The head of the household

  "Oh?!"

  Du Qing's eyes widened in surprise as he saw Du Fei take his palm strike, and then he nodded slightly and said, "Not bad, indeed you have some skills... come again!"

  As soon as he finished speaking, Du Qing let out a cold laugh and this time his foot stomped heavily on the ground before his figure swiftly darted out.

  Witnessing this scene, Du Fei took a slight breath in, although he also knew that for now, he was not yet a match for Du Qing. However, he had confidence that if Du Qing wanted to defeat him, then he would have to pay a considerable price!

  "That's enough!"

  Just as the two figures were about to touch again, a faint and soft voice of reprimand sounded.

  Although this sound was faint, it shook Du Fei and Du Qing's bodies, causing them to tremble slightly.

  Du Qing's eyes flashed with a hint of strangeness, and he curled his lips, but then he obediently withdrew his hand.

  Du Fei also slightly furrowed his brow, the voice just now contained true energy, apparently, the person who made the sound had already entered the realm of a martial artist, only it was unclear what position this person held in the Du family.

  As soon as they heard the voice, the younger generation of the Du family in the square also trembled slightly, and then each of them slightly bowed their heads towards the main hall, saying: "Big brother!"

  Big brother!?!

  Upon hearing this title, Du Fei slightly furrowed his brow, and suddenly remembered who this person was.

  Du Fei had once heard Du Tian say that among the younger generation of the Du family, the most outstanding person was a man named Du Han. Not only was he the eldest son and grandson of the Du family, but he also possessed exceptional martial arts talent.

  It is said that he started practicing at the age of eight, and by the time he was twelve, he had already advanced to the seventh level of Body Tempering. By the time he was twenty, he had already reached the peak of the ninth level of Body Tempering, and finally successfully advanced to Martial Master. Such an achievement, not to mention the Du family, is also a extremely monstrous existence in the entire Da'an Dynasty.

  As he turned his head slowly with the surrounding vision, Du Fei saw that in the main hall, a young man in white robes walked out with a frown.

  The young man looked to be in his early twenties, with no distinguishing features on his face. However, he walked out slowly, making it impossible for anyone to see his movements clearly, as if a faint halo surrounded him.

  Du Fei knew that this was the gap between their strengths, but knowing it and feeling the shock in his heart were two different things. Even his own father, Du Tian, had only reached this realm when he was nearly thirty years old!

  This Du Han is indeed an evil genius!

  It seemed that Du Han was already extremely familiar with the gaze from all directions, his line of sight only slightly swept around him, and then he walked slowly towards the place where Du Fei and Du Qing were.

  As he walked, the people around him quickly dispersed, their eyes fixed on him with a mixture of shock and fear.

  When Du Han walked in, Du Qing seemed to glance at him unintentionally and slightly cupped his hands, saying: "It's just a spar between juniors, I didn't expect it would startle Big Brother, I'm truly ashamed!"

  "Du Qing, with your cultivation at the seventh level, bullying a fourth-level cultivator who is also your younger cousin, don't you feel ashamed?" Du Han looked at Du Qing with an expression of disdain and said calmly.

  "Hehe...... It's just a little sparring, what's there to be ashamed of? But since big brother taught me a lesson, I'll be more careful in the future!" Du Qing said with a slight pout.

  "This is for the best... The family gathering is about to begin. Du Qing, this time you will likely become the core son of the Du family, so be careful!"

  He looked at Du Fei again, and a hint of inexplicable flavor flashed in his eyes. He then calmly said: "Du Fei's younger brother, right? The master has invited you, so follow me!"

  Having said that, he also ignored Du Fei's expression, only slightly turning his body and immediately walking back to the main hall with big strides.

  Upon hearing this, Du Fei was slightly stunned, but after exchanging a glance with Xiao Ai, the two quickly followed.

  As he walked past Du Qing, the two brushed shoulders and at that moment, the latter suddenly let out a cold laugh. Then, in a voice that only the two could hear, he said faintly: "Du Fei, this time you're lucky... I'm looking forward to it, looking forward to you getting stronger quickly. When that time comes, I can rightfully get rid of you! And everything of yours will be mine!"

  "I'm also looking forward to that day!" Du Fei's pupils contracted slightly, and he replied calmly.

  With the system, he was also extremely looking forward to that day's arrival. Relying on the system's performance, Du Fei believed that as long as time was sufficient, he would definitely be able to trample Du Qing to death!

  The two turned around at the same time, their eyes met in mid-air for a brief moment, and then they both let out a cold laugh, quickly looking away. In the air, it was as if lightning had flashed by, dazzlingly bright.

  "You're Old Fourth's son, Du Fei?"

  In the grand and luxurious hall, a dozen or so people took their seats in the chairs on both sides of the hall, each with an eerie gaze that kept darting towards Du Fei's body.

  At the very front of the hall, right in the middle, there was an old man with white hair and a thin face sitting there. At this moment, he was lightly tapping the armrest of his chair, his eyes slowly scanning Du Fei's body, exuding an aura of majesty.

  "Yes!"

  Although he was looked at by the old man with goosebumps all over his body, Du Fei didn't dare to show it. After all, he also knew that this person must be the current head of the Du family, Du Zhentian.

  "Huh? I heard that Lao Si's son is a born loser, but judging from your performance just now, it doesn't seem like it!? Although you only have the strength of the fourth level of Body Tempering and are slightly weaker, you still dare to resist Du Qing, which is not bad!"

  These old foxes, they indeed knew everything that happened just now.

  This thought flashed through Du Fei's mind, and after a moment, he said in a low voice: "It's all thanks to Father's teachings, it's nothing!"

  "Is there a way to teach?" Du Zhentian knocked on the armrest, and after a moment, he said lightly, "Forget it. Although Fourth Brother betrayed our family, he is still a member of the Du family... Past matters will be let go! Now that you've returned to the Du family, I'll acknowledge you as my grandson. From today on, your treatment will be the same as the other children in the Du family. As for what happens to you in the future, I won't interfere or ask questions. Whether you become a snake or a dragon depends on your own fortune!"

  "Besides... no matter what Old Fourth says, he is still a member of the Du family. He was killed by someone, and I, as his elder, cannot turn a blind eye to this... Tell me in detail about what happened that day. You have a deep grudge against my entire household, and naturally, we will avenge you!"

  The last word fell, and Du Zhentian's body was already filled with murderous intent. The high-ranking members of the Du family around him saw this scene, and their eyes were all slightly surprised, it had been a long time since they had seen the old man get angry...

  Looking at the furious Du Zhentian, Du Fei's pupils couldn't help but slightly constrict, and he exchanged a glance with Xiao Ai who was also standing in the middle of the hall. Both of them couldn't help but have some doubts.

  From a rational point of view, Du Fei was clear. In terms of the strength of the Du family, as long as he spoke out about what happened that day, he should have had a great opportunity to know who his enemy was.

  But in Du Fei's heart, there was another extremely terrifying thought: if the high-ranking members of the Du family knew that the black-clothed stranger who had attacked Du Tian on that day had a strength of five-product Wu Zong, then perhaps what they would do wouldn't be to avenge Du Tian, but rather slap themselves to death with one palm and pretend nothing had happened.

  After a moment of contemplation, Du Fei slowly shook his head at Xiao Ai, then pretended to be deep in thought. After a while, he spoke in a low voice: "Master... the truth is, we weren't present that day. We had something to attend to and were out when it happened. By the time we returned, everything was over... The intruder seemed extremely powerful; even the eight 8th-rank martial artists among our family's elders didn't survive..."

  "The Eight Trigrams Boxing Master——"

  In the hall, a gasp of cold air sounded, and when the high-level members of the Du family heard this, they all exchanged glances, their eyes flashing with astonishment and fear.

  "Eight eighth-grade martial artists... and it seems that Old Fourth has been impacting seventh-grade martial artists all these years..." Du Zhentian rubbed his eyebrows, "Such strength is not weak either. To say nothing of others, even if our own family wants to destroy such a powerful group, the price we have to pay will not be small... Do you think there are any forces within a hundred miles that can achieve this?"

  Below, the high-ranking members of the Du family exchanged glances, and after a moment, a slightly plump old man knocked on his forehead and hesitated: "To deal with nine eighth-grade martial artists, such a large-scale operation would require at least a seventh-grade martial artist to take action, or perhaps ten or more high-level eighth-grade martial artists working together... And you all should know that seventh-grade martial artists are extremely rare. Within a hundred miles, it's unlikely we could find even half of one. Although our three families in the city have this level of strength... However, the other two families have been at odds with my Du family for years. We've been paying attention to their movements, and recently, the strong masters who govern them haven't left. So I think this matter shouldn't be related to the forces within our city..."

  "Old Master is right..." Du Zhentian nodded slightly, "But if it wasn't for these two families, what other power would dare to make a move on Fourth Brother? Fourth Brother has been very low-key all these years... shouldn't have any enemies, right?"

  "Who knows?" A cold, sarcastic laugh came from an old man with a sallow face. "Big brother, you must not forget... all those years ago, for that woman, Fourth Brother not only betrayed our family but also stole the Du family's Ice Heart Decree... who knows what kind of trouble he has gotten himself into these past few years?"

  "Three Elders......" Du Zhentian's expression changed slightly, "Things from back then have long since passed, isn't it time to move on from the past?"

  "Are you going to say it now?" The three elders still sneered, "If you're going to say it, then say it... I am not from the Du family of the city, but rather one of the five families of Yunshui, although we are only a side branch of the Yunshui Du family. However, in the Da'an dynasty, there are only a few powers that dare to take action against our Du family... The other four families of Yunshui, the imperial family of Da'an, and the Junwu Sect!"

  When the last word of the three elders fell, the atmosphere in the hall became even colder.

  Du Zhentian's face changed for a moment, and he let out a sigh before shaking his head slightly. "What reason do the top powers of the Great An Dynasty have to make a move against Old Fourth... This matter cannot be spoken of lightly... Enough! Du Fei, you can withdraw for now. As for this matter, I will naturally have someone investigate it thoroughly. If there is any result, I will definitely inform you!"

  "Yes!" Du Fei slightly nodded, then quickly pulled Xiao Ai to make a quick bow, and under the watchful eyes of various strange gazes in the hall, they quickly left.