Eternal Heavenly Emperor

However, there has never been a shortage of beautiful women in the world, with one generation replacing the previous, but there have always been only nine of the Nine Great Nobles, reigning supreme. Moreover, Chu Tianyun was in his prime, and his cultivation was still on the rise. Although the original Chu Hao was incompetence, Chu Tianyun alone could support at least another forty or fifty years.

Over the years, the Chu Family might have produced a strong third generation to take over the banner.

Thus, Lin Yuqi, scheming and cunning, managed to force her way into the Chu Family, and it so happened that Chu Tianyun also thought having someone to take care of his son all the time was quite beneficial, so he allowed Lin Yuqi to move into the Chu Family under the guise of being Chu Hao's fiancée.

—Not that there weren't better candidates than Chu Hao, but Lin Yuqi came from a small merchant family. In a world that still valued equally matched marriages, could she have married into another noble family?

In Eastern Cloud City, wealthy people were as common as fish crossing the river, but nobles numbered only nine. For this vanity-driven woman, Chu Hao was her only opportunity to step into high society.

Chu Hao halted, now that Chu Tianyun had died, everyone thought the Chu Family's mansion would collapse, clearly revealing people's true nature.

"It's good he's dead, spared me from carrying the infamy of ruining a marriage. It's just a pity I haven't married into the Chu Family and gained access to their fortunes," another woman's voice echoed in the hall, sweet and beautiful, yet the words she spoke were truly venomous.

This was naturally Lin Yuqi.

An image of a woman suddenly appeared in Chu Hao's mind. The original Chu Hao was very afraid of this woman. She seemed gentle, but she emitted a deep-seated ruthlessness from her bones. The original Chu Hao was not truly foolish, just slow to react. Moreover, Lin Yuqi never had to pretend in front of the original Chu Hao; his naturally meek nature meant he wouldn't dare tell his father even if he felt aggrieved.

"Hehe, sister, you've also gained quite a bit this past year in the Chu Family. Besides, you're so beautiful, there are plenty of men who want to marry you—they could line up for several streets. Look, the young master of the Ma Family mentioned you again yesterday," Lin Ziming said.

The young master of the Ma Family?

Chu Hao was slightly startled and then pulled out a flood of memories.

It was true that the Chu and Ma Families were archenemies. Initially, when Chu Tianyun came alone to Eastern Cloud City, he and the young master of that generation, Ma Jicheng, had both fallen for the same woman. Needless to say, Chu Tianyun had successfully won the beauty's heart—Chu Hao's mother.

Moreover, Chu Tianyun and Ma Jicheng had competed for the noble title, with Chu Tianyun winning again.

In Chu Hao's generation, the new young master of the Ma Family, Ma Long, Ma Jicheng's son, also fancied Lin Yuqi, but she had eventually chosen Chu Hao, who held a noble title.

Two generations of grudges.

"Since Chu Tianyun has died, the Ma Family is most likely to take over the noble title. Sister, shouldn't you at least consider it, not to completely crush his hopes?" Lin Ziming continued.

"No rush, let him wait a few more days. Men are such scum, the longer they wait, the more obedient they become, daring not to go west if told to go east," Lin Yuqi confidently asserted.

She lumped all men together, and Lin Ziming could only give a dry laugh and change the subject: "Chu Tianyun was really foolish, knowing his son was a fool yet still hoping to make him smart. In the end, he even gambled away his own life, wasting all the effort sister put in before."

"What a pity, that fool is about to die; otherwise, I would have made him taste my tactics. To think I served him like a maid for a year. Bah, a fool worthy of me? It's like a toad lusting for a swan's flesh," Lin Yuqi disdainfully said.

"Exactly, exactly," Lin Ziming quickly agreed, even though he was the older brother, he was completely spineless in front of his sister.

Chu Hao sneered to himself, wondering who really was the toad? Initially, it was Lin Yuqi who had thrown herself at him, and Chu Tianyun had hoped for someone to take close care of his son. Seeing that Lin Yuqi was very clever, he then agreed to this marriage.

Now that Chu Tianyun was dead, she had shown her true colors.

Enough!

"Who is the real toad here, only you know it in your heart," Chu Hao walked into the hall.

His sudden appearance gave the two people inside a huge shock—an individual gravely ill and about to die at any moment suddenly bouncing around lively, how could it not frighten them?

However, the two quickly regained their composure.

Chu Tianyun had died. What did it matter if a fool came back to life?

"Chu Hao, who did you call a toad?" Lin Yuqi said coldly. The youth who had always been obedient in front of her now dared to mock and scorn her. Was he rebelling against her?

In the past, a glare from her would have Chu Hao trembling in fear. But now, Chu Hao had a different soul, and though his life span was only 27 years, from orphan to tycoon, he had experienced what ordinary people could not in several lifetimes. Moreover, his adventurous life in the following years had honed his strong will.

He merely said indifferently, "The toad is certainly a vile and superficial woman like you. You think you're worthy of marrying into the Chu Family? You couldn't be more wrong—you were always just a maid. Don't overthink it. Get out. From now on, you are no longer the fiancée of the Chu Family."

"Chu Hao." Lin Yuqi trembled with anger.

Although leaving the Chu Family was exactly what she wanted to do, walking out by oneself and being rejected from a marriage were two entirely different things. This was a great humiliation!

"Chu Hao, you really are bold," Lin Ziming said sarcastically from the side.

Chu Hao glared at him coldly, his gaze was sharp, making Lin Ziming lower his head after only a brief eye contact, completely overwhelmed by Chu Hao's presence. He looked back at Lin Yuqi and said, "What? Do you still want to stay in the Chu Family?"

Lin Yuqi was somewhat surprised; the current Chu Hao didn't show the slightest hint of foolishness. But without Chu Tianyun, the Chu Family was nothing but a phoenix that had fallen to the ground, inferior to a chicken, no matter how smart Chu Hao was.

She sneered and said, "After all that, it turns out you're just trying to provoke me to stay. Chu Hao, you wish. Don't you ever look in the mirror, you're nowhere near worthy of me. I'm already at the Fourth Tier Lesser Mahayana realm, and in no more than three months, I'll step into the Middle Mahayana realm. And you? You're a piece of trash, a fool. If your father wasn't nobility, I wouldn't even bother looking at you."

She really wanted to beat Chu Hao up, after all, aside from this fool, the Chu Family only had an elderly and frail housekeeper, Uncle Yu. Who could stop her? But what impact would beating someone who had just lost a noble title have?

Moreover, she had always presented herself as gentle and understanding, how could she let people see her true face—she still intended to marry into the nobility.

"Brother, let's go, there's no need to waste words on a dying man," she finally decided to leave, there would be plenty of opportunities to deal with Chu Hao. Wasn't Ma Long pursuing her? She'd let him handle Chu Hao—it would be too easy to kill someone neither noble nor powerful.

Lin Ziming had always been his sister's echo, promptly agreeing with her, stepping beside Lin Yuqi, and they walked off together.

"Lin Yuqi, you might regret this later," Chu Hao suddenly said.

Regret?

Lin Yuqi sneered. The downfall of the Chu Family was a foregone conclusion, she would only regret if she didn't leave.

Chu Hao wasn't impulsive, but a strong determination not to be defeated rose in his heart. He would become stronger and prove himself by fiercely slapping this woman with the facts.