Chapter 45: This One Is Even More Heavyweight

Luo Chen stared intently at Li Daming’s face, frowning.

What did he mean by that?
Could it be… the one who obtained the Essence Tempering Persimmon was Luo Jiutian?

But he had been stuck inside that ruin the entire time.
By all logic, he shouldn’t have been able to touch it at all.

Moreover, Luo Chen had stayed in the central area until the secret realm closed, yet never saw him.
What on earth was going on?

No, fixating on this point was useless.
The most critical thing now was to find a way to divert everyone’s attention and steer the situation in his favor.
And the Essence Tempering Persimmon was the perfect breakthrough point.

There was no need to elaborate on how valuable this item was.
Which of the four great families wouldn’t be salivating over it?

One single Essence Tempering Persimmon meant a potential pillar of the family’s future.
More of them meant even greater prospects.

A cold glint flashed in Luo Chen’s eyes.

If Luo Jiutian didn’t get his hands on it, then perfect—he could conveniently pressure the Li and Xiao families, forcing them to pay for all their previous wrongdoings.

But if… it was really Luo Jiutian who obtained them, then even better.

He could direct all blame at Luo Jiutian, and in the name of the family, force him to hand them over.

This time, his father was present.
With a Yuan-Infant Realm powerhouse speaking, which junior would dare defy?
Not to mention, they clearly stood on the side of reason.
Even if Luo Jiutian was eloquent, he would be forced to bow his head and accept defeat.

Thinking of this, Luo Chen couldn’t help but chuckle softly, marveling at just how genius he was.
Then he fixed his gaze on Luo Jiutian and asked in a voice not loud, but loud enough for everyone to hear:

“Luo Jiutian, did you… obtain the Essence Tempering Persimmon?”

The moment these words left his mouth, all eyes immediately turned to Luo Jiutian.
Yet, unexpectedly, Luo Jiutian merely cast a meaningful glance at Li Daming, then smiled and said:

“So what if I did?”

Those four words caused everyone to freeze.
Li Yunzheng and Su Huaizhang exchanged a glance, greed briefly flickering in their eyes before vanishing.

“Sigh…”
Su Huaizhang sighed softly, regret laced in his tone.
“A dead person cannot be brought back.
Since things have come to this point, the Su family is not unreasonable.”

He turned toward Luo Jiutian:
“Jiutian, as long as you’re willing to hand over two-thirds of the Essence Tempering Persimmon you obtained to our Su family, we will overlook the Luo family’s misdeeds in the secret realm.
You resolving this for the Luo family would be a dignified act, both publicly and privately.
Besides, you and Wan’er are already betrothed—after all, we’re one big family.
Giving the persimmons to the Su family is just like passing them from one hand to the other, right?”

His words were seamless, as if he were looking out for Luo Jiutian, when in reality it was pure moral coercion.

Li Yunzheng stepped forward in sync, his expression composed:
“It doesn’t matter if you keep one for yourself.
The Su family takes two-thirds, and the remaining part can be handled by our Li family.
That way, everything is explained.”

Both men—one a father mourning a lost child, the other a patriarch furious over being wronged—turned inexplicably kind and gentle upon learning Luo Jiutian possessed the Essence Tempering Persimmon.
Their previous anger and resentment seemed as though they never existed.

Luo Jiutian said nothing, only smiling lightly.
However, no one noticed a trace of imperceptible yellow light emanating from his ring, condensing into a thin thread and silently entering his forehead.

Luo Changqing looked at the reactions of Su Huaizhang and Li Yunzheng and instantly understood Luo Chen’s plan.
“Jiutian,” he stepped forward, his tone so kindly it sent chills down one’s spine,
“This matter, just listen to them.
Hand over the Essence Tempering Persimmon.
You’ve already done great service for the Luo family.
There will be appropriate compensation later.
The Luo family will definitely not treat you unfairly.”

After he spoke, many Luo family members chimed in:

“Exactly, Luo Jiutian, we’re all family. Why hide it now?”
“What’s wrong with sacrificing a bit for the family? It’s not like you’ll give up all of it. A persimmon left for yourself doesn’t hurt, right?”
“I second that!”

Thus, the public’s accusations and pressure inexplicably focused entirely on Luo Jiutian.

“These people are so shameless!”
Su Wan’er clenched her fists tightly in anger.
She couldn’t believe people could be so despicable, especially Luo Changqing, who blatantly favored his own son without even pretending otherwise.
Clearly, Luo Chen was the one who caused all this trouble, yet now they wanted Jiutian to clean up the mess?!

She bit her lip, calculating in her heart:
Even if her cultivation was now only at the Peak Golden Core stage, she absolutely wouldn’t let Jiutian suffer an injustice.

But before she could erupt, Luo Jiutian’s hand gently rested on her back, as though soothing her.
Su Wan’er froze and looked at him.

Luo Jiutian gave her a faint smile, the same gesture as at the family recognition banquet—a soft “Shh.”

He didn’t speak further, instead shifting his gaze from Su Wan’er to Luo Chen, lingering briefly, and then toward Luo Changqing.

Luo Changqing had originally planned to continue pressuring him, but the moment their eyes met, his hypocritical smile froze.
He clearly saw Luo Jiutian’s eyes gradually glow with golden light, as if some power was awakening within.

Immediately after, Luo Jiutian’s aura began to surge, layer upon layer, spreading outward like rising tides.
But before the energy could fully unleash, an even more overwhelming oppressive force descended from the sky, completely without warning!

Apart from Luo Jiutian and Su Wan’er standing beside him, everyone else felt an inexplicable chill shoot from their feet straight to their soul.

“Bullying the weak and making things hard for juniors… Is this really the style of your great families?”

A clear, cold voice echoed from the heavens.
Everyone looked up toward the sound, only to see a woman dressed in a white Taoist robe, her silver hair like freshly fallen snow, her presence ethereal and detached from the mortal world.

“What an imposing aura… Who is she?”
“Wait, I’ve heard of her. The Tiànhéng Sect has a mysterious Peak Master who never meddles in worldly affairs…”
“Are you talking about the one from Jingyu Peak?”

A low murmur of astonishment and doubt spread among the crowd.

Su Huaizhang’s expression shifted dramatically.
He immediately bowed deeply and said:
“So it is Senior Dugu, our deepest apologies.
What we said earlier was only matter-of-fact discussion, and we never intended to force anything.”

As if realizing the gravity of the situation, Li Yunzheng hurriedly lowered his head and said:
“Yes, yes, we merely proposed a suggestion and did not coerce Young Friend Jiutian.
If there was offense, please forgive us, Senior.”

Luo Changqing cleared his throat:
“Senior, this matter is simply a misunderstanding between a few juniors.
As elders, our wish is naturally for them to resolve it properly, without any selfish intent.”

But Dugu Ningshuang remained expressionless, offering no response.
Her gaze slowly shifted toward Luo Jiutian.

At this moment, Luo Jiutian was still dazed.
He had originally intended to switch from psychological attack to physical intimidation after realizing Luo Chen’s fate points couldn’t be plundered.
But who would have thought such an unexpected heavyweight would show up and interrupt everything?

“Why her…?”