Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Demi-saint Sandao frowned and thought he had made a miscalculation.
Not only was Zhu Hongtao widely known for being insolent and unreasonable, he was also terrifyingly strong. Demi-saint Sandao did not dare take him on so he took a step backward.
Demi-saint Sandao saluted with his hands folded and forced himself to smile as he said, “Of course not. How would I have the audacity to steal the bride in the presence of Saint Hongtao? Love between a boy and a girl is a natural emotion. Are you saying only Zhang Ruochen is allowed to propose marriage to the Chens but not our Saint Xu Gentry?… You… what are you trying to do?…”
Zhu Hongtao would have none of Demi-saint Sandao’s nonsense. He stretched out his arm to grab Demi-saint Sandao.
Demi-saint Sandao’s face fell and he made an attempt to dodge.
However, Zhu Hongtao’s outstretched arm carried with it a great mysterious power. His palm enlarged so that Demi-saint Sandao was unable to escape, ending up in Zhu Hongtao’s grip.
Zhu Hongtao seized the collar of Demi-saint Sandao’s cloak, lifting him as if he were a small chick.
Instantly, Demi-saint Sandao felt his strength drain out of him, leaving him defenseless.
Zhu Hongtao opened his fist-sized eyes wide and glared fiercely at Demi-saint Sandao. Bringing the half-saint up to his face, he bellowed. “Don’t you know that my junior apprentice is already engaged to the girl? How audacious of you to come here to steal the bride. Do you want me to tear you up?”
The sound waves produced by Zhu Hongtao were propagated outwards with great power as it traveled into Demi-saint Sandao’s ears.
He felt great pain in his eardrums. Darkness came over him as he almost fainted due to Zhu Hongtao’s bellowing.
“I didn’t expect Zhu Hongtao’s cultivation to be at such a terrifying level.”
Demi-saint Sandao’s face fell. By his estimation, even if Saint Xu Gentry’s strongest warrior were here, he would not be able to withstand Zhu Hongtao.
Zhu Hongtao was too barbaric to even have a reasonable conversation.
More importantly, however, was that his level of cultivation was just too high.
The ferocious look in Zhu Hongtao’s eyes intimidated Demi-saint Sandao. Fearing that he might be torn up at any moment, his face became drained of color.
Zhu Hongtao asked coldly, “Are you going to submit to me?”
Demi-saint Sandao clenched his teeth and refused to yield.
How could he, being a Half-Saint of a powerful family of Saints, surrender so easily?
Demi-saint Sandao turned pleading eyes toward Chen Ji who was standing afar.
The look in his eyes seemed to say that the Chens should handle the situation since it was happening in their territory.
However, Chen Ji pretended he had not seen what was going on. He ignored Demi-saint Sandao’s pleading eyes and fixed his eyes on the ground as if he was counting the grains of sand.
Three other Half-Saints were present to propose marriage to the Chens on behalf of their respective Great Saint families.
However, seeing Demi-saint Sandao’s miserable state, none of them could pluck up the courage to go forward and help resolve the conflict.
It was no joke to offend Zhu Hongtao, the second disciple of Sword Saint Xuanji. Even if the four Half-Saints from the four powerful Great Saint families worked together, they would be no match for him.
“Slap!”
Zhu Hongtao slapped Demi-saint Sandao’s cheek and asked again, “Are you going to submit?”
Demi-saint Sandao’s cap flew off his head and landed on the floor.
Instantly, his left cheek became red and swollen, blood tinged the corner of his eye and lips. However, the expression in his eyes remained firm and sharp, indicating that he would not bow to Zhu Hongtao’s power.
It was outrageous! He was, after all, a prominent Half-Saint. It was humiliating for him to be given a tight slap in front of a huge audience.
Whatever will happen to his dignity as a Half-Saint?
How could he even show his face?
How was he to hold his head up?
To him, Zhu Hongtao’s barbaric act was worse than death.
Demi-saint Sandao clenched his teeth as he began to harness a ball of red-hot flames within his Qi Sea.
Flames began to escape his nostrils, eventually wrapping around his entire body. Simultaneously, a great force of Saint Power exploded from Demi-saint Sandao’s body and two streams of power surged forward from his arms.
In great rage, Demi-saint Sandao said, “How dare you humiliate me, Zhu Hongtao…”
“Slap!”
Once again, Zhu Hongtao slapped Demi-saint Sandao with the back of his hand. Only this time, it was on his right cheek.
His five fingers were like five iron pillars pushing the flames back into Demi-saint Sandao’s body.
The power painstakingly gathered by Demi-saint Sandao dissipated in an instant. Both of his cheeks were swollen and bruised, and he was bleeding through his nose.
“Are you going to submit?” Zhu Hongtao raged.
Seeing Demi-saint Sandao’s stubborness, Zhu Hongtao gave him another slap that almost disfigured him.
Two bloody teeth rolled out of his mouth.
“Slap!”
“Slap!”
…
Each of Zhu Hongtao’s heavy-handed slaps was accompanied by a question: “Do you submit?”
Even the bystanders felt excruciating pain on their faces.
Everyone jolted with every single slap on Demi-saint Sandao’s cheek.
Half-saint Qingxi was an elegant and beautiful lady from Saint Xi Gentry who looked around 30 years old.
She could not bear to see what was happening and wanted to persuade Zhu Hongtao to stop.
As soon as she took a step forward, though, Zhu Hongtao lifted his head and glared at her. “Do you, the Saint Xi Gentry, intend to steal the bride too?”
Half-saint Qingxi’s heart dropped. She clearly saw the state Demi-saint Sandao was in, so she stopped in her tracks.
With a single look, Half-Saint Qingxi was deterred by Zhu Hongtao.
The two other Half-Saints from the remaining Great Saint families gave each other a knowing look and then retreated with their team of people.
It was just too brutal!
Zhu Hongtao proceeded to pin Demi-saint Sandao to the ground while continuously hitting him. No one dared to stand up and dissuade Zhu Hongtao.
Chang Qiqi and Si Xingkong secretly felt a sense of satisfaction.
Chang Qiqi said, “Second elder brother apprentice is too gruff. Demi-saint Sandao is totally helpless and unable to fight back. Isn’t he worried that he might offend Saint Xu Gentry? Demi-saint Sandao is a Half-Saint, after all!”
Si Xingkong smiled and said, “With second elder brother apprentice’s level of cultivation, why would he be afraid of a degenerated family of saints?”
Actually, Zhang Ruochen, of all people, was the most shocked.
Zhu Hongtao’s behavior went completely against Zhang Ruochen’s idea of a Saint. This was the first time in his life – both past and present – that he met such a barbaric saint.
However, when he remembered that Zhu Hongtao was not human, he was able to reconcile his thoughts.
After all, to fight until the opponent succumbs was the way of savage beasts.
As the saying went, “You may kill a man, but don’t insult him.” Moreover, Xu Sandao was a well-known Half-Saint.
It made people wonder how Xu Sandao was feeling at that moment.
“Are you going to submit?”
Zhu Hongtao raised his arm, about to strike again.
Demi-saint Sandao raised his bloody hand and said in a whisper, “Yes… I submit to you…”
“Finally!”
Zhu Hongtao released Demi-saint Sandao, rubbed his sore palm and said, “Since you submit, get up quickly and leave with your company! You must be out of your mind to even think of stealing the bride when my junior fellow apprentice is the groom-to-be.”
Demi-saint Sandao got up from the ground, looking like a swollen pig. As if he had been wronged, he said, “It’s a misunderstanding… a misunderstanding. We are not here to steal the bride, but to make a marriage proposal.”
Zhu Hongtao said, “Aren’t they the same thing? My junior fellow apprentice is engaged to Miss Huang. Aren’t you trying to steal the bride when you propose marriage to her?”
A young man from Saint Xu Gentry came forward and looked respectfully at Zhu Hongtao. He said in a cautious tone, “In response to Predecessor Hongtao’s question, I would like to clarify that the lady this junior has a soft spot for is Miss Chen Lingchan, not Zhang Ruochen’s fiancee, Huang Yanchen.”
” Is that so? ”
“It is so.”
Zhu Hongtao was stupefied for a second before he glanced at Demi-saint Sandao and said, “So it was a misunderstanding? Why didn’t you clarify earlier? Come, come, let me have a look at your injuries.”
Demi-saint Sandao immediately shunned Zhu Hongtao and stared angrily at him. Filled with rage, he muttered under his breath. “Did you even give me a chance to speak?”
Although the four Great Saint families were wealthy and influential, they did not have the audacity to make trouble within the grounds of the Chens.
The most pressing reason they had come to propose marriage to the Chens was so that they can intermarry with the family.
Of course, having the opportunity to intimidate and humiliate Zhang Ruochen was icing on the cake.
Demi-saint Sandao never expected that he himself would be beaten up by Zhu Hongtao before Saint Xu Gentry’s God’s favored son could even do anything to intimidate Zhang Ruochen.
“This is such wonderful timing. While the four Great Saint families are not here to steal the bride, I have come to profess my love for Miss Yanchen. Even though I know she is engaged, I couldn’t help but wish that I would get the chance to compete with Brother Zhang.”
A handsome man in a white soft armor walked out from amongst the crowd.
Holding a jade fan in his hand and smiling, he walked directly toward Huang Yanchen.
The young man looked like he was in his twenties. He had a pair of sickle-shaped brows, deep-set eyes, and a sharp nose. He was indeed very handsome.
Even though he was smiling casually, he could not hide the smell of blood, murder, and war that was on him. It was as if he was a soldier who had just come from the battlefield.
“Who is this man? Where did he find the courage to come and steal the bride? Did he not see Demi-saint Sandao getting brutally beaten just now?”
“He looks rather familiar, we must have seen him before.”
Zhang Ruochen looked a little puzzled when he the saw young man. He immediately went six steps forward to stand face to face with the man and said, “Bu Qianfan, I know you are here to look for me. Why must you impose on Senior sister apprentice Yanchen?”
This young man was none other than one of the Six Great Kings of the young generation in Eastern Region, Bu Qianfan.
Zhang Ruochen had crossed paths with Bu Qianfan once before because of Orange Star Emissary, therefore he was reasonably familiar with him.
Zhang Ruochen whispered to Bu Qianfan through a wisp of sound waves. “The rumors about Orange Star Emissary are not true. I will find a suitable time to explain it to you, so please do not make trouble here.”
Zhang Ruochen did not dislike Bu Qianfan. On the contrary, he rather admired him. Although Bu Qianfan was aware that Orange Star Emissary and Di Yi were a pair, he still loved her deeply. Zhang Ruochen thought he was rather admirable, but just a bit silly for being so devoted to Orange Star Emissary.
For this reason, Zhang Ruochen did not wish to become enemies with him.
After hearing Zhang Ruochen’s words, Bu Qianfan’s mouth curved into a smile. He replied in a similar manner with a wisp of sound wave. “Do you think I will believe you, Zhang Ruochen? You snatched my woman away from me, so don’t blame me if I do the same.”
Zhang Ruochen suddenly felt uneasy when he saw the smile on Bu Qianfan’s face.
Why did Bu Qianfan smile in this manner? His smile looked vaguely familiar. He must have seen it somewhere?
Where had he seen this smile before?
Bu Qianfan seemed unable to take his eyes off Huang Yanchen. “Brother Zhang, everyone loves beauty. To be honest, I fell in love with Miss Yanchen the first time I set my eyes on her. I can’t help it. Even if it spells destruction for me today, I would still fight for it. I will never allow the woman I love to become another man’s wife,” said Bu Qianfan passionately.
