A barrier was set up in the center of the banquet hall for the duel. The violent winds that exploded into the air were entirely contained within this boundary, creating a scorching heatwave inside that made even standing difficult.
This White Tiger Qi Blast was Jun Zelin's ultimate technique! He had once used this combat skill to defeat a Rank Three Warrior, making a name for himself in a single battle!
Jun Zelin continuously manipulated the white tiger to unleash the White Tiger Qi Blast, but to his utter shock, that brat of a girl dodged it effortlessly every single time!
"Can you only run away? Trash! Show some guts and fight back!"
"Country bumpkin!"
"Let me show you this young master's true power!"
"You and your father are both pieces of trash... Ah!"
Before Jun Zelin could finish his tirade, his vision suddenly went pitch black. The very next second, a searing pain spread from his eyes across his entire body!
A tremendous force slammed into him, sending his entire body flying backward!
Just as Jun Zelin was about to crash out of bounds, Jun Jiuqi's figure materialized out of thin air, and with another kick, she sent him flying right back in!
Bang, bang, bang!
Next came Jun Jiuqi's one-sided domination!
She didn't even need to use much spiritual energy; a flurry of bare-handed blows was enough to leave Jun Zelin utterly defenseless!
Jun Zelin was tossed back and forth through the air above the banquet hall, Jun Jiuqi moving so fast that she left only blurring afterimages.
Accompanied by rhythmic thuds were Jun Zelin's shrill screams.
"That's for running your mouth!"
"That's for throwing stones at me!"
"That's for cursing my dad!"
With every single sentence, Jun Jiuqi landed a blow!
Her fists struck flesh with a muffled thud.
The onlookers below were dumbfounded!
No one had expected the sparring match to take such a sharp turn! It was completely different from what they had anticipated!
Jun Qingya's face turned livid. "This is outrageous, simply outrageous..."
"Enough!"
Finally reaching his limit, he roared to halt the match.
If it kept going and someone suffered a serious injury, it would disrupt the three-family martial competition half a month from now—something Jun Qingya naturally wanted to avoid.
Seeing that it was about enough, Jun Jiuqi delivered a final kick that knocked Jun Zelin to the ground!
At this moment, Jun Zelin's face was battered and bruised, looking utterly wretched as he passed out cold from the beating.
Where was the arrogant and overbearing attitude he had shown earlier?
Everyone stared at the tiny figure standing tall on the platform, struck speechless and frozen in place for a long time.
"So formidable!"
"I wonder how many flames Miss Jiuer can ignite on the Tiger Beast Platform..."
"Both Young Master Zelin and Young Master Zechuan have Rank Two strength, so Miss Jiuer must be at least Rank Three!"
...
The crowd buzzed with discussion. Jun Jiuqi had taken on two opponents single-handedly and beaten them both into total submission. For a moment, no one cared about the fallen Jun Zelin and Jun Zechuan; instead, their minds were entirely consumed by Jun Jiuqi's strength.
Jun Jiuqi cast a glance at the surrounding crowd, her expression thoughtful upon hearing the words "Tiger Beast Platform."
She had heard her Fourth Uncle mention it before.
It seemed to be a beast spirit pillar used to test the strength of clan disciples. When a disciple delivered a full-strength strike, the pillar would display their tier and strength.
Rank One would ignite one beast fire.
Rank Two would ignite two.
And so on.
"Someone come, open the beast platform!"
Concerned for his son's injuries, Jun Qingya no longer had the bandwidth to manage matters at the banquet.
With a loud shout from someone resembling an elder, several people stepped forward, forming hand seals with bursts of radiance glowing in their palms.
Amidst a series of tremors in the ground, a tall platform rose from beneath the earth.
The square platform was guarded by four stone tigers.
These stone tigers represented the beast forms of the four family heads who had once rendered distinguished service to the Jun Family.
Right in the center stood a pure white jade pillar—thick enough for five men to embrace—carved with images of tiger beasts.
Majestic and lifelike.
Their mouths slightly ajar, as if roaring up at the sky.
On the pillar were nine tiger heads, accompanied by nine unlit fire columns.
When Jun Family disciples injected their maximum spiritual energy into the stone pillar, the beast spirit pillar would reveal their strength and rank.
"As expected, a tiger father breeds no dogs! The younger generation of our Jun Family has produced yet another genius!"
The speaker was the Seventh Elder, Jun Qianshan.
As a senior member of the Jun Family and one of the earliest followers who helped old patriarch Jun Ting build his empire, he held immense prestige both within the family and the Elder Hall.
"Today, with guests gathered from all directions, alongside the elders and all the Jun Family disciples present, Jiuer, use this opportunity to let everyone witness your true strength."
Jun Jiuqi glanced at the Seventh Elder who had stepped forward to take charge, then walked silently onto the high platform, stopping before the stone pillar.
She knew this Seventh Elder was helping her establish a firm foothold in the Jun Family.
At that moment, all eyes converged on Jun Jiuqi.
Her porcelain-white face wore a stern expression, and at a glance, she certainly looked the part.
The next second, she clenched her tiny fist and swung it directly at the stone pillar!
A deafening explosion erupted across the arena!
Like a sudden clap of thunder on flat ground, the stone pillar burst into a dazzling glare before beginning to hum violently!
With a soft *poof*, the flame on the first beast pedestal ignited!
One!
Two!
Three!
...
As they watched the three lit beast platforms, the crowd experienced a complex mix of emotions.
They had long mentally prepared themselves for the possibility that Jun Jiuqi possessed at least Rank Three strength, but seeing it with their own eyes still delivered a heavy shock.
A little girl from the countryside, without any family resources or support, could actually possess such power...
The heavens of the Jun Family might be about to change.
Just as everyone was lost in deep astonishment,
The flame on the beast pedestal flickered once more.
The fourth beast fire was ignited.
Dead silence fell over the entire banquet hall.
Everyone stared wide-eyed, blankly gazing at the beast platform with its four burning beast fires.
Then came the sound of collective, cascading gasps.
Jun Jiuqi actually possessed Rank Four strength!
At such an age, Rank Three strength might be considered exceptionally talented, but Rank Four strength was absolute, genuine genius!
The crowd suddenly began to believe that the title of genius bestowed upon Jun Qingfeng was no mere exaggeration.
***
In truth, with Jun Jiuqi's actual strength, igniting four beast fires was not difficult at all.
Strictly speaking, she was only at the Rank Two Realm, but due to the overwhelming power of her True Dragon Bloodline, the explosive strength she displayed reached at least the Rank Four level.
This was also why she could easily defeat Rank Two Warriors.
Given Jun Jiuqi's strength, she wouldn't fear even if a Rank Four Warrior stepped forward. Not to mention, she hadn't even unleashed Chiyun's power yet.
Her fusion skill with Chiyun was her true trump card.
Displaying just a sliver of her prowess now was merely meant to intimidate the Jun Family members and deliver a preemptive strike to her opponents.
"Hahaha! Good! Excellent! Truly worthy of our Jun Family bloodline!"
Jun Qianshan hurried over to Jun Jiuqi, his face beaming with excitement. "To possess Rank Four strength at such a tender age! With this, our Jun Family has boundless hope!"
The old patriarch had not misjudged the person!
Fortunately—fortunately they had brought the Third Young Master back! Otherwise, if such a bright pearl had been left to languish outside, wouldn't they have failed the trust of their ancestors?
However, his joy was premature.
"Seventh Elder, she's so young. I could believe she has Rank Three strength, but as for Rank Four... isn't there some mistake?"
"Indeed! Could the test have been flawed just now? Shouldn't we test her again?"
Voices of doubt suddenly erupted from the crowd.
Even though they had witnessed with their own eyes the fourth beast fire being lit, they were unwilling to accept the reality that Jun Jiuqi possessed Rank Four strength.
The Seventh Elder frowned, about to scold them, when Jun Jiuqi's soft, milky voice sounded beside him. "No problem at all! Let's test it once more!"
She knew some people wouldn't face reality so easily.
Yet despite saying that, Jun Jiuqi didn't move herself.
She gave a look to Chiyun, who had been waiting nearby and barely holding back his eagerness. Chiyun trotted heavily over to the pillar, stepped right up, and slammed a fierce punch straight into it!
The resulting sound was even louder than Jun Jiuqi's strike!
Boom!
The pillar lit up once more.
Before everyone's astonished gazes, *whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!* Four beast platforms ignited one after another, moving at a blinding speed!
Four beast fires—not one more, not one less.
Seeing this, Chiyun looked somewhat dissatisfied.
He had clearly held back his strength. Jiujiu had said that appropriately exposing one's power in public would make enemies wary, but revealing everything made you a moving target, and only fools did that.
Gazing at his own handiwork, Chiyun proudly patted his chubby little hands and trotted back down.
"Jiujiu, Jiujiu! How was that? Am I awesome?"
"Mhm, I'll treat you to extra food when we get back."
The two children chatted amongst themselves, completely ignoring the petrified group of people around them who had just had their worldviews shattered.
Another Rank Four?
This was even more absurd—a five-year-old toddler!
Was this some kind of sick joke?
Since when were Rank Four Warriors as common as dirt?
The crowd transitioned from shock to numbness, and finally into self-doubt.
Then, a voice rang out from the crowd: "The beast pillar! The beast pillar must be broken!"
Others snapped out of their stupor. Of course! One freak of nature was one thing; at least Jun Jiuqi had just beaten Jun Zechuan and Jun Zelin. But how did another Rank Four pop up out of nowhere?
There had to be something wrong with it!
Unconvinced disciples of the Jun Family stepped onto the beast platform to try. They threw a punch, but after a long moment, only two beast platforms lit up.
Ultimately, amidst a chorus of disdainful gazes, they slunk back down in disgrace.
Two more people stepped up to try afterward, and the results definitively proved that there was nothing wrong with the beast pillar at all.
The Seventh Elder's majestic voice rang out. "Under my very eyes, who could tamper with it?"
With those words, a surge of profound Qi flew out from his sleeve, striking the beast pillar heavily. The next second, six beast lamps blazed to life.
That sight was truly magnificent.
Who in the Jun Family did not know that the Seventh Elder was a Rank Six Warrior? And one of the foremost experts in the Elder Hall at that?
"Does anyone else have objections?"
Once those words were spoken, who dared utter another half-syllable?
Since there was nothing wrong with the beast pillar, then... the test results just now were real?
So Jun Qingfeng's children genuinely possessed the cultivation of Rank Four Warriors?
This realization sent towering waves crashing through everyone's hearts.
You had to know, the absolute pinnacle among the younger generation of the Jun Family only reached the Rank Two High Stage.
Even Tang Zhou, hailed as the number one genius of Liucheng from the Tang Family, was only at the Rank Three High Stage!
And now, the Jun Family had casually produced two Rank Fights out of nowhere?!
"Good! Truly heroes come from the youth!"
As if holding a precious treasure, the Seventh Elder excitedly patted the heads of both Jun Jiuqi and Chiyun.
A single young practitioner at Rank Four was enough to allow the Jun Family to stand proudly across all of Liucheng, and now two had appeared directly. The Seventh Elder could smile in his sleep.
At that moment, Jun Qingfeng walked over. Seeing him, the Seventh Elder immediately grabbed his arm and showered him with praise: "These two children of yours are good—exceptionally good! I'm going to report this to the old patriarch right now. At the three-family competition in half a month, our Jun Family will definitely make a brilliant splash!"
"Congratulations."
"Congratulations, congratulations!"
Soon, other members of the Jun Family also stepped forward to offer their congratulations, their attitudes executing a complete one-eighty-degree turn from before.
Two Rank Fours, one of whom was a five-year-old milk-drinking toddler—even a fool could calculate their terrifying value and potential!
These were proper little monsters!
Even though Jun Qingfeng seemed far past his prime nowadays, he had raised two monstrous talents. With that, who in the Jun Family would dare underestimate his standing anymore?
The sky in the Jun Family was truly about to change.
Jun Qingya, who had just sent his two sons off for medical treatment, wore an expression that was beyond unsightly.
He was so furious he felt like vomiting blood. All his meticulous plotting today had only ended up dressing the wedding gown for someone else!
"Big Brother, does this mean our efforts went down the drain? After today, Third Brother's reputation will probably skyrocket, coupled with Father's partiality toward him... Who knows when your position as head of the family might change hands? I, for one, will be waiting to watch a good show!"
After adding fuel to the fire with this sarcastic remark, Jun Qingning's second brother, Jun Qingbo, laughed heartily and walked away.
The colors on Jun Qingya's face shifted between green and red, quite a sight to behold.
Watching Jun Qingfeng surrounded by the crowd below, Jun Qingya clenched the fists hidden beneath his sleeves until his knuckles turned white!
In a trance, he seemed to recall seeing a similar scene many years ago.
Back then, Jun Qingfeng was a youthful genius, surrounded by throngs of people and treated like the stars adoring the moon.
Just like today.
A sinister glint flashed in the depths of Jun Qingya's eyes. *Jun Qingfeng, don't think you can still control the Jun Family the way you did fifteen years ago. As long as I draw breath, it will never happen!*
From afar, Jun Jiuqi captured Jun Qingya's expression. It seemed tonight's stunt hadn't let Jun Qingya achieve his goal; instead, it had thrust her father into the spotlight within the Jun Family.
She figured that narrow-minded man would not let the matter rest easily.
However, this was only the beginning.
After the banquet, Jun Qingfeng's family officially made a name for themselves in front of the entire Jun Family. Coupled with the twists and turns of that night's duel and the incident at the beast platform, the news quickly spread like wildfire throughout the clan.
***
Ancient Pine Hall.
Inside the courtyard, filled with quaint charm and jagged, grotesque rocks, an elderly man stood with his back to the entrance, trimming a bonsai pine.
At that moment, footsteps sounded from behind.
"Why are you here?"
Without turning his head, the old man spoke as the visitor strode straight into the courtyard and dropped unceremoniously into a stone pavilion seat.
"You're the only one who can still be in such a leisurely mood hiding in your own courtyard. Don't you know the outside world is about turned upside down?!"
Jun Qianshan poured himself a cup of tea and gulped it down in one go.
"You had me specially summoned back from Xingluo in such a rush, yet here you are turning a blind eye to the world outside? Whose son is he, anyway?"
Jun Qianshan couldn't help complaining. He had originally been leading disciples on a mission in Xingluo when a spiritual message from Jun Ting urgently recalled him.
He had thought some major crisis had struck the clan, only to find out that Jun Ting had called him back merely to back up Jun Qingfeng's family.
Backing them up was one thing, but Jun Ting himself acted as though nothing had happened. So much time had passed, yet he refused to show his face or go see anyone, holing up in his own courtyard under the fine-sounding excuse of "recovering from illness."
What a stubborn old fogey!
"When he wasn't here, you worried day and night. Now that he's finally back, you put on an act of indifference and refuse even to see him. You have no idea how many twists and turns last night's banquet had..."
"Wasn't you there?"
"Hmph, you only know how to boss me around. But speaking of which, after all these years apart, Feng'er really has become steadier, though his stubborn temperament hasn't changed a bit. You have no idea what it was like facing that kind of situation yesterday..."
With that, Jun Qianshan began recounting the events of the previous night's banquet.
He talked for a long time, especially growing animated and immensely gratified when describing Qingfeng's two children—only to turn and see Jun Qingfeng's father, Jun Ting, maintaining a completely placid expression.
"How come you don't seem surprised at all?"
Jun Qianshan narrowed his eyes, thoughtful.
Jun Ting snorted. "What's there to be surprised about? How he is, what does that have to do with me?"
Jun Ting put on a stern face, maintaining his indifferent facade.
Jun Qianshan furrowed his brow. "There you go again. Can't that stinky temper of yours ever change?"
At that moment, Steward Hai walked in carrying a tray of pastries and set them on the stone table. "Actually, Old Master went to the banquet personally last night, he just didn't show his face..."
"What nonsense are you spouting? I was just taking a walk! I didn't go over specifically for that unfilial brat!"
Jun Ting finally reacted to that.
Jun Qianshan rolled his eyes. "Do you take walks that far? And specifically detour around Bixin Lake?"
"Hmph, I felt like it!" Jun Ting slammed his palm heavily on the table. "This entire Jun Family belongs to me! I'll walk wherever I damn well please; who can stop me?"
"Fine, fine, keep putting up a front!" Jun Qianshan let out a disdainful snort. "Keep acting tough, and let's see if Qingfeng still recognizes you as his father!"
"Clap!"
Hearing that, Jun Ting tossed the shears in his hand aside. "That unfilial son! I don't recognize that rebellious brat either! How long has he been home, and he hasn't even come to pay his respects to me proactively! Ungrateful wolf!"
So after all that, he had been quietly harboring resentment over this!
Jun Qianshan burst out with a chuckle. "Hahaha, you, oh you... what am I to do with you? Since you miss him in your heart, go see him proactively! Or have Steward Hai pass word for them to come to Ancient Pine Hall."
"Why should I proactively send word? Tranquil Abode is so close to Ancient Pine Hall; if he had any mind to, he would have come to pay respects long ago. Why would he need me to reach out?"
"Wasn't it because you put out word that you needed peace and quiet to recuperate? Who would dare disturb you?"
"Hmph! Do you take that rebellious brat for someone who follows rules? If he cared about rules, he wouldn't have left the Jun Family fifteen years ago without a second word, not even sending back a single letter! He's just a heartless, ungrateful wretch! Enough, say no more, get back with you!"
Jun Ting flicked his sleeve, chasing people away the moment his temper flared.
"What's the use of throwing a tantrum with me? Who was it back then, stubborn as a mule, who insisted on forcing Qingfeng to marry a woman he disliked? You know what kind of disposition Qingfeng has; he's had the strongest mind of anyone since he was a child!"
"I'm his old man, he's my son—did he dare disobey me?" Jun Ting's stubborn mule temper flared up again after just a couple of sentences.
"Look at that stubborn temper of yours; who could stomach it?" Jun Qianshan said irritably. "That eldest miss from the Tang family back then—her temperament was affected and pretentious, and I despised her arrogant airs! Look at her now, married into her current family and turning household after household upside down. If our Qingfeng had truly married her back then, would there ever have been a single day of peace?"
The marriage Jun Ting had arranged for Jun Qingfeng back then was with the eldest miss of the Tang family.
The two families had intended to form a marriage alliance at the time, which was considered a powerful union. Because the Ji Family was extremely powerful then and vaguely held a monopoly on influence, the Tang and Jun families had no choice but to unite through marriage to jointly counter the Ji Family.
To their surprise, Jun Qingfeng adamantly refused, even resisting to the death. In the end, it caused the Tang family to leave in a huff, calling off the match, while Jun Qingfeng had a falling out with Jun Ting and severed ties with the Jun Family in a fit of anger.
Jun Ting had declared that there was no place for him in the Jun Family, telling Jun Qingfeng that once he left, he should never return.
Father and son shared the exact same stubborn temperament, remaining at a stalemate like this for fifteen years.
The knot in their hearts from those fifteen years could not be untied overnight.
Jun Qianshan understood this as well, but now that Qingfeng had finally returned, opportunities to thaw the ice in their father-son relationship were aplenty.
"You didn't see those two children, Jiuer and Chiyun. They truly are as bright as snow, sensible and obedient."