Chapter 369: The Truth of His Origins Revealed

"Greetings, Human Emperor!"

The many guests all stood up to pay their respects; no one dared to remain seated. To put on airs in front of the Human Emperor was to have grown tired of living.

"No need for such formalities. I have only come today to share a cup of wedding wine with my young friend Ye Lin."

The Human Emperor was dressed in casual attire and wore a smile, yet the message he conveyed left everyone present terrified.

This Ye Lin—is he one of the Human Emperor's people?

One of the Human Emperor's people, marrying the daughter of the Xie family head?

This made everyone think deeply and feel afraid. With the struggle between the great families about to begin, the Human Emperor had personally arrived to offer congratulations to a junior at such a critical juncture.

Could it be that the Human Emperor intends to support the Xie family as the next leader?

For a moment, many regretted bringing such meager gifts today.

If the Human Emperor supports the Xie family, then without a doubt, the Xie family will surely be at the height of their power for the next decade!

Even setting aside his status as the Human Emperor, he is a level 99 Blazing Sun Realm powerhouse who holds a complete Origin Ancient Artifact!

"Zhuge Yi, you're the one with all the tricks. What does the Human Emperor mean by this?" Jiang Tiandao nudged Zhuge Yi and asked in a low voice.

"It's nothing more than supporting the Xie family to keep the Ye family in check. The Ye family has been biding their time for so long; if I were the Human Emperor, I wouldn't let them continue to grow like this either," Zhuge Yi said.

"But how can he be sure the Xie family will help him? Isn't he afraid of raising another vicious tiger? That old fox Xie Hong has eight hundred schemes in his head," Jiang Tiandao said, rubbing his stubble.

Zhuge Yi smiled, staring at Ye Lin with great interest, but he did not offer an explanation, instead changing the subject.

"Just wait and see. This wedding banquet will not be peaceful."

The only disciple of Zhuge Qianxing, cultivated by the entire Great Xia Academy, chosen by the Xie family as a son-in-law, and personally backed by the Great Xia Human Emperor—a Forbidden Spellcaster who could reach level 74 at the age of 20.

After gathering all the information above, Zhuge Yi had a bold guess.

He had already leaked this guess; as for whether others believed it, that was no longer his concern.

As if to verify Zhuge Yi's words, the moment he finished speaking, the welcoming announcement at the entrance sounded once more.

"The Great Xia Ye family has arrived!"

As soon as the words fell, the entire venue was in an uproar.

The Hanging Leaf!

Had this most mysterious and powerful existence among the five great families actually appeared because of today's wedding banquet?

A tall man walked with the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger, heading straight into the Xie residence. A leaf was embroidered in gold thread on his cyan robe, and under the sunlight, that leaf radiated vibrant vitality.

Every step he took brought an indescribable sense of oppression to everyone present.

The man did not deliberately show off, yet his innate majesty caused the gazes of everyone present to fall upon him involuntarily.

"Ye family, Ye Yushan, greets the Human Emperor."

The man bowed to the Human Emperor, and the Human Emperor nodded with a smile.

When the name Ye Yushan was spoken, many had puzzled expressions, clearly having never heard the name before.

Jiang Tiandao, however, began to click his tongue in wonder.

"Isn't the Ye family supposed to keep a low profile? Why have they sent out the Third Master of the Ye family?"

"I am actually curious; for an Origin Ancient Artifact, why has only the Third Master of the Ye family come? That group in the Ye family is truly able to keep their cool," Zhuge Yi said with a cryptic smile.

"What did you say? An Origin Ancient Artifact?!"

At this, not only did Jiang Tiandao's expression change, but even Ji Wubing's expression became several degrees more solemn.

"Yes, the Ye family's Eternal Balance was lost twenty years ago. There is a high probability it is on that boy," Zhuge Yi said in a calm tone, yet his words were earth-shattering!

The Jiang family, the Ji family, and the Xie family did not even know that the Ye family's Origin Ancient Artifact had been lost; after all, the Ye family had been far too low-key for these past few decades.

"Hiss! No wonder! No wonder he could do what other Forbidden Spellcasters could not. The undying ability of the Eternal Balance, combined with the profession of a Forbidden Spellcaster..." Jiang Tiandao felt his scalp tingle; the two were a perfect match!

"Watch the show. This play should be very exciting," Zhuge Yi smiled meaningfully.

"Hahahaha, Yushan brother, your arrival truly makes my Xie family shine with brilliance!"

Xie Hong smiled and went to greet him, but he was met with a cold shoulder. Ye Yushan took a step back and said in a deep voice.

"Spare me the pleasantries. I am here today to cause trouble; I'm afraid this wedding of yours won't be able to proceed."

Xie Hong's expression stiffened, becoming somewhat unsightly. It seemed the Ye family already knew Ye Lin's identity, but he had not expected the Ye family to go to such great lengths.

Ye Yushan did not pay the slightest attention to Xie Hong, looking directly at Ye Lin instead.

"Are you going to come back with me yourself? Or do you want me to break your limbs and drag you away?"

"Who are you?!"

Ye Lin looked at Ye Yushan with a solemn expression. Although he had impersonated someone from the Hanging Leaf, surely that wasn't a crime worthy of this? He truly could not understand when he had offended the Ye family.

"You are her child. By relation, you should call me uncle, but you are a mongrel, so you are not worthy."

As soon as these words left Ye Yushan's mouth, Ye Lin's heart skipped a beat.

When he was in the Mountain and Sea Secret Realm, he had learned from the artifact spirit of the Eternal Balance that his relatives were likely still alive.

But he never imagined that his relatives would be the strongest family in Great Xia, the Hanging Leaf!

Although they all shared the surname Ye, Ye Lin had never thought in that direction; after all, not everyone surnamed Ma is related to the Penguin company, right?

Ye Lin had imagined countless scenarios of reuniting with his relatives, but he never thought his own uncle would point at his nose and call him a mongrel.

Ye Yushan's words also caused the eyes of the many distinguished and powerful figures present to reveal deep contemplation.

They all simultaneously recalled a rumor from over twenty years ago. At that time, there was gossip in the capital that the only daughter of the old head of the Hanging Leaf, Ye Xueqing, had eloped with an ordinary person and even had a child.

It was just that this gossip only circulated for a while before being completely suppressed, but since then, no one had ever seen Ye Xueqing again.

Could it be... that this Ye Lin is the son of Ye Xueqing from back then?

"Ye Yushan, Ye Lin is now my Xie family's son-in-law. Since you call him a mongrel, I assume your Ye family does not intend to let him acknowledge his ancestors. Then what is the meaning of you coming here to cause trouble today?" Xie Hong stepped forward, blocking Ye Lin, and questioned him in a deep voice. "Although my Xie family is not as powerful as your Ye family, we are not to be bullied!"

Ye Yushan glanced at Xie Hong indifferently, then spoke a sentence that shocked everyone present.

"My Ye family's Origin Ancient Artifact, the Eternal Balance, is on him."

Everyone looked at Ye Lin in astonishment, their eyes filled with shock, greed, disbelief, and many other complex emotions.

Only Zhuge Yi and the Human Emperor remained calm, as if they had known about this all along.

"I am taking him away today to retrieve the Origin Ancient Artifact that belongs to my Ye family."

"During the first Human-Demon War, my Ye family ancestor held the Eternal Balance and fought to the death for the sake of humanity, even shattering the Eternal Balance in the process. This Eternal Balance has always been an object of my Ye family."

"Today, whether it is your Xie family or anyone else, if you dare to obstruct us, the Ye family will formally declare war, and we will fight to the bitter end."

"Even if we fight to the last drop of blood, the descendants of the Ye family will never let the things passed down by our ancestors remain in the hands of outsiders."

Ye Yushan's tone was calm, yet his words were earth-shattering and incredibly overbearing.

Xie Hong's expression became extremely ugly. If the Eternal Balance was truly on Ye Lin, then in front of everyone, he truly had no reason to obstruct Ye Yushan.

"You have the Eternal Balance and you didn't say so earlier?!" Xie Hong looked at Ye Lin and questioned him in a fit of rage.

He couldn't stop Ye Yushan in front of everyone, but he could have plotted to seize it secretly!

"You didn't ask," Ye Lin spread his hands.

Xie Hong nearly vomited blood. He might be the biggest victim this time; he had truly lost his wife and his army.

And those with sharp eyes present could tell that Ye Yushan's words were not meant for Xie Hong, but for the Human Emperor!

Ye Yushan first brought up the merits of the Ye family ancestors, then stated his attitude of fighting to the end; to put it bluntly, he was threatening the Human Emperor, hoping to make the Human Emperor hesitate to act.

The Ye family might not be a match for the Human Emperor, but now the Ye family occupied the moral high ground. The five great families all understood the principle of "when the lips are gone, the teeth are cold." If the Human Emperor insisted on protecting Ye Lin and fighting the Ye family to the death, it would undoubtedly cause the five great families to band together against him, and might even cause turmoil within Great Xia.

Everyone looked at the Human Emperor, wanting to see how he would respond.

But at this moment, the Human Emperor suddenly stood up.

"Since this is the Ye family's private business, you should handle it yourselves. Even an honest official finds it difficult to settle family disputes. I am feeling unwell, so I shall take my leave first."