Chapter 153: He is the Grand Uncle-Master?!!

Ye Jiuyao’s voice was not loud, yet it exploded in everyone’s minds like a peal of thunder.

It took quite a while for Xing Hui to snap back to his senses.

However, the dullness, astonishment, and confusion in his eyes betrayed him. At this moment, he was thoroughly panicked, because the number one genius of his own clan—a pinnacle Sage—had actually been defeated by someone at the mid-Sage stage, and moreover, defeated by someone wielding Stellar martial arts.

One could say it was a supreme humiliation!

The Stellar Clan had actually lost to an outsider.

And to top it off, an outsider who had "stolen" their techniques.

Xing Hui’s expression turned utterly gloomy and dark as ink. He let out a cold snort and glared at Ye Jiuyao.

Meanwhile, someone had gone to help Xing Yanyu up. By now, the young woman had completely lost her previous arrogance, haughtiness, and any shred of fighting spirit.

Her eyes remained entirely vacant, as if she simply could not fathom why she had lost.

"Trash Hui, is it? Don't go refusing to accept this. For the sake of your old age, I won't go adding fuel to the fire... well, I won't mention it to Xing Lingzi."

Ye Jiuyao had originally intended to say "embellish the story," but seeing the strange expressions on everyone's faces, he quickly changed his words on the spot.

At this, Xing Hui’s face shifted from dark to purple, and finally to a blazing red. It was abundantly clear that he had been infuriated by Ye Jiuyao.

"You... you unmitigated bastard! Stealing our techniques was bad enough, yet you dare to be so arrogant? Someone come here!"

Driven past the point of anger into humiliation, Xing Hui pointed a trembling right hand at Ye Jiuyao, so furious that he could barely string a coherent sentence together.

"Go ahead and arrest me then, beat me black and blue if you like. Let's see if Xing Lingzi doesn't skin you alive when he finds out."

Ye Jiuyao said with a carefree shrug. Instantly, the people who had wanted to step forward hesitated; after all, judging by his expression, he didn't seem to be lying.

"Tie him up! Tie him up for me right now! I'm going to petition the Old Ancestor immediately!"

Xing Hui said through gritted teeth. The guards immediately stepped forward to seal Ye Jiuyao’s vital energy and bound him securely with ropes.

Ye Jiuyao cooperated very willingly, a smile remaining plastered on the corners of his mouth. Far from looking like a bound prisoner awaiting trial, he looked rather like a distinguished guest invited to a feast.

"Hmph, let's see how long you can keep smiling."

"Drag him down to the dungeons."

"Understood."

Someone immediately escorted Ye Jiuyao away to the place specifically designated by the Stellar Clan for imprisoning criminals, while Xing Hui flicked his wide sleeve and strode off in a huff.

Left behind, the members of the Stellar Clan looked at one another in dismay, and a wave of gossiping broke out among them.

"Do you think that kid really knows the Old Ancestor?!"

"Who knows? Whether he knows him or not is none of our business. But Yanyu, on the other hand..."

"Yeah, what a pity..."

"If Yanyu had won, she would have established an invincible confidence, and her subsequent cultivation would undoubtedly have been much smoother. Such a waste..."

Many sighed with regret over Xing Yanyu, considering she was, after all, the foremost prodigy of the younger generation in the Stellar Clan.

Having grown up sheltered from the cradle, her combat experiences had consisted solely of sparring with fellow clan members. Yet today, pitted against an outsider in a real fight, she had suffered a crushing defeat.

For someone who had never weathered any storms, such a blow could be fatal—all the more so for a young woman.

With a humiliated expression on her face and supported by her clansmen, Xing Yanyu vanished from everyone's sight in a dejected daze.

...

Somewhere within the Hantian Clan.

"Hahaha... Old man Han, how about that? Isn't my disciple utterly badass?"

"Don't you feel absolutely furious?"

"Don't you just find me immensely punchable?"

"Hmph, our two clans were originally one family back then, but what about you lot? You actually resorted to a covert maneuver behind our backs and didn't even bother to tell us, causing our martial arts techniques to leak away. Look at you now."

"And the best part? This is my disciple, not yours. Hahaha..."

Sitting opposite Xing Lingzi was an old man whose age appeared indistinguishable from his own. His aura was deeply restrained within, yet it exuded an instinctive sense of dread.

"Hmph, Xing Lingzi, how is it that you're still as annoying as you were back then?"

"Well? Are you ticked off? Do you want him to acknowledge you as his master too?"

"Hmph, get lost. Not interested."

"Han Cangzi, why are you still so obsessed with saving face? So what if you lost to us back then? Is it shameful? Now I've brought you a fine disciple to share with you, and you're giving me the cold shoulder. I am very displeased..."

"What? You want to throw hands?"

Han Cangzi slanted his eyes, a fighting spirit blazing forth within them.

He sat poised and eager, just waiting for a single word from Xing Lingzi.

"Han Cangzi, you stubborn, incorrigible, old undead thing. Hmph..."

"I'm leaving. Going back to make that kid kowtow as my disciple, and I'll come back next time to rub it in your face."

Xing Lingzi spoke with utter bluntness. Han Cangzi gave him a peculiar look before impatiently waving a hand to signal him to hurry up and leave.

Once he confirmed that Xing Lingzi had truly departed, Han Cangzi felt a profound sense of misery wash over him.

"Damn it, Xing Lingzi, how on earth is your luck so good that you actually managed to unearth a sapling like this? If that projection stone is genuine, I'm afraid the Stellar Clan is about to rise to prominence once again..."

"We've bickered our entire lives; are we really going to lose in the end after all?"

Han Cangzi muttered to himself, feeling utterly aggrieved.

To say he wasn't envious would be a lie. After all, having someone inherit a legacy—especially someone of supreme talent—meant the absolute rise of a clan.

...

The Stellar Clan.

Xing Hui stood rigidly outside the dwelling of Xing Lingzi, putting on the facade of an obedient child as he respectfully awaited the Old Ancestor's return.

A moment later, spatial ripples fluctuated in the air.

"Junior Xing Hui pays respects to the Old Ancestor."

"Hmm?"

Xing Lingzi’s face bore an undisguised expression of irritation. His earlier breezy and detached demeanor had merely been an act; naturally, he had relished the chance to see the rival he had bickered with for a lifetime get taken down a peg.

However, things had not gone entirely according to his wishes.

"Speak, what is it?!" Xing Lingzi glared at Xing Hui and demanded.

Xing Hui replied respectfully, "An outsider broke into our clan grounds and injured our disciples..."

Xing Hui stated it as concisely as possible, but Xing Lingzi’s eyebrows furrowed deeply, as if a sudden foreboding thought had crossed his mind.

"Was it a very handsome young man? The kind who looks at first glance like an absolute paragon of righteousness?"

"Uh..."

How was Xing Hui supposed to answer that?

"B-Barely... I suppose?"

"Was he extremely powerful? The kind who looks destined to outshine the entire younger generation?"

Xing Hui: "..."

How the hell was he supposed to answer this? It didn't quite sound like the same person, yet somehow it matched the punk he had just locked up.

This realization sent a wave of panic through Xing Hui.

"Speak! What did you do?! If anything happens to my disciple, you, the clan leader, can just wait to be severely punished!"

Catching Xing Hui's expression, Xing Lingzi suddenly sensed a disaster and snapped at him.

"H-He... He is your Junior Grand-Uncle?!"

No matter how Xing Hui racked his brain, he could never have linked such a punk to his own Old Ancestor's disciple—even if that brat had been shouting the Old Ancestor's name at the top of his lungs.

"You absolute bastard! If anything happens to him, your days as clan leader are numbered!"

Just moments ago, he had gone to gloat before Han Cangzi, and now, his own descendant was about to murder his disciple.

The fury he had swallowed and suppressed back at Han Cangzi's place now surged to its absolute peak.

"Still not leading the way to release my disciple?!"

Xing Lingzi chided harshly. Trembling with trepidation, Xing Hui acknowledged the order and hurriedly led Xing Lingzi toward the dungeon.

Suddenly, Xing Hui's expression shifted drastically.