"You all know the rules. Although the infusion of Ancestral Qi is a supreme fortune that can defy the heavens and change one's destiny, throughout eternity, only one person in our Ye family has ever set foot upon the peak of the Saint's Path and survived the Longevity Thunder Tribulation."
Ye Futian gave Divine Son Ye Xiao a deep look. The person he was speaking of was none other than Ye Xiao's father, once the undisputed top prodigy of the Ye family. "Therefore, you must never force what cannot be."
"Understood, Old Ancestor."
Hearing this, the nine sequence members, including Ye Xiao, felt their battle intent not diminish in the slightest, but rather burn even fiercer.
"Then let us begin."
As Ye Futian's voice fell, a youth in green robes stepped out from among the nine sequence members. Sword Qi roared beneath his feet like an unsheathed divine blade, heading straight toward the Saint's Path.
Neither the void, nor time, nor even the pressure of the Ancestral Realm along the Saint's Path could halt his advance.
In a mere instant, he scaled a hundred stone steps with total composure.
"It's Ye Xuan!"
The fourth sequence of the Ye family: Ye Xuan, owner of the Profound Heaven Sword Body and contemporary Sword Immortal.
His talent in the sword dao had once caught the eye of the Sword Cultivation Holy Land and the Lord of Longyuan Sword, only to be decisively rejected by Ye Xuan.
In Ye Xuan's own words, he was going to walk a sword path unlike anyone else in the world.
"Let's go!"
Ye Cang and the others exchanged glances, bowed slightly to Ye Xiao, and dashed toward the Saint's Path.
In an instant, at the foot of this golden Saint's Path, only three figures remained.
Aside from Ye Xiao, there were a man and a woman.
The woman was named Ye Linglong. Clad in white, she possessed an otherworldly aura, her appearance gentle yet carrying a natural aloofness.
Her eyes were exceptionally bright, resembling two magnificent amber gemstones flashing with captivating brilliance.
Dark hair cascaded down to her waist, exuding an air of detachment and transcendence.
Yet more captivating than all this was the pair of slender, shapely jade legs beneath her white robes, looming faintly, voluptuous and full, forming a striking contrast with her slender waist—and perhaps even longer-lived than the destiny of certain Children of Providence.
The Nine-Orifice Exquisite Heart!
As the third sequence of the Ye family, she possessed a Nine-Orifice Heart and extraordinary talent; any cultivation method or divine ability could be comprehended the moment she laid eyes on it.
The remaining person was a thin young man with a resolute face.
He wore a black cloud-embroidered long robe, his hair casually draped behind his shoulders. Though his build was not particularly sturdy, he somehow projected a terrifying sense of oppression.
The second sequence of the Ye family: Ye Chen!
Before Ye Xiao was born, Ye Chen was regarded as the future leader of the Ye family, a true figure of invincible bearing.
Because of his formidable combat power, his Primordial Holy Body had been cursed by the Heavenly Dao and sealed for generations.
Yet, relying on an indomitable will, Ye Chen rose all the way, battling prodigies and defeating Divine Sons.
An elder of the Ye family had once asserted that if Ye Chen could break the five shackles of the Heavenly Dao, he would become the most powerful prodigy in the entire history of the Ye family—without exception.
Now, this second sequence of the Ye family had already shattered four shackles, coming within arm's reach of the fifth shackle spoken of by the ancestor.
Had Ye Futian not descended suddenly that day to designate Ye Xiao as the Divine Son of the Ye family, nearly half of the elders across the nine branches of the Ye family would have believed that Ye Chen's combat power was the greatest of their generation.
After all, the Double Pupils talent awakened by Ye Xiao made it difficult to truly restrict the might of the Primordial Holy Body.
And Ye Chen's cultivation had reached the astonishing Divine Wheel Ninth Layer, a young Supreme Realm!
"Ye Xiao, I will wait for you at the end of the Saint's Path."
With those words, Ye Chen's figure immediately transformed into a youthful true dragon, stepping onto the Saint's Path and charging straight up.
"Ye Chen is still an absolute powerhouse."
The surrounding Ye family elders sighed with emotion, casting cautious glances at Ye Futian.
"Previously, Ancestor Linxian observed the celestial phenomena at night and cast a divination using the grand aura of The Mortal World..."
With a calm expression, Ye Futian watched as that golden-light figure stepped stride by stride toward the peak of the Saint's Path, murmuring, "In this era, our Ye family will see the birth of twin dragons."
"Oh?!"
Hearing this, the elders' gazes grew slightly sharp, a look of sudden realization dawning upon them.
The Longevity True Dragon, born emperors.
If the Ye family truly birthed twin dragons in this generation, wouldn't that mean two Emperor Realms would emerge?
"It's just..."
Ye Futian sighed softly, a trace of worry lurking within his aged eyes. "Ancestor Linxian also calculated that if our Ye family's twin dragons unite, we shall be invincible in the world; but if we separate, it will lead to the annihilation of our sect and the slaughter of our clan."
"What?!"
***
"Divine Son Ye Xiao, are you not planning to ascend the Saint's Path yet?"
Before the Saint's Path, Ye Linglong parted her red lips, her gaze flickering with mischief as she looked at Ye Xiao.
"Sister Linglong, there's no need for us to be so formal, is there?"
Ye Xiao smiled helplessly. Ye Linglong's branch was the most unique among the nine branches of the Ye family.
They had always upheld the purity of the Ye bloodline through in-clan marriages.
According to Ye Qingshan, the elder of the second branch, in-clan marriages had the highest probability of producing ancestral reversion bloodlines.
Thus, in almost every generation of the Ye family's second branch, an utterly peerless prodigy would emerge—along with a bunch of fools.
Ever since they were young, Ye Linglong had set her sights on Ye Xiao, pestering him relentlessly and teasing him in every possible way.
"Hehe, little brother Ye Xiao, let big sister take a look... have you grown up yet?"
In an instant, the detachment and elegance on Ye Linglong's face vanished entirely, replaced by an undisguised greed within her amber eyes.
"You're the Divine Son of the Ye family now, and big sister is utterly loyal to you. If you don't believe me, you can 'in-vest-igate' me."
As she spoke, Ye Linglong wrapped both arms around Ye Xiao's arm, breathing orchid-like fragrance near his ear and gently rubbing against him.
"Ugh... Sister Linglong, as you know, I'm engaged."
Ye Xiao sighed softly. Who could have imagined that Ye Linglong—the dignified third sequence of the Ye family, elegant and aloof on the surface, regarded as a dream goddess by countless Saint Children and Divine Sons across the Holy Prefecture—would possess such a stark contrast in private?
"So what if you're engaged? You aren't married yet, are you? Besides, even if you do marry, can't you take a few concubines? Big sister knows plenty of... deep 'techniques'. We can have a profound exchange when we have time."
"Sister Linglong, let's ascend the Saint's Path."
With that, Ye Xiao rubbed his temples, giving Ye Linglong no chance to continue speaking, and walked straight toward the Saint's Path.
"Hmph, little Ye Xiao, you can hide from the first day of the sooner, but can you hide from the fifteenth? Sooner or later, big sister will push you down and bite you hard."
Ye Linglong gave a bewitching smile, straightened her hair, and resumed her usual aloof demeanor.
"Hum."
As the two of them stepped onto the Saint's Path one after the other, a terrifying pressure instantly descended, as if ten thousand great mountains were collapsing all at once.
Only!!
In Ye Xiao's eyes, such pressure was simply not worth mentioning. With surging dragon strides beneath his feet, he directly bypassed Ye Luo and the others, heading straight for the summit.
Such speed instantly drew gasps of astonishment all around.
Until!!
A tall battle puppet clad in silver armor appeared before Ye Xiao, causing his steps to halt abruptly.
Before the puppet, Ye Xuan, Ye Cang, and the others wore solemn expressions, having hesitated to make a move for a long time.
At this moment, they could sense that the realm of this battle puppet was at the Divine Wheel Peak.
Throughout the entire contemporary generation of the Ye family, aside from Ye Chen who had already crossed this area, probably no one else could fight this puppet.
"Divine Son Ye Xiao, why don't all of us Ye family prodigies join forces to smash this road-guarding puppet?"
Ye Xuan grasped a bronze ancient sword, Sword Qi swirling around his body, and turned to look at Ye Xiao.
"Hm?"
Hearing this, Ye Xiao shook his head, his expression indifferent as he said, "What kind of prodigies do you call yourselves?"
At this moment, his gaze bypassed the crowd and landed upon the figure in black at the end of cyclical Saint's Path.
Among the nine branches of the Ye family, the only one qualified to fight Ye Xiao was Ye Chen.
This time, he would vindicate the honor of the Double Pupils.