Chapter 2364: Chapter 2353: You Will Regret This

The two Heavenly God Realm experts from the Zhous who had come to keep an eye on Cheng Yuanmu and the others didn’t show them any kindness either; the whole way their faces stayed ice-cold.

Cheng Yuanmu, Cheng Yiyao, and the old Steward had already prepared themselves for the worst, the three of them keeping their brows slightly furrowed the whole time.

Only Ye Chenfeng looked completely at ease; he was ready to block soldiers with generals and cover floods with earth.

Within Lingfeng City, the Zhous counted as one of the very top great clans.

Their estate was naturally incomparably imposing and grand; the Zhous’ grounds covered a vast area, with palace halls and side courtyards standing everywhere inside the estate.

This banquet was being held in the True Dragon Hall within the Zhou estate. For every large-scale banquet in the past, the Zhous had arranged it in the True Dragon Hall, simply because the True Dragon Hall was big enough to accommodate an enormous number of people.

After Cheng Yuanmu, Ye Chenfeng, Cheng Yiyao, and the old Steward arrived at the Zhous’, the two Heavenly God Realm Zhou experts led them to the front of the True Dragon Hall, then left on their own.

Once they entered the Zhou estate, many of the people who had come for the banquet all fixed strange looks on Cheng Yuanmu, Ye Chenfeng, and the others. The matter of the Cheng clan’s split was now known to everyone in Lingfeng City, and likewise the affair between Zhou Hongjing and Cheng Yiyao was something almost everyone knew about. Now that the direct-ancestor patriarch backing Zhou Hongjing had stepped into the Half-step Divine Venerable Realm, it would be strange if Zhou Hongjing didn’t try to get back the face he’d lost back then!

Just as Cheng Yuanmu, Ye Chenfeng, and the others were about to step into the True Dragon Hall—

Cheng Nianjiang, Cheng Tongliang, Cheng Tongming, and Cheng Tonghan happened to walk up outside the hall as well. At this point they could be considered to have completely broken away from Cheng Yuanmu’s Cheng clan. They did not regret this choice in the slightest; they had no intention of following along to their deaths.

Facing Cheng Yuanmu, the expressions on Cheng Nianjiang and the others’ faces no longer held the reverence of the past. They had now fully thrown themselves under Zhou Hongjing’s command, and they did not believe Cheng Yuanmu would dare lay a hand on them here.

Cheng Yiyao’s grandfather, Cheng Nianjiang, looked calmly at Cheng Yuanmu and said, "Young Master Zhou is a magnanimous man; he’s already given you a chance. Why are you just unwilling to cherish it? We withdrew from the Cheng clan entirely for the sake of the Cheng clan. This way at least the Cheng clan can preserve a bit of incense flame."

Hearing Cheng Nianjiang address Zhou Hongjing as Young Master Zhou, the coldness in Cheng Yuanmu’s eyes clearly deepened a few degrees. "Young Master Zhou, is it? Don’t trot out those high-sounding excuses. If you were merely withdrawing from the Cheng clan, that would only prove you’re cold-blooded and cling to life in fear of death. But now you’ve even turned into lapdogs at Zhou Hongjing’s feet. Our Cheng clan is attached to the Zhous, but the dignity and backbone a person should have cannot be lacking. I’m very glad you left the Cheng clan, because you are not worthy to be Cheng clan people."

Cheng Nianjiang and the others were utterly indifferent to Cheng Yuanmu’s coldness. Among them, Cheng Yiyao’s father Cheng Tonghan looked at Cheng Yiyao and said, "Yiyao, Young Master Zhou is still willing to give you a chance. As long as you grasp it well, Young Master Zhou can take you as a concubine. As long as you later confess your love to Young Master Zhou in front of everyone, he won’t pursue what happened before. You’ll still be my daughter, and that’s a good thing for everyone. In what way is Young Master Zhou not worthy of you?"

Cheng Yiyao clenched her silver teeth. So these were her grandfather and father. How had she never realized before that they could be such cold-blooded, heartless people?

The old Steward also looked down on Cheng Nianjiang and the others from the bottom of his heart. He spoke up: "You lot can’t even compare to an old man like me! We will stay by Miss Yiyao’s side. At worst, it’s just death. Since we came here, we’re not afraid of dying."

When they saw the old Steward speak, Cheng Nianjiang and the others all frowned. Cheng Yiyao’s eldest uncle, Cheng Tongliang, barked, "Old thing, is this a place for you to talk? In the past you were just a guard dog at our Cheng clan’s gate. What? You think you’re somebody now? You’ll very soon turn into a dead dog."

Cheng Tongliang then shifted his gaze to Ye Chenfeng. "Is it worth it? In the end you’ll have only one old dog and one piece of trash accompanying you to die. What’s so bad about being Young Master Zhou’s woman?"

A killing intent spread across Cheng Yuanmu’s face. These members of the Cheng clan were completely incurable. "You think I don’t dare make a move just because I’m here? Get out of my sight, immediately! Otherwise, at worst I’ll drag a few of you down with me on my way out!"

Feeling the killing intent on Cheng Yuanmu, Cheng Nianjiang and the others, who knew his temperament, promptly hurried into the True Dragon Hall. Just before stepping across the threshold, Cheng Nianjiang left behind one sentence: "You will regret this."

After Cheng Nianjiang and the others left, Cheng Yuanmu patted Cheng Yiyao’s shoulder and said, "Yiyao, let’s go. No matter what, you still have us with you!"

The True Dragon Hall was incomparably spacious. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

After entering the hall, Cheng Yuanmu, Ye Chenfeng, and the others found seats and sat down.

The guests around them immediately drew away, and within the True Dragon Hall they seemed to have been isolated.

As more and more guests arrived—

When almost everyone had gathered—

Two old men walked into the True Dragon Hall. They strolled to the very front center of the hall and sat down on the two resplendent golden chairs. These two were the Zhous’ current Half-step Divine Venerables.

The Half-step Divine Venerable on the left was named Zhou Yongwang; he was the direct-ancestor patriarch backing Zhou Hongjing.

The young man standing beside Zhou Yongwang was Zhou Hongjing. Zhou Hongjing’s strength was at the Middle Stage of the seventh layer of the Earth God Realm. After his gaze swept once around the hall, it quickly fixed on Cheng Yuanmu, Ye Chenfeng, and the others.

He had just received word from Cheng Nianjiang and the others; he knew Cheng Yiyao was still unwilling to obey him. That was no longer his fault. A cold smile curled the corner of his mouth.

The other Half-step Divine Venerable on the right was named Zhou Zhande, and the young man standing beside Zhou Zhande was his direct descendant, Zhou Tianlu.

Zhou Tianlu was the number one genius of the Zhous, his strength at the Middle Stage of the first layer of the Heavenly God Realm.

This banquet was to celebrate Zhou Yongwang’s breakthrough into the Half-step Divine Venerable Realm. Now that the main character had arrived, the banquet naturally began.

As the banquet began—

The various major forces that had come to attend stepped forward one by one to present their congratulatory gifts to Zhou Yongwang.

Very soon, everyone who had come to the banquet had presented their gifts; only Cheng Yuanmu’s side had yet to offer one.

For a moment, all eyes focused on Cheng Yuanmu’s group.

Cheng Yuanmu had also prepared a congratulatory gift. The more critical the moment, the less he could afford to lose his composure. He had to perform all the proper courtesies, leaving the other side no pretext to deliberately make things difficult.

Steadying his emotions, Cheng Yuanmu rose from his seat and walked toward Zhou Yongwang at the front of the True Dragon Hall. At the same time, a delicate rectangular wooden box appeared in his hand; inside was the congratulatory gift he had prepared for this occasion.

Although the gift was not precious enough to satisfy a Half-step Divine Venerable, it was the most valuable thing he had been able to gather.

... (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)