Chapter 494

Chapter 494: Chapter 493:

Ye Yuanshan decided to retire, no longer intervening in any matters of the Ye family. Instead of handing over the helm to any of his three sons, he passed it on to his grandson, Ye Tianchen. Such a transition of power within large families and significant forces was quite rare, and it clearly showed how highly Ye Yuanshan regarded Ye Tianchen.

The people present began to whisper among themselves. Of course, most of them were smart enough to understand, after a little thought, why Ye Yuanshan had passed the position of family leader to his grandson rather than his sons. It seemed like a significant blow to the three sons since a family’s leader not only decides on the family’s major and minor affairs but even the life and death of each family member. Such power might seem impossible in a legal society, but it still exists to this day among large families who, the more prominent they are, require strict family rules to manage their affairs, as sometimes state laws hardly serve any purpose.

Everyone understood that the Ye family had been in decline for nearly twenty years. Since Ye Yuanshan stepped down, not one of his sons had been able to reach his level. Frankly, they just weren’t up to the task, and pushing too hard was futile. Often, their efforts couldn’t bring prosperity to the family and might even lead to disaster.

The gradual decline had soon reduced the Ye family to a third-class family. Not even across the country, but in Capital City alone, third-class families were a dime a dozen. In the eyes of second and first-class families, they were nothing; they could give you face if they were pleased, or tell you to get lost if they were not, and could even squash you at any time. Therefore, it was tough for the Ye family to survive these years. If it weren’t for Ye Yuanshan, who once held a position of power and was still alive, the Ye family would probably have been trampled long ago, not able to persist until now.

Now, the Ye family had Ye Tianchen, who everyone in Capital City once deemed useless and a laughingstock, a person who had suffered countless cold eyes and mockery. Yet, he had staged a dramatic reversal, rising to prominence unexpectedly. Ever since he returned to the city, every action he took was enough to cause a stir. He even obliterated a first-class family like the Qin family, and suppressed hidden powerhouses such as the Xuanyuan family and the Ouyang family. Was there anything that Ye Tianchen didn’t dare to do? Indeed, he had become someone people had to take seriously, someone they had to regard with new eyes. Therefore, it was entirely normal for Ye Yuanshan to announce his retirement on his seventy-fifth birthday and introduce his grandson, Ye Tianchen, in front of so many influential figures.

Ye Tianchen sat below, eating chocolate cake, and nearly choked upon hearing his grandfather Ye Yuanshan’s words. The old man hadn’t mentioned this plan to him at all, ah. Being asked to go up in front of so many people and say a few words—what should he say? That today’s food was delicious and urge everyone to eat and drink well? That would be a bit too frivolous for such a grand occasion, wouldn’t it?

"Tianchen, get up there quickly, don’t embarrass our Ye family!" Ye Hong reminded his son Ye Tianchen from behind.

After a moment of stunned hesitation, Ye Tianchen reluctantly nodded his head, set aside his chocolate cake with regret, straightened his suit, and walked toward the podium in the middle of the lawn.

Seeing his grandson Ye Tianchen come up, Ye Yuanshan handed the microphone to him, smiled, patted Ye Tianchen on the shoulder, and then stepped down—very unassumingly, genuinely wishing to retire. Over the years, Ye Yuanshan had naturally been very anxious. During his tenure, the Ye family might not have been a first-class family, but it was not bad either. However, since stepping down, the Ye family had been declining gradually. None of his descendants had been able to support the family, as they just didn’t have what it takes. Moreover, he wasn’t far from his coffin, so how could he be content if the Ye family just fell apart like this? Now that his grandson Ye Tianchen was like a rising dragon, and the only one who could revitalize the Ye family, why not relinquish all his powers and let him have a go?

"Hello, everyone. My name is Ye Tianchen. I’m very thankful for everyone’s attendance at my grandfather’s birthday celebration. I hope in the days to come, I will have more opportunities to interact with and collaborate with all of you. Thank you!" said Ye Tianchen, his voice ringing clear and firm, neither arrogant nor servile.

Ye Hong nodded, initially worried that his son wouldn’t speak well. After all, Ye Tianchen had always been carefree and seemed not to care much about socializing, nor to understand it. So, it had come as quite a surprise that Ye Tianchen could sound so articulate—unbelievably so, making it seem as if the person standing on the stage wasn’t Ye Tianchen.

In truth, it wasn’t that Ye Tianchen couldn’t present himself well; he just wasn’t interested in such things. If he had to say a few words for appearance’s sake, Ye Tianchen wasn’t incapable, it’s just that his mind wasn’t in it.

"With that, let’s move on. Please enjoy the rest of the event. I will greet each of you in turn," Ye Tianchen said with a smile, after which he handed the microphone back to the host and made his way off the stage.

The host took the microphone and continued with a loud, cheerful voice, "Since that’s the case, I won’t prattle on. Next—"

Bang!

Just when everyone was marveling at Ye Tianchen’s poise and beginning to reevaluate him, before the host could finish his routine speech, there came a loud bang, and he was sent flying, a large knife stuck into his stomach, pinning him to the stage backdrop behind. Blood steadily streamed down, tainting the large character "Longevity" in a rather gruesome manner.

"Today, all of the Ye family must die. Those who don’t want to die, get lost!"

At that moment, four people entered through the gate of the Ye family’s old mansion. All of them wore black cloaks and silver masks. The several security guards at the Ye family’s mansion had already fallen in pools of blood.

Everyone at the scene was shocked and turned their gaze toward the four individuals in black cloaks. They were robust men, and it was evident they were strong, each holding a large knife, their faces covered with silver masks, their expressions indiscernible, but a palpable killing intent emanated from them.

Luckily, the guests attending Ye Yuanshan’s birthday were not pushovers; they came from different major families and forces. They wouldn’t be easily frightened by such a situation. However, many had already adopted an attitude of disinterest, content to watch the show unfold, eager to see how the Ye family would handle the situation, and to gauge just how formidable the much-touted Ye Tianchen was. If Ye Tianchen turned out to be less capable, then there was no need to show any further respect to the Ye family—one might as well just leave.

"Who are you people? Daring to cause trouble at the Ye family’s place, do you know who all these guests are?" Another young man from a different family, who also couldn’t stand the arrogance of the four masked men, stood up and voiced his displeasure.

Slap!

A single slap sent the young man flying, his face covered in blood, several teeth knocked out, and he didn’t dare make another sound. These four were like killing machines; anyone who approached would likely suffer the same fate.

"I don’t mind if others want to play the hero for the Ye family and meet their death!" The person who had slapped the young man spoke coldly and disdainfully.

Hearing the leader’s words, the others at the scene were stunned for a moment, and no one stepped forward to say anything. Among them were not a few older figures, all of whom had once been influential, but at this moment, they wouldn’t take a stand either. First of all, this was the Ye family’s territory, and since someone had come to make trouble at the Ye family, especially during Ye Yuanshan’s 75th birthday celebration in front of so many people, it was certainly up to the Ye family to handle it. If the Ye family couldn’t manage the situation, it would be a huge embarrassment.

"All of the Ye family, get up on stage now, I’ll kill you one by one," one of the masked men shouted as he rushed onto the stage.

At that moment, Ye Yuanshan stepped forward to the front of the stage, his face filled with anger as he looked at the four masked men and gritted his teeth, "I don’t care who sent you, but today, if you cause trouble at my Ye family’s home, none of you will live to leave."

"Tough words from an old man about to die, I’ll cut you down first!"

Whoosh!

The leader, a muscular man, swung his blade straight at Ye Yuanshan. Everyone was shocked; they hadn’t expected the four cloaked in black capes, wearing silver masks, to actually attempt murder without any regard for the identities of those present. No matter how important these guests were, it was clear just how arrogant these four were.

Crack!

But just as the blade wielded by the leader was about to reach Ye Yuanshan, he found his wrist suddenly seized by a hand from the side, firmly held in place. He turned his fierce gaze to the side, only to see a young man smiling while holding onto his wrist.

"You’re courting death!"

The muscular man tried to shake off the grip on his wrist without a word, but it was like being held by a vise; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t escape.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The other three masked men, without a second thought, swung their big swords down; they too realized there was something extraordinary about this young man.

Cling! Cling! Cling!

Three metallic clangs resounded as the swords of the three masked men were blocked, almost vibrating the blades out of their hands. Seizing the opportunity, the man whose wrist had been grabbed finally wrenched himself free, and all four masked figures stared at the young man in front of them in surprise.

However, the young man did not look at them but walked over to Ye Yuanshan and said with a smile, "Grandpa, why don’t you rest aside for a bit? I’ll handle this."

"Be careful," Ye Yuanshan nodded and said. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)