After leaving behind a sentence that stunned the entire audience, Ye Chen did not look back as he walked away, heading straight to the back mountain of the family.
In this place, he would always find his favorite spot, where he could gaze upon the clear blue sky, the drifting clouds, and think quietly about things unknown to others.
Lying in the grass, he looked up at the starry sky.
Ye Chen didn't regret the bet he made with Yang Yi today. Although advancing from the Acquired Third Realm to the Eighth Layer in nine months seemed difficult, it was not a problem for him.
Because he possessed memories of his previous life, the greatest cheat that helped him rise in this life, there was nothing else like it.
With the memories of his past life, even if his Dantian was shattered and his cultivation gone, he still had a way to reach the peak of the Dao.
Yet as he gazed at the sky, he suddenly missed the close friends of his former life.
Sixteen years had flown by, and he did not know how his old friends were doing, nor could he tell if those ladies, who had sworn eternal friendship and had experienced life and death together, would stand under the night sky, tearfully missing him all the time.
All of this made him long for them more, hoping to return to their sides soon.
After staying in silence for half a day, Ye Chen got up and left, walking along the path back to his room. At that moment, his steps faltered as he looked towards the grove of trees nearby and softly called out, "Dad—"
Although his cultivation was only at the Acquired Third Realm, after awakening the soul of his past life and its integration, his perception far exceeded his current state, allowing him to sense the most subtle of disturbances.
From the grove, a middle-aged man stepped out slowly. He appeared slightly surprised that Ye Chen could detect his presence. Still, looking at his son's face, the man, who was usually imposing, now showed a rare sense of warmth. He said softly, "Chen'er, it's late, and you should sleep; be careful not to catch a cold."
Ye Chen's gaze fell on Ye Ao's stern face. Although Ye Ao was not his real father, perhaps due to the bloodline of this body, it triggered the impulse in him, an orphan of his past life lacking familial love, to feel a slight sting in his eyes.
He turned his head, not letting his father see his embarrassment and softly said, "Dad, I was watching the stars, missing some people, missing those whom I do not know if I will ever get to see again in this lifetime."
Ye Ao was stunned, rarely seeing Ye Chen in such a melancholic state, yet unsure of whom he was truly missing. He sighed lightly, unsure how to break the silence.
After a moment of stillness, Ye Ao suddenly said, "Chen'er, the trials of Tiandu Academy are in nine months. Don't worry too much about anything. If the Spirit Clearing Pills are gone, they're gone. After all, they're just external possessions and not that important. As the Family Head, even those old fellows wouldn't dare do anything to me."
"Therefore, as long as you're safe and well, that's all that matters. All external things are unimportant to me, your father."
Ye Chen trembled, looking at this middle-aged man who always appeared so authoritative in front of others, yet only showed concern in front of him and his mother.
Clearly, he thought Ye Chen's actions today were just a moment of impulsiveness. If Ye Chen regretted it, he would rather give up his position as Family Head or City Lord.
Though the position of City Lord of Luofeng City was quite prestigious, in comparison to family... it was trivial.
Ye Chen's eyes reddened slightly, feeling the urge to cry, but men do not easily shed tears, so he held back the soreness in his eyes and smiled lightly: "Dad, rest assured, I will work hard. In nine months, I will pass the trials of Tiandu Academy!"
Ye Ao, unaware of Ye Chen's true capabilities, thought his son was just comforting him. Reaching the qualification mark of Tiandu Academy's trials in nine months was unthinkable, yet he did not want to crush the cultivation confidence his son had so arduously built after his near-death experience. He can only sigh in his heart and gently pat his head, "Alright, it's late, go back and rest. If you're lacking anything, just tell your dad; I will support you with all my might."
A soft sound, worth more than a thousand words, perhaps this is true fatherly love.
Ye Chen clenched his fists tightly; whatever the reason, just this care alone was enough to make him strive not to disappoint his father.
The first step to becoming truly powerful was to repair his Dantian.
The Dantian is the most important part of a cultivator's early practice; it is where one can store the energy cultivated.
Once shattered, it almost meant that this person's path in martial arts cultivation was ruined.
Of course, that was just for the average person. For an Alchemy Master like him, the shattering of the Dantian was not a problem at all, there were plenty of ways to repair it.
However, before Ye Chen could think of a way to repair his Dantian, he found out that over the years, for some unknown reason, his once shattered Dantian had slowly healed, reformed, and had long since recovered to its original state.
This was also the reason why the last bit of strength inside his body hadn't dissipated all along, always circulating at a speed so slow it was hard to detect, maintaining the Grand Circulation.
This surprised Ye Chen considerably. Even after searching through his memories, when he had first returned with a shattered Dantian and sought medical attention, none were able to help. Yet, mysteriously, the Dantian had healed on its own. This was certainly curious.
Starting from that moment, Ye Chen began to suspect there might be something unique about his constitution.
While contemplating in the courtyard, he accidentally missed his footing around a corner and almost fell to the ground. Had he not quickly grabbed hold of the rockery to steady himself, he really would have fallen—what an embarrassment that would have been, though he did cut his finger.
"Look, isn't that the useless young master? What a disgrace, he almost fell just from walking."
"Hehe, keep your voice down, or he might hear you, beware of the trouble you might invite."
"True, he may be useless, but after all, he has a good father."
Some servants were whispering in secrecy, pointing fingers from a distance, never imagining Ye Chen could hear them. Sadly for them, after integrating his memories, his perception had become much stronger. Even a fly couldn't pass ten feet away from him undetected.
This was the treatment he received from the Ye Family, the treatment reserved for the useless, where even the lowest servants dared to mock him openly.
To this, Ye Chen could only respond with a wry smile. How low he had sunk. Just a few years ago, these same servants treated him like a true young master, looking at him with reverence. But the moment he became a cripple, even they no longer saw him worthy of respect.
Indeed, no matter where one was, strength was paramount.
"Hmm?" Ye Chen suddenly let out a sound of doubt, because he noticed that the blood from his finger had a fleeting appearance of obscure golden radiance, oddly attention-grabbing.
"How strange, could it be that I have some special constitution?" Ye Chen was secretly astonished as he recalled the mysterious recovery of his Dantian, and he carefully observed a drop of blood.
Under the sunlight, a drop of blood lay quietly in the palm of his hand, seemingly ordinary.
However, with his heightened perception, he found that deep inside the blood, there were specks of obscure golden radiance circulating. If one didn't look closely, it would be hard to notice.
"Blood with a hint of gold?"
Ye Chen was taken aback. With his heightened perception, he could clearly feel that underneath the blood there seemed to be a tremendous, dormant power with immense potential, yet to be awakened, almost indiscernible from normal blood.
He felt that once triggered, this bloodline would unleash a tremendous amount of potential, and perhaps even enormous power.
In the Heavenly and Myriads of Realms, there was no shortage of oddities, always some special constitutions that were innately powerful to a surprising extent. Once their bloodline was activated, they were of a world-shocking level, surpassing Martial Gods, Heavenly Gods with ease.
Some people were incredibly powerful from birth.
Ye Chen, in his past life, was someone of no small significance and naturally knew a great deal. In this life, he very likely possessed one of those exceptional constitutions.
He studied carefully, until after a long time, even he couldn't help but take a sharp breath, and that's when he shockingly discovered a fact filled with astonishment—
An Innate Saint Body!