Eternal Heavenly Emperor

"Remember us; don't look down on others in the future." Yu Wenjing was not about to let it go. She kicked one of the guards before quickly catching up to Chu Hao, grabbing his arm and leaning in. "Senior Brother Chu, you're amazing."

Chu Hao gave a slight smile but firmly withdrew his arm. He had no interest in Wenjing. Besides, he'd indulged in pleasures on Earth and was long past the phase of chasing after beauty.

Wenjing pouted in disappointment.

They continued walking toward their residence, but the day was destined to be tumultuous. As they passed a garden, a black shadow shot out at an unprecedented speed and slammed into Le Deqing's face.

With a loud thud, the black shadow bounced back, fell to the ground with a few more bounces, and finally stopped. It turned out to be a ball, roughly the size of a soccer ball. It appeared to be made from the skin of some ferocious beast, filled with elastic tendons inside.

"Le Deqing, are you okay?" All four of them looked at Le Deqing. The ball had come too fast, and Le Deqing, being at the back, couldn't avoid it.

Le Deqing touched his left cheek, opened his mouth, and spat out a broken tooth.

That had been quite a hit.

At that moment, a few figures flew out from the garden. They were four young and beautiful women. Two wore dresses, one in green and the other in red, while the other two wore workout clothes, one black and one white. All of them were tall and slender.

"Ah, it's Sister Qi's fault for not catching the ball. Now it hit someone," the woman in the green dress complained.

"It's Sister San's lousy kicking. She kicked it so far off. If anyone's to blame, it's Sister San," the woman in the red dress immediately retorted.

"Hey, throw the ball over here," the woman in black commanded Chu Hao and his group with an air of superiority.

The words of the first two women could be let go, but what did she mean by this? After clearly seeing they had hit someone, not a single word of apology, just demanding the ball back.

Was there a limit to such bullying?

Chu Hao picked up the ball, tossed it up, and caught it again. "Don't you think you should first ask if our companion is seriously hurt?" The four women hadn't meant to hit Le Deqing, so he chose to reason with them.

"We already said it was an accident. Do you expect an apology?" the woman in white responded.

"Ha ha ha ha." The other three women burst into laughter, as if they'd heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Isn't that what you should do?" Chu Hao's voice deepened.

"You lower-class servants are too bold and don't know your place," the woman in the dress suddenly said angrily, pointing at the five of them.

So not only were they hit but also insulted for not knowing their place.

"We're not servants of the Ling Family," Yu Wenjing couldn't help but retort. Her family was nobility in the Lower World. Though not comparable to the families here, she'd grown up pampered and had never been so despised.

"Oh, not servants?" The woman in white stuck out her tongue.

"Didn't we get into big trouble then?" The woman in green also looked worried.

"Who are you all? Which branch do you belong to? How come we've never seen you before?" the woman in black inquired.

"We are from the Lower World, disciples of the Yunliu Sect," Tang Xin declared loudly.

"Huh." All four women scoffed simultaneously. "So you're just servants."

"Now, hurry and return the ball."

"Wasting so much of our time, kneel and apologize."

The four women spoke in unison.

After the incident at the gates, Chu Hao and the others weren't surprised by the reaction of these four women. The entire Ling Family—or rather, all the noble families forming the Yunliu Sect—treated people from the Lower World like livestock.

Chu Hao smiled faintly. "If you want the ball, come and get it."

"Hmph, I order you to bring the ball to me immediately," the woman in white said arrogantly.

"And kneel while presenting it," the woman in black added.

"Yes, yes," the other two nodded in agreement.

Chu Hao snorted. "I don't kneel to anyone. As for the ball, here you go, catch it." With a flick of his hand, the ball shot toward the woman in black.

Thud.

The woman in black tried to block it, but she had only recently become a martial master and couldn't withstand it. The ball hit her squarely.

The ball, highly elastic, rebounded from her face, bounced a few times, and returned to Chu Hao's hand.

He tossed the ball again and looked at the woman in white, smiling. "She missed it. Your turn." With a whoosh, he sent the ball flying.

Quick as lightning.

Thud.

As expected, the woman in white was also hit directly. The impact was so strong it sent her flying, leaving a distinct red mark on her left cheek.

The ball bounced back to Chu Hao's hand once more.

The women in the green and red dresses were terrified. This man not only lacked the servile mentality but also had no pity for beauty. How unfortunate for Sister Four and Sister Five—once delicate and charming beauties, their faces now swelled up like pig heads.

They glanced at each other and quickly ran to fetch help. After all, this was the Ling Family.

Thud.

Chu Hao threw another ball, and the woman in the green dress fell to the ground by the roadside as the ball bounced back. He threw the last ball, hitting the woman in red dress squarely. With a muffled sound, she, too, collapsed without any surprise.

The four women groaned in pain.

"Here's your ball back. No need to thank me," Chu Hao said calmly.

"How dare you!" The woman in white pointed a trembling finger, but her swollen face made her words slurred.

Chu Hao's group realized she meant "How dare you!" and burst out laughing.

"An inch of respect from others, and I will return a foot. As for you, better check if you still look human." Chu Hao spoke indifferently.

The insult was clear.

The four women were furious. How dare he suggest they were no longer human? This guy really knew how to insult without using any foul words.

"What's all this commotion?" An elderly man with a stern expression approached.

"Greetings, Clan Elder Yangshan," the four women quickly saluted.

The elder was Ling Yangshan, a High Tier Martial Sect, with a status similar to Ling Yuanfeng.

The four women hurriedly recounted the incident, omitting that they had struck someone and refused to apologize, emphasizing Chu Hao's aggression toward them.

Seeing their bruised and swollen faces, and given that they were women, people naturally felt sympathy for them.

Ling Yangshan raised an eyebrow and scolded, "Nonsense. Chu Hao and his companions were brought here by our family from the Lower World and will soon join our Ling Family. How can you treat them as servants?"

He paused before saying, "Apologize to them."

"Clan Elder," the four women felt wronged. Why should they? They only struck one person, but all four of them were hit. They clearly got the worst of it.

"Hmm?" Ling Yangshan's gaze turned stern, showing his displeasure.

The four women dared not argue further. Despite the vast number of Ling Family members, only a handful held actual power. They were considered young mistresses of the Ling Family, but in reality, they held little status and were destined to marry for the family's benefit.

If they married well, their lives would be secure; if not, their lives would be ruined.

They had no right to argue with someone like Ling Yangshan.

"Sorry," the four women said, bowing their heads.

Le Deqing, Tang Xin, and Yu Wenjing were extremely satisfied. Making members of the Ling Family apologize gave them a sense of dignity and pride. Only Fu Xue seemed displeased, preferring to handle things herself.

Chu Hao, however, admired Ling Yangshan's cunning. Anyone ignorant of the true situation would be moved by his gesture. If the Ling Family showed some sincerity, Chu Hao might even be willing to serve them genuinely.

When it came to winning people's hearts, not even the young could match the wiles of an old fox.

Alas, he couldn't expose him. Especially someone like Fu Xue, with her fiery temper and intolerance for deceit, would undoubtedly show her true feelings.

Revealing the truth now would be as good as condemning Fu Xue and others to death.

"You've traveled for days. Go rest. Tomorrow is the celebration, and you'll be busy," Ling Yangshan said kindly.

"Yes." Tang Xin and the others agreed. Even Chu Hao reluctantly nodded, lowering his head to avoid Ling Yangshan's scrutiny.

After returning to their quarters, they talked about the incident. Tang Xin, Yu Wenjing, and Le Deqing felt the senior members of the Ling Family were reasonable, attributing the conflicts to youthful arrogance.

After a while, they each returned to their rooms.

The next day, they arrived early at the ancestral temple of the Ling Family for a day of ancestral worship and other ceremonies.

"You must be from the Lower World, arriving last year?" Feeling out of place, unable to participate in anything, they seemed like outsiders.

Three middle-aged men, all at least 40, approached them.

"Yes. And you are?" Tang Xin turned to ask.

"I am Ling Qi, this is Ling Er, and he is Ling Wu," one of the men introduced.

Were these three brothers? Why such names?

"We also came from the Lower World, but a few years earlier," Ling Er explained.