Invitation

"Oh?" The young master muttered in mild surprise before he smiled and shook his head.

"Did something catch your interest, young master?" A young and enchanting voice sounded from the side causing the young master to look beside him.

Smiling, he shook his head saying. "Nothing you should bother yourself about."

"That doesn't sound true at all, afterall, you did exclaim in surprise just now."

"Haha. Then it's that famous trash from our class, I didn't expect him to be this strong." The young man said as he poured himself some fine wine before also pouring for the lady.

"Strong? Isn't he only still in the Chakra opening realm? What qualifies him as strong?" The voice sounded again as a girl suddenly appeared sitting on the chair beside the young man.

To the normal eye, she just appeared out of nowhere, but to the young man, she had always been there, only she had been hiding herself from any external perception.

"That's what I thought too, but you remember my Invitation letter just now?" The young man asked to which the lady nodded.

"You did imbue them with enough chakra to crush anyone below the Chakra Core Realm, and probably no one in the early and middle stages would be able to receive them without cost."

"Exactly. And as a fellow classmate, I sent one to that trash with the same level of energy..." the young man said, his smile not leaving his face. "But guess what?"

"He's dead?" The young girl asked nonchalantly but the man shook his head.

"On the contrary, he received without any injuries whatsoever." The young man said and took a sip from his cup. "Isn't that interesting?"

The girl looked shocked at the revelation but didn't allow it to show on her face, however, her silence was enough indication already.

"Are you sure he didn't have help?" The girl asked to which he shook his head.

"I would have felt it if he did, there wasn't any outside interference or any chakra fluctuations till it made contact. Perhaps he isn't trash afterall." The young man showed a smirk that caused the young lady to snort in displeasure.

"I don't like that expression of yours, keep this up and I'll begin ignoring you. And so what if he's interesting? At most he's in the Early Chakra core Stage and you're already one step into the Chakra Soul Realm. Your sights should be on your fellow direct disciples, those two in particular, not that trash." The young woman said, causing the man to smile wryly.

"Worry not dearest sister. Of the Direct Disciples, only Zenith and Ayumi pose a threat of sorts, but still, we're already done and will be graduating soon. By the time I reach home, the gap between us will only broaden." The young man said calmly, but the arrogance within his words was laid bare before the woman.

"You should remember that. A lot is expected of you as the crown prince." The young lady said, causing the young man's lips to twitch.

"So you do know I am the crown prince?" He asked.

"Yeah, so?" The lady asked and took another sip from her cup. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"You... Nothing." The man sighed and dropped the issue.

"You should know I won't give you the respect you seek till you become stronger than me. No one can do anything about it, not even your father." The lady said with a disdainful smile before gulping down the contents of the cup.

"Alright, I'll be around then, in case you need me." Saying this, she disappeared once again.

The young man seeing this sighed before looking up to the skies. "It's already been six years, huh? Guess I'll be returning to that damned Palace."

But remembering the banquet he had sent out the invitations to, he smiled as he began to make plans on how to conquer his mates.

This would be his first step to achieving his dream.

...

"What the hell is this bullshit!?" Kaito yelled at the top of his lungs as he came to a halt after being pushed back by the projectile he had come to recognise as a piece of paper, or rather, an envelope containing a piece of paper.

The envelope fluttered to the ground, and Kaito stared at it in disbelief. The paper inside seemed innocent enough, but the aura it carried hinted at something more significant.

Before Kaito could ponder the envelope any further, the atmosphere shifted. A figure clad in distinctive attire emerged, surprising Kaito a little before his attention was returned to the envelope.

It was Zenith, one of Kaito's first friends and also one of his two only friends.

Different from his appearance six years ago, the aura he gave off now was filled with so much confidence and power.

Zenith approached, his sharp eyes sizing up Kaito. "What's all this commotion about, Kaito?" he asked, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

"This... this is an invitation from that stuck-up crown prince!" Kaito exclaimed, his irritation evident.

He had never liked that guy who seemed to think he was the only light in the darkest nights. He seemed to believe he was the protagonist whom everyone should look up to, no matter what.

Zenith raised an eyebrow. "The crown prince? Why would he invite you?"

Kaito scowled. "I have no idea. Maybe he wants to flaunt his status or mock me for being 'trash,' as he likes to call it."

"Are you going to open it?" Zenith asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Kaito hesitated for a moment before tearing open the envelope. The elegant writing inside revealed details about a grand banquet hosted by the crown prince.

"A banquet? Why would he invite someone like me to a fancy gathering?" Kaito muttered, more to himself than Zenith.

Zenith's smirk widened as he glanced at the torn invitation. "Ah, I see. You've caught His Highness's attention, it seems. You should consider yourself lucky."

Kaito scoffed, his expression still calm. "Lucky? This feels more like a setup. What's he playing at?"

Zenith chuckled, his demeanor surprisingly also relaxed. "Knowing the crown prince, it could be a bit of both. But don't let it bother you too much. Attend the banquet, enjoy the free food, and see what unfolds."

Kaito crumpled the invitation in his hand before letting out a sigh. "I don't care about his games. I'll go but only because I'm in need of some sumptuous feast."

Zenith smirked. "That's the spirit! Let's see what this banquet is all about. Who knows, it might be more interesting than you think."

Kaito eyed Zenith suspiciously. "Why are you so calm about this?"

Zenith shrugged. "I've learned not to take everything too seriously. Besides, these events can be more entertaining than you expect."

Kaito observed this friend of his for a while before shaking his head. Whether or not he was still his friend did not matter anymore.

Although it'll hurt a bit, he knew not all things would go as expected.

At most, he'd take the previous batch of Chakra Stones as payment for the cultivation techniques he had given him, effectively cutting off ties with him.

"In the end, one would always need to depend on himself." He said, causing Zenith to raise an eye before chuckling.

"Of course, that's so like you." He said and then asked. "I heard you've finished your breakthrough. Were you successful?"

Kaito snorted at him and said. "How could I fail if you two had passed?"

"Oh-ho? Then? What Grade is your core? And how many stars did you light up?" Zenith asked excitedly

"I don't think I'm supposed to tell you everything about me, you know?" Kaito shook his head causing Zenith to be disappointed, but Kaito continued. "It's a grade nine core, only one. I expect this to be between us."

As he said that, he gave Zenith a pointed look to which he nodded seriously. "You can count on me...but Ayumi?"

"Don't worry, I'll tell her myself, she'll be here soon." Kaito said before turning and walking into his residential area.

Walking up to a rectangular shaped box, he lifted the cover up and pulled out a jar from it.

As soon as the jar was exposed an enticing aroma filled the room causing Zenith to gulp in expectation.

"You're finally bringing out this wine?"

"Of course. I finally broke through after so long, a celebration should be in order, right Ayumi?" Kaito said, looking at the chair beside Zenith.

As though an illusion, the air rippled as a figure was revealed to be seated on the chair.

"What the-!? When did you get here?" Zenith exclaimed in fright as he almost fell from his chair. "Wait. How long have you been here for?"

"Humph, at your stage you're still so weak to be able to detect my presence..." she said, looking at Zenith in disdain before turning to Kaito and saying. "Congratulations on your breakthrough. I wonder which grade your core is at?"

"Thanks, as for my core, it's only a grade 4. I guess I really am trash eh?" Kaito replied with a downcast expression causing Zenith to have a bewildered expression.

As he made to correct Kaito, he noticed him shooting him a look causing him to keep silent, although his curiosity was piqued.

As for Ayumi, as she heard him, a look flashed through her eyes before it turned to one of confusion and then pity. "How is that possible? I thought you would be able to even exceed us by a margin."

"Hehe, I guess all I'm good at is my mind eh? My aptitude for cultivation should be as trash as they say." Kaito shook his head as he began to pour the wine into the three glass cups on the table.

After that, he picked up his cup and raised it to the duo. "A toast... To growing stronger."

"To growing stronger."

"To growing stronger."

Zenith and Ayumi both said as they downed down their cups.

"Kyaa! As expected, anything created by you is exquisite." Ayumi squealed in delight while cupping her cheeks due to the taste of the wine.

"Haha, it's Kaito after all. A genius with no equal." Zenith praised while admiring the content of the transparent glass. If only by looking he could understand how this was made... He thought.

He has once Followed Kaito around to buy ingredients for a certain wine a couple years ago, and although he followed the same process as Kaito, while Kaito's came out wonderfully, his came out sour.

"Yeah, an unprecedented genius. If only his altitude was better." Ayumi said with a sad smile.

"What's with that look? Since my brain is my strongest suit, I may as well develop it to the peak. Who knows, in the Chakra Soul Realm, I might become invincible or something, afterall the soul and the mind have a lot in common." Kaito said calmly.

Ayumi observed his expression for a good while before shaking her head. "You're always like this. Why is it that you're never down or sad when you need to be?"

"Right? He's always like 'What will be will be.' It's kinda unnerving." Zenith added and Kaito chuckled.

"Well, do you both believe in the Heavenly Way?" He asked and they both nodded.

"Since you do, then you should also believe that everything is predestined right?"

"Yeah, something like that." Ayumi nodded but Zenith looked at Kaito confusedly once again.

Kaito had never been one to believe in something like Destiny, yet, here he was saying he does.

"Since the Heavens decided not to give me a good cultivation altitude but gave me a good and strong mental aptitude, doesn't that mean I should focus on that and expand on it?" Kaito reasoned.

"Whether Body Cultivation, Chakra Cultivation, or Soul Cultivation. Aren't they all cultivation? They all come together at the end as The Truth."

"Isn't that right?"

As he spoke, it seemed like there was an invisible aura that resonated with the world causing the two before him to look at him in awe for a good while.

Moments later, they snapped out of their state and looked at each other in confusion.

"What were we talking about just now?" Zenith asked and looked at Kaito.

"The banquet." Kaito said and pulled out the crumpled envelope. "Didn't you guys receive an invitation?"