Ever since Ye Qing fell from grace, Ye Mo's status in the clan dropped significantly, and he lived his days in poverty.
At first, Ye Mo was still be given a monthly allowance of ten silver pieces from the clan. Once news that Ye Qing's chances of recovery were nonexistent spread across the village, Ye Mo no longer received the monthly allowance. On top of that, he was sent to the alchemist of Ye Clan to work as an assistant.
To make ends meet, Uncle Fu would take up odd jobs here and there, and so would Ye Mo.
Ye Qing's death did not startle many people, nor did it spread far; only a handful of people in the Ye Clan were aware.
Ye Zhantian made arrangements for Ye Qing's burial at a nearby hill where the ancestors of Ye Clan were buried. He comforted Ye Mo. As he and Ye Qing used to be friends, he was one of the few among Ye Clan who would occasionally look after Ye Mo.
Although Ye Zhantian was aware of the circumstances underlying Ye Mo's lack of progress in opening his Mortal Gates, five years without training was essentially a death sentence for his career in martial arts. These few years in particular were peak training years as the body was on the cusp of maturity. Once the body matured completely, any training undertaken would be much less effective.
Ye Mo returned to his bedroom. Although it was old and shabby, Uncle Fu often kept it very tidy.
Uncle Fu used to be Ye Qing's servant. Having served under him for several decades, he was like family to Ye Mo.
"Master Ye used to bring endless glory and honour to Ye Clan. But when he passes, no one comes to offer condolences. What a heartbreaking sight to behold!"
"I may be five years behind, but I will work five times, even ten times, harder. I will make those who used to bully me regret what they've done. I will avenge my father and find my mother."
Ye Mo knew that only if he trained harder than the others would he have the chance to catch up to those so-called prodigies and get the chance to enter the Door of Desolation.
Only after setting foot in the Door of Desolation would he have the chance to seek revenge.
Ye Mo sat on his bed, eyes shut, and started to manipulate the flow of energy within his Energy Center, absorbing the Yuan Chi of Heaven and Earth in his surroundings.
Training involved a critical process where an individual would utilize their Energy Center to absorb the surrounding Yuan Chi of Heaven and Earth. They would then convert Yuan Chi into Yuanli and store it in their Energy Center.
"I wonder what's so impressive about the Rising Dragon Pillar…"
Ever since Ye Mo gained the ability to examine his Energy Center, he had been aware of the existence of the Rising Dragon Pillar within him. It was a legendary artifact obtained by his mother, Zi Ning, in the Divine Realm.
The Divine Realm was the pinnacle among the different levels of realms anyone could have achieved, a stage where the possibilities one could achieve were limitless: they could shake the heavens and crumble the earth, build cities, and manipulate life and death.
When Zi Ning was pregnant with Ye Mo, the Rising Dragon Pillar seemed to consider the unborn Ye Mo its new master and shifted its presence into Ye Mo.
The moment Ye Mo was born, a mysterious person of incredible skill whisked Zi Ning away against her wishes and humiliated Ye Qing.
Now that Ye Mo had officially embarked on his training journey, he was very intrigued to see what the Rising Dragon Pillar was capable of.
Ye Mo began to examine his inner body and concentrated on observing the pillar within his Energy Center. On the surface were many black dragons, slithering around the pillar, entangled, as if they were trying to imprison the hulking monolith.
Ye Mo could not determine the exact number of dragons he saw, but he was certain that there were many, as many as the stars adorning the night sky. In fact, he could sense that the Rising Dragon Pillar was seething with power, the power to subdue dragons and to soar into the heavens, with an air of ancient forces.
He inhaled deeply and breathed in the surrounding Yuan Chi of Heaven and Earth. He manipulated its flow and directed it towards his Energy Center to form Yuanli.
As he began to form Yuanli, the pillar began to shake and rumble. The cries of thousands of dragons reverberated within him, causing the Yuan Chi in his Energy Center to turn into chaos. But soon after, the Yuanli was slowly absorbed by the dragon at the very bottom of the pillar.
The dragon emitted a faint, barely noticeable glow.
"It can absorb Yuan Chi," Ye Mo thought to himself.
After the thought registered, he once again started to consume the Yuan Chi of Heaven and Earth, but his Energy Center could not keep up with the rate at which the pillar was drinking up the Yuanli.
Ye Mo spent two entire hours just exploring his newfound abilities, absorbing Yuan Chi and converting it to Yuanli. As he continued, the dragon at the bottom of the pillar began to emit a brighter glow.
Ye Mo's face lit up at the realization and continued on. The dragon greedily drank up the Yuan Chi and, with a mighty roar, made its way out of the pillar and began to revolve around Ye Mo's Energy Center.
He had a suspicion that the dragon would hear his commands. Indeed, under his control, the dragon coursed through his body and shot towards Ye Mo's right hand. Upon impact, he could feel a tingling, numbing sensation in his hand.
When a martial artist began their journey, they would first be in the Spirit Cultivating Realm, attempting to open the Five Gates. The dragon crashing against the Gates was in fact very helpful in Ye Mo's training process.
"Ha! This pillar really is something."
Among all beasts, dragons were an ancient being and considered the king of all beasts. Their existence compared to that of gods, possessing the might to topple mountains and cut rivers.
Ye Mo marvelled at the wonders of the pillar. The power the black dragons harbored must greatly surpass that of normal Yuanli. His morning was spent absorbing Yuan Chi, fuelling the pillar. Once it absorbed a good amount of Yuan Chi, the dragon at the bottom of the pillar would flicker with an obsidian gleam and a giant Yuanli dragon would make its way out.
Ye Mo concentrated on controlling the dragon's assault on his right hand's Gate. After an entire morning of training, his right hand was heavy like lead with all the hidden potential.
He had a feeling that the Gate on his right hand was on the brink of erupting.
Creak—
Uncle Fu entered the room, holding a tray of food. Ye Mo's eyes widened at the sight of it as he absentmindedly wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.
He paused his training and quickly sat down at the table, taking large bites of his lunch.
Noticing Ye Mo's healthy appetite, Uncle Fu felt a sense of relief. At first, he was worried that Ye Qing's death would severely affect Ye Mo's abilities to carry out his day-to-day activities. But now, Uncle Fu was glad to see that Ye Mo seemed to be quite energetic.
"Young master, please slow down so you don't choke."
"Uncle Fu, I still have to head to Elder Yin's after I finish to help him with the fires. I can't afford to be late!"
After he wolfed down his meal, he quickly made his way towards Elder Yin's place.
Elder Yin was a Phase 2 alchemist of the Ye Clan, meaning that he had a high standing within the community. Ye Mo was assigned to kindle and maintain the fires, essentially serving as his assistant, which was a very physically demanding job.
As Ye Mo arrived at the Pill Refining Chamber, he breathed a sigh of relief as he noticed the closed door. If Elder Yin arrived before he did, he would be reprimanded again.
Fumbling for the keys, Ye Mo unlocked the door and entered the chamber.
Instead of an empty room, what greeted him were two people rummaging through the medicine cabinets. When they heard the door opening, the two paused in alarm, but when they saw that it was Ye Mo, their composed demeanor showed not a single trace of fear.
"Ye Mo, you better forget you saw anything. Otherwise, what happened last time will happen again."
In Ye Ming and Ye Xiaotian's hands were several costly medicinal herbs. After threatening Ye Mo to keep his mouth shut, they hurriedly snuck out of the Pill Refining Chamber.
Ye Ming was a member of the Main Branch in the Ye Clan. Along with Ye Xiaotian, he often bullied Ye Mo. He also had a history of stealing medicinal herbs, and the ones they stole today were worth about ten silver pieces. To a someone like him, a martial artist of average potential, it was a sizeable sum.
Ye Mo once reported their thievery to Elder Yin, but it only resulted in a beating from Ye Ming and Ye Xiaotian.
Gazing at their backs, he said with venom in his voice, "Just you wait. Once I open my Gates, I'll make sure you get a taste of your own medicine."