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In the face of the yellow-robed elder’s threats, Xue Huaning laughed coldly. “The Lantern Festival is imminent, but whether something ‘happens’ to the Cui Family or not has nothing to do with the Qu Family. Why concern yourselves?”
This wasn’t the least bit polite, and her words carried a blatant rebuke.
The yellow-robed elder’s expression was instantly a bit unsightly.
However, Xue Huaning ignored him and fixed her gaze on a middle-aged man in dark robes. “And why has the Hong Family come?”
The dark-robed man from the Hong Family said gravely, “Three thousand, six hundred years ago, in the Dark Capital, the Adjudicator of the Netherworld seized the ancestral treasure of the Hong Family, the Scarlet Catastrophe Sword. I’ve come today to request that the Cui Family return it to its rightful owners.”
Scarlet Catastrophe!
This was a Xiantian Divine Treasure born of a forbidden ground once under the jurisdiction of the Ghost Bureau, the Abyss of Sins. It contained innate, unbelievable power, making it a first-rate Xiantian Dao Weapon.
However, three thousand, six hundred years ago, an old monster of the Hong Family had lost a competition over good fortune to Cui Longxiang while exploring the Dark Capital of Hell.
Thus, Scarlet Catastrophe became Cui Longxiang’s trophy.
“You want us to return it? When our patriarch returns, you’re welcome to ask him,” said Xue Huaning, sharp and unrelenting. “I’m just worried that you won’t have the guts to try it.”
The dark-robed middle-aged man’s expression shifted, and he snorted coldly. “Fellow Daoist, I’m afraid you don’t know this yet, but ten days ago, the Red Cloud Realm’s Fire Lotus Ghost Emperor returned from the Sea of Bitterness and said that His Excellency the Adjudicator of the Netherworld encountered that mysterious dark vessel, and that he’s disappeared completely.”
He paused, then said expressionlessly, “Simply put, I’m afraid that the Adjudicator of the Netherworld
 won’t be coming back!”
The atmosphere in the grand hall was instantly tense and stifled. Cui Chang’an’s expression shifted, but he was relatively calm.
Xue Huaning narrowed her eyes, her aura sharp and imposing.
However, Cui Jingyan paled and completely lost her composure. She said in a quavering voice, “Impossible! How could someone like my grandfather possibly just disappear? There’s no way he isn’t coming back!”
Su Yi furrowed his brow. That mysterious Netherworld Vessel?
I heard about that back in Meng Po Palace. They said it appeared deep in the Sea of Bitterness a few years ago, and that everyone who sees it inexplicably disappears, no matter their cultivation.
Not even Emperors are immune!
But Cui Longxiang is an old fox. He must have long since realized that something was strange about that ship; it’s quite possibly the reason he went to the Sea of Bitterness in the first place.
And he’s always meticulously prepared for every possible situation. With his cultivation, avoiding that mysterious ship wouldn’t have been difficult.
Su Yi had a premonition that, assuming the middle-aged man in dark robes was telling the truth, Cui Longxiang had almost certainly gone looking for that mysterious ship intentionally!
But it was hard to say whether he was alive or dead.
The guests were calm compared to Cui Chang’an, Xue Huaning, and Cui Jingyan. They’d undoubtedly already known this.
Rather, it was because they knew this that they dared show up today to ‘loot a burning building’!
“The Adjudicator of the Netherworld is not present, and the Lantern Festival is imminent. With the power currently at the Cui Family’s disposal, I’m afraid you’ll have to pay a heavy price just to protect Ziluo City,” said the middle-aged man in dark robes. “But so long as you return Scarlet Calamity, our Hong Family might well step in and lend you a hand.”
Xue Huaning’s expression was utterly frosty. She ignored the dark-robed man completely, then looked at a man in a feather coat. “And what about the Tantai Family? What are you here for?”
The man in the feather coat smiled and rose. “I’ve come here representing the Tangtai Family in proposing a marriage alliance!”
Marriage?
Xue Huaning was stunned.
The man in the feather coat then gestured to the jade-robed young man seated beside him. “This is our family head's second son, Tantai Liu. He’s the most prominent talent of our younger generation, and he’s close in age to your beloved daughter, Miss Jingyan.”
The jade-robed young man rose, then bowed to Xue Huaning. “Junior Tantai Liu greets you, Senior.”
He was handsome, and looked outstanding, with good prospects. His appearance truly was extraordinary, but his eyes shone with a faint hint of aloof pride.
Cui Jingyan’s expression shifted dramatically, and her eyebrows furrowed.
She would never have guessed that the Tantai Family was here to discuss her marriage prospects!
And she knew about Tantai Liu. He was one of the most dazzling young geniuses of the Six Paths Royal Territory when it came to cultivation, but his amorous ways had long become ingrained, and he was known for his womanizing, lecherous ways. His reputation was quite poor.
A few years ago, there had even been a scandal about him sleeping with the wife of one of his clan elders!
Someone like that would only invite contempt, no matter how talented he was at cultivation!
Cui Jingyan was just about to say something when Xue Huaning beat her to the punch. “I won’t agree to that marriage, nor will anyone in the Cui family.”
Her tone was calm, yet utterly decisive.
Cui Jingyan instantly sighed in relief.
Tantai Liu’s expression soured, and he looked at the man in the feather coat, who didn’t seem the least bit flustered.
“Fellow Daoist Xue, if our clans can establish a marriage alliance, that would be cause for mutual celebration. Furthermore, if the Cui Family runs into any sort of trouble, our Tantai Family naturally won’t stand back and watch
”
Before he could finish, Xue Huaning said coldly, “Our Cui Family has existed since antiquity. How could we possibly need to seek safety and benefits through our children’s marriages? Doing so would bring shame upon the entire clan!”
She said this with such staunch conviction that even Su Yi couldn’t help but sigh to himself. Xue Huaning’s spirit isn’t at all inferior to any man’s!
How could a single marriage alliance decide an entire clan’s fate?
When you're just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
The man in the feather coat stiffened and was just about to say something when Xue Huaning said coolly, “Besides, my daughter already has someone she likes, making your request even more impossible.”
Cui Jingyan was instantly ill at ease.
Cui Chang’an was stunned; he had no idea what his wife was talking about.
Su Yi, meanwhile, facepalmed. He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.
Tantai Liu couldn’t help but say, “Senior, dare I ask who he is?”
Xue Huaning pointed at Su Yi. “That’s him over there. Young Lord Su, Su Yi.”
“Su Yi? Since when was there someone like that in the Six Paths Royal Territory?” Tantai Liu looked suspicious, and his expression was unsightly. “Senior, don’t tell me you’re using this as a pretense to reject me?”
Xue Huaning snorted coldly. “He might not be famous in the Netherworld, but so long as my daughter likes him, I’m happy to let her marry him. If she didn’t like him, it wouldn’t matter if he were the greatest genius beneath the heavens; he could still forget about crossing the Cui Family’s gates!”
Her words were utterly domineering, but they only made Cui Jingyan increasingly uncomfortable.
Su Yi could only pretend not to hear or see what was happening. What else could he do?
It wouldn’t do to explain, not at a time like this. Doing so would only encourage the Tantai Family’s bluster; it’d seem like he was trying to distance himself from Cui Jingyan out of fear
.
Su Yi couldn’t bring himself to hurt his own prestige to inflate another’s.
Who knew what Cui Chang’an was thinking, but the corners of his lips twitched, and the look in his eyes was suddenly strange.
But the man in the feather coat was a bit angry, and he said coldly, “Fellow Daoist Xue, if you want to refuse, fine! But why pull out an unassuming character like that? You’re obviously just trying to humiliate the Tantai Family!”
Tantai Liu spoke up too. “I truly don’t understand how some guy from who-knows-where can compare with me. Senior, I’m truly indigent that you’d refuse me in such a way!”
Both of them denigrated Su Yi, making him seem as low as dirt, a deliberate attempt to humiliate them. They seemed furious at Xue Huaning over this too.
Su Yi’s eyebrows shot up, and he was inwardly quite displeased.
This time, he didn’t wait for someone else to respond. Instead, he said coolly, “Explain something to me, you two: what do you mean, ‘an unassuming character like that’? And how exactly does this 'humiliate' your Tantai Family?”
Everyone present was instantly quite surprised.
Su Yi hadn’t said a single word since entering Northview Pavilion. He’d seemed like little more than a passerby, and the guests of the three clans had overlooked him.
None of them would have guessed he’d dare get mixed up in this, or that he’d be so domineering!
“Hah, it seems the kid can’t handle being provoked.” The yellow-robed elder of the Qu Family couldn’t help but laugh.
“He’s unable to stay calm, a common problem amongst youngsters. However, this particular youngster’s problem goes beyond that; he’s also failed to grasp the situation and his own position. This is known as ‘forgetting one’s place.’ He’s truly
 brainless,” said the dark-robed middle-aged man of the Hong Family.
He then turned to Xue Huaning, making no attempt to conceal his mockery. “Fellow Daoist Xue, if your daughter marries someone like that, I’m afraid it’ll ruin her life.”
The other guests instantly burst into laughter.
Some kid from who-knows-where dared speak up at a time like this? Ludicrous!
Of course, their overt slander of Su Yi was, in truth, intended to embarrass Xue Huaning.
After all, they weren’t at all concerned with Su Yi himself.
They’d never even heard of him before. Who’d concern themselves with him?
The man in the feather coat and Tantai Liu couldn’t help but laugh coldly, as if they’d just seen an ant foolishly overestimating itself and trying to provoke them. They found it incomparably ridiculous.
Xue Huaning furrowed her brow, while Cui Chang’an’s eyebrows twitched.
Cui Jingyan, however, had a strange look on her face as she transmitted, “Brother Su, although I’d love it if you taught them a lesson, this is a conflict between clans, so you shouldn’t
”
Before she could finish, Su Yi waved dismissively. “Just watch.”
Cui Longxiang wasn’t present, and others had come to take advantage of their weakness. He naturally couldn’t just stand back and watch.
Su Yi rose, then swept his gaze across the guests before looking at Tantai Liu and the man in the feather coat.
He said calmly, “If you don’t explain, kneel and accept your punishment.”
This light, airy declaration went off like a thunderclap, astonishing everyone present.
Tantai Liu and the man in the feather coat both had incomparably unsightly looks on their faces.