Father, what's going on?

A large Iron gate scraped the stone floor below as it opened to reveal a large mansion with illustrious decorations. It looked like something out of a painting, which wasn't surprising given the status of the man who lived there. 

Li Jun gulped loudly as he followed the captain into the city lord's courtyard. He wondered how his father reacted the first time he was summoned here. But given the circumstances, Li Jun couldn't help but feel nervous. What if Shen Guo was from a different family and was just pretending to be related to the city lord? 

'No, that's impossible.' Li Jun cleared the thought from his mind. There was no way a man as strong as Master Shen would need to impersonate someone. 

"Stop dawdling." The captain reminded him as he led Li Jun in through the main entrance and then crossed the marble-tiled hallway to a large wooden door with the Shen family crest engraved into it.

The guard captain knelt before the door and waited silently.

"What is it, Captain Lu." A voice shook the entire house as a wave of suffocating spiritual energy passed over Li Jun's body. 

"I have a boy from the Li family claiming to be a student of Lord Shen Guo." The captain responded and lowered his head.

"Impossible! Execute him immediately!" The voice boomed out once again, outraged by the news. 

Li Jun's heart sank into his stomach. Master Shen really did lie to him. There was no other way to explain it, and now he would be killed for believing him. 

'You stupid old man! Why would you lie to me!?' Li Jun cursed Shen Guo in his mind and began to tremble. He looked back towards the main entrance and saw two guards blocking his escape; each of them were martial artists and had a much stronger aura than he did.

'I can't escape. There's nowhere for me to go!' Li Jun's lip began to tremble as he felt his world come crashing down upon him. This was the end for him. He would die just a week after becoming a martial artist.

"He has a Shen family token with him. I can't tell if it is legitimate or not." Captain Lu said without blindly following the order to execute Li Jun.

"A family token, you say?" The voice was gentle this time, and the wooden doors with the emblem engraved into them shot open. 

A man in a golden robe walked out of the room and stood at the entrance. He looked to be forty years old and had a stubbly beard. He stared at Captain Lu momentarily, and then his eyes settled on Li Jun.

"So you claim to be my father's student?" City Lord Shen Tai asked with an inquisitive stare. Like Shen Guo, the city lord's power was unimaginable, and Li Jun couldn't see any spiritual energy surrounding him.

"Y-yes, sir." Li Jun bowed his head. "The old man who lives on the hill near Mister Bai's farm gave it to me."

Li Jun held out the golden token to the city lord; he stuttered with fear as he didn't dare to meet his eyes. 

Li Jun felt the token leave his hand, but the city lord stood in the doorway. He simply held out his hand, and it flew towards him. 

"Hmm…" Shen Tai hummed as he looked at it. 

"Bastard!" He shouted.

Captain Lu reached for his sword and prepared to execute Li Jun where he stood, for offending the city lord with a counterfeit token. But before he could move, the city lord spoke again. 

"I've begged him for years to take Yun'er as a student, and he's always denied me. And now he takes on a random child out of nowhere!? That bastard!" Shen Tai exclaimed before throwing the token on the floor. It bounced and then slid across the tiles, but no one attempted to pick it up.

Captain Lu let out a deep breath. He didn't want to kill a child, but if Li Jun really did have a counterfeit token, he would have no choice. It was strictly against the city law, no matter who was in possession of it. 

Li Jun could barely believe what he was seeing. He had heard stories about the city lords rage, but he had expected something entirely different. Maybe battle prowess or murderous intent, but now despite him being a grown man, he looked like a child throwing a temper tantrum. 

"You!" Shen Tai pointed his finger at Li Jun. "Come here."

Li Jun hesitantly walked closer to the city lord and just as he was about to look up he felt a hand grab his shirt and pull him into the room. 

The wooden door slammed behind them as the city lord dragged Li Jun inside and then pushed him into a wooden chair. He then reached into a leather pouch and pulled out a token that looked like the one Shen Guo had given to Li Jun but was green in color and looked almost as if it was made from stone. 

Shen Tai raised the green token to his mouth and shouted. "Old bastard! Get your arse here right now! Unless you want your precious new student to arrive at your doorstep tomorrow morning in an urn!" 

Without saying anything else, he sat back at his desk with a nervous expression.

Li Jun's heart was about to grow arms and climb out of his chest to escape. He couldn't believe what was happening, and he couldn't handle this much pressure. 

A beam of lightning struck the city lord's mansion, followed by deafening thunder. Almost immediately after the mansion shook, the wooden door shot open, and Master Shen rushed in, standing between Shen Tai and Li Jun. 

"What is the meaning of this?" Shen Guo asked. Shen Tai seemed to sink in his chair as he looked up at his father, whose eyes were glowed a vibrant shade of blue. 

"Father, I demand an explanation! I've asked you to teach Yun'er for so many years, but I've found out that you've taken a random boy as your student instead!" Shen Tai raised his voice.

"It just happened." Shen Guo said, scratching the back of his head. His anger seemed to vanish as he saw that Li Jun was unharmed. 

"Just happened my arse! If you don't take Yun'er as a student, then I will change my name. I won't be part of your family any longer!" Shen Tai demanded.

"Fine." Shen Guo said casually.

"Really? You will take her as your—" Shen Tai said with a grin. 

"Change your name, I don't care. You're grown enough to call your father a bastard so you can do what you want." Shen Guo said, as he winked at Li Jun. 

Li Jun watched, shocked by what he saw. He didn't think there was a man out there capable of disowning his son, let alone someone as great as the city lord's father.

"Father! How dare you!" Shen Tai shouted. 

"How dare I? How dare you! Little brat! You are one hundred years too young to threaten me!" Shen Guo roared once more.

All the shouting seemed to attract attention as the guards watched on in horror. They didn't know what to do. But as the argument was about to climax, a girl's voice called out from the doorway, silencing the two men instantly. 

"Father, what's going on?"