Acknowledgement
Just as Keira was about to leave with Elder Grant, a voice rang out.

….
“What genius? Elder Grant, I think you’ve gone senile, haven’t you? Are your eyes failing you?”

The two turned their heads, only to see James approaching, looking at Keira with a mocking sneer.

Elder Grant hurriedly said, “How could I be senile? I’ve observed her for a long time, and besides, didn’t she pass three moves against you?”

James sneered coldly. “That’s because I underestimated her and was careless! If we were to fight now, she wouldn’t last a single move against me!”

Keira frowned. “Then let’s have a match. If I can last five moves against you, you’ll let Elder Grant take me to see the Sect Leader. How about that?”

She still knew nothing about her strength.

James, however, scoffed. “I won’t fight you, but neither can you go. Elder Grant, Inner Sect Disciples must go through strict assessments, and even their character must be scrutinized. I can tell you now that her character is flawed!”

Elder Grant was taken aback. “Where is her character flawed?”

Everywhere!

James glared at Keira vehemently. “She’s promiscuous and wouldn’t repent. Keera, someone like you isn’t qualified to enter the Inner Sect. Elder Grant, she and I are sworn enemies. Keep that in mind!”

Leaving these words behind, James strode away.

Elder Grant immediately showed a troubled look as he anxiously turned to Keira. “Keera, it’s one thing to provoke the Gill family, but why would you provoke this scourge? His older brother is famously a good-for-nothing in Clance, and James is known as the devil in the Freeman Sect. Moreover, he’s the second senior brother, ranked right below the eldest senior sister. You’ve offended him, so how could the Inner Sect possibly accept you!”

To maintain internal harmony within the Freeman Sect, the Inner Sect Disciples would absolutely not recruit the mortal enemies of other Inner Sect Disciples.

It would only lead to conflicts.

Elder Grant knitted his brows. “Your strength has increased now, and if you wish to enter the Inner Sect, apologize to James at once! Smooth things over before we talk further. How exactly did you offend him?”

Keira could only laugh upon hearing this.

James had made presumptuous assumptions about her identity. That was all.

Keira had no desire to explain and said to Elder Grant, “There’s a family reunion banquet at the Olsen family in three days. After the banquet, his misunderstanding will be cleared up.”

Elder Grant nodded. “All right then. We’ll wait until your misunderstanding is resolved, then I’ll take you to see the Sect Leader.”

“Thank you,” Keira said, her attitude very modest.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Elder Grant said earnestly, “Young people shouldn’t hold grudges; strive for harmony…”

…

Keira won today’s competition, and the next match was scheduled for three days after the family reunion banquet.

So, she left the Freeman Sect, only to see Lewis’s car parked outside.

She walked over, got into the car, and returned home with Lewis.

After her car left the Freeman Sect, the infuriated James appeared at the entrance. He stared at the direction Keira had left and found that woman utterly lawless!

Did she think Uncle Olsen would indulge her unconditionally?!

James immediately took out his phone and started a voice call in the family WhatsApp group.

In the group, there were only seven men.

Ellis didn’t respond to the voice call because he was occupied with something else.

But that didn’t stop the remaining six from staying connected in brotherhood.

After all, Ellis had always been busy preparing to take over the Olsen family and wasn’t as leisurely as the other six.

The voice call was quickly answered.

The voice of Charles came through. “James, how are you doing?”

James scoffed. “That Keera has been shamelessly flirting around in the Freeman Sect. During today’s martial arts competition, her opponents even threw the match for her!”

Charles said, “She’s such a fickle woman! Why has Uncle Olsen taken a fancy to her?”

Several more voices joined in.

“What’s all this? I’m abroad and received the invitation to the family reunion banquet. I was wondering what sort of reunion this is. Are we expecting a new aunt?”

“Uncle Olsen is interested in a woman named Keera? What kind of name is that? What happened to her?”

James recounted everything he thought had happened over the phone. Once he finished, everyone fell silent.

After a while, someone finally spoke up.

“Who would have thought, Uncle Olsen is actually such a lovebird.”

“Even the love of the elderly can be so irrational and so impulsive?”

“Why is Uncle Olsen acting so subservient? I’m getting angry!”

One by one, they all vented their frustrations, each adding their own angry comments.

Seeing everyone else getting mad, James himself began to calm down. It’s better to be angry as a group rather than alone. Now, he felt a sense of balance.

Then, he went on. “Brothers, at the banquet, should we refuse to acknowledge her?”

“Sure, I was planning on rushing back anyway. If Uncle Olsen introduces her to me, I won’t recognize this aunt no matter what!”

“When I heard about the banquet, I seriously thought our family had found a long-lost cousin and was bringing her back, but it turns out it’s about an aunt!”

“What are you thinking about? A cousin? When our family doesn’t even have the genes to produce a daughter? Seven brothers, like the Seven Dwarfs, born from the first and second branches of the family, without a single girl among us! It’s a good thing we adopted two, or the imbalance in the house would be downright awkward!”

“Adopted ones can’t compare with a real cousin, right? Do you think my mom can still give birth at forty-five?”

“Little brother, you’re so naive.”

As they chatted, the conversation drifted off-topic.

As time passed unnoticed, it slipped away.

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed!

The Olsen family’s banquet became the talk of the town in Clance. All the notable people showed up, all a little puzzled, not knowing what the Olsens were up to.

Lewis drove Keira and Mary to the banquet. Although Mary didn’t want to see Ellis, as it was her best friend’s special event, she felt the need to be there to witness it.

Getting out of the car, they walked toward the banquet hall.

Approaching, they saw seven men standing in front with different personalities but all brimming with heroism and incredible handsomeness. They were the seven Olsen brothers.

When Ellis saw Mary, his eyes turned cold, and he turned his head without speaking.

Mary, in turn, quickly lowered her gaze.

The baby in her belly would be three months old in two more days. Now, there was a slight bulge in her abdomen.

She pretended not to see Ellis, walking past the group of seven with Keira.

As the Olsen family’s only girl, Victoria was also greeting guests. Seeing Keira, she immediately looked nervously at her seven brothers.

She feared they would prefer this blood-related cousin over her.

But unexpectedly, she saw that aside from Ellis, the other six were glaring angrily at Keira as if their faces were about to say “Don’t mess with me!”

Victoria was shocked.

Weren’t these seven brothers longing for a sister?

Why did it seem like they weren’t too pleased with Keera?

That was great!

Her biggest fear was that the brothers might favor the blood-related cousin if she returned.

Now that everyone seemed to prefer her, it couldn’t get any better!

A smug smile crossed her lips.

“Keera, even if you are a blood-related cousin, so what? The one who grew up with the brothers since childhood is me!

“And in front of the brothers, you’re nothing!”

Just as Victoria was thinking this, Uncle Olsen’s voice came from the hall, followed by the crowd asking, “Mr. Olsen, the Olsen family is holding a banquet, but who is it for?”