?

When Chu Chen's familiar figure appeared before her eyes, Ye Lingyue's eyes turned red and her nose stung. The complex emotions buried in her heart instantly erupted, impossible to suppress any longer.

Heaven alone knew how much grievance she had swallowed and how much blame she had borne in her search for Chu Chen.

Day and night, she worried that he was suffering in the outside world, living a precarious existence.

Starving, sleepless, endlessly bullied and tormented by others.

But fortunately...

Fortunately, Heaven had eyes. Her utmost sincerity had finally moved the heavens, allowing her to find Chu Chen.

To find a living, breathing Chu Chen with all his limbs intact!!

After firing off three desperate questions in a row, Ye Lingyue gave Chu Chen no chance to speak. She immediately grabbed his wrist, intending to execute Sword Riding and break through the void.

She was going to take Chu Chen away from this place and return to the Ye family!

Only with the Ye family's protection could Chu Chen live a better life and secure a brighter future!!

"Take your dirty hands off him! Just who do you think you are?!"

Seeing Chu Chen about to be dragged away by a woman as beautiful as a flower, Zhang Ke'er's temper instantly flared.

She abruptly drew her long sword and slashed at Ye Lingyue's right hand that tightly gripped Chu Chen. A razor-sharp sword aura erupted, enveloping Ye Lingyue in the blink of an eye.

Although this Ye Lingyue was slightly older, her appearance and bearing were absolutely top-tier.

Zhang Ke'er pouted and shot Chu Chen a vicious glare, entirely convinced that this was some romantic debt he had incurred outside.

No wonder...

No wonder at the auction, whenever this woman bid on a treasure, Chu Chen simply handed it over on a silver platter. After an entire auction, she, Zhang Ke'er, hadn't bought a single thing.

So it was old lovers reuniting, hating that they hadn't met sooner. Hmph!!

Swish!!

Faced with Zhang Ke'er's sudden strike, even with her cultivation at the Ninth Heaven of the Divine Fire Realm, Ye Lingyue did not dare to be careless. She hastily released Chu Chen's wrist and darted back to dodge.

"Chu Chen, who is she?!"

Ye Lingyue coldly swept her gaze over Zhang Ke'er, forcefully suppressing her inner anger. When she looked back at Chu Chen, her eyes carried a trace of profound disappointment:

"Our Ye family is born superior to others. We never serve as slaves. Chu Chen, you..."

Hearing this, Chu Chen was completely dumbfounded.

So in Ye Lingyue's mind, he... he, Chu Chen, had actually been reduced to Zhang Ke'er's slave????

"Eldest Sister, why waste words with him? Just make a move and capture him directly!"

Ye Han, who had been holding back on the side, had long lost her patience. Her confidence had swelled to the extreme after dominating the auction. Pointing straight at Chu Chen, she cursed:

"A cripple who cannot cultivate! Without our Ye family's protection, how else could he survive except by groveling as someone else's slave?"

"It's truly a pity that our Ye family's glorious reputation has been dragged through the mud by this waste!"

"Hmph, just wait until we return to the Ye family. I will report this to Father and have him skin you alive..."

Zhang Ke'er-who had initially suspected Chu Chen of cheating with an old flame and betraying their Empress Master-felt her little head buzzing upon hearing these words.

Connecting it to Chu Chen's background, she seemed to have finally pieced things together.

But Ye Han's words were too vile. Before Chu Chen could even flare up, Zhang Ke'er was already pointing at Ye Han's nose and cursing:

"Where did this vulgar woman come from, speaking with such a blatant lack of upbringing?!"

"This is Shenhuo City. If you don't know the rules, I don't mind teaching you a lesson!!"

As she spoke, Zhang Ke'er leveled her long sword once more. The ice-attribute spiritual energy within her body surged wildly. The surroundings were instantly enveloped in layers of frost, and the temperature plummeted.

Behind her, Zhong Sheng had long since clenched his fists, gathering terrifying spatial power. He recognized Ye Han's voice and had already formed a dense killing intent towards this woman. He was merely waiting for Chu Chen's command. With his Third Heaven Great Saint cultivation, he could instantly claim Ye Han's life and obliterate her completely!!

"Presumptuous! Daring to speak to this young lady like that, you are seeking your own end!"

Ye Han was not one to be easily bullied. Accustomed to being pampered and surrounded by sycophants who always gave way, she firmly believed others should naturally defer to her. She felt no fear whatsoever.

She immediately drew her own long sword, fully intending to charge forward and teach Zhang Ke'er a bloody lesson.

"Xiao Han, stay your hand!!"

The steady-minded Ye Lingyue grabbed Ye Han. She knew full well this was Shenhuo City, not the Ye family's territory.

Once a fight broke out, they would inevitably suffer a disadvantage.

"Chu Chen, to survive, you were willing to become a slave. You were forced by circumstances, so Eldest Sister does not blame you!"

Ye Lingyue took a deep breath, extended her hand toward Chu Chen, and forced a gentle smile:

"As long as you return to the Ye family with Eldest Sister, I will definitely plead for you in front of Father. I promise..."

"I am not your younger brother. You have mistaken me for someone else!"

Looking at Ye Lingyue's pretentious display of deep affection-acting as if she had moved the heavens and the earth-Chu Chen felt a wave of nausea and repeatedly waved his hand.

When he spoke, his voice was neither sad nor joyful. It was eerily calm, devoid of any emotional fluctuation. It was the tone of an absolute stranger.

Chu Chen knew the Ye family would eventually find him. After all, ever since he left, the Ye family's Providence had scattered, giving rise to endless calamities.

Every Ye family disciple was affected. In light cases, their cultivation would stagnate. In severe cases, they would suffer Qi Deviation and explode to death.

But Chu Chen hadn't expected them to find him so quickly. To avoid the Ye family as much as possible, he had specifically traveled to the Southern Frontier, seeking refuge in the Divine Flame Imperial Palace, which held a bitter grudge against them.

Yet in the end, they still managed to track him down. Truly...

Lingering ghosts refusing to disperse!!

"Chu Chen..."

Looking at Chu Chen treating her like a total stranger, Ye Lingyue's eyes reddened, and a suffocating weight pressed down on her chest.

She simply couldn't understand. She had sacrificed so much for Chu Chen and protected him so fiercely...

Why would Chu Chen rather remain here as someone else's lowly slave than return to the Ye family with her???

Was it shame?

Was it embarrassment?

Or...

Was Chu Chen afraid? Afraid that upon returning to the Ye family, he would still be bullied by his sisters and berated by their father?

That must be it!!

"Chu Chen, Eldest Sister promises you! This time, when we return to the Ye family, I will never let you suffer any grievances again!"

"Father... Father misses you too. He... he regrets erasing your name from the genealogy, regrets expelling you from the Ye family, he regrets..."

Before Ye Lingyue could finish, Chu Chen burst into laughter:

"Regrets not beating me to death?!"

"Ye Lingyue, stop putting on an act! If I'm not mistaken, that old dog Ye Ding is definitely planning to drag me back, sever the tendons in my hands and feet, and lock me in the stables. He'll deny me food and water just to see how many days it takes for me to starve to death. Then, he'll dress it up nicely, calling it 'teaching me a lesson,' 'tempering my will,' and 'forging my character'..."

Ye Lingyue was rendered speechless. She desperately wanted to refute him, but...

But Father had actually said those exact words about breaking Chu Chen's limbs and locking him in the stables to eat and sleep with the livestock!!

"Chu Chen, rest assured!"

"Father definitely has some misunderstandings regarding you. When we return to the Ye family, Eldest Sister... Eldest Sister will definitely protect you! I will never allow you to suffer any harm again!"

Ye Lingyue's nose stung, and her eyes grew even redder. As she spoke, terrified that Chu Chen wouldn't believe her, she reached out once more to grab his wrist:

"And Xiao Xuan... Xiao Xuan misses you too! I was only able to track your whereabouts so quickly because Xiao Xuan helped immensely. He... he has always been worried about the safety of his elder brother. He has always been thinking of you!"

Ye Xuan thinking of him? Worried about his safety??

Hearing this, Chu Chen couldn't help but laugh out loud!

That white lotus really knew how to put on a disguise. He had truly brainwashed the entire Ye family!!

"You want me to go back? You want me, a Pro-disciple of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace, the undisputed number one of the Red King Palace, a peerless genius possessing a Top Grade Five-Element Full Spiritual Root, to go back to your tiny Ye family and be a dog?!"

"Stop wasting your breath. Tell that white lotus Ye Xuan to wash his neck and wait for me. I will definitely slaughter him!!"

In his previous life, this Ye Xuan had persecuted Chu Chen far too viciously. Not only did he strip Chu Chen of everything, but after squeezing him completely dry, he exploited Chu Chen's Providence to attempt a breakthrough into the Quasi-Emperor Realm, and he nearly succeeded.

Had it not been for that critical juncture when Empress Lin Shuwang stormed into the Ye family, uncovered the truth, and wielded an Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon to forcefully obliterate that white lotus...

He, Ye Xuan...

Would have truly risen to unstoppable power!!

Every wrong has its perpetrator; every debt has its debtor.

In this life, heh heh!!

Ye Xuan, you just wait!

I don't have many hobbies, but I absolutely love tearing white lotuses apart by hand!!

"Chu Chen, I will not allow you to speak of Xiao Xuan in such a manner!"

Before Ye Han could even lunge forward, Ye Lingyue furiously interjected upon hearing Chu Chen curse Ye Xuan:

"In the entire Ye family, Xiao Xuan is the one who cares about you the most! To locate you, Xiao Xuan endured immense hardships to refine a Divine Fire Realm-Breaking Pill for me..."

Before Ye Lingyue could finish reciting Ye Xuan's "great achievements," Chu Chen impatiently turned on his heel:

"Ke'er, Old Zhong, let's go!"

"Stop wasting time with this madwoman. It's ruining my mood!!"

At Chu Chen's command, Zhang Ke'er and Zhong Sheng followed without a second thought.

Ye Han's eyes narrowed slightly. This Chu Chen...

He didn't seem like a slave?

On the contrary, Zhang Ke'er and Zhong Sheng seemed to obey his every command.

Could it be...

How was that possible?!

A thought had barely surfaced in her mind before she ruthlessly extinguished it!!

Madwoman?

Chu Chen had actually... actually called her, his eldest sister, a madwoman???

Ye Lingyue staggered back two steps, clutching her chest. Unable to catch her breath, she nearly fainted on the spot.

"Eldest Sister, I told you long ago that this trash Chu Chen has cheap bones. Talking nicely to him is completely useless!"

Seeing Chu Chen about to walk away, Ye Han sneered, drew her long sword, and without a second thought, viciously thrust it straight toward Chu Chen's back.

A sneak attack!

And aimed directly at a vital spot!

"Hmph, watch me beat you half to death, and then we'll drag you back to the Ye family by force!!"

Swish!

Clang!!

Sensing the sharp sword aura approaching from behind, Chu Chen instantly erupted with his cultivation at the Ninth Heaven of the Essence Condensation Realm. While dodging, he swung his own long sword, forcefully parrying Ye Han's vicious thrust.

"Es... Essence Condensation Ninth Heaven?? How... how is this possible?!"

Not only did her strike miss, but Ye Han's right hand holding the sword went numb from the violent impact. Staring at Chu Chen in absolute disbelief, she blurted out:

"You... aren't you a cripple with all your Meridians severed and cultivation destroyed?! How can you cultivate?!"

Chu Chen did not press the attack, for someone else had already made a move on his behalf.

"You dare to launch a sneak attack right in front of this Saintess? You are begging for death!!"

Zhang Ke'er was thoroughly infuriated. Instantly mobilizing her spiritual energy, she unleashed her Spirit Communication Realm cultivation and violently charged at Ye Han.

Faced with a Spirit Communication Realm expert, Ye Han was entirely incapable of defending herself. In the blink of an eye, blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. Just as she was about to be captured...

"Eldest Sister! Save me! Save me!!"

Ye Han was completely panicked. Why was everything completely different from what she had imagined?!

Ye Lingyue had not wanted to make a move. She did not want to escalate the conflict, but she could not simply stand by and watch her own blood sister be suppressed and killed.

"Chu Chen, you have disappointed Eldest Sister far too much!!"

Ye Lingyue took a deep breath. The spiritual Pressure of her Divine Fire Ninth Heaven cultivation fully erupted, instantly overwhelming Zhang Ke'er's momentum:

"You forced my hand. But do not worry, I will not take their lives. I will merely bring you back to the Ye family, and then I will explain everything to you!!"

As she spoke, Ye Lingyue swiftly formed hand seals. The spiritual energy within her body transformed into several beams of light that shot out to entangle Chu Chen, Zhang Ke'er, and Zhong Sheng. Relying on her absolute advantage in cultivation, she sought to instantly control the entire scene.

With a Divine Fire Ninth Heaven expert unleashing her full might, who could possibly contend?!

Chu Chen suddenly kicked Zhong Sheng right in the backside and cursed:

"Are you still just going to watch? Still watching?! Are you waiting until I'm actually captured?!"

Zhong Sheng stumbled and nearly fell, but upon reacting to the command, he was overjoyed and burst into wild, manic laughter:

"Haha! Hahaha!!"

"This old man has held back for so long! I can finally make a move! I can finally strike!!"

Boom!!

Zhong Sheng casually waved his hand, and a terrifying surge of spatial power instantly erupted. Amidst the utterly horrified expressions of Ye Lingyue and Ye Han, the surrounding space of several dozen meters was instantly locked down!!

Below the Saint Realm, all are but ants!!

...

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