Chapter 302: Chapter 299: Is Your Surname Wu?

He was a young man whose complexion was a frightening shade of white.

It wasn’t just his face; even his lips were completely bloodless.

His body was stooped, his back hunched. One hand was clasped behind him, while the other held a handkerchief to his mouth as he coughed ceaselessly.

He had none of the vigor of a young man. Instead, he resembled a decrepit old man in his twilight years.

"Go away. You don’t meet the requirements," Liu Hui said, waving him off with a dismissive hand.

Even though the man gave him a faint sense of danger, suggesting he was no weakling, Liu Hui still wouldn’t allow him to challenge Mo Qi.

Others might not know the relationship between Liu Ruyan and Mo Qi, but how could Liu Hui possibly be unaware?

It was true that Mo Qi acting as the gatekeeper for Liu Ruyan was just a formality. Everyone on their side knew it didn’t really count.

But that didn’t mean any random stray could come and challenge him!

Especially not this sickly weakling in front of him who looked half-dead. He definitely couldn’t let him in.

If he let him in, never mind Mo Qi having a problem with it—Liu Hui himself would feel it was outrageous.

It would be an insult to Liu Ruyan!

’Don’t you hideously deformed freaks have any self-awareness? Do you really think a girl like her would ever look your way?’

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH, COUGH!"

Hearing Liu Hui’s rejection, the young man’s coughing grew more forceful and frequent.

A visible wave of cold air emanated from his body. With his feet as the center, a thick layer of ice crystals spread outward.

Seeing this, the surrounding crowd backed away in alarm, giving him a wide berth.

"You haven’t even seen my Spiritual Object. Why do you say I don’t meet the requirements?" the young man asked, forcing the words through his teeth between coughs.

Liu Hui’s brow furrowed in annoyance. "There’s no need to look. Forget a Spiritual Object; even if you could produce a Divine Object, you still wouldn’t meet the requirements!"

The young man’s coughing suddenly stopped. He spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm, and his whole body seemed to relax considerably.

But his eyes, when he looked at Liu Hui, were now filled with killing intent.

"You’d better give me a reasonable explanation. Otherwise, I don’t mind starting a massacre."

As he spoke, the young man gave a light stomp of his foot. The ice that had spread out for dozens of yards shattered, turning into a blizzard of flying snow and ice shards that filled the air.

"You want to fight?" Liu Hui narrowed his eyes, gathering his Dragon Energy but keeping it in check.

If the young man dared to cause trouble, he would immediately use his Dragon Transformation and suppress him with lightning speed.

"I just need an explanation!" the young man said, enunciating each word.

The swirling flakes of ice and snow flew faster and faster. When they landed on the crowd, they stung with a fiery pain.

"An explanation?" Liu Hui sneered. "Look at yourself. It’s not that I’m trying to discriminate against you, but put yourself in their shoes. If you were the girl’s elder or relative, would you allow a sickly weakling to have designs on your own girl?"

This...

’He’s right. If our roles were reversed, if it were my own sister getting married, would I let her marry a living corpse with one foot in the grave?’

Though he was unwilling to admit it, he knew he wouldn’t allow it!

The shards of ice and snow instantly lost their power and fluttered to the ground.

No!

I can’t!

The young man suddenly shook his head violently. ’I can’t give up!’

’For my own sake, and even more so for my father’s!’

If he couldn’t become Liu Ruyan’s husband, not only would he himself die, but his father’s fate would also be grim.

"I don’t care! I must defeat Qin Daye!"

The young man roared, spitting out another mouthful of bloody phlegm. His spirit seemed to wither even further.

But the fallen shards of ice and snow were once again whipped into a frenzy by a wild wind, their speed now countless times faster than before.

SHING! SHING! SHING!

Many people couldn’t get out of the storm’s range in time. The tiny ice particles shredded their clothes and pierced their bodies.

A few who were closer looked as if they had been subjected to death by a thousand cuts. Their clothes were obliterated, their bodies a mass of mangled flesh and blood, with sinew and bone exposed.

"You have some nerve!"

Liu Hui was furious. Mo Qi had long ago established a rule: fighting was forbidden outside the Cultivation Room.

The young man’s actions were a clear provocation against Mo Qi. How could Liu Hui tolerate it?

His Dragon Transformation was completed in an instant.

CLANG! CLANG!

The shards of ice and snow struck his body, producing the crisp sound of metal on metal, but they failed to injure him in the slightest.

"Fight!" Liu Hui roared, throwing a punch.

Seeing Liu Hui’s transformed appearance, the young man was only stunned for a moment before he cupped his fist in a salute.

"My apologies. I have my reasons and no other choice. Forgive my offense."

Judging by his tone, he didn’t seem to fear Liu Hui. It was almost as if he was confident of victory.

Just as the battle was about to erupt, Mo Qi’s voice drifted out.

"Let him in."

Liu Hui’s attack came to an abrupt halt. He twisted his body, retracting his fist and landing to the side.

Though he didn’t understand, he never had the slightest doubt in Mo Qi’s words, and he wouldn’t hesitate to act on them.

"Hmph. Consider yourself lucky. Follow me!" Liu Hui said with a cold expression. Tossing out the words, he turned and walked down the path outside the Cultivation Room without looking back.

The young man didn’t seem to react at first. Only after Liu Hui had vanished from sight did he disperse the ice storm, once again covering his mouth to cough as he slowly followed.

The injured people in the crowd glared at him, but no one dared to block his path.

"Are you all right?" Seeing Liu Hui, Nangong Yan was the first to rush over and ask with concern.

Liu Hui first shook his head, then looked at the young man who had followed him in. He pointed to the Cultivation Room and said, "The Master is inside. Go on in by yourself."

The young man nodded and, dragging his faltering body, slowly walked into the Cultivation Room.

Inside the Cultivation Room, he saw a young man with a face full of smiles—it was Mo Qi’s External Incarnation!

"Excuse me, are you Qin Daye?" the young man asked, suppressing a cough.

Seeing the young man, Mo Qi’s eyes lit up.

He didn’t answer. Instead, he circled the young man a few times, looking him up and down from every angle.

’To think that just when I couldn’t find you, you’d come knocking on my door yourself!’

’This is perfect. It will resolve one of my long-standing concerns.’

At this thought, the corners of Mo Qi’s mouth curled up, his smile growing even wider.

The young man was startled by Mo Qi’s strange behavior. Just as he was about to ask his question again, Mo Qi spoke.

"Is your surname Wu?"

The young man’s expression changed slightly. ’The surname "Wu" isn’t common. Could it be that he knows me?’

’That’s impossible!’

’Anyone from my era would either have long since perished, their Dao extinguished, or become a powerful figure in their own right. They couldn’t possibly be this young.’

However, Mo Qi’s next words shocked him so completely that he forgot to cough.

"Do you possess the Cold Cicada Bloodline? And does your father go by the nickname ’Wu the Old Ghost’?"

That was right!

This young man was the son of Wu the Old Ghost!

Because of the Cold Cicada Bloodline, he had been sealed in ice by Wu the Old Ghost for over a thousand years and had only recently been unfrozen.

He had seen the message Wu the Old Ghost left for him and knew that his father, in order to find a Little Yellow Spring Flower for him, had intentionally allowed himself to be captured by the Mountain and Sea Empire and taken Within the Pass.

Having not returned for a thousand years, it was highly likely he had met a grim fate.

The Cold Cicada Bloodline was about to erupt, and if he couldn’t find a way to mitigate it, he too would surely die.

Coincidentally, the Mountain and Sea Empire had issued an imperial decree for Liu Hong to recruit a son-in-law.

For him, this was an opportunity—his only opportunity!