The entire Wei Manor changed when Li Tianming spoke that name. If it was like a quiet lake previously, then it felt like boiling magma now, ready to erupt any time.
Other than Vice-Potentate Mu Yang, who had known about this earlier, the rest of the Wei Clan was caught by surprise. But everyone knew that it was just the calm before the storm. To them, the name was a taboo topic in front of Wei Tiancang since twenty years ago. And to make things worse, her son, Li Tianming, was right in front of them now!
The mainstays of the Wei Manor, including Wei Tianxiong, Wei Qing and Wei Zikun had turned into statues. Their thoughts froze up, and none of them even dared to look at Wei Tiancang’s expression right now.
That was especially true for Wei Zikun, who felt like he had just heard a fairy tale. Because of the event three years ago, he had already heard of Li Tianming, but he had never in his wildest dream imagined that Li Tianming to be his very own nephew.
As for the younger generations like Wei Guohao and Wei Lingxuan, they had no idea what happened back then. But even then, they had heard the story: they used to have an aunt who was evicted from the clan, and was never heard of since then.
Of course, it would be easy for them to search for Wei Jing’s location given their power. But Wei Tiancang had strictly forbade anyone to look for or even contact her, and anyone in the family knew how much Wei Tiancang wanted to avoid that name. It wasn’t hard to imagine how much of an impact his fallout with Wei Jing had twenty years ago!
Twenty years had passed, and the one that disappeared two decades ago had never returned. But here and now, a teenager claiming to be her son, had appeared in front of Wei Tiancang’s face.
“My mother got the Lifesbane twenty years ago, and she doesn’t have much time left. She has returned to Ignispolis with me, and I plead for the Potentate to save her life. If you can save her, I am willing to do anything for the clan,” Despite the pressure that the entire Wei Clan was showing him, Li Tianming said earnestly. A teenager facing an entire powerhouse, filled with some of the strongest cultivators in the entire nation like Wei Tianxiong and Wei Qing, and he could still voice out his request calmly. Such an act needed guts, and a whole lot of it!
The moment he said that was the moment the storm within the Wei Manor broke. Earlier on, Wei Tiancang had closed his eyes, and only when Li Tianming spoke his request did he open them. In that moment, Li Tianming felt like the whole world was crushing him, an unimaginable weight falling on his shoulders. He could feel his organs being squeezed, his beast ki and blood flowing wildly in his body. His body was being torn apart!
That Wei Tiancang in front of him was no longer just any elderly old man, but a dreadful beast that loomed over him. In comparison, Li Tianming felt like he was just a tiny ant.
“She had Lifesbane for twenty years?!”
“Yes.” Clearly, this was something new to them, even to Wei Tiancang who was still applying pressure in him.
Li Tianming continued to withstand this tremendous stress that Wei Tiancang was causing him, his eyes fixed onto Wei Tiancang’s! Even then, he still had the guts to say one more time, “She doesn't have much time left. I beg you to save her, and my life is yours if you do.”
Even if Wei Tiancang no longer treated her as his daughter, Li Tianming hoped that Wei Tiancang would still find saving a life a kind act that was worthy of his time. Li Tianming knew that the Wei Manor had no interest in his life, but that was all that he had as he didn’t have any other bargaining chips he could use to fight for Wei Jing’s survival.
The onlookers observed Wei Tiancang’s reactions, and some of the younger ones didn’t even dare to raise their head up from the pressure that he was emitting.
“Mu Yang!” Wei Tiancang suddenly roared, shaking the Wei Manor.
“Yes master.” Mu Yang threw a pitiful glance at Li Tianming.
“Evict this person from Ignispolis together with his mother, and make sure they never come back again!” Wei Tiancang’s voice was hoarse and swelled with rage! No one could even remember when was the last time they saw Wei Tiancang lose his calm like this.
Wei Tiancang had outright rejected Li Tianming, essentially pronouncing Wei Jing’s death sentence. Li Tianming was optimistic before this, thinking that any father would not possibly see their own daughter die. But Wei Tiancang’s reactions had astounded him. This was the exact feeling Li Tianming had when facing Li Yanfeng! It was no wonder both Wei Jing and Mu Yang, who knew Wei Tiancang well enough, claimed that such a plan was bound to fail.
Was this the true nature of the Potentate of Heaven’s Sanctum? Li Tianming was not just saddened, but also resentful, just like how he resented Li Yanfeng.
“So you are just going to watch her die? You don’t deserve to be a father!” Li Tianming had tried his best to contain himself. But alas, his care for Wei Jing didn’t allow him to just ignore Wei Tiancang’s response. He just had to vent out his frustration.
“Silence!”
“How dare you!”
The members of the Wei Clan were filled with indignation. How would they have expected a random boy would dare to cross Wei Tiancang?
“Master, don’t mind him. He’s just too anxious right now, I will take him out now.” Mu Yang reacted immediately, pressing his hands onto Li Tianming’s shoulders. For some reason, Li Tianming felt like he could no longer talk when Mu Yang did that.
It was indeed a shame, Mu Yang thought. Today was one of the rare occasions that Wei Tiancang could be happy, but he had screwed things up by bringing Li Tianming here. He dragged Li Tianming along hurriedly, on the brink of leaving the Wei Manor. Even he himself had underestimated Wei Tiancang’s reactions, and how hard it was to save Wei Jing.
“No, wait!” But before they could leave, the hoarse voice sounded once again. Mu Yang could only turn to face him together with Li Tianming.
The light emanating from Wei Tiancang’s eyes was like a radiant beam of sunlight, scorching Li Tianming’s own. Even then, Li Tianming returned the glare without blinking once. He didn’t even fear death, so why should he fear a mere Sanctum Potentate?
“Members of the Wei Manor shall not die like wild dogs on the street! If she were to die, she must die in this manor.” Wei Tiancang’s voice echoed in the hall.
“What’s your name?” Wei Tiancang stared at Li Tianming.
“Li Tianming.” He gritted his teeth.
“Tianming my ass! You shall spend the rest of your life in the manor too. I will not let you run around claiming yourself as a member of the Wei Clan!” Wei Tiancang was like a tyrant as he made his demands.
“And why should I claim to be part of the clan? Is it supposed to be an honor? Cause I find it a bloody shame,” Li Tianming spat back. What did Wei Tiancang want, imprisoning the two of them in Wei Manor forever?
As for Mu Yang, he could feel his head buzzing. Just spoke one line from Li Tianming and the boy managed to offend Wei Tiancang again.
“Tianxiong, clear the Rainforest Pavilion and make it out of bounds. Throw the two inside there, and make sure no one goes in or out from now on.” With that said, Wei Tiancang rose to his feet, and turned to leave the hall without saying another word.
No one dared to make a move until he completely vanished off into the distance. Only when Wei Tiancang left did the tension in the hall ease off a bit.
“Oh, Mu Yang, you really should have told me about this first.” Wei Tianxiong sounded exasperated.
“I didn’t know today was Xuan’er’s birthday, and the master would leave the Highcloud Chamber. I did want to inform you about this before heading to his chamber. How would I know that he figured out this boy’s relationship with Wei Jing at one glance…” Mu Yang was helpless about it too.
Li Tianming found out about that too, given that Wei Tiancang’s expressions changed the moment he saw Li Tianming.
“Now what?” Wei Tianxiong said.
“What else can we do? I will bring Jing’er back first and lock her up in the Rainforest Pavilion, and we will see what we can do.” Wei Tianxiong sighed, but he could only agree with Mu Yang. After all, they could never disobey Wei Tiancang’s orders.