Chapter 252: Chapter 249: One Wrong Step, Every Step Wrong

"Gentlemen, I see no reason to discuss this any further, do you?" Nangong Yi asked, shooting Nangong An a cold glance.

The various leaders of the Nangong Family rose and began to leave, each one of them giving Nangong An a hostile look.

"That’s a wrap. What a waste of time."

"Come on, let’s go. We didn’t even finish our game of chess. Let’s get back to it."

"All that for nothing. You’d think the Grand Elder would be old enough to know better than to do something so idiotic."

"The man’s got to be sick in the head, and it’s not a mild case. He made it sound like such a big deal. I had to come right out of my seclusion for this. Dammit!"

"If you ask me, the Nangong Family should pay a visit to the Imperial Academy and apologize." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

The elders muttered under their breath, but with Nangong An’s level of Cultivation, how could he possibly not hear them?

He was completely dumbfounded, frozen in place, with no idea what had just happened.

’Why is this happening?’

’Weren’t they all just filled with righteous fury, demanding we go to the Imperial Academy and get our man?’

’How did they all change their tune so suddenly?’

’Even if you don’t care about what happened, you don’t have to go as far as apologizing to the Imperial Academy, do you?’

Little did Nangong An know, he was the only one present who was unaware of Mo Qi’s identity as a Blessed One.

He had been so preoccupied with targeting Liu Hui that, given the situation with Nangong Yan, Nangong Yi certainly wasn’t going to volunteer the information.

On top of that, when he went to the Zhu Family to buy information, he was coincidentally served by Zhu Fan, who had intentionally concealed Mo Qi’s identity.

All these coincidences combined to leave Nangong An completely in the dark.

"You... What is the meaning of this?" Nangong An couldn’t help but ask.

The others couldn’t help but roll their eyes, but no one answered him.

Although the Royal Family was taking a hands-off approach with Mo Qi at the Imperial Academy, giving him no apparent special treatment, everyone knew just how highly they valued the Blessed One.

’Forget killing a mere Nangong Jie,’ they thought. ’Even if *you*, Nangong An, died by his hand, the Nangong Family wouldn’t dare utter a single complaint.’

’But you? You actually had the gall to incite us to cause trouble for the Blessed One.’

’If you’re stupid enough to have a death wish, fine, but why are you trying to drag us down with you?’

’If the Nangong Family actually did anything to the Blessed One, we would undoubtedly face the full wrath of the Royal Family and suffer a fatal blow.’

"Nangong Qing, what in the world is going on?" Nangong An demanded, grabbing an Elder with whom he was on fairly good terms.

Nangong Qing looked as if he wanted to say something but held back. He finally just patted Nangong An’s shoulder and sighed. "Old An, do you have any idea who that Qin Daye is? Sigh... Just... be careful."

With that, Nangong Qing turned and left without a backward glance.

"Qin Daye’s identity?" Nangong An frowned. ’What kind of status could some nobody from the Void Sect possibly have?’

’His name alone was enough to make all the family leaders change their tune. Not even the Princes could do that!’

Nangong An’s mind raced, and he soon guessed the truth.

’There’s only one disciple at the Imperial Academy with that kind of intimidating presence!’

"Don’t tell me... he’s the one who rang the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell?"

Nangong An hadn’t recklessly called for a clan resolution because he was truly stupid, but simply because he didn’t have all the necessary information.

"That’s impossible!"

Nangong An remembered clearly that the intelligence he’d bought from the Zhu Family had made no mention of this!

Nangong Yi saw this, sneered, and departed.

Soon, only Nangong An remained, muttering to himself, looking utterly lost.

"He’s the Empire’s Blessed One!"

Nangong An was furious, but also incredibly resentful.

"Damn that Zhu Family!"

Making a move on Mo Qi was now clearly impossible, so Nangong An could only turn to the Zhu Family as an outlet for his frustration.

’Five hundred thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones, and this is the information you sell me? You didn’t even tell me Qin Daye was the Blessed One! This is outrageous!’

Nangong An immediately went to confront the Zhu Family. Due to his status and the fact that five hundred thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones were involved, the Zhu Family took the matter very seriously.

Zhu Fan was summoned.

As soon as he saw Nangong An, Zhu Fan knew what was coming. He had anticipated this scene long ago.

"What seems to be the problem, Grand Elder Nangong? Was the information I provided you false?"

Nangong An suppressed his rage and shook his head. "It wasn’t false, but I suspect you deliberately withheld crucial information!"

"Oh? And what might I have withheld?" Zhu Fan asked with a smile.

"Qin Daye clearly has a special status. Why did you not inform me?"

Zhu Fan spread his hands and looked at Nangong An as if he were an idiot. "If I recall correctly, Grand Elder Nangong, you wished to purchase intelligence on Liu Hui, correct?"

"So tell me, what obligation did I have to provide you with information on Qin Daye?"

"Besides, you should know his status by now, shouldn’t you? According to Imperial law, the identity of a Blessed One is top secret. Forget five hundred thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones, even if you offered us an entire Celestial-level Spiritual Ore vein, the Zhu Family wouldn’t dare sell information about him."

"Is Grand Elder Nangong satisfied with this explanation? If you have any further questions, please, don’t hesitate to ask. I will be sure to satisfy your curiosity."

"You...!"

Zhu Fan’s words were watertight. Nangong An was left speechless.

’You only paid for information on Liu Hui. Why should I tell you the Blessed One’s identity?’

’The logic was flawless!’

"Grand Elder Nangong, if there’s nothing else, this junior will take his leave."

Without waiting for a response, Zhu Fan turned and left.

He had no need to be polite to Nangong An.

Nangong An was seething but utterly helpless.

Looking back on the intelligence Zhu Fan had provided and the attitude he’d displayed, Nangong An could see it clearly. Zhu Fan had deliberately revealed the name Qin Daye to him and intentionally told him that Liu Hui and Qin Daye were close.

Clearly, Zhu Fan had been setting a trap for him from the very beginning.

But Nangong An didn’t understand why. He had no feud with the Zhu Family, so why would Zhu Fan do such a thing?

"Grand Elder Nangong, do you have any further doubts regarding the information sold by our Zhu Family?" asked the head of the Zhu Family’s intelligence division with a beaming smile.

"Hmph!"

Nangong An snorted, flicked his sleeves, and stormed away.

Though his heart was filled with immense resentment, he could only keep telling himself one thing: ’Stay calm!’

’Am I supposed to just forget about getting revenge for Ah Jie?’

Just then, Nangong An received a transmission from the family.

"Following a discussion among the clan elders, a decision has been made regarding Grand Elder Nangong An’s actions toward the Blessed One: You are hereby suspended from the position of Grand Elder. Proceed to the ancestral lands to receive your punishment. You will face the wall in meditation for ten years. This is not to be delayed!"

The message was from Nangong Yi.

Nangong An never imagined he would lose his position as Grand Elder over this.

Nangong Jie was already dead. If he were to spend the next ten years facing a wall, the influence of his entire branch of the family would plummet. They would likely be cast out from the core lineage and relegated to the status of a fringe branch.

At that point, forget competing for the main lineage; they’d be lucky just to ensure their line didn’t die out completely.

"Damn it all!" Nangong An cursed aloud.

As the saying goes, one wrong step leads to another.

All because of Liu Hui, a half-breed he’d never even given a second thought, he was now about to lose the future of his entire family line.

What a devastating loss!