Chapter 106: New Year Conflict

Time returned to the very beginning of the Black Tiger Family’s New Year feast.

The candlelight was dazzling. On candlesticks made of pure gold and silver, studded with many gemstones and pearls, large silver candles as thick as an arm shone brilliantly. The light made the enormous banquet hall as bright as day. Important members of the Black Tiger Family, dressed in magnificent finery, gathered together, drinking freely and enjoying rich delicacies. The atmosphere had boiled to its peak.

The main banquet hall at the center held the grand, formal New Year celebration feast. In the side halls to the left and right, lighter, more spirited buffet parties and New Year dances were underway. Mid-level and junior family members, the fresh blood of the Black Tiger Family, gathered here, reveling in rare moments of ease and joy throughout the year.

Lin Qi, carrying a wine jar, moved through the various halls accompanied by Enzo. As the sole heir of the Black Tiger Family, Blackbeard had selected a group of youths to grow up alongside Lin Qi since childhood. Grinding and training together daily, Lin Qi formed deep bonds of friendship with these young men – a camaraderie that enabled him to run wild in Dun Er Ke’s spoiled brat circles, with these youths often playing the role of accomplices.

During Lin Qi’s three years studying at the Imperial Capital, these youths had been dispatched by Blackbeard to various outposts along the Black Tiger Family controlled Northern Coastline to hone themselves in brutal combat. Only because the New Year had arrived did Blackbeard order them back.

This group numbered well over three hundred individuals. They had their own parents, lovers, and close friends. Dispersed throughout the halls, they indulged themselves, savoring the family warmth they hadn’t experienced for a full year.

Carrying his wine jar, Lin Qi went around seeking them out for toasts. Three years apart, these youths who had grown up with him now stood tall and robust, like the Black Pine trees of the Black Pine Forest. They had completed the transformation from boys to men amidst blood and storm. Some of the most exceptional among them even carried a somber, killing aura, much like the menacing air radiating from Ironhammer or Butcher Knife.

Seeing Lin Qi after three years filled the young men with overwhelming joy. They greeted him enthusiastically, matching him cup for cup as they poured down fine wine. Afterwards, Lin Qi left them to continue enjoying the feast with their families. Staggering slightly, he wandered aimlessly through the halls with Enzo.

Having just shared a drink with a sworn brother who had borne the blame for him just an hour earlier, Lin Qi skipped and laughed his way into the dance hall.

Hundreds of Black Tiger Family youngsters were performing the lively ‘Storm Dance’ here.

This was a dance that originated from those quirky Goblins, who would sing and dance in the wind whenever a storm approached. An intensely cheerful and exuberant dance, wild and bold in its steps, brimming with raw, primal energy. The noble members from aristocratic families looked down on it, but among the common folk of the Western Continent, it was immensely popular.

Hundreds of magnificently dressed young men and women formed concentric circles like a whirlwind. They roared with laughter, the young girls pirouetting gracefully. Their vast skirts, like blossoming flowers, reflected large halos of light under the chandeliers. The young men fiercely slapped the soles of their sturdy boots, the sharp, rhythmic impact of palms on leather producing thunderous claps.

Like thunder within a storm, like lightning within a hurricane, like mythical Storm Elf, hundreds of sweating youths danced with abandon. The layers of concentric circles surged rapidly; long hair flew, glistening sweat droplets sprayed into the air. Over a dozen musicians in the hall’s corners blew their flutes shrieking like a gale, pounding drums roared like thunder.

Lin Qi guffawed loudly. He tossed aside the wine jar and jumbled into the formation, waggling his rear randomly.

Enzo also roared with laughter. This unrestrained youthful energy, this wild and untamed spirit of freedom—this was the younger generation of the Black Tiger Family! Enzo felt every muscle in his body tremble. He wanted to join this fervent dance too. Orphaned since childhood, Enzo had never experienced such immense joy, such passionate collective dancing.

Just as Enzo couldn’t resist pulling a nearby young girl to join the dance, Lin Qi suddenly stumbled out of the swiveling formation. Giggling drunkenly, the rapid spins made his head fuzzy from too much wine. He grabbed onto Enzo, pointing towards a corner of the hall and laughing, “That’s Maria, my former maidservant. Standing next to her is her husband, my good brother Leo!”

Enzo focused his gaze. Maria was a young woman of modest height, a slender frame, and an exceptionally delicate face. She possessed beautiful green eyes and soft, pale golden hair that fell smoothly down her back—clear signs this was a good-natured, kind-hearted girl.

Standing beside her, Leo towered over Maria by almost two heads. He was a young man as strong as a mountain, handsome with robust features. His thick arms were crossed over his chest, and he was chewing something heartily. Every now and then, he turned to exchange a few cheerful words with Maria. They both looked utterly relaxed and happy, as if enveloped by an aura one could only call ‘happiness’.

“Haha, Maria! Leo, when did you two get back?”

Maria had cared for him since infancy, and Leo had served as his personal guard for as long as Lin Qi could remember. Their marriage was only natural. It explained perfectly why any harm from Arthur against Maria had provoked such a savage reaction from Lin Qi.

Humming the merry Goblin tune ‘Storm Song’, Lin Qi strode towards the corner where Maria and Leo stood. As he walked, he boasted, “Leo is a genius cultivating Combat Qi! Three years ago, when I left Dun Er Ke for the Imperial Capital, he already had the strength of a Knight at Earth Rank Intermediate Stage! Ahah! Who knows how powerful he must be now?”

He shot Enzo a strange, toothy grin, snickering, “That year, truly, all thanks to him knocking out the guards of Jin, Angel, and Anlin. Otherwise, how could I have taken so many ‘Wowo Call’—those bright, lovely, golden treasures—out of their pockets?”

Enzo’s face darkened. Turns out Leo was one of Lin Qi’s robbery accomplices?

Just as Lin Qi neared Maria and Leo, several figures suddenly emerged from the crowd.

Dressed in a splendid golden robe, a string of Eastern sandalwood prayer beads clutched in his left hand, Arthur blocked Lin Qi’s path, narrowing his single eye.

“Lin Qi, heard you’ve been accomplishing some remarkable things these past few days. You killed a Barbarian Berserker? Truly impressive!”

Arthur’s voice dripped with mockery and skepticism. He tilted his head, looking at Lin Qi, and whispered mockingly, “You weren’t just exaggerating, were you?”

Lin Qi stared at Arthur blocking his way. Without a word, he simply kicked him square in the crotch.