The Whole Hall Was Shaken

Inside the hall, you could hear a pin drop.

Lin Hai's casual "Is he really that powerful?" struck everyone's hearts like an invisible hammer, especially Ge Ye and Nalan Yanran.

The shock on Ge Ye's face was quickly replaced by searing humiliation.

As an elder of the Yunlan Sect and a Seven-Star Great Spirit Master, where in the Gama Empire was he not treated with reverence?

Yet today, he had been forced back by the sheer presence of someone who looked young, and that person had even dismissed the Yunlan Sect as worthless!

"Arrogant brat! Hiding your face? Show me what you really look like!" Ge Ye roared, unleashing every last wisp of the white spiritual energy within him.

He curled his hands together, and his sharp spiritual energy gathered into a wind spike. With a piercing whistle, it shot straight toward Lin Hai's face!

Profound Tier Low Grade Spiritual Skill—Mystic Wind Pierce!

Ge Ye had unleashed this strike in a fit of rage. It was powerful enough to seriously injure—or even kill—a Great Spirit Master!

"Lin Hai, look out!" Xiao Zhan cried from the seat of honor, instinctively starting to rise.

The three elders' faces changed dramatically as well. None of them had expected Ge Ye to dare make a direct attempt on someone's life in the Xiao Clan's hall!

Yet in the face of this fierce attack, Lin Hai's gaze didn't waver in the slightest.

He simply raised his right hand at his leisure and extended his index finger, lightly tapping the wind spike hurtling toward him.

There was no earth-shattering clash of energy, no dazzling burst of spiritual light.

The Mystic Wind Pierce, which held the full force of a Seven-Star Great Spirit Master, shattered into pieces without a sound the instant it touched Lin Hai's fingertip, like the most fragile glass striking divine iron!

It turned into the purest particles of wind energy and vanished in an instant.

It was as if that deadly Dou Technique had never been more than a soap bubble, ready to burst at the slightest touch.

"What?!" Ge Ye's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, his face full of disbelief.

His strongest attack had just been shattered by a single tap of the other man's finger?

How absurd! How terrifyingly powerful!

Before he could recover from his shock, Lin Hai's calm gaze finally settled on him.

Just one glance.

Yet Ge Ye felt as if a mountain ten thousand feet tall had crashed down upon his soul!

It was like being fixed in the sights of a peerless beast from the primordial wilds!

Pfft—!

Unable to withstand that terrifying pressure, which seemed to come from the very essence of life and soul, Ge Ye's body shuddered violently. He spat out a great mouthful of blood. His face turned as white as paper, and the spiritual energy around him withered away like air leaking from a punctured balloon.

He staggered backward again and again, then finally crashed to the ground with a thud. He stared at Lin Hai in boundless terror, his body trembling uncontrollably.

One look! Just one look had left a Seven-Star Great Spirit Master gravely injured and utterly unable to fight back!

Wh-what level of existence was this? A Spirit King? No! Even a Spirit King couldn't do this so easily! Could he be... a Spirit Emperor?!

At the thought, Ge Ye's soul quivered, and a boundless chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head!

Nalan Yanran, standing nearby, had already gone pale with fright. Her lovely face was completely drained of color.

She hurriedly crouched down to support Ge Ye, her own delicate body trembling faintly.

Her greatest support, Elder Ge, couldn't even withstand a single look from the other man?

Was this young man really Xiao Yan's uncle?! How could someone so terrifying be part of the Xiao Clan?!

The entire Xiao Clan hall fell into deathly silence.

Every member of the Xiao Clan, including their leader Xiao Zhan and the three elders, stared wide-eyed at this earth-shattering scene, their minds completely blank.

The three elders who had earlier scolded Xiao Zhan and bowed obsequiously to the Yunlan Sect were now so frightened that their legs went weak. Cold sweat soaked through their robes, and they looked at Lin Hai with awe and lingering fear.

Hidden in the shadows at the back, Xiao Yan clutched the black ring in his hand. His handsome face was filled with shock.

His uncle... was really this powerful?

And Xun Er, who had been quietly standing beside Xiao Yan the whole time, had already withdrawn the wisp of golden flame at her fingertip, so faint it had been barely noticeable.

Her clear eyes, serene as a blue lotus, now held a gravity and curiosity unlike any she'd ever shown. She gazed deeply at Lin Hai's back, as though trying to see right through him.

Lin Hai paid no heed to the others' shock. He walked over to Ge Ye, who lay on the ground, and the terrified Nalan Yanran.

He bent slightly and picked up the ancient jade box that had fallen when Ge Ye lost his strength.

He opened the lid. Inside lay the Qi Gathering Powder, glowing with a faint azure light.

Lin Hai picked up between two fingers this Fourth-Grade pill, one that could have drawn countless powers into a frenzy across the Gama Empire. He glanced at it casually, and the look of disdain at the corner of his mouth grew more pronounced.

"You brought this to break off the engagement..." He shook his head gently, his tone indifferent. "Are you insulting my nephew, or your own Yunlan Sect?"

Before the words had even faded, he tightened his fingers slightly.

Crack!

With a faint snap, the precious Fourth-Grade Qi Gathering Powder crumbled between his fingers as easily as dirt, falling in a pale blue shower of powder through the gaps in his hand.

Lin Hai's expression didn't change in the slightest as he casually destroyed a Fourth-Grade pill, as though he had merely crushed an insignificant grain of sand.

He looked at Nalan Yanran's bloodless face, his voice calm yet carrying an unquestionable authority. "Have you remembered what I said?"

Nalan Yanran's delicate body trembled. Under the gaze of those eyes, deep as a sea of stars, all her pride and courage were utterly crushed, leaving only instinctive fear.

She nodded with difficulty, her voice dry and shaking. "I-I'll remember."

"Good." Lin Hai straightened and no longer looked at them. "Take him and get out. Go back and repeat my words to Yun Shan: the initiative in this engagement now rests with my nephew. If he has any objections..."

Lin Hai paused. His voice suddenly turned icy, and an invisible killing intent filled the entire hall. Everyone felt as though they'd been dropped into an ice cellar, their blood nearly freezing.

"Let him come to the Xiao Clan and argue with me in person."

Nalan Yanran was scared out of her wits. She wouldn't dare linger for even a moment.

She struggled to help Ge Ye to his feet, and the two of them fled the Xiao Clan hall in utter disarray, crawling over one another as if a primordial beast were chasing them.

Only after they had disappeared beyond the gates did the terrifying pressure and icy killing intent that had enveloped the hall recede like the tide.

Inside the hall, silence still reigned.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the young man standing with his hands behind his back, his silhouette seeming to rival heaven and earth.

Xiao Zhan opened his mouth, his throat dry. For a moment, he had no idea what to say.

The three elders were even more silent, huddled off to one side and hardly daring to breathe.

Lin Hai slowly turned around. His gaze passed over everyone and finally came to rest on the handsome young man at the back.

The coldness and authority on his face melted away like snow. In their place was a smile, complicated and hard to read, yet touched with warmth.

He walked toward Xiao Yan, one step at a time.

Each step seemed to fall in time with the heartbeat of everyone present.

At last, he stopped before Xiao Yan, taking in the shock and humiliation still lingering in the young man's eyes, along with a faint glimmer of hope.

Lin Hai reached out and gently patted Xiao Yan's shoulder. His voice was warm and firm, ringing clearly through the silent hall:

"Xiao Yan, don't be afraid."

"I don't care what happened before. But from today onward..."

"With your uncle here, no one in this world will ever bully you again."

"Your uncle will help you take back, with your own hands, the dignity you lost!"

As his words fell, Xiao Yan's body shuddered. He stared blankly at the familiar face before him, his eyes reddening despite himself.

The grievances and resentment that had built up over the years, together with the shock of the moment, choked him up until he couldn't utter a single word.

And the black ring on his finger...

Yao Chen's almost groaning voice reverberated wildly inside the ring. "He... he actually... This kid! Since when did he have an uncle this ridiculous?! A Spirit Saint! Damn it! This world has gone crazy!"