In order to encourage the younger generation to work hard in their cultivation, a younger generation tournament was held every four years to give the youth a chance to show off their talent in front of their friends, families, and the entirety of Glory City.
This year's younger generation tournament was hosted by the Sacred Family.
Many people were excited for the event, so much so that the majority of the seats had already sold out a few days prior to the tournament.
As a result, those who failed to secure seats had to settle for watching the entire event while standing if they wished to witness the tournament.
All because everyone was curious about the dispute between Xue Hui and Shen Fei.
Three days before the tournament, the Glory City Judgment Hall spread news to every family in Glory City that Xue Hui and Shen Fei had both signed a contract to settle their differences under the sanctity of a Blood Oath Duel of Dao Judgment. All families were asked to send a representative to personally witness the event, as per tradition.
Imagine the outcry that ensued once the news became public.
Two prominent members of the younger generation from two major families had agreed to a life-and-death battle over a girl.
Many were flabbergasted. While it was fairly normal to fight over a girl, since men were naturally hot-blooded creatures, resorting to a life-and-death battle seemed a little excessive.
The martial arts field was filled with the sounds of people talking and arguing. Everyone had opinions on the matter, and they were welcome to voice them.
But their voices would remain mere noise, since the Blood Oath Duel of Dao Judgment was absolute and could only be voided by the two individuals involved.
Xue Hui stood in the middle of the arena, his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes closed, and his expression solemn.
Despite the chaotic noise around him, Xue Hui remained calm and composed, unbothered by everything.
He had been waiting for half an hour now, but there was still no sign of Shen Fei or anyone from the Sacred Family showing up at the martial field.
Looking up at the sky, a huge portion of the heavens was covered by thick dark clouds. Their surface flashed with light here and there, as though they were charging for a deadly strike.
The sight frightened everyone who saw it, as they all knew it had been created by the Blood Oath Duel of Dao Judgment itself to uphold the rules of the duel.
In one of the private seating areas, the members of the Divine Family and Snow Wind Family had decided to sit together as they waited for the duel to begin.
One of these people was Ye Ziyun. As soon as she heard about the life-and-death battle, she became worried for Xue Hui and asked her father to bring her along to watch the event.
She sneaked a glance at Xiao Ning'er, who was sitting together with Chen Linlin and the trio of girls. On Xiao Ning'er's lap sat a small girl happily munching on a snack she had seemingly pulled out of nowhere.
Ye Ziyun wondered what Xiao Ning'er was thinking at the moment, since this entire situation had started because of her.
But looking at her current demeanor, there was no sign of anxiety on Xiao Ning'er's face. On the contrary, she looked happier than ever, and there was even a radiant glow about her that made her even more beautiful.
Ye Ziyun tore her gaze away from Xiao Ning'er and shifted it back to the person standing in the middle of the arena. Standing valiantly, Xue Hui looked like a lone hero unafraid of protecting someone he held dear in his heart.
Looking at him, Ye Ziyun didn't know why, but her heart felt lonely for some reason.
"Look, the people of the Sacred Family have arrived!"
No one knew who had shouted those words, but following that cry, the entire martial field erupted into an uproar.
Xue Hui's eyes opened, and the soft glow within them grew brighter. The corners of his lips curved upward.
As expected, Shen Fei had brought his father to settle the matter.
Shen Hong was an imposing, towering man. His presence alone was enough to intimidate those around him with a single glance.
Shen Hong scanned the crowd, flashes of viciousness glinting in his eyes when his gaze landed on two figures seated among the audience.
Chen Zhenlong and Ye Zong.
Shen Hong didn't know when it had begun, but at some point, the relationship between the Sacred Family and their families had soured to the point where the two families refused to have anything to do with them.
Because of this, there had been many nights when Shen Hong woke up drenched in sweat, thinking that Chen Zhenlong and Ye Zong had discovered something and were now preparing to deal with the Sacred Family.
But to Shen Hong's confusion, such actions never came. Other than refusing to do business with the Sacred Family, both the Divine Family and Snow Wind Family largely ignored their existence.
Only now had a conflict occurred between the Sacred Family and the Divine Family, and it was over a girl at that.
Shen Hong's gaze landed on Xue Hui. The damn brat looked remarkably composed for someone standing before him.
In contrast, his own son, Shen Fei, was cowering behind him, pale as a sheet. He looked like someone on the verge of vomiting, and he flinched every time the clouds emitted even the faintest rumble of thunder.
Comparing the two, Shen Hong couldn't help but sigh in disappointment. The Sacred Family truly didn't have a proper successor.
Shaking the thought from his mind, Shen Hong stepped forward and greeted everyone present in the martial field, attracting their attention.
Afterward, he went straight to the heart of the matter and began appealing to everyone regarding the injustice supposedly done to his son.
"As you all know, my son, Shen Fei, unknowingly agreed to a Blood Oath Duel of Dao Judgment without fully understanding the ramifications of such an action. My son's only fault was that he fell in love with Young Miss Xiao Ning'er of the Silver Winged Family, and what he received in return was betrayal and humiliation. And now, Young Master Xue Hui here is not content with merely stealing my son's fiancée, he also wants to end his life through such an underhanded method. Everyone, City Lord, Chen Zhenlong, please uphold justice for my son."
Shen Hong's tone was extremely sincere. He transformed from a domineering expert into a loving and devoted father in an instant. His acting was so convincing that even Xue Hui mentally praised him.
Shen Hong then turned to Xue Hui. For an instant, his eyes flashed with maliciousness.
Shen Hong planned to portray Xue Hui as a villain and force the Dao Book of Forges and Manifestation into a draw.
He had even prepared to drag the Divine Family's name down alongside Xue Hui's, ruining their reputation before everyone.
"Young Master Xue Hui, please explain yourself for committing such an evil act," Shen Hong asked in a mournful tone.
"No need. You pretty much covered everything. Good speech, though. Please step aside so we can begin."
"What!?" Shen Hong squawked, his expression filled with confusion. He couldn't believe that Xue Hui had outright admitted everything he had just said.
Xue Hui sighed, as though he couldn't believe he actually had to explain things.
"Just as you said, Senior Shen Hong, this is merely me stealing your son's fiancée. Since I couldn't break the engagement between your family and Ning'er's family, I decided to pull a you and murder my rival, just like what you did in the past, Senior Shen Hong."
Not only Shen Hong, but everyone in the crowd wore expressions of disbelief. They couldn't believe that Xue Hui had openly admitted his intention to kill someone.
"Y-you evil spawn! Do you think my Sacred Family would stand idle and do nothing while you commit such a heinous crime? I, Shen Hong, am not easy to bully. If you want to kill my son, then you'll have to go through me first!"
"I would, but the one who signed the Blood Oath Duel of Dao Judgment was Shen Fei, not you. Not only that, Senior Shen Hong is going against the ancestors' will. The Blood Oath Duel of Dao Judgment was created so people could settle disputes among themselves without dragging the conflict further and turning it into a clan war. That is why our ancestors established it. If Senior Shen Hong is willing to go against that rule, then don't blame me when the Judgment Lightning falls upon the Sacred Family."
Shen Hong cursed inwardly, knowing that what Xue Hui said was the absolute truth regarding the Blood Oath Duel of Dao Judgment.
If, after the duel had concluded, the defeated party's family sought revenge in the name of avenging their fallen member, the Blood Oath Duel of Dao Judgment would summon Judgment Lightning upon that family as punishment.
Forget about the Sacred family mansion, even Shen Hong himself wouldn't survive if struck by the might of that Judgment Lightning.
Shen Hong could cry all he wanted, but if Shen Fei died during the Blood Oath Duel of Dao Judgment, then he and his family could do nothing but accept it.
Gritting his teeth, Shen Hong ignored everything Xue Hui had said and continued his act, wanting to rally the crowd to his side.
"Why? Why would you do such a heartless thing? My son never offended you, Young Master Xue Hui. Why are you being so merciless toward him? Just because of Young Miss Xiao Ning'er? My Sacred Family only wished to take the young miss as my son's wife. Is that offense punishable by death?"
Instead of answering Shen Hong, Xue Hui turned toward Shen Fei, who was hiding behind the members of the Sacred Family.
"You know all this nonsense talk won't save you from me or the Judgment Lightning. If you want to continue living, then come and fight me."
Shen Hong stepped forward and blocked Xue Hui's view of Shen Fei.
He knew that his useless son wouldn't be able to handle Xue Hui, so he was determined to suppress Xue Hui with words and rally the crowd against him.
"Young Master Xue Hui, why won't~"
"You've wasted enough of my time. I'm not here to talk to you, Shen Hong. I'm here to deal with your son. Master, I need your assistance."
Suddenly, Shen Hong's entire body was slammed to the ground. An enormous spiritual pressure descended upon him and the members of the Sacred Family who had come with him.
Shen Hong heard loud gasps erupt around the martial field.
Channeling all of his soul force into protecting himself, Shen Hong managed to lift his head and look upward.
His eyes widened upon seeing the cloaked figure floating above the arena.
He gritted his teeth, trying to say something, but the spiritual pressure pressing down on him suddenly doubled. Shen Hong could only curse inwardly. The gap between a Black Gold Rank expert and a Legend Rank expert was so vast that he had been rendered powerless in an instant.
"F-Father, what's g-going on?"
Shen Fei, the only one not affected by the spiritual pressure, called out to his father and the other members of his family, but none of them could respond.
"What? G-get away from me!"
Shen Hong heard his son's terrified voice.
Then came the sound of hurried footsteps, followed by the crack of lightning striking the ground.
Veins bulged on Shen Hong's forehead.
He didn't even need to look to know what had happened.
His son had been so terrified that he actually tried to flee, abandoning everyone else. The Judgment Lightning had immediately struck the ground before him as a warning.
"You can't run, Shen Fei. You and I are bound by the Blood Oath Duel of Dao Judgment. You'll die under its rules if you flee from here," Xue Hui stated in a nonchalant manner.
Shen Hong and his family suffered an even greater humiliation as their ears were bombarded by Shen Fei's cries.
Shen Hong wanted to yell at his son to shut up and stop begging in front of everyone, but the cloaked figure was restraining him, leaving him no choice but to listen.
'You useless son. You can't even die without looking pathetic.'
"You're really that afraid of dying, huh? Fine, we can settle this. If you do what I say, then you're free to go."
That was a trap. Shen Hong knew Xue Hui was trying to corner his son.
Unfortunately for Shen Hong, he could only struggle beneath the spiritual pressure while Shen Fei readily agreed to do anything Xue Hui told him to do.
Xue Hui's lips stretched into a grin.
End of Chapter 69
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