"Who tied my mother up?" Anthony asked coldly, making everyone surprised. Was he trying to pick up a fight when he had just arrived? Anthony noticed about twenty other people standing around, each looking at him as if he was some alien.
"Oh! Your mom and brother were trying to rush to you when they saw the daggers acting up. So I had to tie them up to avoid distracting you." The old man said with a poker face. It only took Anthony one sweeping gaze across the room to deduce what happened. The dagger must have been something dangerous. But because they were eager to see him die, they prevented them from going to help him.
"Is that so? Release them, or should I do it myself?" Anthony asked, his eyes not smiling at all.
"He wants to undo grandpa's purple lightning? What a joke! Even the patriarch can't do anything about it if he were here. If it was that easy, will Kaiser have remained tied up without trying to free himself?" One of the younger ones muttered.
"But he just tamed the light and shadow assassination daggers. They're the almighty twin dragon daggers of the martial god. If he could tame the untamable bloodthirsty weapons, it means he's quite capable." A young man who had been quiet all along said, making some of them roll their eyes.
"It's alright, I will release them now. No need to fall out with your grandpa when it's just our first time meeting." The old man said and the purple lightning around the two disappeared.
Joyce glowered at Anthony as if blaming him for her public humiliation of getting tied up. But after a while she sighed and smiled, as if she had a conversation in her head to forgive him and look at the brighter side of things.
"You're the grandfather?" Anthony asked with a frown, scrutinizing the man before him. His aura seemed to have changed after fusing with the daggers. His calm composure seems to have been replaced by ice and frost.
"These twin dragon daggers used to belong to the martial god of the eighth heaven, and for a thousand years, no one has managed to tame them because of how volatile and disobedient they were. They even had to seal themselves after the great war to avoid spreading pandemonium. Being able to fuse with them is indeed fate and luck. Numerous powerful people tried to pick it up and failed, but someone like you easily did it. Heaven's gift indeed belongs to the fated." The old man said, stroking his beard.
Anthony chuckled coldly.
"Old man, are you calling me trash? What do you mean by 'someone like you'? Or do you think because I grew up outside I'm not a match for your other precious grandchildren. If you indeed think like that, then we shouldn't be standing here."
"Good, not bad, not bad. You're outspoken, truly a straightforward man of honor. I will not mince words then, let's get down to the reason I instructed him to bring you here directly." The old man said and laughed, before going back to this throne of glory.
"You just came back and numerous members of the family are not convinced that you have the ability to lead them, including members of the branch families. So, tomorrow morning, you will set out on a quest to seek your fortune, and gain real life cultivation experience. If you return successfully, and even get stronger, then you will assume your rightful position as the legitimate heir and become the patriarch after your father."
Anthony noticed the secret sly smile shared by some people in the group and immediately realized that wherever the old man wanted to send him was not a good place. Otherwise, the members of his snakepit family overcome by greed and rivalry won't be looking so smug and eager to send him off.
"So, where do you plan to send me? Do I know the place?" Anthony asked, making the old man laugh heartily.
"There's no rush. You will discover everything tomorrow morning once it's time to leave. For today, just focus on eating well and getting a good sleep. Who knows when next you will eat or sleep during your training?" The old man replied with a doting smile, while leaning forward towards Anthony.
Anthony smirked at the scheming old man, wondering if he was truly his grandson. The look in his eyes told Anthony he held nothing but disdain for him and his smile was just for show to conceal the hatred beneath it. Why did the old man dislike him so much although they just met?
Kaiser noticed Laycon trying to sneak away and immediately smirked.
"Laycon!!"
His scream immediately made Laycon to shake fearfully as his heart jumped numerous times in a row from getting startled. Everyone turned to Kaiser, withdrawing their attention from Anthony. Kaiser teleported before Laycon with a huge smirk on his face.
"My dear cousin. Where are you rushing to when the party has not even started? It can't be that you're trying to avoid fulfilling your bet, right?" Kaiser asked with a malicious smirk, his eyes shining wickedly.
"You, don't overstep it. I'm your older cousin. Besides, it was just luck on his side, not a testament of strength. Didn't you hear grandpa just now?" Laycon said, pushing out his chest.
"Being lucky is also a skill. Laycon, why don't you fulfil your end of the bargain? If Kaiser had lost, I'm sure your dad and everyone would have forced him to uphold it. You only made that bet because you were assured that he would lose. Now that the tables turned, you tried to sneak away without apologizing. What kind of coward are you?" Joyce asked, making Laycon grit his teeth. Laycon's brother clenched his fists, trying his best to control his temper.
"Alright, alright. You all are brothers here, there's no need to take jokes made between the younger generations serious. Kaiser, give your grandpa face and let it go. He's your older cousin after all." The old man said, smiling magnanimously.
However, Kaiser didn't seem to hear him at all, or pretended not to.
"Will you do it on your own or should I help you?" He asked coldly. At that moment, he didn't look like a handsome teenager at all. He resembled a cold blooded killer here to collect a debt.
"Kaiser, don't push it." One of the youths shouted, and quickly stepped out of the crowd. Before he could get close to them, Kaiser flicked a finger and he was pushed back without warning.
"What? His cultivation rose again?" Someone whispered incredulously.
Everyone couldn't believe the shockwaves they felt from the young boy.
Kaiser tapped slightly on Laycon's shoulder, exerting pressure. His prey screamed and dropped to his knees.
"A man must always keep his words. If I said I will break my fingers, I will do it without hesitation when I lose. That's why I detest cowards like you the most who like to strut around knowing they don't have the ability to take responsibility." Kaiser whispered coldly, exerting more pressure on Laycon with his aura.
Laycon was sweating bullets, and he was clenching his fists while biting his tongue. Even though Kaiser wasn't touching him, he was suffering. And everyone knew it. No one dared to step into Kaiser's notorious ring of fire to help him, only watching helplessly. Not even their grandfather could persuade him when he's angry because he was stubborn and unyielding to the core, a type that will rather break than bend. A normal earth cultivator would have started screaming from the bone crushing pressure, but Laycon was a member of the dragon clan after all. And he was a resilient warrior stronger than average genius cultivator from other families. But he was still no match for Kaiser, all he could do was grit his teeth, endure and try not to scream out.
A nineteen years old boy forced a twenty six years old man to his knees and made him suffer without touching him, causing a hilarious and incredulous sight.
'Good Kaiser, humiliate me all you want. I will like to see your face when you realize your dear brother who you offended me for will be sent to the perilous lands tomorrow morning to die.' Laycon thought coldly, clenching his fists. He could feel his bones crushing under Kaiser's fearsome aura, causing him distress.
"Are you going to crawl between my legs or should I help you?" Kaiser asked coldly, making everyone even more chagrined by his arrogance that pierced the heaven.