Chapter 239: Chapter 345: Marriage Problems_1
It was already five-thirty in the afternoon, with only half an hour left until the eve of the pill competition's grand ceremony.
By this time, the area outside the final venue was packed with a sea of people, so crowded that not a drop of water could leak through. There were thirty thousand students from around the world who had successfully advanced, and accompanying them were countless instructors, principals and students.
Outside the venue, a row of Tianjiang Guards stood on the main road, maintaining order in their black Western suits, looking very serious.
In another row stood the Nine Heavens Corps led by Mu Huanqing, consisting entirely of maidens clad in bright silver armor, whose graceful figures instantly became the most dazzling scenery outside the venue.
Inside the venue, all the family heads of the major clans were present, including Tianjiang's top administrative officials, as well as the presidents of the world's top Alchemist Guilds, the captain of the Tianjiang Guard Team, and the leader of the Nine Heavens Corps, Mu Huanqing…
The scene was unprecedentedly magnificent.
Originally, the heads of the major families had not planned to attend, but upon hearing that this year's hidden heir of the Fang Family had revolutionized the Alchemy world after being concealed for over twenty years, they couldn't resist coming here.
Their first objective was genuinely to witness the capabilities of this junior, while the second was to show support for the Fang family, as the heads of great families were people of good face, understanding and supporting each other.
Even Bai Chaojin, known as the busiest among the Tianjiang, took time to come today.
"Hahaha! Brother Fang! Your family truly produced a True Dragon Emperor! At the mere age of twenty-two, and in fourteen minutes and thirty-six seconds, he managed to refine a fourth-rank Upper Level Pill! Absolutely unprecedented!"
"But Brother Fang, you really weren't upright in this matter, concealing it from all of us, raising such a fine grandson, and when he was little you didn't let us meet him or let him call us grandfather!"
"Ah! You all pay attention to this, but I'm different, I rather admire Brother Bai's foresight, he engaged Bai Qi and Ran'er twenty-two years ago! Today, as the True Dragon Emperor descends, it truly makes one envy!"
"Correct! If I had Brother Bai's foresight back then, I might already be laughing to the skies!"
...
In the center of the venue, the family heads of the various Tianjiang clans gathered together, with the topic revolving around Fang Ren.
Head of the Fang family, Fang Yuanhao, had a face blooming with joy, but still humbly replied, "You brothers really flatter me. Ran'er has been frail and sickly since childhood, without much aptitude for cultivation. I didn't want him to get involved in too much worldly strife. Who knew Ran'er would have such an exceptional talent today? I'm happy for him too."
Although he, Fang Yuanhao, had never laid eyes on his grandson, and had never treated a child named Fang Ren as his own, today, that child had proved everything with his own strength.
He felt it was time to let Fang Ren acknowledge his ancestry and return to the family, for after all, the blood of the Fang Family flowed in his veins, and at the end of the day, he was still Fang Ren's grandfather.
Yet, what was laughable was that a grandfather who had never seen his grandson's face was now referring to Fang Ren as "Ran'er." If Fang Ren were to hear this, he would surely hold even more disdain for the Fang Family.
Bai Chaojin, however, was not too moved by the praises for Fang Ren; rather, he turned to Fang Yuanhao and suggested, "Brother Fang, congratulations on your grandson's prodigious talent, a truly joyous occasion for everyone. But I think we should make this joy even more intense, how about layering happiness upon happiness?"
Upon hearing this, Fang Yuanhao inquired, "What do you mean, Brother Bai?"
"How about, when Ran'er wins the championship, we immediately have Qi'er and Ran'er marry?" suggested Bai Chaojin with a laugh.
"Hahaha! Who would have thought, Brother Bai, you're really anxious!" laughed the Cao Family Patriarch. "Is it because you fear that at this venue, some other outstanding girls might snatch away that boy Ran'er?"
"This wedding must be celebrated!" exclaimed the Wang Family Patriarch with a laugh: "I think Brother Fang is also quite eager about this matter, why not do as Brother Bai says and settle the two youngsters' marriage as soon as possible? We all want to see, in our lifetime, just how exceptional the offspring of the two little ones will be."
"Speaking of which, Jin Yun and Ah Zheng have also grown up together, and the marriage of their children would certainly make no one happier than the two of them."
...
The crowd naturally wanted to add momentum to the wedding.
Upon hearing this, Fang Yuanhao's heart blossomed with joy. He had originally thought that Bai Chaojin's proposal for a marriage alliance with the Fang Family was merely a token of gratitude, but it turned out that Bai had genuinely entertained the idea.
"Brother Bai has taken the initiative to bring this up with me, how could I, as the younger brother, have any reason to refuse?" Fang Yuanhao laughed heartily, "After the alchemy competition is over, let's arrange the marriage for the two children!"
"Hahaha... then I won't return to the battlefield these next few days, we'll talk about what comes after once we've drunk the wedding wine!"
"Good! Drink the wedding wine!"
...
While everyone was in high spirits, the Mu Family Patriarch, Mu Qing Mountain, couldn't muster any joy. Glancing at Mu Hui, sitting alone on a chair not far away, he was well aware how deeply his granddaughter harbored feelings for Fang Ren.
When he had separated the two of them, Mu Hui had even threatened to sever her own meridians and cripple her legs. And now, all the major families of Tianjiang were discussing the marriage of the man she loved to another woman right in front of her, and Mu Qing Mountain also felt sorrow on her behalf.
Moreover, Mu Qing Mountain had recently heard that Fang Ren's cultivation had already reached the early stages of the Xianyun Realm, which far surpassed the two-year requirement in the Chongshan Realm that he had given Fang Ren.
He could never have imagined that a child he had once viewed unfavorably would possess such peerless cultivation talent and world-shaking alchemy aptitude.
If he had not pulled his granddaughter away from Fang Ren, what would the situation be now...
After some thought, Mu Qing Mountain eventually shook his head helplessly. He felt that what he had done was the right thing, as if the two had continued being together, Fang Ren would now be facing confinement in the Central Prison, and Mu Hui would be devastated by it.
"Sigh." Mu Qing Mountain heaved a deep sigh.
He had not done a bad thing, it was just a necessary evil.
Mu Hui, catching her grandfather's gaze, smiled back at him, signifying that she didn't blame him for the way things had turned out. Even if he had not intervened, today's scenario would have still occurred, and as for the reason, Fang Ren had already explained it to her.
Yet she could never have imagined that her respected elder from the Bai Family would so readily arrange Fang Ren's marriage to Bai Qi.
Listening to everyone discuss Fang Ren's marriage right in front of her, her heart truly ached.
Even though he was her husband, she lacked the ability to openly acknowledge it, nor did she possess the power to interrupt the conversation of the Tianjiang Family Masters and declare, "I am the one Fang Ren is going to marry."
However, she believed that this marriage could not take place, for on the wedding day, she would bet everything to prevent it, and she would not hesitate to use the Slaughtering Immortals Formation against these revered elders she had respected since childhood.
And even if she did nothing about it, how could Fang Ren agree to it?
Though Fang Ren's character was typically subdued and mild-mannered, on this sort of issue, he was much more impulsive than she was. Her understanding of Fang Ren told her that he might even resort to threatening to take his own life on the wedding day.
Mu Hui wore a complex smile on her face as she touched her slightly swollen belly. The baby was about to be born, how could she let the child's father marry another woman?