The Ye Family
In the grand hall, a middle-aged man sat in the position of honor, commanding presence radiating from his form as he held a delicate teacup, his piercing gaze fixed and unwavering.
Beside him sat an intellectually elegant lady, draped in flowing white robes. Her eyes were cold and impassive, yet there lingered about her an unmistakable aura of refined swordsmanship.
Below them stood a young man with sharp, defined brows and bright, intelligent eyes. He carried himself like a towering pine tree, his gaze filled with the natural arrogance that came with youth and talent.
Ye Qiu suddenly averted his gaze, confusion clouding his features. In that moment, a torrent of foreign memories crashed into his consciousness like a dam bursting, and two words escaped his lips in shock:
"Holy shit!"
Time travel?
The vivid images crystallized in his mind—a scene frozen on a storm-lashed overpass during a tempestuous night. A sleek Maybach raced through the darkness as thunder and lightning split the gloomy sky in brilliant, terrifying displays.
The atmosphere felt almost spiritual, as if the very heavens were offering prayers.
Then suddenly... the speeding Maybach lost control, skidding sideways before colliding with an electric scooter. The unfortunate delivery driver, who had been battling through the storm to make his rounds, was sent flying dozens of meters through the air.
The out-of-control luxury vehicle crashed headfirst into the concrete support of the overpass.
Both drivers died on impact.
It was painfully obvious—Ye Qiu had been that delivery man.
"You can actually travel through time like this?"
This method of transmigration was certainly unexpected, to say the least.
But... upon reflection, it didn't seem entirely impossible.
"Well, well, well... After all these years of devouring web novels, is it finally my turn to be the protagonist?"
Looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings and observing the strange flying vessels that occasionally soared past the windows outside, Ye Qiu became certain that he had truly traveled through time and space.
Moreover, it seemed he had arrived in a genuinely extraordinary world—one where ships actually flew through the sky like birds.
"Holy shit, who the hell still delivers food on electric scooters when you could fly a spaceship instead..."
As a veteran enthusiast of online literature, Ye Qiu was well-versed in the conventions of time travel stories. For the transmigrators in countless novels he'd read, the word "thrilling" barely began to encompass their incredible journeys.
They typically started with ancient sacred bodies, invincible cheat systems, or impossibly powerful backgrounds. They spent their days acting arrogantly, slapping faces left and right, and surrounded themselves with countless beautiful women. How amazing could life possibly get?
Now he found himself feeling significantly less resentful toward the idiot who had knocked him into his next life.
After all, in his previous existence, he'd been nothing more than a beast of burden—working multiple jobs simultaneously, never managing to save any money, only accumulating an ever-growing pile of debts.
Now that he'd transmigrated, surely his situation couldn't be worse than his previous life, could it?
"Listen, I'm not asking for an Ancient Saint Body or some invincible background right from the start. Just give me a simple system—I'm not being unreasonable here."
"At the very least, let me be a wealthy, hedonistic young master. I'm really not that picky."
Ye Qiu rubbed his hands together eagerly. In the oppressive silence that filled the grand hall, he carefully began to process and digest the memories belonging to this new body.
As the foreign memories gradually integrated with his consciousness, however, the hopeful smile on his face began to fade.
"Hmm?"
"Wait just a minute..."
His brow furrowed slightly as a flicker of genuine surprise flashed through his mind, colored by the emotions and experiences of his previous life.
Ye Qiu raised his head to look at the imposing middle-aged man seated above him.
This was his father—Ye Jin, one of the legendary Seven Kings of the Northern Sea Savage Land, a member of an ancient Imperial bloodline, and the current patriarch of the mighty Ye family.
He was one of the most powerful beings of this era, feared and respected by all, including the alien creatures that dwelled beyond the borders of civilization.
Once, he had single-handedly halted a million-strong invasion force from foreign lands, earning himself a title approaching godhood in that singular, decisive battle.
He was deeply beloved and revered by the people of the realm.
He was hailed as a great hero, a pioneering champion, and a trailblazer for all of humanity—truly a figure who commanded worldwide attention and reverence.
However...
Ye Qiu's personal memories of this legendary father were far from glorious.
He recalled being abandoned on the streets of Liyang at the tender age of three, only to be taken in by a kind-hearted farming couple. His childhood had been one of profound loneliness and helplessness, marked by frequent hunger and bitter cold.
When he turned eighteen, the elderly couple who had raised him with such devotion passed away peacefully. Before their deaths, they left him all their modest savings and made a final request—that he journey to the legendary Bu Tian Holy Land to seek the path of immortality.
They told him with their dying breaths that in this world, the only way to escape a life of poverty and obscurity was through spiritual cultivation and practice.
Carrying their hopes and dreams, Ye Qiu had embarked on the arduous journey to Bu Tian Holy Land to seek immortality and enlightenment. Ultimately, he lived up to their expectations and, demonstrating exceptional natural talent, successfully passed the rigorous entrance examinations to officially enter the realm of spiritual cultivation.
However, due to his humble origins and lowly background, he was frequently ostracized and bullied within the supposedly sacred grounds of the holy land. His daily life was far from easy.
In such an environment, he learned that to avoid being tormented by the stronger disciples, one had only two choices: either join the bullies and prey upon those even weaker, or... become an even bigger bastard than any of them.
Slowly, trapped within this toxic cycle, Ye Qiu's entire mindset and worldview began to shift and darken.
Just when he thought his miserable existence was destined to continue forever, suddenly one day, a distinguished young couple approached him with earth-shattering news:
"Son, we are your parents!"
Upon hearing these words, Ye Qiu's heart soared with unprecedented joy and relief.
He wasn't an orphan after all—he had a father and mother who were alive and had come for him.
They explained to Ye Qiu that due to the brutal wars raging in the borderlands, they had been forced to abandon him and journey to the treacherous North Sea region to fight against the terrifying alien creatures that threatened all of humanity.
His father, they revealed, was a powerful and influential figure in the North Sea territories, which meant he had accumulated many dangerous enemies over the years. If Ye Qiu's true identity as his son had been exposed during those turbulent times, those enemies would have undoubtedly targeted the boy for revenge or leverage.
Since they were constantly occupied with the life-or-death struggle against alien invaders, they simply had no time or opportunity to properly care for a young child. Therefore, they had made the painful decision to leave Ye Qiu in the safety of Liyang, arranging for the elderly farming couple to foster him while keeping him under discrete surveillance from afar.
What they hadn't anticipated was that the war would drag on for twenty long years, preventing them from ever returning. During all that time, Ye Qiu had lived in complete ignorance of his parents' existence.
After hearing their detailed explanation, Ye Qiu expressed his understanding and forgiveness. After all, given the circumstances they described, they truly hadn't had any better options available.
But when his gaze fell upon his younger brother—standing there with his sharp, defined eyebrows, bright intelligent eyes, and unmistakably arrogant bearing—Ye Qiu suddenly felt as though all the suffering and hardship he had endured over the past twenty years had been nothing but a cruel joke.
"Haha... I understand now, I understand perfectly."
"No wonder I transmigrated into this unfortunate soul. This poor bastard's life was truly pathetic..."
So-called "protection" had meant silently abandoning him in the unfamiliar streets of Liyang City?
Twenty years of suffering, poverty, and loneliness—and during all that time, not a single visit, not even a simple inquiry about his wellbeing?
Yet here was his second son, who had been kept close by their side all along, having enormous financial resources and materials devoted to his cultivation until he became the most renowned prodigy in all the North Sea territories?
In that moment of bitter clarity, Ye Qiu suddenly understood the original owner's deepest feelings perfectly. If he hadn't harbored such desperate hopes and expectations for so long, perhaps the eventual disappointment wouldn't have been so utterly soul-crushing.
Ultimately, consumed by depression and despair, the original Ye Qiu had drunk himself to death...
Instead of the parental care and brotherly respect he had dreamed of for so long, all he encountered were cold, dismissive stares and barely concealed disdain.
Bang...
Just as Ye Qiu was processing these painful revelations...