"Hahaha! Excellent, excellent! That's the style of our sect!"
Hearing Chen Yi's murderous words, the Grand Elder laughed heartily. This was one of the reasons he liked Chen Yi: once someone was confirmed as an enemy, he showed no mercy.
In the next moment, blue light surged in his eyes, and two blue sharp swords shot out from them, heading straight for Yu Yuanao and his son.
"No! No! You can't do this! I'm an elder of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!"
Seeing that the Grand Elder not only didn't stop it but even winked at them directly, Yu Yuanao and his son were terrified, their souls scattering. Violent thunder surged around them, trying to form a defense, but their bodies instinctively turned to flee.
However, the two mental swords were faster, completely ignoring the roaming thunder barriers, piercing precisely into their foreheads like two streams of light, instantly freezing their fleeing figures.
"Boom—"
With two thuds as they fell, the two notorious Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon powerhouses in the soul master world perished.
"Hehe, looks like luck is on our side today!"
Seeing the red light emanating from Yu Yuanao's right arm, the Grand Elder stepped forward, arriving beside Yu Yuanao and his son. With a casual slap, Yu Yuanao's entire body turned into a mist of blood.
The Grand Elder waved his sleeve, and a stream of light from the blood mist was drawn into his hand. Chen Yi looked closely—it was a pitch-black right arm bone emitting a bloody glow.
Weighing the soul bone in his hand, the Grand Elder smiled with satisfaction: "Hmm, judging by the quality, it's around 30,000 years old. Not bad at all!"
Coming out to hunt a soul ring and picking up a 30,000-year soul bone for free, one that matched the Body Sect's power-type soul bones—even the Grand Elder, a Titled Douluo, couldn't help but sigh that they'd struck gold.
"Senior, congratulations on obtaining such a treasure!" On the side, Ye Cien and the others approached now that the matter was resolved. Regardless of the other's motives, they had indeed solved a big problem for them; otherwise, even if they could win, it would likely be a pyrrhic victory.
Soon, they looked at Chen Yi standing obediently behind the Grand Elder, their eyes filled with shock. That day, they had only guessed from Chen Yi's appearance that he had just awakened his martial soul not long ago and hadn't probed his soul power deeply.
But today, seeing that he had already reached above level 25, and earlier, without even using his martial soul, he had torn apart a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon soul master—even with over 70 years of experience, they had never seen such a shocking genius.
Behind them, Tie Xu and Lin Xi watched them warily. Although the incident started because of them, the one who ultimately acted was this Titled Douluo. Not only had he killed two elders of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and a genius disciple, but he had also seized a ten-thousand-year soul bone. Who knew if he might kill them to silence them and avoid trouble?
Seeing Ye Cien stop in front of him, the Grand Elder's eyes glazed over in a daze. Back then, his master had personally gone to Star Luo, escorting Ye Cien and his father thousands of miles to the Heaven Dou Empire. At the time, he and his fellow disciples had received them at the border. It had been over 70 years!
Sensing the Grand Elder's distraction, Ye Cien was immediately puzzled. Could he have some connection with the other? But Ye Cien racked his brain and couldn't match anyone he knew to this person.
In the soul master world, there hadn't been any powerhouse or genius resembling him in the past century.
Seeing the atmosphere turn awkward, Chen Yi quickly tugged at the Grand Elder's sleeve.
"Hahaha, when people get old, they love reminiscing about the past." Snapping back, the Grand Elder chuckled and said to Ye Cien with a light smile:
"It's been years since we parted. The little guy who was held in Patriarch Ye's arms back then is now white-haired like me."
Ye Cien's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. The other knew his father and had seen him as a child, but he must have been too young last time, or he would remember.
"May I ask your name?"
The Grand Elder had no intention of hiding it. Though the Body Sect lived in seclusion, forces like the Ye Family and Skywater Academy, which had ties to the sect, knew of them.
"My name is Yuan Hua, and my master is Gan Wengang!"
Gan Wengang was the name of the previous generation's sect master of the Body Sect.
Upon hearing "Gan Wengang," Ye Cien was struck as if by lightning. He was all too familiar with this name. Back then, his father had taken him, a young child, to travel and seek treatment in the Star Luo Empire, but they were forced and imprisoned by the Star Luo Emperor.
Countless people dared not speak out due to the Star Luo Empire's might, but only Senior Gan Wengang came from thousands of miles away, rescuing them from Star Luo City. He even fought the Star Luo Emperor, the White Tiger Douluo, enduring a Titled Douluo-level martial soul fusion skill.
Ye Cien still remembered that blood-soaked, imposing figure.
Eleven years ago, when he rallied continental powerhouses, a Titled Douluo claiming to be Senior Gan's disciple had come to assist.
"So you're Senior Gan's esteemed disciple? Then the Brother Hua Six from eleven years ago is your fellow disciple?" Hearing that the Grand Elder was from his benefactor's lineage, Ye Cien was overjoyed and immediately grasped the Grand Elder's hand to ask.
"My master has eleven disciples; I am the fourth, and Shu Wen is the sixth."
Looking at the excited Ye Cien, the Grand Elder sighed at the unpredictability of life. The little one from back then was now a grandfather, unlike himself—single then, and still alone now.
"So it's Fourth Brother Yuan in person! Fourth Brother, please accept Cien's bow!" Saying this, he pulled his granddaughter Ye Lingling to bow to the Grand Elder.
Upon hearing that this was the senior brother of the one who had stood up for her parents back then, Ye Lingling quickly bowed as well.
"No need. What happened back then was just repaying a favor our sect owed your family; it was only right." Seeing the grandfather and granddaughter about to bow, the Grand Elder waved his sleeve, and a surge of soul power stopped their movements.
Feeling his body no longer under his control, Ye Cien knew the other wouldn't accept the bow, so he smiled bitterly and said:
"Fourth Brother, you're mistaken. What my great-grandfather gave your sect was just some herbal knowledge and a few prescriptions. That favor was repaid when Senior Gan helped us."
"Moreover, without Brother Hua Six's full effort eleven years ago, the Ye Family would have been erased from the Douluo Continent."
Eleven years ago, though the Ye Family invited many powerhouses, they came out of obligation and wouldn't truly risk their lives against the then-dominant Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect for the Ye Family.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had the Sword and Bone Douluos and was allied with the Heaven Dou Empire, vaguely the world's top sect.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect initially dismissed the Ye Family's actions, knowing the invited guests would only fight easy battles, not risk their lives.
It wasn't until Hua Shu Wen stormed the gates and fought Bone Douluo Gu Rong that Ning Fengzhi took it seriously, forcing the other assisting powerhouses to confront them.
Frankly, Hua Shu Wen was the key to that dignified resolution; everyone else came second.
Ye Cien had heard of his great-grandfather's ties to the Body Sect. Though he had indeed helped, in his eyes, it was nothing major. This was Douluo Continent, where martial souls decided everything. The Nine Heart Begonia Ye Family's foundation was their martial soul; medicine was just a hobby.
Seventy years ago, Senior Gan Wengang's thousand-mile escort; eleven years ago, Hua Shu Wen's assault on Seven Treasure City; and today, Yuan Hua killing Yu Yuanao and his grandson—this wasn't the Body Sect owing the Ye Family; it was the Ye Family owing an unrepayable debt to the Body Sect.
"Hehe, Brother Ye, you don't know. What that senior gave might seem minor to him, but for our sect, it was a fate-changing event, worth all the emphasis."
The Grand Elder neither confirmed nor denied Ye Cien's thoughts. Without experiencing that era, one could never know how hard it was—even hearing bits from their master left them silent.
Not to mention, Gan Wengang's breakthrough to Titled Douluo was closely tied to the Ye Family's prescriptions healing his hidden injuries. Now, the Body Sect's powerhouses advanced rapidly because of it.
Ye Cien shook his head; clearly, neither could convince the other. He then turned to Chen Yi to change the topic.
"This little guy must be Fourth Brother's junior. Defeating and killing a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Soul Grandmaster so easily at such a young age—his future is limitless."
At this, the Grand Elder's smile grew brighter. He waved his hand and said: "Just a kid messing around. If that little lizard hadn't underestimated him, it wouldn't have been so easy."
If Yu Tianfeng hadn't seen Chen Yi not even activate his martial soul and chosen to clash head-on, losing the initiative, Chen Yi would have needed at least ten moves to kill him.
Facing the Grand Elder's irrepressible smile, Ye Cien didn't point it out. Instead, he squatted down, examined Chen Yi closely, and said:
"My Lingling is about your age; you two can interact more in the future. This girl is used to being alone in Heaven Dou City; she really needs a playmate!"
Though he didn't know why Chen Yi had broken through to Soul Grandmaster right after awakening his martial soul, Ye Cien was certain—this would be a world-shaking titan surpassing Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu. If his granddaughter could be with him in the future, incidents like today's would never happen again.
"That sounds great. In a few years, when Xiao Yi is older, I'll send him to your residence to broaden his horizons and see what a family of divine healers is like!"
The Grand Elder laughed heartily at Ye Lingling, but inwardly sighed. Ye Cien was arranging affairs in advance, seeking a reliable support for his granddaughter!