Servants Shut Up

"Impossible. How could Neji possibly know the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms?"

Hyuga Hiashi's eyes held disbelief as he nearly rose to his feet.

His sharp gaze turned to Hyuga Liuhuo beside him.

"Clan Head, rest assured, Hyuga Neji absolutely cannot know the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

Cold sweat dripped down Hyuga Liuhuo's forehead. "During this time, I've been watching him closely—he has never learned any of the Hyuga secret techniques!"

He patted his chest in assurance.

Thinking back to his surveillance over this period.

Hyuga Neji had only ever performed basic, simple training from start to finish.

Even if his strength had improved slightly, it was far from the level required to master the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!

With that thought, he couldn't help but feel relieved again, while casting a cold glare at Hyuga Neji. He had warned him from the very beginning, yet the boy still went his own way!

Once this matter was over, he would definitely teach Hyuga Neji a proper lesson!

"Good."

Hyuga Hiashi nodded, finally at ease.

He had just picked up the teacup in front of him when, the next moment, his pupils abruptly contracted: "How is this possible?!"

He shot to his feet, staring in disbelief at the Training Ground.

Hyuga Neji's figure moved with the grace of a swimming dragon, his motions blending hardness with softness, softness with hardness—every palm strike seamlessly connected. This was unmistakably the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

Each palm struck Hyuga Hinata with sharp precision, producing dull thuds.

But he could tell.

Hyuga Neji had held back, not causing Hinata serious harm—yet it felt like a resounding slap across his own face!

"How did he learn it?!"

Hyuga Hiashi's expression turned grim.

"Hyuga Liuhuo, this is the result of your surveillance!"

The very boy he had obstructed from learning the Hyuga clan's secret techniques had already mastered the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, while Hyuga Hinata, whom he personally taught, had made no progress at all.

This left his face burning with shame.

Especially Neji's final strikes—each palm fiercer and faster than the last!

Even he could find no fault in them.

This was the essence of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

Without guidance from the Main Family, Hyuga Neji had uncovered its secrets on his own and mastered it to this degree. It showed that Neji's talent was no less than his own, perhaps even rivaling Hyuga Tianren from years past!

"Hinata, you still need more training."

Hyuga Neji extended a hand to Hyuga Hinata, pulling her up.

"Your movements are too hesitant. The Gentle Fist isn't just about softness—it has a firm side too. The true essence lies in balancing both!"

His teacher was a member of the Uchiha Clan.

Yet for the sake of this disciple, he had stolen the Hyuga clan's secret techniques, willingly taking such a great risk.

The Hinata before him was his sister, who had never done anything excessive to him and had even secretly helped him.

He couldn't project Hyuga Hiashi's faults onto her.

At this moment.

Hyuga Neji felt a sudden lightness and breadth in his heart, a glimmer of understanding dawning in his eyes.

"Neji, who allowed you to secretly learn the Hyuga clan's secret technique, the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms?!"

Hyuga Liuhuo barked in fury, his eyes burning with anger and resentment.

"This is a secret technique reserved for the Main Family! As a member of the Branch Family, you can only learn the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms after coming of age!"

It was over.

Everything was over.

Today, Neji had made the Main Family lose face. Only by harshly suppressing Neji could the Main Family reclaim its dignity and keep himself from being dismissed!

He stepped forward, already assuming the stance of the Gentle Fist.

"Today, I'll teach you what rules mean!"

But the next moment, Hyuga Hinata stepped in front of Neji:

"This has nothing to do with Neji-nii. It's simply that I'm not skilled enough!"

Hinata's eyes trembled slightly, but her stance was unshakably firm.

"Miss, this has nothing to do with you."

Hyuga Liuhuo wore a calm expression, but his gaze carried little regard.

"Just a talentless member of the Main Family. Now even little Hanabi is showing her own remarkable talent. When they both come of age, Hinata won't be any different from him, a Branch Family member!"

With that, he stepped past Hyuga Hinata, his palm descending with the force of a thunderbolt!

Can't dodge!

Hyuga Neji's face changed abruptly.

Hyuga Liuhuo's attack was too fast, and he was only seven years old, far from possessing the physical strength to match. Even if he could see the move coming, his body couldn't evade it!

One blow, and he would be severely injured!

Heh.

Disappointment flickered in Hyuga Neji's eyes as he swept his gaze across the assembled Main Family members.

No one stopped it.

Only pairs of cold, indifferent stares, as if he—having overstepped his bounds against the Main Family—deserved this punishment. But this was the Main Family's own Clan Tournament. If they wouldn't even let him show his strength, then why had they called him here?

But the next moment.

A figure stood before Hyuga Neji, a hand reaching out lightly. That thunderous palm strike crashed against it like it had struck a mountain, effortlessly blocked.

A dull thud rang out.

A breeze brushed his face. Hyuga Neji's eyes slowly widened. The black-clad youth before him stirred something deep in his heart.

"Te—Teacher, why are you here?"

He stammered in disbelief, "Th—this is the Hyuga Clan's tournament. You... you shouldn't be here."

Young as he was, he understood how absurd and offensive it was for a member of the Uchiha Clan to meddle in the Hyuga Clan's internal competition.

This would affect his teacher!

"Uchiha Siming!"

Hyuga Liuhuo roared. It was this very youth who had humiliated him. If not for Uchiha Siming teaching Hyuga Neji, how could the Main Family's face have been lost? How could his own future have been ruined!

"Entering the Hyuga Clan without any summons—do you know what this means?!"

Uchiha Siming didn't even glance at him.

Instead, he looked at Hyuga Hiashi with a faint, sardonic smile.

"As the clan head of the Hyuga, you allow your underlings to bully a child of only seven years. Is this the breadth of the Hyuga leader's tolerance?"

Ssh—!

Hyuga Liuhuo's face twisted in fury. His body shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow: "What attitude is that! Lord Hiashi is not someone you can casually question!"

His eyes were bloodshot.

One, to display his loyalty. Two, because of Uchiha Siming's contemptuous attitude toward him, as if he were an ant!

Though he was of the Hyuga Branch Family, he was still part of one of the three great clans. Any commoner outside would address him as a noble with respect. What right did Uchiha Siming have to look down on him? His fist was already flying toward Uchiha Siming's face.

"When the master speaks, the servant does not interrupt."

Uchiha Siming's eyes were indifferent, a faint sneer curling at the corner of his mouth. A pair of crimson Three Tomoe Sharingan instantly manifested.

The fist stopped an inch before his pupil. Hyuga Liuhuo's expression went blank, his body trembling.

But that inch of distance was like an insurmountable chasm.

He could not advance a single fraction further!