Cao Family, One Year Later!

The next day!

Central Plains, Pill Region, Cao Family City!

As a family capable of rivaling the Dan Clan, the foremost of the Five Great Families,

the city under the Cao Family's control was half again as large as Ye City, which was governed by the Ye Family.

All kinds of shops filled the city, and pedestrians thronged the streets. Those buying pills, medicinal herbs, and weapons came in an endless stream.

At the city center stood a residence spanning dozens of miles. On its enormous plaque, set against a black lacquered background, were two huge golden characters: "Cao Family"!

Cao Family Council Hall!

"After the Ye Family failed at the second Pill Gathering, they must be in a terrible bind!"

A middle-aged elder seated below the main seat suddenly spoke amid the casual conversation.

"I heard the Black Fire Sect has been eyeing the Sun Fire Ancient Altar greedily."

Another middle-aged man chimed in.

He was also quite curious about the Sun Fire Ancient Altar inherited by the Ye Family.

However, since they were both among the Five Great Families, the Cao Family could not easily make a move.

Just as everyone was chatting,

the black-robed middle-aged man seated at the head suddenly spoke.

"Haven't you noticed that Ye Zhong seems to have relaxed considerably over the past few years? When dealing with certain matters, he no longer wears that worried expression. Though he still yields, it looks more like temporary restraint."

"Huh? Big Brother, has he?"

The middle-aged man who had spoken first frowned as if deep in thought, but ultimately shook his head.

He had not noticed it.

The Ye Family still looked as if disaster were imminent.

The others in the hall followed the lead man's line of thought for a moment.

Perhaps because they did not think much of the Ye Family, no matter how they considered it, the family still seemed as decayed as ever.

The lead man spoke silently:

"Do you remember the rumors that the Ye Family hid away a child?"

"There were rumors years ago that the child was a genius whose cultivation advanced extremely quickly, but there has been no news of him these past few years."

"That's exactly the problem. Given the Ye Family's situation, if a genius had appeared, shouldn't they have publicized it far and wide to stabilize the family's morale?"

"But now..."

The lead man did not finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.

For this to happen, that genius must have been so monstrously talented that the Ye Family did not dare reveal even the slightest trace of him.

Otherwise, other forces might snuff out the Ye Family's hope of rising again.

"What's there to worry about, Big Brother? No matter how talented he is, could he be more talented than Ying'er? That Ye Family genius probably cannot even compare to Little Dan!"

The middle-aged man was deeply disdainful, utterly confident in the Ying'er he mentioned.

The person he was referring to was naturally Cao Ying!

The lead middle-aged man was Cao Ying's father, Cao Yuan.

When his daughter, who had been born with monstrous talent, was mentioned, a faint smile appeared on his face as well.

He did not refute his younger brother's words.

Cao Ying was also his pride. As for his son, Cao Dan...

All that could be said was that the boy still needed more training. He was somewhat arrogant, and while his aptitude was excellent, it was merely excellent...

"Since you're so worried, Big Brother, why don't I send someone to..."

Seeing the concern on Cao Yuan's face, Cao Yuan's younger brother, Cao Chun, revealed a fierce expression and drew a finger across his throat.

Cao Yuan lightly tapped the armrest with his fingers, producing a dull sound.

A few breaths later.

Cao Yuan first shook his head and said, "There is no need. Whether the child Ye Zhong adopted is truly a genius or not, we need not act."

"Even if the Ye Family returns to the Pill Tower's elder seats because of him, they cannot threaten the Cao Family's position. The ones we should be worried about now are the Bai and Qiu Families, as well as the Black Fire Sect!"

"We only need to sit firmly and watch from the sidelines. There is no need to enter the fray!"

"Even if Ye Zhong has such confidence in that unknown genius, once he withstands the hidden schemes of every side, grows up, and displays his abilities, the Cao Family may not be unwilling to lend him a hand."

Cao Yuan suddenly turned solemn and said seriously:

"What matters most to the Cao Family now is helping Ying'er grow stronger. It would be best if she could take one of the Pill Tower's giants as her master!"

After pondering for a moment, those below agreed.

At the same time!

Ye Family.

"Little Yan, why does it feel like you've changed so much after just one night?"

"Huh? Really? How come I didn't notice?"

"It's true. Your temperament feels even better, your eyes seem more captivating than before, and you look even cuter."

"Come, let your older sisters have a feel..."

The women laughed merrily.

"Big... Sister, don't!"

On the way to the cultivation room, Ye Yan was surrounded by seven or eight beautiful women.

Ye Yan sighed. Ever since he had drawn [Husband Aura], he had known it would turn out like this.

He had originally planned to sneak into the cultivation room to train, but he still had not escaped them. One woman became two, and then more.

Until now...

Over on the other side!

"Wuwuwu..."

"Damn it, why does this little brat attract women so much?"

Some guards and Ye Family disciples watching from afar bit their lips tightly, tears of envy and jealousy streaming from their eyes.

They even wished they could take Ye Yan's place and bear his suffering for him.

"Tell me about it. Didn't you see Miss Qingzhi wanted to go over too? She only held herself back because of the child in her belly!"

"..."

A group of Ye Family disciples discussed the matter animatedly.

In the end, someone sighed, "A son should be like Ye Yan!"

This drew sidelong glances from everyone, followed by a collective spit.

Pah!

Who did not know what you were thinking? Did you want a son like Ye Yan, or did you want to become Ye Yan yourself?

Shameless!

Ye Zhong stood at the entrance to the council hall.

"This brat really is popular with women."

"But that's a good thing too."

Smiling, Ye Zhong's eyes flashed as he carefully watched Ye Yan pleading for help. He even gave Ye Yan a slight nod.

He had discovered that this kid's charm was far from ordinary, especially toward married women...

Even some of the colder women in the family had formed a rather favorable impression of Ye Yan today, their eyes gleaming with interest.

But in Ye Yan's eyes, Ye Zhong looked entirely like he was enjoying the show.

The old man had no shame at all!

The usually stern and serious Great Elder had vanished somewhere.

Given what he knew of Ye Zhong, Ye Yan dared guarantee that the old man was definitely up to no good.

Ye Yan cursed Ye Zhong endlessly in his heart.

After some more time had passed,

Ye Yan finally broke free of the encirclement and arrived beside Ye Zhong.

Frowning, Ye Yan asked, "Old man, were you plotting something bad just now?"

"That cannot be said. Focus on cultivating for now. Once you break through to the Dou Zhe realm, you'll naturally find out!"

Ye Zhong chuckled, looking unfathomably mysterious.

Could he possibly say that he had suddenly thought of using Ye Yan's unique charm to have him seek out Xuan Yi, one of the Pill Tower's three giants, as his master?

Damn it, he really was thinking that.

Hearing this, Ye Yan rolled his eyes helplessly and turned to leave.

After all, whether Ye Zhong spoke or not, cultivation was the urgent priority.

Time passed amid Ye Yan's cultivation and Ye Zhong's preparations.

In the blink of an eye, nearly a year had gone by.

Inside the Ye Family cultivation room.

Ye Yan sat cross-legged, breathing steadily as he continuously adjusted his condition.

He had maintained this state for half a day already.

A week ago, he had cultivated to the peak of the ninth stage of Dou Qi. After stabilizing his cultivation for several days and bringing his condition to its peak,

he had received the Qi Gathering Powder Ye Zhong had refined for him and prepared to make a breakthrough.

Outside the cultivation room,

Ye Zhong and the three elders guarded the room with one person stationed every ten steps.

"Great Elder, do you think Ye Yan is really about to break through?"

Third Elder looked somewhat dazed, still finding it hard to believe.

The Ye Family had truly produced a genius!

"Nonsense! I refined twenty batches of Qi Gathering Powder and selected several of the best-quality pills from them. If he still can't break through, then my status as a seventh-tier alchemist has been for nothing!"