"What is there to thank me for? This is simply what I ought to do."
"Your parents gave their lives fighting for our Li Heavenly Clan. I should have taken proper care of you sisters from the start."
"When I went into seclusion for closed-door cultivation, I allowed that girl Li Yue'er to be bullied — and even driven away from the clan. That was my failing. The Li Ancestral Formation is merely one part of my attempt to make amends."
"Rest assured — so long as I am here, no one in this Li Heavenly Clan will dare bully you two sisters again." Li the Battle Maniac spoke those words at a volume that left no room for doubt.
He said them so that everyone present would hear.
And the members of the Li Heavenly Clan understood full well that those words were directed at them. One by one, they lowered their heads in silence.
After all, after Li Ming's death, none of them had fulfilled their duty to look after Li Yue'er. There was a measure of guilt in their hearts because of that.
Of course, there were plenty who felt no guilt whatsoever — only fear that Li the Battle Maniac would come after them.
Since emerging from seclusion, the Battle Maniac had already made trouble for quite a few people, all in the name of easing Li Ruochu's heart.
"Ruochu, tell me — do you think the opening of this Upper Realm Gate is a blessing or a curse for our Li Heavenly Clan?"
Li the Battle Maniac suddenly turned the question to Li Ruochu.
"If the Upper Realm Gate connects to another upper realm, then naturally it would be a blessing."
"But since it connects to the Grand Grand Upper Realm, whether that is truly good or not… even Ruochu cannot say." Li Ruochu replied.
"You girl — there's more to your words than meets the eye." Li the Battle Maniac chuckled.
"Ruochu would not dare overstep."
"Actually, I know what worries you. It's that father-and-son pair — Chu Hanxian and Chu Xuanyuan."
"I must admit, Chu Hanxian and Chu Xuanyuan are indeed rare geniuses of our Ancestral Martial Star Domain."
"But Chu Hanxian has been missing for many years. Chances are he is already dead."
"As for Chu Xuanyuan's strength, it is certainly not to be underestimated. However, from what I know, the Chu Heavenly Clan's Forbidden Land in the Ancestral Martial Lower Realm harbors a peculiar force — one that weakens a person's cultivation."
"Back then, Chu Xuanyuan offended the Star Domain's Main Realm. To preserve the peace of the Chu Heavenly Clan, he willingly humbled himself and was imprisoned inside that Forbidden Land."
"Now, even if he is still alive, his cultivation has surely declined greatly. So in my estimation, the Chu Heavenly Clan is no longer a force to be feared." Li the Battle Maniac declared.
"Senior, but that Chu Xuanyuan — he does not strike me as such a foolish man."
"Could it really be that he would sacrifice his own future just to ensure the safety of the Chu Heavenly Clan?" Li Ruochu asked.
"Hmph, Li Ruochu — do you truly believe you understand Chu Xuanyuan better than Lord Battle Maniac himself?"
Just then, a voice full of displeasure rang out.
Following the voice, the speaker turned out to be a junior not yet a hundred years old.
He was a young man who appeared no older than a youth, and yet he carried himself with striking poise and extraordinary handsomeness. His very bearing was far beyond what someone like Li Youbin could hope to match, and between his brows there radiated a king-like dominance.
His cultivation had reached the fourth-order Heavenly Immortal — a full realm above Li Youbin.