131: The powerful Long Ao, Ma Yangbo's provocation

Inside the Ye Family's main building, the space was very spacious, and the surrounding decorations did not appear as magnificent as one might imagine.

The entire space was partitioned by exquisite screens and small potted plants, making it very elegant. Every brick and tile exuded the owner's high taste.

Many people came to the main hall of the building to celebrate Liting's birthday.

Some were businessmen whose wealth rivaled nations, dressed simply, merely using this opportunity to forge connections.

There were also many powerful individuals, all old friends of the Ye Family, who came specifically to show their support for Young Miss Ye.

They gathered in small groups, discussing various matters, and the Divine Sense of various powerful figures flowed throughout the venue.

The remaining attendees were the young generation of Geniuses, led by Long Ao.

Ye Liting had reached the age for marriage, and these young people were specially permitted to enter. The Ye Family Head also wanted to see which Geniuses were present in this current era.

To the Ye Family, although these young people were all exceptionally talented experts, in the Ye Family's eyes, they were merely potential hired hands to choose from.

These individuals, at such a young age, had already achieved prominent positions and possessed absolute strength that belied their years. Their primary goal was Ye Liting.

Who could blame them when Ye Liting was the Young Miss of the Capital's Ye Family, and she herself was a great beauty?

After all, whoever could win the favor of Young Miss Ye would gain access to the Ye Family's network resources in the Capital, a heaven-defying background, and massive financial support.

These were things that could not be obtained by Cultivating for three or five years.

Of course, even if these young Geniuses had different ideas about Ye Liting, when they saw Long Ao, they knew their hopes were slim.

He was the strongest among the younger generation of the Imperial Dynasty Academy.

At a young age, he had easily crossed the Martial Emperor Realm, and furthermore, he possessed Dao-Grade talent.

Once Long Ao arrived, which young man would dare to recklessly compete with Long Ao for a woman?

Regardless of whether Young Miss Ye would fancy him, if he was not strong enough, not comparable to Long Ao, would Long Ao agree?

If Long Ao sought revenge someday, he truly wouldn't even know how he died.

Everyone knew that Long Ao's presence this time was definitely for Young Miss Ye, so who would dare to challenge him?

For a time, although they gathered here for Young Miss Ye's birthday, in the conversations among the younger generation, the names Ye Liting or Young Miss Ye were not dared to be mentioned at all.

They feared incurring Long Ao's displeasure.

Only those like Ma Boyang and Lu Feng, who were conversing with Long Ao, could bring up topics related to Young Miss Ye.

Long Ao was currently discussing the arrangements for this grand event with a few young peers.

"Brother Long Ao is a peerless Genius of this generation; you will surely be the main character at Young Miss Ye's birthday banquet!"

"That's right, with Brother Long Ao's Cultivation, Young Miss Ye will definitely hold you in higher regard today!"

"Not just Young Miss Ye, with our Brother Long Ao's strength, even if the Ye Family's powerful figures arrived, wouldn't they try to win him over?"

The few individuals before Long Ao spared no effort in flattery.

If these young people were taken individually to other cities and compared with their peers, they would absolutely be experts among experts.

However, in front of Long Ao, they appeared very small and could only speak a little louder when flattering Long Ao.

Long Ao naturally enjoyed hearing these words. Originally, Long Ao believed his marriage alliance with Ye Liting was a foregone conclusion.

He just didn't expect a Ye Kong to suddenly appear and disrupt his plans.

Long Ao chuckled, "Gentlemen, there's no need to be overly modest. A beauty deserves a hero. Besides Young Miss Ye, I believe there are many other beauties waiting for all of you."

"I, Long Ao, thank you all for not competing with me."

With that, Long Ao cupped his hands and shook them.

The few flattering young men quickly waved their hands, saying, "Not at all, not at all, Brother Long Ao thinks too highly of us."

Ma Boyang met up with his older brother, Ma Shanming, and they headed to the main building together.

Ma Shanming was not as filled with belligerence and arrogance as Ma Boyang; he appeared quite gloomy and was relatively silent throughout the journey.

This was related to his talent.

Ma Shanming let his younger brother, Ma Boyang, lead the way, while he followed behind, showing little interest.

Ma Shanming had already learned of his brother's encounter in Wuji City, which he considered a minor matter.

His purpose in attending the Ye Family's birthday banquet this time was not Ye Liting, but mainly to curry favor with the Ye Family, greet Long Ao, and incidentally deal with the person who had beaten his brother.

In Ma Shanming's opinion, there were many powerful individuals among the younger generation, but compared to himself, only Long Ao and a limited few could be mentioned in the same breath.

Originally, Ma Shanming had other matters to attend to after the Ye Family's banquet. Helping his brother out this time was entirely a trivial matter, or rather, a waste of time would be a more fitting description.

After Ma Boyang reunited with his brother, he felt even more confident, and his arrogance reached a new Peak.

"Long Ao! It's me, Ma Boyang." After Ma Boyang entered the main building and saw Long Ao and the others, he immediately went over to greet them.

"Long Ao, long time no see." Ma Shanming, from behind, greeted Long Ao, his voice lazy and his eyes somewhat unfocused.

Long Ao skipped over Ma Boyang and looked directly at Ma Shanming, twisting his mouth as he said, "Shanming, you're still the same. Just don't kick the bucket during your Cultivation one day."

The others didn't understand the cold joke Long Ao and Ma Shanming were sharing, but they couldn't openly ask, so they could only awkwardly cooperate, laughing a few times.

At this moment, a young man arrived, looking quite excited. Seeing Long Ao and the others, he quickly approached and said, "Everyone, Ye Kong of the Dragon Imperial Dynasty has arrived!"

"Ye Kong?" Long Ao's brows immediately furrowed upon hearing this.

It was this fellow who had delayed his marriage alliance with Young Miss Ye.

Ma Boyang immediately said, "Hmph, Ye Kong, how dare he compete with Long Ao, the prodigy of our young generation? He's truly overestimating himself."

Ma Boyang said, even clicking his tongue in indignation.

Another young man said, "Isn't this Ye Kong the Divine Son of the Dragon Imperial Dynasty? From the perspective of status, he can indeed reach the threshold of Young Miss Ye."

As soon as he finished speaking, Long Ao immediately clicked his tongue, disdainfully saying, "A mere Divine Son of the Dragon Imperial Dynasty. What's a Divine Son? Is it possible that he has reached the Martial Saint Realm?"

The few young people knew Long Ao was a little angry and dared not speak.

Long Ao continued, "I am already at the Martial Saint Peak strength, just a hair's breadth away from obtaining a title. Given time, once I comprehend the Concept, I can advance to the Venerable Realm at any time."

Ma Boyang and the others were greatly shocked upon hearing this.

They all knew Long Ao was incredibly powerful, having already entered the Martial Saint Realm, but they didn't expect him to now be at the Martial Saint Peak state.

Ye Kong of the Dragon Imperial Dynasty, it was said, was only at the Martial Emperor Peak. Although his achievements were good, he was still too far behind Long Ao, who was at the Martial Saint Peak and possessed Dao-Grade talent.

After Ma Boyang reacted, he quickly said, "Brother Long Ao is amazing! Since Ye Kong has come this time, once you two are compared, I believe Young Miss Ye will definitely see who the true hero is!"

"That is natural." Long Ao affirmed Ma Boyang's words, displaying an arrogant demeanor.

In Ye Liting's room, several maids were combing her hair and applying her makeup.

At this moment, Ye Liting was wearing a long, floor-length gown adorned with colorful Phoenix and Dragon motifs, with a golden hairpin in her hair, looking exquisitely beautiful.

This single outfit alone was worth a high-grade Cultivation Technique, priceless.

Her lips were a small, vermilion red, her face rosy and powdered, like peach blossoms, a rosy makeup applied by the Ye Family's dedicated makeup artist.

As Ye Liting's eyes shifted, she was stunningly beautiful.

Her older sister, sitting nearby, looked at her sister's beauty and couldn't help but tease, "Liting, if you fancy a brave man later, you must tell your sister first."

"Let me see which lucky young man it is!"

The blush on Ye Liting's cheeks deepened, and she pouted, saying, "Sister, stop talking nonsense."

At this moment, a maid familiar to Ye Liting pushed open the door. Seeing her sister also present, she bowed deeply, then reported to Ye Liting, "Young Miss, Ye Kong has arrived."

Ye Liting's heart stirred, and joy blossomed on her face. She quickly turned her head and asked, "Ye Kong, has he really come?"

Ye Kong has come! Ye Kong has truly come to her home, to attend her birthday party!

"Oh, Young Miss." The makeup artist was applying makeup to the Young Miss, but she didn't expect her to turn her head and directly hit the brush, leaving a red smudge across Ye Liting's face.

"Young Miss, it's on your face. Please sit still so I can wipe it off for you."

Ye Liting couldn't sit still at this point. She hurriedly said, "No, I want to go see him now."

Ye Liting's words revealed her excitement, and she was about to stand up as she spoke.

Her sister stood up and held Ye Liting down, smiling as she said, "My Liting, I know you're eager, but you can't break the rules."

"Your sister here is also anxious to see what kind of face the young man you've been thinking about has, but are people from our Ye Family just casually met?"

"You, just finish your makeup obediently and go out according to the normal procedure. Otherwise, Father will surely scold you."

How could her sister not know Ye Liting's thoughts? She herself had experienced such feelings, but as a prestigious family, that period was especially short.

It seemed very difficult to feel moved by others anymore. It was rare and precious that her sister could still maintain such emotions.

Upon hearing this, Ye Liting could only turn her head back, looking at herself in the mirror, and whispered, "Alright then..."

At the mention of her father, Ye Liting couldn't help but worry. Ye Kong's strength was definitely outstanding among his peers, but she was afraid that even so, her father still wouldn't approve.

If her father didn't agree, what should she do?

Suddenly, Ye Liting's originally joyful brows furrowed again.

Seeing this, the makeup artist quickly began to touch up Ye Liting's makeup.

After Ye Kong entered the main building, he immediately used his Divine Sense to search for Ye Liting's whereabouts, but did not find her. He could only somewhat helplessly find a seat and sit down with Lin Yaer.

Ma Boyang was chatting with Long Ao and the others when he suddenly saw Lin Yaer. He couldn't help but inwardly rejoice, thinking this was finally an opportunity to be alone with Lin Yaer.

However, when he shifted his gaze slightly, he instantly froze: the brat who hit him was actually here too!

Good heavens, you brat, how dare you appear in such a place with Lin Yaer? You truly don't know your place!

Ma Boyang, the poor wretch, still didn't know that Ye Kong of the Dragon Imperial Dynasty and the person who hit him were one and the same.

Ma Boyang had only one thought in his mind at this moment:

It's perfect that you're here. My brother is also here this time. Aren't you dead yet?