The guard at the door announced Iris's arrival for those inside the banquet hall to hear. Iris was the last candidate to arrive because the Empress gave the order that as the only female candidate, She had to spend a lot of time preparing.
In the hall, there were only the three candidate pairs, Ling Yan, the Crown prince and two of his friends, a few eunuchs and officials who were beside the Emperor and Empress.
"Young miss Long Xu lan, the candidate from the southern region, has arrived." The guard at the door announced and the chattering in the hall reduced.
Iris walked into the banquet hall gracefully while ignoring the stunned looks on the faces of the people in the hall. She walked straight to the throne where the Emperor and Empress were Sitting.
" Your subject Long Xu lan of the southern region greets his Majesty the Emperor and her majesty the Empress" Iris greeted with a bow and a cool and calm voice.
"Good, good. Rise child" The Emperor said with a warm smile like that of a loving father.
"Not only are you talented, you're also a beauty" The Empress complimented while studying Iris's Stunning features with a not so warm smile.
"Her majesty flatters me. I am not as beautiful to be compared to even a strand of hair on her Majesty's royal body" Iris said humorlessly in her cold voice. The Empress laughed heartily obviously flattered by Iris's compliment.
"Oh my, such a honey tongue. We won't keep you waiting. Young people should mingle with each other. Go on now." The Empress said with a shooing gesture still pleased at the compliment.
"Yes your majesties" Iris said with another bow before walking towards the sitting area where the others were already sitting. She walked towards the Crown prince who had been staring at her with eyes shinning in awe, with her emotionless beautiful face.
"Your subject Long Xu lan greets your highness the Crown prince" Iris said and offered a small bow.
"Ah! Yes, Miss Long Xu lan. I have heard a lot about you from the Envoys" The crown prince said while smiling brightly.
" I see" Iris said, as usual without any emotion which the Crown prince didn't notice and Continued talking with his bright smile.
" The Envoys spoke of your beauty and talents but I didn't expect you to be this beautiful. And not only are you a beauty to behold, you're also at the middle level yellow spirit at such a young age of sixteen!" The crown prince said still smiling brightly while Iris remained as emotionless as always feeling bored already but then the girl beside the Crown prince cleared her throat lightly.
" Ah yes! Forgive me. This is Li yao yao a disciple from the Ming yue sect and that's her elder brother Hao Ming" the crown prince introduced while looking at Li yao yao dotingly.
"Miss Long, just like the Crown prince Bai Su said, I am Li yao yao a disciple of the head Elder of the Ming yue sect" Li yao yao said with raised chin.
"Ah! Miss Li, you're from the Ming yue sect too?" Iris said pretending to be interested.
"Of course!. I know people like you from the southern region might not have ever heard of the Ming yue sect noting how primitive the southern region is" Li yao yao said with pride.
"Ah! Miss Li likes to joke around, of course I know the Ming yue sect. Afterall, my brother Long Chen is the one and only disciple of the sect master of the Ming yue sect" Iris said as her lips curled into a Slight sneer.
The crown prince was stunned when he heard what Iris said and couldn't help but frown as he did not hear this from the Envoys.
"What?! You're the Sect master's new disciple's sister?" Li yao yao asked in shock.
"Hmm" Iris replied simply.
"No wonder I felt your name was familiar!. The sect master took in a genius who is a fifteen years old initial level yellow spirit expert. I heard his older sister is only Sixteen and is at the middle level yellow spirit. It turned out that you're the The Young miss Long Xu lan the mentors were talking about. Forgive my junior sister, she's very protective of the crown prince" Hao Ming said and offered a small bow while Li yao yao felt like burying herself for bragging about being a disciple of the head Elder while Iris was the older sister to their sect master's only disciple.
"No harm done" Iris said nonchalantly.
"Ah it just so happens that Yao yao and Hao Ming are here for you. Their sect master asked them to watch out for you if you don't get selected by the Sage pavilion then they'll bring you back to the Sect to be his disciple." The crown prince said, acting more friendly than normal.
All of this was heard by the other candidates and eunuchs who immediately went to inform the Emperor while the other candidates became determined to cling to Iris while others stared on in envy.
Soon the banquet began and Iris was introduced to the rest of the Candidates which she barely paid attention to their names. She found out that Ling Yan was at the peak of the yellow spirit and was about to breakthrough into the green spirit level! She was also about to breakthrough into the final level of the yellow spirit. Among all the the candidates, the weakest was the initial level yellow spirit while Ling Yan was the strongest!.
As for Li yao yao, she was too ashamed to say anything throughout the banquet. The crown prince of course, kept trying to get close to Iris but she remained indifferent. The crown prince didn't give up since he was determined to use Iris's connection to the Ming yue sect for his benefit. This was also the reason why he had been clinging shamelessly to Li yao yao but he also didn't forget to Foster a relationship with Ling Yan.
"Young master Ling Yan, I wonder how you can compete without a teammate? So I asked father to pair you with one of our strongest young guards of the imperial army" the crown prince Bai Su said hoping to get on Ling Yan's good grace by doing him this favour while Iris Sneered at his child's play.
"Your highness do not need to worry about that. Is Miss Long not also without a teammate?" Ling Yan asked while staring at Iris who was now looking at him with narrowed eyes.
"You mean, you want to pair with Miss Long?" One of the candidates asked.
"Why not? She's only a level below me in cultivation. She's a genius who advanced from being a trash to a middle level yellow spirit expert in just a few months, I find that interesting" Ling Yan said stunning everyone again.
"You mean she advanced to a yellow spirit middle level in just a few months?" Li yao yao asked miserably. She has always bragged about her cultivation speed but now, she felt so ashamed.
"Indeed. She's a rare genius" Ling Yan said while Iris just gazed at him indifferently.
The Crown prince Bai Su, after hearing this, became more keen on clinging to this rare genius!.
"Miss Long, would you let me be your teammate?" Ling Yan asked.
"Can I not participate without a teammate?" Iris asked instead of answering.
"I am afraid you cannot participate without a teammate Miss Long" Hao Ming answered politely.
"Very well then. Let's be teammates Young master Ling Yan" Iris said simply before continuing to eat.
The banquet continued till midnight with the crown prince Trying to offer Iris drinks and gifts in order to win her over and Iris could only shut him up by Knocking him unconscious with a speed that no one noticed and they all just believed that the crown prince passed out from intoxication.
The moment Iris got back to her courtyard, she entered into seclusion wanting to use the five days before the final Competition to advance!.
Ling Yan was also cultivating in his courtyard too. This two would become good comrades in the future but for now, they barely cared about each other's businesses.