The Shi Family's Transformation
When Dongfang Yueming accompanied Uncle Shi back to the oppressive atmosphere of the Shi Family mansion, the guards at the gate bowed respectfully to Uncle Shi and did not obstruct them further.
"Dongfang, please wait here for a moment while I go and inform the patriarch," Uncle Shi said solemnly as he led Dongfang Yueming to a side hall.
Dongfang Yueming nodded, casually found a seat, and sat down, appearing completely at ease.
No sooner had Uncle Shi left than a servant of the Shi Family, upon seeing the unfamiliar face of Dongfang Yueming, gleamed with shrewdness in his eyes and quietly slipped out through the back door, heading straight for the Zhao Family's residence—he had already been bribed by the Zhao Family.
Inside the side hall, Dongfang Yueming was resting with his eyes closed when a voice filled with sarcasm and resentment rang out at an inopportune moment.
"Who do we have here? It's you, you pretty boy!"
Shi Yu, accompanied by several followers, strode in with her arms crossed and an arrogant air. She stared intently at Dongfang Yueming, her eyes filled with undisguised hatred and contempt.
Back when Shi Qing was around, she was always overshadowed. Later, Uncle Shi even used all the precious favors that could have been used to ask Grandmaster to protect the family on Shi Qing for that elusive "Central Continent quota"!
In her opinion, this was utterly foolish! Now that the Shi Family was facing a great calamity, she directed all her resentment at Shi Qing and Uncle Shi, who supported Shi Qing.
She remembered the man in front of her very clearly!
Isn't he just that poor kid who was invited by that bitch Shi Qing to be her dance partner at that dance party back then?!
[He was just a good-for-nothing who couldn't even finish Flesh Refining back then, and now Uncle Shi has invited him back as a distinguished guest? It's utterly ridiculous!]
She circled around Dongfang Yueming, saying sarcastically, "What, you couldn't make it out there, so you want to come back and cling to the Shi Family? Let me tell you, that bitch Shi Qing is gone, nobody here will pay you any attention!"
Dongfang Yueming didn't even lift his eyelids, completely ignoring her.
His dismissive attitude completely enraged Shi Yu.
"I'm talking to you! Are you deaf?" Shi Yu's pretty face turned cold. As the eldest daughter of the Shi Family, she was usually the center of attention and had never been treated so coldly before!
She stepped forward and reached out to remove Dongfang Yueming's bamboo hat. "I want to see if you, this good-for-nothing, have improved at all after all this time!"
Just as her hand was about to touch the straw hat, an old but powerful hand grabbed her wrist like an iron clamp.
It's Uncle Shi's back.
"Shi Yu! You must not be rude to our distinguished guest!" Uncle Shi's expression was more serious than ever before.
"Uncle Shi? You..." Shi Yu cried out in pain, struggling to break free, but found he couldn't. He was both shocked and furious. "You actually attacked me for an outsider, a good-for-nothing? What kind of distinguished guest is he!"
"He," Uncle Shi said, emphasizing each word with unwavering solemnity, "Is the only hope of the Shi Family!"
With that, he flung the Shi Yu aside.
"The only hope?" Shi Yu seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. She scrambled to her feet, pointed at Dongfang Yueming, and screamed hysterically, "Him? Uncle Shi, I think you've gone senile! Our Shi Family is about to be driven to a dead end by the Zhao Family, and instead of thinking about how to make peace, you're pinning your hopes on a good-for-nothing!"
Just then, Dongfang Yueming finally slowly raised his head.
He didn't speak, but calmly turned his gaze to Shi Yu.
In an instant, an indescribable, terrifying pressure, like an invisible ancient divine mountain, descended with a thunderous roar!
Shi Yu felt her very soul tremble under that gaze! It was as if she was seeing not a pair of eyes, but the boundless universe where the sun and moon rise and fall, and stars vanish and reappear! All her arrogance, anger, and disdain were crushed in that instant, leaving only fear from the depths of her soul!
"Thump!"
Her legs gave way, and she could no longer support herself, collapsing to the ground, pale and trembling.
"Let's go, Uncle Shi." Dongfang Yueming withdrew his gaze and slowly stood up. "Take me to see your family head."
Looking at Shi Yu, who was limp as a rag Shi Yu, Uncle Shi sighed inwardly. Then, he made an even more respectful "please" gesture to Dongfang Yueming.
Inside the council chamber.
After Uncle Shi recounted the events and Dongfang Yueming's promise, an eerie silence fell over the entire hall.
All the elders, including the patriarch, looked at Uncle Shi as if he were a madman.
"Uncle Shi," the Shi Family patriarch spoke slowly, his tone filled with disappointment, "We understand your feelings during this time of crisis for the family. But you cannot treat this so... childishly."
"Yes! To send a young man to fight against the entire Zhao Family? That's simply a pipe dream!"
"I think we should hurry up and prepare the industrial contract and go to the Zhao Family to sue for peace..."
While everyone was discussing it...
Dongfang Yueming ignored the elders, calmly turning his gaze to the Shi Family patriarch in the main seat, and spoke softly:
"A three-day deadline is too much trouble."
His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.
"Now, I'll go to the Zhao Family for Little Stone's sake."
Having said that, before anyone could react, his figure swayed slightly in place and vanished without a trace, as if he had never been there at all.
The entire council hall fell into a deathly silence once again.
"Where... where is he?!" Shi Yu stared wide-eyed in horror.
The head of the Shi Family and several elders suddenly stood up from their seats, their faces filled with uncontrollable shock!
With their cultivation levels, they actually... didn't even see how the other person left!
The Zhao Family mansion, in front of the gate.
Patriarch Zhao Wuji, along with a group of powerful members of the family, was laying Heavenly Net and Earthly Web. He had already received news that the Shi Family seemed to have found an accomplice, and he intended to take this opportunity to give the Shi Family a warning they would never forget!
Just then, a figure wearing a straw hat walked slowly and steadily from the end of the street.
"Stop him!" Zhao Wuji shouted coldly.
Several experts from the Zhao Family immediately unleashed their true energy and pounced towards Dongfang Yueming like tigers descending a mountain!
However, Dongfang Yueming seemed not to see them at all, and continued walking forward at her original pace.
A bizarre scene unfolded.
Those aggressive Zhao Family experts, just as they were about to touch Dongfang Yueming's body, seemed to have crashed into an invisible, insurmountable wall of energy! Their true energy, as fragile as an eggshell, shattered instantly! They were sent flying backward at an even greater speed than they had come, spitting out blood, their fate unknown!
From beginning to end, Dongfang Yueming didn't even flinch!
"What?!"
Zhao Wuji's pupils contracted sharply, and a strong sense of foreboding rose in his heart!
Without further hesitation, he pushed his Lesser Inner Force to its limit, and his palms condensed with qi, emitting a piercing sonic boom!
"Raging Wave Palm!"
He roared and unleashed both palms, sending a massive wave of pure qi crashing down on Dongfang Yueming with overwhelming force!
Faced with this all-out attack powerful enough to shatter Stone Splitting, Dongfang Yueming finally stopped.
He slowly raised his right hand and extended one finger.
A finger, as clear and lustrous as jade, seemingly untouched by the world's grime.
He gently tapped the roaring, oncoming wave of qi.
"Pop."
A soft sound, like a bubble bursting.
The seemingly indestructible wave of qi vanished the moment it touched his fingertips!
Zhao Wuji felt an irresistible force, containing some supreme truth, flowing upstream along his palm!
"Puff--!"
He was struck as if by lightning, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He was sent flying backward uncontrollably, and the vortex of energy in his dantian cracked inch by inch under the impact of this force!
All his cultivation was destroyed!
Dongfang Yueming slowly withdrew his finger, walked into the Zhao Family's gate, and a moment later, amidst the horrified gazes of the Zhao Family, he came out again with a stack of land deeds in his hand.
When he casually tossed the stack of contracts representing all of the Zhao Family's assets onto the table in the Shi Family's council hall.
The entire Shi Family fell into an eternal, deathly silence.
Shi Yu, who had been so arrogant just moments before, was now deathly pale. His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, his trouser legs damp and warm.
The Shi Family patriarch and all the elders stared at the stack of contracts, then at the nonchalant Dongfang Yueming. Their throats were dry, and they couldn't utter a single word. Their eyes had completely transformed from initial doubt into... awe and fear akin to that of a god!