Raymond Rhodes was fuming. Hearing this, he couldn’t help but snap coldly.

"And who might you be?"

With that one question, he had just stirred up a hornet’s nest.

In that instant, the smiles vanished from the faces of the Demon Cultivators hovering in the air, who had just been enjoying the show. Their expressions turned cold, and countless sinister eyes fixed on Raymond Rhodes.

Then they began to speak, one after another, their voices laced with menace.

"You old fossil from the Falling Snow Sect. You must be tired of living, daring to speak to our Lady like that."

"I’d say he’s had his fill of living."

"That’s right! If you want to die, just say the word. We’ll be happy to oblige."

"The seasons are changing. I say we just raze this place to the ground and be done with it."

Led by Nerida, the Demon Cultivators instantly unleashed their oppressive auras. Demonic Qi flooded the air, thick with killing intent. At the sight of this, the faces of the Falling Snow Sect members paled, and they all assumed defensive stances.

The atmosphere grew suffocatingly tense, and it felt as though a battle could erupt at any second.

Witnessing this, a cold sweat broke out on Raymond Rhodes’s back.

’So this woman is that Demon’s wife. I never imagined her status within the Demonic Sects would be so high. They say she’s the one behind their massive wealth accumulation these past few years. To have earned the fervent support of all the Demonic Sects, she must be incredibly cunning. What a waste! To think someone so capable isn’t from one of the Immortal Sects, but willingly sinks so low as to consort with Demon Cultivators.’

’If The Blood-Venerate, Javier Sinclair, hadn’t come today, it wouldn’t matter if the Falling Snow Sect fought these Demon Cultivators. But with that Demon present, a fight would mean the annihilation of our sect.’

’I must endure! Now is not the time. As long as we survive, we’ll have our chance for revenge. There will be plenty of opportunities to eradicate the forces of the Demonic Path in the future.’

Celeste Grant gave a gentle smile.

She turned to her followers, waving a hand with a smile. "What’s all this? Everyone, tone it down a notch. Our Bloodfiend Den is a respectable sect, you know. We’re here to present a betrothal gift, not to pick a fight. Let’s be discreet, discreet."

The crowd reined in their auras.

"Yes! The Madam is right."

Seeing them back down, Raymond Rhodes breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Raymond Rhodes cupped his hands in a salute.

He began, "Everyone, I believe there must be some misunderstanding. If I have caused any offense, I, Raymond Rhodes, offer my sincere apologies. Victor is the heir to the Falling Snow Sect; he absolutely cannot marry into another family. However, I can agree to this marriage, on the condition that Yvonne Sawyer marries into our Falling Snow Sect."

’He’s surprisingly adaptable,’ Celeste thought. ’But...’

Celeste Grant’s eyes swept over him as she spoke. "Oh, by the way, Sect Master Rhodes, what was that you just said? That you agree to this marriage, and you’ll allow our Yana to marry into the Falling Snow Sect?"

Hearing this, Raymond Rhodes assumed Celeste Grant was agreeing and sneered inwardly.

’Just a simple-minded woman, as expected,’ he thought. ’Once that Enchantress marries into the Falling Snow Sect, we’ll make her suffer.’

Raymond Rhodes said, "Yes, I agree to this marriage."

A wicked grin spread across Celeste Grant’s face.

"You agree? That’s a shame, because I don’t."

"Our Yana is beautiful, powerful, and rich. She commands over a hundred thousand Demon Cultivators. She’s practically the heroine of a power fantasy novel. You think she’d give up her life as a wealthy, beautiful powerhouse to come suffer in your dirt-poor Falling Snow Sect? Dream on. You want to have your cake and eat it too? Have you no shame?"

Raymond Rhodes’s face went stiff, and he couldn’t stop himself from retorting.

"You! You’ve gone too far! The Falling Snow Sect is one of the Seven Great Celestial Sects, how could we possibly be poor?" But even as he said it, he knew it was true—compared to these Demon Cultivators, their sect’s coffers were indeed rather bare.

’Then again,’ he thought bitterly, ’not everyone is as shameless and despicable as the Demonic Sects, willing to use such unscrupulous means to hoard wealth.’

"Not poor?"

Celeste Grant gestured at the pile of junk on the ground.

"If you’re not poor, then why is the grand heir of the Falling Snow Sect using this junk? Is everything alright up there? Don’t be embarrassed. It’s not a disgrace to admit you’re poor; we won’t laugh at you. Look at us! We came today with the utmost sincerity and prepared all these betrothal gifts. It’s enough to cover your expenses for a very long time. You should try being a little more generous in the future and not so incredibly stingy."

"You... you..."

With countless eyes fixed on him,

Raymond Rhodes was overcome with shame. He clutched his chest and, in a fit of rage, coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"You..."

’So arrogant. These Demon Cultivators are utterly insolent.’

’Calm down. Calm down. I can’t make a move. I can’t make a move.’

’So this is what it feels like to be the villain,’ Celeste thought. ’It’s so satisfying.’

"Alright, I can’t be bothered talking to you people anymore."

Celeste Grant smiled at Yana. "Yana, take your man, we’re heading back. As for this junk on the ground, just leave it if you don’t want it. On such a joyous day of groom-snatching, The Exalted One and I didn’t prepare much of a gift. When you get back, take this young man of yours to the treasury and let him pick out some Magic Treasures and Magic Artifacts. Tell him to grab plenty of top-grade Magic Treasures, top-grade Magic Artifacts, and Elixir Pills. Just consider it a welcome gift for joining our big family. What can I say? The Bloodfiend Den is so poor these days, this is all we have left. It’s a bit embarrassing, but I hope you can make do."

Yvonne Sawyer was speechless.

’Madam, are you even listening to yourself?’

’Can’t you see the faces of the Falling Snow Sect members have all turned livid? Still, she had to admit, it felt incredibly satisfying. That’s what they get for bullying her man.’

Yvonne Sawyer placed a hand on her chest and bowed deeply.

"Yana thanks The Exalted One and the Madam for their generous gifts."

Victor Rhodes also bowed.

"Thank you, Exalted One. Thank you, Madam."

’Top-grade Magic Artifacts and Magic Treasures right off the bat... how could he possibly refuse?’

’He was getting a beautiful wife.’

’And he was more than happy to be a kept man.’

’Most importantly, he had never felt so damn good in his life.’

Victor Rhodes glanced at Yvonne Sawyer beside him and took her hand.

The two of them flew straight onto the ship.

Standing at the ship’s bow, Victor Rhodes looked down at Raymond Rhodes, whose face was ashen with rage.

He shouted down to him.

"Father, you can keep those betrothal gifts! A son who marries out is like spilled water. From now on, you can have that illegitimate son of yours fulfill your filial duties! Bye-bye, now!"

At his words, the corner of Celeste Grant’s mouth twitched.

’This kid is full of surprises,’ she thought. ’His audacity is in fine form.’

"You unfilial son...!"

This time, Raymond Rhodes’s vision went black, and he fainted dead away.

The Demon Cultivators looked on, dumbfounded.

"His constitution is way too weak. We barely did anything and he fainted all on his own."

"The Sect Master of the Falling Snow Sect is a Late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, for crying out loud. To be so easily flustered... you can tell his Dao heart is unstable."

"Alright, alright, let’s just head back. You guys know how it is. I’m used to these Immortal Sect folks having unstable Dao hearts and suffering cultivation deviation over the slightest provocation."

"That’s nothing. For the past two hundred years, I don’t know what’s gotten into them, but they’ve all gotten obsessed with undergoing these so-called ’love tribulations’."

"You know the type: they erase their memories, fragment their Primordial Spirit, and descend to the Mortal Realm to toy with people’s emotions. The ’better’ ones have a woman die for them, then they conveniently regain their memories and their cultivation soars. Others ’transcend love’ by murdering their lover’s entire family, then sever all emotion to cultivate the Path of Ruthlessness, and their cultivation soars. Then there’s ’killing one’s wife to prove the Dao,’ ’killing one’s husband to prove the Dao’... there are just too many to count. These cultivators and their twisted games."

"You’re not wrong. Last time I passed through the Mortal Realm, I ran into one of those ’killing his wife to prove the Dao’ types. I was so pissed off I went right down there and stabbed the bastard to death. Ptooey! What a piece of trash. Because of that, a few cultivators showed up, accused me of slaughtering an innocent, and chased me all the way back to the Cultivation World."