Taking Zhang Tianhuo as a Disciple

In the time after the old man left, you rarely went out, avoiding any chance of being discovered by the Blazing Sun Holy Land. Playing it safe during this period was no bad thing—you had no desire to end this life prematurely.

In the twentieth year, you split the second portion of Bloodline Essence secreted from your body into three parts and gave them to your three children. Their cultivation levels soared dramatically.

In the twenty-fifth year, you comprehended the Great Accomplishment Realm of the Great Compassion Palm, raising its proficiency to Peak Attainment. At the same time, you painted your first Yellow Grade High Rank artwork.

That same year, after crafting the Thousand Mountains Twilight Snow Millennium Jade Slip and the Great Compassion Palm Millennium Jade Slip, you gave one copy to your father, Ye Changming, and made another for Jiang Changtian, bolstering the foundations of both the Ye Family and the Snow Mountain Sect.

In the twenty-eighth year, your cultivation broke through to the mid-stage of the Heavenly Origin Realm.

That same year, your children's cultivation progressed swiftly, leaving their peers far behind. Ye Ping'an had just broken through to the early Essence Gathering Realm, while Ye Pingjing, thanks to your Bloodline Essence, reached the mid-Organ Refining Realm. Your youngest son, Ye Chen, born much later than his elder siblings and missing the first dose of Bloodline Essence, still possessed a Special Physique and Mid-grade Earth Grade Bone Structure, allowing him to also reach the mid-Organ Refining Realm.

Though none of the three children fully inherited your talent for comprehension, their aptitude was still impressive compared to others. Over the past decade or so, whenever you had time, you not only educated them in knowledge but also strictly supervised their Martial Skills. With a father who had mastered several Peak Attainment Martial Skills as their teacher, the children's skill growth was remarkably fast.

Because they were boys, Ye Ping'an and Ye Chen both favored sabre techniques and were especially eager to learn your Thousand Mountains Twilight Snow. However, since Thousand Mountains Twilight Snow was a Profound Grade High Rank sabre technique, even though Ye Ping'an was now eighteen, he had only reached Initial Mastery five years ago and had yet to break through to Initial Proficiency. Ye Chen, though sixteen, had higher comprehension and actually reached Initial Proficiency in Thousand Mountains Twilight Snow before his older brother.

Your daughter, on the other hand, found the Great Compassion Palm's movements more elegant and visually appealing. She worked diligently and managed to cultivate the Great Compassion Palm to the Initial Mastery level.

For teenagers to reach such heights with a Profound Grade High Rank Martial Skill was more than enough to be called extraordinary in comprehension.

Still, although the children had good comprehension, none of them inherited your talent, and none showed any interest in painting. This left you feeling a little disappointed, but you quickly let it go—after all, talent in the Painting Dao was truly rare.

In the thirty-sixth year, rumors spread in the Pingcheng region about a bandit scourge that had slaughtered several small towns. The forces in Pingcheng were desperately trying to hunt them down.

Upon hearing the news, you immediately sent people to investigate Pingcheng. From what you remembered, this wasn't actually a bandit problem. A Zhang family had offended a top-tier power in Pingcheng, leading to false accusations and an attempt to wipe out their entire clan.

But in your previous simulation, a Zhang clan member named Zhang Tianhuo had escaped to Sui State near Jiang State. He had exceptional talent—not only did he possess a Special Physique, but more importantly, his alchemy talent was unmatched. In your memory, within just a thousand years, before you died, he had already refined a Heaven-grade Pill. Calling him an alchemy master was no exaggeration.

If a small rescue now could secure the loyalty of a future alchemy master, you were willing to do it. After all, if you had someone capable of refining Heaven-grade Pills in the future, you wouldn't need to beg others once you gathered the materials. Since you had no intention of letting Ye Chen join the Blazing Sun Holy Land this time, that path to an alchemy master was cut off.

Although this Zhang family from a small city had offended a major power in Pingcheng, you weren't planning to save everyone—just Zhang Tianhuo's closest loved ones. The rest of the family meant little to him anyway.

Even if he got upset and foolishly tried to fight you over it, with your two Profound Grade High Rank Martial Skills—Thousand Mountains Twilight Snow and the Great Compassion Palm—both comprehended to the Great Accomplishment Realm, you could even exchange blows with an ordinary Void God Realm cultivator. You weren't too worried.

In the thirty-seventh year, the Zhang family Ancestor was killed, and the remaining Zhang family members fled in all directions. Based on the intelligence you gathered, you found Zhang Tianhuo, secretly rescued him and his family, and brought them back to Yang Prefecture.

Along the way, several particularly foolish Earth Origin Realm and Heavenly Origin Realm martial artists tried to stop you, but you injured them all. After being easily wounded by you, they realized your strength was beyond them and stopped pursuing. When you reached Yang Prefecture, you spotted the city lord of Yicheng, Liu Xianyang—the second ancestor of the renowned Liu Family—and Jiang Changtian, the Grand Elder of the Snow Mountain Sect.

But since this was a covert operation, you had already disguised yourself. Jiang Changtian recognized you and didn't attack, even holding back the Yicheng city lord so he couldn't use his full strength. As for Liu Xianyang, though he was no match for you, you had no intention of dragging out the fight. In truth, if you went all out, you might have been able to kill him, but you were only here to rescue people. Injuring him and escaping was enough. You didn't want to stir up unnecessary trouble—after all, you weren't yet a match for Liu Yuanjin. That old bastard had been cultivating for over four thousand years and had considerable depth even among Void God Realm cultivators.

Inside the Snow Mountain Sect, after you safely brought Zhang Tianhuo back and settled his family, he could sense that you had come for him. But he truly couldn't figure out what he had that could be worth your effort. Finally, unable to hold back his confusion, he said, "Thank you for saving me, Senior. Your great kindness is something I can never repay. But Tianhuo doesn't know what I have that could help you. If you have any requests, please speak plainly. You saved my family—anything I know, I will tell you without reservation."

Seeing Zhang Tianhuo's nervous expression, you gave him a kind smile and said warmly, "No need to be nervous. I had some connection with your Zhang family Ancestor and promised him I would preserve a branch of the Zhang bloodline. I think you're quite promising. From now on, you'll follow me. I haven't taken any disciples yet." You paused here and looked at Zhang Tianhuo.

Zhang Tianhuo, sharp-minded as he was, immediately understood your meaning. He knelt and bowed on the spot: "Master, your disciple Zhang Tianhuo pays his respects."

Seeing his reaction, you smiled freely, having achieved your goal. You helped him up and told him to rest first. After all, having just experienced the annihilation of his clan, he needed some time to recover.

As for your claim of having a connection with the Zhang family Ancestor—it was just an excuse to justify saving them. Since the Ancestor was already dead, no one would expose you. Besides, you had truly preserved the Zhang bloodline. Even if that Ancestor crawled out of his coffin, he would have to thank you.