"Vein Qi, three stages!"
Staring at the glaring characters carved into the Qi Testing Stele, a bitter, self-mocking smirk tugged at the corner of the young man's otherwise stoic face.
He clenched his fists. His knuckles jutted out, white as bone, as his fingernails bit deep into his palms. A sharp, stinging pain grounded him.
"Ye Changfeng: Vein Qi, three stages. Level low. Unqualified!" the elder presiding over the Qi Testing Stele announced, his voice devoid of any warmth.
The moment the elder's judgment echoed out, the sprawling plaza below erupted into a torrent of sneers and whispers.
"Three stages... heh. Just as expected. The grand genius hasn't moved an inch."
"What a piece of trash. Why did he even bother showing his face? He's dragging the clan's name through the mud!"
"Hmph! If the clan leader wasn't shielding him, he would have been tossed to the streets long ago."
"The sheer audacity! How does he have the nerve to stand up there and test?"
"Keep your voices down. Ye Changfeng used to be an unparalleled genius. He's just fallen on hard times..."
"Hard times? Bullshit! How many years has he been crippled now? Why are you still licking his boots with that 'genius' title?"
The malicious jabs and disdainful laughter cut through the air, every single word piercing Ye Changfeng's ears.
With a flick of his wrist, his wide sleeves billowed. Ye Changfeng descended the stone steps, a bitter smile lingering on his lips.
Snobs. Vipers, the lot of them.
He had endured this exact same spectacle from his own blood too many times to count. In this cold, fickle world of cultivation... what was left to say?
Ye Changfeng retreated to the courtyard wall, folding his arms across his chest to quietly observe the crowd.
A young girl stepped forward from the masses and pressed her delicate hand against the Qi Testing Stele.
"Ye Yuan! Vein Qi, seven stages! Level high!"
The plaza roared to life, drowning her in thunderous applause.
Ye Yuan stood upon the dais, her face flushed and radiant with unconcealed joy.
Tch. A mere seven stages. She hasn't even crossed the threshold to become a Novice... Ye Changfeng lowered his gaze, shaking his head slightly as he watched the wind rustle the dry grass.
"A mere seven stages... Big brother, you don't even have four. How do you have the gall to mock a Junior?" A dripping, sarcastic voice slithered in from the side.
Ye Changfeng looked up, his eyes narrowing into cold slits as he fixed his gaze on the newcomer.
"Ye Zhiheng. Watch your tone."
"Watch my tone? And if I don't? Are you still trying to pull rank on me?" Ye Zhiheng sneered, stepping closer. "If I were you, I'd hide in the darkest corner I could find instead of parading my disgrace. You are the laughingstock of all Jiuyuan City. If your father wasn't the clan leader, you would have been beaten to a pulp and thrown into the gutters years ago."
"I came to test my Qi. Is that a crime?" Ye Changfeng's expression remained placid. "You don't need to bark at me, Ye Zhiheng. My meridians may be damaged, but thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. It is not impossible for me to rise from the ashes. On the path of cultivation, anything is possible."
"Thirty years? Still whining about those thirty years?" Ye Zhiheng burst into raucous laughter, jabbing a finger toward the young crowd.
"What, do you still think you're a prodigy child? Didn't you turn thirty last year? Rubbing shoulders with a bunch of thirteen-year-old brats to test your Qi... I admire your thick skin. How many years have we had to listen to that tired catchphrase? It's pathetic!"
Ye Changfeng's stoic facade finally fractured. A dark, ugly emotion bled into his eyes.
He was right. He was thirty years old, standing in line with children, and worse—he was losing to them.
In his youth, he had been the clan's brightest star, an unparalleled genius destined to take the mantle of clan leader.
But the moment he turned fifteen, the heavens cursed him. Advancing his Vein Qi even half a stage became an insurmountable mountain.
His body refused to gather Vein Qi; instead, it relentlessly bled away his power. The pathetic scrap of strength he clung to now was bought with madness and blood-sweat cultivation.
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. He had been choking down that empty comfort for fifteen miserable years.
"Ye Zhiheng, get the hell out of my sight!!!"
"Look at you, barking like a stray." Ye Zhiheng practically beamed, reveling in the broken man's fury. "If you just kept your head down and accepted your lot as trash, no one would bother with you. But you refuse to know your place. You brought this universal disgust upon yourself. Don't you ever reflect on your own arrogance?"
"Reflect on what? That I am surrounded by a pack of sniveling opportunists?"
"Tch. There are plenty of eyesores in this world, but none stink quite as badly as you. Even toddlers spit at your feet. Your own father has abandoned you. It's genuinely pathetic."
Ye Zhiheng circled him like a vulture, his voice dripping with venom. "The elders have reached a consensus. Tomorrow morning, the Yin family arrives to formally handle breaking off an engagement with you. By tomorrow afternoon, the Qu family will be here to finalize my marriage contract. Care to guess the bride? Heh. Qu Mutang. A woman ten thousand times superior to that little bitch of yours."
"Qu Mutang?" Ye Changfeng fired back, his voice frosting over. "As if a woman of her caliber would ever look twice at a toad like you. I heard she already gave her heart to another."
"So what? Since when do personal whims override the decree of the clan?" Ye Zhiheng sneered. "You know exactly what an alliance with the Qu family means. The second I take the seat of clan leader, my first act will be purging you from our ranks. If you have a shred of survival instinct, you'll pack your rags and vanish. Don't force me to cleanse the clan myself."
"I welcome you to try." Ye Changfeng turned his head slowly, his dead eyes locking onto Ye Zhiheng's without a fraction of retreat. "Looking at the wretched scum you've become, my only regret is not snapping both your legs when we were children."
"Fine. Keep acting tough. Consider this your final warning!"
With an arrogant flick of his sleeve, Ye Zhiheng spun on his heel and stalked off.
...
A heavy, silver-plate moon hung against a canvas of scattered stars.
Ye Changfeng sat alone in his desolate courtyard, staring up at the cold night sky. Shielded by the shadows, the masks fell away, and a profound, suffocating grief carved itself into his features.
The faint rustle of fabric broke the silence. He instantly smoothed his face into an impassive mask.
A slender figure draped in robes as pure as driven snow drifted onto the patio, taking a seat beside him.
"Brother Changfeng."
"Qingqing, you're here." Ye Changfeng's voice spiked with desperate hope. "I... I heard rumors today. The clan said the Yin family intends to break our betrothal. Did you... did you not oppose them?"
"I..." Yin Qingqing bowed her head, refusing to meet his gaze. "I didn't. I had no power to oppose them, Brother Changfeng..."
"Do I even have the right to let you call me that anymore?" All the color drained from Ye Changfeng's face, leaving him looking like a corpse.
"You used to tell me that a true man knows when to endure the weight of the world, and when to set it down. You said that, sooner or later, a true man always rises," Yin Qingqing murmured softly.
"Look at me. Look at this decaying hovel I live in. Do I look like a true man to you?" Ye Changfeng let out a hollow, broken laugh. "This cultivation world... perhaps I was never meant for it in the first place."
"Brother Changfeng, your father... has he truly forsaken you? Is the Ye family truly cutting off all your resources?"
"Mn. We had a massive fallout last month. The rift is permanent. Every single resource he funneled to me has been severed. But I still have a tiny stash hidden away. I'll fetch it for you before you leave."
A flash of visceral disgust flickered across Yin Qingqing's eyes. Ever so subtly, she shifted her weight, scooting her body an inch further away from him on the stone bench.
"Qingqing! Let's elope!" Ye Changfeng lunged forward, desperately seizing both her hands. "Leave with me! We'll flee Jiuyuan City. I swear, the rot in my meridians can be cured. I'll fight my way up, I'll plunder enough resources to keep you draped in luxury for a hundred lifetimes! You've been my anchor all these years. If I lose you now, I have nothing left to live for!"
Yin Qingqing violently snatched her hands out of his grip. Crocodile tears shimmered in her eyes. "Brother Changfeng, please don't do this! The clan's absolute decree... I cannot defy it, and neither can you."
Ye Changfeng froze as if struck by heavenly lightning. His empty hands slumped to his sides.
In the crushing depths of his despair, a pair of soft, warm lips briefly brushed against his. The faint, sweet scent of Yin Qingqing washed over him, accompanied by a silken whisper in his ear.
"Brother Changfeng, I will be a wife to another man... but my heart will forever belong to you. I believe in you. You will always be the unrivaled genius of my youth. I know that one day, you will conquer the heavens again... I will wait for you."
The white-clad silhouette melted away into the night, leaving behind nothing but cold air and two lines of silent tears sliding down Ye Changfeng's cheeks.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Ix9JhRCkM
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