Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Ye Clan

Whenever Ye Yun encountered confusion on his path of growth, the Grand Ancestor Ye Yu would appear to dispel his doubts.

To awaken from ignorance, to guide with timely wisdom—such a teacher’s great kindness could never be repaid. Ye Yu was undeniably a good master, a worthy mentor who led Ye Yun forward at crucial moments. With his guidance, Ye Yun’s uncertainty faded; his eyes regained their former brilliance. He committed his master’s words to heart: one must never betray their true self nor defy their Dao, and must learn to be flexible in all things.

Within the main residence of the Ye family in Cloudwater City, the deepest part was reserved for the family head—a place of utmost importance. Even the elders of the Ye clan, unless summoned or bearing matters of grave consequence, were not permitted to enter freely.

“Peng, you’ve gone too far this time. Every disciple with cultivation talent is the foundation of our Ye clan. For the sake of a single snake demon at the Foundation Establishment stage, you caused the loss of so many disciples. Do you understand your mistake?”

After the elders departed, the head of the family, Ye Haiyi, summoned Ye Peng for admonishment.

“I acknowledge my fault and will not dare repeat it,” Ye Peng replied, kneeling respectfully.

Before outsiders, he was unmatched in arrogance, proud as the family head’s disciple. Yet in front of his master, he dared not overstep, for he knew well that everything he possessed was granted by this venerable, supreme head of the Ye clan.

Ye Haiyi could bestow all upon him, but could just as easily take it away with a single word.

“By rights, so many disciples died because of you. The elders came demanding justice. Were I to follow proper conduct, I ought to strip you of your cultivation and execute you as a warning. Do you know why I did not?”

Ye Haiyi’s face was stern as he sat upon the family head’s throne, his tone cold.

“Master’s affection for me is deep; you cannot bear to punish me,” Ye Peng answered after a moment’s thought.

“Hmph!” Ye Haiyi sneered. “Even if I care for you, should you commit a grave error, I would never protect you. The only reason I spared you this time is because your cultivation talent is extraordinary. In the future, you may bring glory to the Ye clan!”

“But no matter how great your talent or potential, if you again sacrifice the Ye clan’s interests for your own, I will not tolerate it. Remember this!” Ye Haiyi rebuked.

“Yes! I will not err again!” Ye Peng hastily admitted his fault.

After the admonition, seeing Ye Peng’s attitude of repentance, Ye Haiyi nodded, reached out, and a golden light flew from Ye Peng to his hand.

The golden light was palm-sized; upon closer inspection, it was a net-shaped magical artifact. Within it, a small snake covered in black scales slithered about, unable to escape.

A snake demon that has shed its skin and grown scales is considered a Foundation Establishment beast. This black-scaled demon snake was the one Ye Peng captured at the cost of more than ten Ye clan disciples.

A Foundation Establishment demon beast can speak human language, but this black-scaled snake had just broken through and had not yet stabilized its cultivation, thus could not do so.

“This was bought with the lives of more than ten Ye clan disciples. You may subdue it and use it well,” Ye Haiyi said, flicking a beam of light into the snake demon’s body. “I have placed a restriction within this creature; from now on, it is your spirit pet.”

“Thank you, Master!” Ye Peng was overjoyed; he had expected a severe punishment, but instead received a few harsh words and help in taming the snake demon as a spirit pet.

“Go now,” Ye Haiyi waved him away.

“Yes!” Ye Peng rose, bowed, and left the main hall.

In the vast hall, Ye Haiyi was left alone. He gazed thoughtfully at the spot where Ye Peng had knelt, lost in his own musings.

“Seven years have passed. They say the child taken in by the Grand Ancestor has now reached the peak of Qi Refining. Someone with merely a talent as bright as a lamp—why does the Grand Ancestor value him so highly?”

Ye Haiyi murmured to himself, pacing back and forth in the hall. “A tenth-grade talent—though called innately perfect, ‘bright as a lamp’ is still the lowest grade. What is the Grand Ancestor’s intention?”

Ye Haiyi did not know, nor did anyone else in the Ye clan, for the clan’s founder, the Grand Ancestor, had always been shrouded in mystery.

A Nascent Soul cultivator’s lifespan maxes out at three hundred and fifty years, yet the Grand Ancestor had already lived over seven hundred years. No one knew the true depth of his cultivation.

The higher one stands upon the path of cultivation, the further one sees, and the broader one’s insight becomes.

Ye Haiyi’s attempts to guess the Grand Ancestor’s motives sprang from his hope that his own disciple would one day inherit the position of family head…

Such is the dignity of a family head!

But Ye Haiyi did not realize that what he considered the dignity of the family head was nothing more than a joke in the eyes of the Grand Ancestor Ye Yu—perhaps it had never even crossed his mind…

“Young master, the lord requests your presence in the main hall.”

A maid appeared at the door, respectfully announcing.

“Very well, I’ll go now,” Ye Yun replied, opening his door without asking anything and striding toward the hall, the maid following carefully behind.

In the main hall of Rain Pavilion Courtyard, Ye Zili sat in the main seat, his wife Liu Shuyun beside him. Besides the couple, four guests had arrived.

“Second Uncle? Second Aunt?”

Ye Yun entered and immediately recognized them, bowing in greeting.

Second Uncle Ye Zicheng and his father Ye Zili had grown up together. Since their elimination in the White Jade Soul Mirror test, they had supported each other and endured many hardships from childhood.

Of the three brothers, Second Uncle was closest to Ye Zili. As for Third Uncle Ye Ziying, he always kept to himself and considered himself superior.

“Ha ha, it’s been over seven years—Yun, you’ve grown so much!” Ye Zicheng stood up, his expression slightly emotional as he patted Ye Yun’s shoulder.

When Ye Yun was young, Second Uncle Ye Zicheng and Second Aunt Feng Zhen treated him exceptionally well, always giving him tasty treats.

Beside Second Aunt Feng Zhen stood a seven-year-old girl with twin braids and bright, watery eyes.

Her name was Ye Jing. When Ye Yun was six, Second Aunt was already several months pregnant.

In addition, a graceful young girl stood to one side, her bright eyes fixed curiously on Ye Yun.

“Greetings, Brother Ye Yun.”

She bowed lightly, her shyness coloring her cheeks.

“Ye Xian, you’ve grown more beautiful,” Ye Yun praised.

At age six, during the soul mirror test, only two in the Ye clan possessed talent as brilliant as fire—Ye Xian was one of them.

Though Ye Yun had returned from training with his master for over half a year, he spent most of his time cultivating in Elder Ye Min’s study, rarely returning home.

Second Uncle and Second Aunt had visited a few times, but never encountered him.

Originally, Ye Xian had been accepted as Elder Ye Min’s disciple, but it was later discovered that though she possessed great talent, she lacked aptitude for alchemy, causing Elder Ye Min much frustration.

To avoid misleading his disciple, Elder Ye Min transferred Ye Xian to Elder Ye Deyin, then took Ye Qian, who showed exceptional talent in alchemy, as a disciple.

Now, among the younger generation of the Ye clan, there were two shining stars: Ye Qian, the alchemy prodigy; and Ye Xian, second only to Ye Peng in martial prowess.

ps: A reader in the group mentioned that this book is much the same as my previous works. I, Wangqing, must respectfully disagree. This book is about all of us—growing up under the guidance of parents and elders, gradually understanding the warmth and perils of the world. To quote a line from a Chinese song, this is a book that speaks from the heart… Wangqing hopes you all will enjoy it!