"If Young Master Xue Hui is willing to admit his great-granduncle's crime is also his family's crime, then I, Shen Han, will also willingly accept the prejudice of being a family member of a criminal," Shen Han enunciated each word loudly, making sure everyone could hear him.
Only then did the gathered crowd recall that many years ago, Chen Shenxin, the former housemaster of the Divine Family, had a half-brother who had been pushing for a change in Glory City's leadership.
This created a rift between the two brothers. Chen Shenxin, unwilling to disrupt the harmony among the major families, opposed his half-brother's ambitions.
In the end, his half-brother launched a revolt of his own, rallying several powerful allies in an attempt to usurp the position of City Lord.
Although Ye Mo and Chen Shenxin ultimately joined forces to suppress the rebellion, the conflict claimed some innocent lives.
A dark shadow crossed Chen Zhenlong's face. It was a scandal that the Divine Family could never conceal. Although they had done everything in their power to properly compensate the affected families, that incident could never be erased from their name.
To Shen Han, bringing that long-buried incident back to light in an attempt to paint his own family as innocent was an exceptionally shrewd move.
At the Sacred Family's table, Shen Hong wore the widest grin of the night. Shen Han was truly a one-of-a-kind genius; his words had struck the Divine Family's weak spot, prompting Chen Zhenlong and the other Divine Family members present at the party to wear grim expressions.
'Go on, you hypocritical brat, how are you going to talk your way out of this one?'
Ever since the younger generation's tournament and the exposure of his son's crimes, Shen Hong had been itching to rip Xue Hui in half, but knowing the difference in their strength, all he could do was bottle up his fury.
So one could imagine the glee in Shen Hong's heart as he watched Shen Han gain the advantage.
As for Xue Hui, the grin on his face hadn't even wavered despite being called out in front of everybody.
"You really are full of yourself, Shen Han. Now you're even trying to compare my Divine Family to your Sacred Family dregs."
This made the smile on Shen Hong's face falter. Xue Hui was really dragging the Sacred Family's name through the mud. It made him so furious that he considered hurling his wine bottle at Xue Hui.
Similarly, Xue Hui's words made Shen Han's eyebrows twitch. However, he managed to keep his composure, believing that he still had the upper hand.
"How can the incident involving my Divine Family be compared to your family's crimes, Shen Han?"
"My Divine Family has been among the foremost protectors of Glory City since its founding. Through the years, our family has been a steadfast ally of the City Lord, so much so that Grandfather Shenxin himself put a stop to his half-brother's rising ambitions." Xue Hui looked around and saw that the experts of the other families were nodding in agreement. Chen Shenxin was many things, but he was known to be a righteous person.
"While it is true that protecting the stability of Glory City caused some innocent lives to be lost, my Divine Family put in extra effort to make amends for the affected families, so much so that those clans eventually rose from commoner clans into aristocratic families." His words caused the watching crowd to let out murmurs of agreement. They still remembered how the Divine Family had gone the extra mile to support those affected by the incident.
"Unlike your Sacred Family, who schemed their way to the top by trampling countless families and leaving ruin in their wake, my Divine Family placed the well-being of the citizens of Glory City above all else." Shen Han saw some people nodding among the crowd, making him click his tongue.
"But since you like bringing other families' past misdeeds to light, then why not bring up all the crimes your Sacred Family has committed over the years?"
Xue Hui's sharp eyes darted around before his gaze landed on a table where a friend was sitting.
"Patriarch Jing Hua, can you please tell me what caused the decline of the Jing Clan and the death of your esteemed father, Senior Jing Luo?"
After he spoke, a middle-aged man with an average build stood up, attracting everyone's attention. His face was grim, and one could easily perceive the hatred and bitterness in his expression.
"I thank Young Master Xue Hui for giving me a chance to speak out. And yes, I would gladly share with everyone what truly happened on that tragic day."
Shen Hong narrowed his eyes. He was trying to recognize who the man was but failed to do so.
Jing Hua then proceeded to explain how the Sacred Family had stolen their business, causing the Jing Clan's decline.
"That's not even the most damning part. The Sacred Family was so ruthless in their methods that they even crippled my father's cultivation as punishment for going against them. This caused my father to weaken and eventually die full of grievance."
As those bitter words escaped his lips, Jing Hua sent a murderous gaze toward a person sitting at the Sacred Family's table. This person was Shen Yuan, one of the elders of the Sacred Family, catching the man by surprise.
"I'm telling the truth, Young Master Xue Hui. If you wish to verify my words, you may use your Divine Family's truth-detection soul technique on me."
Hearing Jing Hua willingly offer to undergo a truth-detection soul technique just to confirm the truthfulness of his words, the people around him sucked in a cold breath.
Every Demon Spiritualist knew that the Divine Family's truth-detection soul technique was one of, if not the most ruthless soul technique in Glory City.
People who were subjected to it often ended up with shattered minds.
Xue Hui shook his head and waved his hand dismissively.
"There's no need to use that technique to prove your words, Patriarch Hua. Everyone with eyes who isn't a member of the Sacred Family or blind can see that you're telling the truth."
As he spoke, Xue Hui took out a pill bottle and hurled it toward Jing Hua. The man instinctively raised his arms and caught it.
"Thank you for sharing your grievance with everyone, Patriarch Hua. Take that elixir as my gratitude. That's a Realm Breaker Soul Ascendant Pill. With your current strength, once you take that elixir, breaking through to the next realm will be as easy as turning over your hand."
As Xue Hui spoke, many Demon Spiritualists stared at the pill bottle in Jing Hua's hands in shock. A pill that could help someone break through to the next realm was something many Demon Spiritualists would do anything to obtain.
That was even true for someone like Shen Hong, who had found himself unable to break through to the Legend Rank realm no matter how hard he tried.
This made Shen Hong eye the pill with hunger. His mind was already coming up with ways to steal the elixir in Jing Hua's hand once the opportunity presented itself.
Clicking his tongue, Shen Han looked at Jing Hua hatefully.
Earlier, as he listened, Shen Han had been prepared to dismiss Jing Hua's story as nothing but baseless accusations, but the man had been willing to undergo a Truth Detection Soul Technique, making his words highly credible.
Xue Hui sent Shen Han a sidelong glance. Just by his expression, he could tell that Shen Han was thinking of a way to counter the allegations.
But unfortunately for him, Xue Hui had already planned everything beforehand.
Before Shen Han could speak, another person stood up. This time it was Yue Feng.
After introducing himself to everyone, he shared how the Sacred Family had used its influence to order aristocratic families such as the Tie Men Family to pressure many commoner landowners into selling their territories.
As a result, many commoner families were unjustly driven from their lands and left with little to survive on.
His words were backed up by some of the landowners who had suffered the same harassment.
Just like before, Xue Hui threw a couple of pill bottles their way before thanking Yue Feng and the others for speaking out.
By now, everyone at the banquet realized what Xue Hui was doing. In exchange for exposing the Sacred Family's crimes, he would compensate them with Realm Breaker Soul Ascendant Pills.
This piqued everyone's interest. One pill was enough to allow them to break through their bottleneck, and all they needed to do to obtain it was speak up.
Before Xue Hui could continue, another person stood up, attracting everyone's attention.
This person was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and a tanned complexion. Despite her age, she appeared very youthful, with a voluptuous figure that caused some of the men to look at her with heated gazes.
This woman was Mei Mei of the Mei Clan and Mei Lin's mother.
She stood before everyone wearing a playful smile, eyeing Xue Hui with a calculating look.
This time, even Xue Hui was at a loss as to why Mei Mei had come forward. If he recalled correctly, the Mei Clan hadn't suffered any suppression at the hands of the Sacred Family.
Even Mei Lin, who was sitting beside her mother, looked at her with a bewildered expression, equally clueless about what her mother intended to say.
"Madame Mei Mei, do you also wish to speak about your troubles? If so, please do."
"Oh, Xue Hui darling, please stop calling me Madame. It makes me sound so old. You're one of my Lin'er's closest friends, so just call me Auntie."
A bead of sweat trickled down Xue Hui's forehead as he nodded.
"Um... of course. Please continue, Auntie."
Like a switch being flipped, the charming smile on Mei Mei's face disappeared, replaced by a scornful look directed toward the Sacred Family's table.
"Recently, our family has been receiving multiple forms of harassment from the Sacred Family. As you all know, my daughter has been a good friend of Chen Linlin. Due to this, my daughter has received a great deal of assistance from her, resulting in my precious baby's cultivation soaring at an unimaginable speed."
As she continued, a pained expression appeared on her face, confusing not only Mei Lin but also the other members of the Mei Clan.
"So it was no surprise that because of this, my precious daughter blossomed like a beautiful flower, attracting the attention of many young men."
At her words, Mei Lin's face flushed red. She reached out and tugged at her mother's sleeve, trying to make her stop, but Mei Mei simply pulled her into her embrace, looking every bit the protective mother.
"And one of those young men was that brat Shen Yue. Lusting after my daughter, he sent letter after letter, forcing me to give my precious baby's hand to him as his concubine."
Mei Mei raised a hand and wiped away a single tear from the corner of her eye. She looked like a pitiful mother.
"Ever since I received those letters, my heart has been filled with fear. I was afraid that my precious baby would be taken away from me and turned into a plaything for that pathetic brat. How could any mother allow such a thing?
"So despite fearing for my own safety and that of the Mei Clan, I steeled myself and refused the marriage proposal. But the Sacred Family, after all, is nothing more than a bunch of overbearing bullies. They began threatening and harassing me, even at my restaurant. I was so terrified that I cried in my sleep, but I endured it all for the sake of my precious baby's happiness."
Shen Yue, who was sitting beside his father, spat out his drink. He looked utterly wronged.
While it was true that he had asked Shen Ming to send marriage proposals to the Mei Clan and to Mei Lin's two friends, it had only been a casual invitation. Such things were normal, considering the three girls showed great potential. Just like the Sacred Family, many other noble families had sent similar proposals in hopes of recruiting the three girls to their side.
Furthermore, that incident at Mei Mei's restaurant had been handled rather easily by her. While it was true that they had sent people to persuade her, she had ended up beating them black and blue to the point they needed several weeks to recover.
Worse still, they couldn't even retaliate, since the news that the girls were Xue Hui's concubines had spread among the noble families, prompting everyone to stop sending marriage proposals.
Xue Hui was thinking the same thing. While it was true that the Mei Clan was technically a commoner clan, that was only because they had failed to produce any Gold Rank Demon Spiritualists. In terms of wealth and influence, they had even surpassed some aristocratic families.
Then he saw it, the avid glint in Mei Mei's eyes.
A small smile tugged at Xue Hui's lips as he shook his head in amusement.
'Seriously, Auntie, you could have just asked me for an elixir if you wanted one.'
After consoling her, he took out another pill bottle and tossed it to her.
Mei Mei caught the bottle. Her sorrowful expression instantly vanished, replaced by a broad smile. Not a trace of her previous sadness remained.
As soon as she received her elixir, another man stood up. He looked nervous and somewhat terrified, but despite that, he still opened his mouth to speak.
"Um... I also want to share my grievances."
Shen Hong looked at the crowd, his face grim.
How could he not see what was happening?
Seeing the resolve on everyone's faces, he was certain that this opportunistic lot wouldn't pass up the chance to get their hands on the elixirs, even if it meant going against his Sacred Family.
'That damn brat's scheme is way too calculated,' Shen Hong cursed through gritted teeth.
End of Chapter 107
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Update:
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