Armipotent

"Have you heard it, Sister Elin? Everyone is going to the World Congress, but they don't bring us. This is unfair." Delia complained. "She brings the other women, but us, the women from the Arkania Continent. I heard Sister Arina is not on the list too."

Elinova looked at the oven, checking her cake. It was her new project after hearing about the cake from Kang Xue. She was trying the new stuff to make a cake with the available ingredients. The cake grew bigger and looked nice from outside. "Hmmm, maybe I can take it out in one or two minutes."

After saying that, Elinova looked toward Delia and shook her head. She knew what the girl was talking about and what she tried to imply. Zhang Mengyao invited all of Tang Shaoyang's girls to the World Congress, but the girls from the Arkania Continent. Delia felt that she was being discriminated against because of that, but Elinova did not think so.

Elinova came over and flicked her finger on Delia's forehead. "Why would we envy them? You know, right? They are not playing around but for the empire's official duty. I prefer staying in my kitchen rather than joining them at the World Congress."

Delia was still much younger and sometimes a little immature, so Elinova had to look over her. She explained to Delia what this World Congress was about based on her knowledge.

"Urgh. If that's the case, then it's much better to stay at home." Delia changed her mind after hearing what the World Congress was about. She did not want to sit and hear the other people speak for hours. That was just too boring.

"Sister Elin! Sister Elin! Sister Elin!" At this moment, a bunch of children entered the kitchen together, calling out Elinova cheerfully. Amongst the children, Li Na's sister, Li Yue, was taking the lead. "Have you succeeded in making a cake?" Yeah, the children were excited about the cake. It was something that was hard to find since the Game.

Yeah, Elinova was popular with the children as she often let the children have the new food she made. The purple-haired woman had a smile on her face at the sight of the children. She brought them to the front of the oven and let them see the cake inside. "Look there. I think we will have a cake soon. Do you guys want to decorate the cake together with me?"

"Yes~" The children replied simultaneously.

After the children, Li Shuang and Li Na entered the kitchen together. Elinova approached Li Na and Li Shuang as the children and Delia played around. "Do you guys want food for the World Congress?"

Li Na shook her head while smiling. "No, we can have the jerky and instant noodles for the food. We have the walking-stove with us." The walking-stove she was talking about was Liang Suyin. She was the Fire Elementalist, the highest one in the Tang Empire. No one did not know about her in the Tang Empire.

"Then…." Elinova was about to ask, but Li Shuang cut her off. "I want to leave Li Jiaying with you. Can you watch her while I am attending the World Congress? We don't know how long the World Congress is, so can you watch my daughter?"

"Of course. You can leave Jiaying to me, but have you told her yet that you are going today?" Elinova immediately agreed with that. She liked kids, and kids seemed to like her as well. "I have told her, and it seems she is excited about staying with you."

Elinova nodded and turned toward Li Shuang. "I know. I will watch over your grandma and Li Yue too. You can go with ease."

"Thank you, Sister Elin." Li Na lowered her head slightly while shaking her head. "Grandma is a little bit more active after leveling a few times. I kinda worried about her instead of Li Yue." Yes, Li Na's grandma gained levels after cooking for months in the kitchen. Li Na's grandma was now level 32 and invested her attribute into Strength, Stamina, and Vitality.

The grandma who was having a hard time walking was now moving around actively like a kid. That worried Li Na more than her Little Sister, who was popular among The Tarrior. "No worry. There are still many things I need to learn from your Grandma too. This might be my chance to learn her secret recipe."

'Thank you, Sister Elin." Li Na bowed his head. "There's no need for thanks between us, Li Na. Aren't we family?" Li Na's face blushed slightly as she was not used to this.

"Then we will leave now. The portal will open soon." After that, Li Shuang and Li Na bid their farewell, leaving the bustling kitchen.

*** ***

Assembly Room

Zhang Mengyao sat next to the main seat with the people on the invitation list. A few hours ago, the system told her that the portal gate would open at the place where she was and told her to enter the portal to attend the World Congress. That meant she could choose the portal's location, and she chose the Assembly Room of the Tang Empire.

The main door opened as Li Na, and Li Shuang entered the Assembly Room in a hurry. "Where have you been?" Zhang Mengyao asked the two women. She was constantly at the edge because of the World Congress.

Li Shuang smiled and motioned to Li Na to take a seat while she headed toward Zhang Mengyao. "You are too tense, Mengyao. That will not do. Being nervous is necessary, but you are bound to make a mistake if you are too tense. Calm yourself down, take a deep breath and release it slowly." Li Shuang whispered to Zhang Mengyao. "Take it slow, we The Tang Empire, there's no need for you to worry in this World Congress."

Zhang Mengyao followed the advice and tried to calm herself from the nervousness. After repeating what Li Shuang told her three times, the portal appeared next to her, and a notification from the System rang in her head.

[The portal to World Congress for the Tang Empire has been opened! Please enter the portal gate!]

Everyone in the room got up from their seats when the portal gate appeared. Zhang Mengyao stood closest to the gate and stared at the portal gate for a while. Shen turned back and nodded to the eight people, signaling to enter the portal gate.

The eight people nodded their heads. The other eight were visibly nervous since Tang Shaoyang was not around. If he was with them, they might be less nervous. Yes, the main reason they were nervous was that Tang Shaoyang was not with them.

Zhang Mengyao took a deep breath and stepped into the portal gate. Her vision blacked out for a moment until a bright light invaded her eyes. She squinted her eyes for a while to adjust her eyes before she got a clear look at where she was.

Zhang Mengyao stood behind a table, and there was a round platform five meters ahead of her. She then scanned the surroundings and got a clear look at the surroundings. This place was similar to the parliament auditorium, with the seat and table set to round the platform.

She looked at her table and noticed there was a name plaque there. She picked up the plaque, and there was something written on it, Empire of Tang. Putting back the plaque, she sat on the chair behind her.

The system transported right on top of her chair, so she just directly sat on the chair. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, calming herself down once more. Li Shuang was right, if she was too tense, she was bound to make mistakes. After calming down a little, she opened her eyes and tried to observe the surroundings once more.

With the second observation, she managed to pick a small detail that she missed early. For example, the invisible barrier that protected the Tang Empire's seats. With the barrier, that meant the others could not attack them. Another small detail was that the Tang Empire had a larger space than the other areas.

"So that's the meaning of VIP?" Zhang Mengyao noticed the seating space was different. Since the invisible barrier separated the seating space, they could easily tell that with a second observation. The front seat mostly had a bigger space, which got smaller to the back seat.

"That's right, but I am more curious what makes us different? The requirement to be VIP, I mean." Li Shuang sat next to Zhang Mengyao. "I think it's the territory. We have conquered many territories, and maybe the number of the people in our faction too."

"We are the first to arrive, huh?" Cao Jingyi sat at the other side of Zhang Mengyao. They agreed that Zhang Mengyao, Li Shuang, and Cao Jingyi would do the talk if that were necessary, so they sat close to each other.

"The System still prepares thirty seats even though we only submitted nine names." Wei Xi spoke randomly as he sat behind the three.

"And we are the first one to arrive as well." Kang Jiayi sat next to Wei Xi. Liang Suyin, Li Na, Yu Shun, and Lu An sat behind in row with Kang Jiayi and Wei Xie. The three girls took the front seat, and the other six were behind.

As Kang Jiayi said, the Tang Empire's faction was the first one to arrive as no one was around but them.

"So there are nine VIPs?" Li Shuang muttered after doing a quick count on VIP seats. It was easily counted because the VIP seats were in the front.