However, to Lin Hao’s disappointment, he couldn’t read anything in Lu Dieyi’s gaze.

Dressed in white, the exquisitely beautiful Lu Dieyi sat poised on her chair like a statue, her gorgeous eyes holding nothing but calm.

Lu Dieyi seemed to sense Lin Hao’s stare. Her eyes shifted, meeting his.

Lin Hao grinned, a foolish, carefree smile on his face.

"Miss Lu, you’ve come a long way. Please forgive us if our hospitality has been lacking." Lu Dieyi had treated everyone as if they were invisible since she first entered the Lin family. Seeing her eyes finally move, the imposing aura around Lin Tianhao faltered for a moment before his face was wreathed in smiles.

If all went as expected, Lu Dieyi would one day marry into the main Lin family in the capital. He couldn’t afford to offend her.

Lu Dieyi remained unresponsive, her gaze locked onto Lin Hao.

Seeing this, Lin Tianhao hastily excused himself and ordered someone to take Lin Hao away to wash up.

"No, I want *her* to wash me," Lin Hao said, drooling as he stared stupidly at Lu Dieyi.

Lu Dieyi’s body trembled, and a blush of humiliation and anger crept onto her face.

"How dare you! Hao’Er, she is your sister-in-law!" Lin Tianhao roared, though his voice suddenly became gentle.

"Heh heh, sister-in-law... Fun..." Lin Hao continued his tactless babbling.

Lin Tianhao’s face was livid with rage. The terrified servants had to drag and pull Lin Hao away.

...

When Lin Hao returned to the meeting hall, he was completely refreshed. If not for his foolish, dazed expression, he would have been the most striking person in the room in his fine brocade clothes.

"Miss Lu, you have seen Hao’Er now. If you have anything to say, please speak freely." Lin Tianhao smiled amiably, but his gaze furtively swept over a box placed next to Lu Dieyi, his eyes burning with greed.

As far as Lin Tianhao was concerned, if Lu Dieyi broke off the engagement with Lin Hao, he wouldn’t lose a thing. In fact, he’d receive a handsome compensation. What was there not to like?

"I want to speak with him alone!" Lu Dieyi finally spoke, her voice as cold as thousand-year-old ice.

"Well..." Lin Tianhao hesitated. "Miss Lu, you’ve seen the state Hao’Er is in. I’m his second uncle. I can speak on his behalf..."

"I will speak with *him*," Lu Dieyi repeated, her tone even colder, completely dismissing Lin Tianhao.

A flash of anger crossed Lin Tianhao’s face, but in the end, he could only offer a dry laugh and concede.

He was, after all, only an uncle in a branch family. He knew he was destined to spend his entire life in this small War Dragon City.

But Lu Dieyi was different. Never mind her future connection to the Lin family; her Martial Dao Cultivation alone was astounding. At such a young age, she was already a step away from the Elemental Realm. Her future was bound to be limitless.

A martial prodigy like her was always sought after by the continent’s top sects. She was destined to enter a powerful one and become a peerless talent.

He couldn’t afford to offend a young woman like that.

...

In the rear garden of the Lin Mansion, Lu Dieyi and Lin Hao stood facing each other in silence.

The difference was that Lu Dieyi’s gorgeous eyes, full of questions, were locked on his. Lin Hao, on the other hand, just stared back with a foolish grin as a long, thin line of drool trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Lin Hao, I know you’re faking it. There’s no one else here, so you can stop pretending," Lu Dieyi said suddenly, her voice cold. She took a step back, her delicate brows furrowed.

Lin Hao’s heart leaped. ’Did she see through me?’

But seeing Lu Dieyi’s gorgeous eyes still fixed on him, Lin Hao felt confident he hadn’t given anything away and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Touch..." Lin Hao suddenly reached out, grabbing for Lu Dieyi.

Hearing Lin Tianhao’s words in the meeting hall earlier had revealed the true reason for Lu Dieyi’s visit. A violent rage had welled up inside Lin Hao, but he had suppressed it with immense willpower.

Now that they were alone and she was still using that tone with him, the rage in his heart finally broke free.

’Hmph! So high and mighty. Let’s see how long you can keep up that act!’

Although Lu Dieyi was the same age as Lin Hao, she was tall, and his hand was heading straight for a forbidden zone!

Lu Dieyi’s face fell in shock. She blocked with her left hand as her right palm shot forward in a strike.

THUD!

With a muffled sound, Lin Hao stumbled back several steps before regaining his footing.

The blow from a Ninth Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm expert threw his blood and qi into turmoil. PUFF! He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Once he was steady on his feet, Lin Hao grinned, still giving Lu Dieyi that same foolish smile.

’Can’t let her see through me now.’

He appeared unfazed, but inwardly, Lin Hao was reeling. His move was just meant to scare her; of course he was prepared for her reaction.

’The moment I reached out, I had already secretly activated the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill for protection. I never thought her strike would still injure me.’

What he didn’t know was that Lu Dieyi was even more shocked than he was.

The moment Lu Dieyi struck, she had been filled with regret. ’Given the state of Lin Hao’s body, forget me, even a casual slap from any half-decent Martial Artist could seriously injure him. After taking my palm strike, how could he possibly still be alive?’

But when she saw him only stumble back a few steps, cough up some blood, and then go right back to his carefree, foolish smile, Lu Dieyi was utterly stunned.

Lu Dieyi remembered it clearly: when her palm connected with his chest, she had felt a powerful rebound force!

’That rebound force definitely didn’t come from a Cultivation Technique. It was pure physical power!’

’A body of pure steel!’

The thought flashed through Lu Dieyi’s mind.

Lin Hao’s body hadn’t reached that legendary state yet, but it wasn’t far off!

Lu Dieyi had assumed the gap between them was immense. But now, realizing the terrifying extent of his physical strength alone, she felt an indescribable mix of emotions.

"Lin Hao, I don’t care if you’re truly a fool or just faking it," Lu Dieyi said slowly, taking a deep breath. "But I want you to answer what I’m about to say."

Lin Hao just kept smiling his foolish smile.

"Come with me to the Lu family!"

Lin Hao never would have imagined Lu Dieyi saying something like that. For a moment, his gaze froze.

’Follow her to the Lu family? And then to the Lin family in the Imperial City? Just so I can suffer even greater humiliation?’

Lin Hao’s gaze remained frozen as fury raged in his heart.

Then he saw Lu Dieyi’s gorgeous eyes light up.

’Crap.’ Lin Hao immediately snapped back into his act. His eyes grew vacant, and he started repeating the word "home..." before clutching his head and crying out in pain.

The delight in Lu Dieyi’s eyes faded to confusion, then bewilderment, and finally, guilt.

"I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know this would happen," Lu Dieyi apologized, completely flustered. She was just a young woman, after all, and had never been in a situation like this.

Seeing her reaction, Lin Hao knew he’d pretty much fooled her. ’That was close,’ he thought.

However, he had no intention of letting her off that easily. ’In all my life, I’ve never been hit by a woman, much less to the point of spitting blood.’

He suddenly pulled Lu Dieyi into an embrace and shamelessly began to grope her.

Just as Lu Dieyi’s body went soft, she raised her hand to strike his head. But then she heard him whisper, "Home... Mother..."

A strange softness filled her heart, and she found herself unable to bring her raised hand down.

Feeling his head nuzzling restlessly against her, Lu Dieyi’s face turned scarlet. She was completely stunned.

Buried in fragrant softness, a wicked smile spread across Lin Hao’s face.

"Lin Hao, you audacious bastard! How dare you act like such a degenerate!" an angry voice suddenly roared from behind Lu Dieyi.

Startled, Lu Dieyi shoved Lin Hao away.

"Lin Hao, I never thought a piece of trash like you could be so shameless! You’ve completely disgraced the Lin family!" Lin Zheng stared at Lin Hao, his eyes spitting fire, not bothering to hide his killing intent.

His father had sent him to check on the situation. He never imagined he’d find Lin Hao with his grubby hands wrapped around Lu Dieyi’s waist.

Even though he, Lin Zheng, had no connection to this woman, he himself wouldn’t even dare to look at her so brazenly. The thought that a piece of trash like Lin Hao would dare to molest her filled him with a strange rage, an impulse to tear Lin Hao limb from limb.

For some reason, hearing someone talk about Lin Hao like that made Lu Dieyi feel inexplicably irritated. Her expression immediately darkened.

"Trash? You call him trash?! He began his martial arts training at eight, reached the First Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm at nine, the Second Layer at ten, and the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm before he was even eleven! If he hadn’t been forcibly suppressing his realm, he could have awakened his bloodline at twelve and entered the Blood Coagulation Realm Fourth Layer! And you’re calling him trash?!"

Lu Dieyi’s face was suddenly covered in frost as she became aggressive and overbearing.

Lin Zheng staggered back several steps, staring at Lu Dieyi as if he’d seen a ghost.

’She came here to break off the engagement! I’m helping her, so she should be grateful! Why is she defending this piece of trash?!’

Lin Zheng couldn’t figure it out for the life of him.

Seeing the undisguised contempt in Lu Dieyi’s gaze, Lin Zheng’s face flushed. His lips moved silently a few times before he finally spoke.

He was only sixteen. Being scorned by such a beauty was a blow to his pride. A rush of blood went to his head, and he threw all caution to the wind.

"That’s right! He used to be the prized genius of the Lin Mansion, with a glorious future. But so what? Look at him now! He’s worse than a beggar. Calling him trash is giving him too much credit!"

Lu Dieyi hadn’t expected Lin Zheng to be so eloquent. She stared at him, her eyes flickering. Then, she spoke in a cold, sudden voice. "I see I’ve underestimated the Lin family. You’re already at the Eighth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm, yet you’ve made no name for yourself."

Lin Zheng was taken aback. He quickly recovered with a cold snort and a flat denial. "What Eighth Layer? If I had that kind of cultivation, do you think I’d be stuck in this backwater War Dragon City like that piece of trash, Lin Hao? I’d have joined a sect long ago!"

Hearing him call Lin Hao "trash" one more time, a cold light flashed in Lu Dieyi’s eyes. She attacked!

Her palm shot out. The movement was like a fluttering butterfly, yet it filled the air with countless afterimages, making it impossible to tell illusion from reality. It was the Lu family’s ultimate technique: the Butterfly Dance Thousand Illusions Palm!

A sharp light glinted in Lin Zheng’s eyes as he met her attack with a palm strike of his own.

Lin Hao had been watching everything with a cold detachment. He had been baffled when Lu Dieyi suddenly stood up for him. He was even more stunned when he heard her call out Lin Zheng’s cultivation at the Eighth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm.

But now, seeing Lin Zheng meet Lu Dieyi’s strike with a perfect counter using the Lin family’s Celestial Wheel Fist, he was forced to believe it.

’Lin Zheng... he’s actually at the Eighth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm!’

’And Lin Wei, with a grandson like that, still went so far as to steal my bloodline... What could he be plotting?!’