Chapter 32 – You’re here to fill up the third spot!
“Brother Chongtian.” Elder Lin noticed Ye Chongtian and waved towards him.
Ye Chongtian cupped his hands together and returned the greeting, “Elder Lin.”
“Ah. So it’s Chongtian’s kid. There were too many people here so I didn’t notice you guys…. I remember when you were just a little kid. In the blink of an eye, almost twenty years have passed. Time really does go by quickly.”
Lin Ke was one of the three great elders of the sect. He’s usually traveling around in the outside world and rarely returns to Leizhou City. This time, when he returned, it was during the Heavenly Clan Gathering. To be able to meet an old friend of his from twenty years ago, he felt really happy.
Ye Chongtian smiled, “Right? These twenty years passed really quickly. It’s all thanks to Elder Lin’s care that this kid could grow up to be like this. I hope Elder Lin can give them some pointers in the future.”
“Great. Great. The young master is so eloquent and charismatic, he will definitely become a great figure in the future.” Elder Lin laughed and complimented Ye Zifeng’s courage from before. Since he likes traveling in the outside world, he obviously have not heard about all of Ye Zifeng’s past deeds and his nickname as a trash. This was the reason why he was able to compliment him so much with a straight face. If it were anyone else, no matter how good of a relationship they have with Ye Chongtian, they would not be able to compliment Ye Zifeng like this.
“Chongtian, just to be fair, I need to test their bone age.”
Ye Chongtian smiled and gestured for Elder Lin to proceed, “Of course.”
The first was Ye Huichi.
After Elder Lin felt his meridians, he smiled and nodded, “You passed. You can go in.”
Next was Ye Xueyi and of course, she passed easily.
Since there were other people still waiting, Elder Lin quickly moved towards Ye Zifeng and tested him.
After feeling for a while, Elder Lin’s face turned pale and looked at Ye Zifeng with a shocked expression. It looked as if the elder had turned into a statue.
Fortunately, he didn’t say Ye Zifeng’s “age” out loud by habit since he had changed the process just before.
Ye Chongtian looked at the elder’s strange expression and asked, “What’s wrong Elder Lin?”
“Nothing. Let me try again.”
Elder Lin shook his head. He thought that he was getting old and messed up. He tried again but the result was the same as before.
In his mind, he kept thinking “no way!”. His face was filled with shock. He didn’t believe in demonic things and thus continuously felt Ye Zifeng’s meridians. Every time that he did it, he got the same results.
“Chongtian, This…. Is this kid really your son?” Elder Lin felt that Ye Zifeng was around 26 years old. If it was anyone else he would fail them immediately. However, he was there during Ye Zifeng’s birth and even held him in his arms. He remembered that day very clearly. It was the day before Elder Lin left Leizhou City for the first time. There was no way that he would forget about such an event.
(TL: Soooo I think the alchemist god Zifeng was around 26 when he “crossed over”????)
Ye Chongtian who was originally full of smiles was shocked, “Elder Lin, I really do respect you and I can tolerate some things that you say. But for you to actually ask me if Zifeng was my son…. How can he not be my son?”
Ye Xueyi looked strangely at the Elder as well, “That’s right Elder Lin. I grew up with my brother. He’s always been two years older than me.” She thought that it was strange for the elder to act like this. She had guessed that it had something to do with the test so she told him that Ye Zifeng was only older than her by two years.
Elder Lin couldn’t believe it. He shook his head. Just before, he felt that Ye Xueyi was around 18 years old. From the facts, Ye Zifeng should be twenty years old. How could he be tested to be around 26?
“But….” Elder Lin hesitated and wanted to say what happened.
However, how could Ye Zifeng let him do so and intervened, “Elder Lin, I want to ask if the bone age test is administered during every Heavenly Clan Gathering.”
Elder Lin asked someone and then replied, “That’s right. It is done during every gathering.”
“Alright then.” Ye Zifeng turned towards the rest of the participants and asked, “I want to ask you guys something. Did anyone here participate in the last gathering with me?”
“Ye Zifeng. I remember that day five years ago. At that time, we were both fifteen years old and right after you passed the bone age test, you lied about having a stomachache and ran away!”
“Yeah I remember that. Five years ago, you were a trash and you even lied about having a stomachache. You basically lost face for the entire Ye clan and became the laughing stock of the entire Leizhou City.”
Ye Chongtian coldly coughed and made all the people in the younger generation shut up.
Ye Zifeng on the other hand wasn’t mad and he turned towards Lin Ke with a smiling face, “Elder Lin, you heard them right? Five years ago, I participated in the gathering with them and I was only fifteen at that time. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I made a big deal that left a deep impression on everyone in the city.”
Ye Zifeng continued, “Elder Lin is using qi to test someone’s bone age and it might be wrong sometimes. In a situation like this, you should trust the people’s words right?”
Five years ago, he was fifteen. So five years later, he should be twenty. Even a child could figure this out.
Ye Zifeng was very clever. He used the public’s words to defy Elder Lin’s test. This kind of public pressure will definitely make Elder Lin have second thoughts.
Elder Lin was startled by Ye Zifeng’s actions. In his heart, he admired Ye Zifeng’s courage even more. After thinking for a bit, he began to laugh.
“That’s right. It seems like this old man messed up. Young master Ye, you pass. Go into the sect.”
“Thanks Elder Lin.”
On the surface, Ye Zifeng acted all cool and calm, but on the inside, Ye Zifeng was actually very nervous. Since last week, he had continuously concocted pills and cultivated in order to prepare for the gathering. If he were to fail the first test and not even step past the door, he would literally choke himself to death.
Elder Lin nodded and continued to administer the test to the others.
Ye Xueyi pulled Zifeng’s sleeves and laughed, “Big brother, that scared me to death. Man that Elder Lin really is getting old. From the way he looked, it looked as if you were actually older than twenty five.”
Ye Zifeng smiled, “If I really am older than twenty five, would you still see me as your brother?”
Ye Xueyi was startled and smiled, “You’re talking like you’re really older than twenty five. I’m your only sister. If I don’t see you as a brother, who will?”
“Ahem….”
Ye Chongtian coughed. Recently it seems like these two were not acting like siblings and decided to intervene with a few words.
“Zifeng, Xueyi, Huichi. I hope you guys can return triumphantly and gain glory for our Ye clan!”
“Thanks father.” “Thanks uncle!”
“Later on, I’ll be in the spectator area cheering you guys on! Oh yeah. During this gathering, do you guys have any goals?” Ye Chongtian had been wanting to ask them this.
Ye Xueyi smiled, “Of course I have goals. Last time I got 11th place so this time I will definitely enter the top ten!”
Ye Chongtian nodded, “Good. As expected from my baby girl.”
Ye Huichi thought about it and answered, “I’m at the fifth stage of qi refining. While this is not considered impressive, I hope to enter the top 30.”
Ye Chongtain nodded again, “It’s not bad if you can get into the top 30 with your cultivation level!”
“Well you guys need to do your best and try to reach your goals!”
When Ye Zifeng was about to open his mouth to say his goals, who would’ve thought that Ye Chongtian actually skipped over him.
“Hold on old man. Why aren’t you asking me what my goal is?”
Ye Chongtian turned towards Ye Zifeng and looked at him strangely, “Zifeng, you’re here to fill up the third spot. Think of it as a mission. You can whatever you want and I’m not going to ask for much fromr you.”
Ye Zifeng was speechless. He had worked so hard for the past week just to be a fill in.
If his own father had such low expectations for him. What would other people be thinking.
……
After Ye Chongtian bid his farewell to the them, the three Ye clan members walked into the sect. There were many people in there already all lined up. The older generation was sitting in the spectator seats while the younger generation gathered near the sect doors, waiting for the elder’s commands.
“Ye Zifeng, you’re finally here. Our young master Xiao had been waiting for you……”
Xiao Mu and his lackeys walked over and coldly looked at Ye Zifeng, “Ye Zifeng, you really are something. To have Miss Bingqian back you up. However, let me tell you this right now. I suggest that you go and forfeit or else don’t even think about leaving this place in one piece.”
Ye Xueyi became angry and wanted to attack. However Ye Zifeng blocked her way.
Ye Zifeng smiled back, “The Heavenly clan gathering isn’t a fighting tournament. Everyone will mind their own business and walk their own heavenly stairway. How are you going to deal with me?”
(TL: So the heavenly clan gathering is a contest about climbing stairs. I think each level exerts some pressure and whoever climbs to the highest wins.)
Xiao Mu walked up next to Ye Zifeng and whispered, “Truth to be told, one of the judges from Tiandao city is someone from my Xiao clan. I’ve already made a deal with him. When you climb the stairs later, he will definitely not let you off. So if you want to run now, it’s not too late.”
Compare to hurting Ye Zifeng, Xiao Mu hoped that Ye Zifeng would choose to run instead. This will definitely make him lose face. This was why Xiao Mu deliberately warned him.
“So they want to use soul attacks to harm me huh? By exerting pressure on the stairs and attacking me at the same time, no one would notice anything. This is a pretty good plan…..” Ye Zifeng had a deep sly look in his eyes.