Ye Yan looked at Liu Kan's panel and was very satisfied with his data as he praised the other in his heart.
Then, he turned back to Liu Kan and said with a smile, "Welcome to the sect. It's a deal then. You can go home first. I'll go to your place at night and tell you where our encampment is."
Liu Kan nodded. He was still not used to staying in a place with so many people, so he left in a hurry after saying goodbye. Never mind what he was thinking, but the villagers began to gossip.
"Tsk, seriously, Xiao Liu is such an obedient child, but to think he's been led astray by that Little Brat Ye.
"Yeah, they're the two most idle children in the whole village. They have nothing better to do every day and just run around messing with people. Now, they're even leading the Liu family's boy astray. This time, Mrs. Liu is going to go crazy..."
The gossip spread and soon, everyone knew about it. Ye Yan simply frowned when he heard all this, but he didn't say anything.
"Brother, aren't you angry at them for saying that?" Ye Wen had been observing Ye Yan but found that the latter's expression hadn't changed at all. He was thus quite surprised.
"They can say whatever they want!" Ye Yan chuckled, "We'll see who's right. There will be people who believe us."
As if in response to his words, the crowd suddenly burst into a clamor and became chaotic.
"Move! Move aside!"
"Brother Yan, I'm coming!"
Three wild kids suddenly appeared outside, pushing and shoving into the crowd, trying to squeeze in.
The crowd tried to restrain them, but nobody expected that although the three children were not tall, their brutal strength was irresistible. With just a push and a bump, many of the people around were knocked to their feet.
"These brats are so strong!"
"Watch it, you're stepping on me, ouch!"
"Isn't this the child of the Zhang family's second son?"
"Let's go, let's go. It's a mess!"
For a time, curses sounded in the crowd. Many could do nothing to these three rude children and could only leave. The crowd immediately dispersed.
The three children went through the crowd and ran straight to Ye Yan and the others, standing in front of the table.
"Brother Yan, that's not very nice of you. Why didn't you share the good news with us?"
"Hey, you're only playing with Chen Geng. I haven't even seen your shadow for a few days. That's going too far!"
"Sigh... We're drifting apart, drifting apart!"
The three young men came up and didn't even greet the other three before putting on a show before Ye Yan. One complained, and one feigned depression, all energetic brats.
Ye Yan couldn't help but laugh at their funny looks.
"Yo, Er Dan, have you brought your two brothers here to cause trouble?" Ye Yan looked at the leader with a smile.
The Er Dan he was referring to was Zhang You, the son of the Zhang family's second son. He was about the same age as him but had grown up to be very strong. His physical strength was equivalent to two people, and when it came to arm wrestling, even adults might not be able to beat Zhang You.
One of the two brats Er Dan brought was about the same size as him, with an extremely burly figure. The boy had a ruthless aura between his brows. He was also a childhood friend of Ye Yan and the others, Hong En.
The last one was the frailest of them all. His name was Liu Yi, but he was not from the Liu family. There was a scar on his arm from a tear that had healed, so everyone called him Brother Scar.
Brother Scar had lost his father since young, so he lived with his mother. However, because his mother was pretty, the busybodies of the villagers would always come up with obscenities to belittle his mother.
It was also because of this that Liu Yi's self-esteem was greatly affected. Many children in the village joined forces to bully him, not respecting him at all.
Even his own family, which was his father's parents, his grandparents, looked down on his mother and spoke ill of her behind her back. Since then, Brother Scar had shifted his hatred onto his mother. He believed that all his misfortunes were caused by his mother.
Although her son was gradually distancing himself from her, Liu Yi's mother did not feel any ill emotions. She still cared for him as much as she should.
However, the power of public opinion was terrifying. Since outsiders kept on speaking ill of Liu Yi's mother, as time passed, those rumors seemed to have become real. Even Brother Scar himself couldn't help but wonder if his mother had really done some shady business.
So now, Brother Scar rarely even returned home. Other than sleeping, he basically spent all his time hanging out outside. He didn't want to go back and meet his mother.
Even for meals, he was fed by Ye Yan, Chen Geng, and the others who climbed the mountains and dived into the waters, thinking about catching some wild game to eat. He hadn't had many proper meals at all, so now, even though he had grown up, he was still malnourished.
The name of Brother Scar was due to the scar on his arm. One day, a b*stard at the entrance of the village said to his face that his mother was a wastrel.
This time, Brother Scar seriously got angry. He roared and jumped up to hit the bastard, but no one expected the latter to have no moral values at all. The latter simply kicked Brother Scar, who then fell and hit the hoe that was leaning against the wall.
The hoe was sharp, so it cut Brother Scar's hand open, and blood flowed out immediately as the pain intensified. Yet, that scumbag didn't intend to stop. He went up and gave Brother Scar a few more slaps before walking away.
When Ye Yan received the news and rushed to the scene with his men, Brother Scar was gasping for breath on the ground, his face swollen and the wound on his hand had started to coagulate. Ye Yan still remembered that day, Liu Yi's eyes were full of unswerving determination, full of clarity, and endless hatred.
Later on, the wound on his hand never healed, leaving behind a ghastly scar. That was how the nickname "Brother Scar" emerged.
At this moment, Zhang You came over with Hong En and Liu Yi. Seeing Ye Yan, Chen Geng, and Ye Wen, the atmosphere suddenly became harmonious.
"Hmm? Do you know what my place is for?" Ye Yan asked with a smile. He didn't believe that these little guys had heard of celestial cultivation.
Sure enough, the answer that the three punks gave him made him smile bitterly.
"Who knows?" Zhang You simply smiled, "No matter what Brother Yan does, we'll just follow you."
"That's right. If Brother Yan says so, then this is the right thing to do," Hong En refused to be outdone.
Liu Yi slowly opened his mouth, and the smile on his face spread, "That's right, Brother Yan. Don't forget us when there's good news!"
Seeing that his three friends trusted him very much, Ye Yan's favorable impression of them rose sharply. He looked at the sky and estimated that it was time to leave, so he simply said, "It's getting late, so it's time to leave. You guys help me pack up and I'll tell you slowly."
This time, a total of four people had come, which was not bad. The rest could be taken slowly.
The group carried the chairs and tables and prepared to leave. When the crowd saw that the main characters were about to leave, they also dispersed. The grain-sunning ground gradually quieted down.
Ye Yan asked Chen Geng to go up the mountain first, and Ye Wen said he had to leave because it was time to go to his grandpa's place to learn carpentry.
Back home, Ye Yan looked around but didn't find Ye Dahai. It seemed that his father was resting in the field at noon. Hence, he told Liu Yi, Zhang You, and Hong En about his sect and cultivation. After he finished speaking, the three young men's eyes lit up.
"That's good news, Brother Yan. How can we miss out on such a fun event? Hehehe, your group is going to have new members!"
All three of them expressed that they wanted to join the God-slaying Sect, so Ye Yan carried out the customary practice and took them into the sect. Following the system's several notifications, the current God-slaying Sect thus had six people, only four more to the mission quota.