Chapter 749: Life or Dignity?
The Elder Tai Jia slightly pondered before saying, "The inheritance of the Bloodline of the Wings of Light is the most important lineage of our Ancient Hong Clan. Such a bloodline absolutely cannot flow outside; otherwise, it would cause immeasurable loss to our Hong Family!"
At this point, Elder Tai Jia paused before continuing, "Originally, our Ancient Hong Clan absolutely did not allow marriage with outsiders, but since you are now husband and wife, and you, Ye Feng, also have an extraordinary talent, I, the clan elder, will make an exception and give you a chance. As long as you are willing to marry into our Ancient Hong Clan, we can forgive you!"
"As long as you, the young man, are willing to now marry into our Hong Family, and sign the Blood Book, and henceforth become a member of our Ancient Hong Clan, we can spare your life today. Otherwise, for the vengeance of killing our Great Power of the Yin-Yang Realm, and the humiliation of crippling our Hong Family elders, you must repay with your blood today!" Elder Tai Yi also said in a deep voice.
Hong Wuji heard these words and couldn't help but snort lightly, "To let someone with an outsider's surname marry into our Ancient Hong Clan, he's really getting a bargain!"
Many of the younger generation of the Hong Family also clenched their teeth and said, "It really is a bargain for this lad, an ordinary person from the secular world to actually be allowed to join our Ancient Hong Clan; isn't this a case of a sparrow transforming into a phoenix!"
"Damn it, this Ye surname lad is actually hesitating; what is there to hesitate about? Our Hong Family is one of the Four Great Ancient Clans, with such honored status, a long inheritance, and extremely powerful strength. It should be his ancestors' good fortune that he can join; smoke should be billowing from his family's ancestral graves!"
Hearing the whispers of the younger generation of the Hong Family, Ye Feng's expression remained unchanged, but the slight upward twist of his lips betrayed a hint of mockery.
The Holy Elder of Confucian Sect couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "These three clan elders of the Hong Family really know how to calculate for their own benefit. Not to mention that Ye Feng is the number one among his peers this year, what's more important is he's the chosen successor. The Hong Family actually seems to want him to marry into the family, a move that probably would keep Old Long from resting in his coffin."
Elder Buddhist of Buddhist Sect, however, coldly snorted and said, "The demands of the Hong Family are indeed somewhat underhanded. Ye Feng is exceptionally talented and strong, fully capable of contending against those with the Three Seals or even Great Powers of the Peak Realm of the Yin-Yang Realm. But given the current situation, he has no choice. If he does not agree, once the three venerable elders of the Hong Clan take action, he will undoubtedly die!"
"Whether to choose life or dignity, it's now up to him to decide!"
After saying this, Elder Buddhist's figure swiftly moved to a distant rooftop, looking eager to watch what unfolded.
The Holy Elder of Confucian Sect also shook his head and sighed, likewise gliding up onto the roof of a distant wooden house, an action that clearly indicated they would not interfere with what was to come.
For Ye Feng or, in the eyes of most people of the Hong Family, if Ye Feng wanted to survive, he had to abandon his dignity and marry into the Hong Family. Henceforth, his children with Hong Qingyan would also have to bear the surname Hong, only being members of the Hong Family's younger generation, ensuring that the Hong Family's bloodline inheritance would not leak out.
Of course, if he wanted to keep his dignity, the three venerable clan elders of the Hong Family would inevitably take action. Keep in mind, two of the venerables are unparalleled experts of the Half-Step Void Realm, and once they act, Ye Feng doesn't stand a chance at life!
At this moment, Hong Qingyan was also in a dilemma. Although she did not hesitate to stand by Ye Feng's side, it didn't mean she wasn't worried. After all, what Ye Feng was about to face were transcendent experts of the Half-Step Void Realm. This was no trivial matter.
But Hong Qingyan also felt it was not her place to persuade, as it concerned a man's dignity!
The Elder Tai Bing, clad in black, ominously snorted, "Ye surname, how have you decided, young man? I'll give you ten more seconds. If you don't agree, then don't blame us for not being polite!"
Elder Tai Yi also said sternly, "Ye Feng, you better think carefully. Given the current situation, you can't possibly escape. If you do not agree, the possibility of you awakening to the next day is nil!"
Hearing this, Ye Feng laughed, looking up with a loud laugh.
Elder Tai Bing's countenance sank to an extreme, angerly snorting, "What are you laughing at, lad?"
"Naturally, I'm laughing at you three old dogs!" Ye Feng's laughter ceased abruptly, as he faced the three men head-on and defiantly said, "What bullshit Ancient Hong Clan, pretending to be noble on the surface, but in reality, you're nothing but selfish and greedy fools. And you still delude yourselves thinking I will marry into your clan? Just where do you get the nerve? Do you even qualify?"
"Ah, this is preposterous, utterly preposterous!" Elder Tai Bing raged, his aura surging wildly in his outrage.
"Ye surname, I think you're not going to cry until you see the coffin! I'll ask you one last time, do you agree or not?" Elder Tai Yi roared in fury.
Ye Feng held the Sword of Royal Authority across his chest and declared, word by word, "Just the three of you old dogs think you can take me down? You must be dreaming!"
Finally, Elder Tai Jia shook his head and sighed, "Very well, young man, this is the path you have chosen. Not only will you die today, but also this Hong Qingyan; despite her delusion. After we kill you, we will certainly capture Hong Qingyan and extract the inheritance bloodline from her body!"
"Yes, that ignorant girl is unworthy of our Ancient Hong Family's inheritance bloodline. We must extract the blood from her body and remove her inherited bloodline!" Elder Tai Bing roared.
Ye Feng's eyes narrowed sharply at these words, unmistakably angered. Hong Qingyan was his soft spot, and these three old dogs dared to touch it, which enraged him beyond measure.
"Qingyan, go to the side and wait for me!" Ye Feng called out.
Hong Qingyan stood still, gripping the Purple Thunder Heaven-Cracking Sword, and retorted, "Big Brother Ye, I want to fight alongside you!"
Ye Feng shook his head and said, "You can't help in a battle of this level; staying would only cause me worry. Go to the side. After I defeat these three old dogs, we'll leave together!"
Hong Qingyan, knowing reason, hesitated no longer and moved swiftly to her father's side.
"Good lad, since you insist on courting death, I will grant you your wish!" Elder Tai Bing declared coldly, lunging forward. His wrist flicked, and he unleashed a blazing golden light.
Wherever the flame golden light went, even space itself began to show threads of cracks, its power indeed terrifyingly immense. It was no less than expected from a Great Power at the peak realm, possessing extraordinary strength.
Golden light emerged all over Ye Feng's body, and the Supreme Armor materialized. Then, gripping the Sword of Royal Authority, he charged forward.
In midair, Ye Feng swung his sword directly!
The sword qi swept out like a long rainbow, instantly scattering the flame golden light.
"Impressive, kid. I didn't expect you to be able to break through the golden flame of our clan elder. No wonder Hong Wuji and the others are no match for you!" Elder Tai Bing snorted coldly. He seemed unfazed as he formed a Dharma Seal with his hands, and suddenly a purple-gold fiery sun wheel appeared above his head.
What Elder Tai Bing was using was also the Great Fiery Sun Technique, a heritage cultivation technique of the Ancient Hong Clan!
However, the power of his Great Fiery Sun Technique was far stronger than that of Hong Wuji and the others, dark purple in color!
The terrifyingly high temperature twisted even space itself, and what was more horrifying was that as Elder Tai Bing's hands solidified the seal, the purple-gold fiery sun wheel began to deform, transforming into a purple-gold divine sword in the blink of an eye!
Seeing this, Hong Wuji and several other powerful members of the Hong Family exclaimed in unison, "Looking at this, it seems that Elder Tai Bing has cultivated the Great Fiery Sun Technique to the second mindset. The Fiery Sun Divine Sword technique is worthy of the clan elder. With the emergence of the Fiery Sun Divine Sword, that kid Ye Feng is bound to die!"
"Go, cut him down for me!" Elder Tai Bing waved his hand, and the purple-gold Fiery Sun Divine Sword shot out through the air. The air hissed, evidently from the sheer speed and ferocity, causing the air itself to be compressed.
Ye Feng's expression darkened. The Spirit Essence within his body surged out and infused into the Sword of Royal Authority in his hands. Then, with both hands holding the sword, he swung it out.
The vast sword qi instantly swept out like a tidal wave!
In an instant, the sword qi from both divine swords clashed, causing a heaven-shaking roar to erupt throughout the valley of the Ancient Hong Clan. The horrific energy wave spread in all directions, instantly lifting and shattering the surrounding wooden houses.
The other two clan elders acted swiftly, slapping the air with great hands, sending out forces of the void to instantly dissipate the waves, sparing everyone around them from harm.
At this moment, the Royal Authority Sword Qi belonging to Ye Feng rose mightily, directly flinging the opposing Fiery Sun Divine Sword away and then charging forth with overwhelming momentum.
"How... how is this possible!" Elder Tai Bing suddenly widened his eyes, his face filled with disbelief.
He could hardly believe that his Fiery Sun Divine Sword had been sent flying. The second layer of the Great Fiery Sun Technique, when deployed, was nearly indistinguishable from the methods of a Great Power at the half-step Void Realm, yet it had just been shattered by his opponent in one strike.
Elder Tai Bing may have lived for hundreds of years and was no ordinary creature. In the face of danger, he slapped his hands together, launching fierce beams of sun-god light that finally dispersed the Royal Authority Sword Qi.
However, by then, Elder Tai Bing looked quite disheveled, and utilizing the second mindset of the Great Fiery Sun Technique, the Fiery Sun Divine Sword, had greatly depleted his Spirit Essence.
As for Ye Feng, although the Spirit Essence in his more than two thousand acupoints had also been drained, he recovered within a few breaths, maintaining his peak condition.
Comparatively, the superior and inferior were clear!
Youthful as he was, Ye Feng's age not even a fraction of the other's, but his strength undoubtedly suppressed the other entirely!
"To think that you, boy, could be so astonishingly powerful as to send flying even my Fiery Sun Divine Sword. No wonder you dare act so brazenly. Your strength is now on par with any Sacred Elder of the Great Powers from the ancient clans!" Elder Tai Bing declared in a deep, cold voice.
At this moment, the elders of the Tai Jia and Tai Yi clans were also deeply shocked; they had not anticipated that someone could be so formidable as to stand against Elder Tai Bing.
"Turn on the clan defense grand formation!" Elder Tai Jia suddenly ordered.
"Big brother, with us here, I doubt there's a need to activate the clan defense grand formation, is there? Are we actually afraid this kid might escape?" Elder Tai Yi frowned and said.
"If I tell you to activate it, just do it. No need for so much pointless talk!" Elder Tai Jia said in a stern voice.
Seeing the seriousness in his elder brother's expression, Elder Tai Yi didn't argue further. He promptly took out four keys of the ancient bronze token and inserted them into the four directions: east, south, west, and north.
In an instant, beams of light rose from all around, and quickly, a grand clan defense formation was fully activated.
"Solidify!" Elder Tai Jia formed seal after seal with his hands, controlling the formation. Soon, the barrier of the grand formation began to shrink, eventually enclosing just Ye Feng and the three clan elders within a dome and forming a protective shield about a dozen meters across.
With this, there was no longer concern the energy overflow from fighting would affect others.
More importantly, Elder Tai Jia did this mainly to prevent Ye Feng from escaping. He was well aware that anyone of this caliber would have one or two life-saving tricks. In other words, even Elder Tai Jia himself wasn't completely confident they could capture Ye Feng.
But now, with the clan defense grand formation activated, there was no need for concern. Ye Feng, trapped within the formation, was like a turtle in a jar, doomed not to escape!