27: Mantis blocking the chariot

The one who stopped Lin Chengyuan was none other than the Second Elder, his hair as messy as a bird's nest and his eyes heavy with sleep.

His robe was patched, and his tone carried a hint of laziness: "To deal with a junior, why must you disregard your status like this?"

His attack blocked, Lin Chengyuan's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and the flames of anger in his eyes were almost ready to erupt.

"Second Elder!" he squeezed out through his teeth, "You nodded in agreement to the alliance with the Liu Family as well! Jumping out to stop me now, do you intend to openly oppose the Grand Elder's resolution?"

He directly brought out the "Divine Being" that was the Grand Elder to suppress others.

The Second Elder, at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, raised his eyelids slightly, glanced at the Grand Elder, who was exuding a deep aura from the main seat, and chuckled.

"This old man naturally respects the Grand Elder's resolution," he said slowly, "but our own juniors are hot-blooded and are just speaking a few heartfelt words."

He refused to give an inch: "Why such a big fuss? Calm down."

With the Second Elder temporarily bearing the pressure, Lin Jingyu's mind raced.

He scanned the surroundings, looking at the clansmen who had been touched by his words, their eyes reigniting with flames.

He knew the time was right!

He took a deep breath, centered his Qi in his Dantian, and his voice, carrying a power that pierced through people's hearts, rang out again:

"Uncles, Aunts!"

His gaze swept over the parents protecting their daughters, his voice filled with grief and heartache:

"How can you bear to... watch the precious jewels you raised in the palms of your hands..."

"...be pushed into the bottomless fire pit that is the Liu Family?"

Every word was like blood weeping, depicting that terrifying future:

"Perhaps... waiting for them is a centenarian on the verge of death!"

"Perhaps... it is to become a plaything for others to amuse themselves with at will!"

"Perhaps... it is merely to be used as a childbearing tool to continue the Bloodline!"

"Just like... a kept Spirit Beast!"

The four words "killing the person and condemning their heart" were not enough to describe the ruthlessness of these words!

Every word was like a red-hot branding iron, fiercely searing the hearts of all the parents present!

No member of the Lin Family could remain calm after hearing such a blunt and cruel description!

"Waaah—!" Among the young girls who had been named, someone finally could not bear the immense fear and burst into tears.

Fear spread like a plague, and more sobbing sounds arose.

An atmosphere of despair permeated the ancestral hall.

The Third Elder, Lin Chengyuan, was blocked by the Second Elder and could not act, so he could only rebuke sharply, attempting to pacify them:

"Nonsense! Marrying into the Liu Family is to enjoy blessings! The Liu Family has abundant resources, which will be of great benefit to their cultivation!"

He forced himself to remain calm and dangled the bait: "This is a tremendous Opportunity!"

Lin Jingyu's gaze was as sharp as lightning, instantly capturing the burly figure of Lin Lingkuang beside him.

The other's tightly clenched fists, his chest heaving violently from anger, and the raging fire in his eyes were all seen by him.

The time had come! Someone needed to stand up and set this pile of dry firewood completely ablaze!

He calmly cast a firm and expectant look at Lin Lingkuang.

Lin Lingkuang shuddered all over!

His heart was pounding wildly in his chest, his mouth was dry, and his burly body was actually trembling slightly.

He knew that stepping forward now would be providing help in a time of need!

If he could lend Lin Jingyu a hand, this bond would be as heavy as Mount Tai.

But... who he was facing was the supreme Grand Elder of the Lin Family!

Once targeted by this "Divine Being"...

The consequences would be unimaginable!

He seemed to see his painstakingly managed small courtyard destroyed, the Black Mountain Pig he raised slaughtered...

Fear coiled around his heart like a cold viper.

Just in this moment of struggle, his gaze swept over several young girls beside him, who were scared pale and clinging tightly to their parents' arms.

Their terrified and helpless eyes were just like his little daughter, who he had picked up while she was shivering in the cold wind years ago...

A wave of hot blood rushed to his head!

"Damn it! Screw it!" he roared in his heart, the last trace of hesitation in his eyes replaced by determination!

Take a gamble! Even a Black Mountain Pig can turn into an Earth Spirit Pig!

He raised his head sharply, his copper-bell-like eyes erupting with a terrifying brilliance!

"Third Elder!" Ling Kuang's voice was like a great bell, exploding in the deathly silent ancestral hall!

His burly body suddenly stepped forward, and the floor tiles seemed to tremble.

"An alliance is fine!" he said, hair standing on end with rage, pointing a finger at Lin Chengyuan, "But to take our own daughters to fill a fire pit, I, Lin Lingkuang, will be the first to disagree!"

He scanned the surrounding clansmen, his roar shaking the dust from the rafters so it fell down:

"The Lin Family isn't dead yet! We haven't reached the point where we need to sell our daughters to breathe!"

His chest heaved violently, every word filled with mettle:

"If you really force us down this dead end, I'd rather risk my life and fight those bastards from the Liu Family to the death!"

"Dying like a coward is still better than watching our daughters jump into a fire pit!"

Lin Lingkuang's earth-shattering roar was like throwing a red-hot branding iron into a volcano that had been suppressed to the extreme!

Boom—!

The long-accumulated lava erupted instantly!

Those clansmen whose spines had been crushed by the Grand Elder's pressure, who dared to be angry but dared not speak, had the pent-up anger in their chests instantly and completely ignited!

Several men who also had daughters on the list instantly had blood-red eyes!

"Right! Ling Kuang is right!" A man suddenly stepped forward, his voice hoarse but full of power, "Why should my daughter be used to trade for the Liu Family's support!"

"What are the Liu Family! Do they even deserve it!" Another man's eyes were red, gripping the Magical Artifact firewood chopper at his waist.

"My daughter won't go! Not even in death!" A woman held her daughter tightly, letting out a cry as heartbreaking as a cuckoo weeping blood.

"My Xiaocui won't go either!"

"And my Erya!"

The oppressive silence was completely broken!

Sounds of questioning, angry curses, and resolute vows were like surging waves, rising one after another, each wave higher than the last!

Although the fear of the Grand Elder remained deep-rooted, and their voices still carried tremors.

But that ignited mettle and unyielding spirit, that resolute anger, was already like a prairie fire that could no longer be extinguished!

The Grand Elder's face suddenly turned as gloomy as leaden clouds before a storm!

The muscles on his withered face twitched slightly, and a cold light surged in his turbid old eyes, almost turning into tangible ice blades!

He never imagined that Lin Lingkuang, this usually crude brute, would dare to defy him in public like this!

And he never expected that so many ant-like clansmen would dare to echo him!

This was simply trampling his supreme authority underfoot!

However, this action was no different from a mantis blocking a chariot.

"Presumptuous!" A furious shout containing terrifying spiritual power exploded like thunder from the Nine Heavens!

The Coiled Dragon wood cane in the Grand Elder's hand was slammed down heavily, carrying his monstrous rage!

"Dong—!"

This dull sound was as heavy as a Divine Being beating a drum!

A terrifying pressure, far exceeding before and mountain-toppling in its force, descended suddenly!

The air seemed to instantly solidify into ten-thousand-year black ice, heavy and viscous to the point of suffocation!

The dust and tiles on the roof of the ancestral hall were shaken down!

The flames on the candlesticks were pressed down to the ground, flickering, almost extinguished!