Dawn had barely broken when the Ye Clan's bronze bell rang out urgently across Qinghe Town — three long tolls, the signal for an emergency elder meeting.
I sat cross-legged in the corner of the outer disciple barracks, eyes closed, God Rock held firmly in both hands. Qi surged through my meridians like a roaring river. What should have taken weeks of bitter meditation happened in minutes. The fourth layer of Qi Condensation clicked into place, then the fifth. My body felt lighter, stronger, every sense sharpened to a razor edge.
The bloody events of last night had spread like wildfire. No one came near the barracks. Even the servants who usually delivered my thin porridge avoided the building entirely.
Good. Fear was a useful tool.
A hesitant knock sounded on the wooden door. I opened my eyes.
"Young… Young Master Tianhen?" A trembling outer disciple's voice called out. "The patriarch summons you to the main hall. He says… he says it's urgent."
I stood, slipped the God Rock into my storage pouch, and picked up the blood-stained iron sword. My clothes were still stiff with dried blood, but I didn't bother changing. Let them see exactly what I had become.
When I entered the grand hall, the atmosphere was thick with tension. The patriarch sat on the elevated seat, his shoulder heavily bandaged, face pale. Elders lined both sides. My parents knelt on the cold stone floor, heads bowed low. Ye Kun and Ye Feng were nowhere to be seen — probably still being treated for their missing arms.
The moment I stepped inside, every gaze locked onto me.
"Ye Tianhen," the patriarch spoke first, voice strained but trying to sound authoritative. "Last night's events were… regrettable. The clan acknowledges that some disciples acted improperly toward you."
I remained silent, staring at him coldly.
He continued, "In light of your sudden… talent, the Ye Clan is willing to make amends. We will promote you to inner disciple immediately. You will receive proper cultivation resources, a private courtyard, and even a low-grade spirit sword. In return, you will swear loyalty to the clan and hand over the strange black stone you were holding last night."
A faint smile touched my lips. So that was their game. They wanted the God Rock.
I stepped forward slowly. "And if I refuse?"
The patriarch's eyes narrowed. Two elders at Foundation Establishment middle stage stood up, their auras flaring.
"Then we will have no choice but to subdue you by force and take it anyway," one elder said coldly. "Do not think your little tricks will work against true experts."
I looked at my kneeling parents. Father's hands were shaking. Mother refused to meet my eyes.
"Interesting," I said softly. "Yesterday I was trash to be whipped and sacrificed. Today I'm suddenly valuable enough to bribe."
I pulled the God Rock out openly. Its runes pulsed with faint dark light, casting eerie shadows across the hall.
The elders' eyes gleamed with greed.
"In that case," I continued, "let me make my own offer."
Before anyone could react, I moved.
Space folded around me. In a blink I was standing directly in front of the two Foundation Establishment elders. My iron sword flashed twice — fast, merciless cuts copied from the techniques I had witnessed in the forest battle.
Blood erupted.
One elder's left arm was severed at the shoulder. The other took a deep gash across his chest, ribs cracking audibly as he flew backward, crashing into a pillar.
Screams filled the hall.
I didn't stop. I turned toward the patriarch and pointed the sword at his throat.
"From this moment forward, the Ye Clan belongs to me," I said calmly. "You will give me all the spirit stones, pills, and cultivation manuals in the clan treasury. You will announce publicly that I am now the acting patriarch. And you will never speak of 'loyalty' to me again."
The patriarch's face turned deathly white. "You… you dare—"
I pressed the tip of the sword against his neck, drawing a thin line of blood.
"I dare."
My parents crawled forward on their knees, tears streaming down their faces.
"Tianhen, please! We were wrong! We are your parents — spare us!"
I looked down at them without a trace of warmth.
"Parents?" My voice was ice. "You threw me away like garbage. Now you beg?"
I raised the sword.
For a moment I considered ending them right there — a clean decapitation for each. The God Rock pulsed eagerly in my left hand, feeding me the perfect angle for the strike.
But I lowered the blade.
"No. Death is too easy. From today, you will serve as the lowest slaves in the outer mines. Every day you will mine spirit stones with your bare hands until your backs break. If you ever try to escape or scheme again, I will personally cut off your limbs one by one and feed them to the Bloodfang Wolves."
Both of them collapsed, sobbing brokenly.
I turned back to the elders and the patriarch.
"Any objections?"
Silence. Absolute, terrified silence.
One by one, the elders lowered their heads.
"W-we obey… Young Patriarch Tianhen."
I nodded once.
"Wise choice."
I walked to the center of the hall and sat down on the patriarch's former seat. The God Rock rested openly on my knee, glowing softly.
"Send someone to bring me the full clan treasury. And prepare a proper feast tonight. I have guests to entertain."
As servants scurried away in panic, I closed my eyes and began circulating qi again, holding the God Rock.
The sixth layer of Qi Condensation broke through almost instantly.
Outside the hall, the morning sun rose over Qinghe Town.
The era of the old Ye Clan had ended.
The era of Ye Tianhen — the one they once called trash — had just begun.
And somewhere far beyond this continent, in another world reached only by ancient space arrays, my grandfather was waiting.
I would grow strong enough to tear open the void itself.
Soon.