Chapter 76

"Something feels off, be careful," Tang Yan said as he walked down the main road leading to the Tang Mansion, his expression growing increasingly serious. Although this road was not particularly bustling, it was usually quite lively, with at least the taverns and shops on both sides remaining open. But today... all the shops were tightly locked, and there was not a single person on the entire road.

"There's someone in the tavern!" Du Yang looked around warily. He could sense the fluctuations of spiritual energy from the top of the tavern and also felt that someone was secretly observing them.

"Turn the corner, and we'll be at the Tang Mansion. Who would dare to cause trouble here? Do they want to die?" Tang Yan found it strange, but the unusual scene made him more cautious.

"We're almost at the corner. You watch the front, I'll cover the back," Du Yang said softly, walking behind Tang Yan. His lips moved slightly, and his hands turned the color of lime. The spiritual energy within his body surged like waves.

His exceptional talent, mutated spirit veins, life-and-death experiences, and the supplementation of spirit source liquid had enabled him to break through the barrier of a martial spirit and enter the realm of a martial master in the past six months. Although he had not yet consolidated his strength, the special skill of petrification gave him great confidence!

Tang Yan nodded imperceptibly and took the ancient war saber off his shoulder. Entrusting his back to someone else? This was something he had never thought of in his previous life, but today, he handed it over to Du Yang without hesitation!

The two walked slowly toward the corner. An elderly woman leaned against the stone wall, her eyes lowered, seemingly dozing off, showing no reaction to their arrival.

Tang Yan paused slightly, looking at the old woman warily, then continued forward.

Turning the corner and moving forward, a sturdy man slowly climbed out from the left side of the stone wall, sitting there with a large saber on his shoulder, coldly watching Tang Yan. On the right side of the wall, a beautiful woman appeared, her delicate fingers slowly moving, causing three dazzling seven-colored knives to dance around her, very agile but with a fierce killing intent.

The old woman gave Tang Yan a sense of danger, but the aura emanating from these two was no less intense than that of the old woman!

Tang Yan and Du Yang walked slowly forward, and various people appeared on both sides of the wall, none of them rushing to attack. They just coldly watched, and by the time they reached the gate of the Tang Mansion, there were already ten people on the stone wall behind them! From the fluctuations of spiritual energy, they were likely all martial masters!

Ten martial masters! The strongest were the old woman, the sturdy man with the large saber, and the pale-faced scholar. Even if they were not third-rank martial masters, they were at the peak of the second rank!

Martial masters were different from martial spirits; the gap between ranks was vast! Tang Yan was confident he could challenge a second-rank martial master, but he could not withstand a peak second-rank, let alone a third-rank! This was a gap, a chasm!

The gate of the Tang Mansion was tightly closed, with no one in front of it, not even a guard. Tang Yan found it even more strange, looking back warily at the people behind him, he walked to the gate and knocked heavily: "I'm back, open the door!!"

Inside, it was quiet, with no response.

"Father?!"

"Ade!"

"Open the door!"

"It's me, Tang Yan! Open the door quickly!"

Tang Yan called out multiple times, but there was no response from inside, as if it were an empty house. However, he could sense a large amount of intense energy fluctuations inside the courtyard, just a door away from the gate.

"Look at the tavern," Du Yang suddenly whispered. Tang Yan turned to look, and the windows of several taverns in the distance opened one after another, revealing familiar figures.

There were Yang Xingwei, Yang Ruyan, Li Shoujian, Li Shouze, Dong Leiming, and other young masters from other noble families, as well as the heads and elders of various families. A rough count showed that it seemed all the members of the noble families in Juxiang City were present.

"Don't bother, no one will pay attention to you," a cold voice came from a nearby shop, and a thin woman walked out, flanked by two burly men.

Zhou Linglu? Tang Yan frowned deeply. This woman looked haggard and pale, but it was still clear that she was the Duchess of the Spirit王府, Zhou Linglu.

Wasn't she locked in the dungeon of the Tang Mansion? Why is she here?

Could it be...

Tang Yan's heart sank, a sense of foreboding rising.

Zhou Linglu walked slowly, her expression cold as ice, a deep hatred flickering in her eyes: "Stop guessing. The Tang family is inside, they are safe, but they won't answer your questions. Want to know why?"

"I'm more curious about where you crawled out from, and why you're so thin."

"Smartass, asking for a beating!" The two burly men almost couldn't contain their anger and were about to rush forward.

Zhou Linglu's face darkened, and she said coldly, "To be honest, your family has already abandoned you. The announcement has been posted, and you, Tang Yan... have been expelled from the family! From now on, no one will protect you, and no one will allow you to be arrogant and reckless."

"Expelled from the family? Just you? Our Tang family hasn't fallen so low as to submit to a woman like you."

"You can disbelieve, but soon you will accept this reality. Everyone here will be a witness."

"Tang Yan, I advise you to kneel and beg for mercy. Maybe the Duchess will show you mercy and spare your life," Li Shouze called out from a distant tavern, a mocking smile on his lips.

Tang Yan gave him a cold glance: "I won't. In this aspect, you're the teacher. Why don't you set an example?"

"You can be defiant with your words, but soon you won't be laughing. We're here to watch the show, to see how the once arrogant second son of the Tang family will fall, to see what retribution the once tyrannical Tang second son will face, and to see how you will beg on your knees." Li Shouze laughed loudly, feeling more elated than he had in the past six months.

Yang Ruyan didn't miss the opportunity: "Evil will be punished, and those who commit many wrongs will eventually face retribution."

Dong Leiming's expression was cold: "I've been looking for you for a long time, wanting to have another match.