What Exactly Is Young Master Lu Yang's Background?

The silence in the hall was oppressive, making it hard to breathe.

The lamps on the wall burned quietly, their dim and steady light casting the shadows of the assembled people onto the gray-blue wall.

Li Feng knelt on the cold jade floor tiles, cold sweat trickling down his forehead, nose, and chin before finally falling to the ground.

He lowered his head, not daring to look at Li Nanfeng.

He had said everything he needed to say; now, the patriarch's decision would determine his life or death.

The silence did not last long.

Li Nanfeng looked down at the young man kneeling before him; his wrinkled face revealed no emotion.

He spoke slowly, his voice hoarse and even. "Li Feng."

Li Feng shuddered and shouted, "Li Feng is here!"

"You are one of the most talented young members of my Li Household, with the potential to become Golden Core True Person in the future..." Li Nanfeng's tone was flat, but he paused here, a faint trace of regret flashing in his cloudy eyes, "What a pity..."

Li Feng's heart sank, and the last trace of color drained from his face at a visible speed.

Despair surfaced in his eyes.

... Does the patriarch still intend to kill him?

He bit his lip hard, so hard that he tasted a metallic, sweet flavor.

Then he took a deep breath and said, trembling, "Li Feng... understands! It was Li Feng's negligence that plunged the Li Household into the brink of extinction! Whatever punishment the Ancestor may impose, Li Feng... will accept it."

Li Nanfeng looked at Li Feng, his cloudy eyes slightly opening and closing.

After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "Your biggest mistake was that after bidding farewell to Young Master Lu Yang, when Li Yao showed his resentment, you failed to control Li Yao, and you also failed to inform the clan about this matter immediately."

Li Feng closed his eyes, knelt on the ground, and said in a voice filled with fear and guilt, "Li Feng understands! If we can quell Young Master Lu Yang's anger... Ancestor may take Li Feng's life."

On both sides of the main hall, the heads of the Li Household looked at Li Feng kneeling in the center, each with a complicated expression.

Li Feng's ability to enter the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect, and even his entry into the inner sect, demonstrates that his talent is among the best of his generation.

He is considered one of the strongest geniuses among the younger generation of the Li Household.

The Li Household originally had high hopes for him and invested a lot of resources in him.

Now that Li Feng has said this, they can't help but feel a mix of emotions.

To be honest, Li Feng can't be entirely blamed for this; the blame lies with the Li Household for having such an unfilial son as Li Yao.

An elder of the Golden Core clan, sitting not far to Li Nanfeng's left, opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak up for Li Feng, but ultimately said nothing.

The Li Household has survived to this day because clan rules are paramount.

Li Feng's mistake this time was indeed too big.

"However..." Li Nanfeng's voice suddenly changed, "Your interaction with Young Master Lu Yang after the auction was quite proper. Therefore, you have a way out."

Li Feng shuddered, abruptly raising his head, his eyes flashing with a mixture of astonishment and ecstasy. "Ancestor! Tell me! What should I do?!"

If one could live, who would want to die?

Li Nanfeng glanced coldly at the despondent Li Qifeng and An Yan, and said, "Take the heads of Li Yao's three generations of relatives and go to Young Master Lu Yang. If he forgives the Li Household, you can live; otherwise..."

What if they did something else? Li Nanfeng didn't say, but Li Feng understood.

Otherwise, the entire Li Household might not be able to bear this price.

Upon hearing this, Li Qifeng and An Yan, who had remained silent, both trembled violently.

Li Qifeng suddenly kowtowed repeatedly, his head slamming against the stone slab with loud thuds that echoed in the silent hall.

His voice trembled as he pleaded urgently, "Ancestor! Li Yao's matter is due to my wife and I's failure to properly raise our son! We deserve to die! But the others are innocent! Ancestor! Ancestor, please show leniency!"

An Yan also broke down, crying out in terror, "Ancestor! Nan'er is still young! She doesn't understand anything! And Grandfather... Grandfather was Golden Core True Person, the pillar of our Li Household! How could he die so undignified?!"

She turned her head sharply and looked at an elderly man with long gray hair sitting next to Li Nanfeng.

The old man was slightly stronger than Li Nanfeng, and his shoulders and back were not completely hunched. From the moment the three of them were dragged into the main hall, he kept his eyes closed and did not say a word from beginning to end.

He was Li Qifeng's great-grandfather, Li Ao.

Hearing An Yan's plea, he slowly opened his eyes, his aged and cloudy pupils calm and still.

The light from the lamps inside the hall shone on his gaunt cheekbones, casting two deep, long shadows.

He said slowly, "I was the one who brought this up."

After saying this, a hint of regret flashed in Li Ao's eyes, then his expression turned ferocious as he slowly said, "Yao'er's temperament... I also bear responsibility. I shouldn't have been so soft-hearted, I shouldn't have let you indulge him..."

The hall was deathly silent.

The wrinkles on Li Nanfeng's deeply lined face seemed to have deepened even further.

The expressions of the other Golden Core cultivators from the Li Household also twisted at that moment.

They had lived together under the same roof of the Li Household for hundreds of years. Although they would compete for resources and influence among their respective branches, their loyalty to the Lineage remained the same.

Moreover, their friendship, which has lasted for hundreds of years, is naturally very strong.

They were naturally saddened to see Li Ao die.

Li Nanfeng closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again after a long while, his voice hoarse and slow. "Ao'er, go with Li Feng. Take with you the Li Household's Mystic Water Flood Dragon Binding Flag, Mystic Yin Cold Soul Crystal, and five million Low-Grade Spirit Stones. If Young Master Lu Yang is magnanimous, perhaps... you will have a chance to survive."

Upon hearing this, Li Ao's expression changed drastically. He abruptly turned to look at Li Nanfeng: "Ancestor! My life is not as valuable as the Mystic Water Flood Dragon Binding Flag!"

The other Golden Core elders also frowned.

The Mystic Water Flood Dragon Binding Flag is one of the two great treasures of the Li Household, and is a top-grade Law Treasure.

Even among the Golden Core Realm cultivators, only a few possess Law Treasures of this caliber.

The Li Household's accumulated wealth over hundreds of years amounted to only two items.

Li Ao felt it wasn't worth it to exchange a top-grade Law Treasure for Li Ao life.

After all, the root of this matter was caused by his own blood relatives.

Li Nanfeng gently shook his head, looking at Li Ao, and said calmly, "Law Treasure is good, but someone has to use it. Moreover, for someone like Young Master Lu Yang, if we want to quell his anger, we must show some sincerity. Otherwise... he may not let us off the hook."

Upon hearing this, Li Ao fell silent.

Li Feng, who had remained silent until now, finally couldn't help but cautiously ask, "Ancestor, what exactly is the background of this... this Young Master Lu Yang?"

All he knew was that today's chaos and turmoil were caused by Lu Yang.

However, he truly did not know the identity of this outer disciple who was respectfully addressed as "Young Master."

Li Nanfeng glanced at Li Feng, a slight glint in his cloudy eyes.

After hesitating for a moment, he slowly said, "I really should tell you... If you can gain Young Master Lu Yang's forgiveness, you must find a way to turn enemies into friends..."

After saying this, a hint of fear appeared on his face, and he slowly said, "Regarding Li Yao's matter, it was the Grand Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect who personally intervened. The Golden Rainbow Sword Sect's attitude is very clear: if we cannot quell Young Master Lu Yang's anger, they will abandon us directly."

Li Feng's eyes widened, and he felt a chill run from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, sending a shiver down his spine.

He swallowed hard, his voice hoarse. "... The Golden Rainbow Sword Sect will just abandon us?"

After all, the Li family was a Golden Core clan under the rule of the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect, and they provided the sect with a considerable amount of resources every year.

Even without the Li Household, the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect can still support the Wang Household, the Chen Household, and so on...

However, retraining always takes time and money.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect will not stand idly by and watch the Li Household be wiped out.

Even if it's just to let the other side vent their anger, make the Li Household suffer some losses, and preserve some of their strength, Li Feng can accept it.

But giving up completely is something Li Feng cannot understand.

Doesn't this mean that a Golden Core cultivation family like the Li family isn't worth making enemies of the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect and Young Master Lu Yang?

Not only was Li Feng utterly shocked, but apart from a few Golden Core elders of the Li Household, the Foundation Establishment Realm leaders on both sides who were previously unaware of the inside story also changed their expressions.

Some people gasped, while others instinctively gripped the handrails tighter.

The truth is far more terrifying than they imagined.

Li Nanfeng showed no surprise at Li Feng and the others' performance. He slowly said, "The information I managed to gather, even at the cost of my reputation, is that this Young Master Lu Yang has two Golden Core Realm protectors, both geniuses in their respective realms. One of them has reached the Peak Golden Core stage and is probably unmatched in that Golden Core Realm. Moreover... Young Master Lu Yang's flying Law Artifact is suspected to be Supreme-Grade Law Treasure or a low-grade Spirit Treasure."

The hall fell silent once more.

Li Feng and the other Foundation Establishment Realm leaders of the Li Household were all dumbfounded.

They finally understood why Li Nanfeng and the elders at the Golden Core Realm were so terrified.

Li Feng snapped out of his daze. His lips trembled, and he slowly said, "Li Feng understands. If I cannot obtain Young Master Lu Yang's forgiveness, Li Feng will commit suicide in front of him."