"Is that so?"
The mockery in Zilin Ling's eyes intensified. "Uncle is quite confident! However, you are destined to be disappointed!"
Zi Wenchang's arrogant laughter froze on his face.
That uneasy feeling struck him again, making his heart skip a beat for no reason.
"What do you mean?"
Zilin Ling raised an eyebrow and smiled lightly, "It's nothing. I just heard you were going to take over as family head, so your niece prepared two gifts for you in advance."
Gifts?
Zi Wenchang was stunned. "What gifts?"
Before the family competition, if Zilin Ling had said she prepared gifts for him, he might have been overjoyed.
But now, he didn't believe that this niece, who effortlessly won first place in the clan competition and, without batting an eye, took the life of the Hundred Flowers Palace Mistress, would truly prepare gifts for him.
The smile on Zilin Ling's face faded, and she said coldly, "Qingyu, quickly bring the gifts I prepared for Uncle!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Qingyu responded and revealed himself.
In his hands was a rope, and at its end, four people were bound.
These four were in a sorry state, their clothes, though seemingly luxurious, were tattered.
They were covered in dirt, looking worse than beggars on the street.
Seeing these four disheveled figures, the martial arts arena erupted in a commotion.
"Who are these people? They look scarier than ghosts!"
"Have you seen a ghost? But their appearance is truly unmentionable. I suppose ghosts aren't as frightening as them."
"Their clothes look quite expensive, but I wonder why they've fallen so low."
"What does Miss Zi San mean by this? If you're giving a gift, you give a gift, not four living people?"
"Didn't you see Second Master Zi's face turn green? It's clear he knows these people!"
...
Zi Wenchang's face indeed turned green.
Not only that!
Zi Yangshang, Zi Yangchun, Zi Yangbei, and Zi Yangqiu were all looking astonished.
Zi Jitian's mouth twitched a few times.
Because they were all intimately familiar with these four people. Who else could it be but Zi Donglai and the other three?
Zi Wenchang's chest heaved violently; he was clearly furious.
These were people from the Imperial Zi Family!
He couldn't wait to put the four of them on a pedestal, yet Zilin Ling had tortured them to this state.
It's over!
The Zi family is finished!
If the Imperial Zi Family were to know about the fate of Zi Donglai and the other three, the Tianqi Zi family would be utterly ruined.
As for the four elders, Shang, Chun, Bei, and Qiu, after a brief moment of surprise, they felt a sense of vindication.
Zi Donglai and the others had often flaunted their power before them in their efforts to push Zi Wenchang to become the family head.
Now, seeing the miserable state of the four, the elders, even if they wouldn't kick them while they were down, felt a sense of satisfaction as their resentment was released.
Zi Jitian, on the other hand, marveled at his granddaughter's methods.
The best way to deal with arrogant people is to completely trample their pride into the mud.
Zilin Ling had undoubtedly applied this principle to its extreme.
Watching Zi Wenchang tremble with rage, Zilin Ling smiled sweetly.
"How is it, Uncle? Do you like this gift?"
"You... you..."
Zi Wenchang pointed at Zilin Ling with his finger but couldn't form a coherent sentence for a long time.
"What? Uncle doesn't like it? That shouldn't be the case. When Uncle saw them, didn't he wish his tail was wagging faster?"
"Pfft!"
Situ Yunfeng, who had been quietly drinking, let out an ungraceful laugh and, covering his stomach, added a parting shot, "Wagging their tails too slowly? Don't dogs wag their tails?"
Little Lingling... um, Linlin's words are too poisonous; she insults people without using profanity.
But he admired Linlin's ability to infuriate people to death without batting an eye even more.
In the martial arts arena, the crowd silently savored Zilin Ling's words and couldn't help but double over with laughter.
Zilin Ling's words were sharp, and Situ Yunfeng's added insult was even more so.
Ye Lingyuan raised an eyebrow and said lightly, "Situ, you're not being fair."
Situ Yunfeng quickly stopped laughing and said, "My apologies, this young master lost control of his emotions. Please continue, continue..."
His expression showed no hint of apology; it was clearly adding fuel to the fire.
Ye Lingyuan said sternly, "Situ, drink your wine properly. Don't laugh at dogs; be careful of a cornered dog biting you."
Situ Yunfeng nodded solemnly and said, "A Yuan is right. It's my fault, I accidentally spat out my wine just now. What a waste of good wine."
After saying that, he truly resumed drinking.
Since the King of Hell had spoken, the laughter in the martial arts arena naturally ceased abruptly.
However, their peculiar expressions clearly showed that they were struggling to contain themselves.
Zi Wenchang was furious, his anger reaching the heavens.
But he couldn't afford to offend Zilin Ling because he couldn't defeat her.
Even Xie Lianhua, who was at the late stage of the Saint King realm, couldn't last three moves, let alone him, who was at the early stage of the Huayuan realm.
Ye Lingyuan? Zi Wenchang also believed he couldn't afford to offend him, as the title of Tianqi King of Hell wasn't for nothing.
He didn't want to die inexplicably at the hands of the Tianqi God of War.
Therefore, all his anger could only be directed at one person.
That person was naturally clad in red, acting nonchalant, and holding a wine gourd – Situ Yunfeng.
Having found a soft target, Zi Wenchang became enraged.
He pointed at Situ Yunfeng and said, "You insolent brat, didn't your elders teach you to respect others?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the martial arts arena became strange.
Those who knew Situ Yunfeng looked at Zi Wenchang with pity.
Those who didn't know Situ Yunfeng watched with anticipation.
Fu Liuyun, Li Luo, Tang Yan, Xiong Tai, and Fan Tong all shook their heads with pity.
Indeed, one wouldn't die if they didn't court it.
Zi Wenchang had already reached the peak of courting death by insulting this little ancestor.
Zilin Ling smiled without speaking, her smile full of meaning.
A flash of anger crossed Ye Lingyuan's eyes.
Who dared to insult his brother? Zi Wenchang clearly had no idea where his courage came from.
However, his face quickly returned to its usual calm smile.
Given Situ Yunfeng's personality, how could he possibly take such an insult lying down?
As expected, Situ Yunfeng's face turned cold.
"Who are you calling a brat?"
Zi Wenchang, in his anger, paid no attention to the fury in Situ Yunfeng's words.
"I'm calling you!"
Situ Yunfeng laughed in extreme anger and said sarcastically, "Second Master Zi is truly mighty. Since this young master debuted, no one has dared to speak harshly to me, let alone insult me."
"Second Master Zi is truly unrivaled, leading the pack, standing out from the crowd, unparalleled in the world, and unique! Since that's the case..."
He said, looking at the others in the martial arts arena, "Every single one of you, if you can manage to tear off even a piece of flesh from Second Master Zi, I will give you a Blood Qi Pill; if you can cut off his tongue, I will give you a Qi Replenishing Pill!"
At these words, the entire audience erupted in shock.