What truly stunned her was how many fourth-grade talismans the Evercrest family possessed, and how effortlessly Preston could trigger them.

  Whether it was the talismans themselves or some hidden treasure he used, she couldn’t tell.

  Since brute force failed, she switched tactics.

  Tears streaked down her face as she cried out,

  “Why do you all hate me so much? I didn’t choose whose womb I was born from!”

  “Do you know how much it hurt to be rejected from the family register? My so-called sister spreads rumors that I’m a prostitute’s daughter. Everyone laughs at me behind my back. Even though my master is Herbert—the Immortal Venerable and head of the Moonlit Sect—even a mere gatekeeper dares to mock me!”

  “I carry Evercrest blood too! How can you be so cruel to me?”

  The Evercrest members who didn’t know the full story began to waver at the mention of Herbert’s name.

  One of them stepped forward hesitantly.

  “Father… she only wants to be entered into the family register. Being the disciple of the Moonlit Sect’s leader would actually bring honor to our family. Maybe we should just let it go.”

  “Shut your mouth,” Preston snapped.

  This was never about a simple entry in the family register. Lauren had already explained everything to him in detail.

  He sneered coldly.

  “Added to the register? Did you not see what just happened? She tried to wipe out our entire family. Does that look like someone who just wants a place in the genealogy?”

  “If she truly wanted to be part of the Evercrest family—if she truly respected us—would that man have smashed our protective formation with a sledgehammer?”

  “But… then what do we do? Just stay locked up like this?”

  “Exactly. No one opens this formation until Lauren returns.”

  Outside the barrier, Indiana kept crying, pouring out her supposed suffering and innocence, describing how Lauren had “bullied” her at every turn.

  Those who didn’t know the truth were visibly shaken.

  Nelson suddenly dropped to his knees before Preston.

  “Father… this is all my fault. I brought this disaster upon the family.”

  Only then did Preston’s fury explode.

  “Now you admit it’s your fault? Guards—drag this waste to the ancestral hall and make him kneel before our ancestors!”

  “Father—I—”

  “Silence.”

  Indiana wailed loudly outside the array, her voice pitiful.

  “Father, Grandpa, please don’t punish him! It’s all my fault! I shouldn’t have asked to be included in the register. I shouldn’t have come at all!”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Preston’s voice was ice-cold.

  “Then get lost.”

  “I… I’ll go. I’ll go right now. Please don’t blame Father…”

  She turned and flew away sobbing. When her figure vanished from sight, murmurs rippled through the crowd.

  “She really left…”

  “What is actually going on here?”

  “Let’s just wait for Lauren to come back.”

  A beautiful woman stared anxiously toward the direction Lauren had gone.

  “She’s been gone for a long time… Why hasn’t she returned yet?”

  “That man was terrifyingly strong. Can Lauren really defeat him?”

  “Fourth sister-in-law, don’t worry. Since she dared to chase him, she must be confident. She’ll be fine.”

  For now, the danger had been temporarily pushed back. With the old man’s imposing presence anchoring everyone in place, no one dared leave the Evercrest Clan. Instead, hushed discussions spread about the two daughters of the fourth branch.

  “The prostitute’s daughter becoming a disciple of the Moonlit Sect’s leader… that’s insane.”

  “The fourth young lady isn’t bad either. I wonder who her master is.”

  Hidden among the crowd, Indiana waited for her reinforcements.

  But instead of her allies, she saw more than a dozen disciples of the Thunder Sect streak across the sky.

  Her pupils shrank.

  Lauren called for backup too?

  With Dante’s arrival, the plan to wipe out the Evercrest family today was completely fucked.

  She immediately sent a telepathic message to the friends rushing over:

  Don’t enter the city. Find Timothy immediately.

  If we can’t destroy the Evercrest family, then we’ll kill Lauren instead.

  “Dante, is this the place?”

  “Dante, this should be it.”

  The members of the Evercrest family stared skyward in shock as wave after wave of powerful cultivators descended from above.

  Good heavens—who the hell had they offended this time?

  Everyone held their breath. Some of the more timid even collapsed to the ground in sheer terror.

  “Excuse me,” Dante called out politely, “is this the Evercrest family?”

  Preston stepped forward, suppressing his fear and bowing deeply.

  “Yes. I am Preston, current head of the Evercrest family.”

  “Does your family have a woman named Lauren?”

  “Yes—yes! She is my granddaughter!”

  At that, Dante immediately gestured for everyone behind him to land.

  “Mr. Preston, we’re here to help. We came at your granddaughter’s request. Where is Indiana?”

  They were here as reinforcements—not enemies.

  The tension in the crowd instantly eased. A collective sigh of relief spread through the compound.

  “She… she already left,” Preston replied.

  Left?

  Dante frowned slightly.

  “Since she’s gone, we’ll wait here for Junior Uncle to return.”

  They moved forward—only to be stopped by the protective formation.

  Dante coughed awkwardly.

  “Um… Mr. Preston, could you open the array for us?”

  Preston shook his head firmly.

  “No.”

  Everyone: “…”

  “You claim to be Lauren’s friends,” Preston said flatly, “but how am I supposed to believe you? Until Lauren returns, I open this formation for no one.”

  Dante was both amused and exasperated.

  “This formation of yours was set up by the Thunder Sect. It can only block Nascent Soul cultivators.”

  Preston only frowned, saying nothing.

  Dante sighed. “Then we’ll wait.”

  He immediately sent a telepathic message to Lauren, informing her that they had arrived but were being treated as suspicious outsiders. Indiana, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found.

  Lauren didn’t reply—she was a little busy beating the hell out of Timothy.

  But receiving Dante’s message at least put her mind at ease.

  ......

  Timothy’s Dragon Soul blazed as he forcefully boosted his cultivation, but Lauren’s Ice Domain pressed down on him like an iron glacier, suppressing him completely.

  Even with his so-called indestructible body, he couldn’t withstand Lauren’s utterly shameless, pay-to-win tactics. He changed armor three times—each one shattered. And yet she was still casually pulling out sixth-grade Explosive Spirit Talismans like they were candy.

  Damn it… since when are these things as cheap as cabbage?

  “Ms. Lauren—stop!”

  Timothy finally panicked.

  Lauren didn’t slow down in the slightest. Her assault only grew fiercer.

  We don’t even have a blood feud… why does it have to come to this—

  The thought hadn’t even finished before a massive ice spike slammed into him.

  “Get lost. Don’t you dare come near me.”

  He was launched backward like a rag doll, crashing hard into the cliff face.

  Even his indestructible body couldn’t endure that level of abuse anymore. Timothy frantically stuffed pills into his mouth, his hands trembling.