The Past No One Knew

After some time spent recovering, Ye Jiulong finally awoke from his coma.

"Grandpa Village Chief, you're finally awake. Are you all right?"

"Mm... Chenfeng." Ye Jiulong sat up from the ground, one hand still pressed against his chest and abdomen, but he could no longer feel that pain because his old injuries had been healed.

"I... I didn't die? And I feel exceptionally comfortable. It has been a long time since I felt this refreshed. Tang Chenfeng, did you give me something to eat? I feel as though life is flowing through my body."

"Mm, Grandpa, you're in good health now. I accidentally discovered that you had serious injuries, so I gave you this." As he spoke, Tang Chenfeng took out a Life Fruit and handed it to Ye Jiulong.

The moment Ye Jiulong saw the Life Fruit, a glint flashed through his eyes. He held it in his hands and examined it. "This is... a Blue Gold Fruit, and a Ten-Thousand-Year Blue Gold Fruit at that. Chenfeng, where did you find it?"

So they were called Blue Gold Fruits. As for Ye Jiulong's question, Tang Chenfeng answered, "I picked it up under a tree." In a sense, he really had "picked up" these Blue Gold Fruits.

Ye Jiulong's eyes were filled with confusion at that answer. Since when could Ten-Thousand-Year Blue Gold Fruits be picked up so casually off the ground? Normally, if one really fell to the ground, it would surely trigger a frenzied scramble among the nearby Soul Beasts rather than end up in his hands. Still, there was no need for him to doubt Tang Chenfeng. Although Tang Chenfeng was much larger than children his age, in Ye Jiulong's eyes, he was still only a six-year-old child. There truly was no reason to suspect him.

"Forget it. Put it away. It will benefit your future development." Ye Jiulong directly stuffed the Blue Gold Fruit back into Tang Chenfeng's hand. In his eyes, the safety of the two children was far more important than a Blue Gold Fruit.

Taking the Blue Gold Fruit, Tang Chenfeng began firing off a whole string of questions. "Grandpa, are you really a Titled Douluo? Aren't Titled Douluos supposed to have very high status? Why are you staying in Tianhun Town as the village chief? And, and, does Grandma Ling know your identity? Could she be an incredibly powerful Soul Master too...?"

Faced with Tang Chenfeng's barrage of questions, Ye Jiulong pondered for a moment. "There is no harm in telling you, but Chenfeng, you must promise me that you will not casually tell anyone else about this."

"Mm, no problem. I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Mm, good. Grandpa believes you. Let me think. First, yes, I really am a Titled Douluo, and one of the strongest kind at that, known as a Limit Douluo, an existence standing at the peak of humanity. Not only me, Ling Wei—your Grandma Ling—once stood at that same peak. We were together. When we were young, we were quite famous in the Soul Master world. We even lived in Sky City for a time. To this day, I have never forgotten those days."

Listening to Ye Jiulong's story, Tang Chenfeng gradually became excited. After all, having such peerless experts right beside him was not something one could experience whenever they wished.

"But that kind of life can never return to me." As he said this, sorrow filled Ye Jiulong's eyes, as if he were recalling the past. Even Tang Chenfeng beside him could sense the bleakness contained within them.

"Chenfeng, didn't you ask why I became the village chief of Tianhun Town? It is a long story. Do you want to hear it slowly?"

At this point, the nature of the story began to change. Still, Tang Chenfeng chose to keep listening because he truly wanted to know about his grandfather's past. He nodded, hoping Ye Jiulong would continue.

A bitter smile appeared on Ye Jiulong's face before he said, "To explain this, we must start a long time ago..."

"I was actually born in Tianhun Town too. One hundred years ago, on the day of Martial Soul Awakening, I was a six-year-old child just like all of you are now. I looked forward to awakening my Martial Soul, hoping heaven would give me a chance to rise above the ordinary. With that mindset, I entered the Awakening Room with the other children and the awakening master and began the Martial Soul Awakening ceremony. There were twelve children in total. The first ten did not awaken any Soul Power, and I was second to last. Perhaps I was lucky, or perhaps my prayers had brought me blessings. I became the first among us to awaken Soul Power. I awakened a mutated dragon-type Wood Dragon Martial Soul, with Innate Level Eight Soul Power and fairly strong Spiritual Power. The awakening master said I was a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius. I was thrilled, because from that moment on, I was a Soul Master and no longer an ordinary person. But just as I was feeling pleased with myself, the final girl brought an even greater surprise: a Holy Spirit Angel Martial Soul, Innate Full Soul Power, and Spiritual Power far stronger than mine. She was called a genius among geniuses."

Ye Jiulong gave a bitter smile. "Just like that, the title of genius I had just obtained was immediately overshadowed."

"That person must have been very strong. Where is she now?" Tang Chenfeng asked.

"Now? Don't you see her every day?"

"I... see her every day?" Tang Chenfeng thought for a moment, then cried out, "Could that person be Grandma Ling?"

Ye Jiulong said, "That's right. That person was Ling Wei, your Grandma Ling. Back then, I was full of drive. Seeing myself surpassed, I thought that I absolutely could not be left behind. I kept using her as my goal and trained desperately to surpass her. But Ling Wei's talent was simply too terrifying. Every time I felt I was about to catch up to her, I would realize that she had somehow pulled far ahead again. Just like that, we competed and compared ourselves with each other. I even followed her into the same school. The gap between us and our peers grew wider and wider, and we became the geniuses everyone our age spoke of. Gradually, we became closer as well. I no longer focused only on chasing after her. We became each other's closest friends, striving together, improving together, and exchanging our cultivation insights. In the end, we both gained the qualifications to enter Sky City."

Tang Chenfeng listened with rapt attention. These stories were incredibly fascinating to him, and they helped him understand his grandfather and grandmother better. "Grandpa Ye, I never expected you and Grandma Ling to have known each other since childhood, and to have been geniuses back then too. By the way, Grandpa, what happened after you and Grandma Ling entered Sky City?"

"Let me think. After entering Sky City, we quickly realized that although we had truly been geniuses on the ground, things were different there. Everyone who could come there was a genius like us, and some were even better than us. We entered an advanced Soul Master Academy and began an even more rigorous life of cultivation. By the way, that was the period when my strength improved the fastest. Can you guess why?"

Tang Chenfeng thought for a while. "It should have been because of Grandma Ling. Otherwise, I really can't think of any reason."

Ye Jiulong's eyes lit up. "Yes, it was because of your Grandma Ling. The reason was that she was simply too beautiful. At that age, a man's heart would always stir, especially for someone close by. You cannot imagine just how beautiful your Grandma Ling was when she was young. Men would definitely turn around to look at her, while girls would surely grow jealous. I was the same. Back then, I fought quite a few times to stop others from taking her away. But too many people were drawn to Ling Wei. Fighting people every day actually made me stronger and stronger. I remember there was one guy later on who even wanted to fight me to the death. In the end, that battle made us brothers instead, and we became close friends who had faced death together."

As if suddenly recalling something, Tang Chenfeng looked at the Soul Tool Storage Bracelet on his wrist. "Could that person have been the one you told us about before...?"

"That's right, it was him. After that, the two of us decided to compete fairly. Whoever won Ling Wei's heart first would win. You already know the result. We confessed to her at the same time, and in the end, I won. He accepted his loss wholeheartedly, withdrew from the competition, and became my good brother. Later, we graduated with outstanding results. We were twenty-two that year. We returned to our hometown and decided to be together. Besides our relatives and friends, a small sapling we planted with our own hands at the village entrance witnessed our union."

"Ah..." Tang Chenfeng was stunned this time. He knew the huge tree at the village entrance had been growing there for at least a hundred years, but he never imagined that his grandfather had been the one to plant it.

Ye Jiulong laughed. "You probably never expected that the tree where you often cultivate and meditate was planted by your grandmother and me. Perhaps that is fate."

Ye Jiulong continued, "Later, we traveled the Soul Master world together. Our strength continued to grow rapidly, and our partnership gradually made a name for itself. When we were in our fifties, we both reached Rank 90 and became Titled Douluos. Twenty years later, we raised ourselves to Rank 99, the realm of Limit Douluos. Many people wanted to recruit us, but we were used to freedom, so we refused them all. That was the brightest period of our lives."

At this point, Ye Jiulong's eyes were practically shining, as if he were reliving those dazzling and extraordinary memories.

"But..." His recollection abruptly stopped. A defeated, helpless, sorrowful expression appeared on Ye Jiulong's face. "But later, I made a decision that I regretted for the rest of my life."

"A decision you regretted for the rest of your life... was it related to your injuries?" Tang Chenfeng asked softly.

"Mm, that's right. The thing I regret was forcing myself to undergo the Lightning Tribulation before I was prepared."

Ye Jiulong's face was full of pain. "Back then, I was hot-blooded and fiercely competitive. When I learned that humans could enter the realm known as gods after breaking beyond the limits of a Limit Douluo, my competitive spirit was immediately stirred. At the time, I believed I possessed the talent to break through that limit too. From then on, I constantly searched for a way to take another step forward and summon the Lightning Tribulation. In the end, I succeeded, but I also failed, and I failed miserably. The powerful Lightning Tribulation nearly destroyed my body and soul, but I forcibly held onto my last breath until it ended. If Ling Wei had not possessed a soul skill that could forcibly transfer injuries onto herself, I would definitely have died. In the end, not only did I fail, I also ruined her future. She might have been able to challenge that realm too, but now..."

"Grandpa..." Hearing Ye Jiulong's story, Tang Chenfeng felt a wave of sadness as well. If he had been the one to experience all that, he would surely have been devastated for a long time.

"Alas... in the end, it was because I was too impulsive." Ye Jiulong continued, "Since then, your grandmother and I have lost a great deal of our strength. At most, we can use around sixty percent of our peak power, and we can never advance another step. My life began to decline sharply. Fortunately, your grandmother did not sever ties with me because of this, though her temper seemed to become somewhat more irritable. Although we lost a great deal, at least we still had each other and still loved each other. From then on, my personality began to change. I was no longer so driven, and I became calmer and more tactful. We concealed our identities and began living quiet lives. When we were in our seventies, we had our own child as well—Ye Hongling's father."

"Grandpa, you didn't have Ling'er's father until you were in your seventies?!" Tang Chenfeng said in shock.

Ye Jiulong smiled. "Don't be so surprised. At my level, living for over three hundred years is no problem. Seventy years is only a quarter of my life. Having a child at that time was not too late."

"Mm, speaking of that time, I was quite happy. Ye Hongling's father inherited my Nine-Headed Wood God Dragon Martial Soul and was extremely talented in Soul Master cultivation. In him, I seemed to see my former self—talented and driven. More importantly, he inherited your grandmother's attentiveness and calmness. He became the support of our hearts, and we placed our former dreams upon him. He never disappointed us. He became a senior police officer specializing in all kinds of Soul Master crimes. One day, he brought a young girl home and said she would be my future daughter-in-law. We were overjoyed. A year later, he told us that your grandmother and I might soon have a grandchild. At that moment, we suddenly felt that life was truly worthwhile. We were in such good spirits that we decided to return to our hometown for a visit. When we returned to Tianhun Town, we suddenly realized how quickly time had passed. The little sapling from back then had become a great tree, and many things and people from the past could no longer be seen. Later, as we walked, we unknowingly reached the forest at the edge of town. Then we suddenly heard a sound, like a baby crying. We followed it and soon found an infant wrapped in a bundle. In the end, we decided to take him with us. Perhaps returning to Tianhun Town had made me nostalgic, because I told him, 'Welcome to the big family of Tianhun Town.'"

"Wait, when Grandpa and Grandma found me, Ye Hongling had not even been born yet?"

"That's right. Otherwise, you should have called her your older sister, not your younger sister."

"But... but..."

"But what..." Ye Jiulong seemed to have entered an especially painful memory once again.

"But... heaven was truly unfair to me." Ye Jiulong's voice had begun to tremble.

"Do you remember how I said Ye Hongling's father was a police officer? He had quite a few enemies. But when your grandmother and I brought you back, we learned that several days earlier, he and Ye Hongling's mother had been attacked by a large number of Evil Soul Masters. After fighting, he died heroically in the line of duty. Ye Hongling's mother was severely injured and went into premature labor. By the time we reached the hospital, she had died from her injuries and the premature birth. Ye Hongling survived, but the doctors told us that because she was premature, her chances of living were slim. We still held onto a trace of hope, but it was as if heaven were playing a joke on us. Only three days later, we could clearly feel that her life force had become extremely weak, so weak that everyone was certain she could not make it through the day. That day, your grandmother cried in my arms for an entire day and night. It was the first time I had felt so powerless. That day, I realized not only had I grown old, but my heart had grown old too. Everything around me tormented me and made me feel endless pain." By now, tear streaks covered Ye Jiulong's face.

Tang Chenfeng felt terribly sad as he listened. He had never expected Grandpa Ye and Grandma Ling to have such an unknown past. Even he could feel the deep despair in it.

"But isn't Ling'er fine now? Isn't she living well right there?"

Ye Jiulong calmed himself before saying, "Actually, I am not entirely sure about this, but it definitely had something to do with you. After we brought you back that day, we placed you on Ye Hongling's bed. Your body was healthy, so we did not pay much attention to you. At the time, we had already accepted our fate. We only decided that we could not let our granddaughter leave this world alone, so we wanted to stay by her side until she went to the next world. But when we arrived beside her, we discovered that you, who should have been in your swaddling clothes, were outside instead, holding Ye Hongling's tiny hand. We had been far too heartbroken before that, so I have no idea what happened between you two during that time. But then we discovered that Ye Hongling's life force had grown stronger. She no longer appeared weak at all and was just like a normal infant. The doctors found it unbelievable too, but they confirmed that Ye Hongling could continue living. We were truly overjoyed. The Core Flame of hope burned in our hearts once more. Although we did not know why, we were certain that Ye Hongling had survived because of you. So I directly adopted you, and we became a family. In the end, to prevent Evil Soul Masters from harming our family again, we concealed our names and identities. As ordinary Soul Masters, we brought the two of you back to Tianhun Town to live peacefully. As for the position of village chief, the villagers simply chose us because they saw we were Soul Masters. I would not refuse anyway. We lived steadily like that for six years. Honestly, I only hoped that you two could live ordinary lives. But after your Martial Soul Awakening, you both showed extraordinary talent. We truly could not bear to bury that talent, which led to the current situation. My story ends here."

Tang Chenfeng only felt miserable inside. He wanted to comfort his grandfather, but he could not find the words.

Ye Jiulong seemed to see through his thoughts. "Those things have already passed for us. What matters now is facing the future. Chenfeng, I believe you can reach that realm in the future too, but I hope you will not act impulsively. I do not want our tragedy to happen to you."

Tang Chenfeng said firmly, "I understand."

At that moment, the flower bud surrounding Ye Hongling reacted.