The Truth Revealed, Crimes Beyond Forgiveness

Ye Zhenting clutched his blood-soaked palm, his face pale as paper, yet his eyes still gleamed with unyielding defiance.

He stared fixedly at Ye Junlin and gritted his teeth. "I don't know what you're talking about!

"I'll say this one last time: your parents died during an expedition into the Secret Realm!

"Stop spouting nonsense here and tarnishing the Ye Clan's reputation!"

The killing intent in Ye Junlin's eyes intensified. Even at death's door, he was still stubbornly denying everything!

He did not even glance at Ye Zhenting. He merely slightly raised his chin toward Jing Ke beside him, his voice cold enough to pierce bone. "Bring Ye Hao over."

"Yes, sir."

Jing Ke bowed in acknowledgment, then flashed toward the Stone Pillar.

Like lifting a chick, he grabbed the unconscious Ye Hao with one hand. With a light tap of his toe against the ground, he carried him back before Ye Junlin.

Slap!

The crisp sound of another slap echoed through the courtyard.

Ye Junlin raised his hand and delivered a vicious slap across Ye Hao's face.

The blow was powerful enough to smack Ye Hao awake from his unconsciousness.

"Who? Who dares hit me?!"

Ye Hao covered his face and abruptly opened his eyes, instinctively spitting out an arrogant curse.

"My father is the Patriarch of the Ye Clan! You're courting death!"

His gaze swept across Ye Junlin, and when he saw that familiar face—

He froze for a moment, then remembered the humiliation of being slapped by Ye Junlin earlier.

Rage instantly surged within him. "Ye Junlin! You trash! You still dare hit me? I'll kill you!"

Slap!

Another resounding slap landed, even heavier than the last.

Ye Hao's entire head was knocked to one side, and his cheek swelled red at a visible speed.

Fresh Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, and the arrogance in his eyes was completely replaced by terror.

He finally saw Ye Zhenting's blood-soaked hand and sensed the faint yet terrifying pressure emanating from Jing Ke and Yao Li.

His body went limp at once, and he screamed in a trembling voice, "Father! Save me! Hurry and save me!"

"Ye Junlin! What are you trying to do?!" Ye Zhenting roared furiously, his eyes nearly splitting apart.

"He's your cousin! You share the same bloodline! You can't hurt him!"

"Share the same bloodline?"

Ye Junlin seemed to have heard the greatest joke in the world. Slowly turning around, he fixed Ye Zhenting with a gaze as sharp as a blade.

His voice brimmed with endless mockery and sorrow:

"Cousin? Same bloodline? Then let me ask you this—my father, Ye Zhentian, wasn't he your Younger Brother?"

"You had the same blood flowing through your veins. Why did you kill him?!"

Those words were like a thunderclap exploding fiercely in Ye Zhenting's heart.

His face instantly turned even uglier. His eyes flickered uncertainly, and his lips trembled, but he could not utter a single word.

Ye Junlin pressed forward step by step. He planted a foot on Ye Hao's leg and felt the trembling beneath his sole as he looked down at Ye Zhenting.

His tone was chilling. "Speak! How exactly did my parents die?!"

"If you refuse to speak, I don't mind making you watch your beloved son slowly become a cripple!"

"You dare!" Ye Zhenting roared, his eyes bloodshot. "Ye Junlin! If you dare touch Hao'er with even a finger, I'll drag you down with me even if it costs me my life!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

A cruel curve rose at Ye Junlin's lips as he raised his chin at Jing Ke. "Cut off his legs."

"No!" Ye Zhenting let out a miserable roar.

Jing Ke's gaze was icy. With a flick of his wrist, his dagger flashed with a Cold Light as it slashed toward Ye Hao's legs.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

Just as the dagger was about to fall, an aged voice suddenly rang out, filled with endless fear and despair.

Everyone turned toward the sound and saw the Ye Clan's First Elder, Ye Zhennan, stumbling out from the crowd.

He threw himself before Ye Junlin and heavily kowtowed, shouting in a trembling voice:

"Junlin! Please show mercy! I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!"

Ye Junlin's eyes narrowed, and he waved a hand at Jing Ke.

Jing Ke's dagger stopped in midair, its Cold Light flickering, but it did not fall.

Ye Hao collapsed on the ground, already so terrified that his Soul Scattered. His pants were soaked, his entire body shaking so badly that he could not even cry.

Seeing this, Ye Zhenting's face turned livid. He abruptly turned to Ye Zhennan and shouted sternly, "Ye Zhennan! You dare say it!"

"Patriarch! I can't just watch the Ye Clan be destroyed like this! And I can't watch Hao'er be crippled either!" Ye Zhennan raised his head, his face covered in tears and despair.

"At this point, what can't be said? The sins we committed cannot remain hidden forever!"

He took a deep breath. His gaze fell upon Ye Junlin's cold face, and his voice choked as he slowly revealed the truth of that year:

"Junlin, back then... your parents did indeed enter the Secret Realm, but they did not die in an accident at all."

"We heard that they had obtained an Earth-tier cultivation technique in the Secret Realm! When the news reached the Ye Clan, everyone went mad!"

"An Earth-tier cultivation technique! In Qingfeng City, even a High-grade Profound-tier cultivation technique was exceedingly rare, let alone an Earth-tier one!"

There was a trace of fanaticism in Ye Zhennan's voice, but it was swiftly replaced by overwhelming fear.

"The Elders' Council discussed it and demanded that your parents hand over the cultivation technique and contribute it to the clan."