27: Chapter 27: Forced to Abdicate

Fire Ru Lie stood up abruptly when he heard this, looked at Fire Qingrou, and said, "Xiao Rou, stay here and don't go out. Be obedient. I'll go out and see first."

After speaking, Fire Ru Lie walked out with a grim expression.

Fire Ru Lie arrived at the Family courtyard and saw two groups of people confronting each other. One side was his Huo Family's people, including several Elders and strong cultivators from the clan.

The other side consisted of people from the Jiang Family and the Ye Family. Leading them was Jiang Kun from the Jiang Family. Behind him stood the Jiang Family's Grand Elder and the Ye Family's Family Head, Ye Yuanlin, totaling over ten people. Besides Jiang Kun, all of them were in the Yu Ling Realm.

The Huo Family's Elders saw Fire Ru Lie arrive and hurried forward to greet him, "Family Head."

"What's going on?" Fire Ru Lie asked with a gloomy expression.

As he walked over, he had already seen the two Family members guarding the gate lying on the ground wailing, their faces still bearing clear slap marks.

"We're not sure either. Jiang Kun just led people in and even beat Huo Jun and the other one," the Huo Family's Third Elder said indignantly.

Although the Family members guarding the gate were not strong, they represented the Huo Family's face. Jiang Kun beating them was equivalent to slapping the Huo Family's face. Now, he had directly broken in, clearly indicating ill intentions.

"Jiang Kun, why are you making such a big fuss and breaking into my Jiang Family? What exactly do you want to do?" Fire Ru Lie's body trembled slightly with anger as he stared at Jiang Kun and said coldly.

If it were in the past, Fire Ru Lie would have already taught Jiang Kun and his group a lesson.

But now, the Jiang Family was no longer the Jiang Family of old. Not only had they allied with the Ye Family, but Jiang Honglin had also achieved a Breakthrough to the Kai Shan Realm.

Fire Ru Lie was currently injured, so no matter how angry he was, he had to suppress his rage.

"Heh heh, Fire Old Master, I have come to your door this time, of course, to discuss something good with you," Jiang Kun revealed a smug smile and continued, "As for your Huo Family's guards, don't blame me for hitting them. I said I wanted to come in to discuss something important with you, but they insisted on stopping me. So I could only personally teach these two blind fools a lesson for you."

It was a blatant, naked slap in the face.

Fire Ru Lie took a deep breath, then forcefully suppressed his anger and snorted coldly, "Just tell me directly what you want to discuss with me."

"Heh heh, Fire Old Master, is Xiao Rou here? The matter to be discussed this time concerns her, and Xiao Rou must be present," Jiang Kun said slowly with a smile on his face.

"Xiao Rou went out and hasn't returned yet," Fire Ru Lie's heart sank, and his expression became even more grim.

From the moment he saw Jiang Kun, Fire Ru Lie had already guessed the purpose of his visit to the Huo Family this time.

The fact that Jiang Kun liked Fire Qingrou was known to almost everyone in Qingyang County. However, Fire Qingrou completely ignored him, and Jiang Kun was even beaten by Fire Qingrou several times. At that time, the Jiang Family's strength was comparable to the Huo Family's, so Jiang Kun naturally didn't dare to come to their door. But now, it was different.

"Fire Old Master, you're being a bit dishonest, aren't you? My people just saw Xiao Rou return," Jiang Kun stood with his hands behind his back, a half-smile on his face. At the same time, he was also very curious how Fire Qingrou had evaded Ye Yuanshan's tracking.

If he hadn't arranged for people to guard the Huo Family in advance, he wouldn't have known that Fire Qingrou had returned.

"Brother Huo, you should still hand over Xiao Rou. Everyone here is intelligent, and playing riddles like this is too uninteresting," Ye Yuanlin, the Ye Family's Family Head, showed a playful smile, looking at Fire Ru Lie as if he were watching a clown.

"Hmph, you have the nerve to speak? When did the dignified Ye Family learn to be a dog for others?" Fire Ru Lie snorted coldly, his gaze towards Ye Yuanlin filled with mockery.

"You…" Ye Yuanlin was furious and was about to step forward to cause trouble for Fire Ru Lie.

"Family Head Ye, there's no need to be angry," Jiang Kun reached out and stopped Ye Yuanlin, then looked at Fire Ru Lie. "Fire Old Master, I'll be frank. I'm here today to propose marriage and marry Young Miss Fire Qingrou. Look, I've even brought the betrothal gifts."

Immediately, Jiang Kun waved his hand towards the back, and an old man stepped forward, placing a Storage Ring into Jiang Kun's hand.

Fire Ru Lie's face was ashen, and he snorted coldly, "Do you, with your meager abilities, even deserve to marry my Xiao Rou?"

A hint of coldness flashed in Jiang Kun's eyes. Then, his face was once again covered with a smile, and he said confidently, "I believe Fire Old Master will agree. To show my sincerity, I've brought most of the Family's strong cultivators, as well as the strong cultivators from our ally, the Ye Family. I believe Fire Old Master will make a wise choice."

The Huo Family's Elders immediately became nervous. Jiang Kun was no longer just threatening; he was already starting to force their hand.

Grand Elder Elder Huo Tu leaned in and whispered to Fire Ru Lie, "Family Head, what do we do now?"

Although the Jiang Family's Kai Shan Realm cultivator hadn't come, the Jiang and Ye Families had already united. They were no match, and the Huo Family might even be removed from Qingyang County.

"Xiao Rou doesn't like that boy. No matter what, I will not agree," Fire Ru Lie said firmly without the slightest hesitation.

"But the Jiang and Ye Families clearly have ill intentions. If we don't agree…"

Elder Huo Tu's words were cut short by Fire Ru Lie raising his hand to interrupt him. "You don't need to say anything more. You know what kind of person Jiang Kun is. In short, no matter what, I will not agree. At worst, we'll go down fighting."

Jiang Kun also saw Fire Ru Lie and the others whispering, but he didn't care, looking completely confident.

Fire Ru Lie faced Jiang Kun and said coldly, "Unless Xiao Rou herself agrees, otherwise, no matter what, I will not let her marry you."

Jiang Kun's smile instantly stiffened. He had originally thought that with the two Families present, this matter would be a foregone conclusion, but he didn't expect Fire Ru Lie to refuse so decisively and with such a strong attitude.

"Fire Ru Lie, Young Master Jiang is proposing with such sincerity. Don't be ungrateful," Ye Yuanlin knew it was time to show his loyalty and quickly jumped out to rebuke.

"Haha!" Fire Ru Lie laughed in extreme anger, then said disdainfully, "To marry my Xiao Rou, Jiang Kun is not qualified enough. His talent is insufficient, and his character is even more lacking."

Hearing Fire Ru Lie's direct mockery, Jiang Kun could no longer maintain his composure. He stared at Fire Ru Lie and said coldly, "Fire Old Master, I'm laying it out here today. Whether you agree or not, I will take Xiao Rou with me.

As Jiang Kun's words fell, Ye Yuanlin and several Elders from his Ye Family, including several Elders from the Jiang Family, all took a step forward, radiating a powerful Aura that pressed down on the Huo Family's people.

On the Huo Family's side, apart from the Grand Elder and Fire Ru Lie, the other Elders all took a step back in unison, their expressions changing drastically.

They were all only in the Early to Middle Stage Yu Ling Realm and simply couldn't withstand the pressure from so many people.

Elder Huo Tu was in the Late Stage Yu Ling Realm, and his performance was a bit better, but his expression was also very unpleasant.

As for Fire Ru Lie, who was still injured, he appeared very calm. It was unclear whether he was faking it or truly unaffected.

"Stop!"

Just then, a delicate female voice came from within the Huo Family.