Nine Astra Skies

When those from the major sects heard this, they realized that the Scarlet Flame Sect would marry their way into the House of Storms. That was why they had invited all the sects – to declare this to all of them! The previous Grand Martial Tournament was merely the prelude. This current fight was the actual show. Ye Pang would be unable to defeat Zong Yi who was the number one fighter among the younger generation. He was saying all this simply as a pretext to bring up this matter.

If the Scarlet Flame Sect and the House of Storms were to marry, the power structure within the Central Empire would shift. The representatives from sects who were not on good terms with the Scarlet Flame Sect turned rather gloomy. Ye Zong, that sly old fox – he had attached himself to the House of Storms. From now on, he could not be provoked. It was his luck for having such a good daughter!

"Brother Ye Pang is bantering now. Since you've said that, we'll exchange a few blows." Zong Yi glanced toward Ye Zong and Ye Rou who were above the platform, his expression delighted. Had Ye Rou agreed to this matter?

Ye Zong sat there calmly without a word but Ye Rou who sat beside him was pale in color, on the verge of fainting. She understood her father's intentions. She had kept turning down Zong Yi, so her father was making the decision first on her behalf, forcing her to marry Zong Yi!

'In the past, I've always been in the Xiwu Ye Clan. I've only been back for a year and Father's already itching to marry me off?'

Upon returning to the Scarlet Flame Sect, her mother had treated her well. Ye Rou loved and respected her mother, but she was ultimately rather distant with her father, especially when he had repeatedly tried to make her marry Zong Yi. This made her feel even more confrontational toward her father.

Would a father disregard his daughter's feelings for the sake of his sect?

Ye Rou looked at Ye Chen from afar, her tears pouring down. They might be ill-fated in this life. Ye Rou and Big Brother Ye Chen might have to meet again in another life. If her father kept forcing her, she would rather die!

Zong Yi leaped onto the tournament stage and saluted to Ye Pang.

"Brother Ye Pang, show me the way!" Zong Yi said modestly as a faint, easygoing smile showed on his face. He shot a glare at the distant Ye Chen.

Beside Ye Chen, Mo Bai smirked. "These two are great at acting indeed." Then he looked toward Ye Zong and Ye Rou and mumbled, "That Ye Rou keeps looking over here. Perhaps I'm too handsome and charming? Maybe I'm the one she likes?"

Seeing that Ye Pang and Zong Yi's match was about to start, Ye Chen suddenly sprang up onto the tournament stage.

What was going on? Who was this?

The audiences stared at Ye Chen in stunned silence.

After leaping onto the tournament stage, Ye Chen said with a humorless smile, "Both of you keep exchanging lines instead of exchanging blows. How happily you're chatting! You're Zong Yi right?" Ye Chen looked at Zong Yi and said with clear contempt, "Someone like you wants to marry Little Rou from my clan? Why don't you take a good look in the mirror? Have you even asked me for my permission?"

"Who are you? Why would I need your agreement to marry Little Rou?" Zong Yi was enraged when he heard Ye Chen speaking so rudely.

"Like you have the right to know who I am? Like you have the right to call her Little Rou?" Ye Chen sneered.

Zong Yi's face swelled red. Initially, he wanted to hash things out with Ye Chen, but Ye Chen refused to converse reasonably. Zong Yi was from a great family, doted on and nurtured since young. In terms of trading insults, how could he compare to Ye Chen? Momentarily, he did not know how to retaliate.

Ye Chen glared right at Ye Zong, harrumphing icily. "And you're Ye Zong? I respect you as Little Rou's father and am unwilling to insult you. However, you're acting too indecently in this matter. You want to marry Little Rou off, but has my Xiwu Ye Clan agreed?"

Xiwu Ye Clan? What clan was that? The representatives of the Central Empire's major sects exchanged blank stares.

"It seems like the Ye Clan of Ye Zong's Scarlet Flame Sect has another branch in the remote Xiwu Empire. This must be someone from Ye Zong's clan, right?"

"The Xiwu Empire? I think I've heard of it before, but it's a remote, tiny nation? Can there be any important clans among the martial arts families in a place like that?"

"I want to marry off my daughter. Does anyone have the right to tell me what to do? Where do you come from, punk?" Ye Zong sat upright in his seat and yelled furiously. He had never imagined that Ye Chen would appear and disrupt things. As the sect leader of a major sect, since when was he ever directly reprimanded by someone else? If there were not so many people present, he would have lost it completely. Now, he was forced to suppress his fury so that people would not criticize him for bickering with a kid.

"Other people have no right to tell you what to do, but I'm from the Xiwu Ye Clan and have more right than you do! What a great man you are – when Little Rou was still an infant, you placed her under the care of my Xiwu Ye Clan. Thereafter, when she's grown up, you forcibly seized her back. If you treat her well, then fine. But now, in less than a year, you're marrying her off so that your Scarlet Flame Sect can benefit. Are there fathers like you in this world? Are you qualified to be Little Rou's father?" Ye Chen pointed directly at Ye Zong, speaking without restraint or mercy.

Ye Zong was spouting smoke at this point as he grunted in rage. "Little Rou is my daughter. Who are you to speak? You people from the Xiwu Ye Clan are too brazen. You dare to raise hell in the Scarlet Flame Sect? If my Scarlet Flame Sect wants to wipe out your Xiwu Ye Clan, it'd be a child's play. You'd better back off!"

"If you want to wipe out my Xiwu Ye Clan, then go ahead, we welcome you anytime! You did nothing more than to give birth to Little Rou but my Xiwu Ye Clan brought her up for sixteen years. Who's closer to Little Rou?" Ye Chen ranted viciously. "My Xiwu Ye Clan still hasn't agreed. What right have you to marry her off? Plus, when you're marrying her off, did you even ask for Little Rou's opinion? If she's unwilling, my Xiwu Ye Clan would protect her. Even if the House of Storms wants to act against the Xiwu Ye Clan, we'll fend off all of you!"

Ye Zong, being a lofty sect leader, was now berated by Ye Chen, this punk who appeared out of nowhere. How could he not lose his temper? He turned toward Ye Rou. "Little Rou, tell him yourself!"

Ye Rou's face was currently streaked with tears. There was a ripping agony in her heart. She was in a panic. She did not wish to marry but did not want anything to happen to Ye Chen. She knew very well what kind of existence the Scarlet Flame Sect was. It was not something the Xiwu Ye Clan could fight against. Plus, the Scarlet Flame Sect was backed by the colossal House of Storms.

Nonetheless, even if Ye Rou had to die now, she would support Ye Chen because he had said what she wanted to say!

When Ye Zong saw Ye Rou's reaction, his rage increased many times over. With a splintering sound, he crushed the armrest of his seat.

Other than the House of Storms, the other major sects' representatives settled in for a good show. Naturally, they would not want to see the Scarlet Flame Sect and the House of Storms joining forces. It was wonderful that someone was causing trouble. They enjoyed the show while discussing it loudly.

"So, Ye Zong's daughter was brought up outside for sixteen years. This Xiwu Ye Clan should be credited for nurturing Ye Rou. In terms of something like marriage, of course, they should be consulted."

"When you're rich and powerful, suddenly everyone's your relative," an elder from the Singers said lightly.

Everyone suddenly realized the truth of this. Ye Zong was cozying up to the House of Storms yet he was so disdainful to the Xiwu Ye Clan because the Xiwu Ye Clan had no influence. He would marry off his daughter after taking her back in for less than a year because the House of Storms had an immense influence. He wanted to curry favor with the House of Storms through this marriage. When one looked at it this way, it all made sense.

"Arrogant punk! You dare to act so impudently in my Scarlet Flame Sect? Men! Seize this punk!" When Ye Zong heard their discussions, his shame erupted into anger.

A few Mystique Venerable Rank experts from the Scarlet Flame Sect were about to rush in, but those from the Stygian Sect and the Oracle Sect were even faster. Five Mystique Venerable Rank combatants stood around the tournament stage.

Mu Dongyuan growled. "If anyone hurts him, they'll be an enemy of my Oracle Sect!"

"If anyone hurts him, they'll be an enemy of my Stygian Sect!" Chu Bai from the Stygian Sect yelled as well.

Each of them circulated their Celestial Chi, ready to fight against those from the Scarlet Flame Sect.

In an instant, all the sects' representatives were stupefied. The Stygian Sect and the Oracle Sect had both come out at once to protect this young guy. What were his origins?

The other people had turned blank, their hearts filled with questions. Earl Yunyan noticed both the Stygian Sect and the Oracle Sect acting this way, and he had a realization. Could the youth on the stage have come from the Leo King's Palace? If not, how could he mobilize the Stygian Sect and the Oracle Sect, two major sects, at once?

If this was someone from the Leo King's Palace, he had no choice but to express his allegiance at this point!

Earl Yunyan slowly rose and said, "If anyone hurts him, they'll be an enemy of me, Earl Yunyan!"

Everyone present was astonished including Zong Yi and the three Mystique Venerable elders of the House of Storms, who were frowning. What kind of person was this guy? Besides the all-out protection of elders from two major sects, the Stygian Sect and the Oracle Sect, even Earl Yunyan wanted to step in?

The Stygian Sect, the Oracle Sect, and Earl Yunyan – these three parties put together had ten Mystique Venerable Rank experts. Nonetheless, they were more than just that. Every word and movement they made represented three mighty factions!

With three mighty factions deciding like this, Ye Chen's status must be thoroughly considered!

Zong Yi's lips had turned slightly pale as he suppressed the rage and indignation in his heart. He had thought that, as the young lord of the House of Storms, would it not be easy for him to crush a nameless tyke like Ye Chen? However, Ye Chen had now called upon three factions at the same time, so his status must be even more impressive than a young lord of the House of Storms. When Zong Yi thought of how Ye Rou looked at Ye Chen, he was filled with utter resentment. It turned out that this position he had always relied upon was nothing in the eyes of Ye Rou and Ye Chen!

Ye Chen had not expected that Earl Yunyan would step in and he shot Earl Yunyan a look. He could guess that Earl Yunyan must be someone under the Leo King's Palace, whose influence was truly astounding!

Ye Chen stood up straight and pointed at Ye Zong with his right hand. "Ye Zong, if you dare to touch me, in just a short while, your Scarlet Flame Sect will be massacred! Did you think that your puny Scarlet Flame Sect could look down upon everyone else? Did you think that the puny House of Storms can protect you?"