Ye Zeyun paused for a moment before continuing, "It was an act of absolute necessity. If handing over one person could exchange for the lives of the entire clan, I would willingly go to my death, even if that person were me. Do you understand?"
"I understand," Ye Xuan said calmly. "But I don’t agree with it."
"You don’t agree?"
"Yeah. I believe that as long as my people aren’t at fault—as long as my people are in the right—I absolutely won’t let a single one of them die. If anyone touches the Ye Family, I will kill them!" Ye Xuan’s voice was incredibly domineering.
Ye Zeyun shook his head. "What if you don’t have the strength to kill them, just like me back then?"
Ye Xuan glanced at him and replied softly, "That’s why I didn’t blame you, nor do I blame anyone in the family. Furthermore, it’s also the reason why I must seize every second to make myself stronger. Only by constantly growing stronger can we live on our own terms."
Hearing this, Ye Zeyun looked astonished. It took him a long while before he sighed, "Ye Xuan, you are truly... exceptionally clear-headed."
"Grandpa, if there’s nothing else, I’m going into seclusion. All the Martial Techniques I know are written down here. Unfortunately, I’ve learned too few of them."
Back when he was in the Profound Cloud Sect, Ye Xuan had successfully awakened a Fierce Beast Soul, allowing his cultivation base to skyrocket. However, precisely because he advanced so quickly, he hadn’t spent much time learning low-level Martial Techniques, leaving his repertoire quite limited. For instance, the Profound Cloud Sect naturally possessed rare skills like Mortal-tier and Yellow-tier Body Technique Martial Techniques and Body Techniques. But Ye Xuan had felt it was a waste of time, so he hadn’t practiced any of them. In just two years, his cultivation had reached the Super Spirit Realm, and he would only grow stronger from there. What was the point of practicing weak Martial Techniques?
"You’re going into seclusion? Wait, let me ask you one last question."
"What is it, Grandpa?"
"Ye Xuan, you don’t seem to want to talk about your past in detail, and I won’t force you. But I just want to ask, do you have enemies out there?"
Ye Xuan was slightly taken aback. "Why do you ask?"
"Ye Ling’Er found you in the riverbed, and you were already gravely injured at the time. Someone must have been trying to kill you, right? Are they very powerful?"
Hearing this, Ye Xuan fell silent for a moment before answering with a question of his own, "Grandpa, are you afraid I’ll drag down the Ye Family?"
"No, I’m not afraid. I’m simply telling you that as the Patriarch of the Ye Family, your enemies are also the Ye Family’s enemies. You don’t have to carry this burden alone."
"The Ye Family can’t carry it," Ye Xuan said softly. "At least, not the current Ye Family."
"Then you have to figure out a way to make everyone in the Ye Family stronger, so they can shoulder it with you!"
Ye Xuan gave Ye Zeyun a sidelong glance, thinking that his grandfather was quite the cunning old fox. But he still replied solemnly, "I will."
With that, Ye Xuan waved his hand and left the room. He first went to check on Ye Ling’Er, handing her a Twin Jade just in case anything happened. Then, he left Hongtu Town entirely.
This time, he was going to practice the Hidden Dragon Technique, and the further away from Hongtu Town he was, the better. If he made a mistake during his cultivation and exposed the Dragon Soul, no one would be able to trace it back to a resident of Hongtu Town awakening the Dragon Soul. Once he mastered the Hidden Dragon Technique, he wouldn’t need to travel so far away to practice other Divine Secret Techniques.
"Dad, did my brother leave again?"
"Yes, he left."
"Why is he in such a hurry? Hasn’t the Fang Family already been wiped out? Why is he so eager to cultivate? We haven’t even had a proper chance to catch up with him yet."
"He’s in a rush probably because he’s become the Patriarch, and his responsibilities are much heavier now. That’s just how the world works; if you don’t work hard, you’ll be surpassed by others. When we build our new home, I’ll personally construct a massive underground training room for your brother. Once that’s done, he won’t have to go outside to cultivate, and you’ll be able to see him more often."
"Mhm!"
After leaving, Ye Xuan found a cave in an extremely desolate area. The cave was very deep and spacious inside. It was the perfect place to practice the Hidden Dragon Technique.
Inside the dim cave, Ye Xuan’s body emitted a radiant golden light. This light swirled around him, following a specific, intricate path. Within his body, golden Spiritual Qi surged continuously like a rushing torrent.
The Hidden Dragon Technique was merely a supplementary Cultivation Technique. It possessed no offensive power of its own and wasn’t particularly difficult to practice, but he had to proceed with extreme caution. If he made a mistake and failed to conceal his Dragon Soul Power, it would trigger a meteorological phenomenon that would shock the entire Kingdom!
Five days later.
In Hongtu Town.
Although the tale of Ye Xuan annihilating the Fang Family was still being passed around, the fervor had died down considerably; it was no longer breaking news.
At this moment, right in the center of Hongtu Town.
A newly built courtyard wall stood tall and imposing. The wall was incredibly long, stretching for hundreds of meters. This was the Ye Family! As the strongest faction in Hongtu Town, they naturally occupied a vast territory. This estate was large enough to accommodate dozens of generations living and multiplying.
Inside the courtyard walls, shadows of people bustling about could be seen everywhere. The vast majority of these people weren’t from the Ye Family, but rather belonged to their subordinate families. They unleashed their Beast Soul Power to either carry massive pillars or haul giant boulders. Everyone was sweating profusely from the intense labor.
Meanwhile, in the main courtyard.
Ye Ling’Er stood in the center of the yard, gazing at the outline of their new home. "Dad," she said in amazement, "is this huge courtyard really just for us and my brother?"
"Yes, but we’ll normally live in the inner courtyard. Your brother will have the main courtyard all to himself."
"There’s another courtyard in the back?"
"Yes, we are considered your brother’s Direct Lineage, and the Direct Lineage lives back there. The main courtyard is where your brother will handle business and practice his cultivation."
"Oh, I see! That’s wonderful. At this rate, we’ll be able to move in by the time he gets back."
"It’s still too early for that. The buildings themselves are mostly finished, but we still need furniture and decorations, like pavilions, terraces, rockeries, and gardens."
As the two were chatting, Ye Shanhan suddenly came running over, looking thoroughly panicked. "Uncle Yizhou, where’s Grandpa? Is he not here?"
"Shan Han, what’s the rush?"
"Uncle Yizhou, someone’s causing trouble! Even Ye Wen was beaten and injured!"
"Causing trouble?"
Ye Yizhou was incredibly surprised. The current Ye Family held even more authority than the Fang Family ever did! In this little patch of land called Hongtu Town, who would dare to provoke the Ye Family? Wasn’t that just like a moth flying into a flame—simply courting death?
"Your grandfather is in the side courtyard. Go get him. I’ll go take a look first."
"Be careful, Uncle Yizhou. The intruder seems very powerful!"
"Don’t worry."
Ye Yizhou broke into a run, sprinting swiftly toward the front courtyard. A few minutes later, he arrived to find a large crowd already gathered there. There were members of the Ye Family, as well as people from the subordinate factions who had come to help build the new estate.
At that moment, Wen Shanghua, Patriarch Wen of the subordinate Wen Family, was holding back a young girl by the hand.
"Miss Xiaoyu, don’t be impulsive! We cannot afford to offend this person. We absolutely cannot afford to offend him!"
This girl was none other than Hua Xiaoyu, the daughter of Ye Xuan’s aunt.
"Patriarch Wen, let me go! He’s beating up my cousin! It’s infuriating! This is the Ye Family’s estate; how can we let him run wild like this?! If my cousin Ye Xuan were here, he would definitely beat the crap out of him!"