Courtyard.
Under the command of the eldest, Ye Gongqiang, the fourth brother Ye Song and the fifth brother Ye Man dragged out the trussed-up Ye Xiang.
At this moment he was a mess, with clear traces of torture on him.
A wad of white cloth stuffed in his mouth left him only able to whimper.
The eldest, Ye Gongqiang, drew a jade-green short dagger and walked up to Ye Xiang.
“Old Eight, same thing as before: as long as you cooperate and call your son here, everyone walks away happy, and I’ll personally apologize to you. But if you don’t listen, don’t blame us for getting ruthless.”
With that, Ye Gongqiang yanked the cloth from Ye Xiang’s mouth to hear an answer.
Ye Xiang immediately cursed.
“Pah! Eldest, you’re all scum! You think I don’t know what you’re after?”
“You want me to lure my son here so you can offer him up to the City Lord, right?”
“Keep dreaming! Beat me to death if you want—I still won’t talk!”
Hearing this, Ye Gongqiang and the others didn’t look the least bit surprised.
They’d tortured Ye Xiang repeatedly these days and gotten nothing at all.
Looks like they’d have to go harder today.
For example, cut off one of his hands?
A vicious light flashed in Ye Gongqiang’s eyes. He gripped the dagger and slashed toward Ye Xiang.
But the instant he raised his arm high, that arm flew off at the shoulder.
Ye Gongqiang froze—then the pain hit like a storm.
The fourth, Ye Song, reacted fast and rushed up to support him.
The fifth, Ye Man, panicked, yanked out his spell-sword, and looked around.
He quickly saw a handsome male demon at the doorway, walking in at an unhurried pace.
Ye Gongqiang and Ye Song noticed him too and barked coldly, “Who are you?”
It was none other than Ye Yu.
He ignored the three demons around him and went straight to Ye Xiang.
His expression was a little odd. “Old geezer, after all these years you actually seem a lot smarter.”
Ye Xiang brightened first, then roared, “Who told you to come? Get out of here! They’ll hurt you! Run, calf!”
Ye Yu’s face instantly darkened.
A little flame of °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° anger flared again in his chest.
“Still calling me ‘calf’? If I’d known, I’d have let them hit you a few more times.”
“And you’re not smarter at all. If I dare to show up, it means I’m one hundred percent in control. At a time like this, what are you ‘running’ for?”
It was simple logic, but Ye Yu had no intention of explaining.
He knew exactly how stubborn Ye Xiang was.
No point talking. Forget it.
At the side, Ye Gongqiang, Ye Song, and Ye Man realized at once that this was Ye Yu.
Delight surged in their hearts.
They hadn’t expected the kid to walk in on his own. Didn’t know life from death!
Capture him and hand him to the City Lord—what a sky-high merit!
Thinking this, Ye Man and Ye Song traded a glance and moved on Ye Yu.
The eldest, Ye Gongqiang, still had a brain.
He knew that the sword-qi that had just severed his arm could just as easily take his head.
Ye Yu’s strength couldn’t be underestimated—he’d grown to the point that even they weren’t his match.
So he shouted, “Careful!”
But the warning came a little too late.
At Ye Yu’s thought, black netherfire swept out and burned Ye Song and Ye Man to ash.
A breeze scattered the soot.
It was as if the two had never existed.
Seeing this, Ye Gongqiang went cold all over.
Even the bound Ye Xiang was shocked.
He knew very well his two elder brothers were both Ascension Realm experts.
Yet they’d been killed in a single breath.
Terrifying.
Still, Ye Xiang didn’t feel the slightest sorrow. He even laughed. “Good! Calf, well done!”
In his eyes, the eldest, the fourth, and the fifth were worse than animals.
They had cruelly imprisoned him and his wife for a long time.
So Ye Xiang naturally felt no saintly pity.
Ye Yu’s brows tightened again. He grunted, “Don’t call me ‘calf.’”
In that instant, the temperature around them dropped by more than ten degrees.
Sensing his good son was truly angry, Ye Xiang promptly chose to shut up.
Ye Gongqiang dropped to his knees, weeping. “Nephew, Old Eight, I was wrong, I really was! It wasn’t that I lost my mind—the City Lord forced me.”
“If I didn’t do it, he’d kill me. I... I don’t want to die!”
Ye Yu didn’t even care to spare him a glance.
He snapped his fingers and released Ye Xiang’s bindings.
Then he cast Soul Search on Ye Gongqiang and pulled the memories from his mind.
A few breaths later, Ye Yu knew everything.
Five years ago, Ye Xiang had used Savage Bear Technique 2.0 to step into the Huashen Realm.
The clan was astonished that this “low-born bear” had changed so drastically.
They couldn’t figure out why Ye Xiang had suddenly taken off.
Was this the legendary “don’t bully the man who’s middle-aged and poor”?
Or the rise of a middle-aged Bear King?
When his elder brothers asked, Ye Xiang didn’t hide it. He made eight copies of Savage Bear Technique 2.0 and gave one to each of his eight brothers.
He told them it was an improved version of Savage Bear Technique that his good son Ye Yu had refined.
“It’s truly ingenious. You should all try cultivating it.”
“I advanced this fast because of this manual!”
“And I didn’t tell you before because I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me. Now I’m a living example—cultivate boldly.”
Hearing Ye Xiang’s account, the brothers were skeptical, but they still congratulated him first for having sired a qilin prodigy.
Being fawned over like that was a first for Ye Xiang.
It made him very happy.
After some pleasantries, he went home.
And the eight brothers, manuals in hand, began to cultivate.
Once they started, they couldn’t stop.
“Hm? It really is ingenious.”
With this technique’s help, every bear’s strength surged.
Most notably the eldest, Ye Gongqiang, who in just a few years rushed from the Huashen Realm all the way to the Yaoxian Realm.
Having tasted the sweetness, the brothers reported the good news to Ye Xiang one after another.
They expressed deep thanks for the nephew’s technique—without it, they wouldn’t be where they were.
Each sent gifts to show their gratitude.
That day, Ye Xiang smiled as brightly as a foxtail flower.
