Chapter 145: Banquet

In the hours before evening, the sprawling provincial palace of Sky Jade City transformed into a grand theater of light and celebration. Attendants moved swiftly along the sweeping eaves of the Grand Banquet Hall, hanging hundreds of glowing lanterns that bathed the surrounding courtyards in warm, golden light.

This was no ordinary dinner. It was a carefully arranged display of provincial power. Tonight, Lord Zhao Shenming was hosting a formal banquet for every notable guest, clan patriarch, and leading sect representative from the Zhao Province who had arrived in the capital ahead of the tournament.

More importantly, it was the traditional stage upon which the Provincial Lord would officially announce his Participating General for the Lord Tournament. For a long time, it had been a poorly kept secret that the coveted position was destined for a prodigy of the prestigious Han Clan. Almost everyone present had already assumed they knew who would receive the honor.