Ye Chen naturally did not know that this sudden calamity had merely been born of a moment's whim from a certain ill-tempered woman.
Dragging his body wracked with pain, he limped back to his residence.
"Senior, why didn't you help me just now?!"
"If you had taken action, how could Dan Tai Lan and that pack of lackeys possibly have been my match?!"
Rage filled his heart as he felt utterly betrayed!
While he was being beaten by the crowd, he had called out countless times within his mind—yet there had been no response at all.
"Sigh...."
A sigh echoed within his consciousness.
That existence was already so deeply disappointed in Ye Chen that it could not even be bothered to scold him anymore.
For no reason at all, panic rose in Ye Chen's heart.
"If you had listened to me and exercised patience for the time being, how would you have ended up like this? Dan Tai Lan was clearly trying to deliberately provoke you. When you struck out, did you ever think about the consequences?"
"I..."
Ye Chen fell silent.
"Do you think this is still like the days when you were training outside? In this Taihuang, even at my peak, I could not act recklessly at will—let alone in my current state."
"I told you long ago: once you enter the Sacred Land, you must be cautious in everything and never act on impulse. Did you take any of that to heart?"
Hearing this made Ye Chen feel both ashamed and vexed.
"Senior, you were a powerhouse from the era when the cultivation path was still complete. Could it be that in this Taihuang Sacred Land, there are still figures who can make you wary?"
He could not help but ask.
This existence within his mind was extremely mysterious. Ye Chen only knew bits and pieces about it.
It came from before the great calamity of this world, from the era when the cultivation path was complete—at the very least, a being whose realm had reached beyond the Ninth Heaven!
With such a figure, no matter how formidable the Taihuang Sacred Land was, it should not warrant such fear.
"What do you understand? Do you think the Taihuang Sacred Land is something you can fathom?"
The presence in his mind grew exceptionally impatient and no longer bothered to explain.
This only deepened Ye Chen's dissatisfaction, and he took it as the other being no longer willing to help him.
Yet he still wanted to struggle for it, so he could only suppress the resentment in his heart for now.
This was his greatest trump card. In the past, at critical moments, it had been precisely with the aid of this remnant soul that he had escaped danger time and again!
"Then, Senior… if you cannot make a move now, what about the grand competition a month from now, when I face Chu Ge… could it be..."
"If I'm careful enough, there shouldn't be any major problems, right?"
As for the competition a month later, Ye Chen truly had very little confidence.
He cautiously tested the waters.
"Enough. I will help you one last time. After this, the karmic ties between you and me will be severed. From then on, you will be on your own."
The voice in his mind sounded slowly.
Joy instantly surged across Ye Chen's face. As for this so-called severing of karma—this "one last time"—he did not care about it at all.
Once he grew strong in the future, wouldn't this so-called senior be at his mercy anyway?
There was no way he would let go until he had squeezed out every last bit of value.
Countless thoughts surged in Ye Chen's mind, while the remnant soul within the ring likewise harbored its own calculations.
What should have been a mutually supportive partnership had now begun to drift onto separate paths.
As for what was happening on Ye Chen's side, Chu Ge knew nothing.
At this moment, he himself was feeling somewhat puzzled.