Chapter 2

The next day.

In the Nie family’s grand hall, voices were clamorous, and the atmosphere was lively.

A group of old and young members of the Nie family gathered around Liu Yan of the Lingyun Sect, showing concern and warmth, hoping to win Liu Yan’s favor and secure a few more chances for their children to enter the Lingyun Sect in the future.

Liu Yan, dressed in a gray robe, sat in the main seat, a smile on his lips, chatting with the Nie family intermittently, but there was a hint of impatience in his eyes.

Throughout the entire time, Liu Yan never stood up, while the surrounding Nie family members bowed and bent their waists, showing great humility.

At the entrance of the hall, members of the Nie family, carrying children around one year old, entered one after another.

Each person who entered would first present their child to Liu Yan, introducing them with a broad smile, and then greet the three elders of the Nie family who were also seated beside Liu Yan.

Nie Donghai, along with his second brother Nie Beichuan and third brother Nie Nanshan, maintained their dignity and did not excessively flatter Liu Yan. However, every time they made eye contact with Liu Yan, they smiled brightly.

Unlike the previous day, today’s Nie Donghai was radiant and energetic, showing no signs of his injuries.

“Nie Qian? Why did you bring Nie Tian here?” At this moment, an untimely voice suddenly rang out. Nie Lan, who had just introduced his child to Liu Yan with a broad smile, frowned and looked at the entrance of the hall with displeasure.

Nie Lan was the son of the second brother Nie Beichuan, the oldest of the second generation in the Nie family. However, his cultivation talent was poor, and he had only reached the ninth level of the Qi Condensation stage, unable to break through the bottleneck and enter the Later Heaven stage.

Because of this, he had long given up on his own cultivation and placed all his hopes on his three sons.

His eldest son, at eleven years old, was already at the seventh level of the Qi Condensation stage. If he could reach the ninth level within four years, he would gain the favor of the Lingyun Sect and become a disciple, then with the help of the Lingyun Sect, smoothly advance to the Later Heaven stage and achieve great success.

His second son, at six years old, had already cultivated to the fourth level of the Qi Condensation stage, showing remarkable cultivation talent and a promising future.

Today, he had brought his youngest son, Nie Hong, who was just over a year old.

The birth of his three sons had been carefully planned, and each of them, around one year old, coincided with the Nie family’s five-yearly lottery ceremony. The first two times, they had achieved extraordinary results.

This time, it was Nie Hong’s turn.

With Nie Lan’s light reprimand, all the old and young members of the Nie family in the hall turned their attention to Nie Qian and Nie Tian, who had just entered.

“Big Brother, I brought Nie Tian to participate in the lottery ceremony,” Nie Qian said loudly.

Beside her, Nie Tian, with a sturdy and robust build, was about the same age as the other seven children participating in the lottery ceremony. Nie Tian was not only slightly taller but also much stronger.

Under the gaze of the crowd, although Nie Qian’s voice was loud, her expression was somewhat uneasy.

On the contrary, Nie Tian, with a wide smile, seemed to enjoy the attention and showed no signs of shyness.

“Nie Tian?” Nie Lan snorted, his face darkening. “Although he bears the Nie surname, it’s because we don’t know who his father is, so we had to give him the Nie surname. In fact, he doesn’t belong to our Nie family. According to the clan rules, Nie Tian, as an outsider, is not qualified to participate in the lottery ceremony. Don’t cause trouble for nothing. Take Nie Tian away quickly and don’t waste Mr. Liu’s and everyone’s time.”

“Father!” Nie Qian suddenly looked at Nie Donghai.

“Regardless of who my son-in-law is, before she left, Jin mentioned that Nie Tian’s father voluntarily entered our Nie family as a son-in-law. Therefore, Nie Tian is considered a child of our Nie family,” Nie Donghai said with authority.

“Big Brother, as far as I know, you have been eager to devour that unknown person. You have been constantly talking about finding him and killing him at all costs,” Nie Nanshan, the third brother, chuckled. “How did you suddenly change your attitude and acknowledge him as your son-in-law? Besides, becoming a son-in-law also requires following the rules. I don’t remember that person taking an oath in our ancestral hall.”

“Yes, yes, without taking an oath in the ancestral hall and completing the ceremony, he absolutely cannot be considered a son-in-law of the Nie family.”

“Clan Head, you can’t just recognize a deeply hated person as your son-in-law to let Nie Tian participate in the lottery ceremony. You must remember, it was he who harmed Nie Jin!”

“Even if you are the Clan Head, you can’t ignore the clan rules and act arbitrarily, can you?”

“...”

In the hall, the direct and collateral members of the Nie family who had brought children all began to complain, criticizing Nie Donghai’s actions.

Each additional child participating in the lottery ceremony meant a reduced chance for their own children, so they were naturally unhappy.

If it were before, when Nie Donghai was not seriously injured and still had authority, they might not have dared to act this way.

But now, they all knew Nie Donghai’s condition and understood that it wouldn’t be long before he would have to step down as Clan Head due to his declining cultivation, so they no longer felt the need to give him face.

The second brother, Nie Beichuan, sat in his chair, unmoving, listening to the commotion in the hall without any intention of stopping it.

Just as the argument was escalating, Liu Yan of the Lingyun Sect suddenly coughed lightly.

All the commotion immediately ceased.

Even the third brother, Nie Nanshan, who was about to speak again, quickly shut his mouth and looked at Liu Yan with a sheepish expression.

Liu Yan, with a face as smooth as jade, looked at Nie Tian beside Nie Qian with a serious expression. “He is... Little Junior Sister’s son?”

As he spoke, a hint of pain flashed in Liu Yan’s eyes.

At these words, the Nie family members suddenly remembered that Nie Jin, the most talented of the second generation, had reached the ninth level of the Qi Condensation stage at the age of ten and was taken to the Lingyun Sect early to become a disciple.

Liu Yan was Nie Jin’s senior brother.

“Mr. Liu, Nie Tian is the young son left behind by my poor sister,” Nie Qian said sadly.

Liu Yan nodded gently, looking deeply at Nie Tian with a complex expression. “I originally intended to bring out five small trinkets, but since I have a connection with Little Junior Sister, I took the liberty of adding two more spiritual artifacts from my collection. What do you think?”

He turned to look at Nie Beichuan and Nie Nanshan beside him.

“Since Mr. Liu has spoken, we will follow your lead,” Nie Beichuan said hurriedly.

Nie Nanshan also nodded eagerly, his face beaming. “We will follow Mr. Liu’s decision.”

The rest of the crowd had no objections.

“Since that’s the case, let’s start the Nie family’s lottery ceremony now,” Liu Yan said without further ado. He waved his hand, and seven beams of treasure light suddenly flew out from the sleeve of his left hand.

The seven beams of light, each of a different color, illuminated the grand hall of the Nie family, making it shine brilliantly.

The seven beams of light landed on the central stone floor of the hall, transforming into seven luminous artifacts: a sword, a knife, a fan, a glove, a wooden staff, a bead, and a beast bone.

All the old and young members of the Nie family, the moment the seven spiritual artifacts landed, voluntarily cleared the central space of the hall, forming a ring around the seven artifacts.

Everyone’s gaze immediately focused on the seven exquisite spiritual artifacts, and they no longer looked at Nie Tian.

Even the three brothers, Nie Donghai, also subconsciously stood up, each emitting a wave of spiritual energy to sense the attributes and grades of the seven artifacts.

The many members of the Nie family also had their eyes shining, sensing the artifacts with their spiritual energy.

Under the perception of the Nie family’s Qi Condensation practitioners, different colors of spiritual light flashed from the seven artifacts.

“Low-grade fifth rank!”

Nie Lan’s eyes widened as he stared intently at the green bead that Liu Yan had taken out later, his breathing becoming rapid.

“Heaven, is it really fifth rank?”

“According to tradition, all the spiritual artifacts should be low-grade third rank. A low-grade fifth rank spiritual artifact is of extraordinary value, something the Lingyun Sect rewards to true disciples. This time...”

“Mr. Liu is generous!”

The green bead, under the perception of the crowd’s spiritual energy, seemed to have threads of lightning dancing inside, making it even more extraordinary and causing the Nie family members to turn red-eyed with desire.

Nie Beichuan, the second brother of the Nie family, stared directly at the bead, a glint of excitement in his eyes.

Nie Lan was his son, and Nie Hong was naturally his grandson. Soon after Nie Hong’s birth, he had secretly used a secret technique to sense Nie Hong’s talent.

Due to his insufficient cultivation, he had also used an extraordinary pill, and with seventy percent certainty, determined that Nie Hong possessed a thread of lightning attribute.

The low-grade fifth rank green bead was clearly a spiritual artifact containing lightning, perfectly matching Nie Hong’s cultivation attribute.

Nie Beichuan’s heart stirred, and he quickly bowed to Liu Yan in gratitude. “Thank you, Mr. Liu, for your kindness.”

The crowd, regaining their senses, also thanked Liu Yan for his generosity one after another.

Liu Yan waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet, and then said, “From this moment on, no one is to use their spiritual energy to sense the artifacts, and no one is to disrupt the aura of the artifacts. Now, everything is up to the eight children and their own destiny.”

“Let the eight children enter the hall!” Nie Donghai said solemnly.

“Go ahead!” Nie Qian let out a sigh of relief and finally released Nie Tian.

The moment the seven spiritual artifacts landed, Nie Tian’s eyes had lit up, and he was eager to rush into the hall. If not for Nie Qian holding his arm tightly, Nie Tian would have already rushed out before anyone spoke.

The moment she let go, Nie Tian indeed spread his arms wide and ran into the hall with a “thud, thud.”

...

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