"Chu Lan, the Patriarch and the elders ordered me to tell you: vacate the North Courtyard and give it to Young Master Beichuan!"
The man, dressed in servant attire, spoke with an arrogant tone, his eyes full of contempt as he looked at Chu Lan.
Chu Lan raised an eyebrow.
The arrogant man before him was a servant of Chu Lan's cousin, Chu Beichuan.
"The North Courtyard was left to me by my father. You're telling me to hand it over?"
Chu Lan narrowed his eyes as he looked at the servant.
Inside the North Courtyard stood a Spirit-Gathering Array, specially crafted for Chu Lan by his father at the cost of countless heavenly treasures.
A cold smirk crept onto the servant's mouth. "Chu Lan, the North Courtyard belongs to the Chu Family," he said.
"Ever since your father died, you should have given up this North Courtyard."
"It was only later, seeing that you had decent talent, that they allowed you to keep living here. But now you are nothing more than waste."
"A place like the North Courtyard must be handed over to disciples with greater capability."
Chu Lan stood up, walked toward the man, and asked, "What if I refuse?"
"That's not up for you to decide!"
"This is a decision made by the Patriarch and several elders!"
The servant said with a smug look, "Young Master Beichuan has now awakened the Three-fold Bloodline, is a martial artist at the Body Spirit Realm Sixth Layer, and has even been personally appointed as an Outer Disciple by the Heavenly Dao Academy."
Chu Lan lifted his chin. So Chu Beichuan had been appointed as an Outer Disciple by the Heavenly Dao Academy.
The Heavenly Dao Academy was an institution founded single-handedly by the royal family of the Great Xia Dynasty, considered a third-rate, trash-tier academy in the Jiuxiao Continent.
Yet, being able to enter it still made one a phoenix among men in the eyes of ordinary people.
As for the Three-fold Bloodline awakened by Chu Beichuan, it couldn't compare to the Wuji Bloodline that Chu Lan had previously awakened, but relying on this bloodline, he was still considered a standout among ordinary people.
"Don't say I didn't warn you, Chu Lan. Young Master Beichuan will be here shortly to take over the North Courtyard. If you know what's good for you, you'd better crawl away right now!"
The servant raised his fist in a threat. "Otherwise, don't blame my fists for having no eyes!"
"Audacious!"
Chu Lan slapped him across the face and rebuked angrily, "Since when does a mere household slave dare to ride on the heads of his masters and threaten them?"
Stunned at first by the sudden slap, the servant's face quickly twisted with anger.
"A good-for-nothing waste like you actually dares to hit me!"
"So what if I hit you?"
Chu Lan let out a cold snort. "Even if I, Chu Lan, have no cultivation right now, I am still a direct-line descendant of the Chu Family."
"Given my status, for the disrespect you just showed me, according to the Chu Family rules, you ought to be torn apart by five horses!"
Chu Lan's imposing manner was fierce, his powerful aura startling the man into submission.
At the same time, the servant was gripped by lingering fear.
Although Chu Lan had become a cripple, his status as a direct descendant of the Chu Family remained unchanged.
If other young masters and misses of the Chu Family came to trample on Chu Lan, the elders of the Chu Family wouldn't care at all.
As for a mere servant like him, bullying a direct-line descendant in secret was fine as long as it wasn't discovered. But once exposed, the proud and noble Chu Family wouldn't be able to save face, and they would surely kill him!
At this thought, the servant instantly lost his nerve.
"Young Master Chu Lan, I deserve to die... I was running my mouth just now, please forgive me this once."
The servant began to beg for mercy, though in his heart he thought: *Just wait until Chu Beichuan gets here. When he sees Chu Lan hasn't left the North Courtyard yet, he'll definitely teach him a lesson.*
"Hmph, offending a superior is an unforgivable crime. According to family rules, you deserve death—"
"My dear cousin has quite an impressive display of majesty, condemning my man to death with a single sentence?"
A voice echoed from outside.
At the entrance of the North Courtyard, a youth holding a folding fan walked in leisurely.
This youth was none other than Chu Lan's cousin, Chu Beichuan.
Behind Chu Beichuan followed several top-tier experts of the Chu Family.
They had even assigned top-tier experts of the Chu Family to accompany Chu Beichuan?
Clearly, the Chu Family was afraid that Chu Beichuan might meet with an accident.
"Young Master Beichuan, I was ordered to tell Chu Lan the results of the discussion between the Patriarch and several elders, but he defied the orders of the Patriarch and the others."
The servant immediately hurried over to Chu Lan's side to report the situation.
"Oh?" Chu Beichuan let out a sound, looked at Chu Lan, and said with a smile, "Cousin, I am now an Outer Disciple of the Heavenly Dao Academy."
"The North Courtyard is an exceptional training ground, and since you are now a useless waste, it's only right and proper that you hand the North Courtyard over to me."
"You want the North Courtyard? In your dreams!"
Chu Lan flatly refused, causing Chu Beichuan's expression to sink.
"Chu Lan, I call you cousin, but do you really think you're somebody?"
Chu Beichuan said with a cold face, "You are nothing but trash. Did you think I was discussing this with you?"
"Today, you will hand over this North Courtyard whether you want to or not!"
"Otherwise, I don't mind breaking both your legs and throwing you out!"
Chu Lan raised an eyebrow. He currently had no cultivation, and if they really fought, he would definitely be at a disadvantage.
"Wait!"
At Chu Lan's word, Chu Beichuan stopped the servant and asked with a smile, "What? Have you figured it out?"
"The control over the North Courtyard's Spirit-Gathering Array is in my hands. Even if you snatch the North Courtyard from me, without the control, you won't be able to use the Spirit-Gathering Array inside."
"And as for this control, unless I am willing myself, even if you kill me, the control will still remain in my hands!"
Hearing Chu Lan's words, Chu Beichuan frowned and said coldly, "Cousin, your Dantian has been destroyed; you can never cultivate again in this lifetime."
"If you hand over control of the North Courtyard to me, I guarantee you won't have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of your life!"
Food and clothing for the rest of your life?
Chu Lan laughed.
When Wang Zhaoyun and Liu Yemei plotted to frame him, did anyone in the Chu Family care whether he lived or died?
As for a Chu Family like this, expecting them to ensure he was fed and clothed for life—Chu Lan would rather believe that the heavens would chew up food and feed it straight into his mouth.
"Give me three days to think about it!"
Chu Lan took a deep breath and said.
Right now, he could only use a delaying tactic to stall for time.
Then, during those three days, he would cultivate inside the Divine Desolation Pagoda and raise his cultivation.
Chu Beichuan thought for a moment and finally agreed.
"Fine, I'll give you three days to think it over."
Chu Beichuan sneered, "If the result doesn't satisfy me, I can't guarantee what your fate will be!"
With those words dropped, Chu Beichuan left with his people.
Chu Lan rubbed the space between his brows. "Time is too tight."
"Three days is three years inside the Divine Desolation Pagoda."
"Time is plentiful; three years inside the tower will be enough for me to re-cultivate to the Body Spirit Realm Sixth Layer, or even higher."
"The problem is, where am I going to find cultivation resources?"
The Chu Family would never give him resources.
Moreover, being completely penniless, he wouldn't be able to go out to the market to buy cultivation resources either.
Even though a great deal of spiritual energy was stored within the North Courtyard's Spirit-Gathering Array...
Three days in the outside world was far from enough for Chu Lan.
"What a pity. If only I could move the North Courtyard's Spirit-Gathering Array into the Divine Desolation Pagoda."
As soon as Chu Lan muttered his complaint, the Divine Desolation Pagoda within his body suddenly trembled.
"This is?"
Noticing this, Chu Lan was startled.
The spiritual energy in the entire North Courtyard withered away.
"Could it be that the Spirit-Gathering Array was sucked into the Divine Desolation Pagoda?"