When Ding Fan heard Ye Li say that he should go try and see whether he could light up that stele, he really didnât feel like going. Miss Xi at the side said to him, "What are you still dawdling for? Hurry up and try it. If you really are our master, then I wonât eat you."
Mu Gaosou thought for a moment, then said to Ding Fan, "Island Master, go give it a try, nothing will happen."
Ding Fan looked at Mu Gaosou. Mu Gaosou blinked, and Ding Fan understood what he meant: later Mu Gaosou would observe carefully to see whether Ye Li and the others would do anything secretly.
Ding Fan grit his teeth and stepped forward, placing his hand on the stone and slowly circulating the power of True Yuan in his body. Everyone was very tense, staring fixedly at that stele. Mu Gaosouâs Divine Sense locked tightly onto them, observing carefully to see if they would pull any tricks.
There was no movement in Ye Li and the othersâ bodies, no flow of energy. A kind of quiet terror hung over the place; only the faint sound of peopleâs breathing could be heard.
Five seconds, ten seconds!
Ding Fanâs True Yuan continued pouring into the stele, yet the stone tablet showed no change at all. A hint of surprise flashed in Mu Gaosouâs eyes. Could they have been wrong? The problem was, how could Ding Fanâs circumstances be exactly the same as the inscription on the stele?
"Buzz buzz!"
The next second, the inscription on the stele suddenly lit up, then the whole stone shone brightly. A suffocating, terrifying aura burst forth from the stone, frightening Ding Fan into hastily backing away from it.
"It lit up, but how could it light up?"
Ding Fan muttered in astonishment, his eyes full of disbelief. He felt this matter was far too far-fetched, to the point that he simply couldnât accept it.
"Itâs lit. It actually lit up!"
Ye Li cried out in shock. Miss Ye Xiâs mouth fell open and wouldnât close for a long time, while the other four old men were moved to tears, practically unable to control themselves.
Ding Fan was jolted awake by Ye Liâs shout. He turned around in a daze. Seeing the tears shimmering in these peopleâs eyes, he was even more at a loss for what to do.
"Puff!"
Suddenly, the four old men dropped to one knee before him and called out, "Master!"
Ding Fan stood there dumbfounded. Ye Li led the four old men in respectfully kneeling and bowing. His gaze swept toward Miss Ye Xi and he said, "Xiao Xi, why arenât you kneeling to pay respect to the master?"
Miss Xi curled her lips and said, "I absolutely wonât kneel to him. At worst I just wonât eat him."
With that, Miss Xi turned into a blur and rushed out.
"Master, that is my granddaughter, Ye Xiaoxi. Sheâs been spoiled since childhood. I ask that Master be lenient with her, donât lower yourself to her level."
Ye Liâs face was full of embarrassment as he apologized to Ding Fan.
Ding Fan forced himself to calm down and shook his head. Even now he still felt completely muddleheaded. He forcibly steadied his mind and said to Ye Li, "Donât worry, and donât be anxious. I want to calm down a bit."
"Yes."
Ye Li stood up and said, "Master still has injuries on your body. Weâll let you rest first. Weâll wait until youâre fully recovered. The other matters can be discussed later."
At this time Ye Li very cordially took Ding Fan by the arm and led him into a large pavilion nearby, settling Ding Fan and Mu Gaosou in a small courtyard inside. He also had people send over some Medicinal Herbs, saying they could heal his wounds.
Then Ye Li had people bring many delicious dishes and several clean linen pants, and then he and the few excited old men left, letting Ding Fan have a good rest, stabilize his mood, and properly sort through his chaotic thoughts.
Ding Fan didnât eat any of the delicious food on the table; those Medicinal Herbs were also useless to him. He swallowed the Healing Medicine he had brought himself. His body had only suffered some external injuries, and by now they were almost fully healed.
He sat blankly in the room for a full ten-plus minutes before finally lifting his head to look at Mu Gaosou beside him, saying, "Do you believe this?"
"No!"
Mu Gaosou shook his head, then added, "The problem is, how do we explain the inscription? I understood every word on it. I recognize the characters written there. They say you have a Beast Bone Pendant, that thereâs a Sirius mark on your back, and most importantly, that your surname is Ding!"
Ding Fan sat there in a daze, unmoved, with nothing to refute. Mu Gaosou thought for a bit and said, "The Ten Divine Arts do indeed exist. Iâve also heard of Divination. If it really is Divination, then itâs not impossible. After all, itâs a Divine Art."
Ding Fan frowned and asked, "What kind of abilities do the Divine Arts have?"
"Divine Arts are, of course, the spells of Gods, the methods Gods possess," Mu Gaosou explained. "In ancient times, many Gods were born in our world, so we call it the Divine Realm. They had unimaginable abilities. I donât know why all the Gods fell, leaving behind the Ten Divine Arts. Itâs said that whoever obtains one of the Ten Divine Arts should be able to surpass the peak of the world, become the most powerful person in existence, and have a chance to break through the void and never perish."
Ding Fan replied, "A legend is still a legend, right? Do you know about the Ye Family members?"
Mu Gaosou nodded. "Many people in the Northern Wastelands should have heard of them. Theyâre one of the hegemons, after all. The speed of the Qingluan people is the most abnormal, unique in the world. Those Golden Giants are the Meng Family clansmen who have always followed the Ye Clan, along with the Meng Familyâs clans and tribes. They all claim to be the perfect partners of the Ye clan."
"Because one has the strongest Power, and the other has the most perverse speed. The Meng Family clansmen attack headâon, while the Ye clan attacks from behind. They coordinate with each other, almost perfectly, their combat strength reaching the extreme. Meng Family clansmen are usually brainâdamagedâmeaning theyâre a bit dimâwittedâbut the Ye clan is famously clever, so the Meng Family always follows the Ye clan."
"So thatâs how it is!"
Ding Fan nodded. He had seen the attacks of the Golden Giant and Miss Ye Xi, and the two as partners were indeed nearly invincible.
He stopped talking and fell into deep thought. Mu Gaosou was also thinking. After more than half an hour, Ding Fan raised his head and asked, "There really isnât any problem?"
Ye Liâs expressions and explanations had all been very normal. Ding Fan had gone over them in his mind several times and hadnât found anything suspicious.
Most importantly, he was just a useless brat at the Second Level of the Divine Realm. There was no need to set up some grand scheme for him. His strength couldnât even compare with Ye Xiaoxiâs, so why bother to deceive him?
Even if Ye Li had sent many people out to gather information, that only meant he knew Ding Fanâs surname was Ding, knew he had a Beast Bone Pendant, knew there was a Sirius emblem on his back, and set up his arrangements in advance.
But what about that inscription on the stele?
The inscription on the stele wasnât newly made; it had definitely been there for some years. Not long ago, his Sirius inheritance had only just awakenedâthis made no sense at all.
"There is a problem!" Mu Gaosou suddenly raised his head, frowning. "There is one place... there is a problem!"
Ding Fanâs eyes flashed with a cold light, glinting slightly. "Speak!"
"The inscription!"
Mu Gaosou lifted his sparse eyebrows and said, "The stele has been around for several thousand years, thereâs no doubt about that. But the inscription... I think the characters carved on it arenât that old."
"Really?"
Ding Fan said in a low voice, "If it was only carved recently, itâs very likely a fraud."
"Itâs not freshly carved."
Mu Gaosou shook his head and said, "If it had just been carved, youâd see that kind of obvious flaw. It looks like itâs already been there for decades, maybe more than a hundred years. Of course, I might be wrongâthis stone itself is a treasure, so the script hasnât eroded too much. Thatâs normal."
"Only a few decades?"
Ding Fanâs body trembled. A possibility surfaced in his mind: decades ago, when he himself didnât even know where he was, someone had already come here and carved those words?
"No."
Ding Fan thought for a while and dismissed the idea. Even if someone had carved it decades ago, it still didnât make sense. Heâd only obtained the Sirius inheritance less than half a year agoâhow could anyone have known in advance? How could they have predicted he would enter this other world?
Besides, if it had been arranged by the old Sirius, there was no need for it to be so convoluted. Wouldnât it have been enough for Ye Li to just say he was a friend of the old Sirius?
In the Northern Wastelands, in the Great Python Scroll, in the Tianmu Sea, Ding Fan had gone through countless brushes with death, and had even watched Xia Mengqing die once in order to save him. If she hadnât possessed a Phoenix Rebirth body, Xia Mengqing would already be dead. If the old Sirius had planned everything so far ahead, why put in so much effort?
"Is this not an arrangement left behind by the old Sirius? Does such a sacred miracle really exist in this world? Am I truly the master of the Ye Family and Meng Family? Will I one day be able to lead the people of the Ye clan back to their homeland and restore their glory?"
Ding Fan was completely muddled. He sat there the entire afternoon, and by dusk he still couldnât figure it out.
Outside, a Maid came over and told him that the banquet was ready, and that Ye Li would personally come to invite Ding Fan in a while.
Ding Fan shook his head, threw aside those strange thoughts in his mind, and decided not to think about it anymore, because no matter what, this was to his advantage. From now on heâd have a group of experts at his disposalâand wouldnât even have to risk his life?
What was the truth? It didnât matter. At the very least he was the master of the Ye clan and the Meng Family; better to be the master than to end up being eaten.
Any conspiracy had to have a benefitâwhat could the Ye Family members and the Clan gain from him? He couldnât even beat Ye Xiaoxi; he was of no practical use at all to the Ye Family and Meng Family.
Go with the flow!
Ding Fanâs attitude was quite optimistic. He didnât want to think about it. If he could be the master, why not? Mu Gaosou, on the other hand, also didnât want to overthink it. Envy showed on his face. In any case, it was a good thing for the two of them to go from prisoners to guests.
A moment later, Ye Li personally brought the four Elders and respectfully invited Ding Fan and Mu Gaosou.
Ding Fan didnât dare put on the airs of a master. He followed Ye Li into the hall politely. The place had long been prepared: a huge square table, laden with delicacies, and several beautiful Maids standing by.
Ye Li had Ding Fan sit at the main seat, then picked up a clay jar with his own hands to toast Ding Fan. After drinking, Ding Fan realized the wine here was especially strong; his throat burned fiercely.
"Master, please try our food. This other world isnât big, and thereâs not much in the way of fine cuisine. Master, youâll have to make do with these."
Ye Li pointed at the table full of delicacies and said with a smile. Ding Fan reached out with his chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat, when he suddenly recalled Ye Xiaoxiâs talk about eating people. His hand trembled as he asked, "Family Head Ye, this meat... it isnât human flesh, is it?"
"Ha...!"
The night watchman and the four Elders laughed as they explained, "My lord, Xiaoxi was joking. We Ye Family members donât have the habit of eating people. She just likes to scare people like that. Xiaoxi has been mischievous since childhoodâsheâs made the master laugh at us."
"Oh, oh."
Ding Fan was relieved. He ate a piece of meat; as soon as it entered his mouth, it melted. A warm current flowed out from his stomach, and his whole body felt comfortable. Startled, he said, "Good heavens, what kind of meat is this? It feels like a tonic."
"This is meat from a Fourth Grade spiritual beast. Two days ago it attacked our tribe and was killed by Old Fourth with a blade. The meat of a Fourth Grade spiritual beast nourishes the qi and blood and strengthens the body. Master, eat more."
Ye Li spoke very casually, as if slaughtering a Fourth Grade spiritual beast was a trivial task.
"..."
Ding Fan and Mu Gaosou looked at each other, the corners of their mouths twitching slightly. A Fourth Grade spiritual beast had been cut downâthis meant the four Elders of the Ye Clan were definitely experts above the Fifth Level of the Divine Realm.
Ding Fan thought for a moment and couldnât help asking curiously, "Family Head Ye, thereâs something Iâd like to ask, if itâs not inconvenient."
"We have no secrets before the master! Whatever the master wishes to ask," Ye Li said very sincerely, "we will tell the master everything."