Fourth Master Returns

The entire entrance to the Li Family was silent!

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the two guards.

"They're not dead! They've only fainted."

Someone stepped forward to inspect them and sighed in relief upon seeing that no one had died. No matter what, although Li blood ran through their veins, if two servants of the Li Family's main branch died before their eyes, they would never escape responsibility.

"What happened here?! What has made you all so noisy? Where is your sense of propriety?!"

A cold shout rang out. Then a burly middle-aged man of around forty, broad-backed and bear-waisted, appeared before the crowd. His hawk-like eyes swept over everyone with ill intent before landing on the two unconscious servants wedged halfway into the gate. A strange glint immediately flashed through his eyes.

"Who did this?!"

Everyone felt a suffocating pressure bearing down on them. Several people who had only reached the third level of the Spirit Martial Rank even collapsed directly onto the ground.

"F-Fourth Master."

Fourth Master! The man who had arrived was actually the Li Family's Fourth Master, Li Xian Nian!

Someone quickly stepped forward and recounted what had just happened. After hearing it, Li Xian Nian's expression did not change in the slightest. He merely nodded casually, instructed a servant beside him to handle the matter, then turned and walked inside.

"Wasn't that Fourth Master just now? Rumor has it that, aside from the Supreme Grand Elder, he's the strongest person in the Lineage! He's only just turned forty, yet he's already at the great completion of the Spirit Martial Rank! He could break through to the Innate Realm at any time! When that happens, our Li Family will gain another Innate Realm King Tier expert, and throughout Wuzhou City, none will dare refuse us!"

Several collateral branch descendants who had yet to enter began whispering among themselves, their attention shifting away from Li Ye's forceful entrance into the family gates.

"Fourth Master, about what happened just now...?"

At that moment, Li Xian Nian was heading toward the location of this Year-End Martial Contest. Beside him, a servant wore a worried expression and seemed to hesitate before speaking.

"I never expected that so much would happen after I spent these past years away. Still, he is Second Brother's son. Even if he fell silent for a time, he would eventually shock the world with a single feat! But... hmph!"

Li Xian Nian suddenly snorted. To the servant beside him, it was like thunder exploding by his ear, making his body tremble faintly.

"Those old fools! Second Brother merely went in pursuit of a higher martial path, yet they treated his son like this! They're simply blind mice staring at an inch of sky! If Second Brother returned and learned of this, did they really think that, with his temper, they would still have peaceful days ahead?"

Clearly, this Fourth Master of the Li Family was different from the rest. He seemed to regard Li Ye as family. The Second Brother he mentioned was naturally Li Ye's father, the former Li Family patriarch, Li Kainian!

Li Zhong had long grown accustomed to his master's temperament after following him for so many years. He also knew why Fourth Master, a man of immense standing in the Lineage, cared so much for that so-called trash.

It was because Fourth Master of the Li Family and Li Kainian were born of the same mother! Unlike Third Master and Eldest Master, who currently acted as the Lineage's steward, those two were full brothers!

"Fourth Master, since Third Young Master acted as he did today, he must have his own plans. You should observe quietly for now. It won't be too late to act at a critical moment."

Knowing his master's nature, Li Zhong could not help but offer a reminder.

"Li Zhong, just as you say! But if they dare bully little Ye again, even if I have to throw away this old life, I'll raise hell with them!"

"You are right, Fourth Master. Third Young Master is that man's son. Of course he cannot be left to suffer others' bullying!"

Lowering his head in acknowledgment, a cold gleam also flashed through Li Zhong's eyes. Though he was not truly a Li Family clansman, he had grown up in the Li Family as a servant and eventually came to follow Li Xian Nian. Over the years, Li Xian Nian had never treated him poorly. He even gave him resources for cultivation, allowing him to reach the formidable eighth level of the Spirit Martial Rank. However, few knew this; otherwise, it would surely have caused an uproar.

"Come! Let's see how much those little brats in the clan have improved during the years I was away!"

For a time, two shocking pieces of news spread throughout the Li Family.

"Have you heard? That trash is back! He even injured the two servants at the gate!"

"Really? You mean that trash? But wasn't he worse than an ordinary person? Those two idiots at the gate may be weak, but they should still be more than capable of handling someone powerless enough not to truss a chicken, right? Did they deliberately go easy on him?"

The news spread quickly and reached the ears of certain people.

Bang!

Within a courtyard, Li Yue's injuries had long since recovered under the Lineage's miraculous pills. Yet at this moment, his face was livid and filled with venomous resentment.

"That trash actually dared to show himself!"

"Yue'er!"

Hearing that aged yet imposing voice, Li Yue instantly changed from a beast flying into a rage into a well-behaved housecat. Turning around, he immediately put on an innocent smile. "Grandfather, you're here?"

The one who appeared was naturally Li Dao Kui, the Li Family's Grand Elder, a man with immense power who could nearly cover the sky with one hand.

"That brat has already arrived. It seems that, just as Little Third said, he wants to prove himself at this Year-End Martial Contest."

The only person who could call Li Huangran Little Third was Li Dao Kui, an elder of considerable seniority and status within the clan. However, he merely snorted coldly. "It's a fine idea, but does he really think he's like his father? He's only just crawled out of being trash and gained a little ability, yet he already thinks himself someone important!"

"Grandfather, since that brat dared to swagger out in broad daylight, why don't we..."

Li Yue made a throat-slitting gesture. Its meaning was obvious.

Unfortunately, Li Dao Kui shook his head. "Yue'er, you are still too young. To deal with a person, killing him is not the best method. Sometimes, there are things that can make him despair even more than death! Besides, even if we intend to kill that brat, we cannot act now. This Lineage is not ruled by your grandfather alone. Back then, I had to expend quite some effort to drive him out. Even now, some old fellows still have many complaints."

"Hmph! Those old undead things are merely afraid that man will return to settle scores with them! I truly don't understand what they are worried about. He has been missing for over a decade—perhaps he already died alone in some foreign land! Besides, in a few years, once both you and Father break through into the Innate Realm, what use would it be even if that man returned? Wouldn't the entire Li Family still be ours to command?"

Upon hearing those words, a faint smile appeared on Li Dao Kui's aged face.

Everyone knew that there were currently only three people in the Li Family who had hope of breaking through into the Innate Realm and becoming King Tier experts. Two of them were the Grand Elder before Li Yue and his son—the Li Family's current acting patriarch and Li Yue's biological father!

Once one reached the Innate Realm and King Tier, one's status would immediately become different! It could be said that everything they did was for that single step!

"Eldest Uncle!"

Li Huangran suddenly entered from outside, his expression somewhat off.

"Little Third? What has made you so flustered?"

"Fourth Brother has returned."

Those words instantly wiped the smile from Li Dao Kui's face.

"Fourth Uncle? Why has he returned?"

Li Yue, the Lineage's hottest young genius, shrank his neck like a mouse that had heard a cat's cry.

"Hmph! So what if he has returned? He is only one man, nothing to fear! This family ceased being the world of those two brothers long ago!"

"Eldest Uncle is right."

Though he snorted coldly, Li Yue noticed that both his grandfather and Third Uncle wore traces of gravity on their faces. Clearly, Li Xian Nian's return was not as insignificant as they made it sound.

"Yue'er! You know what you should do in this Year-End Martial Contest, don't you?"

"Rest assured, Grandfather! Your grandson knows exactly what to do! I will certainly seize first place in the clan and make the Supreme Grand Elder view me in a new light! I may even claim the championship in this year's joint martial contest between the three great families in one stroke!"

Li Yue patted his chest, confidence overflowing from his face as he swept away the gloom of the past few days.

Meanwhile, at a vast martial arts arena within the Li Family estate, at least several thousand people had gathered. They were all descendants bred by the Li Family over the years, though more than ninety percent of them had left the family several generations ago.

Yet that did not prevent them from returning every year at this time. One reason was to pay respects to their ancestors. The other, and most important reason, was the martial contest! Whoever performed well enough to enter the top hundred could remain in the main branch and receive the best training!

Li Ye stood among the crowd, but few paid him any attention.

After all, there were thousands of people here. Most had never even heard of him, that trash. Quite a few had merely heard of him without ever seeing him.

"Silence!"

A voice suddenly rang out like thunder beside everyone's ears.

Then they saw a middle-aged man with the air of an immortal and the bearing of a Daoist drift down into the center of the martial arts arena.

"I will preside over this year's contest."

His voice was not loud, yet everyone heard it clearly. In an instant, he revealed no weak cultivation. After all, with several thousand people present, transmitting his voice so lightly to every person required considerable skill.

"It's Sixth Master! I never expected him to preside this year! Wonderful!"

Li Ye immediately heard people around him rejoicing in low voices. The middle-aged man on the platform was the sixth among the Li Family's second generation, known as Sixth Master. The reason for their delight was that rumor had it Sixth Master had a gentle temperament and never made things difficult for juniors, not even collateral branch descendants.

"Idiot. With your strength, it makes no difference whether Sixth Master presides or not. You have no hope at all. Whether you can even pass the first round is questionable!"

Someone suddenly snorted in disdain. Li Ye looked over and saw a youth about his age, but with a cold, arrogant face and an air of utter superiority.

"You!" The previous speaker's expression changed, but upon seeing who it was, he immediately dared not make another sound.

The others also recognized the haughty youth and instantly began whispering among themselves.

"Isn't that Young Master Li Xuan from the main branch? I heard that he's only sixteen this year, yet he has already broken through to the sixth level of the Spirit Martial Rank. He's one of the most outstanding geniuses in the entire main branch!"

"Exactly. Look at him—we simply cannot compare. We struggle desperately, yet have only barely reached the third level of the Spirit Martial Rank. That is the gap between us."

Hearing the whispers, the arrogance on Li Xuan's face grew even stronger. He held his eyes toward the sky, as though he disdained to associate with these country bumpkins.

Only Li Ye had a sharp glint flash through his eyes. Li Xuan! Li Huangran's son! He was also one of the people who had most enjoyed humiliating Li Ye back then!