The Daughter Who Took His Side

Ever since Ye Chen had arrived in this world, he had spent most of his time asleep.

Well, that wasn't entirely fair.

He had just been too exhausted...

First the Wood Dragon and the Wooden Human. This time was even worse: he had gone straight for True Thousand Hands.

He had only used True Thousand Hands because he needed somewhere to stand, but the sheer amount of sage energy it consumed was staggering.

It had drained half the energy in his Advanced Sage Body. With the half he had left, forget fighting—he would have struggled just to keep moving.

At the time, Ye Chen could only marvel at Hashirama Senju's strength. Just how much chakra did the man have to wield something that huge in a full-blown battle?

Controlling a single arm to carry the two of them to the Portal had cost him dearly. He couldn't imagine controlling thousands.

Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes to an unfamiliar room.

Its pale blue decor was soothing to look at.

A clock on the wall showed the time.

11:28

Ye Chen rubbed his head, unsure how long he had slept.

He glanced at the clothes set beside him, then headed into the bathroom without hesitation and treated himself to a long, hot shower.

Afterward, he put on the clothes Lan Batian had prepared for him.

Come to think of it, Ye Chen always liked wearing black, while Lan Lengshuang preferred pale blue.

And Lan Batian doted on his daughter... Most things in the Lan Family home were pale blue.

Naturally, the clothes he had prepared for Ye Chen were too.

Once dressed, Ye Chen looked like a different person. The new clothes brought out an intensity in him that his usual outfit had kept subdued.

Ryūjin Jakka was leaning beside the door when he reached it.

Ye Chen sighed. "Looks like I'll have to practice swordsmanship next..."

"My days of taking it easy are getting fewer and fewer..."

He fastened Ryūjin Jakka at his waist and stepped out.

"Mr. Ye, the family head asked you to wait in the main hall when you woke up," a maid said as soon as she saw him.

Ye Chen nodded. "Got it."

The moment the Westwind Lion King heard Ye Chen was awake, he came looking for him.

It was funny, really. Ever since arriving at the Lan Family home, all he had done was eat and sleep!

Of course, for him, sleeping counted as cultivation...

"Hey, kid Ye!"

"Hey, Westwind!"

By the time Ye Chen reached the reception hall, the Westwind Lion King had already been waiting there for quite a while.

The Westwind Lion King glanced at the maid who had shown Ye Chen in. She took the hint and hurried away.

"I hear..." The Westwind Lion King narrowed his eyes. "You've got an even stronger move up your sleeve~"

Ye Chen stared at him. "How do you hear about things so fast?"

"Wait. My niece told you?" Ye Chen realized.

"Haha! When I saw you pass out that day, I asked if you'd used that thing again. But the girl misunderstood and thought I meant the Wooden Human, so she told me everything." The Westwind Lion King waggled his eyebrows smugly.

Ye Chen was speechless, though he didn't really mind. He waved a hand. "So what? It's fine if you know. As long as no one else does."

The Westwind Lion King grinned. "So, when are you going to bring out the Great Buddha and let me see it~?"

"Let's not... Maybe when there's a chance..." Ye Chen pictured the Great Buddha, nearly a thousand meters tall. Add its arms, and it reached almost two thousand meters.

Even the tallest building in Zanghai City wasn't that high!

Stack another three of those on top, and it could rival the highest mountain in the world.

The Westwind Lion King was about to say more when Lan Batian's voice rang out from upstairs.

"You little brat! You're dead!" Lan Batian leaped straight down from the upper floor!

He grabbed Ye Chen by the collar. Ye Chen stared at him, utterly baffled. What was going on?

He looked innocently at Lan Batian, then over at the Westwind Lion King.

The Westwind Lion King quietly turned his head and pretended he hadn't seen a thing.

"You bastard! I asked you to protect my daughter, and you went and wooed her?!" Lan Batian roared.

His heart ached. His daughter had been so lovely before!

She had been cool and distant with everyone, the very picture of an ice queen.

Now, at the mere mention of Ye Chen's name, she acted like a lovestruck girl...

The thought made Lan Batian's blood boil.

"??? How is that my fault?!" Ye Chen was full of questions. "I did what you told me! I put my niece's safety first, and somehow I'm still the one in the wrong?!"

"I don't care! Give me back my precious daughter!"

Lan Batian had abandoned all dignity. He clung to Ye Chen's collar and refused to let go.

"Dad, what are you doing~?" Lan Lengshuang's cool voice reached Lan Batian's ears.

Startled, Lan Batian let go at once and reacted on instinct.

He straightened Ye Chen's collar. "Oh, kid Ye, your collar was crooked. Let me fix that for you."

Ye Chen could only stare. Lan Batian had changed his tune so fast that he was at a loss for words.

As soon as Lan Lengshuang came downstairs, she wrapped herself around Ye Chen's arm.

"Ye Chen, how did you sleep? Have you recovered? Are you hungry?" Lan Lengshuang asked with a smile that made her eyes crinkle.

Ye Chen was stunned. Now he understood why Lan Batian had reacted so strongly...

His niece had changed far too much!

Before they entered the Secret Realm, she had barely spoken. She had even called him a burden...

Now she was practically his biggest fan...

Ye Chen glanced at Lan Lengshuang, then gave the grim-faced Lan Batian an apologetic look.

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I slept... pretty well... I am a little hungry..."

Lan Lengshuang immediately said gently, "I'll have someone get you something to eat~"

Ye Chen gave a small nod.

The next second, Lan Lengshuang looked at Lan Batian. "Dad, hurry up and go."

Ye Chen: ???

Lan Batian: ???

The Westwind Lion King: "Pfft!"

Ye Chen looked utterly innocent. Who could have seen that coming?!

After lunch, Ye Chen said goodbye to Lan Batian and the Westwind Lion King.

Lan Lengshuang, standing nearby, was rather reluctant to see him go...

Ye Chen fled the Lan Family home as though his life depended on it.

How was anyone supposed to handle that?

"I never thought I'd have a fangirl..." Ye Chen let out a long sigh.

He was headed to school to find Zhang Daosheng.

He needed to ask whether there was anything he could learn about swordsmanship.

He had a sword now, after all. He couldn't very well go without knowing even the basics, could he?

If someone charged at him with a sword, he ought to show them some respect and exchange a token move or two, right?

Otherwise, was he supposed to open with Pine Torch and kill them outright?

Or lead with Flame Hell and kill everyone watching the College Entrance Trial?

Ye Chen suddenly felt like crying. Why were Wood Release and Ryūjin Jakka both suited to area attacks?

He wanted to improve his ability to fight one-on-one too!

But neither of them was suited to that. Every single technique covered a huge area!

Some system muttered to itself yet again, "I'd rather see Susanoo wrapped around the Great Buddha!"