Chapter 511: Cannot Give Her an Answer

Back then, they only knew the tribe had taken in a cripple. They never took the young man seriously.

If Lin Ruowei hadn't forced Lin Qiyun to marry Ye Chen, the severely injured and comatose young man would have long been cast out of the tribe as a burden.

Yet, through a twist of fate, Lin Ruowei used his status as Lin Qiyun's husband to keep Ye Chen in the tribe.

From that moment on, she had also sown the seeds of disaster for her own rule in the tribe.

If Lin Ruowei were to learn that the awakened Ye Chen had displayed the strength to crush the Blood Coagulation Realm, awakened the tribe's totem, and was now wholeheartedly supporting Lin Qiyun for the position of Clan Leader, would she regret her past actions? Would she curse herself for overcomplicating things and causing all this trouble?

In any case, the young man before them was not only a benefactor to their tribe but also someone they could not afford to offend.

Before they came, the old Priest had vehemently warned them to never, ever provoke Ye Chen. They were to treat him with the utmost respect, or they would face the consequences!

This made them realize that the young man's background was likely far from simple.

Seeing the guard commanders leave one after another, Zhao Tiankuo also took his leave. "It is indeed getting late. In that case, we won't disturb you any longer."

"Get up, now!" he barked at Zhao An.

Only then did Zhao An resentfully get to his feet. He kept his head bowed, not daring to even look in Ye Chen's direction.

"I have taken Master Ye's words to heart."

"Twenty Body Tempering Pills. Within three days, I will do everything in my power to gather them all. Not a single one will be missing!"

Zhao Tiankuo said to Ye Chen with great solemnity.

"Then I'll be counting on you, Elder Zhao."

Ye Chen smiled.

"No need to be so polite, Master Ye!" Zhao Tiankuo shook his head. After bidding farewell several more times, he finally left with Zhao An.

As she watched the courtyard gradually grow quiet, Lin Qiyun stood rooted to the spot, her thoughts in a daze.

'Is everything I've experienced real?'

'I was suppressed for so long, even the lowest-ranking servants dared to look down on me.'

'But suddenly, it's as if the whole world has changed.'

Her eyes flickered as she looked at the young man beside her.

'It seems all these changes are because of my husband!'

Since Ye Chen had fully awakened, he had demonstrated astonishing strength, and he was about to fulfill his promise to make her the Clan Leader.

The change had come so abruptly that Lin Qiyun felt as if she were in a dream.

It was Xiaohe's clear voice that broke her train of thought. "This is wonderful, my lady! Now that you have the old Priest's support, your status in the tribe will surely rise. No one will dare to bully you anymore!"

"That may be so..." Lin Qiyun's eyelashes trembled. "But once Ruowei returns and learns of this, she definitely won't let it go!"

"What does that matter!" Xiaohe, in her innocence, said nonchalantly, "Don't we have the Young Master?"

"The Young Master is so powerful. With him here, he'll definitely protect you, my lady."

"Husband..." Lin Qiyun gazed at the young man's calm profile, and for the first time, her heart was stirred.

She had taken care of Ye Chen for two months. Along the way, she had considered giving up, but in the end, she had persevered.

She never imagined that Ye Chen—so gravely injured that even the Imperial Physician believed he could never cultivate again—could actually reach this point.

For a moment, a strong curiosity about Ye Chen's origins sparked within her.

She realized she knew nothing about him. 'Perhaps I really should have a proper talk with Ye Chen.'

"Husband, you've remembered everything from your past, haven't you?" she suddenly asked.

"...More or less," Ye Chen nodded.

"Then... will you stay here forever?"

At her words, Ye Chen's head snapped around, a trace of surprise on his face.

He never thought Lin Qiyun would be so perceptive as to realize the problem this quickly.

'That's right. Now that I've regained my past memories, is it really possible for me to remain in this tribe?'

Ye Chen couldn't give Lin Qiyun a definite answer.

He just smiled. "It's late. We should get some rest."

Lin Qiyun's face fell, and she lowered her head.

But she was tactful enough not to press the issue, merely forcing a smile as she said, "You're right. It is time to rest."

...

From that day on, Lin Qiyun's status in the tribe clearly rose by more than just a single level.

With the old Priest's backing, wherever Lin Qiyun and Ye Chen went, people would respectfully address them as "Young Mistress" and "Young Master."

Seeing that Lin Qiyun's situation had stabilized, Ye Chen was naturally happy to have some leisure time.

He focused on recovering from his injuries while also guiding Lin Qiyun in her cultivation.

Every insight he shared about cultivation left Lin Qiyun utterly astonished.

It was as if she were getting to know her husband for the first time. She had never imagined that Ye Chen's experience and understanding of the path of cultivation could be so profound.

Naturally, Lin Qiyun grew more and more curious about Ye Chen's past.

But Ye Chen was never willing to reveal too much.

It wasn't that he enjoyed being mysterious.

The truth was, his identity was simply too sensitive in the Black Triangle Region.

Of the nine top factions in the Black Triangle, more than half held a grudge against Ye Chen.

If any information about him were to leak, it would almost certainly attract danger.

Ye Chen did not yet have the power to protect Lin Qiyun, so he could only choose to keep his past a secret.

Meanwhile, nurtured by the power of the Vermilion Bird Totem, Ye Chen's injuries were also recovering at a surprisingly fast pace.

However, his foundation was still damaged, leaving him unable to cultivate.

But the injuries to his physical body were healing well.

With his physical body alone, he already possessed the combat strength of someone at the Sixth or Seventh Layer of the Spirit Sea Realm.

This level of strength was still a far cry from his peak, but within the Vermilion Bird Tribe, it was more than enough to do as he pleased!

Not even Lin Ruowei returning to the tribe with the Supreme Elder, Han Luo, would be a threat to him!

Soon, a week had passed since the awakening of the Vermilion Bird Totem.

After a week of recuperation, Ye Chen's physical body had recovered to a level comparable to the Peak of the Spirit Sea Realm.

However, it would still be difficult for him to condense his dragon scales.

As for his Divine Soul... like his spiritual power foundation, his Divine Soul had suffered nearly irreversible damage in the spatial turbulence and remained depleted.

To recover, he would have to find some heavenly treasures capable of repairing his Divine Soul.

The one who had changed the most was, without a doubt, Lin Qiyun.

With the awakening of the totem's power, and as the clan member with the richest Vermilion Bird bloodline, both her latent potential and her foundation had been greatly improved.

Not to mention, she also had Ye Chen guiding her cultivation.

In just one week, Lin Qiyun had completely consumed the twenty Body Tempering Pills sent by Zhao Tiankuo.

Her cultivation had also successfully reached the Peak of the Bone Forging Realm, just one step away from the Blood Coagulation Realm!