"You burned your Bloodline Talent, which is why your Realm shot up to the First Heaven of Sword Beginning Realm in one go. It's no wonder the three of them—Ye Tianxing and the others—couldn't stand a single blow from you."
Ye Wannian explained, his tone cold.
Ye Tianling remained silent.
Ye Liyuan taunted, "You must think you're stronger than Xing'er, so he deserved to get beaten, right?"
Ye Tianling snorted and coughed up a mouthful of blood. "That's right. This is a world where the weak are prey for the strong, where the powerful are revered. He got beaten because he was the inferior one!"
Ye Liyuan sneered. "The principle of revering the powerful is true enough, but are you even worthy of being called 'powerful'?"
Ye Tianling's gaze locked onto Ye Liyuan. "Ye Liyuan, you only dare to bully me because you're older! If I were your age, I'd defeat you as easily as cutting grass!"
Ye Liyuan roared with laughter, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. "You little whelp, without the clan's protection, it's doubtful you'd even live to see my age."
Ye Tianling clenched his fists and spoke, word by word, "Is that so? I don't know if I'll live to be as old as you, but I'll definitely live longer than that useless son of yours, Ye Tianxing!"
"Heh, quite some spirit. But you probably don't know that burning your Fiery Sun Sword Body's bloodline has given you the illusion of being powerful! Once the effect wears off, your meridians will be destroyed, and you'll become a complete cripple! I wonder how many days this bloodline will let you run wild! You truly brought this upon yourself; you have no one else to blame!"
A murderous glint brewed in Ye Liyuan's eyes, gone in a flash, but his words were already filled with vicious intent.
Hearing this, expressions of immense satisfaction appeared in the eyes of Ye Tianxing and the other two. They no longer avoided Ye Tianling's gaze, instead glaring back with venomous hatred.
'You little bastard, you finally got what's coming to you!'
'Damn you, didn't you scare the piss out of me? Once you're a cripple, I'll make you drink it every single day!'
'You little animal, let's see how long you can act so high and mighty. When you're useless, I'll repay the humiliation you gave me a hundredfold!'
The hateful gazes of Ye Tianxing, Ye Tianhe, and Ye Tiance conveyed this intense desire!
Such were the curses they screamed in their hearts.
The intense emotions caused Ye Tianling's Dragon Blood to stir, and he instantly sensed their incredibly vicious thoughts.
'You three are dead! Once I leave the Ye Race, I'll sneak back, cut off your goddamn heads, and hang them on the Ye Race's main gate!'
Ye Tianling was startled. His attitude turned glacially cold as he made his decision.
But he wasn't foolish enough to reveal any killing intent—his heart and his blood were as cold as ever.
His mind, too, was as calm and sharp as always, not at all the 'frivolous and manic' person he appeared to be.
Ye Tianling took a deep breath, his tone becoming more subdued, as if mocking himself. "So what now? I've lost my Fiery Sun Sword Body Talent, I have no more value, so even with my father's great contributions to the clan, even as a third-generation member of the Direct Lineage, I can no longer gain the clan's approval?"
Ye Liyuan was about to speak, but he immediately shut his mouth when Ye Wannian waved a hand.
Ye Wannian said flatly, "Enough. Let's be honest. Your father was just an abandoned infant I found. His talent was decent, so I raised him. Unfortunately, he failed to live up to expectations. He ignored the affections of Ye Ruyu, the clan's number one beauty at the time, and shacked up with some common woman. They were discovered and hunted down... and nearly brought disaster upon our clan.
You only suffer from an Innate Deficiency because that woman was severely injured, leading to your premature birth.
So, strictly speaking, you can't be considered a member of the Ye Race. We originally intended to cultivate you and let your Fiery Sun Sword Body Talent awaken on its own. But alas, you ruined your own future, forcibly awakening your bloodline before your foundation was even properly laid."
Ye Tianling was stunned for a moment. His mind raced as he immediately saw the cause and effect, and understood their ultimate goal.
'They want to seize the bloodline of my Fiery Sun Sword Body? Or perhaps comprehend the Dao Mark within it to grasp the Fiery Sun Sword Intent?'
After his transformation, Ye Tianling had become extremely intelligent.
At this thought, a chill ran through his heart—the Ye Race was truly vicious!
Ye Tianling's expression remained completely impassive, as if he were simply stunned by this revelation.
"For the Ye Race to develop, we must be a little cruel to the clan's disciples. After all, only through such struggles and fierce competition can outstanding talents emerge one after another. Considering you burned your Talent, your temperament is unstable, and you've suffered much humiliation, it's understandable that you would have a vengeful heart.
This time, I will not punish you. You may leave. The Ye Race does not raise cripples!"
Ye Wannian's tone was exceedingly cold.
Ye Tianling unclenched his fists. "Thank you for your candor, Clan Leader Ye. I, Ye Tianling, understand your meaning. From this day forward, I, Ye Tianling, will no longer have any connection to the Ye Race!"
Ye Wannian nodded. "Your father was an outsider to begin with," he said faintly. "If he had married Ye Ruyu, you wouldn't have such a lowly status. With your outsider bloodline, and looking at your current behavior—gaining a little ability and immediately growing rebellious—we don't dare to cultivate you. Of course, if you still had some talent, you might be worth it, but now, what do you have? What is there about you that's worth the Ye Race's investment?"
Ye Tianling said, "My father left me quite a few Elixirs and two Qiankun Rings, for when I turn sixteen—"
Ye Wannian cut him off rudely. "The resources we spent cultivating him were far greater. You can't take those things, so don't even think about it. The fact that we're letting you leave is already the extent of our benevolence."
Ye Tianling said, "I can leave all of that behind—just give me my father's personal sword, the Fiery Sun Sword."
Ye Wannian's face darkened. "Don't even dream of it!"
Ye Tianling replied, "That sword carries my father's legacy. If you don't give it to me, you'll have to kill me. Otherwise, I will make this matter known throughout all of Qingyang Town and the entire Canglan City—I'll let everyone know how shameless you are!"
Ye Wannian's expression turned icy. "You whelp, you dare threaten me?!"
Ye Tianling said lightly, "I am just a weakling who only attained a Realm by burning my Bloodline Talent. How would I dare threaten a supreme expert of the Sword Essence Realm like the Clan Leader? But as a Swordsman, no matter how few days he has left to live, he can never abandon his Inheritance Sword.
As long as the sword exists, so does the man; if the sword is destroyed, the man perishes. This is the principle my father taught me."
Ye Tianling's gaze was frank and open.
Ye Wannian stared directly at Ye Tianling, his imposing aura gradually intensifying.
Ye Tianling's Dragon Blood was about to erupt, but he suppressed it.
Under the pressure of this aura, a sharp cracking sound came from Ye Tianling's leg bones, as if they were about to break—but he was not forced to his knees.
"Impressive willpower! Fine, take the Fiery Sun Sword! But," Ye Wannian warned, "although this sword is damaged, among the Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow Four Great Grades, it is rated as at least Earth Tier Lower Grade. An Earth Tier Lower Grade Weapon is incredibly valuable! Do you understand the principle that an innocent man gets into trouble simply by possessing a treasure?!"
"I will protect it well. I believe I have the strength to do so!"
Ye Tianling said, feigning naivety and arrogance.
"Mm, Ye Liyu, go to the Treasure Vault, retrieve that sword, and give it to him!"
Ye Wannian commanded.
Ye Liyu hesitated for a moment, but then went.
'This kid is so insistent on having this sword. Could there be an inheritance on it? A secret? I can pretend to give it to him, then have him tailed to see if there's anything. If there is, it's a great opportunity. I might be able to obtain a powerful Earth Tier Lower Grade Cultivation Technique like the Fiery Sun Sword Dao—even a fragment of it would be enough for the Ye Race to dominate Canglan City!
If there's no secret, I'll just have him killed and take back the Fiery Sun Sword. No loss either way.'
A sinister, cold light flickered in Ye Wannian's eyes. It vanished in an instant, but not before Ye Tianling saw it.
'Heh,' Ye Tianling sneered inwardly, 'once the Fiery Sun Sword is in my hands, you think you can take it back? I'll go into hiding for some Hard Cultivation. When I re-emerge, killing you will be as easy as killing a dog!'