He had chosen personal gain over his own son.

’But Victor Rhodes is still the Young Sect Master of the Falling Snow Sect, at least in name. If he were to marry into a Demonic Sect, how could the Falling Snow Sect ever show its face again? No, that’s absolutely out of the question.’

’Victor Rhodes cannot go to the Demonic Sects.’

His mind raced, and he decided to take a step back for now. ’I can pretend to agree to let that Enchantress marry into our sect, and then figure out a plan later.’

With this in mind, he spoke. "Marrying into your sect is out of the question. Victor is the Young Sect Master of my Falling Snow Sect; how could he possibly do such a thing? However, seeing as the two youngsters are so deeply in love, I can make a one-time exception and form a marriage alliance with your Demonic Sects. Your niece may marry into the Falling Snow Sect."

"Marry *in*?"

Elder Sawyer chuckled.

"It seems your hearing is failing you, Sect Master Rhodes. When did I ever say my niece was the one getting married? You must have misheard... We’re talking about *him* marrying into *our* family."

As he finished speaking, the snake coiled on Elder Sawyer’s shoulder hissed menacingly at the Sect Master.

Elder Lawson, who was standing to the side and seemed all too eager to stir up trouble, chimed in. "Yana, go get your man and let’s head back. Today’s an auspicious day, and there’s no time like the present. Tonight, you two can follow the will of the Heavenly Dao and become Taoist Companions."

"Yes, Elder Lawson!"

Yvonne Sawyer responded immediately.

She flew down, landing at the entrance of the Falling Snow Sect’s grand hall, her eyes fixed on Victor Rhodes.

She sneered disdainfully at the tense, hostile figures before her, ignoring them completely.

She held out her hand.

"You said you didn’t have a home. Come with me."

In the blink of an eye, Victor Rhodes was standing before her. He took Yvonne Sawyer’s outstretched hand, a smile finally gracing his face. "Alright, Yana. Let’s leave together. From now on, my home is wherever you are."

Watching his son actually prepare to leave with that Enchantress, Raymond Rhodes’s expression turned foul.

He was trying to have his cake and eat it, too. The betrothal gifts were tempting, and he wanted to keep them, but he couldn’t stomach the thought of his son marrying into a Demonic Sect and shaming the Immortal Sects.

"Victor Rhodes! If you dare to walk out of this hall today, you will no longer be the Young Sect Master of the Falling Snow Sect! You will no longer be a member of the Immortal Sects! And for the rest of your life, you are forbidden from ever setting foot in the Falling Snow Sect again!"

Hearing this, Victor Rhodes gave a chillingly detached smile. His eyes swept over the crowd before finally landing on Raymond Rhodes.

"That would be for the best."

As he spoke, he held out his hand.

His mother’s memorial tablet materialized in his palm.

He passed the tablet to Yvonne Sawyer.

"Yana, hold this for me. I need to take care of a personal matter."

Yvonne Sawyer nodded. "Of course."

Victor Rhodes removed his Storage Ring, emptied its contents onto the floor, and then tossed the ring down beside them.

A small, scattered pile of items lay on the ground. There wasn’t much at all.

It was a pitifully poor collection.

It was hard to imagine that these were all the resources obtained by the esteemed Young Sect Master of a major sect. Even ordinary disciples were likely better off.

Victor Rhodes pointed to the meager pile. "Take a good look. This is everything I’ve been given, from my childhood until now. I’m returning it all to you. The only things I’m taking are my mother’s memorial tablet and this jade pendant she left for me. I suggest you take inventory, so you can’t accuse me of stealing anything later. I won’t be your scapegoat."

As his words faded, a hush fell over the hall.

The hall was utterly silent.

No one could believe their eyes.

Others just looked bewildered.

The elders and disciples of the Falling Snow Sect were particularly stunned. Even Raymond Rhodes was taken aback for a moment, his gaze fixed on the items on the floor as he sank into thought.

’These are the Young Sect Master’s possessions? This is all he has?’

’How is that possible?’

Even the senior disciples of the Falling Snow Sect were shocked. ’That’s the Young Sect Master,’ they thought. ’He’s risked his life for the Sect time and time again, and this is all he has to show for it? It looks like he has less than any of us.’

There wasn’t even a single decent Magic Treasure. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

With so many people watching, countless eyes turned toward Raymond Rhodes.

The atmosphere was suddenly incredibly awkward.

’So this is what it feels like to go from losing face to being utterly humiliated.’ At that moment, Raymond Rhodes felt his face burning with shame.

’This rebellious son! He’s doing this just to embarrass me! Airing such trivial grievances in public, with absolutely no regard for our father-son relationship.’

Seeing them all staring,

Victor Rhodes offered a breezy, unconcerned smile.

After all, he had stopped caring long ago.

’Humiliating them like this brings me immense joy.’

"Keep staring. This is all there is."

One of the elders finally spoke up.

"That’s impossible! I remember giving the Young Sect Master a Top-grade Flying Sword for his last birthday."

"Exactly! And I prepare various High-level Talismans for him every year on his birthday."

"I gave him Elixir Pills."

Hearing this,

Victor Rhodes cut them off with a smile.

"Elders, your memories must be failing you. Every time you came to give me a gift, my dear ’little brother’ was always there, wasn’t he? He’d take a liking to your gift, you’d give it to him instead, and promise to give me the next good thing you found. You’d tell me that as Young Sect Master, I shouldn’t squabble over such trivial things, that it was beneath my station. Honestly, I never understood. If you were just going to give it to him anyway, why go through the charade of presenting it to me first? You’re all quite amusing. Claiming it was a gift for me... ha! That’s rich."

At his words, the elders in question finally seemed to remember.

’That’s right.’

’It’s always been like that.’

The elders’ faces darkened, and they exchanged uneasy glances. "Didn’t you give the Young Sect Master a replacement gift later?" one asked another.

"You didn’t either? I thought you had! Young Sect Master, we truly didn’t know about this."

Victor Rhodes waved his hand dismissively.

"It’s not that you didn’t know. You just didn’t care. You knew I was just a whetstone, a stepping stone who would sooner or later have to make way for someone else. Why give me Cultivation Resources? It would just be a waste. So whether you knew or not is irrelevant now. I never expected anything from you anyway."

"I have somewhere to go now. You may not want me, but someone else does. I’m off to be a kept man. Goodbye to all of you."

Celeste Grant, who was enjoying the drama, couldn’t help but sputter.

’He’s so young.’

’And he’s already learned the most important lesson.’

’He already knows how sweet it is to live off a woman.’

Celeste Grant glanced at Javier Sinclair beside her.

"He’s certainly got a sharp tongue. Look at his father, he’s so angry his face is beet red and steam is practically coming out of his ears. You know, I think that Yana and this guy are a pretty good match."

Javier Sinclair nodded.

"Mm."

And he wasn’t just practically smoking with anger; he was about to explode.

Raymond Rhodes pointed a trembling finger at Victor Rhodes.

"What nonsense are you spouting?! How could we possibly have given you only these things? When have we ever not prepared two sets of Cultivation Resources and Magic Treasures?"

Victor Rhodes shot back, "Oh? You mean the ones your bastard son took before they even reached me?"

Raymond Rhodes sputtered, "You... How can you be so petty? He’s your younger brother! He’s still young, what’s wrong with you, as his elder brother, letting him have a few things?"

Victor Rhodes scoffed. "Heh! Don’t talk to me about a ’brother.’ My mother only gave birth to me. If you want to be a dog for that mother and son, that’s your business. Don’t drag me into it."

"Silence, you unfilial son!"

Celeste Grant, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, clapped her hands softly.

"Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant."

"My, my. Is the great Falling Snow Sect, one of the Seven Great Celestial Sects, really so destitute? Your esteemed Young Sect Master doesn’t even have a single Magic Treasure for self-defense, not even a decent Magic Artifact. If you’re so poor you can barely feed yourselves, you should have just said so. We could have spared a little to help you out. Just look at the state you’re in."