Chapter 18: The Chen Family Coming-of-Age Ceremony (Part 2)
The butler's shrill cry shattered the lively atmosphere of the Great Hall.
Everyone turned to look toward the source of the commotion.
Bang!
The carved wooden doors shattered on impact. A young man in a sophisticated suit stormed into the hall, his body wreathed in swirling white mist.
His figure was tall and upright, his brows clear and bright.
He brought no entourage, yet a natural aura of nobility radiated from him.
The butler stumbled in after him, his face a mix of panic and urgency. "You... how dare you force your way into the Chen family home without an invitation!"
The young man ignored the butler completely. His gaze swept over the crowd with unmasked disdain.
Finally, his eyes cut through the crowd and landed squarely on Chen Chen, who stood beside the main seat. The young man raised an eyebrow, his expression darkening with anger. "You are Chen Chen?"
His voice wasn't loud, yet it carried an undeniable piercing quality that instantly silenced the room's whispered gossip.
Chen Guodong, already irritated by the interruption, exploded in rage upon seeing this youth's rudeness.
He slammed his hand on the table and stood up. "Presumptuous! Where did this wild brat come from, daring to act wild in my Chen family home?"
Having just received the "Ling Family's favor" via Zhang Feng, Chen Guodong was floating on cloud nine. How could he tolerate such public provocation?
Zhang Li also pitched her voice high to chime in. "Exactly! Do you know what kind of place this is? Is the Chen family door something you can just barge through?"
The young man finally turned his gaze to Chen Guodong. The corner of his mouth hooked up into a mocking arc.
"Me? A wild brat?"
"My surname is Ye. Single name, Bai."
"Ye? The Ye family?!" Zhou Mingyuan was the first to react.
At first, some people didn't catch on.
But after two seconds of stunned silence...
Someone sucked in a cold breath, their voice trembling. "Is it... that Ye family from the Capital? The Ye family with a Rank 9 Awakener standing guard? One of the Alliance's top combat families?"
"Rank 9! Even across the entire Alliance, Rank 9s are countable on one hand!"
"My god, why would the Ye family send someone to Lanjiang? And to crash the Chen family's venue directly?"
The discussion instantly exploded.
The guests, who had just been flattering the Chen family, now looked at Ye Bai with eyes full of awe and fear. Even their breathing became cautious.
Although Lanjiang was considered prosperous, it was ultimately just a remote prefecture-level city in the eastern part of the Alliance.
Usually, even mid-tier Awakeners were rare, let alone a legendary Rank 9 family that could shake the very foundations of the Alliance.
The anger on Chen Guodong's face froze, and his pupils shrank violently.
The Capital's Ye Family?
That was an existence even more unfathomable than the Ling family!
Although the Ling family was strong, their top combat power was the Rank 7 Ling Xiao. But the Ye family had a Rank 9 anchor—a true behemoth capable of influencing the structure of the Alliance!.
The flesh on his face trembled. His previous arrogance vanished like smoke, instantly replaced by a sycophantic smile as he rushed forward to welcome him.
"So it is Young Master Ye! My disrespect, my disrespect!"
"I did not know Young Master Ye was gracing us with his presence. The Chen family failed to welcome you properly, please forgive our sin!"
His posture was three degrees lower than when he greeted Zhang Feng earlier; he was bent so low his face nearly touched his legs.
Ye Bai ignored him. He walked straight up to Chen Chen and looked down at him. "You're the one with the engagement to Ling Yue?"
Chen Chen felt inexplicably panicked under the stare, but then he remembered he was an SS-Class talent. He forced himself to puff out his chest.
"That is correct. I have a parental engagement with Miss Ling Yue. I have also admired Miss Ling Yue for a long time."
He deliberately raised his voice, trying to use volume to mask the panic in his heart.
Seeing that Chen Chen didn't even have the bearing to speak to him on equal footing, Ye Bai let out a sneer, his eyes suddenly turning sharp.
"Relying on you? Are you even worthy?"
The words were like a slap in the face, striking Chen Chen hard.
The crowd went into an uproar.
Is he here to snatch the bride?
Oh my, this trip was definitely worth it!
The crowd's gaze toward Chen Chen instantly became complicated—mixed with surprise, disdain, and mostly schadenfreude.
Chen Chen's face flushed red with shame and anger, but he had to maintain his image as a genius.
"Although my Chen family is not a massive household, I was fortunate enough to awaken an SS-Class Logia type ability!"
"I am quite a match for Miss Ling Yue."
Chen Chen's voice trembled at the end, which made Ye Bai look down on him even more.
"SS-Class?"
Ye Bai looked as if he had heard a joke, the arc of his smile widening. "Who isn't one?"
He took a half-step forward. His body elementalized into white smoke, spreading outward and shoving Chen Chen back.
A crushing pressure instantly filled the entire hall.
"Since you think you're qualified, then fight like a man!"
"If you win, I leave on my own. If you lose, get the hell away and don't tarnish Ling Yue's reputation."
Chen Chen's body shook uncontrollably with rage. From childhood to adulthood, he had never been put in such a difficult spot.
Triggered by the humiliation, his eyes went red. He gritted his teeth. "Young Master Ye, you have insulted my Chen family again and again. This is bullying!"
He violently surged the energy within his body. Immediately, the ground beneath him transformed into a swamp spreading outward.
Everything within the Logia swamp began to slowly sink.
Two SS-Class Logia users revealing their abilities—the crowd gasped in unison.
These two had only just awakened, yet the Logia power was this terrifying!
Just as swords were drawn and bows were bent, a hearty voice broke the tense atmosphere.
"We aren't late, are we?"
Everyone looked over and was startled.
They saw an old man with a youthful face and white hair, wearing a Tang suit.
Behind the elder followed two people: a man with gold-rimmed glasses and a scholarly temperament, and a young man who was unreasonably handsome.
It was Wei Tianyi, Ling Wenhe, and Chen Yu.
"Wei... Sword Saint Wei is here too?"
"Does the Chen family really have such face? Even Elder Wei came out of seclusion to congratulate them?"
"That man with the glasses... I think I've seen him on TV..."
"Nonsense, that's the man behind the Military Admiral—the Ling Family Head, Ling Wenhe!"
"That mechanical prosthetic limb of yours was invented by him."
Seeing Wei Tianyi and Ling Wenhe walking side by side, Chen Guodong hurriedly scrambled forward another two steps.
"Elder Wei! Patriarch Ling! Your presence truly brings light to the Chen family's humble dwelling! Please, please take the seat of honor..."
Wei Tianyi and Ling Wenhe exchanged a glance but did not immediately lash out.
As Chen Guodong guided the two toward the main seats, he didn't forget to push Chen Chen to the front, raising his voice to show off.
"Look, this is the son of my and my ex-wife Lin Lan, Chen Chen."
'??? ' Chen Yu froze, instantly understanding Chen Guodong's scheme.
This old bastard is truly shameless. He's trying to pull a bait-and-switch.
Wei Tianyi and Ling Wenhe both looked at Chen Yu with strange expressions, as if to ask.
Did you know about this?
Chen Yu shook his head. Even he hadn't expected Chen Guodong to be this brazen.
Chen Guodong didn't notice the strange mood of the trio and continued introducing Chen Chen with beaming joy.
"He awakened an SS-Class Logia ability! It's a match made in heaven with Miss Ling Yue's engagement, isn't it?"
Chen Chen quickly straightened his back, deliberately retracting the swamp energy around him until only a trace remained, trying to appear calm and steady in front of Wei Tianyi and Ling Wenhe.
Ling Wenhe could tell at a glance who the real son of his old friend was.
Lin Lan's genes weren't that ugly.
But in the hearts of the clueless guests, gasps erupted. It seemed the Chen family had truly taken off.
The father-in-law had come personally to attend the son-in-law's coming-of-age ceremony. The engagement was confirmed.
At this moment, aside from the ashen-faced Jiang and Li families, everyone else scrambled to echo the sentiment loudly.
"Yes, yes, yes! Truly a match made in heaven!"
"Young Master Chen, do you remember me? I even held you when you were a baby!"
"I said Young Master Chen was capable since he was small!"
To the side, Ye Bai gritted his teeth and stepped forward to greet them. "Elder Wei, Ye Bai sends regards on behalf of my grandfather."
He then bowed slightly to Ling Wenhe. "Uncle Ling, I..."
"Little Ye, go play on the side for a bit," Wei Tianyi waved his hand.
"I..." Ye Bai glanced at Chen Chen, then at Ling Wenhe. "I truly like Ling Yue. Even if it isn't me, why choose him? He has absolutely no class!"
Hearing this, light glinted off Ling Wenhe's glasses.
He chuckled softly. "Ye family kid, are you sure you want to discuss this in front of me, the father?"
"Uh..." Ye Bai touched his nose and tactfully retreated to the side.
"Patriarch Chen." Ling Wenhe turned to face Chen Guodong, his voice cold. "I came today to discuss cancelling the engagement with the Chen family."
(To be Continued)