Heavenly Origin Province, Heavenly Origin Holy City.
Behind the Holy City stood a towering, precipitous mountain, wreathed in ethereal immortal Qi.
Layer upon layer of peaks rose across the mountain, with countless jade palaces, terraces, and pavilions hidden among them. Immortal cranes cried out clearly, divine light shone in ten thousand rays, and the whole place bore the splendor of an immortal abode.
This was the seat of the overlord of Heavenly Origin Province, the Heavenly Origin Holy Land.
Late at night, about five kilometers from the Holy City, a boy had built a campfire and was roasting a rabbit.
Fat sizzled from the rabbit, its whole body golden brown. One glance was enough to tell that it was crisp outside, tender inside, and utterly delicious.
At that moment, Ye Chen happened to pass by.
Ever since descending to the lower realm, he had been busy with other matters and had never had time to appreciate the local customs and ways of the Heavenly Profound Continent.
Now that he had time, he was in no hurry. Alternating between walking and flying, he had taken several days to reach this place.
Smelling the rich aroma of meat, he stopped for a look, and for a moment, his thoughts drifted.
The scent of this roasted rabbit was very similar to the barbecue from his previous life.
Counting the years, it had been more than a decade since he had enjoyed eating skewers with his buddies.
Shaking his head with a smile, he was just about to set off again.
A timid voice suddenly came from beside the campfire.
"Big brother, if you're hungry, you can eat with me!"
Ye Chen looked slightly taken aback, then smiled helplessly. He turned, walked over to the campfire, and sat down opposite the boy.
He really could not help it. The gluttonous worms in his belly had stirred.
By the light of the campfire, Ye Chen finally got a clear look at the boy.
The boy was about fourteen or fifteen, with tattered clothes, dark skin, and an extremely scrawny body. If he had to describe him, he looked just like a monkey.
But the boy's eyes were enormous, big and round, bright and lively, as though stars twinkled within them.
Deciding that the rabbit was about done, the boy took it off the rack.
"Big brother, here."
After tearing off a rabbit leg, he carefully handed it to Ye Chen.
Ye Chen looked at him and smiled faintly. "Thank you!"
At those words, a radiant smile spread across the boy's face.
"Big brother, if that's not enough, I've got more here!"
The two began chatting as they ate.
"Big brother, did you come here to take the Heavenly Origin Holy Land's assessment?"
The boy asked curiously.
"No."
Ye Chen smiled faintly. "What about you?"
"Me?"
The boy looked up at the sky and said longingly, "I'm here so I can take the Holy Land's assessment someday!"
"Oh?"
Ye Chen grew interested.
The boy looked at Ye Chen and blinked. "I'm too weak right now. I don't meet the Holy Land's minimum requirements."
"So I thought I'd come to the Holy City and join a small faction, then take the assessment once I'm strong enough!"
Hearing this, Ye Chen paused slightly.
The Holy Land would certainly have minimum standards for recruiting disciples.
It was said that the Heavenly Origin Holy Land's minimum requirement was to reach the Xiantian realm before the age of sixteen.
Yet Ye Chen could tell at a glance that the boy had only just reached the Meridian Condensation realm.
He was still a long way from Xiantian.
And his aptitude could only be called average.
Without some fortuitous encounter, he would probably never enter the Holy Land in his entire life.
Across the Heavenly Profound Continent, and even the entire universe, martial cultivators were beyond counting, but those who truly achieved anything in cultivation were few and far between.
Most martial cultivators lived just like this boy: they had dreams, but that was all.
He himself ought to count among the most fortunate.
"Then I wish you an early entry into the Heavenly Origin Holy Land!"
Ye Chen nodded and said with a smile,
"This roast meat is delicious. It tastes much like what we have back home!"
Hearing Ye Chen mention home, the boy's expression instantly grew forlorn.
"My ma taught me how to roast meat!"
"But they're all gone now!"
"Oh? Why?"
Ye Chen raised his eyebrows.
The boy glanced at Ye Chen, then lowered his head and stared at the campfire, struggling to hold back his grief. "A year ago, a martial cultivator in black came to our village. After asking a few questions, he attacked and killed everyone in the village!"
"My ma realized something was wrong and hid me in the cellar, so that cultivator didn't find me."
"I only ran out long after that cultivator left. By then, everyone... everyone was dead. My ma still had a breath left. She gave me a few words of warning, then pressed a jade pendant into my hand and told me to live on, and then... then she died!"
Holding the jade pendant hanging against his chest, the boy began to choke up as he spoke.
Then, as though the floodgates had opened, he continued,
"Later, I joined a small sect. It was tiny, with only Master, my junior sister, and me. The three of us depended on each other for a year. I thought I had a new home, but a few days ago, Master was killed too, and my junior sister was forcibly taken away. Only I escaped!"
Ye Chen felt a little awkward and did not know what to say, so he changed the subject. "What's your name?"
"Ye Tian. Ye as in night!"
The boy blurted it out.
Ye Chen looked at the boy, feeling that something was off, yet unable to figure out what.
So he stuffed the last mouthful of rabbit meat into his mouth.
He stood, brushed the ashes from his clothes, then pointed a finger at the boy's forehead.
The boy was utterly startled and instinctively backed away.
But Ye Chen was faster. The instant his fingertip touched the boy's forehead, a stream of exceptionally pure immortal Qi flowed into the boy's body.
The touch lasted only an instant.
Ye Chen stepped back and said with a smile,
"I'm off!"
Then, without waiting for the boy to react, he slowly walked away.
The boy's mind was still somewhat dazed.
The moment Ye Chen's fingertip touched his forehead, he had felt some inexplicable energy enter his body. Warmth immediately spread through him, and all the hidden ailments in his body were unknowingly purged.
By the time the boy came to his senses, Ye Chen's figure had long since disappeared.
He gazed toward the place where Ye Chen had vanished, his eyes exceptionally resolute.
"Pa, Ma, Master, I'll definitely become stronger and avenge you. And junior sister, I'll definitely find you!"
Outside Heavenly Origin Holy City, a white-robed figure slowly appeared.
It was none other than Ye Chen.
Last night, he had given the boy a wisp of immortal spirit Qi from an immortal crystal and had also left the power of one of his strikes within the boy's body.
He had done so because that barbecue had given him a taste of home.
He did not wish to meddle in other people's affairs, nor would he owe anyone anything.
At that moment, countless young people were preparing to enter the Holy City. From the looks of it, they were all headed for the Heavenly Origin Holy Land's assessment.
At the city gate, two guards stood outside, herding the crowd.
"Stand properly!"
"Two spirit stones each! If you won't pay, get lost!"
"Move faster! Were you born a snail?"
"Slow down back there! Are you in a rush to die?"
Everyone who wanted to enter the city had to pay two top-grade spirit stones.
Two top-grade spirit stones were equivalent to two million low-grade spirit stones.
For a small Lineage like the Ye Lineage, that was several years' total revenue.
The gap between rich and poor was too great!
Ye Chen could not help reflecting on it.
But he certainly would not pay.
What a joke. Who would dare ask a Quasi-Emperor for money?
Arriving at the city gate, Ye Chen did not want to draw too much attention, so he released a trace of Saint Realm pressure.
The guard wet his pants in fright. How could he still dare demand spirit stones? He all but dropped to his knees to carry Ye Chen inside on his back.
After Ye Chen left, the two guards still looked shaken as they wiped the sweat from their foreheads.
"That scared me to death!"
"Why would a Saint come through the city gate for no reason? The flight ban doesn't even apply to them!"
"Who knows?"
The more the two thought about it, the angrier they became, so they shouted at those entering the city, "From now on, it's three spirit stones per person to enter!"
Everyone: ...