She continued, "Since I have ascended to the Tianyuan Realm martial grandmaster, it is my obligation to support the martial arts of Tianchu. This is the duty of our generation of martial artists, and I will not shirk it!"
"From now on, I hope everyone will visit my Lan family clan often. Share your joys with me when good things happen, and come to me with your difficulties. Now that I have become a martial grandmaster, I might as well use my seniority to reluctantly take charge of the martial arts of Tianchu!"
After Madam Lan finished speaking, the entire audience erupted in a chorus of sycophantic agreement.
"Martial arts leader."
"Esteemed and virtuous."
"No one else can compare."
"Heartily convinced."
"Will follow your lead."
All sorts of flattering words rained down like a tidal wave, causing Madam Lan's face to glow with pride, as if she had become decades younger.
Madam Lan, thoroughly pleased, continued, "Everyone, I imagine you've grown tired of looking at my old face. Let us invite Elder Wei Shengjing from the Mo Wu Wei family, one of the three great martial arts families of Liuyun Kingdom, to meet with you all."
As she spoke, she respectfully stood up and invited a stern-faced, middle-aged man with a fair complexion and long beard, who was in his forties, to come forward.
The moment this middle-aged man appeared, a terrifying pressure, ten, even dozens of times greater than Madam Lan's, gently enveloped the entire venue. Everyone felt the suffocating, dreadful oppression.
The middle-aged man was none other than Elder Wei Shengjing of the Mo Wu Wei family. He pursed his lips, his face showing disdain as he casually swept his gaze across the crowd, as if looking at a group of ants. His demeanor was extremely arrogant, yet no one dared to show any displeasure. This was because Wei Shengjing possessed the strength and confidence to do so. He was a top-tier martial grandmaster in the late Tianyuan Realm!
He waved his hand dismissively, clearly deeming it beneath him to even speak a word to the people of Tianchu City. Madam Lan did not dare to press the issue and respectfully escorted Wei Shengjing to the honored seat.
Clearing her throat, she continued to issue instructions in her hoarse, crow-like voice, "Bring the person up!"
Immediately, two burly men dragged a robust fellow forward. The robust man was a one-eyed individual. His scapulae were pierced by two large iron hooks, the other ends of the chains held by the two burly men. Blood flowed incessantly from his wounds. This was Ling Fan's servant, Liang Hutu, who had been cultivating and attempting to break through to the Tianyuan Realm at the Lan family fortress in Jiangnan City.
Upon seeing Liang Hutu, Madam Lan seemed to see his master, that detestable, gray-haired young man! Her eyes involuntarily gleamed with intense hatred. Excitedly, she waved her hands, her hunched body rising from her chair. She shrieked, "Everyone! Ling Fan, that little beast, as a live-in son-in-law of a branch of my Lan family clan, has benefited from my Lan family's blessings. Yet, he has maniacally destroyed my Lan family's ancestral shrine, bullied me, an old woman of weak health, betrayed his ancestors, insulted his masters, and acted with utter lawlessness!"
"Furthermore, he brazenly annihilated Misty Cloud Mountain, slaughtering over a thousand experts including its mountain lord, committing heinous crimes!"
"Although the whereabouts of this little beast are currently unknown, and he has likely fled to some dark corner terrified of Elder Wei, I have captured a dog that served him from Jiangnan City."
"This dog has already become a Tianyuan Realm martial grandmaster."
"Killing a grandmaster is significant enough!"
"Today, he will die in place of that little beast!"
"When I capture that little beast later, I will skin him alive, dismember him, and cut him into ten thousand pieces to quell my hatred!" Madam Lan gritted her teeth and made a gesture with her hand.
The entire audience erupted in an uproar. That was a high and mighty martial grandmaster! He had cultivated to his current realm through arduous effort, only to meet such an end, being used to make an example of him... Liang Hutu was truly pathetic.
"What a shame, what a shame. This person finally cultivated to the Tianyuan Realm, only to die so miserably because he was Ling Fan's servant. It's truly a pity."
"If I were him, I would immediately change my ways, surrender to the Lan family clan, and sever all ties with that Ling Fan from now on!"
"Heh, wasn't that Ling Fan so powerful, crushing great forces one after another? Now that they're about to execute his servant, where has he hidden himself like a shrinking turtle?"
"They say he's his servant, but his wife was captured, and he didn't even make a sound. What's killing his servant! He's definitely prioritizing his own life."
"That's true."
"Heh, the wedding banquet he hosted at Jianghe Tower was so grand, the scene so spectacular. I thought he loved his wife that much, but it turns out he's just a heartless scoundrel who abandons his loved ones."
The powerful figures in the audience burst into laughter and began to chatter. They had completely forgotten Ling Fan's past might in annihilating the Dark Martial Hall and Misty Cloud Mountain. Times had changed. Now that Madam Lan had brought in a top grandmaster from the Mo Wu Wei family of Liuyun Kingdom, Tianchu City was no longer under Ling Fan's control. They naturally knew how to shift their allegiances.
As the crowd was in an uproar of discussion, Madam Lan, with a stern face, looked down at Liang Hutu and said, "Liang Hutu, I recognize the difficulty of your cultivation. I will give you one last chance."
"As long as you publicly betray that little beast, swear that you will be irreconcilably opposed to him from now on, and then publicly expose all of that little beast's despicable and filthy deeds, I will spare you."
"Otherwise, I will kill you today as a sacrifice! You must think carefully!"
"Is your own life more important, or is your foolish loyalty more important!"
Liang Hutu's cultivation had been sealed, and his scapulae were pierced. He was already having immense difficulty breathing. However, upon hearing Madam Lan's attempt to persuade him to surrender, his eyes widened in fury. He suddenly raised his head and spat a mouthful of thick phlegm mixed with blood at Madam Lan.
"Go to hell, you old hag!"
"My master, Liang, is a figure like a celestial dragon, an exiled immortal! How can you slander him? If you want to kill me, then kill me! If I so much as blink an eye, I'm no true man!"
"For me to betray my master? Dream on, you motherf***er!"
"When my master arrives, he will kill all you clowns, leaving none behind!"
Liang Hutu cursed loudly and with great satisfaction. The crowd listened, dumbfounded.
"Good heavens. This servant of Ling Fan is truly loyal. Even in this state, he refuses to betray his master."
"Moreover, I must say, his backbone is incredibly strong! He can be considered a true man."
"It's just a pity that as he curses with such gusto, his life will be forfeit."
As expected, Madam Lan's face turned green with rage. The old skin on her face trembled uncontrollably with anger, and she roared hysterically, "Kill him! Kill him for me! Silence this bastard!"
The two Xuan Gang Realm burly men nodded respectfully. One of them held Liang Hutu's bald head firmly. The other, holding a sharp Yellow-grade mid-tier bone-cutting saber, flashed a cold light and fiercely swung it towards Liang Hutu's neck.