"Xu Ke, I'm talking to you. Didn't you hear me?"

Ye Yunfeng could not tolerate it and immediately erupted, "Do you think just because you've joined the Northern Dragon Guard, you can look down on everyone and disregard us?"

As soon as he spoke, the joy on the crowd's faces instantly soured into hostility.

Are the Huang and Ye Families reincarnated from jinxes? Do they specialize in ruining the mood right when everyone is celebrating?

Hearing him, Xu Ke finally turned his attention to Ye Yunfeng, his tone impatient. "I heard you. Thanks."

With that, Xu Ke turned back to Wong Qifu, his eyes pleading for help.

He was sure Wong Qifu would understand what he meant!

Whether or not Wong Qifu understood Xu Ke's pleading gaze was one thing, but Ye Yunfeng understood his dismissive attitude perfectly. He was furious.

What kind of response is 'thanks'? Even for enemies, you don't get to be *this* perfunctory!

He was about to lash out again, "Xu Ke—"

But just because he had gotten away with being sarcastic once didn't mean he could do it a second time.

Ki Qinyin stepped forward, glaring at him menacingly. "Ye Yunfeng, I'm warning you. I am currently discussing Xu Ke's recruitment into the Northern Dragon Guard. If you continue to interfere and waste my time, I will make you pay the price."

At those words, Ye Yunfeng's expression changed dramatically, and he hurriedly explained, "Madame Yu, I had no intention of interfering..."

Ki Qinyin snorted coldly, having no intention of listening to his explanation. Instead, she shot You Jinlong a look.

She needed to focus on discussing Xu Ke's departure from Tianhai to join the Northern Dragon Guard. If Ye Yunfeng dared to spout any more nonsense, she would absolutely have her eight guards injure him. Ki Qinyin always kept her word!

You Jinlong immediately spoke in a flat tone, "I advise Family Head Ye and the Huang Family to leave now. Otherwise, we will be forced to escort you out."

Upon this declaration, the entire venue fell deathly silent.

In an instant, the faces of the Huang and Ye Family members flushed with humiliation.

After You Jinlong spoke, not only was Ye Yunfeng's expression utterly foul, but Huang Zhendong's eyes bulged as his face turned a livid shade of ashen. He was beside himself with fury.

Kicking out Ye Yunfeng was one thing, Huang Zhendong fumed, but why was he being driven out too? He and Huang Sheng had just been publicly shamed by the oppressive aura of those eight guards, which was already the ultimate humiliation. Now, because Ye Yunfeng had provoked Ki Qinyin, they were being implicated and expelled in front of this massive crowd. Wasn't this taking it too far?!

Huang Zhendong and Ye Yunfeng were on the verge of erupting in rage.

They desperately wanted to scream, "So what if you're the Northern Territory Dragon King's wife?!"

But after the words swirled in their mouths, they swallowed them back down in disgrace.

The Northern Territory Dragon King... really was that impressive!

Still, they felt utterly stifled. They had come to see the Northern Dragon Guard to show their reverence and admiration; despising Xu Ke was just a bonus. Yet Ki Qinyin targeted them again and again! They couldn't understand what they had done wrong.

This Ki Qinyin is an absolute bully!

But what did it matter if Ki Qinyin was being a bully? Not only was she bullying them, she knew she was bullying them, and she was doing it on purpose!

She had only been in Tianhai for two or three hours, but she had a crystal-clear understanding of everything Xu Ke had been through recently. Ki Qinyin had a long memory of what the Huang and Ye Families had done to him. It wasn't appropriate for her to avenge Xu Ke's grudges on his behalf, but she could certainly help him vent his anger.

Now, to do just that, she was going to walk all over the Huang and Ye Families. She would make them taste what it truly meant to be bullied by the powerful, to be crushed by absolute authority. The torment Xu Ke had suffered when they joined forces to bully and even kidnap him was far, far worse than this!

If not for the large audience, Ki Qinyin probably wouldn't have even bothered having You Jinlong speak. She would have slapped them herself. After all, Yu Kangan would definitely support her in doing so. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

While a deathly silence hung over the Huang and Ye Families, the surrounding spectators were in a state of shock. They knew Ki Qinyin and the Huang Family didn't get along, and they could see she disapproved of the Ye Family. But they never expected that the Madame Dragon King would, at a public event like this, threaten to drive away the heads of two major families.

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances. Even if she disliked them, did she have to be so ruthless? Had the Huang and Ye Families offended her somewhere else?

But no matter what the crowd thought, Ki Qinyin and You Jinlong remained completely impassive, their gazes fixed on the members of the two families.

Finally, Huang Zhendong and Ye Yunfeng buckled under the pressure. Swallowing their humiliation, they said in unison, "Madame Yu, we will take our leave!"

When they finished, Ki Qinyin didn't even spare them a glance, merely giving a dismissive hum of acknowledgment through her nose.

The two men turned to go. Just before they left, they shot a venomous glare at Xu Ke.

That brat got off easy!

It wasn't just Huang Zhendong who had wanted to recommend his son. Ye Yunfeng had also come over to recommend Ye Feng and Ye Chong for the Northern Dragon Guard. He knew Ki Qinyin was looking for martial strength, so surely his two sons would qualify, right? Even if they couldn't join, they could at least be tested, couldn't they?

But all those hopes had turned to dust.

Ye Yunfeng and Huang Zhendong had thought they could block Xu Ke from joining the Northern Dragon Guard while getting their own sons into Ki Qinyin's line of sight, allowing them to shine. They had achieved neither of their goals. Not only had they failed, but they had also lost an immense amount of face. It was a complete and utter loss!

At the same time, Ye Yunfeng wasn't just angry about Xu Ke's good luck; he was also furious with Huang Zhendong. He knew Ki Qinyin's disdain for Huang Zhendong couldn't be just because he had recommended Huang Sheng and tried to stop Xu Ke from being recruited. It was because Huang Zhendong was one of Wong Ting's men. A subordinate of the Southern Territory War God trying to join the Northern Dragon Guard? What a delusional thought! It was perfectly reasonable for Ki Qinyin to reject Huang Zhendong so mercilessly.

What infuriated Ye Yunfeng even more was Huang Zhendong's utter lack of self-awareness.

In Ye Yunfeng's view, Ki Qinyin had stopped him from speaking because she saw that he intended to recommend his sons and wanted to cut him off to save her time. But why was time so tight? It was because she had wasted it testing Huang Sheng and Xu Ke back-to-back! After dealing with those two, how could a distinguished lady like Ki Qinyin, whose time was so precious, possibly have the energy to see how talented his own sons were? That had to be why she refused him and told him to leave! If it weren't for Huang Zhendong's cluelessness in pushing Huang Sheng to join the Northern Dragon Guard and causing this whole mess, why would Ki Qinyin be so short on time?!

Seething with rage, Ye Yunfeng glared fiercely at Huang Zhendong before leaving with a flick of his sleeves.

Huang Zhendong was left even more bewildered, his face ashen with anger.

Is that Ye Yunfeng out of his mind?

He had no idea that Ye Yunfeng had already cursed him hundreds of times in his head, or that he had become the scapegoat for Xu Ke. The person Ye Yunfeng should have resented for being driven away was Xu Ke. Yet, through a strange twist of fate, that resentment had been redirected to someone else entirely.