!

"Outrageous! Simply outrageous!!"

Patriarch Ye Ding's furious roar echoed through the Ye Family Main Hall, causing the void to tremble and the Great Dao to rumble.

Ye Lingyue looked at her father in confusion, unable to understand why he was so enraged by the news that Chu Chen was still alive.

Could it be...

Shouldn't they be happy?

Ye Ling'er, Ye Qingqing, Ye Han, and the others also looked at their father with puzzled expressions, equally bewildered.

Although that piece of trash Chu Chen being alive was disgusting and unpleasant...

There was no need to be this angry, right?

Among those present, aside from Ye Lingyue, perhaps only that hypocritically pure white lotus, Ye Xuan, let out a knowing smile, rejoicing that Chu Chen had survived.

Because with Chu Chen alive, Ye Xuan wouldn't have to die. He could even continue to plunder the Providence of this Child of Providence to mend his own flaws and elevate his cultivation talent.

"After leaving my Ye Family, that trash Chu Chen is actually... actually still alive?!"

Ye Ding was so furious that the veins on his forehead bulged. His body trembled nonstop, and his eyes were entirely bloodshot.

"He even reconnected his cultivation path and became a Pro-disciple of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace! By clinging to such a massive backer, Chu Chen will only live..."

"...live better than he did in my Ye Family! How will the outside world view us?!"

"Where is the Ye Family's face? Where is our dignity?!"

As soon as these words fell, Ye Ling'er and the others suddenly realized the truth.

It turned out their father was so angry because Chu Chen's survival damaged the Ye Family's reputation.

In the Ye Family, his cultivation had been crippled, and he lived worse than a dog.

But the moment he was expelled, he reconnected his cultivation path. If this wasn't a slap to the Ye Family's face, what was?

This piece of trash really was a nuisance! Such a headache!

He had already been expelled from the Ye Family. Why couldn't he just find a deserted place and die quietly? He just had to keep causing trouble. It was truly too much.

"Lingyue, are you certain that little beast has reconnected his cultivation path and can cultivate again?"

Having calmed down slightly, Ye Ding took a deep breath and stared intently at Ye Lingyue, still clinging to a glimmer of hope.

"Could it be that you misread the situation? You must know that during the battle three years ago, that trash fought until his divine body shattered and his meridians were completely severed. The life force in his body was almost entirely drained."

"With such severe injuries, unless he found a legendary Imperial Realm Undying Medicine, it would be impossible to heal. Are you and Xiao Han sure you didn't see wrong?"

Ye Ding asked if they had "seen wrong" twice in a row. It was clear that, from the bottom of his heart, he was entirely unwilling to believe that Chu Chen had reconnected his cultivation path and recovered his strength.

"Father, you... how could you ask such a question?"

Ye Lingyue looked at her father in disbelief, even suspecting she had misheard him.

"I didn't see wrong. Chu Chen has reconnected his cultivation path and even Awakened a Top Grade Five-Element Full Spiritual Root. He is a Peerless Heavenly Pride of the entire Desolate Ancient Continent."

His own son wasn't dead and had reconnected his cultivation path-wasn't this a joyous occasion?

But the reactions of her father and younger sisters...

It was simply unimaginable!

"Yes, I can testify to it!"

Ye Han wiped the tears from her face and spoke through gritted teeth.

"Father, that trash Chu Chen not only reconnected his cultivation path, but he is now at the Ninth Layer of the Essence Condensation Realm. And it's been less than a month!"

Breaking through to the Ninth Layer of the Essence Condensation Realm in a single month... this...

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall fell into a shocked silence.

Even Ye Xuan, who had been secretly rejoicing, widened his eyes and stumbled back several paces. His gaze was filled with disbelief and a deep sense of frustration.

One had to know that although Ye Xuan appeared to be only thirteen years old on the surface, he was a transmigrator from Blue Star. He had been cultivating in this Desolate Ancient Continent for five or six years, yet he had remained stuck in the Essence Condensation Realm.

In the end, he had only barely broken through to the Sea Cleaving Realm by relying on the Millennium Fire Spirit Pill refined by Chu Chen.

How many heavenly materials and earthly treasures of the Ye Family had he consumed over these five or six years? How many cultivation resources had he wasted?

Whenever his older sisters obtained anything good, they would immediately offer it to Ye Xuan to curry favor.

Yet even with all of that, Ye Xuan was only at the Second Layer of the Sea Cleaving Realm today.

In truth, this cultivation speed was already considered very fast. Even when compared to the Heavenly Prides of the great immortal clans and sacred cultivation lands, it was above average.

But compared to Chu Chen-a genius, a monster with a Top Grade Full-Attribute Full Spiritual Root-it seemed...

"This beast! How on earth did he do it?!"

Ye Ding's face darkened. Spiritual Power surged within his body, and his Sage Pressure permeated the entire hall as he roared furiously.

"Over the years, I examined his body countless times. It was absolutely impossible for him to reconnect his cultivation path. His body was deteriorating day by day, already showing signs that his life force was completely spent. How is it that now..."

Before Ye Ding could finish speaking, Ye Ling'er immediately interjected.

"Father, do we even need to ask?!"

"It must be that this trash stole and ate many heavenly materials and earthly treasures in our Ye Family over the years. Although they didn't have any immediate effect, the medicinal power accumulated in his body. Just as he left the Ye Family, this medicinal power was released, allowing him to pick up a massive advantage."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone suddenly saw the light. Even Ye Ding nodded repeatedly, praising, "Ling'er is still the smart one!"

"So, the reason that trash Chu Chen was able to reconnect his cultivation path and break through to the Ninth Layer of the Essence Condensation Realm in such a short time is all thanks to our Ye Family!"

"I was wondering why the heavenly materials and earthly treasures I collected over the years kept going missing every few days. It turns out they were all stolen by that thief Chu Chen."

"Exactly! The Pills I worked so hard to refine would also go missing a few at a time."

"And the Spirit Stones I painstakingly saved up would always mysteriously disappear in large amounts."

...

The women spoke with increasing vigor. In their mouths, Chu Chen had clearly become a despicable thief who stole everything in sight.

Ye Lingyue clutched her chest, looking at her younger sisters in disbelief as she stumbled back several paces.

She suddenly felt that these younger sisters were so unfamiliar. Her father was unfamiliar. The entire Ye Family was unfamiliar.

Only Ye Xuan still cared about and thought of Chu Chen...

Ye Lingyue no longer spoke up to defend Chu Chen. She knew that no matter what she said, even if the truth was placed right in front of them, the Ye Family would never believe him.

The most important thing now was to bring Chu Chen back to the Ye Family, preventing him from suffering in the Divine Flame Imperial Palace and living a precarious life.

"Chu Chen owes everything to the Ye Family's kindness. That is the only reason he was able to heal his Great Dao injuries and achieve what he has today."

Ye Ding coldly snorted twice, speaking as if it were an absolute matter of course.

"In that case, Chu Chen should repay the favor! He should give back to our Ye Family!"

"..."

Ye Lingyue froze. She looked at her father in disbelief and spoke subconsciously.

"But... but Father, didn't you already expel Chu Chen from the Ye Family long ago?"

"You severed the father-son relationship and removed his name from the genealogy... how can there be any talk of repaying a favor?"

Then, before her father could speak, Ye Lingyue suddenly realized something and asked with a face full of pleasant surprise.

"Father, could it be..."

"Could it be that you want to recall Chu Chen to the Ye Family, resolve past grievances, and restore his position as Holy Son?"

Ye Lingyue was overjoyed. She knew it! She knew it!

Even a vicious tiger would not eat its cubs. Her father, Ye Ding, was such a good person; he would never truly...

"Enter my Ye Family and be the Ye Family Holy Son again? He wishes!!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Ding immediately became displeased.

"So what if he was expelled from the Ye Family? So what if the father-son relationship was severed and his name removed from the genealogy?"

"Chu Chen has received so much kindness from us. It is he who owes the Ye Family."

"There will always be only one Ye Family Holy Son, and that is Xiao Xuan! When Chu Chen returns to our Ye Family, he doesn't have to be the Holy Son. Serving as a slave or a servant is just as good a way to repay us!"

Ye Ding coldly snorted, then waved his hand. Completely ignoring the stunned Ye Lingyue, he ordered directly.

"Ling'er, fetch paper and brush. I will write a letter and send someone to deliver it to the Divine Flame Imperial Palace, straight into the hands of that unfilial son!"

"With me personally writing the letter, I refuse to believe that beast would dare not return!"

Ye Ling'er nodded repeatedly and quickly fetched the paper and brush. But just as Ye Ding was about to pick up the brush to write, the void in front of him suddenly shattered.

Then, the Ye Family Ancestor, Ye Shanhe, rushed out from the boundless void with disheveled hair. Clutching a Chaos Blood Pill that Chu Chen had once refined, he spoke with the frantic anxiety of a madman.

"Who refined this Chaos Blood Pill? Who else has one? Who else has one?!"

"Quickly bring it out for this Ancestor! Bring it out!!"

...