A storm came to an end when the scions of the great families knelt and apologized to Xia Ping.
The banquet went on as usual for another half hour, but no one there was in the mood anymore. They merely went through the motions before bringing the evening to a close.
Xia Ping, meanwhile, returned home in high spirits.
For Qin Muyang, however, it had been a humiliating night. He was still seething with anger, and he would probably never forget such a disgrace for the rest of his life...
Late that night, only Qin Muyang and his father, Qin Fei, were in the study of the Qin Family mansion. Father and son sat by candlelight, talking through the night.
"Dad."
Qin Muyang gritted his teeth, his face twisted with resentment. "I'm a son of the Qin Family, its direct-line heir. In all of Tianshui City, only a handful of families can compare to us."
"And that boy? His family's been nothing but country bumpkins for eighteen generations. He's a commoner."
"But you forced me to kneel and apologize to him. It was a disgrace—not just to me, Qin Muyang, but to the entire Qin Family! How could you do that?"
He couldn't understand it. Even if he had been in the wrong, he didn't believe he deserved such humiliation—kneeling before Xia Ping and apologizing in front of so many people.
"Enough!"
Qin Fei glared at his son. "Do you even know what kind of people get to join the Giant Corporation?"
"Geniuses. The kind you only see once in decades. Future King Realm powerhouses, without a doubt!"
"Do you want to bring disaster upon the Qin Family by offending someone like that?"
Qin Muyang gritted his teeth, his expression dark. "So what if he's a genius? So what if