Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
If Gao Tian’ai hadn’t been there, Jiang Chen thought the steward would drive him away, but he had achieved the goal of the day. What others thought wasn’t important.
He was happy enough with the information he had received. It was much less difficult to refine the antidote than he had thought. He was confident he would be able to accomplish it.
“Cousin, why don’t you come home with me?” Gao Tian’ai said to him after they had left the Sacred Wind Chamber of Commerce.
“All right.”
Jiang Chen thought about the letter in the mustardseed ring. He would have to go to the Gaos sooner or later, and this day was as perfect as any other day to do it.
Gao Tian’ai was pleasantly surprised. It seemed that she hadn’t expected Jiang Chen to accept her invitation so easily, but before heading for the Gaos, they ran into Ouyang Na outside of the chamber of commerce again.
“I was wondering which talented youngster you were. So you’re the worthless Reaching Heaven State.”
Ouyang Na had investigated Jiang Chen’s background. She had come back to give him an insult.
“Jiang Chen achieved the Reaching Heaven State when he was very young. That’s a fact you can’t deny,” Gao Tian’ai refuted.
“Ha, he didn’t develop any extraordinary meridians. He belongs to the humblest group among the Reaching Heaven States. The great competition of the Sacred Institute is coming soon. He’ll be a joke by then!”
Ouyang Na mocked, “All of the forces in the Sacred City will go to watch the competition. I’ll tell everyone he’s your friend!”
People will also isolate those who make friends with a laughingstock.
“Let’s wait and see!”
Gao Tian’ai didn’t bother to argue with her. She left with Jiang Chen directly, because it was a matter of fact that no argument could deny. Whatever she argued, she wouldn’t gain the upper hand.
“You won’t be disappointed at the time of the great competition.”
On their way, Jiang Chen didn’t have the heart to see Gao Tian’ai so down, so he comforted her.
He wouldn’t have bothered to say so if it were other anyone else.
“It’s not because of that. I just feel it’s a pity.”
Gao Tian’ai shook her head and said, “Cousin, you had such a wonderful opportunity to develop the Eight Extraordinary Meridians before achieving the Reaching Heave State. If you had made it, the Gaos would have been glad to accept you, too.”
“Yeah? I’m just an average man without the blood of any inheritance. Will the Gaos accept me?”
Jiang Chen was standing up for his parents.
No matter how Gao Yue had excused her family, he couldn’t let go of the fact that the Gaos had forced her to drink poison.
Soon, they arrived at the Gao Mansion. It covered an area of more than 2,100 square feet, fortified with high walls. Outside the vermilion gate, there was a pair of phoenix sculptures, as high as three people, carved in valuable crystals.
The two guards standing on either side of the gate looked powerful. Their looks were sharp. Both of them were in the Mental Wander State.
They didn’t stop Jiang Chen and Gao Tian’ai, but they weren’t so sure about Whitty.
Gao Tian’ai led him into the palace and asked him to wait there, then trotted away excitedly.
Aristocratic family of inheritance, impressive.
Jiang Chen had been impressed by everything he had seen and heard on his way to the palace. It could compare to a great group in the Sacred Zone of 500 years ago.
He took out the letter from his mother and waited there.
Soon, he heard footsteps coming. It sounded like there were lots of people.
He looked towards the door and saw some unfriendly strangers.
They didn’t say anything when they saw Jiang Chen. They sat in the chairs in the palace, but didn’t invite Jiang Chen to sit down.
“Cousin…”
There was no more trace of excitement on Gao Tian’ai’s face. She gave Jiang Chen a guilty look, as if she had done something wrong.
“Don’t you have any manners? How could you bring an animal here? Unbelievable,” an aristocratic woman said first. She was frowning and covering her nose with her hand in disgust.
Whitty understood what she had said. He felt wronged and leaned against Jiang Chen’s leg closely, but Whitty didn’t know she had actually been insinuating Jiang Chen.
Gao Tian’ai turned red and closed her hands.
“You’re Gao Yue’s son?”
“You look like her. You have her eyebrows and eyes.”
“Gao Yue does have a good son. He achieved the Reaching Heaven State so young, but it’s a pity that he wasted such a good chance.”
The others also started talking all at once.
Jiang Chen pretended he had heard nothing. He looked at the middle-aged man sitting in the middle. He knew that wasn’t the guy he wanted to see, since he was too young.
“Enough,” the middle-aged man said in a low voice. The hall quieted down immediately. It was obvious that he had a high standing in the Gao family.
“What are you here for?” the middle-aged man asked.
“To see the master of the Gaos,” Jiang Chen said loudly, neither too arrogant nor too humble.
His answer caused a stir, “The master of the Gaos.”
These people thought Jiang Chen had come here to claim he was their family and would try his best to gain favor with them, but he was obviously trying to alienate them by calling his grandpa this way.
“In what capacity?” the middle-aged man asked.
“A dutiful son,” Jiang Chen said.
The people in the hall glanced at each other and talked with each other in low voices. It became noisy once again.
“Then you can’t see the master of the Gaos,” the middle-aged man said.
His answer quieted the others down again.
“What makes you say so?” Jiang Chen asked.
“You’re exactly the same as your father.”
The middle-aged man’s expression changed. He was apparently extremely angry, but holding his temper.
“Because I’m your uncle, the acting master of the Gaos. Because your mother was expelled from the Gaos long time ago. Is that enough?!” he shouted coldly.
He gave off a powerful energy immediately. The energy marched towards Jiang Chen like a soldier.
Jiang Chen raised his eyebrows. To confront it, he gave off an energy of killing intent, which seemed to come from heck, and he wasn’t at a disadvantage at all.
“Enough.”
Jiang Chen kept his cool. He took the letter back and walked to the door with Whitty.
“Stop!” the middle-aged man shouted.
“Anything else?” Jiang Chen turned around to ask him.
The middle-aged man took a deep breath. He wouldn’t let Jiang Chen see the master of the Gaos, but he didn’t want Jiang Chen to leave like this, either.
“Gao Ke, he is Gao Yue’s son. His request is reasonable,” a man sitting on the right said.
Without waiting for the middle-aged man’s answer, the aristocratic woman who had shown disgust at Whitty said unhappily, “The master of the Gaos removed Gao Yue from the genealogy book in person. She isn’t a member of the Gaos anymore. By the way, your daughter brought this guy here. What is she up to?!”
That man didn’t answer. He looked towards Gao Tian’ai. She lowered her head.
Jiang Chen realized these people wouldn’t welcome him like Gao Tian’ai did, and he wasn’t surprised.
“The master of the Gaos doesn’t know anything about him yet.”
Gao Ke looked at Jiang Chen coldly. His look was complicated.
“You don’t have the blood of phoenix in your body, but the blood of phoenix in your mother’s body was the purest in the Gaos for the past hundred years! Both you and your father should die!” said Gao Ke.
He seemed to care more than the other members of the Gaos.
“You have the holy pulse. That could have made up for your blood, but you are so foolish that you achieved the Reaching Heaven State without developing your holy pulse first!”
“Where did you get the pride to make you think you can see the master of the Gaos today?!”
Jiang Chen shrugged his shoulders when he heard these words. He said, “I don’t have any pride. It’s you who think I should be humble. I’m beyond your expectations. That’s all. If you stopped me only to tell me these things, I don’t want to waste any more of my time.”
