This Is the First Time, and the Last Time

"Bastard."

"You're so young, yet so vicious. You keep hounding him without mercy—are you determined to destroy the pride of my Ye Family?"

Ye Tianxiong suddenly let out a low roar. He stared at Chu Tian as Sha Qi spread outward, an overwhelming sense of majesty spilling from him.

As an Emperor Venerable ranked on the Hengtian Ranking and the Sacred Heaven Sect Master, a man who ruled over millions of miles of land, Ye Tianxiong had amassed an utterly terrifying authority. With a single glare, the aura of one long accustomed to high office could make ordinary adults' legs go weak, leaving them instinctively afraid to meet his eyes.

But Chu Tian had lived two lives. As a godfather of a generation, his will was no weaker than Ye Tianxiong's. A cold smile rested on his lips as he met Ye Tianxiong's gaze. "Sect Master, as the sect's Holy Son, I am upholding its rules. The strong are revered; only the outstanding deserve all resources.

"Yet your nephew, Ye Fan, has no talent, no strength, and has contributed nothing to the sect. He secretly consumed so many Divine Medicines and precious treasures, wasting the sect's vast resources. That alone was a capital crime.

"If Ye Hongwu had not committed suicide to take the blame, and if the Ye Family had not handed over a portion of its Divine Medicines, he should have died long ago.

"Worse still, that piece of trash dared to use the excuse of having saved my fiancée to repeatedly approach my fiancée, Liu Yun, and sow discord between us. For that alone, I could kill him ten thousand times.

"What does a piece of trash like him amount to? How dare he trample on my head?

"I am merely respecting my own heart."

Facing Ye Tianxiong's terrifying majesty, Chu Tian's gaze remained icy and indifferent, without the slightest fear. He forcefully stepped forward, standing slightly ahead of his father, Chu Tianwang, and said coldly:

"Sect Master, there is no room for bargaining in this matter."

"Ye Fan must die!"

"I hope this time is the first time, and also the last time."

"Uncles, elders, Grand Elder, bear witness for Chu Tian. If there is a next time—if the Ye Family, from top to bottom, releases Ye Fan from the Sin Domain Prison under any pretext—I will follow my heart and kill him on the spot according to the sect's rules."

Terrifying killing intent surged from Chu Tian's cold eyes. His youthful face was filled with a murderous aura wholly at odds with his age.

At that moment, the shock in the hearts of the surrounding sect higher-ups and Grand Elders was simply beyond imagination.

They had never expected that despite being so young, Chu Tian would have such audacity, such iron hardness, daring to confront Ye Tianxiong face-to-face.

Let alone an eight-year-old like Chu Tian—even among the sect's disciples in their twenties, those close to Igniting Divine Fire would tremble with fear before Ye Tianxiong, not even daring to raise their heads.

What an unyielding mind, one that no external thing could shake. Countless cultivators sought such a thing without ever obtaining it. They would deliberately venture out to temper themselves, hone their wills, and wander through ten thousand tribulations.

Yet Chu Tian was still so young, and he seemed to have been born with it.

Chu Tianwang's heart trembled violently. Looking at his son, he truly felt as though he were only now getting to know Chu Tian for the first time.

All these years, had his son been wronging himself all along, yielding to him, this old father of his?

After all, with Chu Tian's talent, he should have long since become famous across the continent, drawing the gaze of all and surrounded by countless halos.

Because of him, his son had spent every day secluded on Sacred Emperor Peak. Even when he occasionally went out, it was only to visit the Liu Family and seek out Liu Yun.

Yet even so, he had still been plotted against by outsiders.

"Congratulations, Host. You have triggered the second stage of the villain no longer keeping a low profile. Defeat Hui Mei, the Son of Destiny of the Cihang Sacred Sect. Reward: 10,000 Destiny Points and one sapling of the innate spiritual medicine, the Enlightenment Tea Tree."

As soon as Chu Tian finished speaking, he stomped down hard. Without waiting for Ye Tianxiong's reply, his body shot from the high platform and landed on the arena.

"Chu Tian, Holy Son of the Sacred Heaven Sect." A cold smile touched Chu Tian's lips as he crooked a finger at Hui Mei before him. "Don't waste time. Cut the nonsense. I'll defeat you in three moves."

Boom!

The entire venue fell silent.

Then, thunderous cheers erupted across the plaza. The sect disciples below, who had been suppressing their emotions for so long, exploded all at once.

They had watched all night as the sect's renowned prodigies were thrashed by Hui Mei in every conceivable fashion. They had watched them tremble when they stepped onto the stage—and watched Ye Fan turn and flee in terror. They had truly seen enough.

This was the territory of the continent's number one sect, the Sacred Heaven Sect. Why should they let an outsider, a little bald head, act so arrogantly here?

"You are Chu Tian, the one who suppressed me on the Bone Forging Ranking and stole first place on the Earth Ranking from my cousin Hui Lian."

"Very good. You finally dared to show yourself and accept my challenge."

Hui Mei raised a hand and rubbed his bald head. The smile on his bewitching face was somewhat savage. "You certainly talk big. I wonder how much real ability you have."

Boom!

Hui Mei moved, and his figure instantly vanished from where he stood. His body transformed into afterimages, appearing everywhere across the arena.

At that moment, it was as if hundreds or thousands of Hui Meis had appeared on the arena, launching attacks at Chu Tian simultaneously.

Hui Mei spoke arrogantly, but when facing Chu Tian, he did not underestimate him in the slightest. He immediately unleashed a divine ability martial art.

"The Phantom Roaming Dragon Secret Art! This is a supreme movement divine ability of the Cihang Sacred Sect. Their eighteenth Sacred Land Master created it after observing the flight path of a Divine Dragon from the Primordial Era. Even among the Myriad Worlds, it ranks among the top ten movement divine abilities. It is exceptionally difficult to cultivate, and no one from the Cihang Sacred Sect has mastered it for many years," Grand Elder Duanmu said in a low voice, shock filling his eyes.

The other sect higher-ups were likewise filled with astonishment.

He was only in the Bone Forging Realm, yet he had already comprehended a supreme divine ability and even achieved initial success with it. This little bald head's talent was truly horrifying.

"No wonder the Cihang Sacred Sect's entourage tacitly approved of his actions, even knowing that the Holy Son possesses the strength of One Point Five Million Jin," one sect higher-up said in a deep voice.

"With his spiritual power, he can unleash strength exceeding Two Million Jin. Combined with this supreme divine ability, he is practically invincible in the Body Tempering Realm."

"It would not be unjust for the Little Holy Son to lose to him. After all, he is two years younger and simply has not had time to cultivate the sect's divine abilities."

"I only hope the Little Holy Son can withstand three moves."

Meanwhile, Ye Tianxiong's expression was incomparably ugly. Yet he did not watch the battle on the arena. Instead, he turned to Chu Tianwang and said in a low voice, "Second Brother, is it still you who calls the shots in the Chu Family or not? How can you allow Little Tian to act so recklessly? Didn't we agree to work together wholeheartedly, revitalize the sect, and never engage in internal strife?"

Ye Fan possessed the Primordial Sacred Bone. Though it had been defiled, there was still tremendous hope. No matter what, Ye Tianxiong was unwilling to give up on him.

"It is not that I, as his uncle, do not care for him. But Little Tian's temperament is so cruel, so vengeful over the slightest grievance, so narrow-minded. He has already affected the relationship between our two families. As his father, shouldn't you discipline him?" Ye Tianxiong's voice gradually turned colder.

"Tianying rendered meritorious service to the sect back then. Within the Ye Family, it is difficult for me to..."

"Big Brother, you should know when to stop." Suddenly, Chu Tianwang's deep voice rang out.

Ye Tianxiong's heart jolted. He saw Chu Tianwang raise his head and stare into his eyes, speaking word by word. "Big Brother, you should understand that Chu Tian is my only son. Because of all these matters within the sect, I have wronged him far too much over the years."

"We both know perfectly well who is right and who is wrong."

"This time, Little Tian did nothing wrong."

"As his father, from now on, I will never again bind him or restrict him under the pretext of unity within the sect."

"I cannot wrong my son again."