Martial God Book 1 - What Is A Genius - Chapter 72 - Marital Duel

Everybody congratulated each other as they entered the Cheng Residence. Everybody who saw He Yitian praised the latter to the height of the heavens itself.
Although they knew that these people were just putting words in their mouths without actually meaning it, it still brought a smile on everybody’s face.
Today was the day of marriage between Cheng family and He family. In any case, this was the biggest event of county town throughout the last decade. The people who had come to congratulate the two families were much larger in number even when compared to Lord Master Cheng’s recent grand feast.
Cheng Residence’s exterior was packed with endless streams of carriages and countless rows of people. The interior was equally packed with people as well.
However, the main hall was evidently much less crowded. In the middle was obviously Cheng Lord Master. His seniority was undoubtedly unmatched in Tai Cang county except for the Lord Master He and Lord Master Xu.
Beside the Lord Master was a couple. Although these two were quite aloof in terms of appearance, their conversation with each other seemed quite affectionate. Anybody could tell at a glance that these two were husband-wife.
While everybody in the main hall had gone out to greet the groom side, only these people had remained seated on their seats with Lord Master Cheng- motionless like a mountain.
He Quanming swept his glance and immediately took a guess at their identities. He bowed and said, “Greetings, Lord Master Cheng.”
Cheng Zhusheng chuckled and stood up. Assuming an appearance of a kind and gentle elder, he welcomed everybody to their seats.
According to the customs, only He Quanming and He Quanyi could share the principal seats. While He Yixuan and the rest along with the leader of the servants who had also entered the main hall could only settle on the subsequent lower seats.
However, when He Quanyi sat on his seat, he suddenly said, “Yiming, you come here as well.”
He Yiming faintly started and involuntarily paused his footsteps.
He Quanyi explained while beaming with smiles, “Lord Cheng, while we were leaving, my father said He Yiming should share the same seat as of us brothers.”
Everybody’s vision fell upon He Yiming’s body. In the influential families, the importance of seats that one sat on such occasions was quite high. He Quanyi’s words made it clear that He Yiming had already obtained enough qualifications to sit with the second generation, and even strength.
This sort of treatment, even the former number one member of the third generation- He Yitian had never enjoyed.
Under the weight of countless gazes which contained suspicions, disbelief, envy and many other emotions, He Yiming suddenly discovered that after going through so many of such experiences, he didn’t about much about it.
He Quanming faintly nodded. Although he’d not visited the main clan for quite some time, regarding He Yiming’s strength and position in the clan, he was quite clear. According to He Yiming’s strength, him sitting on the same positions as them couldn’t be attributed to them overstepping the bounds of their authority in the slightest.
He Yiming bitterly smiled. He’d hoped that his father would be able to decline. However, his father had actually chosen to attest.
Faint astonishment flickered in Cheng Zhusheng’s eyes. Although his evaluation of He Yiming was quite high, he never thought that it should be this high.
However, he immediately laughed heartily and loudly said, “Good, heroes always shine in glory since a young age. Let He Yiming have a sit.”
He Yiming, who had been maintaining a cordial smile on his face all along, could only step forward and join the principal seats.
Before everybody had even settled down, a loud chant echoed, “Xu family’s Lord Master Xu Yinjie has arrived…”
There were no chants of the people that had come with him. Because the name Xu Yinjie was already enough to cause everybody’s heart palpitate.
Cheng Zhusheng, He Quanming, and the rest exchanged glances. Apart from He Yiming, who had previously eavesdropped, all the rest were thoroughly astounded.
The next moment, Cheng Zhusheng slowly stood up, his face covered in an expression which nobody could decipher, “Everyone, Xu Yinjie is after all the leader of Xu family. I must welcome him in person. Please do without me for a while.”
He Quanming and He Quanyi, the two brothers exchanged a glance and simultaneously stood up. Xu Yinjie was but a senior who shared the reputation of the county’s top experts with their grandfather. Their reason told them that they couldn’t remain seated.
Meanwhile, most of the other people who had not even placed their bottoms on their seats bolted up straight again. However, He Yiming and the rest noticed that even after the announcement of the arrival Xu Lord Master, that young couple had not budged from their seats.
Everybody could immediately confirm their identities. Except for the guests from Jadeting’s Lin family, who else would dare to behave in such a manner.
He Yiming followed everybody to the outside and immediately heard Xu Yinjie’s hearty laugh.
Although he’d already heard this person’s voice, he’d yet to officially face him.
Looking from afar, he saw an old man with completely white hair and a face like a withered tree. However, his eyes were full of radiance. Although they didn’t seem ferocious at all, his prestige didn’t allow many to look straight at him.
He Yiming could tell at a glance that this old man’s cultivation technique was undoubtedly Withered Tree technique, and he’d already attained the extreme level that was mentioned in the scripture. Although this didn’t seem the peak of the tenth level, it was not too far away from it.
Cheng Zhusheng and his son welcomed Xu family’s group with faint smiles. Everybody sat down after another round of disturbance.
Under the lead of their Lord Master, this time, Xu family’s group included Xu Xiangci and Xu Right in addition to Xu Yucai and several other members of third generation.
However, among these, the only members capable of seating on the principal seats were the two brothers of the second generation. When their group saw He Yiming making his way towards the principal seats and joining them, none of them forgot to reveal astounded expressions.
However, considering the occasion, none of them tried to ruin the atmosphere by questioning it.
With a loud cough, Cheng Zhusheng stood up and loudly spoke, “Everyone, let this old man make the introductions. This gentleman is Jadeting city’s Lin family’s number one expert of the young generation, Sir Lin Taoli, and accompanying him is this old man’s granddaughter, Yanjuan, who is also Yanli’s older sister. Today, at Yanli’s wedding, her sister and brother-in-law have come to congratulate her- which is also an honor for our Cheng family.”
Although everybody already knew that Yuanjuan had been married off to Lin Taoli as a concubine, this moment, they couldn’t help but feel extremely envious.
With Lin Taoli’s identity as the number one expert of the Cheng family’s young generation, Cheng family marrying off their daughter as a concubine didn’t bring them shame in any way whatsoever. Further, for Lin Taoli to come to a place as desolate as Tai Cang county just to congratulate her wife’s sister- even people with the strictest of the temperament couldn’t help but feel envy at Cheng family’s good fortune.
He Yiming had already been paying attention to Lin Taoli in secret. This youngster seemed about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old- sitting calmly on his chair, like a lofty mountain, he emanated a feeling of wisdom and experience, and of one with many secrets.
Furthermore, his tall and thin figure, elegant and refined features that could be compared to that of a woman, and gentle smiling expression as he talked to his wife beside him, gave off the feeling as if he could never become angry.
His actions didn’t seem to be done deliberately at all, instead felt like originating completely from his heart and soul. Everybody could tell that he doted on his concubine quite a bit. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have accompanied in such a distant journey either.
Cheng Zhusheng introduced everybody on the principal seats. When Lin Taoli heard that Lord Master Xu was peak tenth layer expert, his eyes brightened as he revealed an interested expression.
This was the first time he’d shown an interest in some other individual. Evidently, the tenth layer was enough to move him. When he heard that He Yiming was barely fifteen years old and had already attained the seventh layer’s peak, he involuntarily displayed a shocked expression and threw a few interested glances.
He Quanming and He Quanyi exchanged a glance and smiled. In their minds, He Yiming’s Internal Energy had already attained the eighth layer. However, seventh layer’s peak already made him an unparalleled paragon in the young generation. Thus, this matter could still be easily concealed for a few more days.
After the introductions, the banquet immediately started. All sorts of vegetables, meats, and other delicacies could be seen in the main hall.
After three rounds of winde, the undermen removed a huge red cloth which spread at the main hall’s side, revealing an arena made of stone and some wood.
The size of this arena hardly differed from the one in the streets of the county town and was similarly one of the smallest scale arenas of the Heaven Seizing country.
A robust man jumped into the arena. He performed a greeting towards principal seats before speaking in a loud voice, “Brother Yitian, taking my sister as wife would require some real skill. Which of my brother from He family would be kind enough to advise me..”
The crowd formed somewhat of a circle around the arena. Fortunately, under the arrangements of servants, the situation wasn’t as chaotic as it frequently occurred at the county town’s arena. While the people in the main hall couldn’t go and stand in the circle to watch for the fear of their identities, they could still see everything clearly while sitting in the main hall.
The people who could enter the main hall were all top figures of the county. However, the martial way flourished in the country. Looking at the present scene, they were also filled with anticipation inwardly.
He Quanyi said in a lowered voice, “Yiming, this is a well-known figure of Cheng family’s third generation, Cheng Lannuo- a sixth level expert like your second and third brother.”
He Yiming faintly nodded. Although He Yiming’s strength had increased gigantically, he’d not come across too many experts of the outside world. Thus, He Quanyi didn’t forget to fill the details.
He Yihai placed the wine cup in his hand down and loudly said, “Brother, Lannuo, I shall challenge you.”
He advanced forward in big steps and suddenly entered into the arena with one big jump.
He Yihai cultivated fire type techniques. This moment, as he stood unbridled on the arena, his grandeur seemed to have further ascended to the clouds, gaining an applause from everyone in audience. Even those seated on the principal seats couldn’t help but nod their head in approval inwardly.
‘This HeYihai’s fate is not too good, for him to actually born in He family….’
In addition to being firmly suppressed by his eldest brother He Yitian all his life, he was now again being suppressed by He Yiming who possessed same qualifications as that of the second generation. As such, his name had not shined as much amongst the combined third generation of influential families.
However, in reality, his strength was exceedingly high. If he’d been born in either of the other two families, he would have long ago excelled among his peers and would have been seen as a rising future star.