It was probably the first time she’d ever heard her son sound like that.
Mrs. Liu was taken aback for a moment before she answered. “It’s Ye Shaohua from the Ye family. She used to be a cultivator, you know.”
Liu Yunchen pressed his lips together.
He turned his gaze toward his mother, his voice carrying a hint of coolness. “Didn’t you say before that it was Ye Yuan from the Ye family?”
“Well, Ye Yuan is a cultivator now. Do you really think she’d marry a good-for-nothing like you?” Although Mrs. Liu could never quite figure out what her son was thinking, it was clear from his reaction that he had some interest in Ye Shaohua.
At that thought, she couldn’t help but feel a little smug. “What’s the matter? Regretting it now? I’m telling you, it’s too late. We asked you to come with us, but you didn’t want to.”
Liu Yunchen nodded and looked seriously at his mother. “Yes, I do regret it. Mother, is there any way to fix this?”
“Huh?” Mrs. Liu hadn’t expected him to be serious about it.
She exchanged a glance with her husband—this was going to be a problem.
The Ye family had made it perfectly clear that they didn’t think much of Liu Yunchen.
Mr. Liu, meanwhile, flung a teacup straight at his son’s face. “Forget about that Miss Ye. With your uselessness, you’d just ruin her life if you married her.”
Even merchants had some cultivation training.
Although Mr. Liu didn’t have a spiritual root, he’d spent a fortune on resources and managed to push himself to the first level of Qi Refining.
The cup he threw wasn’t thrown with much force, but it was accurate.
Normally, an ordinary person wouldn’t have been able to dodge it.
But to everyone’s surprise, Liu Yunchen not only caught it steadily—not a single drop of water spilled from the cup.
He didn’t seem bothered at all. He casually placed the cup back on the table and shot his parents a disdainful look. “I knew I couldn’t count on you. I’ll handle this myself.”
To be looked down upon by their own good-for-nothing son!
Mr. Liu rolled up his sleeves, ready to throw a punch, but Mrs. Liu held him back. “Enough! You’re both grown adults—why are you still fighting? Wasn’t he hurt enough by you when he was little?”
The shopkeeper standing nearby watched the couple’s antics without comment.
But as Liu Yunchen passed by him, the shopkeeper gave him a respectful nod.
Mr. and Mrs. Liu were completely unaware of any of this. Of course, they also had no idea why the Liu family business had grown larger and larger over the years without anyone daring to mess with them—or why, when their merchant caravans passed through the wilderness, not a single one ever suffered any losses.
After Liu Yunchen met with the Ye family’s Grand Elder once, he started visiting the Ye household frequently.
But he rarely ran into Ye Shaohua.
She was in seclusion, studying formations and alchemy.
Most of the resources she used were provided by the Grand Elder, though it was already a stretch for him to supply that much.
Two months later, the Xuan Yue Sect came to the city. Countless young cultivators went to take the entrance test, and those who passed could return with the sect.
This time, the Xuan Yue Sect was being exceptionally generous.
Whoever ranked first would receive a treasure artifact!
A treasure artifact!
Because of that enticing reward, countless rogue cultivators also wanted to join the Xuan Yue Sect.
Normally, treasure artifacts were used by families as their heirloom treasures.
Among the three great sects, only the Xuan Yue Sect and the Qian Yuan Sect had any real depth of heritage.
When Ye Shaohua came out of seclusion, the Xuan Yue Sect’s large-scale testing had just ended. Just thinking about it made Ye Xuan incredibly disappointed—if she’d come out just one day earlier, she could have taken the test and might have even joined the Xuan Yue Sect.
She might even have stolen first place from Ye Yuan and claimed that treasure artifact.
That offensive treasure artifact—the Ye family only had one, and it was their clan-protecting treasure, rarely ever shown to outsiders.
“Don’t bother thinking about it. Even if I’d come out earlier, I wouldn’t have gone to the Xuan Yue Sect,” Ye Shaohua said with a light laugh, cutting off Ye Xuan’s train of thought.
According to the Grand Elder, the Xuan Yue Sect and the Ye family had some old grudges.
Ye Xuan hadn’t expected his daughter to say that. He was about to ask more when someone came to say that the Grand Elder had sent for Ye Shaohua.
The two of them chatted as they walked toward the back courtyard.
But as they passed through the front courtyard, they saw a crowd gathered there.
Ye Shaohua took a look—a group of the Ye family’s younger members were all gathered around Ye Yuan.
“She’s back?” Ye Shaohua raised an eyebrow. Hadn’t Ye Yuan left the Ye family?
The Second Elder had also heard that Ye Yuan had returned and came to see. Upon hearing Ye Shaohua’s question, he said with a hint of envy in his voice, “Ye Yuan came back to pick up your Third Uncle’s family. She got first place in the Xuan Yue Sect’s test and now has an offensive treasure artifact in hand. She’s probably about to soar to great heights.”
Offensive treasure artifacts—while not as precious as spiritual artifacts—were still extremely rare and hard to come by.
After obtaining her treasure artifact, Ye Yuan had wasted no time coming back to the Ye family.
On the surface, she said she’d come to take Third Uncle Ye Shuang’s family out with her.
But in truth, everyone knew she was just here to show off.
Still, even though everyone knew it was just a display, the Ye family members still looked at Ye Shuang’s family with great envy.
They were still talking, but when they glanced at Ye Shaohua’s indifferent expression, they didn’t think much of it—they just assumed she still didn’t know what a treasure artifact was.
Ye Yuan, seeing the envy and regret in the eyes of the elders and younger members alike, felt a sense of satisfaction.
She then turned and led Ye Shuang’s family away.
The Second Elder watched as Ye Shuang’s family was really about to leave and couldn’t help but speak up. “Ye Shuang, are you really going to leave the Ye family?”
Ye Shuang glanced at Ye Yuan. He’d just learned that his niece was already close to reaching the seventh level—and breaking through to Foundation Establishment in the future was practically certain, maybe even Golden Core.
But the Grand Elder didn’t know this, and Ye Shuang didn’t remind him.
He was afraid that if the Grand Elder found out, he’d try to keep Ye Yuan. If she stayed, the family would divide the resources among everyone—and what would that leave for them?
The Ye family was already growing more impoverished. Without Ye Yuan, the next generation had no one remarkable to offer.
Thinking this over, he averted his gaze from the Second Elder. “I’m sorry.”
He had to think about his son’s future. Ye Yuan had promised that if they followed her, his son would get at least one magic artifact in the future. But if they stayed in the Ye family, what would they get?
