Abandoned Son of God

Three days later, the Emperor of the Soaring Sky Empire summoned the head of the Ye Clan and his son, specifically ordering them to bring the Ye Clan's Thirteenth Young Master along.

After the Emperor's summons, there was one more piece of news about the Ye Clan's Thirteenth Young Master: he had gained a fiancée. That fiancée was the Imperial Princess, who had also only just been born. She had been born on the same day as him, only slightly earlier.

Interestingly, this Imperial Princess had also been born amid rosy clouds, so she too could be linked to a divine miracle. Because of this, the Emperor felt even more strongly that the Thirteenth Young Master and the Little Princess were a match made in heaven.

Princesses marrying into the Ye Clan was hardly uncommon. Engagements arranged from childhood had happened no fewer than eight or ten times, so naturally no one objected to this matter or found it strange.

A month later, the Thirteenth Young Master celebrated his first full month. Naturally, the Ye Clan held a banquet in celebration, inviting nearly all civil and military officials. Even the Emperor appeared, bringing along the Little Princess, who was also celebrating her first full month.

At the time, the Emperor's idea had been to celebrate for the two little ones together, saving both sides the trouble of entertaining guests separately and scattering everyone about. He had not chosen the Imperial Palace, instead coming here for reasons of his own.

No matter what, everyone could see that the Emperor had given the Ye Clan tremendous face, and the Thirteenth Young Master's prominence rose once more.

One year later...

Things seemed to have changed slightly. The Thirteenth Young Master's physical growth was fine, but he was not as everyone had expected. According to some people's guesses, he should already have been able to run, jump, and speak, but—

"Chengtian, why is our child like this?" A noble and gentle woman of the Ye Clan gazed at a one-year-old child and spoke with some sorrow.

This woman was the Thirteenth Young Master's mother—Long Anqi. The Chengtian she spoke of was her husband, Ye Chengtian, whose brow was likewise furrowed.

Why was he frowning? Was it because the Thirteenth Young Master, known as the Divine Child, was too outstanding for them to bear?

Wrong. He was not too outstanding. On the contrary, he seemed even somewhat inferior to ordinary children.

Normally, by the age of one, children would at least be able to walk and say a few simple words. Yet this Thirteenth Young Master not only could not walk, he could not speak either.

"It's all right. Some children learn to walk and talk later than others, but they can still become outstanding when they grow up. It doesn't mean anything." Ye Chengtian frowned as he comforted his wife, while seeming to comfort himself as well.

"Mhm..." Long Anqi held the Thirteenth Young Master and smiled faintly, seeming to accept this explanation.

Yes, some children really were like this. It truly did not mean anything. As for whether this Thirteenth Young Master was one of them, they could only wait and see.

Two years later...

The Thirteenth Young Master finally learned to walk and could call people by name, but he was only at a beginner's level. This disappointed many people, and they gradually began to consider a possibility they were unwilling to dwell on.

At that time, some people in the Ye Clan rejoiced while others worried. Naturally, those who worried were the ones who cared about the Thirteenth Young Master, while those who rejoiced were those in the Lineage who were at odds with Ye Chengtian's branch.

However, there was one exception among those who cared. Or rather, she was still too young. She was delighted by the Thirteenth Young Master's condition. She was his elder sister—the lively sister who had wanted to hold him.

Every day, she happily held the Thirteenth Young Master, seemingly trying to make up for her earlier regret. Although she had grown quite a bit by now, she was still very small, so the sight of her holding her younger brother became somewhat strange.

Imagine it: a five-year-old little girl holding a two-year-old little boy. What kind of scene was that? The fact that she could carry him at all already seemed miraculous.

Still, the scene gave people a warm feeling, making the siblings seem rather endearing.

Three years later...

Virtually everyone knew one thing: the Thirteenth Young Master was not a genius, but a fool. No, that was wrong—he should be called a dull-witted person.

Even now, he had only learned to say a few simple words. The level of his intellectual development was disappointing. A Son of God had turned into a little fool just like that; the contrast left many people somewhat surprised.

And the result of this day caused people to completely give up on the Thirteenth Young Master. No one held even a thread of hope for him anymore. Of course, this referred only to outsiders, not his family.

On the Sacred Land Continent, there was a tradition: when a person turned three, they had to undergo a Talent Attribute test.

Talent Attributes were unique to the people of this world. Ordinary people possessed only one, while only an extremely small number possessed two or even more. The most common Talent Attributes were four: wind, fire, earth, and water.

Less common ones included light, darkness, space, and so on, along with certain mutated attributes. But all of these were exceedingly rare, appearing only once or twice over hundreds or thousands of years.

Whichever Talent Attribute one possessed determined which type of magic or Battle Qi one could unleash with the greatest power. This was commonly called receiving a boost, and that boost was no small matter—it could absolutely affect the difference in a person's strength.

Simply put, a water-attribute expert was an expert when using water-element skills. If he used skills from another element, it would be difficult for him to achieve even half the power of his water-element skills, turning him into a mediocre hand.

Why was the Talent Attribute tested at the age of three? There seemed to be a saying that one's life was set at three years old. Ahem, that was close enough—anyway, that was roughly what it meant.

It was said that by the age of three, a person's lifelong attribute had basically been determined and would undergo no further mutations.

The Thirteenth Young Master's test result shocked everyone. He was actually Attribute-less. This was a situation not seen once in ten thousand years. No matter how poor or strange a person's attribute was, they would at least possess one.

He truly was a Son of God, except the meaning had changed somewhat. Before, it had meant a child favored by God. Now, it meant a child abandoned by God—that was to say—

Abandoned Son of God!

A piece of trash inferior even to ordinary people—even if he had been brilliant beyond measure, in this world where strength reigned supreme, a person without power would find it difficult to earn others' highest respect.

What was more, his intellect lagged behind others. He was a fool through and through, making him trash among trash.

Of course, many people thought this way, but no one dared say it aloud. Even if the Thirteenth Young Master was an idiot, no one would dare say anything—at least not to his face.

After all, the Ye Clan possessed enough power and influence to care for the Ye Clan's Thirteenth Young Master for his entire life, allowing him to live without a care in the world. Anyone who wished to humiliate him would be humiliating the Ye Clan, and that was not something ordinary people could bear.

Perhaps this was also a kind of fortune. Being born into the Ye Clan meant the Thirteenth Young Master had no worries about survival, while being a fool and a piece of trash kept him apart from struggles for power.

That could also be considered a blessing.