Ye Family Main Hall

Ye Xiong sat in the Patriarch’s seat, with a group of Elders seated before him.

"The competition for the City Lord position will begin in half a month. The Ouyang Family and Luo Family are already actively preparing. Our Ye Family cannot fall behind," Ye Xiong said faintly.

As his words fell, an Elder asked, "Patriarch, do you have a plan?"

"The competition for the City Lord position concerns control over Blood Jade City. We cannot be negligent; we must fight for it. Therefore, I plan to use this half-month period to mobilize the family’s resources and enhance the abilities of our top ten geniuses to the greatest extent possible to counter the geniuses from the other two families. What do you all think?"

As he spoke, Ye Xiong looked toward the Elders.

"The competition for the City Lord position determines the fate of the family. We agree." The Elders nodded. Some of their own children were among the top ten geniuses, so they were naturally more than happy to use the family’s resources for their training. Besides, Ye Xiong was now the Patriarch; they were already trying to curry favor with him.

After nodding, another Elder frowned and said, "However, Patriarch, Ouyang Hao of the Ouyang Family and Luo Yunfeng of the Luo Family have already broken through to the Qi Vortex Ninth Layer. This will be a significant challenge."

"That’s right. We’ve heard both families are pouring all their resources into training those two, determined to compete," some Elders chimed in.

"I’ve heard about this. Taking it into consideration, I’ve decided to give the family’s Spirit Communication Treasure, the Profound Spirit Warhammer, to Ye Cheng," Ye Xiong replied.

"This..." The Elders fell silent. The Profound Spirit Warhammer was the family’s guardian treasure, possessing immense power. It was not to be used except in a moment of life or death.

But now, it was to be given to Ye Cheng. If anything were to happen to it, the Ye Family would lose a powerful asset. If an enemy were to attack, the Ye Family would be forced onto the defensive.

"Rest assured, Ye Cheng will not disgrace the Profound Spirit Warhammer. He will surely wield it to take first place in the competition and win the Ye Family its first City Lord title." To dispel the Elders’ worries, Ye Xiong spoke with conviction, his words filled with absolute certainty.

The City Lord’s title?

The Elders’ breathing grew heavier. It had been a long time since the Ye Family had claimed the City Lord’s title. The prospect was simply too tempting for them.

After a moment of hesitation, the Elders voiced no objections.

’Ye Xuan, just you watch. See how I seize the City Lord’s title and achieve the dream that even Father failed to realize. I will make you understand that Father’s choice to make you Patriarch was a mistake.’

Ye Xiong’s gaze hardened as he looked out of the main hall.

...

「Inside a certain room.」

Ye Wushuang sat cross-legged on his bed, his body wreathed in tiny golden dragons that formed a shimmering golden membrane, enveloping him completely.

POP!

POP!

A series of faint popping sounds emanated from his body.

Deep within his Dantian, a Divine Cauldron that seemed bathed in Golden Blood stood tall, spewing forth towering flames as if to incinerate the Firmament.

Within it, blood-red, crystalline Elixirs, as if coated in Golden Blood, gleamed with a golden light.

These were Essence Pills!

With a flicker of Ye Wushuang’s Divine Thought, the Essence Pills, like stars in the cosmos reaching the end of their lives, exploded with a BANG, releasing a torrent of pure energy.

Without any need for absorption, this energy was devoured by a golden Xingyun vortex.

’This is good stuff!’ Ye Wushuang was delighted. The Essence Pills were truly miraculous, raising his Cultivation by a significant amount without him even realizing it.

’With this cauldron, why would I ever need to worry about Cultivation Resources again!’

Ye Wushuang thought to himself. ’There are too many enemies ahead. If I run into them, I’ll just turn them into my own Cultivation Resources!’

’It seems that starting my cultivation over has given me so much. Not only did I get the all-devouring Dragon Blood Divine Cauldron, but I also gained incredible talent and a heaven-defying physique.’

’It’s just a pity I don’t have the right cultivation conditions to help me forge the First Generation Chaos Heaven-Devouring Dragon Body. Otherwise, with my Physical Strength added in, my Combat Power would be on a whole other level!’

Ye Wushuang sighed internally. The Chaos Heaven-Devouring Dragon Body was incredibly powerful, but like an Ancient Body Refining Technique, it required him to constantly temper it with formidable power to gradually grow stronger.

According to the Dragon Cat’s calculations, forging the First Generation Chaos Heaven-Devouring Dragon Body required passing through four stages: Treasure Body, Holy Body, Chaos Body, and First Generation Body.

Yet Ye Wushuang’s physical body didn’t even qualify as a Treasure Body. He still had a long way to go.

Phew.

Awakening from his cultivation, Ye Wushuang pushed open the door and walked out.

’I wonder if Father is out of seclusion yet?’

Ye Wushuang muttered to himself and went to his father, Ye Xuan’s, room. A powerful fluctuation of energy permeated the air inside, but there was no sign of movement.

Ye Wushuang didn’t disturb him and went to Ye Rou’s room next. After receiving the Earth-Fire Spirit Milk, she had also entered a state of seclusion.

’Her cultivation is sure to have soared by the time she comes out.’

Glancing at the door, Ye Wushuang smiled faintly and turned to leave.

He hadn’t gone far before he ran into someone in the corridor: Ye Dong!

At that moment, Ye Dong’s face was still a little pale, and the aura around him was somewhat chaotic.

Ye Wushuang knew why. Ye Cheng had injured many of his meridians, and Ye Dong probably hadn’t recovered yet. His cultivation had likely even dropped significantly.

"You..."

Seeing Ye Wushuang so suddenly, an awkward expression appeared on Ye Dong’s face.

Within the Ye Family, it wasn’t just Ye Cheng, Ye Feng, and the others who had looked down on Ye Wushuang; he had been one of them.

Before, he had even treated Ye Wushuang like trash, regarding him with contempt and disdain.

But ever since he was injured by Ye Cheng and his cultivation regressed, he too had become trash.

In just a few short days, he had received cold stares from all sides.

No one sympathized with him. In the eyes of the other family disciples, Ye Dong had overestimated his own abilities by challenging Ye Cheng. Having his meridians destroyed served him right!

Only now did he finally understand how heavy the burden Ye Wushuang had once carried truly was.

"How are your injuries?" Ye Wushuang asked lightly.

"I’m fine," Ye Dong said with a bitter smile. He fell silent for a moment before continuing, "Back then, I shouldn’t have treated you like that. You must hate us a lot, don’t you?"

"I don’t hate you." Hearing this, Ye Wushuang shook his head. "This is the world of Cultivators. The weak are meat for the strong, and the strong prey on the weak. It’s an unchanging Law."

Since that was the case, what was there to hate?

"You don’t hate us?"

Ye Dong murmured, looking down. His heart clenched. He looked up and asked, "Then... can you forgive me? Forgive...?"

At his words, Ye Wushuang stared at Ye Dong without speaking.

Seeing Ye Wushuang’s silence, Ye Dong gave a bitter smile. Perhaps guessing the answer, he didn’t press the issue and simply walked away.

"Wait!"

However, Ye Wushuang called out to him.

"What is it?"

Ye Dong turned his head.

"This is for you," Ye Wushuang said lightly, handing a Jade Bottle to Ye Dong. "It will help with your injuries."

Ye Dong took it with a puzzled look. He opened the Jade Bottle, and his expression changed. He looked up, about to ask a question, but all he saw was a white-robed figure gradually walking away from him.

"I’ll take this as you forgiving me!" Ye Dong shouted, clutching the Jade Bottle tightly. Ye Wushuang hadn’t held the past against him; he had helped treat his injuries. He had forgiven him!