It was not a surprise that everyone was shocked at the scene before their eyes.

Gu Rong betrayed the Gu Clan and led a few of his clan members to expand in the North Qiu Kingdom. For this, he should have been expelled from the clan a long time ago. Even if he was not considered an enemy of the Gu Clan, there was no way that the Gu Clan would be on good terms with him.

What made them more surprised was the fact that Gu Rong had not yet been expelled from the Gu Clan. To be accurate, he was still part of the Gu Clan just half a minute ago. It was evident that the Great Elder appeared at this time with a plan. Otherwise, there was no way that one would bring their Clan Punishment Artefact around with them.

Now, Gu Rong was officially stripped of his title as the Gu Clan’s Clan Leader. Everyone had the same thought – no matter how much Gu Rong could achieve in the future, the embarrassment that he suffered today would follow him for life.

“Great Elder…” Gu Lingzhi looked at the Great Elder and addressed him with a soft voice.

“You’re a good child, I know you cannot bear to see your father hurt like this. However, he has to bear the consequences of his actions. He can only blame himself for this, you don’t have to plead on his behalf!”

Gu Lingzhi immediately shut her mouth obediently. Originally, she had wanted to tell the Great Elder to watch his health and not get so worked up. However, after gauging the reactions of everyone around her, she decided to swallow her words and keep silent instead.

Forget it, it’s better if everyone misunderstood her intentions. She did not have anything to lose anyway.

Seeing how Gu Lingzhi had listened to him and kept quiet, the Great Elder looked at her lovingly. When he turned to look at Gu Rong, he suddenly had a stern and cold look on his face, “I really wonder how a cruel father like you could have such a wonderful daughter like Lingzhi. On the account of all those years that you’ve raised her, I’ll let you stay and observe the wedding ceremony. From today onwards, you may leave with the people of the North Qiu Kingdom. As for those clan members that had left together with you, I’ll erase them from the Clan Lineage as well. From today onwards, the Gu Clan has nothing to do with all of you.”

The five whips that Gu Rong had suffered was excruciating – the wounds had started to turn yellow due to the Dissolving Vine that was starting to take effect, causing the flesh to rot. However painful the wounds were, it could not be compared to the Great Elder’s words. The anger he held in his heart was almost enough to make him faint. 

How could he live the rest of his days when he had been embarrassed and punished by the Great Elder in a public setting like this?

He secretly turned his head to look at Pan Wen, whose face had become extremely sour. The Great Elder’s actions had not only embarrassed Gu Rong, but it had also tarnished the reputation of the North Qiu Kingdom’s Royal Family. However, since Gu Rong had still been part of the Gu Clan beforehand, Pan Wen was not in a good position to interfere. He could only watch as the Great Elder punished Gu Rong in front of everyone else. With this, Pan Wen had suddenly developed a hatred towards the entire Gu Clan, even Gu Rong. When Gu Rong looked at him, he mouthed the word “wastrel”.

Gu Rong was frozen for a moment as he started to think. After he had been exposed by Gu Lingzhi about his plan, he had still returned to the North Qiu Kingdom because of the fact that Gu Linglong was now carrying the first grandchild of their Royal Family. As long as Gu Linglong could have a smooth pregnancy and successfully give birth, he would then continue to have influence in the North Qiu Kingdom.

Furthermore, Gu Linglong was Pan En’s favorite concubine and Pan En had divulged many of the North Qiu Kingdom’s secrets to her. If the North Qiu Kingdom, the most powerful kingdom in the Tianyuan Continent formed alliances with other Kingdoms, it could annihilate and annex the other few Kingdoms that had refused to join the alliance.

Although Gu Lingzhi had lots of information to her benefit, the spies that the North Qiu Kingdom had planted in the other Kingdoms had expanded and established their power over the years. It would not be easy to weed them out. It was after much consideration that Gu Rong had decided to make such an unbelievable decision. Additionally, Gu Lingzhi possessed the capabilities to enter the main palace to get those priceless spiritual treasures. If Gu Rong could get Gu Lingzhi to join his side, then the power he held in the North Qiu Kingdom would far exceed the power that he ever had in the Xia Kingdom.

Thus, Gu Rong clenched his jaw and swallowed the humiliation that he felt. With a pained expression, he looked towards Gu Lingzhi and said, “Lingzhi, since the Great Elder has already removed me from the Gu Clan, you should follow me. When we get to the North Qiu Kingdom, I will come up with another Clan Lineage and put our names on it.”

“Elder Gu, are you okay, or is it the pain talking? The Gu Clan’s Great Elder evicted you and the people who had followed you to the North Qiu Kingdom. He did not say that he expelled Lingzhi from the clan. What are you trying to do right now?” Xin Yi retorted angrily when he saw that Gu Rong was still persistent on dragging Gu Lingzhi away with him.

“That’s right, I’ve expelled you, but I have no intentions of doing that to Lingzhi. It is the Gu Clan’s honor to have such a wonderful child amongst us, why would we let someone like you take her away?”

The Great Elder’s praises caused Gu Lingzhi to feel shy. As Rong Yuan squeezed her hand, Gu Lingzhi rolled her eyes at him.

“Was the Great Elder’s appearance today all planned by you?”

Rong Yuan, who had been looking at Gu Rong and Pan Wen exchanging glances, turned to look at Gu Lingzhi before his lips turned up in a cunning smile, “I only wanted the Great Elder to teach Gu Rong a lesson, I didn’t think that he favored you so much. It seems that I do have great taste, liking you.”

Gu Lingzhi coughed, unable to fathom how he had managed to praise himself whilst praising others. When she looked at Gu Rong, she knitted her eyebrows. She hated herself for sympathizing with Gu Rong even after all that he had done to her.

Was blood really thicker than water? If that was the case, why didn’t Gu Rong feel a tinge of regret when he used her to his advantage?

“Stop thinking about it, it’s not worth it getting upset over someone like him,” Rong Yuan sensed what Gu Lingzhi was thinking and grabbed her by the hand, comforting her.

Rong Han then ordered some men to bring Gu Rong to the Royal Physician so that his wounds could be tended to. Without Gu Rong present, Pan Wen no longer had the right to oppose the marriage. He could only continue to urge the people he had previously managed to convince, “Even though Gu Rong has been expelled from the Gu Clan, the previous engagement was still valid. After my Second Brother passed away, Gu Rong had promised Gu Lingzhi’s hand in marriage. I wish to reiterate the fact that the North Qiu Kingdom bears no ill intentions and do not want to become every Kingdom’s enemy. As long as the Third Prince ends this wedding ceremony right now, the North Qiu Kingdom shall retain all friendly relations with all of you present here representing your Kingdoms. If the Third Prince insists on getting married today, then I cannot be blamed for being upset over him snatching my wife away from me.”

His words were full of threat – it implied that if the Third Prince did not agree to his words, then the North Qiu Kingdom would start preparing for war.

Evidently, everyone started to feel uneasy. Pan Wen continued, “Isn’t she just another woman? According to my Second Brother, she’s not a virgin anymore. As for how he had gotten this piece of information, I’m sure all of you know the answer. You know what I’m talking about too, right? Why would you put the relations of our Kingdoms at risk over a woman like that?”

Everyone sucked in their breaths. Pan Wen had confirmed their suspicions about how Gu Lingzhi had been able to retrieve the secret documents from the North Qiu Kingdom’s Royal Palace.

She had seduced the Second Prince using her beauty!

Rong Yuan was furious, he wanted so desperately to rip Pan Wen’s brains out of his head so that he would not say any more things that would harm Gu Lingzhi’s reputation.

In order to pull Gu Lingzhi over to their side, they were capable of doing almost anything.

Putting up with the hatred that built up in his heart, he laughed coldly in response, “I agree with what you’ve said. She is just a woman, why are you so hung up on it then? I would like to know whether you have evidence to back up your claims of Gu Lingzhi being your fiancée. If you’re unable to show me any evidence, I have a Marriage Pact here with me stating our engagement. Would you like to have a look?

The Marriage Pact was one that bounded a couple together for life. Once it was signed by both parties, it was essentially a promise that they would only have one partner for the rest of their lives. As such documents were targeted towards men, it was rare for unmarried men to have signed a pact like this.

For Pan Wen who had only wanted Gu Lingzhi so that he could use her to his advantage, he would never have signed such a document. He did not think that Rong Yuan would have such a document with him.

Not only were the audience and Pan Wen shocked, but so was Gu Lingzhi. She looked at Rong Yuan, wide-eyed, not knowing when she had agreed to signing such a document. Signatures of Martial Artists that were above the rank of a Martial Practitioner were unique to every individual. If someone had found out that Rong Yuan had made up such a document, then he would have made a fool out of himself.

When Rong Yuan turned to see Gu Lingzhi’s face of surprise, he winked mischievously at her before communicating telepathically with her, “Do you remember that before you stayed with me, you had signed the application form to request a change in hostels?”

Gu Lingzhi suddenly came to a realization that Rong Yuan had passed her lots of documents for her to sign. He hurried her so much so that she could not have a detailed look at the documents she was signing. She did not think that she would have signed a Marriage Pact.

Though she was shocked, she was also touched. She did not think that Rong Yuan had already decided to spend the rest of his life solely with her at that time.

When he brought out the Marriage Pact that clearly showed both of their signatures, Pan Wen had completely lost his right to prevent the marriage from happening. Even though the Spirit Tribe’s historic relics had been known to them for a while, the only person who could access the seventh level of the main palace was Gu Lingzhi. It was no wonder that Pan Wen felt extremely indignant at the thought of losing someone as valuable as Gu Lingzhi, who could have helped gather some valuable treasures for the North Qiu Kingdom.

If he could not pull Gu Lingzhi over to his side amicably, he would have to do it forcefully…

As an evil look flashed through his eyes, an unexpected voice rang out, “Pan Wen, stop trying to sabotage the relationship between the Xia Kingdom and other Kingdoms! Though the Minglan Kingdom is small, we are all dependent on each other. Don’t fall for his words any longer, the North Qiu Kingdom has long thought of annexing all of your Kingdoms. The Minglan Kingdom had almost been bought over by them!”

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