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The unusual movements of the Grand Elder and Li Yu instantly drew Chen Yi's gaze towards the entrance.
The old man who came into view was not tall, even somewhat gaunt, as if a gust of wind could blow him over. His appearance was also unremarkable, but his eyes were filled with a benevolent understanding of the World, carrying a calm demeanor.
Even though Chen Yi had never seen this person, he could guess that this must be a venerable Elder.
Beside the old man was a girl, dressed in a floor-length dark gown, her face covered by a black veil that couldn't hide her youth. She looked no older than ten, but her eyes held no childlike vivacity, only an unfathomable cold stillness, like a frozen, isolated island, inspiring awe.
"That's Ye Cien, the Family Master of the Nine Heart Begonia Ye Family, 'A Leaf Returns Spring'! He actually came here!"
Seeing the newcomers, Li Yu couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, clearly shaken.
The Grand Elder also narrowed his eyes, seemingly aware of this old man.
"Interesting, this old fellow Ye Cien actually left Heaven Dou City. It seems the young girl beside him is the daughter his son left behind back then."
Chen Yi's heart suddenly tightened, a shock quietly spreading. The Grand Elder's insight and status were evident; there were only a few people on the entire Continent who could command such importance from him.
And among those people, only one bore the surname Ye — the Douluo Continent's top divine physician, the strongest healing-type Spirit Master in the Spirit Master's world, the Family Master of the Nine Heart Begonia Ye Family, "A Leaf Returns Spring" Ye Cien.
As the Continent's sole healing-type Spirit Douluo, in the hearts of many, Ye Cien was the true number one support system Spirit Master on the Continent. After all, the flaw in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Spirit had long ceased to be a secret among the major powers.
If that were the case, the young girl standing beside Ye Cien was Ye Lingling, the support system Spirit Master of the Royal Fighting Team in the original work. Chen Yi's gaze involuntarily fell upon the young girl, his heart filled with novelty; this was the first character from the original work he had encountered since his Transmigration to this World!
As if sensing his gaze, Ye Lingling also turned her head. Their eyes met, but no sparks flew; the young girl merely shifted her gaze expressionlessly, maintaining her aloof demeanor.
But this subtle interaction was observed by Ye Cien. He looked at his granddaughter with doting affection, then followed her gaze to Chen Yi, but when his eyes swept over the old man beside Chen Yi, his pupils suddenly contracted — he couldn't sense a single trace of this old man's aura!
Ye Cien was currently an eighty-fourth-level Spirit Douluo; among support system Spirit Masters, he had the absolute confidence to claim his cultivation was number one.
Even if the scope was expanded to the entire Spirit Master's world, the existences he couldn't see through were few and far between, and those individuals were all top powerhouses standing at the pinnacle of the Spirit Master's world.
Although this old man might just be an ordinary person with no cultivation, Ye Cien didn't even consider that possibility. This was because the owner of this shop was sitting at this table.
Ye Cien had traversed the Continent for decades, and those he had saved and who were grateful for his kindness were spread everywhere. His network was so vast that few could match it.
He had long heard about the origins of this shop: for decades, in this lawless zone where power reigned supreme, the fact that this shop could consistently stand safely meant its own strength was not to be underestimated, and its foundation could almost rival a first-rate Spirit Master Family.
And the shop owner, Li Yu, showed complete respect for this old man. Based on this alone, Ye Cien concluded that this old man was by no means an ordinary person.
He gave the unfathomable Grand Elder a meaningful look, then led Ye Lingling directly into a private room inside the shop.
After watching the grandfather and granddaughter enter the private room, Chen Yi asked the Grand Elder:
"Fourth Grandfather, do you know Ye Cien?"
The Grand Elder first nodded, then shook his head: "I know him, but he doesn't know me. 'A Leaf Returns Spring' Ye Cien's reputation on the Continent is no less than that of Ning Fengzhi, the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. The Nine Heart Begonia is also the only powerful Spirit on the Continent that can contend with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda for the title of the World's number one support system Spirit. If not for the Nine Heart Begonia's limitations, a conflict would have been inevitable."
"Even so, as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School grew stronger over the years, their suppression of the Ye Family became more intense. It's even rumored that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School had a hand in the tragic death of Ye Cien's only son back then."
Chen Yi was completely confused by this. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School had been a Sect with two Douluo many years ago, and its strength was formidable. How could the Ye Family possibly contend with it?
Chen Yi also voiced his doubt, and Li Yu, who was beside him, began to explain:
"Although the Ye Family is not as powerful as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, it also has Spirit Douluo-level powerhouses guarding it; moreover, for many years, successive Family Masters of the Ye Family have traveled across the Continent, and countless people have benefited from their kindness. Among these, there are many powerhouses, so the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School would have to seriously consider its actions if it wanted to annihilate them."
"Furthermore, Ye Cien has an extremely high reputation among the common people of the Continent, almost like a living Buddha to thousands of families. Both Spirit Hall and the two Empires value the Ye Family highly, and they would not sit idly by and watch the Ye Family be destroyed."
Chen Yi subconsciously rubbed his chin. In essence, the Ye Family built its reputation and ensured its safety by standing on moral high ground. No matter how extraordinary the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was, it was ultimately a support system Spirit.
The reason it had surpassed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect and was hot on the heels of the Clear Sky Sect in recent years was precisely its extensive recruitment of Loose Cultivator powerhouses.
And their ability to attract so many Loose Cultivator powerhouses was due to the good reputation cultivated by generations of Sect Masters. Once that reputation was shattered, their demise would not be far off.
At the same time, public sentiment and the grassroots Spirit Masters were the foundation of the two Empires and Spirit Hall, so they would certainly not stand by and watch the Ye Family be annihilated.
"But it's easy to dodge an open spear, hard to guard against a hidden arrow. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School wouldn't act openly, but what if they act secretly?"
Li Yu looked at Chen Yi in surprise. A six-year-old child could actually think of this point, which showed a level of intellect far beyond his peers.
"That's right, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School also knows this, so they have never targeted the Ye Family openly. However, they have never stopped persecuting the Ye Family behind the scenes. The most egregious incident was eleven years ago when a group of desperadoes brutally murdered the Young Lord of the Ye Family, Ye Cien's only son, who had just returned from an epidemic zone."
"At that time, Ye Cien was furious and invited many powerhouses to gather in Heaven Dou City. Among them, it is said there were nearly twenty Spirit Douluo, including two Titled Douluo, who directly pressured Seven Treasure City. It was that time that the entire Continent witnessed the terrifying network of connections the Ye Family possessed."
By the end of his speech, Li Yu's tone was filled with unconcealed shock. One must know that there were only about ten Titled Douluo-level powerhouses on the Douluo Continent (publicly), and Spirit Douluo would not exceed a hundred. It could be said that at that time, the Ye Family had almost invited one-fifth of the Continent's top powerhouses.
"What a grand gesture indeed!" Hearing this, Chen Yi couldn't help but exclaim. With this lineup, not to mention annihilating the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, but completely crippling it would definitely not be a problem.
"What happened next? They didn't actually fight, did they?"
"No," the Grand Elder said, a hint of recollection appearing on his face as he slowly recounted: "At that time, Ning Fengzhi, who had only taken over as Sect Master three years prior, personally invited Ye Cien for an all-night talk. No one knows what they discussed, but after that, Ye Cien left with his people."
Li Yu's eyes showed surprise upon hearing this. He only knew that the matter had eventually fizzled out, but few people on the entire Continent knew what had truly transpired. From the Grand Elder's words, he seemed to know a great deal.
"Fourth Grandfather, was this discovered by the Sect's powerhouses?"
The Grand Elder looked at Chen Yi and said with a chuckle: "Because one of the two Titled Douluo back then was Hua Liu."
"Ah? Sixth GrandFather?!"