Divine Flame Emperor Palace, Red King Palace.

Chaos Peak, Main Hall.

Chu Chen sat in the seat of honor, with Zhang Ke'er and Zhong Sheng seated to his left and right. Yu Youwei served them freshly brewed hot tea, alongside exquisite pastries and precious Spirit Fruits.

Chu Chen sampled the pastries while savoring the fragrant tea, his mood quite excellent.

Encountering Ye Lingyue and Ye Han had been somewhat surprising, yet it still fell entirely within his calculations.

He simply had not expected the Ye family to arrive this swiftly. By his estimates, it should have taken them at least a few months to track him down.

It seemed Ye Lingyue's mastery of divination and the Eight Trigrams had advanced.

It also seemed that Ye Xuan, that little white lotus, had fanned the flames and exerted quite a bit of effort behind the scenes.

It seemed the Ye family... was truly panicking!!

With his departure, the Ye family's Providence would scatter, breeding endless misfortune. Forget direct disciples like Ye Lingyue-even the Ye family Patriarch, their Ancestor, and their tens of thousands of disciples would suffer the backlash.

For when one's virtue failed to match their station, karmic backlash was inevitable!

This was only the beginning. The Ye family just had to wait!

He, Chu Chen, had not even made his true move yet...

"Hmph! Eat, eat, eat! All you know how to do is eat!"

Just as Chu Chen was savoring a delicious pastry, Zhang Ke'er puffed out her cheeks, unable to hold back any longer:

"Chu Chen, this Saintess has completely misjudged you!"

"I thought you, Chu Chen, were an indomitable hero, a straightforward man who repaid debts and settled grudges with the sword... but I didn't expect..."

"I didn't expect that after accompanying you on this trip, not only would we fail to win a single treasure at the auction, but we'd also come back swallowing a bellyful of grievances!"

Zhong Sheng nodded in deep agreement and gave Zhang Ke'er a thumbs-up. However, the moment he noticed Chu Chen's cold gaze sweep over him, he let out an awkward laugh and hastily turned his head away, feigning ignorance.

"If you feel so wronged staying here on my Chaos Peak, then you are free to leave."

Chu Chen was not about to spoil Zhang Ke'er. Had this girl not stubbornly clung to him, he never would have bothered bringing along such a chattering troublemaker:

"Youwei, see our guest out!"

Chu Chen waved his sleeve. Yu Youwei, wearing a deeply troubled expression, walked up to Zhang Ke'er, offered a graceful bow, and said hesitantly:

"L-Lady Saintess... perhaps... perhaps you should return first, and come visit again once Master's anger has subsided?"

Yu Youwei was far from foolish; she could naturally discern the close bond between her Master and Zhang Ke'er.

Yet, as Chu Chen's personal maid and steward, her Master's commands remained her absolute law, regardless of whether they seemed reasonable.

"Fine, I'll leave! Hmph!"

Zhang Ke'er pouted and stormed aggressively toward the palace gates, but before her foot could cross the threshold, she abruptly pulled it back. Still puffing her cheeks, she trotted right back to her chair, plopped down, and shamelessly refused to budge:

"Why should I leave? You haven't even explained anything to me. I'm definitely not leaving!"

"Chu Chen, why did you deliberately yield all those treasures to the Ye family at the auction?"

Although Chu Chen had ordered Zhong Sheng to maliciously drive up the prices, forcing Ye Han and Ye Lingyue to bleed Spirit Stones in vain, the Zixia Bixian Fruit, the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill, the Wind Spirit Grass... all those supreme treasures had still fallen into Ye Han's hands.

Even the grand finale item, the Slaying Heaven Sword Canon, had been swept away by Ye Han. This was simply...

Spirit Stones were ultimately just Spirit Stones. Truly rare and precious heavenly treasures and cultivation arts were things one could only encounter by fate. Once missed, they were truly gone forever.

"And at the auction house entrance! Elder Zhong had already made his move, sealing their bodies with spatial laws."

"We could have easily killed them right then and there. Why did you stop me from acting?"

"Even... even if we didn't kill them, we could have crippled them, snatched their Storage Rings, and taught them a harsh lesson!"

"But you? You just let them walk away! The Ye family treated you worse than a dog, yet you still can't let go of your lingering sentiments for them. You're going to anger me to death!"

After entering the Divine Flame Emperor Palace, Chu Chen had never bothered to conceal his true name. His heaven-defying performance during the outer disciple trials had prompted countless forces to investigate his background.

Zhang Ke'er naturally learned of his origins. She knew just how utterly miserable and lowly his existence in the Ye family had been over the past few years.

It was precisely because of this that she felt such burning injustice for him, harboring intense hostility toward the Ye family and voicing her grievances so fiercely.

"You might fear the Ye family, but I certainly do not!"

Zhang Ke'er pouted, her face flushed red right down to her neck, her twin-tails bouncing furiously in her indignation.

Lingering sentiments?

Unable to let go?

Chu Chen merely chuckled. He gestured for Yu Youwei to refill Zhang Ke'er's teacup before speaking with profound indifference:

"I am a man who repays kindness with gratitude, and enmity with blood. How the Ye family treated me is carved into my very bones."

"The day my Dao is forged, I will personally lead an army to shatter the Ye family's mountain gates. I will slaughter every last person who ever humiliated me-Ye Xuan included-and wipe the Ye family from the face of this earth."

"I, Chu Chen, forged their path to becoming an immortal aristocratic family, and I can just as easily crush them entirely beneath my heel!"

He delivered these tyrannical, venomous words in the calmest of voices, entirely devoid of emotion, as though discussing the weather.

Zhang Ke'er thought nothing of his declaration, but the elder Zhong Sheng cast a deeply startled look at Chu Chen, a tempestuous sea churning within his heart.

This youth's Dao heart is excessively resolute! He is ruthless, mature, and harbors unfathomable depths. He is absolutely not to be provoked!

"If that's true, then why did you..."

Before Zhang Ke'er could finish her sentence, Chu Chen cut her off:

"Ke'er, you possess extraordinary aptitude and are the beloved disciple of the Empress. Your life has simply been too smooth."

"You are still young and your Dao heart remains unpolished. You wear your joy and fury on your face, making you pitifully easy to manipulate."

"..."

Hearing Chu Chen lecture her, Zhang Ke'er pouted once more. She was just about to retort when she suddenly recalled her Master, the Empress, saying the exact same thing. In an instant, her righteous fury deflated.

"But my heart still feels stifled. I'm just not happy!"

If cultivating maturity meant constantly swallowing grievances, then she, Zhang Ke'er, would rather never grow up at all.

"Then finish this cup of tea. I guarantee your mood will clear and you will feel entirely refreshed."

Chu Chen smiled mysteriously, deliberately keeping her in suspense.

"Why?"

"Because we must wait just a little longer!"

Zhang Ke'er froze, her curiosity instantly ignited:

"Wait for what?"

Tapping his fingers rhythmically against the tabletop, Chu Chen spoke with profound implication:

"Wait for someone to deliver us a grand gift!!"

At these words, Zhang Ke'er grew even more bewildered.

Even Zhong Sheng, who had been resting with his eyes closed, snapped them open in utter perplexity.

Conversely, after a brief moment of contemplation, the light of sheer brilliance flashed through Yu Youwei's beautiful eyes.

She grasped his intent instantly. Exchanging a knowing glance with Chu Chen, she covered her lips to hide a sly giggle.

Although Yu Youwei had not witnessed the events firsthand, she had gleaned the general situation from their conversation. With her intellect, guessing Chu Chen's ruthless scheme was mere child's play.

...

Within a dense, primordial forest, ancient, sky-blotting trees stretched into an unbroken canopy.

Not a single ray of sunlight pierced through.

Two figures-Ye Han and Ye Lingyue-streaked rapidly through the dense woods.

Having finally ascertained Chu Chen's whereabouts, the duo utilized treacherous shortcuts and hidden trails to rush back to the Ye family as quickly as possible.

This tract of wilderness had never been fully subjugated. It harbored numerous mighty Demon Beasts, making it extremely treacherous.

However, with Ye Lingyue's cultivation at the Ninth Heaven of the Divine Fire Realm, as long as they did not stumble upon a Saint-tier Demon Beast, they would be entirely safe.

Saint-tier Demon Beasts generally lurked within the deepest reaches of the wilderness. Since Ye Lingyue and Ye Han were merely Sword Riding along the forest's outer edge, as long as they did not foolishly invade a sovereign beast's territory, the odds of a fatal encounter were practically nonexistent.

After all, this sector of the forest was relatively close to Shenhuo City. Human cultivators traveled through frequently, and with the Divine Flame Emperor Palace maintaining a garrison nearby, no Demon Beast would dare act too rampantly.

"Little Han, you were far too reckless during this trip."

"You practically swept away every supreme treasure at the auction. It was too ostentatious. This is not the Ye family's domain, after all. When traveling the outside world, caution must be our priority."

Ye Lingyue let out a faint sigh and shook her head helplessly:

"Furthermore, our sole objective was to locate Chu Chen. Drawing such overwhelming attention easily invites the covetous eyes of malicious rogues..."

Before Ye Lingyue could even finish her sentence, a thoroughly aggrieved Ye Han carelessly interrupted:

"Our Ye family is an immortal aristocratic family! Who would dare covet what is ours? Are they seeking their own end?!"

"Does Chu Chen really think that clinging to the Divine Flame Emperor Palace as his backer allows him to act however he pleases? He actually dared to strike me today! Once I return and report to Father, I'll have Father and the Ancestor drag that wretched brat back to the family, skin him alive, and rip out his tendons!"

Ye Han's beautiful face was warped with venomous resentment. Never in her life had she swallowed such immense humiliation.

"Little Han, cease this nonsense. Chu Chen is our blood brother. Had it not been for him today, you and I..."

Before Ye Lingyue's words could fall, the void directly in front of them abruptly shattered.

Crack!

Boom!!

"Skin him alive and rip out his tendons? What a vicious-hearted little girl."

A mysterious figure draped in flowing black robes and concealing their face behind a mask materialized out of thin air. Their voice rasped with terrifying gravity:

"The Ye family has only sat upon the throne of an immortal aristocratic family for a mere few years. Whether in the sheer volume or the caliber of your disciples, you are utterly incapable of comparing to the Divine Flame Emperor Palace. Yet, you dare to parade such bottomless arrogance."

"You truly do not know the immensity of heaven and earth."

"No matter. Today, this old man shall reap the lives of you two little girls!!"

...