3 Chapter 3:"Who are you?!! What happened to my son?!"

Standing by the towering doors was a boy, who appeared to be 14 years old and was accompanied by a tall, strikingly beautiful woman.

The woman's long black hair was so silky that even dust would slip off them, her hair framed through her face and flowed through her sides, covering her obvious curves.

In contrast to the hair, the woman's milky smooth skin did not show even the slightest sign of aging. 

The woman exuded a mature aura, which was only being amplified by her twin peaks that seemed to be trying to soar toward the sky, however, their struggles were held back by a great barrier called robes. 

Those plain yellow robes tightly clung onto her voluptuous body, accentuating her curves even more. Even those plain robes seemed like some luxurious clothing as she wore them while her figure bore signs of motherhood.

Nonetheless, the elegance she subconsciously carried made her seem akin to an immortal among the mortals. 

Her pearl-like light blue eyes glinted with a wisdom that was hidden deep within them, covered by her motherly aura. 

With her face etched with worry and filled with determination, the woman stood beside her son, ready for whatever awaited them.

Meanwhile, Noah, who was currently inhabiting Long Tian's body, was wearing white clan robes, typical of lower-status members.

As he got closer, he glanced at the gates before them with a hint of coldness in his eyes, seemingly ready for the meeting. He was acutely aware of what the meeting was going to be about. Thanks to Long Tian's memories, he could determine the clan's probable intentions after understanding their general position in the clan.

After what happened with Long Tian before, he was sure that none of them had any good intentions towards them.

'His own family is plotting against him.' 

Noah shook his head and thought but akin to a beacon of hope, he turned to look at the woman who stood beside him, making him change his mind. 

'No! She has been the only family he has ever had. Others are nothing but snakes who just want to use him.'

He then turned his gaze back towards the door and continued walking inside without causing any further delay. 

Soon, they entered an old-style hall that was adorned with antique drawings and exquisite art.

With his eyes masked by indifference, Noah scanned through the entire room, scrutinizing each and every one of their faces and the expressions they had and at the same time meeting their gazes. 

Thankfully for him, Long Tian never showed any respect to them since he was also aware of their personality.

The hall itself exuded an imposing presence, boring intimidation on everyone present in the courtyard but it had no effect on the mother-son duo as they did not even flinch under several of these intimidating gazes.

Noah's gaze finally stopped when it landed on the seat that was situated at the other end of the hall. 

On this seat sat the current patriarch of the Long family who was also Long Tian's grandfather.

Patriarch Long held a stern expression on his face that was filled with numerous wrinkles which would give an indication of his age, however, the vitality and the energy radiating from the old man said otherwise.

Both his hair and beard had turned white while the former were long and reached his back while the latter rested on his chest.

While gazing at the mother-son duo, his eyes were filled with the same anger and displeasure that matched the expressions of almost everyone in the hall.

Under everyone's gaze, Noah stood tall and remained unfazed. He could have acted the way Long Tian used to but he never liked that kind of approach towards such people.

Noah was someone who liked straightforward ways and only used deceiving tactics on his enemies but the one in front of him was simply too insignificant for him to use such means.

As soon as they entered the hall, Noah employed a strange seal and placed it on the ground. He was sure that it was hard for anyone to notice the seal as it was in the spiritual plane, but much to his surprise, there was actually someone who had been able to notice it.

The fact that his seal was noticed by someone didn't shock him that much given that it was only a crude seal that was used for spying and anyone with a strong soul could sense the disturbance caused by it. 

But it was that the person was able to sense the change around them.

'Was that just an illusion? I will need to confirm it.'

After taking note of this in his mind, Noah didn't turn to look in the direction of the person since he knew he would have to investigate this matter more discreetly.

"Long Tian, since you have arrived, let's talk," Patriarch Long commanded in an authoritative tone.

With a calm and composed look on his face, Long Tian looked at him, "What do you want to talk about, Patriarch?"

"Why did you do that? You would have been able to solve it peacefully," Long Chen controlled his anger at the apparent show of disrespect and asked in a cold voice.

Noah took a look at him as if he was an idiot but still kept a calm front before answering. 

"He was the one who chose to challenge me and I simply accepted, what we should be talking about is the action of the Xiao family." 

Long Tian's words caused all the elders present in the hall to freeze while the boy continued, "The family chose her as my fiance after all. But now she has plans to marry someone else without even informing us. I think that should be something that concerns the family image more." 

Noah spoke, emphasizing the reason for his choice was the woman who betrayed Long Tian.

Although Long Chen's face turned ugly after hearing all of that, he didn't have anything to say in return and could only return to the topic he had started to speak about.

"Even so, you have gone too far with the sect master's son, nearly crippling him. Thus, the elders of the family and I have decided to punish you for your actions."

Meanwhile, the glint in Xin Yan's eyes only continued to get colder with each moment while she stared at the clan head without saying anything.

Noah looked at Patriarch Long for a second before narrowing his gaze and asking, "What might that be?"

The earlier ugly look on Long Chen's face eased slightly while a slight smirk appeared on the corner of his lips but remained obscured by his long mustache.

He then declared, "We have come to a decision that you will be banished from the family along with your mother."

"Do you think a normal human can survive in the outside world? He is your grandson. How can you do something like that to him?"

A woman's cry filled the silent hall which was filled with many who were holding their smirks.

This was the first time Xin Yan had spoken anything from the time she arrived here, and standing by her side, Noah could feel the anger, frustration and helplessness that was in her voice.

It wasn't because she was worried about herself but for her son.

Her voice was almost cracking in the end. 

"Not only is he a talentless trash but he has also dared to attack the sect master's son, so we need to give them some face, and punish this imbecile," the old man replied while stroking his beard with one hand.

Xin Yan knew this was nothing but an excuse the family was looking for in order to throw them out. 

While the sects may have numerous cultivators under their command, they didn't have the right to order the clans of the kingdom. 

The royal families were the only ones who could order the clans.

Although the sects could not order the people under the empire, many chose to have a good relationship with them by fulfilling their demands.

This helped the clans to increase their influence and power.

While Xin Yan's body shook with anger, a voice rang in the hall.

"Although Long Tian has disgraced the family's name, you being my brother's wife can still be allowed to stay in the family."

A middle-aged man sitting closest to the patriarch's seat added as he eyed Xin Yan lecherously.

Noah once again twirled his finger and a seal was embedded on the elder's soul, but was left unnoticed by anyone.

'It seems that I will have to kill someone sooner than I thought. Though she might not be my real mother, she is a woman I have come to respect.' 

Xin Yan's actions softened Noah's heart but somehow he could also feel bad for her.

However, now the person who had first noticed the seal formation was looking at him with some doubt and uncertainty.

Meanwhile, Noah turned to the patriarch and demanded after a moment of thought, "I will leave, but grant me six months to recover from my internal injuries and prepare for the outside world. Otherwise, were we ever truly a part of this family?"

But as soon as he finished, a girl who was in a similar age as that of his current body retorted, "Trash like you was never a part of this family. So you can pack your bags and leave now."

Ignoring the bitch's barking, Noah locked eyes with the family's patriarch. 

From the memory shards, Noah found out that she was one of the girls who used to bully him and the maid who came to inform him and Long Tian's mother was also her personal maid. 

Noah's action caused the girl to tighten the grip on the whip around her waist while her eyes seethed with hatred as she glanced at the boy and gritted her teeth.

'It won't be a problem to accept that since it will increase our family's face in front of others but the time period this boy is asking is too much,' the old man analyzed the situation while he continued to stroke his beard.

"You will only be allowed to stay for one month".

Noah looked in his eyes and knew what the old fellow was planning. 

"Three months and you won't need to send me any allowance." 

After a moment of contemplation, Long Chen nodded at this offer while there remained a calculative glint in his eyes. 

However, the rest of the elders present seemed to be pretty unhappy with his decision.

One by one, they started grumbling among themselves while casting a hateful gaze at Long Tian.

"But father!-"

The previous middle-aged elder who was lecherously looking at Xin Yan before, rose up from his seat, but before he could interject Long Chen raised his hand and stopped him from saying anything further.

"Silence! I have made a decision and all of you will follow it."

At first, Xin Yan wanted to say something but remained unsure about it.

Meanwhile, ignoring the rest of the family and their murmurs, Noah simply nodded at the patriarch and walked out of the hall while holding Xin Yan's hand. 

Exiting the hall, the two walked back in the direction of the room they had come from.

____

Meanwhile back in the hall where the meeting had just taken place.

The elders still remained alongside the patriarch while the rest went back to their dwellings.

"Father, why would you allow that boy to stay here, you know it will only result in the dissatisfaction of the elders from the sect." 

The middle-aged man voiced once again, his face clearly showing his displeasure towards his father's sudden change of action.

In response, patriarch Long Chen's eyes remained closed, seemingly in deep contemplation.

"You don't need to worry about that. This will only increase our clan's fame, letting others know that we have given Long Tian some time to get ready for the outside world. However, this doesn't mean that we won't do anything."

As he said that, his eyes opened up and the displeasure on his face was soon turned into a sly grin as he continued, "Once he leaves the clan, report the news about his whereabouts to the sect and let them deal with the two."

Hearing his strategy, the rest of the elders who were also not happy with Long Tian having gotten three months to prepare himself laughed aloud. 

"Good, good! good!! That's indeed a fantastic plan, Father, this way no one will even point at us or think of blaming us."

____

Meanwhile, upon entering the room, Noah used his hands to place several seals around the room. He was about to turn around and speak to Xin Yan when he felt a sudden chill filling the room.

He turned around and saw that Xin Yan was looking at him with coldness in her eyes, completely opposite to the tenderness which he had seen after waking up.

The cold atmosphere became sharp and almost felt as if several needles were pointed at him, ready to attack at any instance. 

"Who are you?!! What happened to my son?!"