Chapter Twelve: The Ancestral Pavilion

  Passing by the massive building complex, Ye Chen followed the route in his memory into a courtyard, where the gentle breeze blew softly. The trees alongside the stone path were trimmed neatly, and the roads led to all directions, clean and spacious. Jade towers and flying eaves, artificial hills and ponds, lush grasslands, all of these were present, but at this moment Ye Chen had no time to appreciate them.

  The Book Pavilion, as the first stronghold of the Ye family, must be heavily guarded. Hundreds of meters ahead, Ye Chen sensed several familiar auras, which were caused by the Ye family's Wind Spirit Technique. He was secretly shocked to find that there were at least dozens of martial artists at the early seventh level surrounding him. His figure leaped up and slowly landed in front of a pavilion.

  Ye Chen looked up at the massive pavilion in front of him. The signboard above the pavilion had two ancient-looking characters "Zu Ge" (Ancestral Pavilion) painted on it, which was slightly yellowish and showed signs of aging. However, the sword-like aura emanating from the words "Zu Ge" made Ye Chen's heart tremble with fear.

  According to that unlucky guy's memory, the name of the library should be Yejia Pavilion, but he didn't know when it was renamed, and there were not so many guards around. A hint of doubt flashed across Ye Chen's face.

  Squinting her eyes, her gaze swept across the attic, and in a secluded corner of the building, Ye Chen felt the few strands of breath she had sensed earlier slowly disappear.

  The strict guards were patrolling slowly around the ancestral hall. When Ye Chen stepped into the ancestral hall, a thunderous voice exploded beside his ear: "Who are you? Don't you know that without the patriarch's permission, no one can approach the ancestral hall?"

  The thunderous sound made Ye Chen's eardrums ache, and he felt dizzy. A flash of horror flickered in his dark eyes, and his gaze fell on the front of the ancestral hall. There, a figure slowly emerged, an old man wearing a purple robe, with a withered yellow face that showed no expression, but his turbid eyes occasionally flashed with a hint of sharpness.

  Hu Qilin's voice slowly floated in Ye Chen's mind: "Youngster, this old man is very powerful, you'd better not provoke him, or else I won't be able to protect you either!"

  The corners of his mouth slightly raised, Ye Chen smiled wryly, as if he was being called a troublemaker. Someone who could make Huo Qilin wary must be a strong martial artist in the Qi Wu realm. Ye Chen wouldn't be so reckless as to provoke him. A hint of a smile escaped from the corner of his mouth as he bowed to the elder and said: "Junior Ye Chen has seen Senior, this library isn't a place that ordinary disciples can enter, why does it require the clan leader's consent?" At this moment, Ye Chen was acting like a knowledgeable and reasonable junior, which made Huo Qilin in the ring look at him with disdain.

  "Ye Chen?" The old man's eyebrows slightly furrowed, his gaze slowly swept over Ye Chen's body, and then he let out a soft sigh, saying slowly: "You are the second son of Ye Wen!"

  When the old man's gaze swept over, Ye Chen felt a sense of discomfort as if being pressed by a great mountain. However, the old man's words made Ye Chen pause for a moment, and then he smiled wryly. Nowadays, the Ye family might have someone else who would say such things, usually those Ye family juniors would call themselves the illegitimate children of the family head. He nodded slightly and said, "This humble one is indeed the illegitimate child of the Ye family head!"

  "This is the Ancestral Hall, the Treasure Pavilion you spoke of is several hundred meters ahead!" The old man's eyes slightly lifted, his withered right hand slowly extended from his sleeve, pointing to a pavilion several hundred meters away. Several young men were hastily entering and exiting the pavilion, which had a sign hanging above it with three large characters that seemed to dance in the air: Ye Family Pavilion.

  Following the old man's line of sight, even with Ye Chen's thick skin, he couldn't help but flash a hint of embarrassment, realizing that he had actually taken a wrong turn.

  Hu Qi Lin was also speechless for a moment, and then the playful laughter echoed in Ye Chen's mind: "I'm dead, you little guy is actually still a road idiot!"

  He rubbed his forehead and directly ignored Huo Qilin's mocking smile, bowing to the old man and saying: "I was rude just now!"

  The old man didn't seem to blame Ye Chen, his gaze slowly fell on Ye Chen's body, and after a long time, it slowly moved away. A complex expression appeared in his turbid eyes, and he said faintly: "If you want to enter the Ancestral Pavilion, perhaps I will agree to your request today!"

  "Ancestor's Pavilion!" Ye Chen looked up at the pavilion, his eyes slowly gazing upwards. At this moment, Ye Chen suddenly felt a strong aura emanating from the pavilion, an aura that made him raise an eyebrow in surprise. However, he had no recollection of such an aura in his memories, and over the past few years, he had only visited the Wudang Sect a handful of times, with no memory of this so-called Ancestor's Pavilion whatsoever. Moreover, who was this old man who suddenly appeared before him? His eyes narrowed slightly as he took a step back, bowing respectfully: "May I ask, senior, about the origins of the Ancestor's Pavilion?"

  The old man smiled but didn't speak, his gaze slowly shifted to the top floor of the ancestral hall, his hands clasped behind his back, and his white hair fluttered in the wind!

  He also felt a palpitation, but for some reason that breath of air gave him a sense of familiarity. After a moment of silence, he spoke in a low voice: "Entering the ancestral hall may be dangerous!"

  "Danger and opportunity often coexist, if you want to awaken the Qinglong bloodline, perhaps entering the ancestral hall is your only chance!" The old man's words were still calm, not affected by Ye Chen's reaction at all, his gaze never looking at Ye Chen again.

  "Little one, you must go in, because there's something inside that you need!" The voice of Huo Qilin also gradually echoed in Ye Chen's mind.

  The Huo Qilin was roaring incessantly in Ye Chen's mind, and at that moment, it felt a very familiar aura on the ancestral hall.

  Although he was just an ordinary killer in his past life, Ye Chen also deeply understood the coexistence of crisis and opportunity. However, after being reborn, Ye Chen had a deeper understanding of the preciousness of life. After remaining silent for a moment, he suddenly lifted his head, a hint of a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, as he said firmly: "I choose to go in!"

  Upon hearing this, the old man's face also revealed a hint of a smile. His gaze fell on Ye Chen once again as he said calmly: "Compared to three years ago, you've become more reserved and cautious! It seems that the trials of the past three years have greatly contributed to your mental growth. Suffering humiliation is indeed one of the most effective ways to temper oneself!"

  A bitter smile, when he first crossed over, relying on his innate advantages, he became the number one among the younger generation. Too much flattery and praise also made Ye Chen gradually become arrogant. However, three years of tempering also made him understand the importance of being low-key. He lightly stretched out his wrist and let out a long sigh, saying: "Perhaps it is!"

  The old man nodded slightly, and slowly pulled out a pair of withered hands from his sleeve, then slowly formed hand seals one by one. As the hand seals were formed, Ye Chen could clearly feel a mighty and invisible wave-like fluctuation surging out from the old man's palms, which then poured into the pavilion.

  "You can go in!" The old man's indifferent voice slowly sounded beside Ye Chen's ear, Ye Chen slightly nodded and took a step forward. However, at this moment, a soft cry came: "Ye Chen, you absolutely cannot enter the ancestral hall! That is the family's forbidden land!"

  A crisp sound came, followed by a fragrant breeze that rushed towards him, and Ye Muwen's figure slowly appeared behind Ye Chen.

  "Why?" Ye Chen's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he immediately turned to look at Ye Muyu's delicate face, which was both charming and pure. Despite the sudden appearance of Ye Muyu, Ye Chen still felt grateful in his heart for what she had done earlier to help him out of trouble.

  "The reason why the ancestral hall is listed as a forbidden place for the family is that everyone who enters the ancestral hall goes crazy!" Ye Muyu looked at the towering ancestral hall, and her eyes couldn't help but reveal a hint of horror. This majestic-looking ancestral hall had buried the future of countless Ye family descendants.

  He slightly furrowed his brow, and Ye Chen gave the old man a strange look. The old man also smiled awkwardly, stroking his beard as he said with a smile: "Those people went mad because they couldn't bear the bloody scene inside, kid. If you choose not to go in now, that's okay too!"

  A bloody scene unfolded before her eyes, and Ye Chen smiled at Ye Muwan, then turned around resolutely and strode towards the government building with a majestic gait, ignoring Ye Muwan's cries of alarm. It was clear that Ye Chen knew the danger but still chose to move forward, which shocked Ye Muwan greatly. The old man beside Ye Muwan was also taken aback.

  A flash of worry crossed her face, and she immediately turned to the elderly man beside her: "Elder, I wonder if he can come out safely!"

  The old man slowly shook his head and whispered, "If he can bear those bloody scenes, nothing will happen. If not, then..."

  The old man's words were not finished, and the clever Ye Mowan didn't know the old man's implied meaning. If she couldn't bear it, Ye Chen might go crazy. With a sigh, her beautiful eyes stared at the figure that was gradually moving away. Although she wasn't familiar with Ye Chen, after all, he was her younger brother.

  However, Ye Muwen and the old man did not notice the faint smile at the corner of Ye Chen's mouth when they were talking. The bloody experience that Ye Chen had gone through in his previous life was unimaginable to the old man and Ye Muwen. Being an assassin is a profession that hovers on the edge of death, and Ye Chen's mind is also beyond their imagination.