Stepping on the demon door, the witch becomes the strongest.

Chapter 728: Bad Friends
Liu Longtao, who successfully overcame the tribulation, held a grand banquet at the Wudang Mountain base, and many leaders of the Dingbei Army came to the banquet.

The reason for holding the banquet was very simple: to celebrate Jing Ye's successful tribulation and the fact that Lu Kingdom had gained another Jindan Zhenren.

There is nothing wrong with this reason. After all, spreading the name of the newly emerged Jindan Zhenren will be extremely beneficial to deterring the villains in the State of Lu.

The only thing that might be criticized is that Yan Yu was the first person to pass the tribulation and he did it quietly, and he formed the elixir without any grand ceremony, but you, the second person to form the elixir, made a big fuss and wanted the whole world to know.

All I can say is that we need to emphasize what's lacking. As the de facto number one, Yan Yu doesn't need too much false fame; people will naturally remember him. Liu Longtao is the second to reach the Jindan stage, and who knows if there will be a third or fourth in the near future. If he doesn't make his presence felt now, he'll have no chance.

Mr. Liu's fiancée He Ye was also invited as a relative.

To be honest, Liu's father was not very satisfied with this prospective daughter-in-law. The Liu family still hoped that Liu Longtao would marry a female cultivator. After all, the genes of both parents would affect the offspring's cultivation aptitude, and a strong alliance was the only way forward.

But Jing Ye has already reached the stage of Dan, so it is up to him to decide on the marriage! Even though Liu's father and mother felt sorry for him, they could only pretend to have no grudges on the surface and brought He Ye with them to receive guests.

The Longxiong team also attended the banquet. Although Ye Jun still held the position of vice-captain, he had already devoted himself to the formation and temporarily handed over all team work to Yang Linhui.

She didn't even want to attend this time, but due to the team members' kind invitation and considering that she had not officially withdrawn from the Longxiong team, she finally compromised and came.

In the middle of the banquet, Ye Jun couldn't sit still at the table of the Longxiong team. He stood up with his wine glass and went to talk to the people of the Zhenhai team. He didn't go back.

As a result, Liu's father was toasting with his son and daughter-in-law. When he saw Ye Jun at Zhenhai's table from afar, he winked at his wife.

Liu's mother sent He Ye away, and then Liu's father asked Liu Longtao:

"Break up?"

"You already know that," Liu Longtao said nonchalantly, "I'm going to kick her out of the Longxiong team. If she knows about this, how can she not break up?"

"If you just say a word, she won't be able to leave." Father Liu said seriously.

As long as Liu Longtao says, "My position as deputy captain will always belong to Ye Jun," Ye Jun will definitely be moved to tears of gratitude, and the Liu family will have the opportunity to bring the two together later.

But on the other hand, Jing Ye saw this possibility, so he would rather let Ye Jun leave and ruin his relationship with her than open the conversation. He had to give the opportunity to improve his favorability to Yan Yu. His meaning was also very clear:
I don't want to date a female monk!

"She's not happy in the Longxiong team either," Liu Longtao whispered. "There's no need to give her false hope."

Ye Jun is now doing very well in the field of formation masters, and Father Liu is naturally aware of this. He can only think that his son is too opinionated, nods, and asks:

"Ye Jun, is he related to Yan Yu?"

"Old Yan is a playboy," Liu Longtao said with a sneer, "and he only likes young, beautiful, and powerful female cultivators. Ye Jun meets all of these requirements, so how could he let her go?"

"You should learn from Yan Yu," Father Liu said dignifiedly. "You know his talent for cultivation. Not only does he surpass you in strength and status, but he even chooses the best wives, and even has more than one. He wants to diversify his investments... Look at him."

Liu Longtao was speechless because both points his father said were true.

But he still said stubbornly:

"As for his strength and status, I have nothing to say. As for opening a harem to diversify investments and gamble on the genes of his offspring, you think too much of him, Dad. He simply has a fetish for female monks."

"That won't affect the outcome," Liu's father said. "If he gives birth to seven or eight children with exceptional cultivation aptitude, in a few decades, there will be a Yan family of cultivators. How many can you have with a mortal girl? Can her body handle it? After you get married, have your mother arrange for you to have a few more offspring outside without letting her know."

"I won't do it." Liu Longtao immediately waved his hand. "I won't do such shameless things."

"Oh, you're being too self-righteous." Father Liu sneered, "In our position, what's the point of talking about moral honor and disgrace? If you don't want to let her down and don't want to touch other women, then just use the freezing technology. You don't have to worry about what we do with it later."

"How can I just ignore this?" Liu Longtao was stunned. "My child, you want me to ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist?"

"Don't you want to play the role of a good husband?" Father Liu said with a chuckle, "I'll give you this opportunity."

"No, Dad." Liu Longtao raised his hands in surrender. "After a cultivator reaches the Core Formation stage, their lifespan is greatly extended. There's no need to rush to reproduce, right? As long as I maintain this rate of improvement, I'll be the Liu family's future hope! It has nothing to do with how many children I have!"

"If you can guarantee that nothing unexpected will happen to you, then of course our family won't be anxious," Liu's father said sternly. "On the battlefield, there are no eyes. What if something unexpected happens? If you're gone in the future, our Liu family will definitely fall."

This is also a truth that Liu Longtao cannot refute, that is, the future prosperity and decline of the Liu family is almost entirely dependent on him alone. From the perspective of risk control, it is absolutely unreliable.

Top cultivators would definitely go to the battlefield to compete with transcendents from other countries. Furthermore, the revival of spiritual energy was full of uncertainties. An unknown grassroots transcendent could have a fortuitous encounter in some unparalleled secret realm and suddenly rise to prominence...

No one can ensure that he will always be ahead in cultivation and will never be eliminated by others.

In the eyes of the major families in Pingjing, Yan Yu's practice of having a large harem is the optimal solution to deal with the current instability.

If he chose powerful female cultivators as his wives, his children would definitely have strong cultivation aptitude. As long as he nurtured them with care, he could eventually establish a family of cultivators based on bloodline. Even if Yan Yu himself died, at least these powerful mothers could work together to keep the family afloat and prevent the hungry wolves outside from carving it up.

Looking at Master Jing again, if he accidentally lost his life one day, and the child hadn't even started practicing cultivation yet, would He Ye, a mortal, be able to hold on? By then, the Liu family might not be able to maintain its current status and would be forced to retreat to protect itself!

Liu Longtao understood all of this, but he absolutely refused to compromise, because a step back meant a step back. If he agreed to keep his offspring today, his parents would arrange a match for him with a female monk tomorrow, a large harem the day after tomorrow, and He Ye would be asked to leave the family the day after that—how could he bear the thought of his entire marriage being arranged by his family?
I am a genuine Jindan Zhenren, not a young master who can be manipulated by my family!

He retorted a few words, neither too lightly nor too harshly, and parted ways with his father temporarily on bad terms. Feeling extremely upset, he took out his cell phone and sent a message to Yan Yu, but no one replied. He turned around and saw Li Zhaojiang eating and drinking at the dessert table.

What a heartless fool!

When Jing Ye was unhappy, he always couldn't bear to see his brothers living better than him, so he walked over with a glass of wine and said:

"Old Li, you have a very good appetite. You ate my banquet today, and tomorrow your sister will marry Yan Yu, so you can have another meal."

Li Zhaojiang had just stuffed a piece of cake into his mouth when he frowned upon hearing this. What the hell, you're itching for a fight?

He calmly replied:
"My sister and Lao Yan haven't reached that stage yet. Unlike you, Jingye, who are so eager to get married right after falling in love, I didn't expect you to be so loyal."

This phrase "the seed of loyalty" hit the nail on the head for Liu Longtao. After all, he wanted to be loyal but couldn't, and his father used all kinds of principles to force him to have a harem. So he laughed and said:

"I'm looking for a woman because I want to live a good life with her. If I meet the right one, of course I'll grab it. But your sister, haven't you established a relationship with Lao Yan yet? You better hurry up, otherwise he'll live a good life with another woman."

"Haha." Li Zhaojiang sneered.

He could see that Master Jing was deliberately provoking him, and he could also see that Master Jing was in a very bad mood. Although he didn't know the specific reason, it didn't stop Li Zhaojiang from using his obscene thoughts to deduce and test:
"Why, you like my sister too? Aren't you going to live with He Ye forever?"

"I'm not trying to steal Lao Yan's girlfriend," Liu Longtao clarified immediately. "Your sister has a secret crush on him and has given him her all her life. I can't ruin his good fortune."

"So if poaching Old Yan isn't an option, then poaching someone else's is fine?" Li Zhaojiang asked, raising an eyebrow. "Tell me, Master Jing, who have you fallen in love with again? I promise not to tell He Ye."

Liu Longtao became more and more annoyed. This idiot clearly had no idea what kind of trouble I was facing, but he had to relate every sentence he said to it.

Fortunately, the opponent also has extremely obvious weaknesses... Thinking of this, he said calmly:

"I'm not you, how could I fall in love with every girl I meet? Speaking of which, Old Li, why do you always change girlfriends? I heard someone say a while ago that you change girlfriends so frequently because you're looking for a replacement for your sister, but no matter how you look, they always seem a little off."

Li Zhaojiang was disgusted by the meal replacement theory and quickly defended himself:

"How is that possible? What jerk dares to slander me like that? I change girlfriends so frequently because I don't want to rush into a lifelong decision, lest I regret it later. After all, someone of our status and position can't be a scumbag. Once engaged, I can't be fickle, right?"

Haha, I don’t want to change my mind, but the problem is that some people won’t let me!

Liu Longtao suppressed his anger and said:
"I understand, but you might also consider learning from Old Yan. She's tolerant and inclusive, and a harem where a hundred flowers bloom. Isn't your sister one of them?"

"What am I?" Li Minghu's voice suddenly came from behind.

Liu Longtao shuddered. There was nothing wrong with the two of them teasing each other, as they were just good friends. But when Li Minghu heard the behind-the-scenes story, it was really embarrassing. He quickly explained and smoothed things over:

"Nothing, nothing, we were just discussing who on the team is currently in a relationship, and we just happened to mention you."

"Oh." Li Minghu didn't expose him, but said slowly, "You just happened to be discussing me."

"That's right." Li Zhaojiang said awkwardly, "Just chatting casually."

"Although I don't have a partner, I already have someone I like." Li Minghu said thoughtfully, "Well, that's it."

Li Zhaojiang was stunned, and Liu Longtao secretly suppressed a smile, feeling that all the resentment he had accumulated towards his father had now disappeared without a trace.

Sure enough! If you want to quickly dispel negative emotions, there's nothing more effective than watching your friends get humiliated.

"Who is it?" Yan Yu's voice suddenly came from behind, "Ming Hu has someone he likes? Who is it?"

"You know who it is." Li Minghu blinked.

"I know who it is, but I don't know if the person I know is the one you like." Yan Yu said hesitantly.

"I don't know who you know either." Li Minghu chuckled and said, "You have to tell me, then I can tell you, right?"

"Then let's do this." Yan Yu said, "I won't tell you yet, and you don't have to say it. Just stare at that person and I'll know."

"What does it mean to stare?" Li Minghu asked softly, "Does it count if I look at you like this?"

"Of course it counts." Yan Yu said with a smile.

The two of them were so overly affectionate that it quickly caused strong discomfort for Li Zhaojiang and Liu Longtao. The former couldn't bear to see his sister fall into Yan Yu's clutches, while the latter lamented that Li Minghu "knew Yan Yu was willing to follow him even though he knew he was starting a harem." Thinking of how heartbroken He Ye would be if she knew the Liu family was planning to start a harem for her, he suddenly felt a strong sense of jealousy.

Why the hell is Old Yan able to maintain such harmony and unity in the harem? This damn scumbag should be chopped into a hundred or eighty pieces by the girls with hatchets, cooked in a hot pot, and fed to stray dogs!

"You're back?" Ye Jun also noticed Yan Yu's arrival and came over to ask, "I heard you were looking for a magic weapon to overcome the tribulation?"

"How do you know?" Yan Yu laughed, "I haven't told many people."

"That's what Teacher Mei said." Ye Jun shrugged and said, "So, have you found everything and returned, or are you going to continue going out?"

"That's all I can find for now," Yan Yu replied. "I'll go find Teacher Mei to unload the goods first and sort them out. I'll talk to you later."

"No need, I'll go with you now." Ye Jun said.

"I'm going too." Li Minghu said with a smile, "You don't recommend having one more person, do you?"

"Don't mind. You'll all have to go through the tribulation sooner or later anyway, so knowing it in advance will give you a better idea." Yan Yu took out his phone again, "Wait a moment, I'll call everyone on our team..."

Soon, the girls from the Zhenhai team all stood up, and noticing Zhou Hongyu and Tang Xiaolian, they all came to Yan Yu's side. After exchanging a few words, they surrounded Yan Yu and left the venue.

Liu Longtao looked at their backs and couldn't help but sigh:
"If they really start fighting each other and make Old Yan's harem explode, what a spectacular and beautiful sight that would be!"

"Indeed." Li Zhaojiang agreed with a deep expression, looking at his sister's back blending into the crowd, his eyes revealing pain and reluctance.

(End of this chapter)