Chapter 55

The top floor of Quanjude was entirely booked, with a group of young talents and beautiful ladies seated around, two to a table, the tables adorned with exquisite dishes and fine wine.

At the head of the table sat a handsome young man with clear features, enthusiastically toasting and chatting with everyone.

"Detention? Didn't he get out? Can I interpret this as... a veiled refusal?" Third Prince Zhou Liangren did not have the arrogance of the royal family; instead, he was very calm and gentle.

"Yes!" Pang Hai and Ren Lingfeng sold Tang Yan out cleanly and neatly.

"My younger brother is unruly and scatterbrained, causing Third Prince to laugh at him." Tang Qian raised his glass in a toast, apologizing to the Third Prince.

"This isn't unruliness, it's arrogance!" Yang Ruyan said coldly, her voice not loud but clear to everyone present.

"Little sister, don't be impolite." Yang Xingwei reprimanded her in a low voice. He could ignore Tang Yan, but he couldn't ignore Tang Qian's face.

"Ruyan is right. Tang Yan used to be lecherous and arrogant, and recently he has become even more reckless. Now he even dares to refuse Third Prince's invitation. The Tang family is truly bold!" Li Shoujian took a sip of wine and glanced coldly at Tang Qian.

In the past, he didn't dare to provoke the always powerful Tang family's eldest son, but now the Tang and Li families had a falling out, and he had become a laughingstock, so he no longer had any qualms.

Tang Qian said calmly, "My younger brother is in detention, which my father did not allow, not out of intentional refusal."

Li Shoujian said coldly, "Detention? What a detention, he still had time to send a challenge?"

"Tang Yan is..." Pang Hai was about to continue spilling the beans but was silenced by a glance from Tang Qian. He smiled awkwardly and stood there, not daring to speak again.

"I want to confirm one last time." Dong Leiming's fingertips unconsciously touched the wine glass, producing a metallic sound. His gaze fell on Tang Qian, but his words were directed at Pang Hai and Ren Lingfeng: "Is it certain that Tang Yan challenged me?"

"Definitely! Very certain!"

"Blind to the point of death!" The room erupted in derisive laughter. Without witnessing Tang Yan defeating Li Shoujian, they always thought he had cheated. Besides, Dong Leiming was not comparable to Li Shoujian; his formidable reputation was earned through countless challenges. He was a battle maniac.

Tang Qian was tough, right? He had also fallen before him.

Third Prince Zhou Liangren gently waved his feather fan, smiling at Tang Qian, "I've heard about your younger brother's affairs. Why, do you want to hide your weakness from me?"

Tang Qian respectfully replied, "I dare not."

Third Prince chuckled softly, "In my opinion, the challenge should be today, with me as a witness. What do you think?"

Everyone exchanged glances, all wearing playful smiles, "Agreed!"

Dong Leiming said calmly, "If he dares to come, it will be here."

Tang Qian frowned slightly, not out of a desire to protect Tang Yan, but because he predicted that Tang Yan would suffer a crushing defeat before Dong Leiming. Today's setting was different, and everyone had tacitly agreed to humiliate Tang Yan, which would embarrass the Tang family. As the eldest son of the Tang family, he could not stand idly by.

"Tang Qian, what's your opinion?" Third Prince looked at Tang Qian, asking, but who dared to refuse?

"I hope Brother Dong will show mercy." Tang Qian bowed to Dong Leiming. Fine, let Tang Yan have his way. This was a good opportunity to see his true strength and whether he could pose a threat to himself.

Third Prince laughed heartily, "Go and invite him again!"

In the private room of the restaurant, after receiving the news, Du Yang's face turned serious, "This matter has escalated. Someone must be stirring the pot. They want to embarrass you in front of the prince. What do you think? Accept or not?"

Ailinda gave a final warning, "Dong Leiming has excellent talent and a love for battle. He is also the only grandson of the dean and likely has several life-saving martial techniques. With the Third Prince present and the new generation of the major families as witnesses, if you lose, it will be very bad. It could leave a psychological shadow, which would be very detrimental to your future martial cultivation."

Du Yang said, "I just want to ask you one thing, are you ready?"

Tang Yan didn't expect things to escalate so suddenly, and he was caught off guard by the other party's counterattack, which gave them the upper hand. The original plan was to challenge in three days to familiarize himself with the ancient war saber, but now... there was no avoiding it. "Let's go!"

"Teacher Ailinda? Why are you here?" When Tang Yan walked into the top floor of Quanjude with a black puppy, most of the attention was on Ailinda behind him. People were surprised that this cold and beautiful teacher would follow Tang Yan.

Third Prince Zhou Liangren was impressed, looking at Yang Ruyan and the other beauties, he couldn't help but marvel that even in this wilderness, there were such beautiful women, not much worse than in the capital.

Zuoqiu, Jiang Le, and Zhu Tiangan noticed Du Yang behind Tang Yan. This was a very unique and talented 'junior,' rumored to have undergone a spiritual vein mutation and was about to receive focused training from the academy. Why would he be hanging around with a playboy like Tang Yan?

"To be a witness." Ailinda calmly responded to the strange looks from everyone.

In fact, she regretted coming to Quanjude. The surprised and strange looks from the students made her cheeks flush. She had been so focused on following Tang Yan that she forgot her role as a teacher and his previous image. But it was too late now. She could only try to remain calm; otherwise, she would be the talk of the town by tomorrow morning.

"Third Prince, thank you for the invitation. Otherwise, I would still be in detention at home." Tang Yan smiled and bowed to the Third Prince, starting with some nonsense to block their mouths and avoid trouble.

Sure enough... Li Shoujian and the others felt a bit choked. They were about to scold Tang Yan for his previous 'excuse' for refusing the prince, but this guy was quick-witted. Regardless of the truth, Tang Yan's words left no room for further纠缠, otherwise they would only be making fools of themselves.

"Are you Tang Yan? I've heard of you, please sit." Zhou Liangren gestured, not showing much expression. He was determined to watch the show today.

Tang Yan looked around the room, greeted his elder brother Tang Qian, and before Tang Qian could get up to call for a seat, he took two steps forward and sat next to Yang Ruyan, "Ruyan, do you miss me?"

"Who allowed you to sit next to me?" Yang Ruyan's face darkened immediately.

"Hey, brother-in-law." Tang Yan greeted Yang Xingwei.

Yang Xingwei's eyes twitched, feeling both amused and exasperated.

"Shameless!" Many young masters who admired Yang Ruyan glared at him.

"Here's a word for you: get lost!" Yang Ruyan tried to maintain her composure, but this guy was too despicable!

Tang Yan didn't care, raised his glass, and drank it in one go, "Everyone, nice to meet you, please bear with me."

"That's my glass!!" Yang Ruyan was both embarrassed and angry.

"We're practically family, no need to be so formal."

"Tang Yan, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll tear your mouth apart." Yang Ruyan's expression was icy, showing clear hostility.

After four months of consolidation and cultivation, she had successfully advanced to the Second Rank Martial Spirit realm half a month ago and was not afraid of Tang Yan! As for the rumor that Tang Yan defeated Li Shoujian, she still believed he had cheated. He was good at that!

"I understand, beating and scolding are signs of affection." Tang Yan's innocent flirtation made everyone's faces turn strange, even Tang Qian felt his face heat up, and the Third Prince was momentarily stunned. Indeed, the wilderness produced exceptional people!

Yang Ruyan was speechless with anger, unable to hit or scold him. She realized that inviting Tang Yan to be humiliated was a mistake.

"I like it when you're fierce, it's very womanly."

"Second Brother!! Stop fooling around!" Tang Qian coughed heavily. In front of the imperial prince, their behavior today would affect the empire's judgment of the noble families. If Tang Yan's shamelessness angered the prince, it would be detrimental to the Tang family's development.

Details determine success or failure, and Tang Qian believed in this!

"Tang Yan, you seem to have forgotten today's main event." Dong Leiming's face was not pleasant. The focus today was the challenge, but this guy had come in and started flirting with a woman.

"Oh? Sorry, I forgot about you." Tang Yan sized up Dong Leiming, who was tall and lean, with sharp eyebrows and a hawk-like nose, exuding a strong and cold aura. Although he was calm, he gave off a powerful presence, not deliberately, but naturally.

Dong Leiming's face darkened. Was this guy deliberately messing with him?

"I've had some strange things happen recently. I became a Martial Master out of nowhere, completed the baptism in a daze, and somehow crippled Young Master Li Shoujian. I often feel like I'm in a dream." Tang Yan looked very confused and innocent, while Li Shoujian's face turned green with anger. Crippled him in a daze? Too despicable!

Tang Yan ignored Li Shoujian's murderous gaze and continued, "How can a Second Rank Martial Spirit defeat a Third Rank Martial Spirit? I'm very curious!! Really very curious!"

"Tang Yan, you're too much!" Li Shoujian heard the mockery in his words.

"Don't rush, see what he wants." His family's younger brothers quickly restrained him.

"A few days ago, I had an idea. I wanted to know if my strength is real and how powerful I am. After some thought... I thought of Senior Dong. I hope we can have a good fight and see how long I can last." Tang Yan cleverly played with words, not talking about winning or losing, but how long he could last.

Meaning, I can't beat you, I just want to see how long I can hold on.

Du Yang subtly said, "Senior Dong, you are just a step away from the Martial Ancestor realm, while Tang Yan is only a Second Rank Martial Spirit. Please be careful and don't go too far and cause a fatality."

Dong Leiming frowned slightly, having forgotten this point. Tang Yan was only a Second Rank Martial Spirit! Throughout his journey, he had always challenged peers or higher ranks, never someone below him.

If he accidentally killed Tang Yan... it would be a difficult situation to handle.