"What?"
Upon hearing Ye Xiao's words, whether it was the elders of the nine branches of the Ye Family or contemporary sequences like Ye Chenchen, a look of profound shock appeared on everyone's faces.
Fight together?
Has Ye Xiao lost his mind?!
Although he was the First Sequence of the Ye Family, it was largely due to him being the descendant of the main lineage and the patriarch's own son. No one doubted Ye Xiao's talent, but who among those designated as Ye Family sequences was weak?
Only Gu Mingyue wore a detached expression, as if she had anticipated this all along. She was the only person here who knew Ye Xiao's true background. Not only had this fellow awakened the Double Pupils, but before the battle for the Divine Son, he had also secretly dug out the Supreme Bone of an illegitimate child of the Ye Family.
If Gu Mingyue guessed correctly, the strange phenomenon at the Ye Family that day had been triggered by Ye Xiao fusing with the Supreme Bone.
The Double Pupils and the Supreme Bone—these two supreme talents were more than enough for Ye Xiao to sweep through his generation and stand invincible.
"Xiao'er, you mean..."
Ye Zhantian's throat bobbed, a lingering trepidation in the depths of his eyes.
"The Divine Son of the Ye Family can only be me, and is worthy of being only me. The rest of you are only fit to gaze at my back."
Ye Xiao's tone was calm, his white robes fluttering fiercely, exuding absolute dominance.
A man, after all, only has three hobbies.
First, showing off.
Second, pretty women.
Third, showing off in front of pretty women.
Furthermore, if he wanted to win the recognition of the nine branches of the Ye Family, he had to use the most direct and overbearing method to crush the other eight sequences.
After all, loyalty in this world was beaten into submission.
"Arrogant!"
Ye Chenchen, Ye Ru, and the others exchanged glances and stepped forward, appearing directly before Ye Xiao.
The next instant, spiritual patterns coiled around both of them, their auras steadily boiling.
Yet just as they were channeling their spiritual power and brewing their ultimate trumps, they saw Ye Xiao clench his hands and smash downward horizontally.
"Rumble..."
Terrifying ripples of force, resembling raging waves, crashed down violently.
The single star that had just materialized above Ye Chenchen's head shattered instantly, and his entire body plummeted to the ground, every bone in his body pulverized.
At the same time, Ye Ru's expression shifted drastically. Just as he was about to step forward, he saw divine runes intertwining within Ye Xiao's eyes, spinning and humming like two whirlpools of the Nine Heavens.
The next moment, the entire expanse of void where Ye Ru stood distorted completely.
Time stagnated, and the myriad Dao were ground away.
As for Ye Xiao, his figure moved like a ghost, swimming dragons flashing beneath his feet as he crossed the void in a single step, appearing right above Ye Ru's head.
"Gulp."
At that moment, Ye Ru's scalp tinged numb, his lips trembling as he whispered, "Divine Son, please... not the face..."
"Thud."
Ye Xiao brought his foot down, stepping squarely onto Ye Ru's face and kicking him flying a hundred zhang away. After struggling for a moment, Ye Ru fell completely still.
"Ye Xiao!!"
Right at that moment, Ye Hao seized the opportunity to appear behind Ye Xiao.
His golden, resplendent arm was wreathed in sacred patterns, shining like a golden limb—holy and vast—as it slammed into Ye Xiao's back.
"Clang!"
Before the ruthlessness on Ye Hao's face could even fade, it froze solid.
He saw a wisp of misty starlight suddenly ripple across the white robes on Ye Xiao's back.
The might of his sacred bone vanished into nothingness in an instant, failing to inflict the slightest injury on Ye Xiao.
"Is this your reliance? A sacred bone?"
Ye Xiao slowly turned around, reached out, and gripped Ye Hao's sacred bone arm with a calm expression.
In an instant, a flash of genuine terror crossed Ye Hao's eyes.
He had the distinct feeling that if Ye Xiao applied even the slightest bit of force, he could crush his sacred bone and cripple him entirely.
"Divine Son, I was wrong..."
"Crack."
Just as Ye Hao's voice fell, a crisp sound of snapping bone quietly echoed.
And his arm, wreathed in sacred radiance, was shattered raw by Ye Xiao.
"Ah!!"
A cry of agonizing pain instantly reverberated through the ancestral grounds of the Ye Family, chilling everyone to the core.
"I like your attitude, but your mistakes require a price."
Ye Xiao casually tossed Ye Hao aside like a piece of trash.
His gaze gradually fell upon Ye Qinghuang, causing the proud daughter of the Ye Family to tremble, her legs tensing as if struggling to restrain something.
Amidst the gaze of all, Ye Qinghuang suddenly drew a deep breath and knelt respectfully before Ye Xiao. "Divine Son, I possess the Ancient Phoenix Bloodline and can manifest the true form of a phoenix. If the Divine Son so pleases, you may ride upon me..."
Silence engulfed heaven and earth!
At this moment, a thick wave of shock was painted across the faces of all the elders and clansmen of the Ye Family.
In merely a single instant, out of four sequences, three were trash and one knelt.
Ye Xiao's ruthlessness and dominance not only failed to breed resentment among the Ye Family elders, but instead left them incomparably thrilled.
Divine Son of the Ye Family!!
This identity was destined to attract endless jealousy, challenges, and hostility.
The Ye Family had long since secluded itself from the world, its nine branches fragmented, and many factions in the Holy Prefecture did not wish to see a Divine Son emerge from the Ye Family once more.
Without such ruthlessness, this path of the Divine Son was bound to be fraught with perilous dangers.
"He didn't use the Supreme Bone..."
Within the crowd, Gu Mingyue furrowed her delicate brows, looking at Ye Xiao with growing wariness.
She suddenly realized that in this lifetime, Ye Xiao was not only more profound in thought, but also vastly stronger in power.
Yet, the only thing that remained unchanged was his ruthless and cruel disposition.
*Hmph, a leopard never changes its spots.*
"Hahahaha, badass."
Right at that moment, a loud laugh suddenly came from deep within the Ye Family.
A tall, robust figure fell from the sky, slamming down like a shooting star in front of the grand hall.
"Rumble..."
Instantly, the bluestone plaza before the hall was crushed to pieces.
Amidst endless billowing dust, a dark-skinned figure resembling a small mountain strode forward, a proud and overbearing smile plastered across his square, imposing face.
"Ye Xiao, I'll fight you."
"Oh?"
Ye Xiao raised an eyebrow slightly and slowly nodded.
The Fifth Sequence of the Ye Family, Ye Cang, successor of the Dominant Body!!
It was said that Ye Cang's physical combat prowess was second only to the Second Sequence of the Ye Family.
It was only because his personality was overly reckless that he had been ranked fifth.
"Ye Xiao, I know your Double Pupils are powerful and you have countless spiritual treasures, but today I am going to compare physical strength with you alone."
Ye Cang grinned, crossing his arms, completely unconcerned by the helpless looks in the eyes of the surrounding elders. "Otherwise, even if you win against me, I won't acknowledge your status as Divine Son."
"Fine."
To the astonishment of the gathered elders, Ye Xiao nodded, agreeing to Ye Cang's unreasonable demand.
Though Ye Cang wasn't entirely right in the head and acted like a rogue, his Dominant Body was widely recognized across the Three Thousand Dao Prefectures as the peak of physical strength.
Besides, this fellow had already stepped into the Divine Wheel Realm a full ten years earlier than Ye Xiao.
For Ye Xiao to crush him purely on physical strength would be exceedingly difficult.
"Hahahaha, exhilarating! Ye Xiao, if you win against me today, I'll be your dog."
"Will you shut the hell up and just fight already?"
In front of the grand hall, Ye Chongyang, the elder of the Fifth Branch of the Ye Family, slapped his forehead and roared in despair.
"Rumble..."
At these words, Ye Cang let out a cold snort and abruptly clenched both hands.
Above his head, a vault of heaven plummeted violently, within which an ancient battle phantom seemed to descend upon the heavens and lord over the ten lands!!