A Martial God's Bloodline

"Very beautiful woman!"

A naughty smile manifested in Xiao Qing's brutish face but he immediately switched to seriousness before Li Ye flipped out.

"To tell you the truth, I never supthought that a brat like yourself could be so strong. It was completely unexpected."

"Tell me then. Who are you?" Suspicions began arising in Li Ye's face.

The two of them walked into Li Ye's room. Xiao Qing was somewhat taken aback when he saw the destitution of his living area. Other than a bed and some chairs, there was only a rather terrible-looking table.

"Why are you so shocked? This has been my life all these years."

"It's shocking to see a great clan's young master living in such bad conditions."

Xiao Qing was not disinclined to it. Instead, he took a chair and sat down, after which he began speaking, "I'm sure you're curious why I'd help you"

"Yes, I am curious. You said you were entrusted by someone. Who?"

"Who do you think?"

Xiao Qing's face had a teasing expression, whetting one's appetite for more information.

"Is it that little lassie, Li Yating?"

A delicate and attractive silhouette floated in his mind. If there was one person in the whole Li clan that he still cared about, that person was undoubtedly Li Yating.

Three years ago, when Li Kainian was reaching the tenth year of his disappearance, the Li clan finally found an opportunity to chase him out of the clan. When so many people sneered and snickered at him; when Li Yue and the other clan siblings bullied him, one girl stood out for him and shielded him.

"It's her, isn't it? I heard she was looked upon favorably by one of the elders in Wu Prefecture City, who then took her as his disciple. It was said that the senior was one of the head elders in Jiangnan Circuit's famous Dark Heaven Sect. You're from the Dark Heaven Sect too, aren't you?"

Xiao Qing may look unruly but Li Ye was not one to judge a person by their appearance.

Being able to draw level with Li Huangran—the Li clan's Third Master—and even gain the upper edge was something that no one in Wu Prefecture City could do. There were few within the Three Great Clans who could do so, nor did anyone from any of the Wu Prefecture-like cities throughout Jiangnan Circuit, for that matter.

"You're half right. I'm a disciple of the Dark Heaven Sect, and I also know Junior Apprentice-Sister Li Yating. But the one who entrusted this to me isn't your Junior Apprentice-Sister Li, but someone else."

Those words came as a surprise to Li Ye. He immediately asked, "You said, junior apprentice-sister? Are you not her uncle-master or something like that?"

"Get outta here! I'm only twenty-one!"

Xiao Qing did not know whether to laugh or cry. Li Ye finally realized how big of a mistake he made. The beardy Xiao Qing was thought to be at least thirty years old but he was actually only a few years older than Li Ye.

"Sorry! Sorry! I didn't know Elder Brother Xiao was so young. Only twenty-one years old and already reaching Level Eight! Truly deserving of being a disciple from the Dark Heaven Sect! Compared to you, none of Wu Prefecture City's prodigies are even worthy of picking up your shoes."

The unexpected mistake was good for the mood, as it made the two boys feel more relaxed.

A knocking sound was then heard on the door. Aunt Yun pushed the door open and came in, bringing a couple of delicious-looking tidbits.

"Ye'er doesn't bring friends home too often. You both seem to be close."

In response, Li Ye chuckled bitterly deep down. Few friends? If his memory served him right, he practically had no friends at all! The only exception was Li Yating, his cousin sister.

Who would want to make friends with a piece of trash? Especially when he was so reclusive and antisocial?

"Yes, Beautiful Sis, you're right. He and I are bros! Much closer than blood brothers!"

The extremely cordial Xiao Qing seemed to have lost himself, although he stopped short of drooling.

Looking at his demeanor, Aunt Yun covered her mouth and smiled rather shyly. She was much more charming than other girls and had an abundance of feminine charm.

"Then perhaps I can trouble you to look after Ye'er."

"Sure, sure! Of course! Of course!"

When Aunt Yun left, Xiao Qing's expression was still stuck in a daze. Li Ye could not help but huff coldly and say, "She's already gone! Stop staring!"

Who knew that Xiao Qing could change his face as quickly as a Sichuan opera! His expression reverted to normal in an instant, with absolutely no trace of enchantment in his eyes anymore.

"The beautiful sister in your house doesn't seem to be as simple as she looks."

Li Ye did not understand that sentence too well but Xiao Qing had already changed the subject without explaining.

Li Yating was the only person who had a good relationship with Li Ye and treated him as her kin. As it turned out, she got to know a high-ranked person about two years ago. That person was one of the Elders of the Dark Heaven Sect—not an ordinary elder, but a Supreme Elder—and was previously the uncle-master to the Dark Heaven Sect's current sect master.

For reasons nobody knew, the sect master took an interest in the descendant of a small clan from a small city, accepting him as a disciple and bringing him back to the Dark Heaven Sect to nurture him.

"Junior Apprentice-Sister's purpose for returning this time is to prepare for the tournament between your clan's descendants. Another reason is because of you."

Xiao Qing's words moved Li Ye's emotions ever so slightly.

"Because of me?!"

"Yeah. Junior Apprentice-Sister pleaded Uncle-Master for a long time and finally got permission to come back. She said she wanted to persuade those old farts to let you back into the clan."

Li Ye shuddered. It was a few sentences but those few sentences gave him a warmth that he never felt before.

"Oh, really? That sniveling little lassie has now grown up, I see."

In his memories, Li Yating was the most dazzling out of all the Li clan's descendants. Other than her outstanding beauty, immense kindness, and tender disposition, part of the reason was that she had a gift in cultivation and successfully awakened her own bloodsoul.

She was different from Li Ye and Li Yue because she was not born from the direct line of descent. She was the daughter of a collateral relative yet she displayed a frightening gift in cultivation.

It could rightly be said that Li Ye's gift was the worst amongst his and Li Yue's generation. It was no surprise that he was labelled trash. As for the person with the most exceptional gift, it was not Li Yue but Li Yating!

Having awakened her bloodsoul at the age of seven, she broke through to Level Six two years later! The speed was far more unnerving than Li Kainian's back when Li Kainian was still young!

Sadly, she was a female born from a distant relative and thus the clan would never spend any time and effort to nurture her. They even tried suppressing her in secret!

Of course, everything had changed since then. Being a disciple of the Dark Heaven Sect was more than enough to inspire reverence from the Li clan! If ranks and statuses were taken into account, Li Yating was the Junior Apprentice-Sister of the Dark Heaven Sect's sect master! Divulging her status would appall almost anyone!

What else did Li Ye know about the Dark Heaven Sect?

Throughout the entire Wu Prefecture City, the Three Great Clans had been the dominating force for many years. Throughout the entire hundred years, the entire city was overseen by Innate Sovereign Level Masters. Their lives were greatly expanded and their strength was far beyond that of any other strong-levelled cultivator.

They were the absolute hegemons of Wu Prefecture City!

Be that as it may, Wu Prefecture City was merely one of the hundreds of cities within Jiangnan Circuit. It was even considered one of the more isolated ones.

Meanwhile, the Dark Heaven Sect was the strongest in all of Jiangnan Circuit. Martial Spirit cultivators numbered as much as the fur of an ox. There were quite a few Sovereign Level Masters too. Amongst the Masters in the sect were those who had achieved the Dark Earth State!

If the difference between a Sovereign Level Master and Martial Spirit cultivator was analogous to an adult and a baby, then the difference between a Dark Earth State Master and a Sovereign Level Master could be likened to a Sovereign Level Master and a baby!

Sovereign Level Masters may be treated like kings in Wu Prefecture City but they only formed a fraction of the highly-skilled cultivators within Jiangnan Circuit. Only Dark Earth State Masters could be considered the pinnacle of supremacy within the entire Jiangnan Circuit.

"She's already back in Wu Prefecture City?"

"Not yet. Junior Apprentice-Sister is making a breakthrough. Uncle-Master wants her to have that breakthrough before coming back. Judging from the time, it's just going to be these two days. She'll make it in time for your annual clan tournament."

Li Ye remembered he had quite a few things he wanted to ask but news of Li Yating's impending arrival made him forget his questions.

"Breakthrough? What state is she in?"

"When I left the Dark Heaven Sect, Junior Apprentice-Sister was already at peak Level Eight. If everything goes smoothly, she'll probably be at Level Nine."

Li Ye was speechless! How old was Li Yating? She looked to be the same age as himself. The two of them were practically born on the same day and it was never clarified whether she or himself was the elder of the two.

Martial Spirit Level Nine? That was basically on par with some of the Li clan's Supreme Elders! Other than the missing Li Kainian and those Chief Supreme Elders who pay no attention to the affairs of the world, the strongest people within the Li clan were all at Level Nine!

He finally understood why Li Yating had such the confidence to come back, shut the mouths of those old bags, and force them into letting himself back into the clan! She has every right to do so on account of her strength and status!

"But I don't think Junior Apprentice-Sister knows about your current condition now, does she?"

A ruminating smile appeared on Xiao Qing's face in response to Li Ye's noncommittal response. In fact, had the transmigrating not happen, everything would have remained unchanged.

It was such a pity that things have changed so much.

"Whether or not I go back to the clan is my own business. If I really want to, I would use my own strength to shut everyone's mouths!"

If the Dark Heaven Sect appeared, there was no question that everything would be problem-free. Nevertheless, Li Ye did not care a single bit! He had no feelings with respect to the clan.

Even if he really wanted to return to the clan, he would use his own hands and beat his way into it! All those people who looked down on him and called him trash would be used as his stepping stone to return to the clan!

"I don't care about that at all. I'm just an errand boy. You decide the rest for yourself."

Once he was done, Xiao Qing lowered his voice abruptly. He then asked furtively, "What's the deal between you and that beautiful sis? You married her?"

"Get lost!"

…

A courtyard in the Li clan home had a rather intense atmosphere. People were murmuring but none dared to move closer.

"Who is it! Who dared to injure my good little grandson! Who is it! I will skin that person alive!"

An old but energetic voice boomed causing everyone else to cower.

A grey-haired, red-faced old man was in a state of immense anger. Before him was a pale body on a stretcher, and a closer look revealed that body to be that of the illustrious Li Yue.

Beside Li Yue was the Li clan's Third Master, Li Huangran, who was looking visibly distressed.

The reputation of the old man before Li Huangran preceded the old man himself.

It was the Li clan's Supreme Elder! Li Yue's grandfather—Li Daokui!

太上大长老 - translated here as Chief Supreme Elder. In this particular paragraph, it is suggested that these 太上大长老 are separate entities from the 太上长老 (Supreme Elder) and are of a much higher level.