The ultimate Valkyrie has fallen for me

Shen Qiubing would certainly not admit to having a romantic relationship with Lu Yuan, nor would she use that as an excuse to invite him to the Shen family's birthday banquet.

Correspondingly, Lu Yuan would not admit to having any connection with Shen Humeng.

However, even so, Lu Yuan still had to attend the birthday banquet.

The reason is simple: this birthday banquet is actually about taking sides!

As a Grandmaster of the Innate Realm, Shen Fuyue is not only the Grand Elder of the Starry Sky Hall, but also an important supporter of the Hall Master.

People outside the guild hall don't matter, but those inside the guild hall who attend this birthday banquet are considered to be on the side of Shen Fuyue, the former guild hall owner.

Correspondingly, those who don't come are on Dugu Chongxiao's side.

To put it bluntly, this birthday banquet was actually a forced distinction of positions among the members of the association.

It's either black or white.

This also shows that the struggle between the master and Dugu Chongxiao has reached a very tense level.

It was already established that Lu Yuan was with the Shen family. Therefore, even if he was unwilling, he had to attend this birthday banquet.

Of course, this birthday banquet wasn't something anyone could just attend; the vast majority of people weren't even invited.

Aside from his relationships with Shen Qiubing and Shen Humeng, Lu Yuan is barely qualified to be a member of the Star Dou Squad.

"I'm off to the banquet."

On February 8th, all members of the Nandou Squad, along with five members of the Beidou Squad, went to the Shen Family Manor to attend a birthday banquet, led by Wu Jianming.

Those who attend the birthday banquet are considered to be on the side of the owner.

Because of Wu Jianming, the entire Star Dou Squad originally supported the old master, but now the situation has changed.

Two members of the Beidou team were absent: Feng Qi and Li Bufan!

The Feng and Shen families originally had a good relationship, and the Feng brothers naturally belonged to the old master's camp. However, due to Shen Fengxing's "coercion"—at least that's what the Feng family thought—Feng Ji lost a bet to Lu Yuan and died.

After that, the Feng family severed ties with the Shen family, and correspondingly, Feng Qi switched allegiance to Dugu Chongxiao.

In contrast, Li Bufan replaced Feng Ji in the Beidou team, and even Wu Jianming did not expect that he was also in Dugu Chongxiao's camp.

According to the information he had, Li Bufan, like Lu Yuan, was also from a humble background. He was specially recruited by the Star Training Camp because of his outstanding talent in the extraordinary combat body, and then went on to join the Special Operations Team and the Star Dou Squad.

When did he first come into contact with Dugu Chongxiao?

Or perhaps it was someone under Dugu Chongxiao who pulled him into their camp.

When Wu Jianming learned of this, he realized he had been careless.

But since things have come to this, there's no point in saying more.

Moreover, as the struggle between the old master and Dugu Chongxiao intensifies, the internal divisions within the guild are growing, and the current situation of the Star Dou Squad is probably just the beginning.

As the director of the special operations team, Wu Jianming was already at the top of the middle management level. At this moment, he was also deeply involved in this power struggle and could hardly take care of himself, let alone care about others.

In contrast, the rest of the Star Dou Squad were much more relaxed.

After all, they are of low status, so even if they take sides, it won't be taken too seriously.

"As expected of the Shen family."

Apart from Lu Yuan and Li Bufan who didn't come, the other members of the Star Dou Squad all had some background, but many of them were visiting the Shen Family Manor for the first time.

Passing through checkpoints and gazing at the lakeside estate nestled deep in the vegetation, one can't help but gasp in amazement.

A Grandmaster-level expert is enough to bring endless glory and honor to a family!

"Stay close to me, don't wander off."

After getting out of the car, a waiter led them to the venue. Wu Jianming walked in front and gave Lu Yuan and the others some instructions.

As for Shen Qiubing, as a young lady of the Shen family, she naturally left first.

The Shen family home is very large, with many venues. This birthday banquet was held in a garden.

Round tables, each 180 centimeters in diameter, were arranged haphazardly yet neatly throughout the garden. A quick glance revealed that, excluding the VIP area and the Su family's own seats, there were at least a hundred tables.

If each table seats ten people, wouldn't that mean there would be over a thousand guests!

A thousand guests is nothing in itself; the key point is that people of ordinary status are not even invited.

Lu Yuan and the others exchanged glances, wondering if all the powerful figures in Chongming Base City had come together today.

"Stop looking around, it's a birthday gift."

Just as I was wondering what was going on, Wu Jianming said something from the front.

The group looked up and saw several tables set up to the side, used for recording birthday gifts.

The Shen family certainly doesn't lack these things, but as the saying goes, courtesy should be reciprocated, so it's still important to remember them clearly.

Of course, you don't have to give a birthday gift. It's just that your name is on the guest list but not on the gift list, and the Shen family will remember that.

Wu Jianming took out a box from his spatial equipment. Inside were several rare items with the effect of prolonging life. Lu Yuan recognized one of them as something he had obtained from him.

Two people sit behind each table: one is responsible for appraising the gifts, and the other records the information after confirming that everything is correct.

"It's your turn."

After finishing his task, Wu Jianming said something to Lu Yuan and the others behind him.

Ten people stepped forward one by one, each putting up 100,000 yuan.

They are not like Wu Jianming, so there is no need to give such an extravagant birthday gift.

Furthermore, the fact that the gift was lighter at this time also indicated that their relationship with the Shen family was not that close.

In this way, if the old master of the hall is no match for Dugu Chongxiao, they can easily get away with it when things come to a head.

After the birthday gifts were presented, the waiters led everyone to their seats.

Lu Yuan and his group of ten, all with the same identity as members of the Star Dou Squad, made up a table.

As for Wu Jianming, he was led to the VIP area by a special person.

Wu Jianming is a nine-star warrior, the closest person to the Grandmaster realm!

Moreover, Wu Jianming is not even fifty years old this year, which is considered young among the nine-star warriors, and he is also considered a powerful contender to become a grandmaster.

Furthermore, although he was in charge of the special operations team and was only a mid-level officer, many of the guild's warriors were his protégés, and his status was extraordinary.

Of course, arranging Wu Jianming in the VIP area also highlights the Shen family's high regard for him and further strengthens their relationship.

Lu Yuan and his companions had some idea about these things, but they didn't really care.

After all, they were just small fry in this venue, only there to watch the show; most of the things that happened had nothing to do with them.

"Have some tea."

Jin Xinxin picked up her teacup, took a sip, and nodded repeatedly.

"Excellent tea!"

The others smiled, picked up their teacups, and nodded in agreement; it was indeed good tea.

After all, this is the Shen family; how could they serve ordinary goods to their guests?

Each table has a dedicated server who is there to serve tea and water.

The birthday banquet hadn't started yet, and the dishes hadn't been served. Everyone was enjoying tea, snacks, and chatting, which was quite pleasant and a rare moment of relaxation.

"Hello, Mr. Lu Yuan."

Just as Jin Xinxin was gossiping about the other guests, a middle-aged man dressed differently from ordinary waiters suddenly came over and bowed slightly to Lu Yuan.

"I apologize, due to our oversight, we have assigned you the wrong seat. Please follow me."

"Um?"

Lu Yuan and the others were taken aback. They were all members of the Star Dou Squad. Did Lu Yuan have something special about him?

"Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"There's no mistake, Mr. Lu Yuan, please follow me."

The middle-aged waiter repeated it again with a smile.

Since he was a guest, Lu Yuan didn't ask any more questions and stood up.