Chapter 148 Foundation Establishment Banquet

A quarter past noon.

Sun Xiaolei stared fixedly at the delicacies he held in his hands, his eyes wide, while the aroma drifting upward caused saliva to continually pool in his mouth.

A voice seemed to echo endlessly in his mind: *Take a bite, just take a bite...*

Fortunately, his lingering reason kept him from actually doing so.

Because at this moment, he was not the only one; there were many others around him.

The dozen or so members of their serving squad were standing in a straight line, each holding a food tray and waiting for the commands of Dai Ba nearby.

The crackling sound of firecrackers echoed continuously from in front of the grand hall, accompanied by the resounding announcements of the ceremonial hosts.

"Immortal Master Luo Zhixian from Luogu Workshop arrives!"

"Immortal Master Zhang Chao from Wuji Gate arrives!"

"Immortal Master Zhao Meng from Qingshan Sect arrives!"

"Immortal Master Gong Lun from Changhong Gate arrives!"

"Immortal Master Wei Jun from Huoying Workshop arrives!"

"Immortal Master Xuan Qiang from Shuiying Workshop arrives!"

"......"

Sun Xiaolei listened intently, mentally keeping count of the total number of names called.

Although he was unfamiliar with these various sects and workshops, and had no idea where they were located, he knew they were places very far away—distant enough that if he were to walk there on foot, it might take several months.

And yet, these immortals could all fly...

The announcements went on for nearly half an hour. Just as Sun Xiaolei began to worry that the food would grow cold, Dai Ba's anxious voice rang in his ear, "Alright, alright! The guests are all seated, serve the food! Hurry up!"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Niu Jie, standing nearby, also urged repeatedly.

Hearing this, the line immediately stepped forward, exiting through the side door of the grand hall.

"It's fine, don't be nervous, just keep your head down..."

Sun Xiaolei comforted himself inwardly and immediately followed the procession outside.

The group walked slowly into the grand hall, where nearly a hundred people were present. Each was seated at a separate low table, and the sound of lively conversation and laughter filled the vast hall, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

Yet Sun Xiaolei was trembling with nervousness, walking step by steady step while holding his tray, terrified of stumbling.

To trip on an occasion like this would surely result in being driven off the mountain.

Moving at a slow pace, he saw the people ahead of him stopping one by one at their respective tables and orderly setting down the exquisite dishes.

Taking a deep breath, Sun Xiaolei matched the position from his previous rehearsal, walked slowly up to a low table, and gently placed his tray down.

Finally having set down the food, Sun Xiaolei couldn't help but let out a breath of relief.

At that moment, a thought crossed his mind: "Let's see what this immortal master looks like..."

Emboldened by the thought, he raised his head and dared to steal a glance at the person seated behind the table.

It was a broad-shouldered, square-jawed man dressed in gorgeous colorful robes, who was smiling and chatting softly with someone at the neighboring table.

"He doesn't seem all that different from ordinary people..." Sun Xiaolei raised an eyebrow slightly, noticing that the man even vaguely resembled his third uncle back home...

Without allowing himself to dwell on it, once the tray was set, he immediately turned around and followed the others back inside through the side door.

There were simply too many guests, and their group of a dozen still had more dishes to serve.

"Not bad, not bad! Keep serving!" Back in the courtyard, Dai Ba was nowhere to be seen, leaving Niu Jie to encourage the group.

Niu Jie walked over, patted Sun Xiaolei on the shoulder, and laughed, "Didn't I tell you? It's very simple! See?"

With his first experience behind him, Sun Xiaolei felt much more relaxed, nodding with a smile, "Yes!"

"Good! Hurry up everyone! Keep going, keep going!" Niu Jie urged them onward.

Now much more familiar with the routine, Sun Xiaolei picked up another tray, stepped out of the side door once more, and resumed the cycle.

......

During his third trip to serve food, he finally caught sight of Immortal Master Bai, whom he hadn't seen in a while.

Bai Qingzhou was dressed in a grey robe, with fair skin and a slender build, his thick black hair secured with a silver hairpin, making him look rather like a frail scholar.

"Immortal Master Bai is truly handsome..." Sun Xiaolei's eyes shone as he praised inwardly.

Just as he was admiring him, he noticed that Immortal Master Bai actually looked toward him and even offered a gentle smile.

"Immortal Master Bai smiled at me, he still remembers me!" At this, Sun Xiaolei's spirits soared with excitement.

However, after just a glance, Bai Qingzhou turned his head back to converse with the others.

Encouraged by the immortal master's smile, Sun Xiaolei was filled with boundless energy and shed all his nervousness. He threw himself into his work with even greater enthusiasm, continuously serving food and wine without a moment of rest.

After spending the time it takes to burn two sticks of incense, their serving squad successfully completed the task, delivering all the dishes safely to the immortal masters without a single mishap.

With their duties concluded, the group gathered once more by the side door of the grand hall.

"Well done! Hahaha!" Niu Jie was in exceptionally high spirits, praising the group, "With this, Steward Dai's reward certainly won't be small! Who knows, you might even get a thousand taels of silver!"

Hearing about the reward, everyone beamed with joy. After all, earning a thousand taels of silver just for serving a few dishes—how could that not make them leap with joy?

Yet at that moment, Sun Xiaolei didn't pay much attention to the reward. Pressing his ear against the tightly closed side door, he could faintly catch the voice of Sect Master Nie from within.

"......Bai Qingzhou and Ji Heng shall officially become elders of our Profound Sun Gate! Furthermore, Gong Quan, Xi Tong, Yao Ting, and Xie Zhongjian shall officially become inner disciples! Today, inviting you all here is to..."

"Xiaolei! Let's go!" Before he could finish listening, Niu Jie's voice sounded by his ear.

Sun Xiaolei turned his head to see that the others had already begun to leave, and he asked in bewilderment, "Uh... Brother Niu, where are we going?"

"Back to rest, of course! The rest of the chores will be handled by other junior and senior brothers. We just need to wait until the immortal masters finish dining, and then we'll come back to clear the tables!"

"Oh, oh..." Sun Xiaolei quickly agreed and followed Niu Jie toward their living quarters.

Catching up with the main group, everyone began chattering about the immortal masters they had seen today, bantering and joking along the way.

"Today I finally saw Immortal Master Chen Lin! Senior Brother Niu, was Immortal Master Chen really a registered disciple before?" a young girl asked Niu Jie.

Hearing this, Niu Jie's eyes flashed with envy as he looked up at the sky and chuckled dryly, "Yeah... Could I possibly lie to you about something like that..."

"Senior Brother Niu, I heard you became a registered disciple at the same time as Immortal Master Chen. Why was he the only one who managed to ascend to immortality?" a young boy chimed in.

"Immortal Master Chen had the talent, that's why..." Niu Jie curled his lip and continued, "Besides, it wasn't just Immortal Master Chen who ascended; Immortal Master Fan Tianhe and Immortal Master Wen Lan also succeeded in ascending from our batch!"

"So many!"

Speaking of this, Niu Jie felt a surge of pride, smiling confidently, "Of course! Our batch has produced the most immortals among registered disciples since the founding of the Profound Sun Gate, hehe! Who knows, maybe someone else here will successfully ascend to immortality in the future!"

"Haha, then the next one might just be Senior Brother Niu~"

"That's entirely possible, since Senior Brother Niu is so capable!"

"No, no, it might be me instead! Haha!"

......

Laughing and talking, the group returned to their living quarters and then dispersed to their respective rooms.

Sun Xiaolei returned to his own room. He used to share a room with little Shuanzi, but ever since Shuanzi was driven away, he had been living alone.

Having toiled for the better part of the day, Sun Xiaolei lay down on his bed, utterly exhausted, yet he felt not a shred of sleepiness.

He stared blankly at the ceiling, his mind racing with a flurry of chaotic thoughts, all of which ultimately revolved around a single sentence...

"If only I were an immortal too..."