"Anti-Chen Alliance?"
"Utterly shameless, these good-for-nothings."
"After being beaten to such a state, they still have the audacity to make a scene?"
The current Head of the Gu Family wore an unpleasant expression. Though the younger generation of the Gu Family were neither particularly old nor highly cultivated, they were still older and stronger than Gu Xian'er, weren't they?
Yet, even with a battle of attrition, they couldn't defeat her?
They couldn't even best her maid, yet they dared provoke her master?
Calling themselves the "Anti-Chen Alliance"—what a disgraceful bunch.
"Head of the Family, should I go and rein them in?" the Third Elder asked helplessly.
"No, let them make fools of themselves. They’ve grown too complacent in their peaceful lives."
"Let them suffer a little. Don’t interfere. I trust Chen Chang'an will know his limits," the Head of the Gu Family said coldly.
"Ahem… well, that’s not necessarily guaranteed."
Hm?
What did he mean by that?
"Never mind, I can’t be bothered with them."
The emergence of the Anti-Chen Alliance within the Gu Family struck many as laughable. Everyone knew this was just a bunch of youngsters throwing a tantrum.
Did they really think they could overturn an arrangement made by the Ancestor?
"Fengyao, join us."
"We know you don’t want to marry Chen Chang'an either, right?"
"Join the Anti-Chen Alliance. Let’s drive Chen Chang'an away and take Gu Xian'er back!"
"What do you say?"
The first target the Anti-Chen Alliance sought to recruit was Gu Fengyao. With her on their side, their confidence would soar.
Gu Fengyao stared at her brothers in bewilderment. What had gotten into them?
"I never said I didn’t want to marry Chen Chang'an."
"And what do you mean by 'take Gu Xian'er back'?" she asked, puzzled.
"You… you actually want to marry that scoundrel?"
"Couldn’t you see during the journey that Chen Chang'an forced Gu Xian'er to become his maid?"
"A man like that is no good, Fengyao!"
"Don’t be fooled by his looks—hearts are hidden behind ribs!"
"Gu Xian'er ranks third on the Human Leaderboard. How could someone like her be reduced to a mere maid? Have you even considered what people will say about you? That you’re inferior to a maid!"
"Fengyao, join us! Let’s bring justice to the world by opposing Chen Chang'an!"
Huh?
"Bring justice to the world"? Since when did this become such a grand cause?
Looking at her brothers, seething with righteous indignation, Gu Fengyao suddenly saw her past self reflected in them.
So this was how foolish she had once been?
"Brothers," she sighed, "may I say something?"
"Oh? What is it, Fengyao?"
"Speak freely! Rest assured, we’ll stand by you."
"That’s right, we’ve got your back."
"Don’t be afraid, say what’s on your mind!"
Ugh!
Seeing their enthusiasm, Gu Fengyao sighed again.
If she had been that foolish before, it was definitely their influence. Birds of a feather flock together—this was all their fault.
"First, the engagement was decided by the Ancestor. None of you have the power to change that, and you know it."
"Second, what Gu Xian'er does or wants to do is her own business. You have no right to decide for her."
"Lastly, Chen Chang'an’s strength is beyond all of you combined. In fact… you’re not even qualified to face him."
Her words stunned them. "Not even qualified"? That was too harsh!
"Fengyao, how could you undermine us while boosting an outsider?"
"We’ll concede the first two points, but Chen Chang'an is only at the first level of the Divine Transformation Realm! He didn’t even dare fight himself—he had Gu Xian'er do it for him! And you say we’re not qualified?"
"Fengyao, you’re really making us angry now."
"Yeah, you’re looking down on us too much!"
Ah, ignorance truly is bliss.
"Have you heard of the Carefree Wind Emperor?"
"The Carefree Wind Emperor? Vaguely. Why?"
"He fought Chen Chang'an once."
What?
Chen Chang'an fought the Carefree Wind Emperor? Impossible!
"Fengyao, that’s going too far. Why would the Carefree Wind Emperor ever fight Chen Chang'an?"
"Yeah, how could those two even cross paths?"
"Don’t lie to us—we’re not that gullible!"
"I’m not lying. The Third Elder witnessed it too."
"The Carefree Wind Emperor struck with his full power, yet Chen Chang'an blocked it with just his body—without a single scratch."
"Do you really think you’re stronger than the Carefree Wind Emperor?"
"Anti-Chen Alliance? You’d better focus on training. Chen Chang'an is not someone you can afford to provoke."
Gu Fengyao felt utterly exasperated. Even the Ancestor addresses him as "Great Uncle," and you dare oppose him?
If Chen Chang'an weren’t so lenient, every one of you would be in deep trouble.
Her words left them dumbfounded. Absurd. Utterly absurd.
Did Gu Fengyao even realize what she was saying?
Even if the Carefree Wind Emperor wasn’t at the peak of the Emperor Realm, he had still been an Emperor for thousands of years. And he couldn’t break Chen Chang'an’s defense?
But she had clearly stated that the Third Elder had witnessed it. So…
"Could it be true?"
"Is Chen Chang'an really that strong?"
"This is insane!"
"So… do we still oppose him?"
"Oppose my foot! Forget it!"
"Ugh… we’ve become a joke, haven’t we?"
"Let them laugh. At least it’s just among family."
Though they desperately wanted to disbelieve, they knew Gu Fengyao wouldn’t joke about something like this.
If Chen Chang'an was truly that powerful, stirring up trouble would only bring disaster upon themselves.
Thus, the Anti-Chen Alliance, having lasted less than two days, crumbled and disbanded on the spot.
From start to finish, Chen Chang'an hadn’t uttered a single word, quietly waiting for the arrival of the fetal bead.
However, before the fetal bead arrived, the Gu Family welcomed another guest.
"The Ye Family is here?"
The Ye Family, one of the three great families, stood on equal footing with the Gu Family, also backed by an Emperor at the peak of the Emperor Realm.
Though both were among the three great families, the Ye and Gu Families had little interaction and were not particularly close.
For the Ye Family to visit now left the Gu Family puzzled.
"Senior Ye Liuyun?"
Even the Head of the Gu Family was surprised. The visitor was none other than Ye Liuyun—though not the Ye Family’s peak Emperor, he was still a formidable Emperor in his own right.
"May I ask what brings Senior Ye Liuyun to our Gu Family?" the Head inquired.
Ye Liuyun smiled faintly, cutting straight to the point.
"This," he said, "is my Ye Family’s junior—Ye Beiming."
"This time, I’ve brought him here with only one purpose—to propose a marriage alliance between him and your Gu Family’s Gu Fengyao. I wonder what the Current Head of the Gu Family thinks of this?"
A marriage alliance?
This…
The Ye Family and the Gu Family have never engaged in such matters before. Why would the Ye Family suddenly seek a marriage alliance with the Gu Family now?
And of all people, they chose Gu Fengyao?
If this had been proposed earlier, the Gu Family might have genuinely considered it. But now… Gu Fengyao already has a fiancé, one personally chosen by the family’s ancestor. There’s simply no way around it.
Ye Liuyun’s decision to bring Ye Beiming to propose this alliance was the result of careful deliberation within the Ye Family.
Given that both families were among the three great clans, and that Ye Beiming and Gu Fengyao were both ranked on the Human Ranking, they had assumed the matter would proceed smoothly.
But seeing the expression on the Current Head of the Gu Family’s face, Ye Liuyun’s brow furrowed.
What did this mean?
A refusal?
Could it be that the Gu Family looked down on the Ye Family? Or perhaps they looked down on Ye Beiming?
Either possibility left Ye Liuyun deeply displeased.
Ye Beiming, too, frowned slightly. He had no objections to this marriage—though he had never met Gu Fengyao, he had heard of her reputation.
But now, it seemed things weren’t going as smoothly as expected.
"Grand Elder, this…"
Ye Beiming wanted to speak, but Ye Liuyun silenced him with a glance.
"Current Head of the Gu Family, are you refusing?" Ye Liuyun asked with a frown.
"It’s just… you’ve come too late, Elder."
"Fengyao… already has a fiancé."
What?
She already has a fiancé?
How is that possible?