Huchen Wuding slowly turned his head back, staring at the figure at the courtyard gate. "Even if everything you said is true, so what? If you don't have the ability to protect your own woman, you shouldn't have married my mother. If you don't have the ability to protect your own child, why did you give birth to him? Just to let a mother and son hide everywhere?"
"I've come back this time to let those who have bullied me know that even if I'm living a ignoble existence, the position of successor is not something they can get just because they want it. None of this is for you, not for the Huchen family. In fact, afterwards, I can give up this Huchen family name. And when all this is over, I want to travel the world with Uncle Sang, truly without a care." When Huchen Wuding said this, he enunciated each word, speaking each one very slowly.
But Huchen Wandong felt as if he had been struck by lightning, especially by Huchen Wuding's first few sentences: "If you don't have the ability to protect your own woman, you shouldn't have married my mother. If you don't have the ability to protect your own child, why did you give birth to him?" He heard a towering hatred in those words.
And when he heard the last two sentences, a trace of anger instantly surged onto Huchen Wandong's already somewhat pale face. "You..." He raised his hand and pointed at Huchen Wuding, but looking at Huchen Wuding's indifferent, emotionless eyes, and seeing the familiar contours of his own face, Huchen Wandong was momentarily unable to speak.
Zhuo Lingfeng, who had been standing behind Huchen Wuding, trembled violently. His lips seemed to part, but in the end, only a deep gaze remained on Huchen Wuding.
"Of course, you can also strip me of my Huchen family identity right now. But in that case, as you just said, are you willing to fall into the trap set by the Xie family? I don't know if any of the other young disciples in the clan are better than my so-called big brother and little brother. I imagine if there were, they would have been suppressed by them all these years," Huchen Wuding said, staring at Huchen Wandong.
Listening to the young man's emotionless words, Huchen Wandong slowly lowered his finger, a kind of self-mockery rising in his heart. It was as if a pair of eyes in the sky were looking at him mockingly. He had endured humiliation for the sake of the family. Of his three sons, two had already turned their hearts away, and one had not a shred of feeling for him, or rather, for the Huchen family.
Perhaps Huchen Wuding was right. Knowing that the family was in crisis back then, why had he still agreed to the proposal of Xiangyun's sect?
But when Huchen Wuding said that he would renounce the Huchen surname afterwards, he could not accept it no matter what. This was simply outrageous. Thinking of this, some of his previous guilt was occupied by anger. He had originally wanted to talk more with this son who had been away for many years, but now he was in no mood. He even directly ignored the matter of Huchen Wuding's cultivation, which he had always wanted to ask about.
He suppressed the anger in his heart and casually threw out a jade slip towards Huchen Wuding. "This is the content of the competition that starts tomorrow. You should prepare for it first. Does your mother know about the things you've said? Xiangyun would not agree to you talking such nonsense. It's simply unreasonable. Hmph!"
After speaking, Huchen Wandong flicked his sleeve and instantly disappeared from the courtyard without a trace.
Looking at the empty courtyard gate, Huchen Wuding's lips seemed to twitch. He thought to himself, 'Does Mother know? If only Mother really knew, how good that would be.'
At this time, an old, deep voice sounded in his ear. "Young Master, you must not be like this. If you can take the position of successor this time, you must hold on to it. There are no such good cultivation resources outside." After speaking, he walked towards the room with a hunched body.
"Uncle Sang, if I stay here, can you stay here with me?" Huchen Wuding suddenly asked in a low voice, looking at the back walking towards the room.
After his words came out, the hunched figure paused slightly, then still walked towards the room step by step, without answering. All that was left was a sense of deathly stillness of old age in the night.
None of them knew that everything that had happened in this courtyard was being silently observed by a pair of eyes.
In a cave in the back mountain of the Huchen family estate, the furnishings in the cave were extremely simple. A meditation mat, a medicinal pill rack, and an ancient pill furnace. A young cultivator was sitting cross-legged on the meditation mat. His black hair was casually draped over his shoulders, and his long black robe was spread on the ground. His shoulders were broad, and his figure was quite burly. The moment he opened his eyes, it was as if a flash of lightning had passed through the cave. A pair of deep, black eyes were like two long rivers of time. A single glance would make one fall into an endless abyss.
"Although that child Wandong has great perseverance, he really isn't a good father. But that little fellow really has some temper. He even wants to renounce my Huchen surname. How much hatred must one have to say such things to one's own father? Could it be that his mother is no longer in this world?" Thinking of this, his deep eyes flickered a few times. But his words were old and worldly, completely inconsistent with his appearance.
"Huchen Wuding, is it? Hehe, some things are not as you wish. Little fellow has actually cultivated the Ghostly Poison Scroll to the fourth layer. This is without any family resources. It's really not bad. And it's the pure method. It's just that his cultivation is a little weak. But a poison cultivator is not just judged by cultivation. In addition..." As he muttered to himself, he seemed to have fallen into deep thought again. After a long time, he shook his head.
"What is the origin of that young man in the room? His cultivation has actually reached the peak of the early stage of Foundation Establishment. And from his spiritual energy eruption just now, even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator may not be able to defeat this boy. How many spirit roots does he have? Why is his aura sometimes pure, and sometimes mixed? The technique he uses to hide his cultivation is truly amazing. If I hadn't observed carefully, I would have been fooled by him. But looking at his age, he is a few years younger than Wuding. Is he a disciple of some great sect that Wuding has befriended? Otherwise, how could he have such a technique?"
The young man in the black robe frowned and thought for a long time, but he couldn't figure out which sect the cultivation technique he had just seen Li Yan use belonged to. In the end, he had to give up.
"Perhaps he's not from some great sect. This person could also be a disciple cultivated by some hidden cultivation sect. It's better to provoke such hidden sects less. Some of them have a foundation even older than the four great sects. They just don't want to appear in the world. Hmm, if Huchen Wuding can really obtain the position of successor, then it seems I can only start with that Zhuo Lingfeng. I can see Wuding's dependence on him. If it is snatched by other disciples, then so be it. But Huchen Wanli and Huchen Jianghai, hmph, the two of them have already turned their hearts away..."
As the young man in the black robe thought, a sneer appeared on his face.
Li Yan in the room was cultivating as usual. He did not know that his every move had been seen by someone. If he knew that the formation restrictions in his room and his currently proud Divine Sense had not played any role at all, who knows what Li Yan would think.
The next day, before the sun had risen, Huchen Qiukong had already come to the courtyard gate. After a few simple words with Huchen Wuding, he led the three of them directly out of the courtyard.
In the early morning, the entire Huchen family estate became lively. Along the way, Li Yan and the others saw many people, either in groups of three or five, or in groups of more than ten, walking in one direction. Among these people, it was clear that some had either heard of or recognized Huchen Wuding. Some of them smiled and nodded in greeting, while others pretended not to have seen him. But no one came up to ridicule this illegitimate son. They wouldn't dare to do so even if they were beaten to death. Unless they obtained the position of the family's successor this time, then after a few decades or a few hundred years, when Huchen Wandong was no longer the head of the family, they might have the courage.
Following Huchen Qiukong for about an incense stick's time, after many twists and turns, they came to a huge square in the back of the valley. The square was about several thousand zhang in size. Even with nearly a thousand people walking on it, from the air, they were like ants. It was just that they were all converging in one direction in front of the square, so they could see each other clearly.
The square was round. Except for the wide passage that Li Yan and the others had walked on, the three sides of the edge of the square were trapezoidal seats. When Li Yan and the four of them walked to the front edge of the square, they were facing a huge passage with a red carpet laid on it, leading directly to the viewing platform. There were five seats on it, and at this moment, there was no one there. And on the tiered seats on both sides of the five seats, there were already a few people sitting here and there. But there were still people coming one after another to fill the empty seats on both sides.
Standing in the square, looking up at the surrounding scene, Huchen Qiukong looked at the three of them and then said to Huchen Wuding, "Young Master Wuding, this square will be the venue for the competition in a little while. The seats with the red carpet directly opposite here are where the old ancestor, the family head, and the invited guests will sit. The two sides are the areas where the disciples participating in the competition and the family members who come to watch will sit. We have come a little early. We can just find an empty spot to rest."
After speaking, he gestured for the three of them to follow him, and then he walked to one side. Although he said to find any empty spot, when he reached one side, he stopped at the front row without any hesitation. Let alone the front row, even for the first three rows, although there were an endless stream of clan members coming, they all found seats after the third row.
Huchen Wuding raised his eyes and looked. The first three rows on the other side were also the same.
"This is it, Young Master Wuding. We'll rest here for a while. I estimate it won't be too long before the family head and the others come over," Huchen Qiukong said to Huchen Wuding, and then he also politely gestured for Li Yan and Zhuo Lingfeng to sit down.
Huchen Wuding nodded, then turned his head and smiled at Li Yan. "Brother Li, please! I don't know the rules here, so when it starts, I can only listen to the arrangements. I've delayed Brother Li for quite some time."
Li Yan smiled slightly and did not speak. After sitting down, he just looked around curiously. Huchen Wuding's words made Huchen Qiukong slightly stunned. He didn't know why the young master was so polite to this Qi Condensation cultivator first, and then he and that Foundation Establishment cultivator sat down. Could it be that this Qi Condensation cultivator's status was even more noble than that Foundation Establishment cultivator? But these, he could only complain in his heart.
After the few of them sat down, Li Yan looked around and did not speak. Zhuo Lingfeng closed his eyes to rest. For a time, it was silent here.
"Big Brother Qiukong, are you also participating in the competition this time?" Huchen Wuding withdrew his gaze from the two sides and suddenly asked.
"Oh, reporting to Young Master Wuding, the master did ask me to participate. It's just that with my aptitude, I'm probably just here for the fun of it. I'll probably be eliminated in the first round. But Young Master Wuding has to be careful. Young Master Wanli already succeeded in his Foundation Establishment last year. Young Master Jianghai is also at the Great Circle of the tenth layer of Qi Condensation, just one step away from Foundation Establishment," Huchen Qiukong replied with a gentle smile on his face.
Hearing this, there was no surprised expression on Huchen Wuding's face. He had already been told about the cultivation of those two when Huchen Huiqing had come over yesterday.
"Hehe, Big Brother Qiukong is being modest. If you, at the late tenth layer of Qi Condensation, are eliminated in the first round, then wouldn't my ninth layer of Qi Condensation cultivation have even less hope?"
"Yo, you do have some self-awareness. Then why did you come back to embarrass yourself?" Just as Huchen Wuding's voice fell, a gloomy voice sounded.