Chapter 41: The Hope of the Ancestral Dragon’s Nest
Jun Xiaoyao’s tenth birthday banquet ended amid such dramatic twists and turns, leaving everyone in awe.
As the sect masters, elders, and young prodigies of the major powers departed the Jun Family, the shock and amazement on their faces still had not faded. In their view, everything they had witnessed at the Jun Family this time was simply soul-stirring. In particular, the Jun Family’s Divine Child was practically like an infant Emperor, possessing an invincible bearing.
Whether it was the Star King Physique of the Ye Family or the Dragon Child of the Ancestral Dragon Nest, both of them were treated like soft clay in his hands, easily suppressed. Some younger prodigies could not help but sigh in despair when they compared themselves to the Jun Family’s Divine Child.
With the Primordial Sacred Body combined with the Supreme Bone, the sheer talent of Jun Xiaoyao could no longer be called monstrous; it was practically the posture of a born Emperor. With Jun Xiaoyao around, who else would have space to shine in this era?
Even some older experts lamented that with his current cultivation speed, it would not be long before he surpassed them all.
Of course, aside from Jun Xiaoyao, Jun Zhangjian and Jun Xuehuang also performed remarkably, able to slay the Heaven’s Chosen of the Ancient King Clans with ease. Yet most shocking of all was undoubtedly the Jun Family’s Eighteenth Ancestor, who never once showed himself in person.
A patriarch-level figure who had been buried in the Jun Family’s ancestral shrine for countless years, he slew a Quasi-Supreme from the Ancestral Dragon Nest with just three sword strikes, leaving everyone utterly stunned.
It was clear to all that after this tenth birthday banquet, the long-quiet Desolate Heaven Immortal Domain would soon be thrown into upheaval.
Not long after the banquet ended at the Jun Family, a furious dragon roar resounded from the Ancestral Dragon Nest’s main stronghold far away in Hongzhou. It shook heaven and earth and even caused stars to tremble. All living creatures throughout Hongzhou felt an overwhelming destructive might rolling over them like a doomsday omen.
“It’s the Ancestral Dragon Nest’s supreme being. What has angered him?” Some of the Hongzhou inhabitants turned pale as they spoke.
Word of what happened at the Jun Family had not yet spread that far, so they remained unaware of the events.
Within the Ancestral Dragon Nest, numerous powerful divine senses were communicating.
“Calm your fury for now. What good does this rage do? Are you planning to storm the Jun Family?”
“That little wretch from the Jun Family dared to kill a Dragon Child of my lineage! He must be executed!”
“And that Jun Eighteen—he actually went so far as to fatally strike Youlong. Does he truly fear not the Ancestral Dragon Nest at all?” hissed that enraged voice from before.
“Jun Eighteen is a madman. Killing him would be far too difficult…”
“Should we inform Aotian?” asked another strong presence from the Ancestral Dragon Nest.
“No need. Long Aotian is in seclusion refining the fifth Dragon Origin. Once he finishes refining all seven, plus the blood of the Imperial Dragon, he’ll be able to sweep aside all the younger generations in the Immortal Domain. Even that Jun Family Divine Child can be slain with a mere flick of his hand.”
“Very well. I’ll await the day Aotian kills the Jun Family’s Divine Child!”
“As for the Jun Family, sooner or later we’ll have them pay for this in blood!”
…
Meanwhile, in another stretch of the sky, a divine bird was pulling a chariot through the air. Inside the carriage sat a young man in blue, with sharp brows and bright eyes, slowly coming back to consciousness.
This was Ye Xingyun.
“Hiss… it hurts…”
Even the slightest movement made Ye Xingyun feel as though his body were about to come apart, his face going white from the pain.
“Young Master, you’re awake,” said Fu Bo, who stood nearby.
“What happened to me…” Ye Xingyun was disoriented for a few moments before the events of the banquet finally came rushing back. A profound sense of humiliation welled up within him.
As the Heavenly Chosen of the Ancient Ye Family, when had Ye Xingyun ever suffered such a loss? And it had happened right in front of the woman he admired most.
“Jun Xiaoyao…” Ye Xingyun ground his teeth, clenching his fists tightly until his knuckles turned white.
“Young Master, that Divine Child of the Jun Family is not someone to provoke,” Fu Bo noted. “I’ve received word that he doesn’t just have the Primordial Sacred Body; he was also born with a Supreme Bone. Even the Dragon Child of the Ancestral Dragon Nest was easily slain by him.”
“What? That can’t be!” Ye Xingyun was stunned, hardly able to believe his ears. When they had crossed swords, Jun Xiaoyao had apparently still kept some of his power hidden—he hadn’t even unleashed his Supreme Bone.
Ye Xingyun grew even more humiliated, realizing that Jun Xiaoyao had never taken him seriously from the start. “Damn it…” He seethed with both anger and shame.
Suddenly, a hazy memory flashed in his mind. He seemed to recall a grand Stargazing Palace and a majestic figure cloaked in sun, moon, and stars, standing with his back turned to him.
“What was that? A dream, or…” Ye Xingyun muttered to himself. He knew very well that in this world, there were saints reborn and even Emperors reincarnated. Those with such backgrounds were true game-changers among the young generation, their knowledge and cultivation far beyond that of ordinary prodigies.
For instance, there was the Ancient Ye Family’s forbidden genius, Ye Guchen, rumored to be the reincarnation of the Sword Demon Dugu Wubai from the primordial era. Historical records said that this Sword Demon wielded the Emperor-Slaying Sword to kill Quasi-Emperors—a savage figure indeed.
“Could it be that I’m just like Ye Guchen, a reincarnation of some Supreme being? And that Stargazing Palace is the legacy left behind for me?” Ye Xingyun speculated. It seemed entirely possible.
Over time, more memories would awaken in him, and then he might be able to locate that Stargazing Palace and inherit that Supreme being’s entire legacy.
“Jun Xiaoyao, fortune is fickle. Once my memories fully awaken, I’ll rise again in power. As for Luoli, I’ll show her who truly deserves to stand by her side!”
Feeling renewed determination, Ye Xingyun was convinced that his time to soar was near.
…
Back at the Jun Family, Jun Xiaoyao was enduring incessant pestering from Jiang Luoli after the banquet. Clearly, she should have returned to the Jiang Family by now, yet she stubbornly refused to leave.
The young lady whom Ye Xingyun dreamed of winning over had become a stubborn presence clinging to Jun Xiaoyao, like a plaster one couldn’t peel off.
“Xiaoyao Brother, do you need a maid to serve you tea and water?” “Linglong can do that.”
“Xiaoyao Brother, do you need someone to do your laundry and make your bed?” “Linglong can handle that.”
“Xiaoyao Brother, do you need someone to keep your bed warm at night?” “Linglong can—cough—what are you talking about?” Jun Xiaoyao coughed, clearly exasperated.
In the end, even Jiang Rou started nudging them toward marriage. “Mother, the Eighteenth Ancestor wants to see me. I’ll take my leave first,” said Jun Xiaoyao, slipping away as fast as he could from the group of overexcited women.
“Hmph, Xiaoyao Brother, Luoli won’t give up!” Jiang Luoli declared with a clenched fist, like a starstruck fan vowing not to surrender.
Jun Xiaoyao made his way to the Jun Family’s deepest ancestral grounds to meet with the Eighteenth Ancestor, who sat in midair, draped in a gray robe. Though his hair was white and he looked ancient, illusions of suns and moons spinning, life and death flashing, realms collapsing, and galaxies reversing constantly manifested around him. His aura was immeasurably formidable, as though he were the very will of the cosmos.
No wonder he could kill a Quasi-Supreme with three sword strikes. Jun Xiaoyao silently acknowledged that no ancestor of the Jun Family was an ordinary person. Let alone this extremely powerful Eighteenth Ancestor—there were seventeen others just like him.
When he spotted Jun Xiaoyao, the Eighteenth Ancestor’s elderly face actually broke into a rare smile. “Outstanding!” he said, clearly pleased with Jun Xiaoyao’s performance at his tenth birthday banquet. It was one thing to defeat Ye Xingyun, but tearing apart the Dragon Child of the Ancestral Dragon Nest had definitely brought honor to the Jun Family.
“I wonder why Ancestor summoned me?” Jun Xiaoyao asked with a slight bow, his tone composed.
Even the senior members of the clan were typically nervous and formal around the Eighteenth Ancestor, yet Jun Xiaoyao showed neither fear nor unease, carrying himself with aplomb. The Eighteenth Ancestor was all the more satisfied. The Primordial Sacred Body combined with the Supreme Bone was, beyond question, unrivaled. Yet even more incredible was Jun Xiaoyao’s calm and steady temperament, hardly what one would expect from a ten-year-old child.
“Don’t you want to learn the Slaughter Immortals Sword Art?” the Eighteenth Ancestor asked with a faint smile. Jun Xiaoyao’s eyes lit up at the question.