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How many years had it been?

No one had dared speak to Gu Xuande in such a way since he’d become head of the Gu Family.

Qing Li was his wife, and he doted upon her, which was why she could speak her mind without reservation when they were alone. But when he was really in a bad mood, even she would understandingly comfort and console him.

There was even less need to mention the others; never mind glaring and provoking him, they didn’t even dare breathe too hard in front of him.

It had been far, far too long since Gu Xuande met someone so ill-mannered, so unwilling to relent, and so unaware of his place.

“Zichen, you can’t talk to the family head like that! Apologize!” Ye Rong shouted from the sidelines. This was the head of the Gu Family! Someone who could destroy the Upper Three Realms or exterminate whole races in a single stomp!

Even if Ye Zichen had grown rapidly of late, he was in no way comparable to Gu Xuande.

In Ye Rong’s memories, Ye Zichen had always been a well-mannered child, so why was he….

Could it be that he’d been in a position of power for too long, and that it had made him arrogant?

No matter what, Ye Rong couldn’t let Ye Zichen keep making mistakes like this. If he really infuriated Gu Xuande, it wouldn’t matter that Ye Zichen was the head of the Upheaval Alliance; Gu Xuande could snuff out the entire faction with a snap of his fingers. 

The more she thought about it, the more agitated Ye Rong felt.

“Hurry up and apologize!” Ye Rong went right up to Ye Zichen and slapped him on the back, hard. 

But before Ye Zichen could respond, Gu Xuande let out an open-minded laugh. “No harm done. I heard your son has quite a lofty position within the God Realm. He’s achieved such success at such a young age; it was almost inevitable that he’d pick up a few bad habits. I shant sink to his level.”

“Then you sure are great!” Ye Zichen laughed and stuck up his thumb, but no matter how they looked at it, his words sounded like jeers.

Honestly! Gu Xuande couldn’t take this much longer!

He’d held back his temper more than once, unwilling to quibble with Ye Zichen, but Ye Zichen just insisted on provoking him over and over again. But then, when you put it that way, it was strange: If anyone else were to provoke him like that, Gu Xuande wouldn’t necessarily have minded.

Why would a giant care about an ant’s provocations?

Gu Xuande was like a giant of this era. All others were nothing but ants. Even imperial sovereigns were, at most, just slightly larger ants.

When two parties were on entirely different levels, provocation was nothing but a joke.

And yet, Ye Zichen, who Gu Xuande saw as an ant among ants, had truly infuriated him. He was so angry, he trembled from head to toe, and he had to continuously fight back the urge to squish Ye Zichen to death.

The atmosphere was rather stiff.

After everything Ye Zichen had said, not squishing him to death was already an act of benevolence on Gu Xuande’s part. How could he possibly take the bait and bite back?  

Ye Zichen showed no signs of continuing to speak, either.

 For a while, the atmosphere just stayed tense.

“Little guy, you’re taking this too far. Whatever else you might say, Gu Xuande is your senior, and even if you aren’t a member of the Gu Family, he’s your senior just based on the difference in cultivation. How can you talk to him like that?” Qing Li’s chastisement didn’t put too much blame on Ye Zichen. It was more of a gentle rebuke.

She was actually quite eager to see Gu Xuande like this, and she’d only said this as a show of respect for her husband, as well as to prevent the atmosphere from getting any more awkward.

“You’re right, Senior. I’m to blame for my lack of manners. I ought to have kept in mind that, even if my seniors don’t act the part at all, I still ought to treat them respectfully. What happened just now was all my fault. Please punish me accordingly.” Ye Zichen bowed low at the waist, and when he looked up, his gaze was sincere. “But I really had no intentions of causing offense. I really do want to know why you summoned me here. As you know, I am responsible for an entire alliance, and the future of the Third Era is currently a bit uncertain. We don’t know when the Outsider Gods will invade.”

“As the Master of the Stars, it is my right, as well as my duty, to protect the safety of the Third Era, and I naturally must personally attend to many of the alliance’s affairs. I request to hear your teachings as quickly as possible, then go back to managing the alliance. You could say I’m running all over the place for the sake of righteousness!”

How articulate.

Gu Xuande’s expression darkened, and he snorted to himself. How could he possibly miss what Ye Zichen was getting at?

His word’s hidden meaning was… Don’t touch me, I’m the Third Era’s Master of the Stars, and my life is important. Also, my poor manners are due to my concern for the people of the world; they stirred my emotions and caused slips of the tongue. If you start a feud with me, it means you don’t care about the populace, and you’re the enemy of the entire Third Era.

Gu Xuande was well aware that Ye Zichen’s words were all targeted at him.

As for why he knew that….

It was because when Ye Zichen spoke, he was staring right at him!

Qing Li didn’t think as deeply about this as Gu Xuande’ she was just trying to alleviate the tense atmosphere and give her husband a way to back down. 

“We know you’re busy with important work, but we called you over for an important reason.”

“More important than the lives of the populace?”  

When she heard Ye Zichen’s question, Qing Li wanted to nod. She and Gu Xuande had called Ye Zichen over because they had information about the Outsider Gods. While she dared not say this was more important than the lives of the people, it was at least an attempt to improve their prospects.

However…

“Kid, quite bringing up the lives of the populace every time you open your mouth. Someone who really cared wouldn’t just talk about it all the time; they’d put their ideas into practice,” said Gu Xuande.

“So, you understand that too! Amazing!” Ye Zichen said, his tone just begging for a beating. Gu Xuande gnashed his teeth with hatred, but soon, Ye Zichen’s expression changed, turning solemn. “Then… What was your goal in bringing me here? I really am quite busy.”

What a kid!

He was so arrogant and domineering even in Gu Family territory!

Busy?

Anyone the Gu Family invited, regardless of whether they were human, yao, or demon, even if they had matters of the utmost importance to attend to, would drop everything and heed the Gu Family’s summons right away. 

He thought to himself hatefully, “I have to teach this kid a lesson!” He was so angry, it was getting to his head, and he was no longer in any mood to proceed along the pre-set path he and Qung Li had discussed. 

“If you’re busy, I won’t mince words.”

“That’d be for the best,” interjected Ye Zichen.

Gu Xuande felt his blood surge and temper rise. He grit his teeth and glowered as he said, “I invited you here to ask you something: do you wish to rejoin our family? Do you wish to be surnamed Gu?” 

Qing Li looked at Gu Xuande in surprise. They’d discussed this earlier, and this wasn’t how they planned to ask. It seemed her husband was beside himself with fury, or he wouldn’t have asked like that.

 Return to the Gu Family?  

When she heard this, Ye Rong was stunned. But when she looked at Ye Zichen a moment later, her eyes carried a hint of expectation.

She’d always wanted Ye Zichen to enter the Gu Family. If he did, he’d be part of their main line of succession, and he could rely on their power and prestige to fight off his enemies.

It was just that she’d never found the right opportunity to discuss this with Ye Zichen.

This time, Gu Xuande took the initiative to bring it up, and both his words and his tone made it clear he was offering Ye Zichen an olive branch.

So long as Ye Zichen nodded, Ye Rong trusted that he’d enter the family as smoothly as a boat flowing downstream. She could ask Qing Li to help resolve any lingering disputes between Ye Zichen and Gu Xuande later on. The most important thing now was that Ye Zichen agreed.

Ye Rong trusted Ye Zichen’s intelligence.

The Gu Family was so vast and powerful. If he could rely upon their help….

But Ye Zichen barely even paused to consider his answer. “I refuse!”