Damned Healer

Hearing that, all the young ones there looked at Darian in shock. But after two seconds, they burst into laughter.

"Marry a princess? Hahahahaha..."

"Come on! Hahaha, humans really are good at jokes too!"

The ridicule was met with silence from Darian, who just kept drinking. Even Lihan covered her mouth, trying to hold back her laughter.

After a minute, Darian calmly asked:

"Where can I find them?"

Tizol spat: "Hmph, princes and princesses aren't people you can just meet whenever you want!"

"Tizol, don't be rude!" Hudu rebuked him sharply.

"The royal family will be holding a banquet at the Waterside Garden. One princess and one prince have already confirmed they'll attend. From what I've heard, they're welcoming the young human known as the Generational Standout.

"He came to our planet for the first time, and all the outstanding women here want to meet him. They say he's wise, that he enjoys teaching and guiding the weak, so everyone stops to listen to him. That's why all the younger ones with some status want to be there. Little friend, you want to go too?"

Darian listened and got curious about this human. The first thing that crossed his mind was Vanh. But he was sure the Wube family wouldn't expose their heir like that, even if he really was the biggest standout.

A title like that was just something to inflate some young man's ego and brought nothing truly good. Mallory wasn't dumb enough not to know her son. Someone already mentally unstable, like Vanh, carrying that kind of title, would only end up worse.

"What's this human's name?" Darian asked directly.

"His name's Cyaos. His origins are from a human planet that's a bit above average. He's under fifty years old, but he already reached eight rings," Hudu answered lightly.

Lihan added with a small smile, "I heard that ten years ago, Mr. Cyaos only had three rings and was considered trash on his planet. But he had a fortuitous encounter, and someone lit up his path. After that day, he soared like a dragon."

Hudu nodded: "Young Cyaos said he only heard a few words from a sage, and everything in his life changed. That's why he tries to return that kindness to the world, always helping and giving advice to others."

Darian sighed. Hearing a few words and changing everything? That was a joke, right? He, who had lived a life full of fights and pain, and got where he was through sheer effort, couldn't believe that. Not to mention, anyone who accepted such a grandiose title clearly had a ridiculous ego.

Seeing the clear lack of interest on Darian's face, Hudu just gave a slight nod.

"Let's go. The banquet starts in a few hours, we have to get there early." Hudu paid the bill and even left a full bottle for Darian.

"Little friend, I hope we can meet again." He said his farewell and left with everyone. Truth was, even though he had a good impression of Darian, he felt it'd be trouble if he tagged along.

Darian smiled and nodded, then went back to drinking at his own pace. The drink was a kind of wine made from an exotic fruit of that planet. It had a really good, unique taste, so he savored it slowly.

While drinking, he thought of Niara. She'd love to eat that fish and have this drink. He didn't care much about food, but seeing her happy while eating made him want to spoil her whenever he could.

When he finished the bottle, he asked a dwarf woman for directions to the Waterside Garden. Then he walked there.

He decided to go because he had nothing else to do, and it really would be good to take a look at the prince and princess.

Besides, there was no guarantee that the royal family would summon him in thirty days. That had just been the guard's minimum estimate. So he could slack off a bit before going back to training.

...

The Waterside Garden was in the southern part of the city. It was a vast area, surrounded by rivers and beautiful scenery.

In theory, anyone belonging to a family of Spiritual Guardians could take part in the banquet. That's why, even though there was still some time before night, the place was already completely packed.

Most of them were young people who wanted to hear Cyaos' words. And, unsurprisingly, almost 80% were beast-women who had come to check out the standout human who was still single.

That was when Darian arrived.

"Outsiders, or those not from the major families, can't come in!"

The guards immediately blocked Darian.

Someone with four rings was considered trash on that planet. And since he was a pure human, it was obvious he didn't belong to any local family, or else he wouldn't have come alone.

Worse, even if he really was from some family, he still wouldn't be allowed in looking that miserable. With a prince and princess attending, that would've been a huge disrespect.

"Get out of my way," Darian said flatly, looking at the two guards blocking him with their spears.

The moment his calm eyes landed on them...

...he subtly released the chaos seal on his soul.

Instantly, the two guards couldn't stop themselves from trembling. They were both rookies, only four rings. But those red eyes gave off an indescribable oppressive force, making them feel instinctive fear as their legs weakened.

Darian snorted. He didn't want to use his emblem there, or maybe those guards would warn the prince and princess that he was present.

But... those two were weak, and on top of that, they were beasts who had only ever trained their bodies. Their willpower was pathetic. When Darian's semi-immortal soul pressed down on them, they couldn't resist his gaze.

Soon enough, Darian looked away and kept walking. The two guards didn't dare stop him and let him pass.

At that moment, the people inside stayed quiet, waiting for the ceremony to start. Only the leaders of the powerful families who knew each other talked.

As for those from humbler families, they knew their place well and chose to stick to the distant corners. They didn't dare compete with the powerful ones for the best seats at the banquet's center. Soon, only the influential were sitting up front.

"?"

During the friendly greetings, someone spotted Darian walking in and suddenly asked in surprise: "The fuck is that? Who the hell is this guy?!"

Right away, a bunch of people turned to look at him, noticed his shabby appearance, and frowned.

"Where the hell did this beggar come from? Why would someone like that be allowed in here?!" the leader of a family roared.

For the leaders, listening to that visiting human was just an excuse. The real importance was in talking to the royal prince and princess. That's why they had to act perfectly. How could they possibly be happy seeing a beggar show up here?

"Hmph, why's he even here? Wasn't it enough to eat our food and take our kindness already?" Tizol spoke coldly.

Even Hudu was caught off guard seeing Darian there. And when he heard Tizol's words, he turned and gave him a furious glare.

Only then did Tizol realize that plenty of eyes had turned toward him and his family's group. His words had basically implied that they knew that beggar.

"Young human, are you lost?!" another family leader shouted aggressively, totally displeased.

Darian slowly turned his head to face him and asked, "This is the Waterside Garden?"

The leader shot back, his body releasing an aggressive aura: "Yeah, this is the Waterside Garden, but it's not some place you can just come and go whenever you want..."

Darian cut him off with a disdainful look: "Then that's right. I didn't come to the wrong place."

"Isn't this guy a friend of Lord Hudu? Hudu, your buddy came here to beg?" a sarcastic voice cut in. It was another family leader, clearly an enemy of theirs.

Right then, Hudu's group was glaring at Darian with pure anger. They dumped all the blame for their family being dragged into this mess on him, because it was easier than blaming the idiot who had spoken up and revealed they knew him.

Hudu looked a bit embarrassed. He coughed lightly and said, "I know this little friend." He didn't deny knowing Darian. He had always lived with pride and honor—he wasn't about to run from that.

"My being here has nothing to do with Lord Hudu." Darian snorted and spoke calmly.

"Haha, brat, if that old bastard didn't bring you here, then how the hell did you get in?" the rival family leader mocked again.

"Don't be stupid! Did anyone see our family bringing him here?!" Tizol suddenly roared.

"Tizol, don't be rude." Hudu gently shook his head. "It's no big deal, even if I really didn't bring this little friend. He clearly has what it takes to listen to young Cyaos' words. Besides, he's also human, just like him."

Darian only smiled and kept walking, sitting himself down in an empty chair near the center without caring about a thing.

"Brat, get to the back! That's not a place for you to sit!" one of the major family leaders immediately shouted when he saw him take that seat.

Cold stares fell on him. Darian was being way too outrageous, sitting right up front.

Darian slowly turned toward that figure and said calmly, "There's no name on this chair, so I can sit wherever I want. Shut up, your voice is annoying me."

"You..." That man trembled with rage, his eyes flashing with killing intent.

"Haha, looks like someone's leaning on their pathetic family's prestige to act all high and mighty." Another mocked, throwing amused looks at Hudu and his family.

That whole family was in shock. Darian's actions had left their leader extremely embarrassed and made him lose all dignity. Damn the moment Tizol opened his mouth and exposed their connection.

Hudu snorted, a little embarrassed himself: "Little friend, come sit behind me. You're in the seat of a Family Leader."

Despite everything, Hudu still treated Darian with a friendly attitude. If it were someone else, he wouldn't have bothered protecting them and would've just kicked them out.

"Sir, thanks for the concern, but I prefer this spot now." Against all expectations, Darian answered indifferently, staying right where he was.

Hudu could only give an ironic smile.

The crowd wore all kinds of expressions as they watched Darian. Some thought the brat was insane, while others found him pretty interesting. But a few family leaders believed Darian was outright disrespecting the royal family by sitting there.

"Brat, if you don't move, I'll personally throw you out." A deep voice growled.

"Pfft," Darian snorted with disdain. "That's my second and last warning. If you keep buzzing in my ears, I'll personally shut you up."

That leader almost spat blood in rage, hearing that. He had eight rings and was a highly respected figure on the planet. So, he stood up right away, full of bad intentions.

"The royal prince and princess are here!"

Just as the man was about to act, a cry of warning echoed.

"Mr. Cyaos has arrived!" feminine voices screamed too.

Everyone in the garden stood up and went to greet the figures who were arriving. Besides the three of them, there were also other important people on the planet.

Darian remained calmly seated, just watching.

A few minutes later, when Cyaos looked out at the crowd that didn't dare approach him...

"!"

...his eyes were instantly drawn to a single spot, and they widened in shock.