"But what should we do then?!
Are we just going to let this go?!"
Let it go?
No!
Absolutely not.
The Prestigious Bai Family wouldn't.
The Golden Crow Liu Family and the Golden Crow Li Family wouldn't either, and the Lotus Secret Realm certainly wouldn't.
But if they didn't let it go, what could they do?
Bai Qi, the Ancestral Patriarch of the Bai Family, didn't know.
Liu Ziyu, the Ancestral Patriarch of the Liu Family, didn't know, and Li Shengyang, the Ancestral Patriarch of the Li Family, was equally clueless. They all looked toward Danshou, the Elder from the Lotus Secret Realm. At this moment, they could only pin their hopes on this senior who had already achieved Five Luminances Unity and merged with the Great Nature back in the Ancient Era.
"Esteemed Sir!"
After pondering for a moment, Danshou prepared to speak again to probe the other party's background. But this time, just as he opened his mouth, the Mortal Great Old Master sitting across from him on the chair, who had been resting with his eyes closed, finally spoke.
"Have all the people who should be here arrived yet? If not, then let's wait a bit longer. We'll start once everyone's here. Since I said I'd settle this matter thoroughly today, I won't leave any loose ends. Don't just stand there either. Call over all the Ancestral Patriarchs from your families, every single one of them. Today, we'll have a proper discussion. And don't bother trying to probe my depths. Once your people are all here, I'll personally show you exactly how shallow or deep I am."
As he spoke, the Mortal Great Old Master remained reclined in his chair, not even opening his eyes. His voice, much like his utterly ordinary face, carried no joy, no anger, no sorrow, no pain—nothing at all. It was as bland as plain water.
Yet, these words, when they fell upon the ears of the crowd, were truly astonishing.
The Lotus Secret Realm, the two Immortal Families of the Golden Crow Secret Realm, plus the Prestigious Bai Family—they had brought over a hundred Five Luminances Perfected Star-Residing Golden Immortals and dozens of Five Luminances Unity Great Nature Golden Immortals. And this Mortal Great Old Master had been resting with his eyes closed the entire time, which was one thing, but now he was actually telling these Ancestral Patriarchs to go call for more people?
To call over their ancestors, preferably?
Everyone could hear the implied meaning in his words. They could all tell that this Mortal Great Old Master had never placed the dozens of Five Luminances Unity Great Nature Golden Immortals present in his eyes. Not only had he not placed them in his eyes, but he also held not the slightest regard for the three great families and the so-called expert-filled, ancient Lotus Secret Realm.
Wasn't this too arrogant, too overbearing, too insolent, too contemptuous, too ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth?
What kind of status, background, and what kind of heaven-defying strength would dare utter such arrogant words?
Was this Mortal Great Old Master truly powerful to the point of being unscrupulous and lawless?
They didn't know.
No one knew.
Across the way, the assembled experts from the Prestigious Bai Family, the Golden Crow Liu Family, the Li Family, and the Lotus Secret Realm were all seething with rage. They were all renowned senior experts famous throughout the Dual-Pole Celestial Domain, Five Luminances Unity Great Nature Golden Immortals. In the ten thousand years since the opening of the Modern Era, they had never suffered such humiliation.
Yet, facing that mysterious and bizarre Mortal Great Old Master, they truly dared not act rashly.
What to do?
Call for more people?
The Prestigious Bai Family had no one left to call. Their greatest Ancestral Patriarch was Bai Qi, and he was already standing here.
The Golden Crow Liu Family and the Golden Crow Li Family still had a few Ancestral Patriarchs with profound cultivation, but those elders were either in seclusion or traveling abroad and couldn't be contacted for the time being.
The Lotus Secret Realm was the same. Although the secret realm was filled with experts, those experts weren't idle. They were either in seclusion comprehending the Dao, out seeking opportunities, or otherwise occupied and simply couldn't spare the time to come.
"Master!
Avenge your disciple!"
Xuan Yun kept clamoring for the people from the Lotus Secret Realm to avenge him and wipe away his humiliation. He had been shouting for a long time, his voice growing hoarse, yet no one dared to make a move. With his meridians completely severed and his immortal spirit dispersed, he was already in critical condition. Although his master, Huang He, had already acted to stop his bleeding and stabilize his injuries, it was only stabilization. The heart-rending pain tormented him incessantly, making him suffer unbearably. In his extreme weakness, he no longer had the strength to wail, only to moan in agony.
Looking at his precious disciple, Huang He clenched his fists tightly, trembling with rage. Unable to bear it any longer, he shouted, "Elder!
Cover me! I'm going over there to kill him!"
Danshou rebuked him sharply, "I said no rash moves!
For now, we can only wait!"
"Wait for what?!
What is there to wait for?!
The other Elders of our Lotus Secret Realm cannot be contacted right now!"
"We're not waiting for our Lotus Secret Realm. We're waiting for the Guardian Court of the Fengyue Small World."
Hearing 'Guardian Court of the Fengyue Small World,' everyone was startled, then immediately understood. Liu Ziyu said, "It's all my fault for being so enraged I lost my head! I actually forgot about the Guardian Court of the Fengyue Small World!
With such a major incident, the Guardian Court of the Fengyue Small World couldn't possibly be unaware, and they couldn't possibly not intervene!"
The reason the Fengyue Small World could become the most bustling trading center in the Dual-Pole Celestial Domain was inseparable from its well-established management institutions.
There was the Supervisory Court, the Management Court, and also the Guardian Court.
The Supervisory Court, as the name implied, supervised the legality of various transactions, such as deposits and withdrawals at money houses, large bets in gambling cities, and prizes from the Tower of Stolen Gold, and so on.
The Management Court managed the business operations of the various trading cities within the Fengyue Small World.
The Guardian Court maintained the order of the Fengyue Small World, ensuring it remained unaffected. Typically, if someone caused trouble in the Fengyue Small World on a large scale, affecting its normal order, the people from the Guardian Court would step in to intervene.
Perhaps because they had been too furious earlier, their minds clouded by rage, they had all forgotten about the existence of the Guardian Court in the Fengyue Small World. Now, hearing Danshou mention it, they remembered.
If just moments ago, facing the mysterious, bizarre, and unfathomable Mortal Great Old Master had left them all feeling uncertain and without confidence, once the people from the Fengyue Small World's Guardian Court intervened, the stone hanging in their hearts would finally drop. They would surely be able to seek justice for their injured and crippled clan disciples.
It must be known.
The Fengyue Small World was, after all, the most popular trading center in the Dual-Pole Celestial Domain. The number of people coming daily to buy, sell, and trade was endless. All walks of life were present, and all sorts of fights, brawls, grudges, and hatreds occurred incessantly. If the Fengyue Small World didn't have powerful experts overseeing it, it would have descended into chaos long ago.
Indeed, the Fengyue Small World not only had powerful experts overseeing it, but the cultivation and strength of these experts were also unfathomable. Among them were quite a few of those prestigious seniors famous since the Ancient Era. If not for this, they wouldn't be able to suppress those young masters who caused trouble in the Fengyue Small World.
Most importantly, the existence of the Fengyue Small World was not merely that of a simple trading center. Behind it stood the support of various top families and major powerhouses of the Dual-Pole Celestial Domain.