Shirong sat down at the table as guided by clan head Lu and soon a myriad of dishes were served to him. There were many different kinds of beasts cooked and prepared along with vegetables. There were desserts that would not be seen normally and wines of the finest kind in this kingdom.

Everything was prepared for none other than Shirong and the other people were just here to add to the glory. One could just imagine the cost of arranging a banquet such as this. Just the food and decorations would be a few tens of thousands of gold coins worth.

Even Shirong had not expected that they would go to these lengths to make a banquet. He had merely expected it to be a banquet similar to the one they had when he first arrived here in the Deer Wood city a year ago. But now it had become something completely different.

Another thing that he was a bit surprised about was the looks he was getting. The people who had served him food were none other than the women of the Lu clan. From the few that he recognized, Shirong could tell that they were all granddaughters of the Lu clan head.

He noticed the flirtatious looks they were giving him, along with the different kind of attire that they were wearing. While it was not too revealing, the dresses they were wearing definitely accentuated their body and made their curves more prominent.

Lin Wu who was watching this was fully enjoying it.

"Ahh! Such is the life! Eating good food and wine while jade beauties serve you…

" He exclaimed in his mind.

'However… speaking of eating… can I have some food too, I wonder?' Lin Wu thought to himself.

Ever since he had arrived in the world, he had not had any properly cooked food. All he had eaten since then was raw flesh, dirt, grass or things that probably should not have been edible for most people. Even the beast carapace and the crystal he ate were something that would not have been consumed by any other beasts.

Now that there was such tempting food around him, he couldn't help but start to drool.

"Seems like I have to make a scheme. I can't just leave the chance of having actually good food behind…

" Lin Wu muttered to himself and started to plan a 'nefarious plot'.

Overall, the banquet went rather normally and nearly everyone enjoyed it except for Lin Wu, who was only getting tortured seeing the reduction in the food.

"Dammit, leave some leftovers for me… I'll steal them later…

" Lin Wu muttered with grievance.

The banquet was near the end when Clan head Lu finally asked Shirong about today.

"Young master, you seem a bit troubled… was the news brought by the messenger not good?

" Clan head Lu questioned with concern.

Shirong thought for a bit and framed an answer in his mind. He couldn't tell him the truth as it was supposed to be a secret, but he could just tell him some general stuff that would not be hidden anyway. So he may as well satisfy his curiosity.

"Yes… it wasn't exactly pleasant. Besides, I've been assigned a task and will need to leave soon to accomplish it.

" Shirong answered.

Hearing that Shirong was intending to leave made the Clan head anxious. He had prepared so many plans, but if Shirong were to leave, each of them would end up becoming a great waste. He knew that he had to succeed in one go now.

"And when will you be leaving young master? I mean, I don't want to interfere in the matters of your clan, but perhaps we could help by preparing some supplies for you maybe?

" Clan Head Lu questioned.

Hearing his words made Shirong rememberer the final goal that was assigned to him by the patriarch. He still needed to reach the nascent soul realm. For that, he needed to make a lot of preparations if he were a normal wandering cultivator.

But with his Immortal Sky Shaker art, it would be difficult and would need some new items for the breakthrough. Going through a tribulation was also a difficult task and needed the strongest of wills and utmost of efforts.

The most of all that he needed was a Dharma protector. While the Patriarch had said that he needed to do this without the assistance of the clan, it didn't mean that he couldn't use allies that he had made. In fact, wasn't this the very reason he was here?

"I'll be leaving in a month perhaps, if all my preparations go well. You see Clan head Lu, I'm going to need to break through to the Nascent soul realm and would need someone to act as my Dharma protector and a would also need a special place prepped for it.

I wonder if clan head Lu would like to be my Dharma protector and if the Lu clan would accommodate me for this?

" Shirong questioned.

Clan Head Lu was bewildered by this and had not expected for it to be a request like this. But after thinking for a second, he realized what a great opportunity this was. If the heir of the Ji clan was to undergo a breakthrough here, he had no doubt it would increase their reputation.

Not to mention if he was the one acting as a Dharma protector that would forever place his position in a good place if the young master became the next Patriarch of the Ji clan. He had thought that he had lost the best time to progress their relationship but somehow it had just given him an even better opportunity.

"Of course, young master! I'll be honored to be your Dharma protector. In fact, I believe the entire Deer wood city would be thankful for you if you were to undergo heavenly tribulation here. Most of the cultivators have no chance to witness a core condensation realm expert breaking through to the nascent soul realm.

I'm pretty sure that this would be a great opportunity for all the juniors here. I believe even the other clans would like to give a hand in this matter, if they were given the chance to witness the heavenly tribulation.

" Clan head Lu replied with joy.