Chapter 12 - The Sixth Stage! (1/2)

Ye Chen’s meridian channels had been severed completely, so how was he expecting himself to challenge Ye Kongyan in a duel?

Everyone in the audience was completely vexed. Of course, none of them had even entertained the idea that Ye Chen’s meridian channels may have recovered.

Hearing Ye Chen’s words, Ye Zhanlong’s eyes widened. He looked at Ye Zhantian, his face was filled with an expression of bewilderment as he cried out, “B-Big Brother… Don’t tell me— ?”

In reply, Ye Zhantian flashed him a meaningful smile and nodded.

It had happened! By now, Ye Zhanlong was not the only one who was turned from being completely shocked and perplexed to ecstatically surprised; everyone else within earshot was the same.

“The Gods had not forsaken the Ye family after all!” Ye Zhanlong exclaimed, his emotions hardly contained.

In fact, to Ye Zhanlong and the rest, just the thought of Ye Chen’s meridian channels recovering was enough for them to feel grateful. Even if all of his previous martial arts prowess could not be recovered, becoming a common yet healthy person was enough.

On the flip side, Ye Moyang would never have expected something so beyond his every calculation and prediction. ‘It can’t be true, that eyesore can’t possibly have recovered his meridian channels! This is impossible because Ye Zhantian has absolutely no conceivable means to obtain a Nexus Pill to perform such a miracle!’

Yet, Ye Zhantian was smiling so wide that Ye Moyang’s heart plunged straight into the farthest abyss of his chest. Once Ye Chen recovered from his previously crippled state, it would not have mattered if that stupid boy had only recovered half of his previous skills. He was, and would continue to be, the one and only stumbling block who could pose as a legitimate threat to Ye Kongyan’s road to being the Successor Chief! By now, Ye Moyang’s face was terrifyingly dark. He was genuinely confused as to what was going on.

Ye Chen did not wait for the crowd to make sense of his new development before he leaped up effortlessly onto the ring before their eyes.

The fact that he could leap several feet in the air without breaking a sweat was something that could only be done if someone possessed a healthy body with functional meridian channels!

“That kid, Ye Chen! His meridian channels had really recovered!”

“Did the Chief get him a Nexus Pill?”

“It’s a blessing for us, Ye Family!” a few of the Elders cried out in happiness.

“Big Brother Ye Chen’s meridian channels are healed!” Ye Meng, Ye Ming, and all the other juniors were so galvanized that they almost forgot what to say.

“No wonder our Little Brother rejected our Chi-amassing Pills. Oh, that little brat kept this secret from us so well!” Ye Peng cried, his voice cracking a little.

“Hah! Our little brother still has it in him.” Watching Ye Chen’s adept footwork as he jumped onto the ring, Ye Mu gave a chuckle. As the saying goes, blood is thicker than water; seeing his own brother miraculously healed has brought such pure joy to Ye Mu’s heart.

Of course, not everyone was ecstatic. Many of Ye Chen’s peers who had so readily laughed and mocked him back when he was a lame duck were trying their best to conceal the slow-burning anxiety in their minds. Now that the good-for-nothing’s meridian channels had recovered, they were worried if he had also recovered much of his former strength, or worse — if he would come and exact revenge on them.

Ye Chen cast a long shadow behind him as he stood on the ring, looking just as dauntless and gallant as he used to be before the incident.

He drew out a long breath as if expelling all his repressed frustration from his chest. ‘Three years. No one understood how much pain I had gone through for three years. No one understood the shame of being mocked, laughed at, or scorned throughout these three years. Who could even comprehend the indignance and sorrow I have experienced over these three years when I was forced to be crippled?’

“Who would have foreseen us sparring each other again in this short life of ours?” Ye Chen said mildly as he turned his attention to Ye Kongyan.

“Well, I certainly did not,” Ye Kongyan mumbled, feeling a tad awkward. He took a few steps backward unconsciously, as if he could not help himself for doing so. Back when Ye Chen was at his prime, he was the best of the best — the star of their generation and that had cast a very long shadow on Ye Kongyan’s self-worth.

Back then, it didn’t matter how much Ye Kongyan had endeavored; it was always an unavailing struggle to keep up with the ever-expanding gap between himself and Ye Chen until finally, all Ye Kongyan could do was to watch the martial arts prodigy and his expansive achievements from afar. When Ye Chen was ambushed and left crippled seemingly for good, Ye Kongyan thought it was finally his chance to shine. Yet, it seemed that the Gods had a favorite, and that favorite was not him. Just like that, out of the blue, his rival’s meridian channels were suddenly alright again!

Then, another thought occurred to him. ‘Ye Chen couldn’t possibly have recovered for long. This must have been a recent development. Ergo, his current Stage must be a lot lower than mine right now!’

Indeed, Ye Kongyan was a Sixth Stage fighter at this point which was no different from the stature Ye Chen had attained before the incident. So why should Ye Kongyan tremble before him now?

With that thought in mind, Ye Kongyan managed to regain some of his mettle, enough to show his most wholesome smile. “Congratulations on the recovery! I’m very pleased that your meridian channels have healed.”

Ye Chen sneered chillingly. Ye Kongyan was truly his father’s son — both shamelessly two-faced. Unfortunately for Ye Kongyan, it took three years for Ye Chen to really see him as he truly was.

The disdain in Ye Chen’s sneer was so brazen, Ye Kongyan’s smile froze.

The young man tried to compose himself before he gave Ye Chen a Baoquan greet. “Well, as I’m unsure of how much you’ve progressed in your recovery, I’ll be extra careful. I’d rather have no accidents occur during the Grand Ancestral Worshipping Ceremony. With that being said, I’m more than glad to be your sparring partner.”

Ye Kongyan may be uttering formalities calmly but it was just a farce to mask his bubbling insecurity. Deep down, he dreaded the unpredictability Ye Chen had suddenly brought to the table from the moment Ye Chen issued a challenge.

“There’s no need to hold back. Please, after you,” Ye Chen replied flatly.

“Then should anything happen, it is not on me.” Ye Kongyan was crossed that Ye Chen could still act as if he could match Ye Kongyan’s powers. ‘So what if you had a Nexus Pill that has healed your meridian channels? Do you think that you’re still the same as before? Your meridian channels may have been healed but other parts of your body would still be broken, or weak even! I do not, for once, believe that you’ve managed to get back to the Sixth Stage in this short period of time! Just you wait, once I’ve become the Successor Patriarch, I’ll come up with something to deal with you for good!’

Every pair of eyes in the audience were glued to the battle ring. The young man who had dazzled them with his ingenuity in the past had returned, but could he once again deliver surprises? Once the rising star of the clan, Ye Chen was destined to carry all the hopes they had. Then came these three years, in which the clan lamented the tragedy that had befallen him, yet found themselves unable to support someone who could no longer secure the clan’s future. However, now that Ye Chen’s meridian channels had completely recovered, the hope he had once sowed in their hearts had sprung again.