Chapter 570: Xiao Budian Goes Home
Chapter 570: Xiao Budian Goes Home
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
With the help of the two Nascent Soul stage magic items, Yue Hongyan's Meteor Strike Spear became more ferocious as it directly shattered Bai Xiqian's protective light. With one strike, she sent Bai Xiqian flying.
Blood splattered in mid-air as Bai Xiqian's white robes turned scarlet. Yue Hongyan carved a giant laceration in Bai Xiqian's waist, causing her to bleed profusely.
The white-clouds giant palm and the purple gas giant palm clashed before the former rushed to catch Bai Xiqian's floating body.
Even with the protection of the white clouds, Bai Xiqian continued to cough blood. She appeared spent and her pupils became vacant.
The void shook and the Xuan Lin Holy Man stepped out from it. His two eyes, which normally brimmed with a thousand emotions, were hollow. All that was left was a deep sense of calm, as if he had realized the inevitability of everyone's mortality.
Ding Runfeng stepped behind quietly without saying anything.
Lin Feng's outline too appeared in the void. He looked emotionlessly at the Xuan Lin Holy Man.
The battle between Yue Hongyan and Bai Xiqian demonstrated both combatants' martial skills and spell techniques. A mistake from either side would have killed someone, which brought to mind the famous saying, "Bullets have no eyes."
Neither side was willing to show mercy as the cost of mercy was death.
The Xuan Lin Holy Man looked at Lin Feng and was just about to say something when his eyebrows furrowed together suddenly. He turned his head to another direction.
It was the direction of the Shi Family Mansion in Xiling City.
The Xuan Lin Holy Man, together with Ding Runfeng and Bai Xiqian, turned around and stepped into the void and disappeared.
Yue Hongyan, Li Yuanfang, Luo Qingwu and Jun Zining bowed to Lin Feng. He did not say much as he did the same as the Xuan Lin Holy Man with them.
Now, there was no sign of the battle by the lake, only a crowd of curious on-lookers.
Everyone was shocked by the battle they had just witnessed. No one would have thought that Bai Xiqian, despite being so powerful, would lose to Yue Hongyan.
Some Nascent Soul stage grandmasters looked at each other and thought, "While Bai Xiqian lacks combat experience, her ultimate moves were extremely powerful and her mana was at its peak. Even if we fight her, we may find her hard to deal with. Who knew that Yue Hongyan is this powerful?"
"If she continues to progress at this rate, her future is limitless."
During the Spiritual Conference of Huanghai, Yue Hongyan took the title as the top Foundation Establishment stage disciple. While her fame gradually increased and people started to recognize her, she wasn't as eye-catching as she was only in the Foundation Establishment stage.
Today, she defeated a late-Aurous Core stage disciple of the Great Void Sect with only an early-Aurous Core stage mastery. Her name would spread throughout the Divine Lands.
"I am anticipating the fight between the Shi brothers more and more," sighed someone in the crowd. "It's a shame I didn't get to see the fight between Wang Lin and the elder Shi. I bet that was even more exciting."
The gaze of the person next to him turned towards the direction of the Shi Family Mansion in Xiling City and said, "Just now, the Xuan Lin Holy Man looked towards the direction of the Shi Family Mansion. Could something be happening there?"
Indeed, something was happening there.
At that moment, a handsome youth with long black hair that came down his shoulders stood in the front hall of the Shi Family Mansion. He was surrounded by a group of people.
The lowest mastery of those surrounding him was the Aurous Core stage. There were some Nascent Soul stage grandmasters too and no lack of powerful late-Nascent Soul stage strongmen.
However, their expressions were all very serious at that moment. They faced the youth carefully and the tension in the air was palpable.
The front of the hall appeared covered in light and fog. In the light and fog, one could see runes. That was the protective spell formation of the Shi Family Mansion. At that moment, it was on stand-by.
The young man was, of course, Shi Tianhao. Earlier on, he was the half-dead Xiao Budian whom his parents tried to save him by fighting their way out of the Shi Family Mansion.
The members of the Shi Family knew that he was reborn. However, when he once again appeared before them in their home, everyone still fell into a shocked silence.
Some of them found it awkward and shameful. Some of them were tearful and some of them were absolutely terrified.
At the same time, some of them brimmed with hostility. "Shi Tianhao, don't forget that no matter who you acknowledge as your master, the blood that coursed through your veins is the blood of the Shi Family. As someone of a later generation, how can you appear before our doorstep as if you are here to seek vengeance? If your parents, or even your grandfather, were here, they would severely reprimand you till you know the meaning of 'respect'!"
Shi Tianhao gazed at him calmly as his body trembled. A powerful force came from his body and in a matter of seconds, rushed before the Nascent Soul stage grandmaster, sending him flying.
The rest were both shocked and furious. However, only two Nascent Soul stage grandmasters were able to react on time, two golden dragons flew and sliced their way through space.
A whirl appeared behind Shi Tianhao which turned into a black hole. It then swallowed the two golden dragons.
The two Shi Family grandmasters were furious. Just as they were about to attack, Shi Tianhao punched out and yet it appeared that he had never moved at all.
His retreat was well-executed. He escaped the attack radius of his enemies.
Shi Tianhao stood with his hands behind his back and a neutral expression on his face. To him, it was as if he did nothing extraordinary.
However, the two Nascent Soul stage grandmasters were seriously hurt by him. Their mana had been knocked clean out by Shi Tianhao and their nascent souls too shook in fear. Their internal organs appeared to have swapped positions and they were completely immobile.
"Earlier on, you did not personally hurt me and so, I'll spare you your lives. The punch is for your rudeness," Shi Tianhao said lightly.
Every single Nascent Soul stage grandmaster in the Shi Family took a deep breath. They could all see that Shi Tianhao possessed the ability to kill their compatriot. He did show mercy here.
However, to be beaten up by someone who could be their grandson or even their great-grandson was humiliating.
Strictly speaking, no one in the Shi Family had seen the person with their own eyes before. However, he was like a giant mountain crushing above everyone's head.
Furthermore, the senior of the young boy before him managed to kill numerous Nascent Soul stage cultivators of the Yu Family with his late-Aurous Core stage mastery, including three late-Nascent Soul stage grandmasters.
Who could guarantee that Shi Tianhao did not possess similar powers?
In that case, even with the protective spell formation of the Shi Family Mansion, their safety could not be assured. They would need an Immortal Soul stage cultivator to kill this young boy who was no older than 13.
However, ever since he returned from the battle with the Yu Family, the head of the Shi Family, an Immortal Soul Second Level cultivator, Shi Wu, kept his silence. No matter how much his fellow family members argued with respect to the governance of the Shi Family, Shi Wu never expressed any of his own opinions.
Without Shi Wu's approval, no one in the Shi Family dared attack Shi Tianhao.
Furthermore, there were still a group of people in the Shi Family that pitied Shi Tianhao.
Shi Tianhao did not care much for everyone's reaction. Instead, his gaze fell upon a middle-aged man before him.
The middle-aged man was of above average build. His face was handsome and his gaze was ageless but brimming with a certain type of sharpness. He stood at the center of the crowd. While he was the not the most senior in the Shi Family, he was a late-Nascent Soul stage cultivator and everyone treated him as their core.
If one were to look at him carefully, one would see an uncanny resemblance between Shi Tianyi and him.
The middle-aged man looked at Shi Tianhao seriously and said, "Tianhao, it is rare for you to come home. However, for you to enter into a conflict with your own family members immediately, it isn't all that apt. You suffered much for someone of your age. However, after you joined the Master of the Celestial Sect, surely he taught you basic etiquette?"
"Big Uncle jests," said Shi Tianhao quietly. "The Celestial Sect of Wonders taught me basic decorum and etiquette, of course. However, the pre-condition for this is that the other party must know about these etiquettes too. Of course, it doesn't matter what my master taught me. You need to know only one thing."
"As a disciple of my master, I respect everyone who respects me. As for the rest...," Shi Tianhao smiled slightly. "When friends come, I shall entertain them with the best wine. When wolves and leopards come, I shall receive them with knives and swords. It is that simple."
His gaze was vibrant but yet, everyone felt a chill down their spines. "Earlier on, none of you viewed me as your own flesh and blood. So don't ever bring that up again. Today, I come only to collect what my parents and my grandfather left behind. I have no intention of rejoining the Shi Family."
"However, I did hear something else," Shi Tianhao stared at the middle-aged man. "Big Uncle implied earlier that the Shi Family is allied with the Great Void Sect and hence, viewed the Celestial Sect of Wonders as a threat?"
The middle-aged man was Shi Tianyi's father. He supported his own son and hence, he told his family members to be united in their stance and support the Great Void Sect. All opposing voices must be silent as the Shi Family threw their weight behind Shi Tianyi.
Some people were unhappy with the events many years on as they felt that it was way too bloody. However, after Shi Tianhao's family left, coupled with Shi Tianyi's meteoric rise, the mainstream opinion of the Shi Family sided with Shi Tianyi.
Yet, with the rebirth of Shi Tianhao and the ascendancy of the Celestial Sect of Wonders and the destruction of Shi Tianyi's main supporters, the Yu Family, many people began to waver in their stance.
After Shi Tianyi was blinded in one eye, a great number of them considered changing sides.
Shi Tianyi had the support of the Great Void Sect and everyone looked at him favorably. Even the Radical Faction of the Great Void Sect, the Mount Shu Sword Sect and the Great Thunderclap Temple viewed him with respect.
However, the Celestial Sect of Wonders and Shi Tianhao could not be underestimated as well. While most people would not change their stance overnight, many of them were inclined towards a more neutral position.
The middle-aged man did not want that to happen. Hence, he called for a family meeting and discussed the matter with the major members of the Yu Family.
However, as Shi Wu's attitude was unclear, many people also had unclear opinions. The efforts of the middle-aged man were hence limited.
Just as he vexed over this issue, Shi Tianhao presented himself before them.
"Big Uncle cares for me," Shi Tianhao arched his neck and stared at the middle-aged man in a crooked half-smile. "I wonder if Big Uncle cares about my current mastery? Do you want to have a go at me and find out for my dear 'brother'?"
(Translator's Note: While Shi Tianyi is technically Shi Tianhao's cousin, it is common in Chinese families to use fraternal forms of address for one's cousins too)