Chapter 162: I Am Your Father

Goodness gracious. At first, the Son of Heaven thought this fellow was on the same level as him, but he never expected him to be so outrageously formidable.

He had heard from his father that even his father wouldn't dare claim he could easily defeat this expert. If he went up to fight Ye Qiu himself, wouldn't that simply be serving his head on a platter?

That was absolutely out of the question! Arrogant though he was, he wasn't a fool...

Murmuring a hurried instruction, the Son of Heaven suddenly retreated behind the crowd, preparing to make a run for it.

The onlookers were left completely baffled and covered in question marks...

"???"

Weren't you acting all excited just a moment ago? Why are you suddenly trying to bolt?

What happened to your pride? What happened to your dignity?

Unfortunately, he was wearing a mask, so the crowd couldn't see his expression and had no way of knowing whether he was blushing.

"Leaving? Did I say you could leave?"

Ye Qiu watched for a good while and simply couldn't stand it any longer. Trying to escape? Not a chance.

I'm going to drag you back and torment you properly so you can learn what it means to experience the harsh beatings of society.

"Hmph, Ye Qiu! What kind of place do you think this is? How dare you act so insolently here..."

Exterminating Elder took the lead, stepping directly forward to organize a pincer attack against Ye Qiu and buy the Son of Heaven a chance to escape.

However, he failed to account for one person.

Just as he was about to make his move, Xing Tian's battleaxe came crashing down, a terrifying surge of power erupting instantly...

In the blink of an eye, dozens of dark overlords were sucked directly into the onslaught, not a single one of them spared.

"Damn it! How could I have forgotten about this brute!"

Exterminating Elder fell into despair, left with no choice but to take Xing Tian's attacks head-on. The dozens of them were suppressed by Xing Tian and beaten relentlessly, utterly incapable of fighting back.

That was a terrifying existence at the Immortal Venerable level! Among them, the strongest were only at the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm—how could they possibly be a match for Xing Tian?

What's more, Xing Tian still had his berserk form tucked away; once that was unleashed... blood would likely flow for three thousand miles across this land.

Seeing Xing Tian completely suppress those dark overlords, Ye Qiu turned his gaze toward the Son of Heaven, a wicked smile spreading across his face as he grew increasingly brazen.

"Hehe, kiddo! Today, I'm going to teach you why flowers are so red."

"What are you trying to do? Don't you come any closer..."

The Son of Heaven panicked instantly! Is this guy toxic or something? Why does he have to fixate on me? Do we have a blood grudge or what?

As expected, his initial guess had been right. Anyone like this obviously wasn't a good person. Wang Zai spicy beef-flavored candies, Happy Immortal Water—were those even things meant for human consumption?

Before it could be said, it was done. Realizing the situation had turned sour, the Son of Heaven spun around to flee, only to find that Ye Qiu had already materialized right behind him, grabbing him firmly by the back of his collar.

"Come here! Let me show you some brotherly love..."

Ye Qiu let out a maniacal laugh, pulling the Son of Heaven back down and delivering a fierce kick that sent him flying straight into the ocean.

Talk about an older brother beating his younger brother—it was as easy as pie!

"Young Master!"

Seeing the Son of Heaven subjected to such a brutal beating by Ye Qiu, Exterminating Elder grew frantic and immediately broke away from the skirmish, eager to stop Ye Qiu.

Yet, before he could reach them, a swing of Xing Tian's axe nearly cleaved him in two, forcing him to scramble back in panic.

Meanwhile, over by the sea, Ye Qiu plunged straight into the water and fished the Son of Heaven back up. The youth could be heard screaming in terror, "Again? Are you ever going to let up?"

"Nope! The more you scream, the more excited I get!"

Ye Qiu let out another unhinged laugh and landed yet another kick, beating the Son of Heaven to the point where he began to doubt the meaning of life.

At that moment, he could no longer endure it. Even though every fiber of his being resisted fighting Ye Qiu, he could no longer suppress his boiling fury.

"I'll fight you to the death!"

In a split second, a small black tree materialized in his palm, and a terrifying wave of power instantly erupted from it.

"Oh? The World Tree..."

Ye Qiu was startled. He hadn't expected this kid to possess such a priceless treasure! Well, wonderful. It seemed he was about to acquire another precious artifact for free...

Ye Qiu was delighted, suddenly feeling that these dark overlords weren't so hateful after all. Look how thoughtful they were! Knowing that Ye Qiu's auction house was about to open, they immediately rushed to contribute so many rare treasures.

How touching!

"Ignorant fool, today I will ensure you find no burial place..."

Consumed entirely by blinding rage, the Son of Heaven cast aside all caution, summoning the World Tree and instantly executing a mystic art.

Under the transformation of the World Tree, tens of thousands of vengeful phantoms materialized in an instant, surging toward Ye Qiu like a tidal wave...

"Hehe, indeed! Plunged in darkness, even if you hold the light in your hands, you cannot conceal the filth within your hearts..."

Such a divine tree, yet they had refined it into such a filthy Dharma treasure. It was truly a lamentable waste...

The World Tree, one of the three legendary supreme treasures said to be capable of creating worlds, had actually been forged into a low-grade artifact that could do nothing more than spawn phantoms?

Ye Qiu was utterly speechless. Did the people of this realm have zero clue how to refine artifacts? Such primitive refinement techniques were simply too agonizing to look at.

When it came to forging weapons, Ye Qiu was an absolute master. With a single glance, he spotted the fatal flaws riddling the World Tree.

Extending one hand, he instantly manifested the Domain of Yin-Yang and Cosmos, firmly locking down those restless phantoms before suddenly closing the distance and delivering a sharp slap.

The blow landed squarely across the Son of Heaven's face, and in an instant... his mask fell away, revealing a strikingly handsome visage to the world.

At that very moment, Ye Qiu was struck completely dumbstruck!

"This..."

How could it possibly be? Could he... actually be his younger brother Ye Dong, the one he had spent countless days and nights searching for over the span of many long years with no result?

Ye Qiu couldn't possibly mistake him. Not only did he bear a striking resemblance to Ye Qiu, but... right between their brows was a distinct marking, the ancestral emblem of their Ye family.

"You..."

With his mask knocked off, the Son of Heaven hurriedly snatched it up and jammed it back onto his face. A look of fierce rage distorted his features as a terrifying wave of killing intent erupted from him.

His father had explicitly told him that under no circumstances and at no time was he ever to remove this mask. If anyone ever laid eyes upon his true face, he was to go to any lengths necessary to eradicate that person.

And yet, Ye Qiu had knocked his mask off! This was something he could no longer tolerate...

"Little Dong!"

"Little Dong?"

That name again. Is he talking to me? Why does a strange urge to respond suddenly well up from the depths of my heart...

The Son of Heaven froze momentarily. This was the second time he had heard this name; the first time came from a hazy childhood memory of a little boy, and the second time had slipped from Ye Qiu's lips.

Filled with doubt, the Son of Heaven found himself consumed by sudden self-doubt.

"Are you calling me?"

"Nonsense! Is there anyone else here besides you and me?"

Ye Qiu retorted with a mixture of annoyance and affection. Everything finally fell into place in his mind; he finally understood why he had felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity the very first moment he laid eyes on the Son of Heaven.

As it turned out, the youth truly was his long-lost younger brother. Just as Ye Qiu had anticipated, his brother remembered nothing of the past now, lacking even the faintest recollection of his childhood.

If he had remembered, he would have stepped forward to acknowledge him the moment he first saw Ye Qiu, rather than putting on the haughty airs of some arrogant young master...

Hearing Ye Qiu's reply, the Son of Heaven became utterly bewildered. After thinking it over carefully, he was certain he didn't bear that name.

Shaking his head, he shot back, "My name is not Little Dong. You've got the wrong person..."

Ye Qiu broke out in a sweat of exasperation. "Of course your name isn't just Little Dong—your name is Ye Dong! I am Ye Qiu, and I'm your older brother..."

"I'm your father! Why are you trying to claim random relatives? Are we even close?"

Hearing this, Ye Dong flew into a rage! What the hell? Some random guy pops up out of nowhere and claims to be an older brother?

Is he deliberately trying to take advantage of me?

If Ye Qiu hadn't uttered that opening phrase, Ye Dong might actually have entertained the possibility. But the moment those words left his mouth, Ye Dong was convinced that Ye Qiu was simply playing with him and trying to pull rank.