Chapter 53: Surprise Surprise

"Time for round 2."

Yun Hao could not help but let out a laugh as he looked at the four people lying flat on the stage. Although one of them was already standing up, Yun Hao was still content from the result of their little skirmish.

He could still feel the warm blood bleeding from his forehead as well the stream that was profusely flowing from his nose. But even as his blood dropped endlessly on the stage, Yun Hao did not seem to mind as he even slowly walked towards the remaining two disciples who were looking at him carefully.

"Did you see what he just did?"

"Pft, so what? Everyone could do that."

"Well, maybe not everyone," back to the sides, Song Jian's mother returned to her seat, next to the Family Head as she started talking to him, "This Yun Hao person truly is a genius, no wonder my daughter wanted him in the family."

"Pft, so what?" The Family Head once again shook his head as he continued to watch what was happening on the stage. Although he was letting out an expression of disdain, he would be a fool not to recognize Yun Hao's worth as a fresh cultivator. But still, he wouldn't let anyone tell him that he was wrong, because he was not-- he thought as he folded his arms, stomping his foot several times in frustration.

If he knew that Yun Hao could actually defeat 5 of their most promising young cultivators, then he wouldn't have put up this challenge in the first place. He should have chosen people that he knew were absolutely stronger than Yun Hao to prove that he was right. But alas, it was too late. If he was to stop this match here, then the only thing he would do was to slap himself in the face even more. It was as if telling his family that he did not have any honor, which he has plenty of.

"Why not just let this go?" Song Jian's mother once again whispered, "We've already punished my daughter for giving away a Family Treasure. And shouldn't we be glad that she has friends that would barge into peril, at the cost of their own life, just to make sure she was safe?"

"Silence!" Song Chao once again pushed Song Jian's mother's face away as he continued to watch this match. Song Chao vividly remembers the first time that Song Jian came to him about recruiting Yun Hao. He would never forget it, as it was the very first time in Song Jian's life that she even asked him, the Family Head, for a favor.

Song Jian had always been the family's number one prodigy. Even he, as the family's head, could not compare to her when he was at the same age, so Song Chao did his best to accommodate the one single request that Song Jian had.

Song Jian's life had always been about training, and being the best. Even in Echo Hills Academy, she made it her life's goal to stand on top, and she is. So imagine Song Chao's surprise when her request was to recruit someone into the family.

For someone to have caught the eyes of someone like Song Jian, whose life was centered in training, then the person she wanted to recruit would definitely be an extraordinary person. This was, perhaps, his first miscalculation.

He, as well as Song Jian, Song Jian's mother and uncle, all went to see Yun Hao's boxing match. When Song Jian told them that he was some kind of boxer, Song Chao thought that they were seeing a country championship match, but in the end, it was only an amateur match of some regional championship.

Song Chao shook his head from this. Someone of his stature shouldn't even be looking at something like this. But still, they were already there, and he couldn't just upset Song Jian. And so, he continued to watch, completely bored from the preliminary matches.

However, as soon as it was Yun Hao's time to fight on the stage, Song Jian quickly let out a smile, nudging and pulling on his sleeve, telling him not to miss it.

And as soon as Song Chao saw the dashing Yun Hao, as well as the wide smile on Song Jian's face, he knew that Song Jian had a little crush on him. Suffice to say, this made him furious. To think that their number one prodigy would drag them all the way here because she actually just had a crush on a normie.

It wasn't uncommon for a cultivator to have a normie as a boy toy, as a matter of fact, he also had one when he was a bit younger. But Song Jian truly was too young to think of such things. And so, with that thought, Song Chao could only shake his head, dragging Song Jian out of the bleachers.

But before he could even take three steps, the sound of the bell ringing several times, as well as the applause of the people, almost pierced his ears as they reverberated in the air. This made him quickly turn his head towards the ring, only to see Yun Hao already stepping out of it, not even celebrating or looking at his opponent, who was being surrounded by the doctors, completely unconscious.

Seeing this, Song Chao quickly let go of Song Jian's hand and sat back down.

"We must get this boy," were the exact words he said before he ordered Song Jian's uncle to talk to Yun Hao's coach. Everything was set and done, Song Chao was ready to offer Yun Hao anything he might want.

But to his surprise, Yun Hao said he would think about it.

A normie, refusing the offer of one of the top 5 clans of the country? The main branch of their family, which was situated out in the Danger Zone, could also be considered a top clan.

For a normie to refuse them, what is this if not disrespect? Of course, he didn't lash out then, as he had appearances to keep. But the second time they met with him, he quickly refused them. This is the time that Song Chao had forbidden Song Jian to ever make contact with Yun Hao, even confiscating her phone until she would change her wallpaper to something that's not a photo of Yun Hao.

She was obsessed with him, and Song Chao thought it was probably a blessing that Yun Hao didn't want to join their family. Because if he did, then Song Jian would surely no longer be able to train and would just fawn over him.

But surprise surprise, Song Jian once again met with Yun Hao. This was right after Yun Hao's unfortunate run-in with a cultivator, the incident that took the vision of one of his eyes. Song Chao locked Song Jian inside her room to prevent her from visiting him.

But surprise surprise, Song Jian was able to escape, but not before Yun Hao already got out of the hospital. Song Chao was furious, but as soon as Song Jian went home with her eyes clearly red from crying, he quickly considered their meeting to be a blessing.

It would seem that Yun Hao's disdain against cultivators grew because of the accident, and he luckily lashed out on Song Jian. Song Chao quickly comforted Song Jian, telling her that she would meet the right man for her, maybe a few hundred years when she is traversing the Dark Zone as the Main Family's head.

But surprise surprise, Song Chao came to know that after a week, Song Jian ordered some of their men to investigate what happened to Yun Hao. He immediately ordered the men to halt their operations, but not before he got to know one juicy fact.

Yun Hao got into an altercation with the young master of the wealthiest family in the country, and that his accident was not an accident at all. As soon as came to know of this information, even uttering Yun Hao's name inside the estate had become forbidden.

The Long Family wasn't just the country's richest family, they were also known all over the globe as one of the top five wealthiest families in the world, dealing with real estate, as well as artifacts that came from the Dark Zones.

How could a Normie family be one of the richest families in the world? It was a sort of mystery to him, but one thing he remembered from his master, who was now residing in the Main Family in the Danger Zone, was that the Long family had a hidden master as a backer, hiding in the depths of the Dark Zones-- that was why they were able to procure such precious treasures from the Dark Zone in the first place.

He did not know the authenticity of this story, but none of the other families have tried offending them… and he was not going to be the one testing out that story.

Finally, with Yun Hao completely gone in the picture, everything went back to normal in the estate…

...but surprise surprise, Song Jian had met with him again. This time, he came to know that Yun Hao was trying to become a cultivator. After refusing them so many times, he was going to go through Immersion? But most importantly, he once again refused help.

He ignored and laughed at this, of course. He knew of Yun Hao's circumstances, he wouldn't have the capability of paying for something like that.

But surprise surprise, he became a cultivator.

And surprise surprise, the obsession of his family's number 1 prodigy had been rekindled, causing them to be in this awkward situation. Song Chao then once again turned his focus towards the said situation…

...only to find that Yun Hao was now the only remaining participant left standing on the stage. His precious Mortal Rank cultivators, all sprawled on the stage in embarrassing positions.

Yun Hao then looked towards him before imitating their salute, as well as the sound of a bell, "Ding ding…

...with respect," Yun Hao said as he clasped his hands firmly. Yun Hao then turned around, leaping from the stage as he approached Song Jian and Huang Yi.

"We should probably go?" Yun Hao quickly said.

"I agree," Huang Yi quickly replied as she let go of Song Jian, "You're alright now, right? Let's just chat about what happened later, I think grandpa Chao is about to burst… he might actually charge us with kidnapping if we take you."

But before Yun Hao and Huang Yi could run away, Song Chao's loud roars once again made the pillars that supported the hall tremble.

"Wait!" He shouted. With this, Yun Hao had no choice but to turn around to once again look at Song Chao… with respect. "Are you forgetting something, young man?"

"W… what?" Yun Hao could not help but gulp from Song Chao's colossal presence as he slowly approached him.

"You still owe me a Phoenix Pill."