Old Man Tian invited his guests to sit down with him. The first to respond was the Golden Dragon King, who eagerly left his spot and appeared next to Old Tian, resting his hand on a chair beside him.
"You look old, Tian," he whispered, then straightened his posture. "Be honoured; I, the Golden Dragon King, have missed you."
Old Tian snorted in amusement. "Arrogant as ever, Brother Jin."
A sigh came from beside the Dragon King as the head of the merchant organisation took his place, his expression clearly conveying, 'I don't want to be here.'
"Let's just get this over with," he said lazily.
"A good day to you, too, Eddard," old Tian chuckled lightly.
Jin Huanglong narrowed his eyes at Eddard, then smiled mischievously.
"Tsk, I wonder what the younger generations would think when they find out the Midas association head is such a lazy bum, haha."
Eddard looked at Jin carefully for the first time since their arrival, and said calmly, "I'm curious..." he paused ", Does your daughter know about your past exploits...? Maybe she needs... an uncle to tell her stories about your rather... legendary exploits...?"
He always pauses mid-sentence as though he needs to think about his following words carefully, but the monotonous tune he always uses makes the way he speaks rather intimidating.
Embarrassment washed over Jin huanglong as he whispered carefully to Eddard, "Hey, no need to bring back such memories. You take things too seriously at times. I was just joking with you, brother."
He would very much love to keep his past exploits in the past. Remembering the arrogant youngster he was when he was growing up brought so much shame to the current him. He wouldn't want his sweet baby girl to find out that her serious, responsible, noble father was once considered a pain to the metaphorical rear of the beast region.
"Play nice, you two. Remember, we're not alone." Old Tian was clearly amused by their banter but felt the need to intervene as the other three guests made their way to the table.
Jin's demeanour became serious as he adopted a look appropriate for his position. He took his seat at the table after Eddard.
"Ha, I thought you would be dead by now, Tian. Evil people seem to be blessed with longevity," a sharp voice came from a smirking Eadgyth as she approached with the remaining two.
This statement elicited reactions from the three friends. Jin's serious demeanour grew glum, while the atmosphere around Eddard shifted subtly. Tian, on the other hand, maintained his usual calm smile.
Aina looked closely at Tian, her expression complex.
'Tian…'
"It's nice to see that I am always a constant in your thoughts, Eadgyth. If I didn't know better, I would mistake it for a gesture of romance."
Old Tian observed Eadgyth and the other two as they sat on their respective chairs, with Eadgyth placing her legs on the table.
"In your dreams, Old man."
Novac bowed slightly to the elder Tian before sitting, saying, "Senior Tian, it is an honour to see you again."
Tian only nodded to that.
He would have chosen to outright ignore the man, but decided to acknowledge him for now.
The Ortenrosse family was once part of human territory before they betrayed his faction during his forced seclusion, going against all he stood for and attacking the demi-human region.
Only one member from the formal royal demi-human family survived, and some others had to seek refuge in other territories, because life had gotten difficult in the demi-human region.
Sadly, there was no stopping them now. They have already been acknowledged as the leaders of that territory, and there was little he could do.
"It is good to see you are well, Tian." Queen Aina smiled at Tian, who returned the Gesture. Then she turned to the only empty chair. "Do we start the meeting without them?"
Eadgyth scowled and replied, "That bastard isn't coming anyway, so why wait?"
The others, except old Tian, sighed helplessly. Only Eadgyth and possibly Old Tian would have the guts to call the absent leader of the light region a bastard. They were the most powerful group in the universe right now, and no one would dare call them bastards.
"It's good he is not here. I am tired of hearing him preach about their god." Old Tian said with a gentle smile on his face, despite the clear venom in his voice.
Old Tian never liked those from the light region. He had no problem with them serving a God despite being practitioners. What he truly despised about them was their self-righteous attitudes towards anyone who didn't serve their so-called god.
It is challenging to see a religious practitioner. What can a religion promise them? Wealth? Eternal life? Women? It just wasn't enough to sway them; it was impractical.
As a being of pure will, pride and greed, a practitioner would not bow his head to any such god, as they themselves can be considered gods.
As long as they get strong enough, they can obtain eternal life, gain massive wealth, and snatch any woman that catches their fancy.
However, the current state of the world no longer encourages that. As origin energy declines, the progress of practitioners has progressively slowed.
This situation has caused many aspiring practitioners to fall for the enticing promises of religions, offering them various benefits that are now difficult for them to achieve on their own.
Instead of working hard, they would rather follow a god they dont know a thing about.
sigh.
This was just one of the reasons Old Tian despised them so much. Another reason was that they did not contribute anything to the world. The universe was slowly dying, and they were doing nothing to help preserve it.
why would they? they were thriving in the current state of the universe. their members has never been greater.
The last and likely the most significant reason he loathed them was that they deceived him—no, not just him, but every leading faction in the world was deceived by them.
Old Tian shook his head, distracting himself from his thoughts. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
Serious, Jin replied, "Don't act dumb, Tian. We are here to discuss the current situation of the world, specifically the 13th chosen."