"Enough! Stop this pathetic pretending. Your eyes cannot deceive anyone who truly looks."
"From the very moment I stepped foot into this house, all of you have looked down on me from the depths of your hearts. So who exactly are you trying to fool now with this act of being a caring, devoted mother?"
"You ungrateful bastard!"
"Yes, I'm a bastard..." Ye Qiu's eyes blazed as he met his father's furious gaze directly, pointing an accusing finger at Ye Jin. "If my existence truly upsets you so much, then you can kill me right here and now. I can't resist you anyway, so it would be simple enough."
"But don't you dare stand there acting like some noble patriarch and devoted father. Are you even worthy of being called a parent? Have you ever fulfilled your parental obligations for even a single day in my entire life?"
"Since you returned to this city, it's been a full month! Apart from constant accusations, obvious disgust, and endless insults, I haven't heard a single word of genuine concern or care from either of you."
"You never once asked what I was doing outside these walls, nor did you bother to inquire about why I behaved the way I did."
"All you know and care about is that your son should be exactly like him—not a worthless waste of space like me."
These brutal words struck Ye Jin like physical blows, making his face flush crimson with rage as his blood pressure soared dangerously high.
The entire grand hall fell into an oppressive, deathly silence.
All the servants throughout the chamber were visibly trembling with terror, afraid to even breathe too loudly.
Su Wanqing's face went completely pale as she desperately tried to deny his accusations, but Ye Qiu's words rang in her mind like an unending bell, echoing painfully in the depths of her heart.
She found herself unable to speak, completely unsure of how to refute his devastating claims.
Ye Jin, forcing himself to calm down and analyze the situation with a clearer mind, also fell into troubled silence.
Seeing Ye Qiu's cold, unforgiving gaze fixed upon him, even his explosive anger seemed to soften slightly.
Every single word Ye Qiu had spoken pierced directly into his heart like poisoned daggers.
"Ah..."
He released a long, weary sigh as a wave of deep frustration and regret welled up within his chest.
It seemed that he had indeed neglected and failed his eldest son over all these years, leading directly to his current degraded state.
Perhaps Ye Qiu wasn't entirely to blame for how he had turned out—maybe the real person who should bear responsibility was himself...
Though he felt the sharp sting of guilt eating at his conscience, his pride would never allow him to admit his failures and mistakes. And he certainly wouldn't humble himself by admitting them to his own son.
Deep down, he knew that everything Ye Qiu had accused them of earlier was absolutely true.
When he had first returned to the city, he had indeed seriously considered publicly announcing Ye Qiu's identity as his heir and eldest son. But upon witnessing his incompetent demeanor and disappointing behavior firsthand, he had quickly changed his mind.
The vast disparity between his idealized image of what his son should be and the harsh reality was simply too great to accept. Ye Jin, as a powerful and respected figure, could not bring himself to acknowledge that his own flesh and blood was nothing more than street trash.
Therefore, he had originally intended to wait and reveal Ye Qiu's true identity only after providing him with proper training and guidance to get him back on the right path.
But he hadn't anticipated that this confrontation would become the final straw that broke the camel's back.
In truth, every single accusation Ye Qiu had just hurled at them was completely factual and not exaggerated in the slightest.
Otherwise, Ye Jin would never have fallen into such troubled silence instead of immediately defending himself.
For what felt like an eternity, the atmosphere in the grand hall remained trapped in an eerie, uncomfortable silence.
Looking at the three family members with eyes as cold as winter frost, Ye Qiu suppressed the throbbing pain throughout his battered body, laughed bitterly, and said, "Haha... why have you all suddenly gone silent? Is it because your hypocritical masks have finally been torn away and you find yourselves completely speechless?"
"In that case, then you should enjoy your perfect little family reunion without me. After all, you will only feel annoyed and disgusted when I remain here. You believe that my very presence brings shame and embarrassment to your prestigious family name..."
"You are uncomfortable with my existence, and I am equally uncomfortable with yours."
"That's all I have to say on this matter! During the past twenty years of my life, I haven't enjoyed even the smallest kindness or benefit from any of you.
"Therefore, I owe you nothing, and I feel no gratitude whatsoever. I have absolutely no regrets about this decision."
Having delivered these final, cutting words, Ye Qiu took a deep, steadying breath and deliberately severed the last remaining vestiges of familial affection that had somehow survived in his heart.
"Let this be the end of everything between us. From this day forward, I and your prestigious Ye family... share no connection whatsoever. We are complete strangers to each other, and we shall never cross paths again."
"That vicious slap your precious son gave me just now—consider it my final repayment for whatever debt I might have owed you!"
Ye Qiu had finally said everything that needed to be said, holding nothing back. He turned in silence and began walking toward the exit, determined to leave this soul-crushing place behind forever.
Hearing his devastating words, Su Wanqing felt panic rising in her chest. She had never imagined that what seemed like such a relatively small incident could create such an irreparable rift between father and son.
Just as she was about to step forward desperately to stop him from leaving, Ye Jin's rage, which had only just begun to subside, suddenly flared up again with even greater intensity.
"Treacherous rebellion! Utter rebellion!"
"Just because of such a trivial matter, you're completely severing all ties with your own family?"
He slammed his fist against the ornate table with tremendous force and roared, "Fine then, let him go! I want to see exactly where you think you can survive without my protection and support. If you have even an ounce of courage and backbone, you'd better never come crawling back here!"
"Hehe... The world is vast and endless—surely there's room for me somewhere that isn't here? Don't worry about my survival, father. I will not bring shame to your family name by dying in some gutter, nor will I ever tell another living soul that I am Ye Jin's son, so you need not fear that I'll tarnish your precious and noble reputation."
With one final, bitter laugh echoing through the hall, Ye Qiu turned around and strode toward the exit without looking back even once.
Just as he was about to reach the grand entrance, several new figures walked through the doorway.
Among them were two elderly men with distinguished bearings and a breathtakingly beautiful woman whose stunning appearance was matched only by her cold, imperious temperament.
When their eyes met for a brief moment, Ye Qiu's brow furrowed with immediate recognition and disgust.
"Get out of my way!"
The woman's icy voice cut through the air like a blade, and the unconcealed disgust burning in her eyes had reached an almost extreme level of contempt.
To be completely honest, Ye Qiu absolutely despised this particular type of look—as if she were offering charity to some pathetic beggar.
Her arrogant and condescending gaze examined him as though he were nothing more than an extremely humble pariah, utterly beneath her notice.
"Hu..."
He took a deep, controlled breath, but the rage burning in his heart seemed to be growing slightly beyond his ability to contain it.
He wasn't entirely certain whether this loss of control was due to having awakened the Bloodthirsty Demon God talent, or whether it simply reflected his own natural temperament asserting itself.
Either way, he was fighting with every ounce of willpower to restrain the violent hostility surging through his body.
Because at this particular moment, he lacked the power and ability to act on these dark impulses.
He knew exactly who this woman was—Lian Feng, the arrogant little princess of the powerful Lian family of Liyang, one of the most influential clans in the region.
She was also the celebrated Saint of the Immortal Mountain Holy Land, widely regarded as the most stunning and accomplished daughter of heaven in the entire Imperial State. She commanded attention and admiration wherever she traveled.
She and Ye Qing had even earned recognition together as Bu Tian Mountain's most exceptional immortal cultivators, known throughout the realm as the "Peerless Twin Pride." They were considered by many to be a perfect match—a gifted, handsome man paired with an extraordinarily beautiful and talented woman. Countless people praised them as a match made in heaven itself.
Perhaps she had come to believe this flattery herself.
However... there was one crucial detail that complicated this seemingly perfect narrative.
While she and Ye Qing were indeed close childhood friends and cultivation partners, the person she was actually betrothed to marry was Ye Qiu himself.
This engagement had been formally arranged by both sets of parents many years ago, even before either of them had been born into this world.
He stared coldly at this arrogant woman, remembering all the disdainful glances she had cast his way over the past month, each one filling him with deeper disgust and resentment.
Ye Qiu felt nothing but revulsion as he sneered back at her, "Haha, how remarkably self-righteous you are."
Having delivered this cutting response, Ye Qiu refused to waste another moment in this toxic environment. He stepped aside slightly and continued walking away from this absolutely disgusting place.
Upon hearing his unexpected retort, Lian Feng felt a strange flutter of panic in her chest, leaving her momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
She had detected an unmistakable note of contempt and dislike in his gaze, as though he were looking at a complete stranger who meant absolutely nothing to him.
"What's wrong with him? Why is he acting so strangely?"