Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Clan Meeting Begins

  PS: After 12 o'clock tonight, I still hope everyone will click and vote more. If we can rush to the new book list, there will be at least three updates every day for the next week!

  Ye Family's Western School Grounds.

  A few people were walking and chatting there, led by a 16 or 17-year-old boy, wearing black clothes, carrying a war knife on his back, with a firm face, emitting a faint aura of iron-blooded killing.

  "Ye Haige, this time at the end of the year clan meeting, I estimate that only you can compete with Ye Tang and Ye Xuan for first place." The young man speaking seemed to admire the black-clad youth greatly, flattering him.

  Ye Hai said calmly, "I was thirteen when I became a disciple of Master Duan Yue, and for over three years, I've been traveling with him all over the world. We've been to the Tianfeng Nation's Devilish Great Prairie, the alien nation of Tuo Luo, and the Black Dragon Empire with its tens of billions of people. I've fought sharks in the Changbai River and lived in the muddy puppet desert for a month. During the most difficult times, I could go three days and nights without sleep or food. So, to me, the Year-End Clan Meeting is nothing. As for Ye Ming, although he's also been through hardships outside, unfortunately, his cultivation is only at the tenth layer of Qi Refining, not worth worrying about."

  "Hmph, having gone through a lot is impressive? Without staying in the sect, you will never know the importance of the sect." Not far away, three or four people walked over, and Ye Tang, dressed in white clothes, looked at Ye Hai with a provocative gaze.

  Ye Hai glanced at Ye Tang, "Indeed, the sect's cultivation system is very perfect, but in front of me, who has killed dozens of people, how much actual strength can you exert?"

  "Murder! I thought you were going to say something. " Ye Tang burst out laughing, pointing at Ye Hai Dao: "What our North Snow Mountain Villa practices is the art of murder with a knife, not that I'm bragging, but there are already over a dozen people who have died at my hands."

  "What you call killing is just bullying those weaker than you! Have you ever challenged someone stronger than yourself? Have you ever felt the line between life and death? Have you ever turned defeat into victory? You have none of that, you're just killing to show off."

  Ye Hai's three consecutive rhetorical questions left Ye Tang speechless. He retorted, "There's no use saying anything now, we'll see who's superior at the clan meeting, let's go."

  As Yedao and his group left, the young man beside Ye Hai said: "Brother Ye Hai, I'm on your side. That Yedao is nothing special."

  Ye Hai shook his head, "No, to be honest, his strength is not inferior to mine, and may even be slightly stronger. You should know that the killing knife technique of Beixue Manor is the first in Tianfeng Country, unmatched by anyone. However, victory or defeat is not simply a matter of comparing martial arts skills."

  "By the way, has there been any new powerful figure in the Ye family recently?" Ye Hai asked.

  "The top five are you, Ye Hai, Ye Xuan, Ye Tang, Ye Ming and Ye Feng. The others shouldn't even be in your sight."

  "What about Ye Chen?"

  "Yechen, still a waste of material, at most only reaching the sixth layer of Qi Refining Realm!"

  "It's strange, it's been five years and I'm still at the sixth level of Qi Refining Realm. On average, I've only advanced a little more than one level per year. Did you guys make a mistake?"

  "How is it possible? That guy is nothing but the son of the master of the house, and he's completely useless. He's really bringing shame to our Ye family."

  "Since there aren't any particularly outstanding juniors, I'd say I have a 60% chance of taking first place." Ye Hai was very confident in himself, firmly believing that the trials and hardships he had faced over the past three years would be an unstoppable driving force for his future development.

  ……

  Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

  The year-end party has begun.

  Early morning.

  Ye Chen finished washing up and tidied his clothes before heading to the Ye Family Training Grounds with his fine steel sword.

  The scene was bustling with excitement, almost all the servants and warriors living in the Ye family came to watch this martial arts competition, in addition, some big figures from Luocheng also arrived, taking the opportunity to observe the strength of the new generation of the Ye family.

  After looking around, Ye Chen found a relatively quiet contestant seat and walked over.

  On the high VIP seat, Ye Tianhao and Shen Yiqing sat side by side. To the right of Ye Tianhao was a middle-aged man in brocade clothes, whose slightly stout figure exuded an invisible aura of intimidation, clearly a powerful and influential person, not just any ordinary one.

  "Master Ye's family, I don't know which one is your son?" said a middle-aged man in brocade clothes with a smile.

  Ye Tianhao had already found Ye Chen's location and pointed to the past: "Lin City Master, that is the dog son, let you see a joke."

  The middle-aged man in brocade clothes was none other than the lord of Luocheng, who controlled the city's military power and was also a martial artist at the early stage of Hugging Yuan. However, no matter who he was, he had to be inferior to Ye Tianhao by one level. As one of the eight major families, the Ye family was not something that a mere city lord could compare to. To put it bluntly, Luocheng was under the control of the Ye family, and the city lord had to consider the Ye family's opinion when making important decisions.

  The master of Lin City gazed at Ye Chen, scrutinizing him carefully, and said in doubt: "It seems that rumors are not entirely trustworthy. This child is clearly at the peak of the 10th layer of the Qi Refining Realm, just one step away from entering the Condensing Reality Realm."

  Ye Tianhao's mother, Shen Yuqing, showed a proud smile and said, "To be honest, even we as parents are surprised. It seems that the tempering outside is still useful for him."

  "Hehe, this time the Ye family won't be easy to deal with, I'm waiting with bated breath."

  With his strong spiritual power, Ye Chen sensed that someone was watching him, and not just one person. The first were his parents and Lin Cheng, the lord of Lin City. The second were his third uncle and his son, Ye Ming. The third was Ye Hai, who had been traveling with his master, roaming the four seas and venturing into the Jianghu.

  Ye Ming's cultivation was lower than his, only in the tenth layer of the Qi Refining Realm, while Ye Hai was much stronger, already in the early stages of the Condensing Reality Realm. Perhaps he didn't have any powerful martial techniques or skills, but after venturing out for so many years, he couldn't be underestimated. Moreover, this time he returned, his master Duan Yue Ke must have taught him one or two killer moves to help him win first place.

  "It's interesting, I said it would be impossible for the fifth year to reach the sixth layer of Qi Refining Realm. It turns out that you've already reached the peak of the tenth layer." Ye Hai nodded slightly, but his expression didn't show much importance. In his eyes, only Ye Tang and Ye Xuan were his worthy opponents.

  Suddenly, a strong momentum swept across the entire campus, causing everyone to quiet down and gaze eastward.

  "Hahaha, how could the year-end gathering be without me, Ye Batian?" The crowd parted automatically, and a burly middle-aged man strode over with a majestic gait. He wore a purple brocade robe, with a sun pattern on his sleeves and exquisite floral patterns along the edges. His tiger-like eyes glared in one direction, and the people in that area held their breath, afraid to attract his attention.

  This man is Ye Chen's great uncle, the inner gate elder of the Purple Sun Sect, Ye Batian.

  Beside him were Ye Tang and Ye Feng, the two of whom followed Ye Baxian wherever he went, with a rather proud and complacent air about them, their eyes almost looking down on everyone else.

  But it's no wonder they're so arrogant, Ye Ba Tian's power in the Ye family is not as great as Ye Tian Hao's, but his status is not lower than his at all. Sometimes he even goes against Ye Tian Hao, making him unable to save face. Ye Tian Hao can't do anything about it either. The other party is a senior elder of the Ziyang Sect, and in the Ziyang Sect, they are someone who has a say in the matter. Their own cultivation is also extremely high, reaching the late stage of the Bearer of Yuan Realm, and can be called the number one expert in the Ye family. Although the Ye family is one of the eight major families, compared to the eighth-grade sect Ziyang Sect, they are far inferior. Perhaps only the Duanmu family, which is the first among the eight major families, has comparable strength to a sect.

  "Brother Ba Tian, I didn't expect this year-end gathering would also shock you."

  "Yes, Brother Ba Tian hasn't returned for several years, has he? This time the Ye family gathering will come to an end, let's go have a few drinks and welcome you back." The big shots around them fawned over Ye Ba Tian, even more obsequious than they were towards Ye Tian Hao, like slaves.

  "Alright, I, Ye Batian, will give you face."

  After finishing speaking, he walked up to the VIP seat with big strides, his eyes hinting at Shen Yuqing to leave, his gaze carrying an unrefusable majesty and overbearingness.

  Ye Tianhao's face looked unpleasant, Shen Yiqing knew that the situation was stronger than others, stood up and said, "Big brother, you sit."

  "Alright, I'll just have to obey then." He plopped himself down carelessly, slapping his palms on the table with a dull thud.

  In the distance, Ye Chen's eyes flickered with anger.