Chapter 55

"Tomorrow at the ancestral hall, blood debts will be repaid with blood — Ye Hao!"

After tearing open the envelope, ten blood-red large characters were particularly glaring.

"Ye Hao, he... he actually returned before the clan meeting!" Taking a glance, Ye Tiancheng’s expression immediately changed drastically. "Zhen’er, since Ye Hao has returned, why don’t you avoid him for a while?"

"What? Is Ye Hao very powerful?" Ye Zhen’s brows furrowed.

Ye Hao, like him, was a member of the Ye family, one year older than Ye Zhen. However, as a direct-line descendant with outstanding talent, Ye Hao had little interaction with Ye Zhen, a collateral-line descendant. Ye Zhen only knew that due to his outstanding talent, Ye Hao was sent to the Lishui Sect two and a half years ago.

This was also the consistent principle of large families, never putting all eggs in one basket.

Ye Hao was the eldest grandson of the clan elder Ye Haiping and the nephew of Ye Zhi’an, whom Ye Zhen had crippled. This challenge letter was likely to avenge Ye Zhi’an.

"Not just powerful! He entered the Lishui Sect one year earlier than you. When he entered the Lishui Sect, his talent was outstanding, and he immediately became an outer sect disciple of the Lishui Sect, and was even one of the best among the outer sect disciples. Last year, during the sect’s grand ceremony, there were rumors that he had already reached the True Essence Realm and become an inner sect disciple of the Lishui Sect. Now, a year has passed, his cultivation must have improved even further. Zhen’er, even if your cultivation has progressed rapidly, half a year ago, you were still only at the first level of Blood Cultivation. Ye Hao, however, is recognized by the clan as the most promising member in nearly a hundred years to break through to the Spirit Induction Realm. You are definitely no match for him. You should avoid him as soon as possible."

"Avoid him?" Ye Zhen slowly shook his head.

"Why are you so stubborn, child? As long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood..."

"Father, look at this." As he spoke, Ye Zhen slightly moved his mind, and a layer of pure green true essence immediately covered his palm.

"True essence?" Stunned, Ye Tiancheng was first greatly surprised, his eyes showing an incredulous expression, then he was overjoyed: "Pure green true essence, True Essence Realm! Zhen’er, your cultivation has actually broken through to the True Essence Realm. This... this... how is this possible? It’s only been half a year, less than half a year!"

"Oh, no wonder, a few days ago, you told me that the Blood Essence Pill was no longer useful to you. So, this is what you meant!"

Ye Zhen smiled lightly and nodded, "Father, are you reassured now?"

Ye Tiancheng’s expression remained quite serious, "Zhen’er, even though your cultivation has also broken through to the True Essence Realm, you must not be careless. Ye Hao has been in the True Essence Realm for a whole year. Not to mention his abundant true essence, his martial arts skills are also far beyond your reach!"

"Father, I understand!"

Hearing this, Ye Zhen smiled. He was not afraid of martial arts skills. As a disciple of the Lishui Sect, how could Ye Hao be better than Guoshan Feng?

"Father, rest assured, tomorrow, I will give all the Ye clan members a great surprise!" Ye Zhen said with utmost confidence.

"Zhen’er, no matter what, your mother only hopes you are well. The world of martial artists is truly..." Mi Jiangxue, who had not spoken, suddenly remembered the tragic state of Ye Zhi’an that day.

"Mother, rest assured!"

...

The Ye clan, with its distant and close blood relatives, numbered in the tens of thousands. However, the clan rules of the Ye clan had a somewhat survival-of-the-fittest flavor. According to the clan rules, clan branches within three generations that lacked bloodline talent had no right to participate in the annual clan meeting.

As a result, the vast majority of the clan members who were eligible to attend the annual clan meeting were removed, and those who could attend the annual clan meeting of the Ye clan were almost all the elites of the Ye clan.

Among these nearly a thousand Ye clan elites, the majority were like Ye Tiancheng, who had practiced for half a lifetime but were still at the third or fourth level of Blood Cultivation. Those at the fifth level of Blood Cultivation were already the cream of the crop among the Ye clan elites.

True Essence Realm cultivators were the backbone of the Ye clan. The clan leader and the top-ranking clan elders were almost all True Essence Realm cultivators.

As for the Spirit Induction Realm cultivators, the Ye clan had only seen three in its history, each of whom had expanded the clan’s foundation. However, in the past hundred years, the Ye clan had not produced a single Spirit Induction Realm cultivator, which led to the Ye clan only being able to dominate the small county of Jin Cheng. Outside Jin Cheng, the Ye clan was nothing.

This was also the reason for the rapid rise in power of the clan elder Ye Haiping, as his eldest grandson Ye Hao was recognized as the most likely member of the Ye clan in nearly a hundred years to break through to the Spirit Induction Realm.

Early in the morning, outside the Ye clan’s ancestral hall, the courtyard was crowded with Ye clan members who had come to attend the clan meeting, greeting each other warmly, creating a lively scene.

However, this lively scene was completely isolated from Ye Zhen and his father Ye Tiancheng.

Even though many clan members were packed tightly at the entrance of the ancestral hall, there was not a single person within three feet in front of or behind Ye Zhen and his father.

Even more so, if Ye Zhen and his father made any slight movement, this three-foot isolation zone would move accordingly.

The warmth and coldness of human relationships were particularly evident in the large families like the Ye clan.

Even if Ye Tiancheng greeted old acquaintances warmly, those people would hurriedly respond and quickly turn away, afraid of being seen.

It seemed they had also heard the same rumors as Lady Yu.

As for He Bancheng’s proposal yesterday, although it was known to everyone, it did not help the current predicament of Ye Zhen and his father, except for a few people who called Ye Zhen foolish.

Ye Zhen was completely unconcerned about this predicament, but Ye Tiancheng, who placed great importance on clan relations, was very disheartened.

In contrast, not far away, Ye Hao, dressed in a dark blue martial robe, was so busy nodding and responding to greetings that he could hardly keep up. Some people would greet him for a long time without a response, but they still eagerly crowded around him.

In the crowd, Ye Zhen saw Ye Sheng and Ye Chao, who were crowding around Ye Hao. The moment their eyes met Ye Zhen’s, they immediately turned away like frightened rats.

Looking at the guilty Ye Sheng and Ye Chao, Ye Zhen sneered. Today, he would definitely give these two bastards a good lesson.

The courtyard of the Ye clan’s ancestral hall was extremely spacious, and the open space outside the hall could easily accommodate over a thousand people. As the main gate opened, numerous Ye clan members rushed into the courtyard’s martial arts arena.

The first item of the Ye clan’s annual clan meeting, as expected, was the martial arts competition.

As the clan members poured in, the clan leader Ye Tianqi, along with the clan elder Ye Haiping and a group of clan elders, accompanied the county magistrate of Jin Cheng, Cen Shan, onto the martial arts platform.

Every year, the Ye clan’s clan meeting would invite several respected figures from Jin Cheng to attend, to enhance the prestige of the Ye family.

Seeing everyone seated, the clan leader Ye Tianqi nodded at the youngest of the seven clan elders, "Alright, let’s begin!"

Hearing this, the seventh clan elder immediately stood up and walked to the front of the platform: "Ladies and gentlemen, the Ye clan’s annual clan meeting officially begins. The first item is, as always, the martial arts competition!"

Clearing his throat, the seventh clan elder continued in a loud voice: "The rules of the martial arts competition remain the same: stop at the first touch, no intentional harm! The top three in the clan competition will receive significant rewards, especially this year!

The first place will receive a bottle of Essence Condensation Pill, the second place a bottle of Blood Essence Pill, and two Marrow Washing Pills, and the third place a bottle of Blood Essence Pill!"

"Wow! A bottle of Essence Condensation Pill, what a high reward!"

Many Ye clan members exclaimed in surprise, clearly astonished by the reward for first place. In the Wu An Prefecture, a bottle of Essence Condensation Pill was worth 12,000 silver taels.

A generous reward, for a clan confined to a small county like the Ye clan, this year’s reward for first place was indeed a significant investment!

Below the platform, Ye Zhen disdainfully curled his lips. This reward was not particularly appealing, but for the current state of the Ye clan, offering a bottle of Essence Condensation Pill worth 10,000 silver taels was indeed a significant investment.

On the platform, the corner of the Great Elder’s mouth curled into an involuntary smile. The reason for this year’s generous reward for first place was entirely due to his efforts behind the scenes.

Because, without a doubt, this year’s first place in the clan competition would be his eldest grandson, Ye Hao.

In helping his grandson improve his cultivation, he never held back.

Pressing his hands down, the seventh clan elder stopped the clan members’ exclamations and continued, "This year, 21 young men from the clan will participate in the competition. As usual, they will draw lots to decide..."

"Wait, I have something to say!" Before the seventh clan elder could finish, Ye Hao, dressed in a dark blue martial robe, abruptly interrupted him and leaped onto the martial arts platform!