Nine Astra Skies

"Little sister Ye Rou. Fancy seeing you here in the training ground today."

Just as Ye Chen and Ye Rou were chatting, a lad who seemed to be their age approached the duo.

Ye Kongyan was one of the more talented and good-looking scions of the family. In fact, among the younger generation, only three of them had managed to reach the crest of the Fifth Stage and were only a few steps away from reaching the sixth; Uncle Zhanxiong's daughter who went by the name Ye Xuan, Ye Rou, and Ye Kongyan. Now, Ye Kongyan may pale in comparison to Ye Chen in terms of his prowess in the past but he was still a handsome beau who was gifted in martial arts. He even possessed a higher than average station among the clansmen since he was one of the elder's son. His father's ranking was only second to the chief; the chief's closest right-hand man.

"Mm." Ye Rou's reply was short. Every time someone else was in her vicinity, she returned to her icy demeanor.

That sudden change in attitude upset Ye Kongyan and was shown on his face as his expression darkened visibly. The young man gave a snide glance at Ye Chen whilst a look of disdain bubbled in his gaze albeit briefly. How was it that Ye Rou only treated Ye Chen differently? Even if he used to be a martial prodigy, the Ye Chen now was hardly anything but a burden.

"Hello, Brother Ye Chen. You're looking healthy, so I'm assuming your body is getting better?" Ye Kongyan's voice was layered with a hint of malice and subtlety as he turned to face Ye Chen.

Before Ye Chen's tragedy struck, Ye Kongyan was more or less his most stalwart follower. As the former was older than the latter by two or three months, Ye Kongyan had always tailed behind him, crying out in his most chummy tone, "Big Brother Ye Chen!" Ye Chen for his part took Ye Kongyan under his wing. However, when tragedy struck Ye Chen, Ye Kongyan would look at him no more.

That taught Ye Chen how brief an apparently intimate relationship could be. In response, Ye Chen regarded Ye Kongyan's action with an air of indifference. Ye Chen was simply not one who would react solely to someone's mockery and sneer at his predicament.

You only know who your true friends are when you're at your lowest.

"Not too shabby, really. I sleep and eat well enough," Ye Chen replied curtly. Times may be trying but he was far from being depressed.

"Well, color me surprised. Someone is living a pretty swell life after all, huh? Oh, I wish the same could be said for the chief and the elders! Their hair greyed out of stress in order to obtain enough Chi-amassing Pills just so they could heal a pathetic, self-centered jerk."

Ye Kongyan's eyes narrowed, mocking Ye Chen before he continued, "Do you know that the Second-rank Prince of Donglin had just obtained a Nexus Pill? When our good chief heard the news, he rushed to his palace two days ago, begging the prince for that little pill – even getting on his knees! Of course, the Second-rank Prince kicked the chief out of his audience immediately because why would the prince who in his right mind, give such an invaluable treasure away? How shameful that a proud warrior the likes of a chief had become spineless and got on his knees begging for a pill. He's now the joke of the entire county!"

"What did you say?" Ye Chen's heart sank. He had no inkling of the aforementioned event, as neither his Father nor his other seniors had brought the event to his attention.

"Ye Kongyan, you stop this right now!" Despite being in a panic, Ye Rou had managed to raise her voice in a cool and collected manner albeit with a firm yell. The seniors of the family had ordered that the event was not to be spoken of around Ye Chen but Ye Kongyan had agreed in bad faith.

Ye Chen could feel his chest pounding hard as he turned to Ye Rou, his voice low and hoarse as he demanded, "Is this true, Rou?"

Judging from the look on her face, it must have likely been true. Ye Chen's heart twisted in agony as he imagined his father begging on his knees for his sake only to be kicked out of the palace. His father was the face and the heart of the clan! What sort of colossal shame and humiliation had his father forcefully endured?

"Stop? Why? The Chief and everyone else had done more than enough of their fair share for this punk! All those Chi-amassing Pills were obtained by exhausting ten years worth of family savings. He had single-handedly dragged this entire family down. Honestly, if I were a good-for-nothing, I would've run head first into a wall and killed myself!" Ye Konyan sneered. "I just can't stand seeing people bending over their backs for someone like him!"

Ye Chen never knew that his father had suffered much more than himself. All of the pain he was in had been nothing but a grain compared to the ordeal faced by his father for his sake!

He could feel tears welling up in his eyes but he composed himself to not let the tears fall. 'I'm so sorry, Father. It's my fault that you've suffered so much. I swear, if my meridian channels ever recover, I'll personally destroy every single brick in the prince's palace to avenge the humiliation you've been subjected to!'

"B-big Brother?! Don't listen to his drivel. None of that happened!" Ye Rou was visibly frantic at this point as her eyes scanned Ye Chen. Everyone had been worried that the young scion would finally break upon hearing this and kill himself in despair.

"It's alright. I'm not going to take my own life. If I take the easy way out because of minor inconveniences in my life, I'll only die a coward!" Ye Chen replied, his nails digging into his skin as he balled his fists in determination. To continue living is probably the most courageous act a martial fighter who had his meridian system destroyed could ever do.

Ye Rou's eyes watered. 'Big Brother Ye Chen, please… You're considered family to an orphan like me. Please don't ever do anything foolish!'

"Good grief, some people can be super thick-skinned," Ye Kongyan said as he smirked.

Ye Chen raised his head, his eyes meeting those of Ye Kongyan's. "Oh, I know what you and the other elders were hoping for. Allow me to let you in on something. I'm not looking to die. Even if every meridian channel in my body was severed, I still have faith that I won't be in this state forever!" He declared.

"Meanwhile, I don't harbor the delusion that a bird with their wings clipped could ever fly again. Perhaps you'd like to have the chief and his men beg for the pill in the Second-rank Prince's palace once more? If you really think that the Prince of Donglin would happily surrender the pill to you, then congratulations on making up such a sweet dream for yourself," Ye Kongyan replied with a scornful chuckle. "Learn your role. You'll always be deadweight to our family."

With those cruel words, Ye Kongyan smirked before turning his back on them and left.

"Big Brother Ye Chen? Please don't take his words to heart." Ye Rou blurted out as soon as Ye Kongyan left, her expression wrought with frenzied concern. Ye Chen may not have planned to kill himself but she was still worried about him.

"I'll take my leave for the day." Ye Chen shook his head and started for the exit of the training ground.

As her eyes lingered on his lonesome figure, Ye Rou felt a pang in her chest.

At the Patriarch Residency within Ye Castle.

The Patriarch Residency stood magnificently at a distance, with sculptures and paintings of intricate craftsmanship adorning its exterior. However, it had been years since they were maintained, and as nature weathered the walls down, the residency seemed to reflect on the clan's eventual downfall. Even the surrounding garden had fallen into a state of disrepair as weeds sprung about everywhere.

Back then, when the House of Ye was in their prime, the clan was the second most powerful within the ranks of the Eighteen Houses. Twenty to thirty or so gardeners had been hired specifically to tend to the surroundings of the Patriarch Residency. Of course, by now, none of those gardeners remained. On a larger scale, many of the Ye Family's business ventures had long ceased operation.

With a loud crash, Ye Chen fell to his knees at the green marble step leading to the door of the Patriarch Residency as soon as he arrived. The sound of the young man's forehead hitting incessantly onto the hard, stony step echoed all the way to the direction of Ye Zhantian's abode, with the boy himself unaware of the stream of blood coursing down his forehead.

"Father! It is my fault that you've suffered so much!" his voice cracked as his heart twisted in agony once more.

Ye Chen swore quietly in his heart that one day when he found the way to regain his lost strength, he would use every ounce to repay his father and uncles' enormous compassion!

In the main hall of the Patriarch Residency.

A middle-aged man in a grey robe drew out a long sigh.

He radiated an aura of robust bearing, so much so that even as he simply stood in a corner, he would still emit an invincible presence. Yet, despite his apparent vigor, his face was too old for his age, with a few strands of white hair decorating the middle of his head.

It was the Patriarch of the House, Ye Zhantian.

"Big Brother, aren't you going to see him?" a man standing beside him asked. This man looked to be a few years younger than Ye Zhantian and was in fact, one of his many brothers – Ye Zhanlong.

Ye Zhantian had three biological brothers and two who he became brothers with through a brotherly pact. Then, the six of them laid out their seniority according to their age. Ye Zhantian was the eldest. Meanwhile, Ye Zhanlong was second as he took up the role of Magistrate of the House's Tribunal, followed by Ye Zhanxiong as the third. The rest of the brothers were usually on duty outside of the castle as their tasks were mostly of external affairs.

The two men had already detected Ye Chen's presence the moment he stood outside the Patriarch's Residency.

"How could I summon the strength to see Chen? My poor son has suffered so much through all these years. Although I promised<anno data-annotation-id="846dea85-5b9a-6747-6245-6a94c05878d3"> Xiao Ruo</anno> that I'd protect and care for him, I've broken the promises. This son has always been his own man. I've never heard him call me father. Deep down, he loathed me, and this is why everything that I've done to this very point was just my way of making amends."

Ye Zhantian may not have moved from his seat but he did not intend to dismiss Ye Chen. When he heard the word 'father' from the young man's hoarse voice, tears welled up in his eyes as they came streaming down.

'My son has finally called me father.'

"Chen is a smart boy with great mental fortitude, Big Brother. I don't believe that the Gods would torment him for long. With every last ounce of resource we have, we will get him a Nexus Pill!" Ye Zhanlong said with determination. Then, as a flash of anger stormed in his eyes, he continued, "Meanwhile, that Second-rank Prince of Donglin shall prepare to pay the price for humiliating the Ye Clan. In fact, they shall pay for their foolishness many times over!"

"No, the issue with the prince is over. The emperor bestowed his royal title to the prince himself. Let us also not forget that he's surrounded by at least seventeen Ninth-Stage powerhouses besides commanding the loyalty of an army of ten million. Worst of all, he has close connections with the imperial members too. The Ye Clan's firepower is simply not on par with these people. The most we can do right now is to swallow whatever mockery that has been thrown in our faces quietly. In fact, my only concern right now is to restore my son's meridian channels. Humiliation, shame – none of those matter as long as my son is healed. To that end, I'll refrain from involving myself in any unnecessary conflict," Ye Zhantian said as he shook his head.

'Even if that old man had returned, the entire clan's power would still be several leagues away from the Second-rank Prince's force,' he thought to himself.

"However, years of extensive investigations have brought the culprits of Chen's suffering to light. For this particular case, I swear I'll avenge my son until the last drop of my blood!" resolve shone in Ye Zhantian's eyes as he added.

A gust of unforgiving wind had started howling but Ye Chen remained on his knees outside his father's abode. He refused to settle as the Ye Family deadweight. If there was anything that could heal his broken meridian channels, he would take it no matter the cost!

Hum!

The Flying Dagger vibrated inside his mind. A thought raced through Ye Chen's head. 'It's acting up again!'

The Flying Dagger had been pulsing frequently but the intensity this time was much stronger than before…

<annotations style="display: none;"><ol class="tinymce-annotation-container"><li data-annotation-id="846dea85-5b9a-6747-6245-6a94c05878d3">I can't confirm for sure but Xiao Ruo is probably Ye Chen's mom. She's as dead as Uncle Ben, I suppose.</li></ol></annotations>",