Charles Zhao sneered at Ian Song for daring to demand an apology. "You insolent brat! Who the hell do you think you are? Get out!"
Ian Song's face darkened, and the anger he'd been holding back suddenly erupted. "People like you only know how to look down on others. If everyone in the Zhao Family is like you, I wouldn't join even if you carried me in on a palanquin!"
Charles Zhao flew into a rage, shouting, "Ignorant upstart! Prepare to die!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Charles Zhao lunged forward, swinging his palm at Ian Song's cheek.
"Fourth Uncle, don't!"
Frank Zhao darted forward, trying to block Charles Zhao.
"Get out of my way!"
Seeing Frank Zhao still daring to defend Ian Song, a fierce glint flashed in Charles Zhao's eyes. He slammed his palm into Frank Zhao's chest.
Bang!
Frank Zhao was sent flying, blood spurting from his mouth before he even hit the ground.
"Brother!" Zoe Zhao shouted.
Zoe Zhao cried out, using Tiger-Leap Step to dart forward, reaching out to catch Frank Zhao. But the residual force in his body was so strong that not only did she fail to catch him, she was knocked away herself.
Seeing this, Ian Song's fury surged, and a hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
Just then, Charles Zhao's palm drew close to his cheek.
"Raging Tidal Surge!"
In that instant, Ian Song stopped hiding his strength. His Innate-Rank Master aura exploded out, true essence flooding into his palms as he struck.
"What's this...?"
Charles Zhao's mocking smile froze, his expression turning to utter disbelief.
"Oh no!"
Suddenly, he realized his body was trapped in a bizarre force field, pulling him from all directions and throwing off his balance. Just then, Ian Song's palms loomed large before his eyes...
Caught off guard, he hurriedly gathered his true qi to defend.
Crack! Crack!
With two crisp cracks, Charles Zhao's body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, only stopping when he slammed into the wall.
Bang!
The rebound from the wall sent him crashing to the ground with a dull thud.
Charles Zhao was actually sent flying by Ian Song in a single move?
Frank Zhao stared blankly at the scene, feeling like his brain couldn't keep up.
Zoe Zhao was also stunned, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. Of course, she couldn't help but feel a bit pleased and smug.
He who insults others will be insulted in return!
Ian Song glanced coldly at Charles Zhao on the ground, then went over to help Frank and Zoe up.
"Ian Song, how did you do that? When did you get so strong? He's supposed to be an Innate master! How could you possibly send him flying?"
"Jeez, Zoe, you hit me with so many questions at once—how am I supposed to answer all that?" Ian Song replied with a wry smile.
"Ian, you must've broken through to Innate, right?" Frank Zhao gave Ian Song a deep look and asked.
Ian Song nodded.
"Awesome, an Innate master! You haven't even been training that long, and you already reached Innate. I bet even Logan Lee wasn't this talented when he was young!" Zoe Zhao cheered.
"Just lucky, that's all," Ian Song said modestly.
"Yeah right, so fake! I bet you're secretly super proud," Zoe Zhao scoffed.
Ian Song: "..."
"Alright, Zoe, that's enough," Frank Zhao shot her a look, then walked over to Charles Zhao and reached out to help him up. "Fourth Uncle, are you alright? Let me help you."
"Get lost! Stop pretending to be nice."
Faced with Frank Zhao's goodwill, Charles Zhao refused to accept it.
Zoe Zhao wasn't nearly as patient as Frank, and she'd long disliked Charles Zhao. She mocked, "Hmph, what's there to be proud of? You're so old and you can't even beat Ian Song. You might as well be a dog!"
"Zoe Zhao, you're out of line!"
Hearing her sarcastic words, Charles Zhao's face turned livid with anger.
"I'm just telling the truth!" Zoe Zhao retorted, curling her lip.
"Enough, Zoe!" Frank Zhao glared at her.
Frank Zhao, Zoe Zhao, and Ian Song—I won't forget this!" Charles Zhao swept his cold gaze over the three, then strode out of the office.
Frank Zhao sighed, then looked at Ian Song with a hint of reproach. "You broke through to Innate and didn't tell me? If I'd known, I wouldn't have worried so much."
Hearing Frank Zhao's complaint, Ian Song felt a little embarrassed and quickly said, "Brother Frank, I just broke through and haven't had time to tell you. How about this—I'll share the cultivation scripture I obtained with you as compensation?"
Frank Zhao's eyes lit up, clearly tempted.
Zoe Zhao clapped her hands happily. "Wow, that's amazing! With an Innate-grade scripture, my cultivation will be so much easier!"
But Frank Zhao shook his head. "That's not appropriate. An Innate-grade scripture is the foundation of a family or sect. Unless you have the original master's permission, you can't just share it."
Hearing Frank Zhao's words, Zoe Zhao's excitement faded, but she nodded. "My brother's right. You can't just share an Innate-grade scripture with outsiders."
Ian Song was moved by the siblings' integrity and laughed. "If that's the case, you don't need to worry. The scripture I cultivate was something I obtained by chance—it's not connected to anyone else, so I can share it with whoever I want!"
"Really?" Zoe Zhao's excitement returned.
Frank Zhao didn't say anything, but his eyes showed he was tempted.
Ian Song nodded firmly. "Of course it's real. I'll write it down for you now. If you have any questions, just ask me. Zoe, give me some paper and a pen!"
"Okay, I'll get it for you!"
After Zoe Zhao brought paper and pen, Ian Song began to copy out the Origin-Nurturing Scripture from memory. He deliberately only wrote the part up to Innate Ninth Layer, not out of selfishness, but because he understood the dangers of possessing such a rare scripture—it wasn't just an Innate technique, but a true immortal-cultivation method.
All done.
Half an hour later, Ian Song handed two sheets filled with the scripture to Frank Zhao.
Frank Zhao took them with trembling hands, his eyes glued to the pages.
Even though his cultivation was only Late Postnatal, he could immediately tell how profound the Origin-Nurturing Scripture was. When he saw it could be cultivated all the way to Innate Ninth Layer, he nearly lost control from excitement—there were very few techniques that reached this level.
Even the mighty Zhao Family only had one technique that reached Innate Ninth Layer, and that one was reserved for the clan head.