Set off at 2:40

  Ye Chen jumped off his horse and led it into the peaceful Ye Family Village.

  "Brother Ye is back!!"

  It was some child from a certain household playing at the village entrance who, upon seeing Ye Chen, began shouting loudly.

  "Oh dear, it's Ye Chen from the Tang Bo family who has returned!"

  Ye Chen from our village is back.

  The whole Yejia Village was in an uproar, with old and young coming out. More than a dozen children gathered around, curiously following behind, and the bolder ones even wanted to touch the horse's buttocks.

  Ye Chen smiled and led the horse back to his own earth house courtyard, "Dad, Mom! I'm back!"

  "The son is back!"

  Ye Lao Die and Ye Lao Niang had just gotten up and were overjoyed to see their son return.

  "Old Ye indeed has vision, sending his son to Beimang Academy, and after ten years he's already made a name for himself. A precious horse, a precious sword, this is someone who will become a great general!"

  "After Tang Bo, you can enjoy good fortune."

  Every household in the village crowded into Ye's courtyard, bringing their own dry goods to congratulate. In the eyes of the villagers, only a great general could ride a tall horse with a precious sword at his waist.

  Ye Chen just smiled dryly and saw the village elders, but didn't say much.

  "Today our family is having a banquet to celebrate!"

  Ye Lao Die couldn't help but feel delighted, his whole face full of wrinkles, beaming with joy. In his entire life of farming and cultivating the land, he had never been so happy before.

  Ye Chen's return to his hometown in glory, Ye Lao Die's family almost instantly became the most prestigious branch among the Ye family clan, even the original elderly villagers of Ye family looked at Ye Chen's family with a gaze full of respect. What a brilliant young man with boundless prospects!

  Ye's village suddenly became busy, each household slaughtered chickens and ducks, butchered pigs and sheep, and Ye Chen's family set up a grand banquet.

  Ye Lao Die took Ye Chen, along with the elderly and seniors of the clan, to the ancestral temple to pay respects to their ancestors. The village of Ye Jia had not produced any notable figures for hundreds of years, but today one of its young men was finally going to become a general, which was a grand occasion that hadn't been seen in decades, so they must hold a grand ceremony to mark the occasion.

  Ye Chen wanted to find something to do, kill a chicken or duck, and help out with some chores.

  "What's the point of you killing a chicken? Go back inside and wait for dinner."

  The old mother doesn't allow it, but they all rush to do it anyway.

  Ye Chen strolled around the courtyard, all his relatives were busy with their own affairs, he had nothing to do. The village children had rarely seen Ye Chen in nearly ten years, they had a bit of awe and didn't dare disturb him casually. There were also many new daughters-in-law and unmarried girls gathered together, giggling and staring at him with fiery eyes.

  Ye Chen's face turned red with embarrassment, and he could only go back inside and wait for the banquet to start.

  He felt in his bosom and pulled out the Blood Jade Ring.

  With nothing else to do, he began to fiddle with his ring.

  "How does this Blood Oath Ring work?"

  Ye Chen put it on his hand, feeling a bit puzzled. This was indeed a treasure, the ancient painting scroll was emitting heat. However, after putting on the ring, there was no reaction, and his qi and blood did not increase.

  Ye Chen didn't understand.

  "Never mind, let's ignore it for now. Today hasn't even started yet, let's cultivate for a couple of hours first!"

  Ye Chen sat cross-legged on the bed, took a small piece of Blood Python Grass, put it in his mouth and chewed it carefully, then swallowed it into his abdomen. Not long after, a warm air was generated in his abdomen, along the blood vessels, seeping into the bone marrow, stimulating the intense Qi and blood throughout his body.

  In the bone marrow, the dense and rich Qi and blood slowly transform into the essence of Qi and blood.

  Ye Chen suddenly started.

  His body was filled with intense and dense vital energy, a portion of which was slowly flowing out and surging into the Blood Jade Ring on his fingers.

  "What's going on? Why is my qi flowing towards my ring finger?"

  Ye Chen was shocked and almost wanted to pull off the Blood Spirit Ring immediately.

  But he thought of the Blood Jade Ring's effect on enhancing a warrior's vital energy and restrained himself, deciding to wait and see.

  The blood jade ring in Ye Chen's hand gradually emitted a faint bloody halo.

  Half an hour later, the bleeding finally stopped, about 70% to 80% of his total blood volume. This amount of blood loss was not excessive, a martial artist who gets cut during a fight would lose roughly the same amount of blood.

  "The Blood Jade Ring can store extra Qi and blood. In addition to storing Qi and blood from one's own body, it also increases the amount of Qi and blood by about 5%. The other students at the academy say that the Blood Jade Ring can increase Qi and blood by 10%. Zheng Zicheng says that this ring has a slight flaw, probably making it slightly inferior to a normal Blood Jade Ring."

  Ye Chen sank into deep thought for a good half of the time, and gradually came to understand.

  In the middle stage of martial arts training, it's a competition of qi and blood. In the later stage of martial arts training, it's a competition of the essence of qi and blood. The more essence of qi and blood, the stronger the internal energy produced in the body of the martial artist. In the fight between martial artists, qi and blood are even more crucial to one's life; an increase of 10% in qi and blood can make one live longer than others.

  "I'm currently at the 7th layer of Body Refining, and with this Blood Essence Ring, I can increase my strength by about 70-80%. If it's all Qi and blood essence, I can almost reach the level of an 8th layer Body Refining martial artist! The only question is whether it has any effect on knife energy."

  Ye Lian's face lit up with joy.

  An hour later, Ye Chen completed his Qi and blood refinement, carrying the treasured sword, he left the bustling earth courtyard and arrived at a vacant lot behind the courtyard, drawing out the Golden Silk Scabbard Treasured Sword.

  A group of half-grown children followed from a distance, watching the excitement on the short wall and in the trees.

  "Drink! Crescent Moon Slash!"

  Ye Chen slashed out with his horizontal knife. The energy inside his body was fully released, and a surge of energy also burst out from the Blood Jade Ring.

  "Psst!"

  Within a foot of Ye Chen's body, five knife auras exploded outwards, and Bai Meng flashed by in an instant.

  "I could only release four blade auras before, but now with the Blood Jade Ring, I can release five! When I can cast Whirlwind Slash, even if ten or twenty gray wolves attack me, I will not be afraid!"

  Ye Chen sheathes his sword with great joy.

  The last two moves of "Tiger Leaping Knife Method" are powerful techniques, "Arc Moon Slash and Whirlwind Slash", which rely entirely on internal energy to support them. If the essence of Qi and blood is insufficient and the internal energy is inadequate, they cannot be performed.

  The Five-Path Blade Air is the strongest power of the Crescent Moon Slash, capable of dealing with enemies in front.

  When able to release nine knife auras, the Whirlwind Slash can be performed. The blade spins around in a circle, and in an instant, nine knife auras explode outwards within a one-meter radius, enough to slash and kill numerous enemies that are surrounding and attacking.

  The children of Yejia Village who were watching from a distance were stunned, some were scared to tears, and others excitedly shouted, "Brother Ye, you're so awesome!"

  Ye Chen hehe smiled.

  At almost noon, Ye's family banquet finally started serving dishes, and nearly all the villagers, young and old, came to Ye's house.

  At the head of the Ye family's table, apart from Old Man Ye and Ye Chen, there were over a dozen elderly relatives, as well as a private school teacher wearing a green hat and a long gown.

  Ye Chen poured wine for each guest, some of whom looked at the private school teacher who was drunk with a strange expression. This person wasn't an elder of the clan, but rather someone from another surname, so how did he end up sitting at the head table of the Ye family?

  "Son, your name was given by the old master! Most of our villagers are farmers, who would understand these things? The old master is capable of giving a good name."

  Ye Lao Die smiled foolishly and said.

  The old man looked at Ye Chen with a drunken and bleary eye, unable to contain his joy, and gave Ye Chen a name, probably the most proud and boastful thing he had ever done in his life.

  He smiled and said, "When I first gave you the name Chen, it was because of the dawn's gradual appearance. I had your father send you outside to study. What I said has come true, hasn't it? In just ten years, you've made great progress and risen above others! And in a few more decades, you'll be unstoppable - becoming a top official won't be out of the question, and among our country's martial arts community, you'll be one of the most renowned figures."

  "What a lucky name!"

  "Old sir, also give our child a name!"

  The Ye family set up a banquet, and the lively scene lasted for half a day. After the banquet dispersed, the Ye household gradually quieted down as well.

  Evening.

  Ye Chen came to his parents' room to bid farewell.

  "You've just been back for a day and you're leaving again so soon? Can't you stay a few more days? In the past few days, your mother will cook some delicious dishes to nourish your body!"

  Ye Lao's mother hurriedly said.

  "The child has been summoned to follow Princess Wu on a mission and can only stay at home for one day. Tomorrow morning, they will set out on the long journey! Here is 100 taels of gold, which was awarded by the princess. However, wealth should not be revealed, so Father and Mother buried it in the ground under the house, to be exchanged for silver when needed."

  Ye Chen lightly pursed his lips and said.

  "We're not short of money at home, and even if something happens, there are uncles in the clan who can help. Take this gold with you on the road. Since it's a public matter that requires your presence, go! Do a good job!"

  Ye Lao Die hastily said.

  Ye Chen left Jinzi behind, kowtowed three times, went out of the house and mounted his horse.

  "Take care!"

  Ye Chen turned back and took a glance at his parents who were seeing him off at the gate of their earth house, his eyes slightly red.

  He took a deep breath and rode his horse to Beifeng Academy, about 70 or 80 miles away, under the cover of night.

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  Thank you book friend 'Soul of He Lan Mountain' for rewarding and becoming the new leader of this book.