Zhou Xie is the eldest disciple of the Fourth Elder. He possesses exceptional talent, currently a level 29 plant cultivator. His natal demonic vine is the spirit-grade Bone Vine, said to have originated from the Abyss. He has a delicate and handsome appearance, yet remains low-key, making him one of the more mysterious among the dozen or so eldest disciples of the elders. Because he rarely participates in hunts or competitions, few know his true combat strength.

The five secular families returned, but the Lin family received support from Zhou Xie and the strong man Han Peng. It was also the only family among the five with two senior disciples who were elders.

This time, Zhou Xie rushed to Zhangba Township in Xiqin Province to contact Xuan Qingxuan. He seemed to be planning something important. He came in a hurry, with a slightly furrowed brow, looking preoccupied.

However, no one knows what they discussed. For the next month, their contact was extremely frequent. Xuan Qingxuan had no time to focus on her cultivation during that month.

The other senior disciples also came representing several secular forces!

After several discussions between the five families and Xuan Qingxuan, all seven elders and disciples finally gathered. Xuan Qingxuan, representing Qingzhu and herself, spoke with her five junior brothers.

At this moment, the seven disciples of the elders from Fengdu City filed into the Jiahao Hotel, creating a scene that drew everyone's attention. Everyone had adapted to local customs, wearing suits and ties, light shirts and jeans; the men were handsome, the women were ethereal, all dressed in fashionable attire. Combined with the presence of cultivators, the Jiahao Hotel was immediately filled with a stunned atmosphere. The diners, seeing so many exceptionally handsome men and beautiful women walking together, stared blankly, showing them respect. They only snapped out of their daze after the hotel staff led Xuan Qingxuan and the others upstairs.

"I've never seen such beautiful and elegant women before, and there are several of them at once!"

"Mr. Zhao, why don't we ask the hotel manager who these women are? Hehe, they're top-notch!"

"Those handsome guys are so unique—"

The diners, both men and women, whispered among themselves, mostly talking about Xuan Qingxuan and the others, marveling at their beauty. Most of the customers were people with some capital; many were wealthy, owning companies or factories. Since Ye Yun invested in this hotel, the Jiahao Hotel's prestige had skyrocketed, and naturally, prices had increased significantly, making it a truly high-end establishment.

That signature dish is now available in limited quantities. You could say it's the only one of its kind in the entire country.

As the hotel's deputy general manager came out of his office, he overheard the guests talking amongst themselves. Intrigued, he called over a waiter to ask him a question.

"A group of handsome men and beautiful women? They look very elegant?"

The waitress, who seemed somewhat agitated, appeared puzzled as she faced the vice president.

He was the former hotel manager, but when Ye Yun acquired 40% of the hotel's shares, he became the vice president. However, he was quite competent and did not complain about it.

Vice President Liu had an idea. He beckoned a waiter and said, "Go to the counter and get a bottle of 1992 Lafite!"

Even today, a 1992 Lafite is considered quite expensive. However, Jiahao's vice president earns a considerable amount annually, so he can easily afford to drink this wine.

After the waiter took the wine from Vice President Liu's receipt, the two went up the elevator.

Zhou Xie and his group wanted a deluxe private room. Only the wealthy and powerful could afford such a room, and reservations were mandatory. This matched Vice President Liu's guess. The fact that the guests who frequented the restaurant and stayed in such a private room must indicate someone of extraordinary background.

"Knock knock knock!" Vice President Liu glanced at the few waiters standing outside, then put on a smiling face and knocked on the door.

"Excuse me, esteemed guests, I am Liu Tianmin, the deputy general manager of this hotel. Welcome to our establishment. Xiao Yang, bring in the 1992 Lafite. This wine is a gift for our distinguished guest. Also, tell the kitchen to give it their all. Tell them we have a very important guest here, and to make sure everything is prepared perfectly. Please enjoy your meal. I won't disturb you any longer!"

Vice President Liu glanced around the room, his face composed with a smile, but the surprise in his eyes was undisguised. Who were these young men and women? They were even more handsome and beautiful than the waiter had described. And when he offered them a bottle of fine wine, they merely nodded in acknowledgment, not even bothering to stand up.

That kind of aura is something only someone of high status possesses. Maybe he's a young master or lady from some powerful family? We need to treat these people well!

After coming out, he gave the waiter a few more instructions before leaving.

——————

"The hotel's vice president is quite shrewd. A 1992 Lafite only costs a few thousand or tens of thousands—" Li Lizheng sneered. He was also present, but most of the people there were more important than him, which made him very uncomfortable. So he wanted to make a show of himself and get everyone's attention.

Seeing that the others were not responding to him and were only talking in hushed tones, Li Lizheng felt a little embarrassed, followed by a hint of anger.

The Li family consisted of only him and Qi Hui. Although Qi Hui no longer had the support of the deceased Seventh Elder, he was still an elder's disciple. The Lin family sent three people; Lin Hongwu had now officially graduated and held a more important position within the Lin family. He came with Zhou Xie and Han Peng.

The Xu family included Xu Ming and Feng Nie. The Zheng family, as expected, included Zheng Haixing and the extremely aloof Hu Yanqingtong. The Xiao family included Xiao Ruonan and the young woman Lan Xinyu.

Then there are Xuan Qingxuan, Qingzhu, Qin Lina, and Li Yun. These people represent the six forces. Relatively speaking, his identity is a bit awkward; he is the adopted son of the Li family, and not as important as Li Limin who suddenly appeared.

When Li Lizheng spoke, the entire room fell silent, which was somewhat eerie.

"Now that everyone is here, let's begin, Senior Sister—" Zhou Xie, the most mysterious among the elders and disciples, glanced at the somewhat uncomfortable Li Yun and Qin Lina, and respectfully addressed Xuan Qingxuan.

"snort!"

"There's still something to do, isn't there, Senior Brother Qi?" Qingzhu snorted, looking at Qi Hui with a sarcastic tone.

"Wow!" Surprised, confused, and gloating, how did Qi Hui offend this young lady? With Qingzhu targeting him and his senior sister backing him up, Qi Hui was in for trouble.

After their initial surprise, Zhou Xie and the others looked at Qi Hui, whose expression was rather grim, and couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. They were all wondering what had happened to anger Qingzhu now, given that Qi Hui had lost his greatest support after the Seventh Elder's passing and had become extremely low-key.

If you anger Qingzhu, the eldest sister will be the most biased towards her.

The other families were generally aware of the Li family's affairs. Lin Hongwu, Zheng Haixing, and other third-generation playboys might not be good at much else, but they were the most well-informed about the upper echelons of society.

When they first heard that Qi Hui actually wanted to marry Li Yun, everyone was shocked, and some even cursed him out of jealousy. They thought, "The beautiful cabbage has been eaten by a pig!" When they heard that Li Yun had run away from home, everyone was happy. But unexpectedly, after disappearing for so long, Li Yun reappeared with Xuan Qingxuan.

This was obvious. Qingzhu actually stood up for Li Yun!

This matter needs to be discussed beforehand.

When Xuan Qingxuan and Qingzhu arrived at the banquet, they were worried about Li Yun and Qin Lina, so they brought them along as well. Although Liu Meigui and Bai Yin didn't come again, they still had to be careful, in case other similar people broke in.

Qin Lina felt both excited and apprehensive. She had only been cultivating for a short time, and she was already going to see her senior sister's junior brothers again.

According to Qingzhu, these five male junior brothers are all remarkable young masters. She was excited, excited that she was about to enter a world of powerful people, but also worried that her cultivation level was too low.

Li Yun, however, refused to go, shaking her head as if she had something to hide. Qingzhu understood Li Yun now, and when she finally learned that Li Yun had been forced into marriage by Qi Hui, she was furious. She declared that she would take care of the matter and see if Qi Hui dared to harm Li Yun.

Then Qingzhu reported the matter to Xuan Qingxuan, whose expression darkened upon hearing Qingzhu's embellished account. As the senior sister, she had to deal with it, as a junior brother from the Qingxuan Sect had done something so disrespectful to the sect.

So he took on the task, which put Li Yun's mind at ease, and she happily went with him.

With her senior sister's guarantee, even Grandpa and the others wouldn't dare to make things difficult for her!

Unexpectedly, just as they were about to discuss business, Qingzhu came out to deal with personal matters, which made Qi Hui's face turn very ugly.

——————

In fact, when he heard Zhou Xie relaying Senior Sister Xuan Qingxuan's warning over the phone in the luxurious room of the Jiahao Hotel, he was so angry that he smashed a cup, his face turning terribly gloomy. After his anger subsided, he was more worried about Senior Sister's wrath.

Without the support of his sect, Qi Hui is nothing.

Li Lizheng, standing nearby, comforted him, "Senior Brother Qi, don't be angry. I didn't expect that Li Yun would actually be with Senior Sister. I'll report this to the old man. Li Yun is a member of the Li family. Now that she's here, I'm not afraid she won't listen to me! Besides, can Senior Sister interfere in the affairs of our Li family? She'll always give us some face, won't she?"

Even Li Lizheng wasn't sure about what he was saying, so Qi Hui naturally didn't believe it either.

However, Li Lizheng was right about one thing: this is a matter for the Li family.

——————

Zhou Xie glanced at Li Yun this time, and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.

"I didn't expect that Senior Sister would actually take on a disciple?"

Li Yun and Qin Lina had very low cultivation levels, and since this was a major event, the two women were not taken seriously by the crowd. But upon closer inspection now, they discovered the truth.

Li Yun is actually an eleventh-level plant cultivator! Even the five people present—Li Lizheng, Lin Hongwu, Zheng Haixing, Xiao Ruonan, and Xu Ming—are only around third or fourth level.

Even so, they felt much stronger than before. They could even hold their own against SWAT teams.

Zhou Xie naturally assumed that Li Yun and Qin Lina were disciples of his senior sister. He treated the others similarly. If they were merely acquaintances of his senior sister Xuan Qingxuan and were simply brought along to broaden their horizons, that wouldn't be a problem. But now that a master-disciple relationship existed, everyone had to take it seriously.

"Senior Sister Qingzhu, Senior Sister, this is a matter for our Li family. I wonder if you could give us some face?" Li Lizheng said with a smile, still seething with anger.

She addressed him as "senior sister," but the expressions of the top disciples changed.

Who do you think you are, daring to call yourself "senior sister"? It's like you've been given several generations' seniority for no reason?

"Hey, who do you think you are? Do you even have the right to speak here?" Qingzhu glared angrily, showing no respect for Li Li whatsoever. If there weren't other people around, Qingzhu would have definitely exploded.

Lin Hongwu and the others were several generations younger than everyone else, given the seniority of the Qingxuan Sect. Qingzhu would absolutely not back down an inch on Li Yun's matter.