People.
Ye Xichen returned to the Ye Family residence well past the third quarter of the noon hour.
With plenty of time left before dinner, Ye Xichen headed straight to the courtyard, planning to continue his diligent practice.
He believed that someday, all this effort would pay off.
He sat cross-legged beneath the tree next to the rockery and closed his eyes to meditate.
After a while, the family’s old steward, Ye Shi, entered the courtyard.
“Something wrong?”
Ye Xichen asked with curiosity.
“Great Young Master, there’s a guest at the manor. The Head of the Ye Family requests your presence in the main hall.”
Looking at the boy’s determined face, the old steward paused slightly, a barely perceptible trace of regret flickering in his eyes.
With the Great Young Master’s level of effort, if he still had his previous talent, he would likely have already become an outstanding Foundation Establishment cultivator.
“A guest? What kind of guest? Do I know them?”
Ye Xichen’s curiosity deepened.
“You don’t know them, but they’re related to you.”
“Related?”
“I can’t explain clearly. You’ll understand once you go.”
“Alright, wait here for me.”
Ye Xichen turned and went inside to change into clean clothes.
Afterward, he followed Ye Shi out of the courtyard.
Ye Shi led Ye Xichen through the front yard, finally stopping before a rather grand main hall.
The hall’s doors were closed, and two women dressed as maids stood at the entrance.
Ye Xichen didn’t recognize them, likely attendants accompanying the guest.
When he looked closely at the maid on the left, Ye Xichen was stunned for a moment.
What a stunning beauty…
Even Ye Xiyue, the Third Elder’s granddaughter and one of the capital’s top beauties, would pale in comparison to this maid’s elegance.
Seeing that Ye Xichen was staring, the young woman lowered her head.
Realizing he had been a bit rude, Ye Xichen decided to stop and figured he could ask her name later.
Before the steward could knock, the voice of Ye Tianlu, Head of the Ye Family, came from inside.
“Come in.”
Ye Shi turned and gestured for Ye Xichen to enter.
Ye Xichen pushed open the door and stepped inside, with the steward following behind him at a slow pace.
Seated at the head of the hall were Ye Tianlu and several Ye Family elders.
On the left side sat some of the family’s influential and capable elders, accompanied by several outstanding young members.
The entire Ye Family’s upper echelons were gathered here, and Ye Xichen was somewhat surprised by the scale of this gathering.
What kind of guest would cause such a stir?
Shifting his gaze to the right side of the hall, it was noticeably emptier—only one person sat there.
That person looked about Ye Xichen’s age and, upon seeing him, openly appraised him from head to toe.
Being stared at so blatantly made Ye Xichen uncomfortable.
He was certain he didn’t know this young man, which confused him.
Had he offended him somehow?
“Ahem, ahem!”
Ye Tianlu cleared his throat twice, snapping Ye Xichen back to attention.
“Greetings, Father.”
“Eldest Elder, Second Elder, Third Elder.”
“Second Uncle, Third Uncle.”
“Elder Cousin Brother, Elder Cousin Sister.”
Ye Xichen greeted everyone one by one.
“Ah Chen, let me introduce you to the Zhang Family from Ningzhou.”
Although it was an introduction, Ye Tianlu showed no intention of standing, simply offering a brief mention of the family before stopping.
Ye Xichen took note of this and began reassessing the significance of the man before him.
At that moment, the young man spoke.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Zhang Qingyao.”
“I’m just here to break off the engagement. Do I need the whole family to come greet you?”
Seeing the hall full of people on the other side and himself alone on this side, Zhang Yuge felt uneasy and completely drained.
He quickly called out to Yun Lan in his ring.
“Master, if the Ye Family won’t let me leave, you have to come save me.”
Although he had recently awakened his System, Zhang Yuge was still a weak Qi Refining cultivator.
There was no way he could escape on his own.
“Don’t worry. What Ye Family? Just a few Foundation Establishment cultivators. It’s as easy for me to crush them as crushing ants.”
“With those words from you, Master, I feel much better. Can I be a little tougher later?”
“Go ahead and be arrogant. Master will support your grandstanding.”
After waiting for some time, the hall’s doors opened again.
An elderly man followed by a youthful, delicate-looking boy entered.
Zhang Yuge naturally knew this boy was Zhang Qingyao’s fiancé, Ye Xichen.
“System, check this person’s background for me.”
“Ding, system scanning.”
“System scan complete. Ye Xichen: protagonist of the transmigration ‘useless’ fantasy novel Immortal Martial Emperor. In the original novel, Ye Xichen began as a fallen genius, frequently belittled and oppressed by his peers within the clan. Later, with the help of the ring’s old man and boosted by Luck, he ascended to immortality and achieved greatness in a single bound.”
“System, I have a question.”
Zhang Yuge asked, confused.
“If I hadn’t bonded with you, then according to the original plot, the protagonist of Demonic Sword Sovereign, Zhang Qingyao, would have sought revenge against Zhong Bailing and wiped out the Zhong Family, right?”
“Yes.”
“But Zhong Bailing was Ye Xichen’s fiancée, wasn’t she? If her family was exterminated, wouldn’t Ye Xichen have reacted somehow?”
Immortal Martial Emperor is a subsequent novel by the author of Demonic Sword Sovereign, sharing the same universe.
In the original Immortal Martial Emperor, Ye Xichen was only betrothed to Zhong Bailing and had never met her.
The investigation into the Zhong Family’s destruction takes place well over ten million words into the story.
The protagonist of the previous work, Zhang Qingyao, appears as a powerful villain in Immortal Martial Emperor, serving as a stepping stone for the new protagonist.
“…What kind of awful author is this? Aren’t they worried about upsetting readers of the previous book?”
Zhang Yuge finally understood:
Ye Xichen was an existence even more godlike than Zhang Qingyao.
He gasped inwardly.
This boy was terrifying, and he absolutely could not be left alone.
“System, I want to bind Ye Xichen. I want to suck his blood, squeeze his residual value, and take him as my sword spirit. That’s decided. I, Zhang Yuge, will be the Capitalist of the Immortal Cultivation World. All the young prodigies and protagonists are just my bloodsucking employees.”
“Host, bonding with a new target requires physical contact with the target. The system is currently Level Iv1, able to bind only one person. The host must suppress Ye Xichen’s Luck points to obtain Destiny Points. Upgrading the system to Iv2 will allow binding of more targets.”
“How do I suppress it? Give me an example.”
“Luck means making supporting characters in the novel see the protagonist in a new light, feeling shocked and frustrated by the protagonist’s major improvement. Suppressing the protagonist’s Luck means publicly humiliating the protagonist in front of many supporting characters, destroying their dignity and making the host the most dazzling presence in the room.”
This was a real challenge for Zhang Yuge.
The idea was simple, but putting it into practice…
Glancing at the Ye Family members across the hall, Zhang Yuge swallowed hard.
At that moment, he noticed Ye Xichen shooting a displeased look his way.
While Zhang Yuge had been talking to the system, his gaze had been fixed forward.
Ye Xichen mistakenly thought Zhang Yuge had been staring at him the whole time, hence the displeasure.
“Ah Chen, let me introduce you to the Zhang Family from Ningzhou.”
Ye Tianlu said again.
Damn it, only introducing the Zhang Family, not me?
Zhang Yuge knew Ye Tianlu was doing this on purpose.
He took the initiative to greet Ye Xichen and started formulating ways to suppress and humiliate him in his mind.
If he was going to do it, he’d do it thoroughly.
Something ruthless, squeezing Destiny Points out in one go.
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