xu. Looking unfazed, he stepped forward under the scrutiny of the crowd and asked:

“What place is it from?”

“From the sender—official name: Huaxia Super New Student Summer Camp Committee!”

The Lamp God pointed, a beam of white light flew out and landed in Lin Xu’s hands, revealing an A4-sized, seemingly sophisticated and elegant card made from an unknown exquisite material.

“Wow!”

A wave of exclamations spread through the crowd, many guests not yet departed gathered around, staring at the elegant card in Lin Xu’s hand in shock. One middle-aged man with glasses spoke excitedly:

“I recognize it, that is an invitation to the Super Newcomer Summer Camp. He actually got an invitation to the Super Newcomer Summer Camp!”

“Heavens, isn’t that the most elite event for newcomers jointly organized by the five top-tier Super Academies of the Huaxia District and one hundred thirty-three key colleges where only a thousand spots are available each session? Should one perform well, they will be directly offered a special recruitment by the top-tier colleges—it’s like jumping through the dragon’s gate, skyrocketing to success.”

“This is astonishing; it looks like he is the number one of the Lin Family’s current generation.”

“The last generation was the Second Uncle, and this generation it’s him. Two generations of heroes… It’s really incredible.”

Murmurs of discussions began rising inside the estate, and Grandfather’s expression wasn’t too pleasant. Although those whispers were quiet, how could he not hear them?

Yet, looking at the imposing and extraordinary Lin Xu, then back at his own descendants, he sighed in frustration as if they were iron that couldn’t be hardened into steel.