’He is mine,’ Madam Li thought, her eyes flashing dangerously, and with a cold "Hmph," Madam Li casually waved her manicured hand, and a terrifying, invisible blast of Origin Realm Qi shot across the plaza.

It slammed directly into Bai Yun, violently sending the young man flying backward until he crashed heavily into a stone pillar.

"Watch your manners, junior," Madam Li said coldly.

The Bai Clan elders on the viewing platform instantly flared up in outrage.

"How dare you strike our junior in public?!" a Bai Clan elder shouted, stepping forward with his weapon drawn, "He is our top disciple!"

Madam Li didn’t even bother standing up, as she slowly turned her cold, disdainful gaze toward the shouting elder. Unbothered, she picked up a fresh teacup from the small table beside her, taking a delicate, unhurried sip.

"If you have a problem with my manners," Madam Li said softly, her voice carrying a terrifying, absolute authority, "You are welcome to come over here and try your luck against me."

BOOM!

And without moving an inch from her chair, a suffocating, monstrous pressure crushed down on the viewing platform. It wasn’t the 3rd Stage Origin Realm aura she had displayed for the past so many years.

She was at the 4th Stage of the Origin Realm.

The Bai Clan elders choked, physically staggering backward under the sheer weight of her aura.

Even Patriarch Gu Yangtian whipped his head around, staring at his own wife in absolute shock. He had absolutely no idea she had broken through.

"I didn’t think so," Madam Li sneered, before turning her attention back to the plaza.

Gu Fan smirked, straightening his posture as he watched his ’dear mother’ like her usual self looking down on the world as she sat high on the plaza nonchalant to whatever was happening beside her.

Patriarch Gu Yangtian was frozen in his chair with twin surprises coming her way. His wife brought him a surprise and his most useless son of his made Gu Clan salvage their reputation and retain their Spirit mines while winning back the ones Gu Clan had lost years ago.

He stared at the giant jade screen, his mouth opening and closing like a dying fish. "My Son... My Son?! How?!"

Meanwhile Bai Haoran, the Bai Clan Patriarch, could care less about Bai Yun at this moment when the Spirit mines of his Clan were at stake.

"I demand an investigation!" Bai Haoran screamed, his face completely red.

"Someone must have helped him! A crippled trash cannot kill that many beasts! Gu Clan must have cheated... They must have helped him. I won’t accept this."

"He found them on the ground, Bai Haoran," an amused, raspy voice interrupted, "What can you do?"

Sitting on the far right side of the VIP platform were the supposedly neutral observers.

One of the elders of the Ye Clan, and another Elder Chen, the grim-faced representative sent by the Chen Clan after Chen Long’s brutal murder.

Since the Chen Clan backed the Gu Clan, and the Ye Clan backed the Bai Clan, the dynamic was highly volatile.

Envoy Chen leaned forward in his chair, a dark, entertained smirk on his face.

"Look at Bai Haoran," Envoy Chen mocked loudly enough for the other Patriarchs to hear.

"He was celebrating a second ago, demanding the Spirit Mines. Now he looks like he swallowed a fresh turd."

Beside him, Elder Ye was in an absolutely foul mood. His face was dark with anger as he glared at the Bai Clan Patriarch.

"The Bai Clan got absolutely crushed by a boy without a Dantian," Elder Ye spat in disgust, "How do you explain this?"

"What is there to explain?" The Chen clan elder raised his eyebrow, "We were here to make sure there was no foul play took place."

"We made the rules. They followed it."

"How they got the beast cores and the herbs. It is not our place to judge."

"Elder Ye you won’t stop so low to meddle in the affairs of the younger generation, would you?" Elder Chen smiled as he looked at Elder Ye.

"Hmph!" Elder Ye could only look away and eye Bai Haoran as if he was going to eat the Bai Clan Patriarch alive.

Bai Haoran heard them. His fists shook with absolute fury, but he couldn’t lash out at the powerful envoys. He turned his furious gaze back to the plaza.

"The competition is over," A Gu Clan elder stated loudly, his voice carrying effortlessly over the crowd, "Young Master Gu Fan’s score alone gives the Gu Clan the absolute cumulative lead. We win the Spirit Mines."

Gu Yangtian finally snapped out of his daze. He stood up, puffing out his chest. Regardless of how much he despised his illegitimate son, the results were undeniable. The Gu Clan had won the wager.

"The cores are verified!" the Gu Clan Elder at the counter suddenly shouted, holding up a glowing appraisal stone.

"They carry the fresh, residual Qi of the beasts. There is no fraud! The score is legitimate!"

The Bai Clan disciples groaned in absolute despair, and their premature celebrations choked and died in their throats. They had lost.

Bai Yun groaned, pulling himself up from the base of the stone pillar.

He could accept Gu Chen and even Bai Bing. But the cripple? This humiliation had completely broken his mind. He drew his sword, his eyes completely bloodshot.

"I refuse to accept this!" Bai Yun screamed. "You are a cripple! You must have cheated. I will cut you down right here, and uphold justice on behalf of the all those present here!"

Bai Yun lunged forward. He was completely furious and looking for blood. He crossed the distance in a flash, swinging his sharp steel blade directly at Gu Fan’s neck.

While Gu Fan was stronger than before, in front of Bai Yun, he could not dodge and move out of his way.

But before Bai Yun could even cross half the distance, a blur of pristine white silk intercepted him.

CRACK!

A slender, pale hand slapped Bai Yun across the face with terrifying force, and he was violently swatted out of the air.

Bai Yun spun wildly through the air crashing face-first into the hard stone tiles.

Bai Bing stood over him, her dark eyes completely freezing.

"You are embarrassing the clan, Bai Yun," Bai Bing stated coldly, kicking his sword away, "Stand down before you lose your life."

The entire plaza flinched. The top genius of the Bai Clan had just defended the crippled trash of the Gu Clan.

Gu Fan leaned against the counter and grinned widely. "Thanks for looking out for me, sweetheart," Gu Fan flirted loudly, winking at her, "I owe you a drink."

"You wish!" Bai Bing kept a perfectly straight, icy face, as she turned around and pulled a thin white veil over her face. But beneath the silk, a deep, highly satisfied smile bloomed on her lips.

Up on the platform, Elder Ye stood up abruptly.

"I have seen enough of this farce," he scoffed, turning his back and leaving the viewing area without another word.

Bai Haoran’s face was completely purple. He turned to follow, desperate to escape the humiliation.

"Not so fast, Bai Haoran," Patriarch Gu Yangtian interrupted, his voice booming across the plaza, "We had a wager. Hand over the deeds to the Spirit Mines."

Bai Haoran stopped, his shoulders shaking with rage.

"I will have the papers sent to your estate," he ground out through clenched teeth, before storming off the platform, followed by his utterly defeated clan.

With the Bai Clan gone, the plaza descended into a strange, tense silence.

Madam Li gracefully stood up from her chair. She looked down at Gu Fan, her eyes practically devouring his exposed, scarred chest.

"Gu Fan," Madam Li announced, her authoritative voice carrying effortlessly, "You have done the clan a great service today. Come with me to my private quarters. I will personally tend to your wounds and see that you are rewarded."

She turned and walked away, her hips swaying deliberately.

Gu Fan smirked, "Make sure my prize money is delivered to my door," he told the elder, before casually strolling after the Matriarch.

In the centre of the plaza, Gu Chen stood perfectly still.

His fists were clenched so tightly that they bled.

"How?"