"Oh, quite lively here."
Taylor Johnston and his son had just sat down with Shiloh Fitzgerald and his son when a mocking voice sounded from beside them, freezing the lively atmosphere at the table in an instant.
Carson Flores turned to look and saw the proud girl he had encountered on the train. She was standing with her arms crossed, looking down at him with a teasing glint in her eyes, like a cat that had caught a mouse.
Next to the proud girl stood a man in his late twenties, a flattering smile on his face: "Miss Harrison, is this the brat who was disrespectful and upset you?"
Josephine Harrison’s gaze swept across the table: "You’re quite popular, aren’t you? The fact that you didn’t run off and dared to stay and feast has indeed surprised me a bit."
Carson Flores replied with a casual smile, "I haven’t done anything wrong, so why should I run away?"
Josephine Harrison sneered, "Because you’ve offended me."
Carson Flores asked indifferently, "Did I offend you by giving up our seats and room to make it more convenient for you to care for the sick, by coming to this meeting fair and square, or by not showing you the deference due, refusing to fawn over you like a grovelling dog, and that’s why you’re upset?"
Josephine Harrison’s face suddenly changed.
Carson Flores’s words had given her no face at all, and to say such a thing in front of everyone was like rubbing her face on the ground...
The man next to Josephine Harrison quickly stepped forward, pointing at Carson Flores, "Miss Harrison is the beloved great-granddaughter of Elder Zhang from the Divine Cloudy Sect, someone a nobody like you has no right to mock. Apologize to Miss Harrison at once!"
Carson Flores’s eyes fell on the man, and he laughed incredulously, "The ox speaks with a horse’s snout, you’re really eager to please. And who might you be?"
The man sneered, "Atticus Gross from Moon Rain Sect."
Carson Flores blinked, "What’s your relation to Johnny Gross?"
Atticus Gross’s face changed, "You do not have the right to call the name of my great-grandfather directly!"
Carson Flores laughed, "Aren’t names meant to be called? He’s your great-grandfather, not mine."
Atticus Gross shouted angrily, "Arrogant! This isn’t the place for someone like you. Get out!"
Carson Flores simply smiled, "Although I’ve heard the organization of the Southwest Gathering was undertaken by your Moon Rain Sect, it doesn’t mean you have the authority to decide who can or cannot attend, let alone the fact that you don’t represent Moon Rain Sect, even less the Nine Peaks Sect."
Atticus Gross scoffed, "Sharp-tongued and disrespectful. If you won’t leave, then I’ll have to throw you out!"
Atticus Gross turned his head, "Maverick Roth, break his legs, and throw him out!"
The middle-aged man behind Atticus Gross was just about to step forward when Castiel Martinez spoke harshly, "Anyone who is a cultivator is eligible to participate in the Southwest Gathering. Since when is it up to your Moon Rain Sect to judge who can and cannot attend? Atticus Gross, are you sure you’re speaking on behalf of Moon Rain Sect, and are you ready to take responsibility for those words?"
Being called out by Castiel Martinez, Atticus Gross suddenly felt weak, because after all, he was just trying to curry favor without any real authority to say who was eligible to participate or not.
Castiel Martinez sneered, "Castiel Martinez, head of the Seashore City Martinez Family. Why, are you going to tell me to get lost too?"
Taylor Johnston spoke leisurely, "Taylor Johnston, Patriarch of the Seashore City Johnston Family. My house lacks a Great Grandmaster, let alone an Innate Grandmaster, and being just a small house, it looks like we’re not qualified to attend the Southwest Gathering."
Shiloh Fitzgerald folded his arms, his gaze frosty, "The Moon Rain Sect has the backing of the Nine Peaks Sect, speaking and acting boldly. Unlike us minor families, lacking the confidence to speak up."
The three men exchanged phrases, half mocking, half provoking, and Atticus Gross’s face turned green.
Although the Moon Rain Sect was the organizer this time, that was just kowtowing to the Nine Peaks Sect. It did not indicate that Moon Rain Sect itself was formidable.
Seashore City is a large city in the southwestern region, and while the Eight Great Families of Seashore might not compare with the three Sects and four prominent families, they are still considered prestigious, none inferior to the Moon Rain Sect.
Even if the Sect Master of the Moon Rain Sect were here, he would treat the three Family Heads with courtesy. Atticus Gross, just a junior member of the Moon Rain Sect, wouldn’t dare to tell the three Family Heads to get lost.
Atticus Gross spoke with hesitation, "I wasn’t speaking to the three of you. I was talking to this arrogant brat!"
Josephine Harrison never expected that someone would stand up for Carson Flores and answered with a sneer, "This is a personal grudge between this kid and me. Whoever sides with him is making an enemy of the Divine Cloudy Sect. Throw him out!"
Seeing Josephine Harrison making her stance clear, Atticus Gross puffed out his chest, his attitude once again arrogant, "Maverick Roth, throw him out!"
Josephine Harrison had spoken, indicating that supporting the boy was tantamount to being an enemy of the Divine Cloudy Sect.
That was the Divine Cloudy Sect, one of the three Sects and four great clans!
You, the Martinez Family, Johnston Family, and Fitzgerald Family, don’t have a Great Grandmaster among you. Do you have any say in front of the Divine Cloudy Sect?
Castiel Martinez’s brows furrowed, about to speak, when Carson Flores put his hand on Castiel’s arm, smiling slightly, "Let him try."