After the unexpected death of the old Patriarch, the Lu Family split into four factions, forming a structure where the Patriarch and three branches jointly managed affairs. The Lu Family Main Hall served as the council chamber.

Early in the morning, the usually quiet hall was filled with people, and the atmosphere was tense.

At this moment, a middle-aged man in a brocade robe sat in the Patriarch's seat. This man, at the 7th-level Martial Master Realm, was the current Patriarch of the Lu Family, Lu Qian.

Seated to Lu Qian's right was a man who bore some resemblance to him, at the 6th-level Martial Master Realm. He was Lu Meng, the second eldest of the Lu Family.

Across from Lu Meng sat two individuals.

The two were quite different; one was burly, at the peak of the 9th-level Martial Master Realm, while the other stood tall but had a pale face, a thin frame, and no martial prowess.

In Tianyuan City, no one was unfamiliar with these two.

The sickly-looking one was once a super genius of Tianyuan City, breaking through to the Martial King Realm before the age of thirty, becoming the only Martial King among the Four Great Families.

He was Lu Yi!

Six years ago, while gathering herbs outside, he was ambushed by three Martial Kings, resulting in his Dantian and meridians being completely destroyed, turning him into a cripple.

As for the other, that was Lu Kuang, the fourth in the Lu Family hierarchy, the foremost martial artist of the Lu Family, and also Lu Zhan's father.

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At this moment, everyone in the Lu Family was solemnly watching the lower part of the hall, where a group of uninvited guests with ill intentions stood.

There were twenty-seven of them, led by a middle-aged man wielding a large saber, at the 7th-level Martial Master Realm. The others were not weak either, all at the Martial Warrior Realm.

They came from the Lin Family, another of the Four Great Families in Tianyuan City. The leader was none other than Lin Kang, the fourth strongest in the Lin Family.

Beside Lin Kang stood a young girl in a pink dress, with a beautiful face, holding a three-foot-long sword, already at the 7th-level Martial Warrior Realm.

She was Lin Xuan, a leading figure of the younger generation in the Lin Family. Previously, Lu Chen had been killed for molesting her, after a hero came to her rescue.

At this moment, Lin Xuan and Lin Kang both wore cold expressions as they looked at the Lu Family members.

Soon, footsteps were heard outside the hall, and Lu Ming entered, followed by two attendants carrying Ren Xiaoyao, who was wrapped in bandages.

Seeing the former prodigy reduced to such a state, the Lin Family members sneered, while the Lu Family members cast indifferent glances.

"Father, that useless Lu Chen is here," Lu Ming said to Lu Qian as he approached the four.

Hearing the word "useless," Lu Yi's body trembled slightly, his already pale face turning even paler, with a hint of cold sweat on his forehead.

He had endured the label of "useless" for six years, and now this label had fallen upon his son. Fate was too cruel to them.

Under everyone's gaze, Lu Yi and Lu Kuang quickly stepped forward to Ren Xiaoyao, expressing their concern, "Chen'er, after resting for a night, how do you feel now?"

Meeting their sincere eyes, Ren Xiaoyao was deeply moved. In his previous life, he was an orphan and had never experienced familial love.

Looking at the two, Ren Xiaoyao decided to become Lu Chen, to live as Lu Chen, eliminate all threats, and reclaim everything that belonged to Lu Chen.

Lu Chen smiled lightly and said, "Father, Fourth Uncle, I'm fine."

Lu Kuang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Chen'er, as long as you're fine, focus on recovering. Leave the rest to Fourth Uncle."

Hearing this, Lu Qian coldly said from above, "Fourth Brother, don't speak too soon. This little brat molested Lin Xuan, and now they're here demanding compensation. Can you handle it?"

Lu Kuang angrily retorted, "Big Brother, have a conscience. Have you forgotten how many spirit herbs Chen'er gathered for the Lu Family before his Dantian and meridians were damaged?"

"A year ago, Elder Li Wu from the Sword Pavilion gave Chen'er four Marrow Cleansing Pills and seven Meridian Opening Pills. He didn't use a single one for himself and gave them all to the family. Have you forgotten that too?"

Faced with Lu Kuang's angry rebuke, Lu Qian fell silent.

Before he was crippled, Lu Chen indeed contributed greatly to the Lu Family. Of the eleven pills Lu Chen handed over to the family, Lu Zhan used two, and the rest were used by Lu Qian and Lu Meng's son.

Lu Kuang continued, "Chen'er did everything for the Lu Family, and now that he's injured, you call him a little brat. Aren't you afraid of chilling the hearts of the Lu Family members?"

Hearing this, a hint of emotion appeared on the previously indifferent faces of the Lu Family members.

At this moment, they felt some sympathy for Lu Chen. Lu Chen had always thought of the Lu Family, and he probably never expected the Lu Family to treat him this way.

They thought that if Lu Chen had known that Lu Qian and Lu Meng would treat him like this after he was crippled, he might not have gone to the Fallen Maple Mountain Range every month to gather spirit herbs for the Lu Family.

And if he hadn't gone to the Fallen Maple Mountain Range, he would still be the number one prodigy in Tianyuan City, not ending up ambushed and becoming a cripple with destroyed meridians and Dantian.

Seeing all the family members looking at Lu Qian with strange eyes, Lu Meng scolded, "Fourth Brother, Big Brother is just explaining the Lu Family's current situation. You're being a bit presumptuous in trying to sow discord."

Lu Kuang countered, "Second Brother, justice is in people's hearts. Whether I'm sowing discord in the Lu Family, you know very well."

Lu Meng coldly said, "Fourth Brother, since you want to be the good guy, tell us, now that he's been audacious enough to molest Lin Xuan, and they're demanding compensation, what should we do?"

Lu Kuang looked down at Lu Chen, his eyes gentle, and asked, "Chen'er, they say you molested Lin Xuan. You were unconscious yesterday, so Fourth Uncle doesn't know the situation. Tell Fourth Uncle the truth, did it happen?"

Lu Chen didn't answer directly but instead asked, "Fourth Uncle, do you think I would be interested in her?"

Wow!

As soon as Lu Chen said this, the entire hall fell silent, and for a moment, all eyes were on Lu Chen.

Before he was crippled, Lu Chen was the number one prodigy in Tianyuan City, even the City Lord's daughter didn't catch his eye. No one would doubt him if he said he wasn't interested in Lin Xuan.

However, times had changed.

Now, Lu Chen was just a cripple, while Lin Xuan was the Lin Family's top genius, beautiful and beyond Lu Chen's reach.

For Lu Chen to say such a thing in front of everyone made it hard for the Lu Family members to believe, and it was extremely embarrassing for Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan stared at Lu Chen with eyes full of killing intent. If she had known Lu Chen would humiliate her like this, she would have killed him yesterday.

Lu Kuang laughed heartily and said, "Good, truly worthy of being a son of the Lu Family."