Furthermore, this is the Star Luo Imperial Palace, someone else's territory, so it wouldn't be good to show disrespect.
"Come with Shi Yu," Xu Yuan said with a smile.
Before leaving, Shi Yu specifically greeted Xuan Lao. This was also to prevent the Xingluo Royal Family from resorting to any drastic measures against Shi Yu.
Sometimes, being cautious isn't a bad thing.
Shi Yu followed Xu Yuan to the Star Luo Hall. It was already decorated with extravagant beauty, exuding an aristocratic aura everywhere.
"Luxurious" was the only word Shi Yu could think of when he saw the palace's decorations. It matched his inherent understanding of an Imperial Palace.
This is how an Emperor should be; if it were too simple, it would make Shi Yu feel it was abnormal.
There weren't many seats arranged in the Star Luo Hall. After a quick glance, there seemed to be only about twenty seats, plus the Emperor's main seat, making it twenty-one.
Shi Yu originally wanted to sit near the door, which would be considered the worst seat.
"Your seat is here," Xu Yuan led Shi Yu to the foremost seat.
"It's not appropriate for Shi Yu to sit here, is it?" Shi Yu wanted to refuse.
This seat was one of the closest to the Emperor's main seat. Was it really appropriate for Shi Yu to sit here?
"This was specially arranged by His Majesty the Emperor. Just sit down and relax," Xu Yuan insisted on Shi Yu sitting down.
Shi Yu could only sit down with a feeling of unease. The better their attitude towards Shi Yu, the less confident Shi Yu felt.
It was hard to refuse their hospitality. If the Star Luo Emperor made any requests of Shi Yu later, it would be difficult to refuse.
People came in one after another, and their clothing and appearance clearly showed their extraordinary status.
After these people entered, they were guided by palace maids and guards to their pre-arranged seats.
Sitting directly opposite Shi Yu was a beautiful woman who looked to be less than twenty years old. Her appearance was outstanding, her figure was good, and her temperament was gentle yet carried an innate nobility.
Just by her posture when she sat down, one could feel that she had been raised with royal etiquette since childhood.
Shi Yu couldn't help but look at this woman a couple more times. The latter also smiled slightly at Shi Yu, a smile that was quite approachable.
After the seats were filled, the Emperor and Empress arrived, surrounded by a group of palace maids and guards.
The palace maids and guards in the hall all knelt respectfully, shouting, "Long live His Majesty the Emperor, ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"
"Long live Her Majesty the Empress, a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand times a thousand years!"
Those with seats also rose and bowed, but none of them knelt.
Shi Yu also stood and bowed. From the heart, Shi Yu still didn't like kneeling and was quite resistant to this kind of etiquette.
However, if Shi Yu was forced to kneel and bow, perhaps Shi Yu would do so.
After all, there's a saying, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' You've come to a world where emperors still hold power. Facing the Emperor, if you don't bow, you're just looking for trouble.
Sometimes, it's better to just go along with things slightly to avoid trouble.
In ancient times, bowing to the Emperor was a very normal thing, and it wasn't particularly shameful behavior.
As the Emperor passed Shi Yu, Senior looked at Shi Yu with a scrutinizing gaze.
Shi Yu could feel the Emperor's gaze and couldn't help but look up slightly, meeting the Emperor's eyes.
The latter smiled slightly, giving Shi Yu a benevolent look.
This made Shi Yu feel a little relieved, feeling that coming to this banquet should not cause any trouble.
Of course, trouble sometimes doesn't refer to things that are harmful to oneself.
Sometimes, things that are beneficial to oneself can also become troublesome.
The Emperor and Empress went to sit on the main seats, and everyone also took their seats at the Emperor's signal.
Shi Yu silently observed the Star Luo Emperor. Senior looked to be in Senior's forties, but Shi Yu wasn't sure of Senior's exact age.
The other party was a Soul Master, and a powerful Soul Master, a Title Douluo. Sometimes, their appearance might look much younger than their actual age.
Whether Senior's appearance looked old or young was unclear.
Anyway, Senior looked to be around forty years old, full of vigor and spirit. There was a unique imperial solemnity in Senior's brows, which made people feel awe when they looked at Senior.
Senior's physique was robust, and Senior could easily fill out a general's armor.
The Empress was graceful and noble, and Senior and the Emperor were a perfect match, a talented man and a beautiful woman.
"Shi Yu has two purposes for arranging this Royal Family Enshrinement Hall tonight. The most important one is to celebrate my sister Xu Jiujiu's eighteenth birthday," the Star Luo Emperor said, looking at the woman opposite Shi Yu with a hint of doting.
"It's indeed Xu Jiujiu," Shi Yu thought. This woman opposite Shi Yu was less than twenty and could sit in such a prominent position, so her status was definitely not simple.
And in Shi Yu's memory, among the young, beautiful, and highly-placed Xingluo Royal Family women, there was only Xu Jiujiu.
This was also the only one Shi Yu knew, so Shi Yu subconsciously thought in this direction. Now it seems Shi Yu wasn't wrong.
"Let's all raise our glasses and join Shi Yu in wishing Jiujiu a happy birthday," the Star Luo Emperor raised his glass.
The others also raised their glasses and toasted Xu Jiujiu with the Emperor.
"Thank you, Imperial Brother, and all the Imperial Uncles, brothers, and Imperial Sisters," Xu Jiujiu thanked them very politely, her voice pleasant.
She also had other brothers, but they weren't suitable to be called Imperial Brother; they had to be distinguished from the Emperor.
The Star Luo Emperor put down his glass and looked at Shi Yu again, showing a smile and saying, "The second purpose is to introduce you to this young genius from Shrek Academy."
"I believe everyone is not unfamiliar with him. The young man who broke into the Imperial Palace yesterday to seek help was him."
Being mentioned by the Emperor, Shi Yu was not very happy, but rather felt a little unnatural, and smiled politely.
Many people were looking at Shi Yu in surprise, observing Shi Yu with curiosity.
What happened yesterday quickly spread throughout the Imperial Palace. This was actually not a small matter.
The Imperial Palace is a heavily guarded place, yet someone easily broke in, and many guards who tried to stop him failed to do so, even letting him run to the core area of the Imperial Palace.
This can be said to be a major security incident. If the other party had any ill intentions, such as carrying a powerful Soul Tool weapon, the consequences would be unimaginable.
After this incident occurred, the commanders responsible for the security of the Imperial Palace were collectively held accountable, and even some Enshrinements were held responsible.
And the cause of all this was the young man in front of them, who was only thirteen or fourteen years old.
"I remember your name is Shi Yu, right?" the Star Luo Emperor looked at Shi Yu with a smile.
Shi Yu wanted to stand up to reply, but was stopped by the Star Luo Emperor, who motioned for Shi Yu to remain seated and not be nervous, to relax, as there was no need for too much formality in front of Senior.
For the other party to say this was giving Shi Yu a lot of face.
"Yes," Shi Yu nodded.
"Shrek Academy is truly a cradle of geniuses, always producing some astonishing young talents."
"But you are a genius among geniuses. Someone who can freely break into the depths of the Imperial Palace at such a young age, I estimate only you can do it," the Star Luo Emperor praised.
Shi Yu was a little embarrassed. Breaking into the Imperial Palace should be a serious crime.
"You don't need to be nervous. Shi Yu has no intention of holding you accountable. On the contrary, Shi Yu admires you very much because of this. I wonder if you are interested in joining my Star Luo Empire and becoming a member of the Royal Family Enshrinement Hall?" the Star Luo Emperor said quite directly.