Chapter 19: Conqueror's Haki Unleashed!
Breaking off the engagement?
A collective gasp sucked the air out of the Chen family's Great Hall.
The guests wore expressions of utter disbelief.
The patriarchs of the Jiang and Li families exchanged glances, the corners of their mouths twitching with barely suppressed smiles. We almost let that brat live the good life!
Despite the chaos derailing the coming-of-age ceremony, not a single person wanted to leave.
The fires of gossip were burning too brightly in their hearts.
Leave? The show was just getting started!
First, Ye Bai from the Ye family bluntly stated Chen Chen wasn't worthy.
Now, the head of the Ling family was personally here to cancel the marriage.
And all of this happening right in the middle of the ceremony.
This wasn't just a slap in the face; it was holding the Chen family's face down and repeatedly stomping on it!
"Cancel... the engagement?!" The smile on Chen Guodong's face solidified into a mask of horror.
"Correct. Cancelled," Ling Wenhe's voice was ice-cold.
"Furthermore, starting today, all special privileges the Ling family previously granted to the Chen family are revoked."
"Wh... What?" Chen Guodong stepped forward, forcing an apologetic smile.
"Patriarch Ling, surely there must be some misunderstanding between us?"
Zhang Li also walked over, her voice dripping with grievance. "But General Zhang just said that our Chen family..."
"Misunderstanding?" Ling Wenhe looked at Zhang Li's feigned innocence classic 'green tea' behavior and felt a flare of anger. He laughed out of sheer absurdity. "Oh, there is definitely a misunderstanding!"
Hearing this, Chen Guodong breathed a sigh of relief.
"Since it is a misunderstanding, we just need to clear it up."
He glanced at Chen Yu standing to the side, his face instantly dropping as he sneered.
"I was wondering how you, this unfilial son, still had the face to return to my Chen family!"
Zhang Li acted as if she just remembered something, frowning as she spoke to Chen Yu.
"Yu'er, you didn't come home last night. Where did you go? Mom was so worried about you."
"Patriarch Ling, my Yu'er is insensible. He had a falling out with us parents a few days ago. If he said anything to you, please don't take it as a joke."
With just a few sentences, Zhang Li attempted to define the narrative against Chen Yu.
Before Chen Yu could speak, Chen Guodong acted as if he had a sudden realization. "You unfilial beast! What nonsense did you spout to my in-laws!"
"Is your heart truly this venomous?! To incite discord between our two families?!"
Chen Guodong pointed a shaking finger at Chen Yu's nose, spittle flying everywhere. "Unfilial son!!"
"Just because you saw Chen'er awaken an SS-Class ability and marry the Ling family miss, you became jealous and tried to drive a wedge between us?"
"How did I, Chen Guodong, raise such a malicious thing!"
Zhang Li immediately lunged forward, grabbing Chen Guodong to fake-cry. "Husband, don't be angry, everyone is watching!"
"Yu'er is still young. He only said he wanted to cut ties a few days ago out of spite. He wouldn't spread rumors about Chen'er."
"Hmph!" Chen Guodong snorted coldly.
He turned his head, his face instantly changing back to a pile of smiles as he addressed Ling Wenhe. "After this unfilial son was kicked out of the house, he must have been consumed by jealousy. He surely spoke nonsense in front of you, causing this misunderstanding!"
Guided by Zhang Li's manipulative words, the husband and wife sang a duet, splashing dirty water onto Chen Yu fast and hard.
The guests, unaware of the truth, nodded along. It sounded plausible.
After all, Chen Chen was an SS-Class genius. Chen Yu?
He chose an F-Class character panel. Even a dog would know which one to pick.
Clap, clap, clap!
Suddenly, Ling Wenhe began to applaud softly, his expression frigid. "Originally, I was only half-convinced by Chen Yu's words."
"But after watching you husband and wife perform this little play, I believe him ten times over."
"Lin Lan was not only my wife's benefactor, but she was also my dear friend."
"The son of a woman that open and upright would never be a villain who spreads slander!"
"On the contrary, you two keep saying 'dear son,' yet your eyes are darting around evasively. Do you really take me for a blind man?"
Chen Guodong's face stiffened. Just as he was about to argue, Zhang Li spoke up first.
"General Zhang, please say something! Didn't you come on behalf of General Ling?"
"Doesn't General Ling look favorably upon my Chen family and Chen'er?"
Hearing this, Zhang Feng, who had been happily eating melon seeds and watching the drama, froze.
He cursed internally. No wonder General Ling didn't come herself. She pushed me here to block these two idiots.
"Ahem. Patriarch Chen, Madam Chen. I am merely attending the ceremony on General Ling's behalf, and incidentally checking to see if the son of her old friend is healthy."
"As for the engagement, that is a Ling family matter. I have no authority to comment."
"Also... your Chen family has applied for three consecutive months of 'Awakening Potions' from the military under the guise of being a martyr's family. General Ling instructed me to ask where those went."
Zhang Feng then bowed to Ling Wenhe. "Brother-in-law, you still look as dashing as ever."
???
Excuse me?
You spoke so officially a second ago, and now you're calling him Brother-in-law?
If you two are related, say so earlier!
"Three months of Awakening Potions? No wonder Chen Chen could awaken an SS-Class talent!"
"Even a pig could take flight with that many resources!"
"An artificial genius? Interesting."
No more words were needed. The situation was clear. The Ling family was determined to break the engagement.
To the side, Wei Tianyi suddenly spoke up. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried the pressure of a Sword Saint. "Head of the Chen family, allow this old man to say a word of justice."
Everyone knew that when someone said "a word of justice," it was usually biased to the extreme.
"I quite like the kid, Chen Yu. His character is not one to sow discord."
These words were like a bucket of ice water dumped over Chen Guodong.
This old relic Wei Tianyi is standing with Chen Yu too?!
Why?
On what basis?
Why is everyone opposing my Chen family?
"Chen Yu! What exactly did you do?!" Chen Guodong couldn't understand, so he just kept screaming. "Unfilial son!"
"It's you! It must be you! You're jealous of Chen'er..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Chen Yu moved.
No nonsense. Chen Yu launched himself like an arrow straight at Chen Chen.
He grabbed Chen Chen by the collar. His fist, coated in Armament Haki, smashed into Chen Chen's face with the sound of tearing wind!
BANG!
A muffled thud echoed. Chen Chen's nose blood sprayed out instantly, and he stumbled backward, dazed.
Logia Elementalization had failed again! Chen Chen was scared out of his wits. Before he could even regain his footing....
Chen Yu executed another Shave.
He flashed instantly in front of Chen Chen, grabbed him by the hair, and ruthlessly slammed his head into the marble floor.
BOOM!
Crack, crack, crack!
The thick floor tiles shattered into a spiderweb pattern.
In the next second, a majestic, boundless aura suddenly erupted from Chen Yu's body.
Conqueror's Haki swept through the entire venue!
The tables and chairs in the hall rattled and tipped over.
The non-Awakened guests among the crowd trembled violently, their legs turning to jelly as they collapsed to the ground.
Jiang Qingye and Li Mufeng were both startled. Chen Yu is this strong?!
Even Ye Bai, who had been watching from the side, felt his pupils shrink. He subconsciously clenched his fists. "Th... what is this aura?! It's more terrifying than a ferocious beast."
Chen Yu stepped onto Chen Chen's chest, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Jealous of him?"
A pair of wild, arrogant eyes stared straight at the Chen Guodong couple.
"Do you think I need to be?"
"You wanted to use my identity to fulfill the marriage contract. Playing this game of bait-and-switch... do you really not know what kind of trash you are?"
Chen Chen grinned in pain, blood on his teeth, but he still tried to be stubborn. "You... what nonsense are you talking about!"
"I am Lin Lan's biological son! I am the heir to the Chen family!"
"Biological son?" Chen Yu's gaze swept downward. He sneered. "Tch. You better go buy a pack of diapers first."
Hearing this, everyone followed Chen Yu's line of sight.
They saw a dark, wet patch spreading across Chen Chen's crotch.
The heir of the Chen family, Chen Chen, had pissed himself.
Scared into incontinence by Chen Yu.
The guests present were all leaders of their respective families; every one of them was a shrewd fox.
They had guessed the Chen family's scheme long ago but had remained silent.
But now? Rather than criticize the Chen family, it was better to push the boat with the current.
If the Chen family gained power, people might forget who congratulated them.
But if you caused them trouble? They would remember it clearly.
But now that Chen Yu had torn away their fig leaf right there on the spot...
There was a good show to watch.
"You! Unfilial son!" Chen Guodong was so angry his hair practically stood on end. "Are you trying to destroy the Chen family?!"
Seeing the situation turn bad, Zhang Li prepared to activate her ultimate skill—Kneeling and Begging.
But Chen Yu, whose Observation Haki had never been turned off, struck preemptively. A whip kick slammed into her lower abdomen.
"Oh?" Chen Yu raised an eyebrow. "You can endure quite a bit. You didn't even dodge that."
Zhang Li gasped in pain, her eyes full of venom, but she didn't expose her true strength. Instead, she let out a moan and collapsed to the ground.
Chen Yu wore a cruel smile.
"Keep pretending. Lie down properly. I'll let you taste what it feels like to have your throat slit."
"Unfilial beast!! You strike people without a word, and you even hit your mother!" Chen Guodong, at least a mid-tier Awakener, exploded with aura and charged forward.
But his path was blocked by Wei Tianyi.
"Elder Wei, you saw it yourself! This unfilial son has no respect for elders or laws! He is lawless! I must clean up the household today!" Chen Guodong roared at Chen Yu.
"Patriarch Chen, if you have something to say, say it nicely. Why get so angry?" Wei Tianyi raised a hand and pressed it down gently on the air, suppressing him.
???
He beats two people and you don't stop him, but you stop me?
This bias is reaching the grandmother's house!
"I really didn't expect you to try and steal my own mother, too," Chen Yu shook his head, clicking his tongue.
"Can your Chen family not survive without my mom?"
"Ahem, it seems I haven't come at a good time."
(To be Continued)