Chapter 762: Our Own Brothers!

Chapter 756: Meeting the In-laws!

After Shen Haoran composed himself, he had Changmao cut off Wang Zhang’s head. Originally, Shen Haoran had hoped to keep the heads of all three—Wang Zhang, Zhang Xiong, and Niu Chong—but Fire Vajra had been too violent. Only Wang Zhang’s head was still intact; the other two had been turned into meat paste.

“Send this head to the Blood Evil Alliance. Tell them it’s a gift from our Five Elements Sect, a ‘thank you’ for all the ‘care’ they’ve shown us recently,” Shen Haoran said, his gaze cold and sinister. “Also, Ruolan, draft an invitation. We’re hosting a banquet for all the powers in the Southern Domain, big or small. Invite them all, including the people from the Blood Evil Alliance. As for the reason, just make something up. I want the powers of the Southern Domain to see that even if the Five Elements Sect isn’t what it used to be, we’re not some minor league that just anyone can push around!”

Sensing the aura emanating from Shen Haoran, Shui Ruolan, Zi Mo, and the others felt that familiar feeling from the past return. Shen Haoran was a born leader. No matter the problem, once it was in his hands, he would always solve it in the fastest, simplest, and most effective way. This time was no exception. Working under Shen Haoran was the most reassuring experience.

Changmao quickly disappeared into the Red Flame Mountain Range. Shui Ruolan also gathered Zi Mo and the others to begin planning the distribution of the invitations. With that, Shen Haoran was happy to have some free time. He then took Xue Ling and headed toward the area where the Shen Clan Members were living.

The Five Elements Sect placed great importance on the Shen Clan Members. After all, they were Shen Haoran’s relatives. Shui Ruolan had arranged for them to live in the deepest part of the Yao Sect’s territory, protected by Yao Sect disciples. The Shen Clan Members had lived peacefully for the past year. Moreover, they had been practicing Cultivation alongside the Five Elements Sect disciples, and their strength had greatly increased.

Shen Haoran led Xue Ling by the hand to the outside of the Shen Clan Members’ residence. Suddenly, the typically domineering Xue Ling stopped in her tracks. No matter how much Shen Haoran pulled, she refused to take another step forward.

“Xue Ling, what’s wrong?” Shen Haoran asked, a bit puzzled.

“It’s none of your business!” Xue Ling said coldly, immediately turning her head away. ‘He actually doesn’t know how I’m feeling right now. What an idiot.’

Shen Haoran heard the slight tremor in her voice and started to understand. He looked her up and down, then said teasingly, “So the beautiful killer snake who fears nothing in heaven or on earth actually has something she’s afraid of. How rare!”

“Afraid? Who said I was afraid?” Hearing Shen Haoran’s words, Xue Ling’s delicate eyebrows knitted together. Without waiting for him to lead the way, she pushed open the gate and strode into the courtyard.

Watching her back, Shen Haoran shook his head helplessly and followed her. He hadn’t taken more than two steps, however, when Xue Ling suddenly stopped in her tracks again. Unable to brake in time, Shen Haoran crashed right into her back.

“Hey, didn’t you say you weren’t afraid? How come—” Shen Haoran began to huff, but before he could finish, he saw Old Sir Shen and the rest of the Shen Clan Members standing in the courtyard. It turned out the clan members had heard he was coming back and were all waiting for him. No wonder Xue Ling had stopped so abruptly.

“Welcome back, Brother Haoran!” Seeing Shen Haoran, the younger generation of the Shen Family swarmed him like a hive of bees, pouncing on him.

“Alright, alright, get down now!” Shen Haoran said, helplessly holding the bunch of little rascals in his arms. A wave of warmth washed over his heart. ‘This is what it feels like to be home.’

After shooing away the group of little rascals, Shen Haoran smiled and walked forward, bowing to Old Sir Shen. “Grandfather, Xuan’Er is back. I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“Haha, you little rascal! I always said you were hard to kill! As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters. That’s all that matters!” Old Sir Shen walked forward, helping Shen Haoran up as tears streamed down his old face. Although Shen Haoran was not his biological grandson, he had raised him from a child, making him no different from his own flesh and blood. Back when he heard that Shen Haoran had been swept into a spatial storm, he had almost stopped breathing and passed away for good. How could Old Sir Shen not be overjoyed to see Shen Haoran now, alive and kicking, right in front of him?

“Haoran, Zi Mo told us you drove off that bunch from the Blood Evil Alliance?” a Shen Family Elder asked excitedly. The other Shen Clan Members also looked at Shen Haoran with anticipation.

“Yes. The people from the Blood Evil Alliance are all dead. Not one was left alive,” Shen Haoran said with a nod.

Hearing Shen Haoran’s words, the Shen Clan Members erupted in cheers. In their eyes, the Five Elements Sect was already a behemoth, and the Blood Evil Alliance was even stronger—a level of power they could barely comprehend. Yet, such a formidable force had been repelled by Shen Haoran. It was a testament to how fast he had grown. The crowd could hardly believe that the young man standing before them was the same one who had been called useless just a few years ago.

“Good, very good! You truly are the pride of our Shen Family!” Old Sir Shen said, clapping Shen Haoran on the shoulder, his body trembling slightly with excitement. Yes, his Shen Family was indeed an insignificant, small family from a mountain town. But from such a small family, a young man had emerged who could make a behemoth like the Blood Evil Alliance suffer a defeat. It was no exaggeration to say that Shen Haoran was the pride of the Shen Family.

Hearing Old Sir Shen’s praise, Shen Haoran scratched his head humbly. No amount of praise from outsiders could compare to a single word of affirmation from his family. A trace of pride welled up in Shen Haoran’s heart.

“Haoran, that young lady… did you bring her back with you?” Just as Shen Haoran was feeling proud, Aunt Xue, who was standing to the side, pointed at Xue Ling behind him and asked softly. Aunt Xue was Shen Haoran’s wet nurse and was like a mother to him. While Old Sir Shen was focused on Shen Haoran’s achievements, Aunt Xue’s eyes were on Xue Ling.

At Aunt Xue’s words, the Shen Clan Members snapped out of their reverie, and all eyes turned in unison toward Xue Ling. When they saw her, they couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment. She was simply too beautiful. Both her appearance and her aura were unlike anything the Shen Clan Members had ever seen.

Seeing all the eyes of the Shen Clan Members focused on her, Xue Ling’s face instantly turned bright red. She lowered her head and began to nervously fidget with the corner of her clothes, looking just like a shy little sister from next door. Seeing her like this, Shen Haoran felt his entire worldview shattering. ‘This person and the Xue Ling who could kill without batting an eye are two completely different people!’

“Ahem, well… let me make some introductions,” Shen Haoran finally said with a dry cough. “This is Xue Ling. Xue Ling, this is my grandfather, this is Aunt Xue, and these are the Elders of my Shen Family.”

“Greetings, Grandfather, Aunt Xue, and all you Elders,” Xue Ling said, bowing obediently to the Shen Clan Members. Although her movements were a bit stiff, she still looked like a young lady from a noble family.

‘These are all of Shen Haoran’s family members! Isn’t this just like meeting the in-laws? I’m so nervous I could die! This is even more terrifying than fighting a Spirit Emperor Tier expert. And to top it all off, Shen Haoran is acting like nothing is wrong. The man has no heart!’