As Manager Wan spoke, the room suddenly became eerily cold.
It was a while before Lang Yizhan, with a roar that belied his badly injured body, spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, "Sikong’s Apprentice, I will tear you to pieces... Ah!"
With a scream, Lang Yizhan, overwhelmed by fury, fainted again.
In Wentian City’s Shui Family, today marked the 80th birthday of the family head, Shui Bingqu.
As one of the strongest families in Wentian City, the Shui Family Manor was bustling with beast chariots outside and filled with the aroma of wine inside; the atmosphere was extraordinarily lively.
Countless people came to wish Shui Bingqu well, greeted with his beaming smile.
At this moment, a delicate voice sounded.
A woman in a blue dress walked out gracefully, holding a delicate gift box, followed by dozens of men and women dressed as students from the Heavenly Dao Palace.
This woman in blue was naturally Shui Yuyin, and the other students from the Heavenly Dao Palace were also there to celebrate Shui Bingqu’s birthday.
Being one of the top five students of the Long Night Heavenly Dao Palace, Shui Yuyin was highly regarded, and thus many students joined in the fun.
"Haha, Yu Yin is here!"
Upon seeing the arrivals, Shui Bingqu laughed heartily and strode over.
His beloved granddaughter was indeed the hope for the Shui Family’s significant rise. As long as Shui Yuyin grew up successfully, they could become the most powerful family in Wentian City.
Shui Bingqu doted on Shui Yuyin to the extreme, granting her every wish.
Meanwhile, the birthday banquet quieted down, and the guests’ eyes sparkled, secretly sighing.
Shui Yuyin’s Martial Arts talent was too strong; the future of Wentian City might well belong to the Shui Family. Despite the jealousy and hatred from other families, they dared not harbor any ill intentions towards Shui Yuyin.
After all, she was a student from the Inner Palace of the Long Night Heavenly Dao Palace—who would dare to meddle with her?
Located in the Long Night Empire, Wentian City was considered an ordinary city.
But it lay at the foot of the mountain of the Long Night Heavenly Dao Palace, within the territory of the Heavenly Dao Palace, so the various families dared not harbor any sinister thoughts, or else annihilation was not out of the question.
"Grandpa, may your fortune be as boundless as the Eastern Sea and your life as long as the southern mountains," Shui Yuyin approached, handing over the gift box she brought, "Grandpa, this is my birthday gift to you."
Shui Bingqu quickly took it, laughing without even looking inside, "Yu Yin, you are thoughtful."
However, Shui Yuyin hurriedly urged her grandfather to open the gift box.
The latter immediately understood that it must contain something extraordinary, and he opened it without hesitation.
Instantly, a brilliant light shone.
Inside the gift box was a flower core the size of a finger, white as jade and shaped like a flame.
A rolling chill emanated from the flower core.
It took a moment before Shui Bingqu’s eyes widened in exclamation, "Is this, is this... the Thousand Cold Red Lotus Core?"
As soon as these words were spoken, all the guests stood up with a ’bang.’
Their eyes widened in shock.
The Thousand Cold Red Lotus Core was a rare Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure, greatly beneficial for the meridians.
Especially for aging meridians, it could restore youth and vitality, and for Shui Bingqu at eighty years old, its effect was tremendous.
Moreover, it was an item worth a hundred thousand Ming King Crystals!
Again, given that Wentian City was not large, it was not easy for the Shui family to come up with a hundred thousand Ming King Crystals.
"Yu Yin, this gift is incredible, where did you get it from?" Shui Bingqu couldn’t help asking.
The guests all pricked up their ears, eager to know its origin.
With a charming smile, Shui Yuyin said, "I fought for it... from the Chief of the Dark Dragon Mountain in the Long Night Saint Dragon Palace."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire room was shocked!
Shui Bingqu then asked in surprise, "Long Night Saint Dragon Palace? Won’t there be any problem?"
Before Shui Yuyin could speak, a group of Heavenly Dao Palace students burst out laughing in unison.
"Grandpa Shui, of course there won’t be a problem. The Long Night Saint Dragon Palace is rubbish, and they are probably about to crumble under the pressure from our Senior Brother He and Elder Ma."
"Haha, even if we throw the flower core in front of the entrance to the Long Night Saint Dragon Palace, they wouldn’t dare to touch it."
"And that chief from Dark Dragon Mountain, if it weren’t for Senior Brother Lang of the Heavenly Dao Main Academy, we would have killed him already."
The students from the Heavenly Dao Palace were dismissive of the Long Night Saint Dragon Palace, each adding their comments one after another.
The audience was extremely surprised, had the Long Night Saint Dragon Palace become so weak?
Then, Shui Yuyin also spoke with a smile, "Grandfather, you just go ahead and accept it. Of the three subacademies of the Long Night Empire, our Heavenly Dao Palace is the strongest. With my current realm, I can easily crush the strongest students of the Holy Dragon Palace."
The guests felt tightness in their chests, recently the Long Night Heavenly Dao Palace had indeed been too dominant.
Seeing the envious yet wary eyes of all the guests, Shui Yuyin proudly puffed out his chest and said to the whole audience, "Even if you give the Holy Dragon Palace students ten times the courage, they wouldn’t dare appear before me."
As soon as he finished speaking, suddenly a house servant shouted loudly, "Sikong Jing, a student of the Long Night Saint Dragon Palace, has come to wish the family head a happy birthday!"
Upon hearing this, Shui Yuyin almost bit his own tongue.
The house servant’s voice echoed throughout the venue, seemingly proud that a student from the Long Night Saint Dragon Palace had come to offer birthday wishes, as if it brought great honor to the Shui family.
However, Shui Bingqu was stunned, so were the guests.
Then, everyone’s gaze turned to Shui Yuyin, as if their looks could speak: Didn’t you just say that even with ten times the courage, they wouldn’t dare to show up?
How come they show up right after you finished speaking?
Suddenly, Shui Yuyin’s expression turned extremely ugly, and he felt a burning sensation on his face under the stares of everyone.
Who the hell is this Sikong Jing, showing up to wish a happy birthday at this time?
The next moment, heavy footsteps sounded as Sikong Jing strode in from the entrance of the Shui family manor, followed closely by Baili Que and Lang Yisuo, their gazes calm yet cold.
All eyes focused on the three of them, and the scene fell silent.
Shui Yuyin glared fiercely at them, then widened his eyes and said, "Baili Que, why are you here?"
Baili Que, wasn’t he in the hands of Third Young Master Lang?
However, Baili Que, with a cold face, didn’t even bother to respond, following Sikong Jing’s lead.
Sikong Jing similarly did not answer, but stepped toward the center of the banquet where Shui Bingqu and Shui Yuyin were, stopping only to lightly say, "It’s the Shui Family Head’s grand birthday, and I, Sikong Jing, have specially brought a birthday gift."
As he spoke, Lang Yisuo handed a long box to Sikong Jing—it was their birthday gift.
At that moment, Shui Yuyin wanted to say something else but was stopped by Shui Bingqu.
The latter stared at Sikong Jing, asking meaningfully, "So it’s Sikong, our young friend. What gift have you brought for this old man?"
At this moment, whispers began to stir among the crowd...
"The visitor does not mean well, there’s definitely going to be a spectacle soon."
"True, I never believed that the Long Night Saint Dragon Palace would swallow such an insult."
"A fight is inevitable, but Wentian City lies at the foot of the Heavenly Dao Palace. What can these three Holy Dragon Palace students possibly do?"
Though many were looking forward to seeing the Shui family’s misfortune, it seemed unlikely.
Indeed, they had heard that the Long Night Saint Dragon Palace had not been doing well lately, and that they had also had fierce disputes with Xingluo Palace. Would they really dare to offend the might of the Long Night Heavenly Dao Palace?
At that moment, Sikong Jing lightly touched the long box in his hands, responding softly, "A sword, a fine sword."
Saying this, Sikong Jing opened the long box, and instantly a sound of a sword’s cry filled the air—it was indeed a remarkable sword, Shui Bingqu’s eyes were burning with eagerness but he quickly regained his composure and asked, "May I inquire about the origin of this sword?"
Sikong Jing drew the sword into his hands, its sword light blue and sharp without peer!
All the sword lovers present widened their eyes, their passion intense.
However, just at that moment, Shui Yuyin suddenly shouted, "This is He Jia’s sword, why is it in your hands?"