Chapter 370

Upon stepping into Second Elemental Realm, Ai Hui could clearly feel his control over elemental energy improving greatly . There were even fine traces of elemental energy swirling around his body .

Ai Hui knew that this phenomenon was occurring due to his being unable to absorb and emit elemental energy with ease, as he had just achieved the breakthrough .

Even after achieving the breakthrough, he wasn’t particularly overjoyed . On the contrary, he was abnormally calm . He seemed to be lost in thought as he looked at the dawn sky outside the window .

Human beings’ understanding towards the world was ever-changing . Men from the Cultivation Era used to think that the world was made up of spiritual force . In the current Elemental Era, men felt that the world was made up of various elemental energies .

From mankind’s perspective, the world was ever-changing .

Perhaps from the world’s perspective, it was mankind that was ever-changing .

Ai Hui returned to his senses when the first trace of sunlight shone through the window and into his eyes . After stretching his arms and feet, the elemental energy within his body surged . The abundance of power within his body made him feel as if he could capture a tiger alive .

Stepped into Second Elemental Realm had also boosted his fusion elemental energy level . It was a happy surprise to him . Despite spending so many days in the Grass Hall, Ai Hui still could not find the notebook; however, he did not become impatient and continued to look through the ancient records one by one .

Now, even Grass Hall pretended that they didn’t see him searching through the ancient records almost every day .

As time went by, his fusion elemental energy depleted and was about to run out . Ai Hui lifted his gaze from the book in his hands . Just as Ai Hui left the Ancient Hall of Records and was about to leave Grass Hall, Manager called for him .

Slightly surprised, Ai Hui asked, “Is there anything that I can help you with?”

During the trips to Grass Hall these few days, other than greeting Manager, he had not really talked with him .

“Hua Kui is dead,” Manager said bluntly . “He doesn’t have any family members . According to his will, he is leaving you all his inheritance . “

Manager passed Ai Hui a key .

Ai Hui was stunned momentarily . After a while, he returned to his senses . He took the key, thanked Manager, and left .

After leaving Grass Hall, Ai Hui stood motionless, in a daze .

He’d entered the Assembly of Patriarchs with a strong sense of purpose . He’d known Hua Kui for a few years, but had not developed a friendship with him . Even when Hua Kui became his guide, he did not really feel anything for him . Being a member of the Assembly of Patriarchs, he needed to make sure his identity was not exposed at all times .

Ai Hui had always felt that Hua Kui knew about his disguise, but then he loosened up as he realized that the Assembly of Patriarchs did not really care about aliases .

Deep down, he had never treated Hua Kui as someone he could rely on .

As such, when Manager told him that Hua Kui left him with his inheritance, he was slightly shocked . To Ai Hui, one’s inheritance was usually left to his or her closest family members .

Ai Hui did not expect himself to have held such an important place in Hua Kui’s heart . Not only did this fact surprise him, it also put him at a complete loss . He did not feel the same way about Hua Kui .

Ai Hui could accept death calmly . From the Wilderness to Central Pine City and from the outbreak of the blood catastrophe to now, he had seen a lot of people die almost every day . There was nothing strange or unusual about death .

Death was the ultimate end of one’s life . Facing the news of someone’s death, he might feel sad, but not overly sad . As long as he or she did not die the way his master and mistress had died, then it would still be alright . If he was the one to die, then how it happened would not matter to him at all .

Right now, he did not want to die because there were still things that he had not yet accomplished .

There were times when he would worry about death .

For instance, if he died, who would he leave his inheritance to? Lou Lan? Lou Lan was a sand puppet, would money be useful to him at all? If he died, Lou Lan would be rather pitiful . Then, should he leave his inheritance to Fatty? Leaving his inheritance to Fatty made him feel as if he was feeding a huge meat bun to a dog . Iron Lady probably wouldn’t care about his money . Maybe he could ask her to help repay his debt . Ha, why would he need to care about repaying his debt when he was already dead?

Ai Hui finally returned from his daze and laughed at himself .

After thinking for a while, he found a wooden board and used his sword to carve two words, “Hua Kui”, into it . He would use the wooden slab as Hua Kui’s spirit tablet . In a huge household like the Ye Residence, burning incense was an everyday task . As such, he easily found some incense sticks .

Following which, he lit up a few incense sticks for Hua Kui .

After accepting Hua Kui’s inheritance, he had to do something for him .

“Hua Kui, as your hands are full of blood, it’s most likely that you can’t enter Heaven . I hope you can still grow and cultivate flowers in Hell . At least that way you can resume your old trade and live a happy life . “

After kowtowing to Hua Kui’s spirit tablet, Ai Hui walked out of his room and was sprinkled with sunshine .

At this point of time, he did not want to do anything . He lay down on a rattan chair and basked in the sunshine .

Without his students, the place was quieter . Even the servants became slightly slack . What happened recently had dealt a huge blow to them . The usual paradise-like Ye Residence suddenly became the centre of a gigantic maelstrom . All of them felt extremely nervous and uneasy .

The sunlight began to turn harsh, however, Ai Hui remained motionless . Relaxing completely was a type of pleasure for him .

Suddenly, his hand grasped the Silverfold Plum .

… . .

All the influential figures had gathered at Silver City .

From the Elders Guild alone, there were already four people in attendance . Great Elder, Yuchi Ba, Elder Song, and Elder Ling . Other than that, there were also Yuchi Qingshan, Zhong Houjun, Gong Residence’s family head, Zeng Residence’s family head, and Ling Sheng with his wife .

Ling Sheng’s gaze was bitter and enraged while Madam Ling’s was as calm as usual . In front of the four Elders, they were just insignificant individuals .

Needless to say, Great Elder was the leader of the Elders Guild . Elder Ling was the leader of the Aristocratic Faction while Elder Song was the number two figure in the Aristocratic Faction . Both of them were bosom buddies . Meanwhile, Yuchi Ba was the leader of the New Citizens Faction .

All of them surrounded a gigantic pool . In the central of the pool, there was a platform on which only one person could stand . The pool’s surroundings were fully carved with complicated and fine decorative designs that flickered with light . The water within the pool was multicolored and the colors were clearly distinctive, looking like strips of brightly-colored ribbons .

“I am sorry for bringing inconvenience to everyone over such a small matter . “

Great Elder saluted and thanked all the people present . Everyone did not dare to hesitate and quickly stood up to return Great Elder’s salute .

“However, Lin-er said that gossip is a fearful thing . As a mother, she doesn’t want Xiaobao to be disturbed by the rumor in the future . Therefore, I have to bring an end to this issue . Xiaobao is my only grandson . Ever since his birth, he has led troubled life . His father died young and I’m not frequently in Silver City to take care of him . As such, I feel extremely guilty and have to brazenly invite everyone here today .

Yuchi Ba opened his mouth and spoke first . “This rumor is mean and evil . Great Elder, don’t take it to heart . All of us have watched Xiaobao growing up since he was a baby . He looks exactly like his father, how can he not be his own child?”

Yuchi Ba had a pair of naturally scowling eyebrows, resembling King Kong with glaring eyes . At this point of time, his face was brimming with resentment and anger .

Elder Ling had a refined appearance . His eyebrows were drooping and his mustache was long . With a gentle voice, he advised, “That’s right . When I heard this rumor, I immediately knew it was a lie . Don’t we know Lin-er’s character? Furthermore, the Ye Residence’s family values are matchless . “

Everyone agreed with what he said .

Ye Lin smiled and half rose from her chair to thank everyone .

“Everyone, I believe there are a lot of people in this world that are capable of coming up with lies,” said Great Elder .

“That’s true!”

“You’re right!”

All the Elders nodded .

With a deep and solemn tone, Great Elder continued, “If Xiaobao is not a member of the Gu Family, then it would mean our family values have been corrupted and that we have humiliated the world; however, if it’s proven that the rumor is a lie, I will not let Xiaobao receive injustice for nothing . My only grandson has been severely sick since he was born and has led a troubled life . I hereby swear that I will use whatever methods to seek revenge for him!”

A cold shiver went down everyone’s spine . They knew that Great Elder was truly enraged this time around . Given his status, one could tell how angry he was to say such words .

Elder Ling cast a glance at Ling Sheng and the latter shook his head subtly to signal that the rumor was not his doing . Upon seeing that, Elder Ling felt slightly at ease . As long as the rumor had not been spread by members of his family, no one could blame it on the Ling Residence .

If it had been another family that had colluded with blood elementalists to attack the Fu Family and Ye Lin and her son, then that family would definitely be destroyed . With the backing of Elder Ling, however, the Ling Residence would not be affected by the so-called “evidence . “

As long as this rumor had not been started by Ling Sheng, Elder Ling could just wait and see a good show .

If the rumor was a lie, then it would not affect them in any way . If the rumor was true, then things would get interesting . Elder Ling, who had been thinking of ways to neutralize Great Elder, realized that if the rumor was true, then it would create a good opportunity for him to do so .

To everyone, the look of bitter resentment and hatred on Madam Ling’s face was normal . Ye Lin had chopped off one of Ling Sheng’s arms . The feud between them was unsolvable .

Great Elder’s prestige was matchless . Elder Ling was no pushover as well . With the addition of the New Citizen Faction’s Yuchi Ba, the situation was extremely subtle .

When Xiaobao saw that everyone’s gaze was on him, he felt slightly afraid . He hid behind Ye Lin and said, “Mama, Xiaobao is scared . “

“Xiaobao, don’t be scared, Mama is here . ” Ye Lin stroked Xiaobao’s head gently .

Xiaobao felt slightly more at ease, but he still clutched Ye Lin’s clothes and was unwilling to let go .

When Great Elder saw this scene, he felt as if his heart was pierced by a sword, but then he hardened his heart and said, “Let’s begin . Xiaobao, stand on the platform in the centre of the pool . “

Xiaobao continued to hide behind Madam Ye .

“Xiaobao, be good . Listen to Grandpa and stand on the platform in the centre of the pool . It will not hurt at all,” Ye Lin said with a gentle voice .

Xiaobao turned his face and asked, “Really? It will not hurt?”

“It’s really not painful . “

The gentle smile on his mother’s face calmed Xiaobao down, following which, he sobbed . “Xiaobao shall go then, Mama must wait for Xiaobao . “

“Mama will not go anywhere and wait here,” Ye Lin reassured Xiaobao .

“Xiaobao is the bravest! Xiaobao is scared of nothing!”

Xiaobao closed his eyes and encouraged himself loudly . Then, he opened his eyes and walked towards the platform .

When everyone saw this scene, feelings of empathy rose in their hearts . Whether it was their Gu Family or the Ye Residence, they were all top aristocratic families . They did not expect their younger generation to be reduced to this .

To an aristocratic family, nothing was more important than its heir and inheritance .

How could a mentally challenged individual carry such an enormous family on his delicate shoulders?

Some people could not help but harbor evil thoughts . Even though Great Elder was powerful and influential, he still did not have a qualified successor to carry on his undertakings at this old age . This was Great Elder’s deadliest weakness .

Great Elder looked deeply at Xiaobao . He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out .

Following which, he cut his finger and let his blood drip into the pool .