The Indifferent Zhu Family

Before long, the group was escorted back to the magnificent yet gloomy Zhu Residence.

Passing through layers of heavy walls, they arrived once again at the cold council hall.

In the center of the hall, the head of the Zhu family, Zhu Ganglie, sat upright on his high seat, his expression so dark it seemed as if water could drip from it. Beside him, a young woman dressed in tight black clothing was playfully trimming her nails, eyeing her younger sister—who had just been shoved inside—with the gaze of a cat playing with a mouse.

"Reporting to the Marshal, the people have been brought. Along with this young hero who provided the intelligence." The officer knelt on one knee before Zhu Ganglie.

Tang San stepped forward; though he still wore his mask, his spine was held perfectly straight.

Zhu Ganglie let out a cold snort and waved his hand dismissively. A butler standing to the side held up a heavy silk bag and placed it in front of Tang San.

"Young hero, this is the ten thousand Gold Soul Coin reward. Please, take it."

Zhu Ganglie's voice lacked a shred of warmth. His gaze swept over Gu Tian like a blade before landing back on Tang San. "The clues you provided were timely and saved my Zhu family from losing face. However, the family matters that follow are inconvenient for outsiders to witness. Take your payment and leave!"

Tang San looked at the bag of shimmering gold, his heart racing uncontrollably. He had never seen so much money in this life; it was enough to forge the vast majority of the Tang Sect's core hidden weapons.

He had wanted to stay and watch Gu Tian be executed by the Zhu family, to see him kneeling and begging for mercy. But feeling the terrifying pressure of Zhu Ganglie's Spirit Douluo-level cultivation and the blatant intent to drive him away, he knew that if he stayed any longer, he might not live to spend the money.

Suppressing his inner excitement, Tang San bowed to Zhu Ganglie, then shot a fierce glare at Gu Tian before turning and vanishing into the shadows outside the hall with the ten thousand Gold Soul Coin.

At this moment, the heavy doors of the council hall slammed shut behind them.

Inside the hall, a deathly silence fell, broken only by the rhythmic sound of Zhu Zhuyun trimming her nails, which seemed piercingly sharp in the vast space.

"A daughter grown is like water spilled!"

Zhu Ganglie spoke, his voice like a funeral bell from the abyss. "Zhu Zhuqing. You've grown bold, haven't you? Daring to collude with an outsider and elope. Do you realize that by leaving, you are pushing the reputation of the entire Zhu family into a pit of fire?"

The doors were now completely sealed, and the light grew dim. Zhu Zhuqing did not speak; she merely huddled in Gu Tian's arms. Zhu Ganglie looked down at his second daughter, held in Gu Tian's embrace, his eyes devoid of any paternal warmth, filled instead with the fury of one who had been offended.

"Zhu Zhuqing, I will ask you one more time: where is Dai Mubai?" Zhu Ganglie stepped forward abruptly, the pressure from his Spirit Douluo-level aura causing the stone tiles in the hall to groan under the strain. "You are his fiancée. I heard that the night before he went missing, he ran to your room. Now he has fled, abandoning the dignity of two great families and the iron laws of the Star Luo Imperial Family! And you—not only do you show no remorse, but you elope with some unknown brat?"

Zhu Zhuqing kept her head down, her cold, delicate body trembling slightly in Gu Tian's arms. She said nothing, biting her lower lip until it bled. The despair of being betrayed by her family and treated as a sacrificial lamb by her father transformed into a silent, stubborn defiance.

"Speak!" Zhu Ganglie roared. "Do you know that His Majesty the Emperor has issued a death order? If Dai Mubai does not appear by the end of the year, you, as the other party to the contract, must be executed according to ancient law to be buried alongside that incomplete royal bloodline! Your running away now is dragging the entire Zhu family to the grave with you!"

"The grave?" Gu Tian sneered, a mocking light flickering in his eyes. "To force your own daughter to die for a piece of trash who fled the battlefield—Marshal Zhu, your stature as a family head truly 'opens my eyes'."

Zhu Ganglie's gaze finally landed squarely on Gu Tian. He looked at the youth, who remained calm and unfazed even under the pressure of a Spirit Douluo, and frowned deeply. "Who exactly are you? The Anti-Air Array within Star Luo City is maintained by the Imperial Elite Guard Battalion, yet you managed to infiltrate the Zhu Residence and take someone without a sound. Boy, the common folk do not fight the officials. Reveal your background, and I will spare your life! Otherwise, this council hall shall be your burial ground today!"

Zhu Zhuqing kept her lips tightly sealed. Her eyes, as she looked at Gu Tian, were filled with pleading, as if she did not want him dragged into this deeper quagmire.

She broke free from Gu Tian's embrace and spread her arms, shielding him.

"Heh, still trying to protect this brat even now?"

Zhu Zhuyun, who had been standing to the side with a cold smile, finally moved. Her curvaceous figure, wrapped in tight leather, swayed as she walked forward, her eyes filled with jealousy and spite. "Good sister, it seems you've found a backer outside, daring to ignore Father's questioning. Your courage has certainly grown."

Zhu Zhuyun walked up to the pair, her gaze sweeping over Gu Tian's exceptionally handsome face before landing on Zhu Zhuqing, her tone icy. "Do you think finding a pretty-faced boy will let you escape the fate of the Zhu family? You wench, the family has spent so many years cultivating you, not for you to lose face at a critical moment!"

"Slap—!"

Without warning, Zhu Zhuyun's figure flashed, her right hand tracing an afterimage as she struck Zhu Zhuqing hard across the face.

The crisp sound of the slap echoed through the hall. Zhu Zhuqing, already weak, was knocked out of Gu Tian's arms and fell to the floor, a trickle of blood instantly spilling from the corner of her mouth.

"That slap was to teach you the meaning of status!" Zhu Zhuyun raised her foot to kick Zhu Zhuqing's abdomen. "Colluding with outsiders, ruining the family name, you..."

"You're courting death."

Boom—!

A violent aura, capable of incinerating everything, exploded in the center of the hall without warning. The temperature in the previously cold council hall soared in an instant to a degree that made skin crack, and the air itself rippled and distorted from the extreme heat.

"Where did this wild cat come from, daring to touch the person I protect?"

Accompanied by a proud and lazy shout, a scorching red light shot out from Gu Tian's chest, transforming into a sultry figure in mid-air.

Chiyan's fiery red hair flew wildly, and her dark red leather outfit outlined breathtaking curves. She merely stood there, and the black basalt floor beneath her feet instantly cracked, turning into flowing dark red magma.

"This pressure! A... a Titled Douluo?!"

Zhu Ganglie's face changed drastically, and he retreated several steps in terror. As a level 80-something Spirit Douluo, his perception of the strong was extremely keen. The aura of the red-haired woman before him was bottomless; the absolute suppression originating from the hierarchy of her martial soul caused the Hell Spirit Cat martial soul within his own body to let out a desperate wail.

This was no ordinary Titled Douluo; this was a terrifying existence that had already touched the edge of godhood!

"This is impossible... how could someone of this level be protecting you here!" Zhu Ganglie no longer possessed even a shred of a Marshal's dignity; his hands trembled violently from extreme fear.

Titled Douluo were rare on the Douluo Continent today. In an instant, Zhu Ganglie ran through every fire-type Titled Douluo he knew, thinking it could only be someone from Martial Soul Hall.

Zhu Zhuyun was sent flying by the shockwave of Chiyan's casual gesture, slamming into a stone pillar and vomiting blood, her eyes filled with horror.

Gu Tian walked forward slowly, bending down to help the tear-streaked Zhu Zhuqing up, gently wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth. Then, he turned his head, his eyes cold as he looked at Zhu Ganglie, his tone flat but laced with killing intent: "I will make your entire Zhu family pay for that slap."

"You... what do you want to do!" Cold sweat poured down Zhu Ganglie like rain. He realized that the youth before him was not a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, but a true god capable of easily erasing the Zhu family.

At this moment of life-and-death crisis, Zhu Ganglie's right hand, hidden behind his back, slammed into a secret compartment beneath his throne.

"Beep—!"

A piercing alarm sounded throughout the entire Zhu Residence.

"Elite Guard Battalion! Elder Pavilion! Everyone get out here! We have a powerful enemy invasion!" Zhu Ganglie roared like a madman.

As the alarm sounded, the heavy black iron doors surrounding the council hall burst open. Hundreds of elite private soldiers of the Zhu family, holding Soul-Breaking Heavy Crossbows and exuding deep, powerful auras, flooded in like a tide. Behind them, several powerful spirit power fluctuations, at least at the Spirit Saint level, were rapidly approaching.

Hiding behind his soldiers, Zhu Ganglie roared with feigned bravado: "So what if you are a Titled Douluo? This is Star Luo City! This is the Zhu family's territory! The Anti-Air Array has already been activated; as long as we hold you off, the Imperial reinforcements will arrive immediately!"

Chiyan looked at the mortals who were acting as if facing a great enemy, a cruel and mocking curve appearing on her lips.

"Hold me off?" Chiyan let out a wild, unrestrained laugh, two clusters of Red Lotus Karma Fire, capable of burning the heavens and destroying the earth, igniting on her fists. "Xiao Tian, you don't mind if I tear this place down, do you?"