Hundreds of Hale family disciples packed the main hall. First Elder Cedric on the left, Third Elder Tobias on the right. The most solemn reception formation the entire family could muster.
Seeing Daven approaching from afar, the crowd bowed their heads in unison.
"Greetings, Third Grand Uncle!"
A rule Alex had established in the past. No matter the time or place, whenever Daven arrived, everyone greeted him first.
The reason was simple: he was the head's Third Uncle.
A cold sneer curled at the corner of Daven's mouth.
Without hesitation, he took large, arrogant strides straight toward the central Saint Lord's throne.
Just as he was about to sit down onto the seat, Alex sneered coldly and raised his hand.
Daven Hale felt a terrifying coercive pressure envelop him instantly. His entire body turned stiff as a wooden dummy. Unable to move a single inch.
"Is that a position you can sit in?" Alex said indifferently.
"Go, fetch a chair."
The surrounding crowd was instantly stunned.
In the past, the Saint Lord had obeyed everything the Third Grand Uncle said, never defying him. Let alone the throne, even if he sat on the ancestral tablets in the shrine to take a dump, the Saint Lord wouldn't say much.
Why had his attitude changed so drastically today?
Could it be... some kind of friction had occurred outside?
A perceptive junior immediately hurried over with a wooden chair.
With a casual wave of his hand, Alex grabbed Daven Hale by the collar through the void, yanked him over, and threw him down onto the wooden chair before withdrawing the pressure.
"Alex, you... how dare you be so rude?!"
Daven's eyebrows stood on end, his beard trembling non-stop.
"Third Uncle, this seat is doing this for your own good," Alex said calmly.
"The Heavenly Hale Throne is something only the Hale family's Saint Lord has the qualifications to sit upon."
"If others were to sit on it, that would be plotting a rebellion and usurping the throne."
"Third Uncle, I was merely afraid that you would fail to preserve your integrity in your old age."
Alex clasped his hands behind his back and walked unhurriedly toward Cedric.
"First Elder, was it you who told them to greet Third Uncle first?"
"Y-yes..." Cedric nodded cautiously. "Is there a problem?"
"Nonsense, the problem is massive!"
"I am the Saint Lord of the Hale family. No matter the time or circumstance, I must be greeted first."
"Princess Orchid is the sworn sister of the Heavenly Flame Empress and an honored guest of our Hale family. She ought to be greeted second."
"Everyone, do it over!"
The crowd was dumbfounded. But no one dared delay.
"Greetings, Saint Lord!"
"Greetings, Princess Orchid!"
"Greetings, Third Grand Uncle!"
Hearing his position drop straight to third place, Daven sat rigid on his wooden chair at the very end of the hall. Fists clenched. Molars grinding.
"Alex, consider yourself having guts... If I don't curse you until you're dripping with dog blood today, then I am not your Third Uncle!"
…
Alex stepped forward and sat upon the central throne. Selene, as the honored guest, took the primary guest seat to his left.
He waved for Elara to serve top-tier immortal tea for himself and Selene, then smiled faintly.
"Princess Orchid, speak. Coming to my Hale family today, what instructions do you have?"
"I wouldn't dare instruct."
Selene elegantly blew the steam from her cup, took a shallow sip, and set the teacup down with a smile.
"It was the Old Duke of Hale who stated he needed to return to the Hale family holy land to speak with Saint Lord Alex face-to-face."
"This Princess merely accompanied him here."
"Oh?"
Alex raised his eyebrows, looking at Daven Hale with deep amusement.
"I wonder, what brings Third Uncle here today?"
"Alex, what kind of talk is that?" Daven narrowed his eyes, speaking aggressively.
"I have lived in the Hale family for hundreds of years. Returning to my own home, do I need to ask for your opinion?"
"That is unnecessary." Alex smiled faintly.
"However, right now, Third Uncle is not only an elder of the Hale family but also a Duke of the Heavenly Flame Dynasty."
"If you return as an elder, we naturally have nothing to say."
"But if you come here in your capacity as a Duke, then we must distinguish between public and private matters. Wouldn't you agree?"
The surrounding disciples sighed inwardly.
Sure enough, the Saint Lord was still the same as before. His reverence toward Daven was carved into his bones. Respecting elders wasn't a bad thing in itself. But if that elder was an unlearned, incompetent, idle thief like Daven, it was simply far too infuriating.
"Since you still recognize me as your Third Uncle, then things are simple."
Daven Hale narrowed his eyes and spoke coldly.
"Speak. Recently, while this old man was not home, what exactly have you been doing?"
"You acted ruthlessly toward a junior of our own family, ripping out Isolde's Seven Orifices Divine Heart."
"You capitalized on the Divine Blade Saintess's vulnerability, defiling Iris's purity and plundering her Jade Sword and Blood Purification Bottle."
"And previously, when the Jade Princess came to visit, you snatched away her Heavenly Spirit Flame Lotus."
"These accounts, do you admit to them or not?"
Cedric and Tobias grew nervous, exchanging a worried glance.
They never expected Aurelia to play such a card. Sending Daven and Knox together, using his status as Third Grand Uncle to pressure the Saint Lord.
The Saint Lord had always respected his elders, revered virtue, and strictly adhered to etiquette and laws.
This was going to be incredibly difficult to handle.
Facing the barrage of verbal condemnation, Alex fell silent for a moment.
Then couldn't hold back a dry chuckle.
His laughter was abnormally hoarse and incredibly eerie. Knox and the surrounding disciples involuntarily shivered.
Daven's face changed slightly. A sudden chill in his heart. He narrowed his eyes and shouted coldly.
"Alex, what are you laughing at?!"
"Nothing. I just thought of something happy." Alex coughed lightly, but the smile on his face simply couldn't be suppressed.
He truly had thought of something happy.
He remembered the original novel, where faced with this exact torrent of dog-blood curses from Daven, the original Alex had acted like a pathetic, groveling grandson, nodding and bowing with an obsequious smile.
He had handed back every single tiny advantage he had painstakingly gained over Knox, one by one.
Furthermore, he had obediently offered up the Hale family's ancestral supreme treasure, the Rakshasa Demon Umbrella, with both hands!