"Clan elder, please get up!"
"You're far too kind to me."
"Anyone has the right to kill an Evil Soul Master. You did nothing wrong, and I don't hold the slightest grudge."
"But there's been a misunderstanding."
"My Chang Ghost isn't an Evil Martial Soul. It's a White Tiger Martial Soul that gained the ability to control ghosts after mutating."
Huo Lingfeng put on a flattered expression and helped the blond-haired elder to his feet.
The old man had gone from arrogance to humility in the blink of an eye.
He had just been trying to kill him,
but the moment he displayed his Hell Spirit Cat, the old man had dropped to his knees without a frame's delay and started kowtowing like mad.
Now he was even covering for his Chang Ghost Martial Soul.
What an ugly face!
Still, it was hardly surprising.
A genius with the White Tiger and Hell Spirit Cat as Twin Martial Souls was worth far more than protection alone. The White Tiger Lineage would give up everything for him.
His days of hardship were over.
"Young master, by clan law, there's nothing wrong with a member of a lesser branch kneeling to the main branch. You're the duke's son, so it's only right that this old man kneels to you."
"By the rules, this old man also owes you an apology for wrongly accusing you!"
"By any measure, you should let me kowtow a few times!"
"And you don't need to call me clan elder. My name is Dai Tianli, and we're of the same generation. Just call me Tianli."
Dai Tianli smiled bitterly.
The moment he saw Huo Lingfeng's Twin Martial Souls, he could already see the end of his own life.
He had actually just tried to kill this unparalleled genius.
And Huo Lingfeng had sensed his killing intent. Would he have any good days ahead of him?
But Huo Lingfeng, his mother, and his sibling had been living in hardship.
If he knelt quickly and sent charcoal in the snow, he would be an angel investor.
"Really, there's no need! No need at all!"
"You're too polite!"
"The most important thing now is to take me back to the clan's ancestral hall."
Huo Lingfeng felt rather strange.
Dai Tianli?
Did he happen to know how to use a Dog-Beating Staff?
And he even wanted him to call him Tianli. This old man was damn humble.
Still, Dai Tianli looked deeply repentant and was determined not to get up unless he forgave him. That wouldn't do either.
The Duke's Mansion was only the residence of Dai Hao's family.
Most members of the White Tiger Lineage lived outside Star Luo City.
That was also why the duchess was so unbridled.
The Duke's Mansion was her family's home,
and the three of them were living under someone else's roof.
So the first thing Huo Lingfeng had done once he was able was run away.
"Oh! This old man was being foolish. I'll take you back right away, so you can acknowledge your ancestors and return to the clan!"
Dai Tianli naturally knew about the relationship between Huo Lingfeng's family and the duchess.
To avoid more trouble the longer this dragged on,
the urgent task was to take Huo Lingfeng back to the ancestral hall, report to the clan leader, and convene a clan assembly.
"Young master, I'm rather fast, so the journey will be a little bumpy. Please bear with it."
Dai Tianli carried Huo Lingfeng straight out of the Duke's Mansion and headed for the White Tiger Lineage's territory without even notifying the duchess.
He pushed his speed to the limit,
even overdrawing his own Soul Power, all to bring Huo Lingfeng back faster.
If he was a step too slow and the duchess pulled some trick, he would be a sinner of the White Tiger Lineage for all eternity.
Whoosh!
Huo Lingfeng felt as though he were riding a roller coaster. The wind blew so hard he couldn't even open his eyes.
They maintained that speed for a full two hours,
until Huo Lingfeng's head was spinning and he had thrown up several times on the way, vomiting until there was nothing left.
Only then did Dai Tianli finally bring him to their destination.
"Ninth, didn't you go to the Duke's Mansion to awaken Martial Souls?"
"Why are you back so soon? Who's this kid?"
On the way, some clansmen asked Dai Tianli out of curiosity. He ranked ninth in his generation, so everyone called him Ninth.
As for Huo Lingfeng,
most clansmen had never even been to Star Luo City, much less met him.
"Shoo, out of the way. I have something important to do."
Dai Tianli clearly had no mind to deal with them. He took Huo Lingfeng straight to the White Tiger Lineage's ancestral hall,
rang the great bell, and summoned the entire clan.
After the White Tiger Lineage lost the throne,
they had hidden their edge and moved out of Star Luo City, taking refuge in a medium-sized town where the mountains were high and the emperor was far away.
They left the clansmen who inherited the dukedom in Star Luo City to draw the fire.
They usually kept a very low profile, and the great bell could only be rung at a moment of life or death.
Now that the bell had sounded,
members of the White Tiger Lineage soon began arriving one after another.
"Ninth, what's going on?"
The arrival of a spirited white-haired elder brought silence to the ancestral hall. His presence was imposing, and he went straight to the seat of honor.
This was probably the leader of the White Tiger Clan.
Huo Lingfeng's heart tightened. He forced himself to endure the discomfort of his dizziness and straightened up a little.
"Clan leader!"
"Wonderful news of earth-shaking importance!"
"The young master is a heaven-gifted genius! Our clan shall rise!"
"Clan leader, this matter is of great importance. Please dismiss the clansmen first and leave the heads of the branches here, so I can make my report."
Dai Tianli caught his breath. He had raced back without regard for his life, rushing Huo Lingfeng home with the urgency of an eight-hundred-li dispatch, and had badly overtaxed his body.
But compared with the great matter about to face the entire clan,
his little problem wasn't worth mentioning!
Besides, Huo Lingfeng's situation was of great importance. Even ordinary clansmen couldn't be trusted with it!
"The branch heads will stay. Everyone else may go."
Seeing that Dai Tianli didn't appear to be fooling around, the White Tiger Clan leader waved the clansmen away, leaving only the branch heads, each with thoughts of their own.
"All right, Ninth. Make your report."
The White Tiger Clan leader wasn't particularly concerned.
He thought Dai Tianli was making a mountain out of a molehill.
He had met the boy Huo Lingfeng before. He was only an illegitimate son born to a maidservant.
Extraordinarily gifted?
No matter how gifted he was, could he be more gifted than Dai Yueheng, who had level-nine Innate Soul Power, or Dai Huabin, whose White Tiger bloodline was strong?
"Clan leader!"
"The young master has Twin Martial Souls: the White Tiger and the Hell Spirit Cat!"
But when Dai Tianli spoke those words,
Boom!
The armrests of the chair beneath the White Tiger Clan leader were crushed on the spot.
The clan leader shot to his feet, his presence surging around him. He completely lost control of his strength and shattered the chair.
"What?!!!"
Several elders of the White Tiger Clan in the ancestral hall all cried out in shock.
The clan leader was the first to rush over to Dai Tianli and Huo Lingfeng, grabbing Dai Tianli by the shoulder.
"Tianli!"
"Is what you said true? You're not lying to me?"
The clan leader still found it hard to believe, and he had gone from calling Dai Tianli Ninth to Tianli.
Twin Martial Souls!
The White Tiger and the Hell Spirit Cat as twins!
The Dai and Zhu families had intermarried for generations.
In theory, this was possible, but that was only in theory!
How could someone really have the White Tiger and Hell Civet as twins?!
"It's true, clan leader. How would I dare lie to you?"
"Young master, please show your Martial Souls quickly."
The clan leader's grip made Dai Tianli's shoulder ache, and he hurriedly urged Huo Lingfeng on.
If they waited any longer, the clan leader might crush his shoulder.
"Yes, yes, yes! Show us quickly!"
The White Tiger Clan leader and the other elders all looked eagerly at Huo Lingfeng, their eyes ravenous.
"All right."
Huo Lingfeng didn't let them down. He forced himself to stay alert and displayed his White Tiger and Nether Civet Martial Souls.
Seeing the miracle with their own eyes,
the White Tiger Clan leader and several branch heads were dumbstruck!
"It really is the White Tiger and the Hell Spirit Cat as twins!"
"Heavens!"
"The ancestors have blessed us! Heaven has blessed us!"
"Our clan shall rise!"
"It's time to take back the throne of the Star Luo Emperor!"
The White Tiger Clan leader was wild with joy.