Three major powers controlled the hundred-mile radius around Qingyang Town: the Chu Family, the Ye Clan, and the Lin Family.
The Ye Clan. Inside the Qingli Courtyard Hall.
Ye Tianxing, Ye Tianhe, and Ye Tiance knelt on the floor, terrified.
They had already taken Elixirs to treat their injuries, and though they were mostly healed, their faces were still bruised and swollen. They looked utterly wretched.
Beside them stood three middle-aged men in green robes, their faces exceptionally grim.
"Useless! Absolutely useless! To get beaten up like this by a little bastard! Clan Leader, we cannot let this slide!"
"That little bastard forcibly activated his Bloodline Talent. Now, the chances of Tianfan obtaining his bloodline and comprehending the Fiery Sun Sword Intent are probably gone!"
"Damn that little bastard! So impatient!"
The three men in green robes spoke with exceptional harshness.
The Clan Leader, Ye Wannian, wore an equally dark and vicious expression. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he spoke, "Ye Liyi has already told me everything. That little brat will be brought here shortly. When he arrives, we'll test him first. We'll see if we can extract his Fiery Sun Bloodline. If that doesn't work, we'll just expel him from the family and have him killed!"
"Clan Leader, does this mean Tianfan has lost his chance to advance by obtaining the Fiery Sun Sword Intent from the Fiery Sun Bloodline? If we'd known it would come to this, we should have let the little bastard grow stronger sooner."
The middle-aged man beside Ye Tianxing said, his expression turning sour.
"He suffers from an Innate Deficiency. What would have been the use in forcibly rushing his breakthrough? The chances were already slim, or we would have given him Elixirs long ago. When I adopted that bastard's father, Ye Fengyang, it was only because his bloodline was astonishing and his Talent was superb. I thought he came from some grand background and would bring a great opportunity to our family.
"But who could have predicted that Ye Fengyang would be so obstinate? Not only was he ungrateful, but he refused to marry the Ye Family's greatest beauty, Ye Ruyu. Instead, he went and shamed himself with some wild mountain girl and sired this little bastard… If it weren't for the fact that this little bastard also concealed the Fiery Sun Sword Body Bloodline, I would have killed him with a single palm strike right then and there!"
As Ye Wannian spoke, his voice suddenly lowered.
Then, his expression grew solemn and imposing.
At that moment, Instructor Elder Ye Liyi arrived, leading Ye Tianling over.
"You insolent whelp! Kneel and greet the Clan Leader!"
Instructor Elder Ye Liyi roared furiously.
A powerful Sword Dao aura surged directly toward Ye Tianling—he intended to use its crushing pressure to force Ye Tianling to kneel and extinguish his arrogant flame.
Having been cleansed by the Dragon Soul Divine Blood, Ye Tianling's Soul had already undergone a world-shaking transformation. He felt no fear from the oppressive aura, acting as if he hadn't even sensed it.
"You old dog, Ye Liyi, how dare you act so presumptuously before Grandfather Clan Leader? He hasn't even spoken, so what are you yapping about? Or perhaps you want to replace the Clan Leader and give the orders yourself?"
Ye Tianling sneered.
He then shot a cold glance at Ye Tianxing and the other two.
The pupils of the three contracted as immense fear bloomed in their hearts. They immediately looked away, not daring to meet his eyes.
Seeing this, the three middle-aged men standing by their sons nearly exploded with rage. 'Three good-for-nothings! They're always boasting about their supposed talent, yet here they are, scared stiff by a bastard with an Innate Deficiency who forced a breakthrough!'
The three of them felt utterly suffocated with frustration, but they kept their expressions grim and held their tongues.
'The Clan Leader is a naturally suspicious man. If we speak out of turn now, it could easily cause a misunderstanding. We'd just end up being verbally shredded by this sharp-tongued Ye Tianling, and it wouldn't be worth it.'
Ye Liyi's expression turned foul, but he immediately shot a terrified glance at Ye Wannian.
He breathed a sigh of relief only after seeing that Ye Wannian's expression was calm and free of any displeasure.
"You little bastard, you were born with a rebellious spirit! All you have is a sharp tongue! You get a sliver of Ability and immediately become this arrogant? If you grow any stronger, are you going to destroy the entire Ye Clan?! You see the Clan Leader and don't kneel—are you trying to defy the heavens?!"
Ye Liyi berated him again.
'He was still puzzled as to why his oppressive aura had failed earlier, but he didn't dwell on it. He simply assumed someone had secretly helped Ye Tianling neutralize it.'
Ye Tianling retorted sarcastically, "My father brought immense glory to our family, making the Ye Clan the second most powerful force in Qingyang Town! He's the one who secured Grandfather Clan Leader's position as Patriarch! Do you hate me so much because my father didn't help *you* become the Patriarch? Grandfather Clan Leader has never made me kneel before. Why should I start today?"
Hearing this, Ye Liyi's expression changed, and true panic flared in his heart. 'How could I have ever imagined it? The boy who was always so cowardly and useless… how can his words be so sharp, so vicious?'
Just as he feared, Ye Liyi sensed Clan Leader Ye Wannian's aura darken perceptibly after Ye Tianling finished speaking.
His heart sank. Filled with rage, he bellowed, "You little bastard! Your words are venomous, aimed straight for the heart! A natural-born traitor like you is destined to become a scourge who will bring disaster upon this family!"
"Enough. You may step back for now,"
Ye Wannian said in a low voice.
"Yes… Yes, Clan Leader."
Ye Liyi's heart trembled. 'After this,' he thought, 'my position as Instructor Elder is probably in jeopardy. Just a couple of malicious remarks from that little bastard, Ye Tianling, were enough to make the Clan Leader suspicious of me.'
After speaking, Ye Wannian turned his cold gaze upon Ye Tianling.
That gaze sent a slight chill through Ye Tianling. He instantly realized, 'There's probably no one in this entire clan who genuinely cares about me anymore.'
Before his transformation, Ye Tianling had been naive and oblivious to many things.
But now, seeing Ye Wannian's true nature and attitude, along with the presence of Ye Tianxing, his cronies, and their fathers, he finally understood everything.
"Ye Tianling, you broke through? How?"
Ye Wannian's tone softened, seemingly tinged with a hint of grandfatherly affection.
But with his newfound shrewdness, Ye Tianling saw right through the man's hypocrisy and cunning.
"My fiancée, Ye Yueling, was having an affair with Ye Tianyun. Not only that, but they both humiliated and mocked me. I couldn't take it anymore, so I used my Bloodline Power to break through. I feel great now—so powerful I think I could kill a Blood Tiger Beast in one punch."
"Mm. Youthful passion, an unwillingness to be left behind… It's understandable. But those who can't endure loneliness will never hold onto glory. Do you realize that with this single act, all the years of scorn and humiliation you've endured have now been for nothing?"
Ye Wannian said.
"A Swordsman seeks only to follow his heart's convictions. Cowering in fear makes one useless. Be useless once, and you'll be useless for a lifetime, never able to hold your head high again. There's no future in that!"
Ye Tianling replied passionately.
"Very good. It is a good thing that you understand this principle. However, you are all fellow clansmen, and Ye Tianxing and the others are your cousins. Why did you have to act so viciously?"
Ye Wannian's expression suddenly turned cold, his friendly facade vanishing in an instant.
But this didn't frighten Ye Tianling.
"An excellent question, Grandfather Clan Leader. If we are all 'brothers,' then why was Ye Tianyun allowed to defile my fiancée? Why were they all allowed to humiliate me at every turn? Where, I ask, was Grandfather Clan Leader then?"
Ye Tianling retorted.
"Insolence! You don't know your place!"
At that moment, apparently not expecting such a sharp retort from Ye Tianling, Ye Tianxing's father, Ye Liyuan, suddenly roared in anger. As he shouted, he gathered a wave of Sword Essence Power into his palm and viciously struck out at Ye Tianling.
'An elder, attacking a junior right in front of the Clan Leader…' Such shamelessness completely extinguished the last glimmer of hope in Ye Tianling's heart.
At the same time, this man had just shown him a new depth of depravity.
Ye Tianling gritted his teeth and did not resist—he currently lacked the strength to do so.
His opponent was an expert at the Sword Essence level, while he was merely in the Sword Beginning Realm. The gap in power was simply too vast.
BAM—
The palm strike slammed viciously into Ye Tianling.
Ye Tianling's body shuddered from the impact, but deep within his brow, the Dragon Blood Pearl pulsed. A stream of Blood Qi flowed through his meridians, instantly healing the majority of his injuries.
Outwardly, however, Ye Tianling feigned a grievous injury. As if unable to control himself, he spat out a large mouthful of blood and staggered back seven or eight steps before steadying himself.
WHOOSH—
Just then, a white Heaven-Testing Stone shot over in a streak of light, piercing through the spray of blood.
The Heaven-Testing Stone instantly turned crimson, but no radiant glow manifested on its surface.
"It's crippled. Truly crippled."
Seeing this, Ye Liyuan, the other two fathers, and Ye Wannian all murmured at almost the same time.
"Clan Leader, what is the meaning of this?"
Ye Tianling's face was like ice as he demanded, enunciating every word.