Shenwu Continent, Primordial Void Domain, Flame City!

 

Ye Han, his clothes tattered and body bathed in blood, made his way straight into the city heading for the Ye Family residence.

 

"Zhixuan, look what I have here?" In the backyard of the Ye Family, Ye Han opened his palm towards the woman before him.

 

"What is it?"

 

The woman looked down and her face lit up with surprise: "A Heaven Level Elixir, the Canglan Elixir?"

 

"Exactly. I've spent half a year in the Cold Abyss Mining Area searching for this elixir, and finally, I've found it for you. With this, you'll be able to break through soon and become an Inner Disciple," Ye Han said as he handed over the elixir.

 

"I never imagined such a treasure could exist in the Cold Abyss Mining Area." The woman named Zhixuan took the elixir, ecstatic: "Brother Ye Han, you've given me this Canglan Elixir, but what about you?"

 

"I'm not too concerned about myself," Ye Han replied confidently.

 

He extended his right arm, and as he circulated his elemental power, golden patterns emerged: "Zhixuan, when I found the Canglan Elixir, I accidentally swallowed a golden fruit, which gave me a special constitution. Even without the Canglan Elixir, I'll be able to ascend to Inner Disciple status in due time."

 

The woman's eyes shone brightly: "Such patterns, how unique! You've acquired a special constitution?"

 

Ye Han nodded vigorously: "Yes, Zhixuan. Once I truly become an Inner Disciple, I will ask our Adoptive Father to grant us marriage and set our wedding date."

 

"That's wonderful, I, Ye Zhi Xuan, have finally reached this day. Ye Han, I also have a great gift for you. Wait for me in the backyard." After speaking, Ye Zhi Xuan left with the Canglan Elixir.

 

"A great gift? I, Ye Han, have given you everything, expecting nothing in return..." Ye Han chuckled and shook his head.

 

After changing his clothes, Ye Han took out a small wooden box from his bosom, looking at the two thumb-sized elixirs inside: "There are two more Canglan Elixirs. One must be reserved for our Adoptive Father, and the other for my teacher."

 

These past six months, he had endured untold hardships in the Cold Abyss Mining Area, nearly losing his life. Fortunately, his astonishing gains made it all worthwhile.

 

In Shenwu Continent, elixirs, martial arts techniques, martial skills, and supernatural powers are all classified into five levels: Human, Mysterious, Earth, Heaven, and the unfathomable Immortal.

 

In Flame City, let alone Heaven Level Elixirs, even Earth Level Elixirs are rare treasures. To have obtained three Canglan Elixirs and a special constitution in the Cold Abyss Mining Area was a stroke of earth-shattering fortune.

 

"I must cultivate diligently in the future, strive to revitalize the Ye Family, and repay Adoptive Father for his years of nurturing," Ye Han thought to himself as he washed up.

 

Bang!!!

 

The door suddenly burst open, and Zhixuan, along with a middle-aged man, arrived.

 

"Adoptive Father, Zhixuan, you're here?" Ye Han looked at the two people who had suddenly barged in, and couldn't help but laugh: "I did have some fortune, but Adoptive Father, there's no need to rush. I was planning to visit you later..."

 

The middle-aged man grabbed Ye Han's arm: "Let me see your special constitution."

 

Ye Han frowned, circulated his elemental power, and the golden patterns on his right arm immediately appeared, dazzling and conspicuous.

 

"That's right, Father, the golden patterns," Ye Zhi Xuan said from the side.

 

"Indeed, the manifestation of Dragon Patterns, with gold being the highest, the Heavenly Dragon Battle Physique! This is the Heavenly Dragon Battle Physique!" The middle-aged man's breathing became rapid.

 

Crack!!!

 

A scream echoed through the room as Ye Han's body trembled, hearing the sound of his own bones shattering.

 

"Adoptive Father, you..." Ye Han roared in shock.

 

Before he could finish, the middle-aged man gripped Ye Han's right arm, his fingers digging into the flesh, and a piece of blood-drenched Golden Bone was pulled out.

 

"You've destroyed my Battle Bones?" Ye Han cried out hysterically, enraged.

 

The middle-aged man's face was calm and cold: "The Ye Family has raised you for over a decade. A mere Battle Bone is a small price to pay. It should be an honor for you to contribute it to Xuan."

 

At that moment, Ye Zhi Xuan began rummaging through Ye Han's clothes and quickly found the box: "Ye Han, you really are ungrateful. To have obtained three Canglan Elixirs and still hide two, not offering them all."

 

"Why... Ye Yangfu, why?"

 

"I, Ye Han, have been loyal and devoted for years, never wavering. I thought of you and Ye Zhi Xuan first upon my return. Why do this? You actually want to destroy my Battle Bones?" Ye Han's eyes were filled with rage.

 

"A bastard after all, always an outsider. How can you speak of loyalty?" Ye Yangfu kicked Ye Han away, wrapping his elemental power around the Golden Bone: "Let's go, Zhixuan. You're still months away from adulthood, your Root Bone not yet set. This Heavenly Dragon Battle Bone will indeed be of use to you."

 

Ye Zhi Xuan nodded: "Thank you, Father. But..."

 

A dagger appeared in Ye Zhi Xuan's hand, her gaze fixed on Ye Han: "To cut the grass, one must eliminate the roots. This bastard should not be spared."

 

Ye Yangfu glanced at Ye Han: "Let him live a little longer. It would be troublesome to explain to the Flame Academy."

 

"If we can't kill him, we should still cripple him," Ye Zhi Xuan said with a cold laugh, stabbing her dagger towards Ye Han without hesitation.

 

Ye Han quickly dodged, his face pale: "Ye Zhi Xuan, you've already obtained the Battle Bones, why go to such extremes? Why cripple me as well?"

 

"Ye Han, you mere bastard, it's been an immense honor for the Ye Family to feed you. And yet you dare to dream of a marriage granted by my father? You deserve to die."

 

"I, Ye Zhi Xuan, a noble princess of the Ye Family, am destined to soar to the heavens. How could you ever be worthy?"

 

"Grant a marriage?"

 

"You think you're worthy?"

 

Ye Zhi Xuan scoffed and sent out a palm strike, knocking Ye Han's arm away.

 

Swift, precise, and ruthless, the dagger plunged into Ye Han's abdomen.

 

In an instant, blood splattered, staining his clothes.

 

Ye Han felt a heart-wrenching pain spread once more, his elemental power draining away as if deflated.

 

"My Qi Sea... you've crippled my Qi Sea?!" Ye Han's body trembled, as if he had fallen into hell.

 

With his Battle Bones taken, he could still cultivate, but now with his Qi Sea destroyed, years of hard work were gone in an instant, and he was reduced to nothing more than a cripple.

 

He never dreamed that Ye Yangfu, the man he had called Adoptive Father for over a decade, would personally take his bones.

 

Ye Zhi Xuan, his childhood sweetheart, was so cruel and heartless to personally cripple him. If not for their fear of his status as an ordinary disciple of the Flame Academy, he would probably be a corpse by now.

 

"I, Ye Han, am still a disciple of the Flame Academy. You cripple my Qi Sea, take my Battle Bones, aren't you afraid the Flame Academy will hold you accountable? My teacher, she will not let this go," Ye Han glared at the two before him.

 

Ye Zhi Xuan looked at Ye Han with scorn: "You ventured out to the Cold Abyss Mining Area, faced dangers, and barely escaped with your life. Your realm is already crippled, what does that have to do with the Ye Family?"

 

"As for your teacher, he's nothing but a joke in the Flame Academy. Once I refine the Canglan Elixir and merge with the Heavenly Dragon Battle Bone, I will be the top genius of the academy. What can your teacher do to me?"

 

"Since Father has spoken, I'll spare your worthless life for now. Behave and serve the Ye Family obediently." With that, Ye Zhi Xuan turned her gaze away in disgust, leaving with Ye Yangfu.

 

Watching their retreating figures, Ye Han trembled with despair.

 

"Years of hard work destroyed in an instant, reduced to a stepping stone for Ye Zhi Xuan. I cannot accept this!"

 

"Nine Realms Dragon-Sealing Tower, come forth..."