Hearing this, Xia Ba's jaw almost dropped to the ground:
Was this still the same Xia Wantang he used to know?
How could going to the Azure Cloud Palace make her act like a completely different person? Could she have been possessed by some weird entity?
Xia Wantang leaped lightly, her body landing gracefully on the ground.
Taking advantage of everyone's momentary daze, she bowed to Xia Renhe:
"Father, the Palace Lord granted me family-visit leave, which is why I've returned."
"I'll be busy with cultivation and the Sect Grand Competition later, so I might not return home for a long time."
Xia Renhe stepped forward and patted her shoulder, his face beaming with joy:
"It's good as long as you're fine, it's good as long as you're fine. Your mother is inside the house, quickly go tell her this good news."
As a father, Xia Renhe only cared that his daughter was doing well; he didn't need Xia Wantang to be extraordinarily talented or outstanding.
Hearing that the Palace Lord had granted her family-visit leave, he assumed she must be doing quite well in the Azure Cloud Palace, and felt deeply relieved.
Just at that moment, an unpleasant male voice rang out, belonging to none other than Xia Ba, who had been ignored by the two of them for a long time:
"Hold on, Xia Wantang, I haven't said the two of you can leave yet."
Xia Wantang turned around and saw Xia Ba looking at her with a lecherous expression.
Feeling disgusted in her heart, she frowned and said:
"Right, and you as well."
"In broad daylight, you actually punish family servants at will. What crime did this maid commit to deserve such a punishment?"
As soon as she stepped through the door, she had smelled a heavy stench of blood.
In Xia Ba's impression, Xia Wantang was still that same useless vase from before, so he let out an evil laugh, his attitude arrogant and teasing:
"Your Young Master here flirted with a beauty, and the beauty wouldn't comply, so she got punished. Could it be that Wantang, my dear sister, is jealous?"
What the hell, jealous!
Goosebumps rose all over Xia Wantang's body, and her aversion to Xia Ba deepened:
In the original text, the Xia family was hardly ever mentioned, so she didn't know much about what kind of people the members of the Xia family were.
She only understood from the original owner's own memories that the head of the Xia family was named Xia Yingwu, of unknown age, with cultivation at the middle stage of the Mystic Martial Realm, and he had two sons.
The eldest son, Xia Qing, looked scholarly and had a somewhat reliable character. At nearly thirty years of age, his cultivation was at the early stage of the Mystic Martial Realm, making him already the descendant with the best talent in the entire Xia family.
The second son was Xia Ba, a shifty-eyed, hugely fat fellow. Aside from harassing good women on ordinary days, he bullied others—a utterly lawless little ruffian.
Moreover, his cultivation was only at the late stage of the Human Martial Realm, not much better than the original owner's.
As for the original owner's parents, Xia Renhe and Liu Wan'er, their cultivation was at the late stage of the Human Martial Realm and the middle stage of the Human Martial Realm respectively, which explained why the original owner's talent was so poor.
Why was it that despite the low cultivation levels of the entire Xia family, they were still able to gain a foothold in Luoxia City?
That was because, a very, very long time ago, the Xia family had indeed produced a Spirit Sovereign Realm expert.
That ancestor had left behind a Defense Formation and a few rare magical treasures in the Xia family.
The Nine Heavens Ice Glaze Hairpin worn on Xia Wantang's head was one of them.
This was also the reason why the Azure Cloud Palace believed Xia Wantang could possess Mystic Martial Realm cultivation:
Since their ancestors had produced high-tier cultivators, perhaps the bloodline had been passed down as well?
As for why the Xia family could now establish themselves in Luoxia City, it was because Luoxia City was practically the most remote place within the East Hill Domain.
The spiritual Qi here was thin, and no high-tier cultivators frequented the area.
She Yunzi, who had appeared nearby previously, had merely been attracted by the Supreme Yin Demonic Physique.
Most of the commoners living in Luoxia City had cultivation at the Human Martial Realm, so even though Xia Ba committed all sorts of atrocities, no one dared to stand up and resist the Xia family.
The other noble families in the city had situations basically similar to the Xia family's, no better off than them.
Therefore, the current situation in Luoxia City was basically set in stone.
Aside from the Xia family, the other two influential noble families within Luoxia City were the Liu Family and the He Family.
Xia Wantang's biological mother, Liu Wan'er, was from a collateral branch of the Liu Family.
Meanwhile, Xia Yingwu's wife, He Qing, was the younger sister of the head of the He Family.
The Xia, Liu, and He families constantly intermarried, and the wealth gap and status gap within Luoxia City grew ever wider.
However, the He and Liu families were unaware of Xia Wantang's true situation, and the Xia family certainly wouldn't broadcast it widely.
So when Xia Wantang was chosen as the Saintess of the Azure Cloud Palace, both families had envied and hated her for a long time while putting on fake smiles with curses in their hearts.
When the Xia family was eventually annihilated by the Azure Cloud Palace, the two families not only didn't feel sad, but instead rejoiced in misfortune:
Going from a tripartite standoff to leaving only two major noble families was a pure profit for them without any losses.
All in all, apart from the commoners, innocent family servants, and the original owner's parents, Xia Wantang liked none of the people in the entire Luoxia City.
If it weren't for coming home to check on the original owner's parents and incidentally teaching the Xia family members a lesson, she wouldn't even have needed this family-visit leave.
Pulling her thoughts back, Xia Wantang spoke in a tone full of disgust:
"Xia Ba, I advise you to release the person immediately, otherwise I'll personally teach you a proper lesson on behalf of the family head in a moment."
Hearing this, Xia Ba looked completely shocked. He pointed at Xia Wantang and, as if mocking her, burst into loud laughter:
"Hahahaha, Xia Wantang, half a year without seeing you and you've got quite a big mouth!"
"Do you really think that by becoming the Saintess of the Azure Cloud Palace, you can fly to the heavens? If not for the Xia family, where would you get that kind of strength!"
"Teach me a lesson? I see your wings have grown stiff and you're refusing to obey!"
With that, Xia Ba picked up the whip from the instrument rack and swung it toward Xia Wantang.
Seeing this, Xia Renhe instinctively wanted to step forward to protect his daughter, but Xia Wantang shook her head at him. Then, lifting her foot, she directly kicked Xia Ba's stout body tumbling to the ground.
"Aiyo!"
Seeing stars, Xia Ba hadn't even reacted yet before Xia Wantang had already snatched the whip from his hand and started lashing him.
"Slap!" "Slap!" "Slap!"
"Aiyo! It hurts so much!"
"Xia Wantang—oh no, Elder Sister Xia, please let me go, aiyo!"
For a time, miserable screams and the sound of whipping echoed endlessly.
Xia Renhe widened his eyes, unable to believe the scene before him:
Was he dreaming? Was this still that quiet and gentle daughter of his?
The other family servants were also deeply astonished: long time no see, and here someone was actively asking to be whipped?
Before you continue